As Guy Mont Spelling Bee returns to our screens, host Guy Montgomery spells out his take on the state of the world.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not everyday that a comedy spelling bee conducted on Zoom during the Covid-19 pandemic becomes a trans-Tasman television phenomenon. But as Guy Mont Spelling Bee returns to our screens in Aotearoa, off the back of critically-acclaimed seasons across the ditch and host Guy Montgomery taking home a Logie for most popular new talent, it\u2019s worth spelling out the tremendous s-u-c-c-e-s-s of this homegrown gameshow.<\/p>\n
Packing the traditional spelling bee format with increasingly absurd rounds which, as Montgomery described himself, \u201ccreate more unbearably and unnecessarily circuitous routes towards the spelling of words,\u201d Spelling Bee has the potential to travel much wider than down under. \u201cThe dream is that someone sees it and might want to do something with it in the United Kingdom,\u201d he told our My Life in TV series. \u201cI\u2019ve done my bit, I don\u2019t know what happens next.\u201d<\/p>\n
Guy Montgomery and Sanjay Patel. Image: Supplied<\/p>\n
What we can tell you for sure is that the new season is packed with New Zealand comedy stars from across generations, including Johanna Cosgrove, Oscar Kightley, Jason Gunn, Lana Walters and Lynda Topp, all helped out by long-suffering assistant Sanjay Patel. Bravely selecting words from the coward\u2019s cup to the bucket of bravery, the panel of comedians face off every week to see who will continue on to take home the title of Guy Mont Spelling Bee\u2019s Guy Mont-Champion.<\/p>\n
While we wait to see who will prosper and who will be left wearing the dunce hat, we asked host Guy Montgomery to share his gripes with the modern world, from people who don\u2019t listen to the perils of instant communication.<\/p>\n
What bothers you most about the world right now?<\/p>\n
The slow erosion of a shared reality between everyone isn\u2019t great. It seems we are all at the mercy of our algorithms and unfortunately the people in charge of the settings for the algorithms have no social conditioning because they never learned how to make a friend.<\/p>\n
What sort of people do you avoid?<\/p>\n
People who don\u2019t ask questions! No-one is so interesting they don\u2019t need to ask questions about the people and world around them. It drives me crazy. NOT ALL AMERICAN PEOPLE but a lot of American people don\u2019t know how to ask questions and I suppose from the right distance that can be pretty crack up but it is also an insane way to live.<\/p>\n
Guy Montgomery hosting Guy Mont Spelling Bee (Photo: Supplied)<\/p>\n
What makes you want to get up in the morning?<\/p>\n
My baby! There is a baby in our house and every morning I am very excited to catch up with her.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
How do you hold onto hope in these crazy times?<\/p>\n
My immediate community! It\u2019s got to be. The people who I am lucky enough to surround myself with are far more influential on the day-to-day quality of my life than the aforementioned sociopaths with the keys to the internet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What is the single best quality a human can have?<\/p>\n
Quick to laugh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What\u2019s over-rated?<\/p>\n
Feeling beholden to text \/ email \/ message back right away. You are allowed time to yourself!\u00a0<\/p>\n
What\u2019s under-rated?<\/p>\n
An openness to being wrong. Conversations are less robust when everyone feels as though they have to hold the right opinion. Being wrong is all good!<\/p>\n
If you could have a do-over, what would you change?<\/p>\n
Always a risk to meddle with the timeline but I think I would have tried to broaden my horizons and somehow force a stronger sense of identity on myself through my teenage years into my early 20s. I wasn\u2019t making a lot of decisions that I felt especially sturdy in, so much as travelling the path of least resistance and in the slipstream of whatever my friends were doing. Don\u2019t get me wrong, I love my friends! But I don\u2019t love pretending to enjoy drinking warm beer in a tent at Rhythm & Vines.<\/p>\n
Guy Montgomery pretended to like Rhythm and Vines. Image: Supplied<\/p>\n
What brings you joy?<\/p>\n
Thinking of a new joke while walking to a gig and then trying it at the gig and the audience laughing and thinking to myself, \u201cI was right\u2026 that was funny.\u201d<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the best advice you\u2019ve ever been given?<\/p>\n
Surround yourself with people more talented than you and be generous with your creativity. If you\u2019ve thought of one good idea, you can think of another one. Shout out Tim Batt, Joseph Moore, everyone in Snort! I stand on your shoulders!<\/p>\n
What advice do you wish you\u2019d never followed?<\/p>\n
I think I\u2019ve always held advice lightly, there is no specific piece of advice I can think of that I regret following. Shout out Guy Montgomery!<\/p>\n
Tell us about a controversial opinion you hold.<\/p>\n
Phone calls are better than text. Clearer communication, more efficient and the sound of a person on the other end of the line \u2013 what\u2019s not to love? Shout out Alexander Graham Bell (not for all his insane opinions about deaf people though).<\/p>\n
When you\u2019re feeling low, what helps?<\/p>\n
Saying I\u2019m feeling low out loud and going for a run has consistently proven to be the most effective and immediate means of addressing this. Also seeing a friend face-to-face. These are very simple techniques for I am a very simple man.<\/p>\n
In what ways is public-facing Guy Montgomery different to private Guy Montgomery?<\/p>\n
I think the gap isn\u2019t too big. One of the big differences is I ask for a lot less spelling in my private life. This is probably a better question for Chelsie because the feeling in my body is I\u2019m being Guy Montgomery the whole time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Give us some life advice.<\/p>\n
Make more phone calls! Podcasts have really had the run of the place lately but cold calling a good friend is where the magic is! I will absolutely rinse my contacts list when I\u2019ve got a mountain of mindless tasks in front of me and they are some of the best days of my life.<\/p>\n