From left, Dave Lingwood, Ben Nemtin, Duncan Penn, Jonnie Penn.
It almost seems unfair. The guys from MTV's The Buried Life will appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show tomorrow - an accomplishment sought out by even A-list celebrities as the top-rated daytime talk show winds down. But getting on Oprah isn't even on the hallowed Buried Life list of things to do before they die. (Meanwhile, dancing with rival Ellen DeGeneres is on the list - and not crossed off yet.)
For those who, unlike Winfrey, are not fans of The Buried Life , a primer: the series features four guys from Victoria, travelling around in a bus, trying to accomplish 100 things they want to do before they die. Examples: open the six o'clock news (crossed off), attend a party at the Playboy Mansion (crossed off), get on the cover of Rolling Stone (not crossed off). There are more everyday accomplishments too: grow a mustache (done), go on a blind date (ditto), donate blood (still to do).
The idea was born during a cross-Canada conversation in 2006 involving Duncan Penn and Ben Nemtin at the University of Victoria; Dave Lingwood, who was at the University of Lethbridge; and Jonnie Penn (Duncan's little brother), who was in Montreal attending McGill University. They were feeling somewhat lost and fretting about the future. "The only thing we could afford was to meet on Skype and that's where the whole idea was started," Jonnie Penn, 23, said yesterday from Los Angeles.
"They were asking the questions that millennials are all asking," says Jan Coleman, their manager and one of the executive producers of the show. "The questions about life, and: 'Look at the planet we're being left and look at the economy and job situation… and how do we make a difference in the middle of all of this?' "
Each of the guys - all born in the 1980s - went away and made a list of about 50 things they wanted to do before they died. When they got together again and compared notes, they were astonished by the synchronicity. They decided to go for it.
They wrote up a list (which also includes seeing a dead body, being in a protest and paying off their parents' mortgages), bought a secondhand camera on eBay for $100, borrowed an uncle's rundown 1977 RV and spent two weeks touring British Columbia, crossing off items and filming their encounters. The approach was two-pronged: check off their goals, and for each one accomplished, help a complete stranger discover the thing they want to do before they die - and help them make it happen. The following year, they went back on the road, this time for two months.
Finally Coleman, now on board as their manager, helped them accomplish item #53: Start a television show.
The Buried Life is often referred to as reality television, but it's a label nobody at the show seems comfortable with. "We like calling it gonzo cinema," says Jonnie Penn. "Because reality TV's beyond hope; it's been lost."
Coleman adds that there is no manipulation on the program, unlike other so-called reality TV shows. "The boys do it all themselves," he says. "Anything that goes into it, they have to go and accomplish. MTV does not provide anything. If they decide they need Brad Pitt for a thing, they have to figure out how to get to Brad Pitt and bring him in; they don't just say, 'Would you call Brad Pitt's manager?'
"It's absolutely authentic."
Partway through The Buried Life's first season, which began airing in Canada and the U.S. in January, one of Winfrey's producers brought the show to her attention. "She liked it," says Coleman. "She went wow."
The show's creators' jaws dropped when they received Winfrey's invitation. "It came out of nowhere," Duncan Penn, 26, said yesterday from Victoria. "It was really humbling - just another sign that this idea was resonating with people."
The Oprah segment, which will air tomorrow, was taped about two weeks ago and the guys are promising some big surprises. They won't say what they are, but look for more item checking, and perhaps an announcement that the show has been picked up for another season. They may also reveal new goals that they're adding to the list.
"I think it continues to evolve," says Jonnie Penn. "So when the show ends, we're going to keep doing it. And we're always going to do it. Maybe my priorities in five years will be: have a baby, build a house, pay my taxes. But I'm still going to be setting goals and accomplishing them."
Item 56 on the list is: Write an article for a major publication. That's about to be crossed off, thanks to The Globe and Mail. Watch this space in the next while to see that happen.