Friends of the Void #2: Ben Teeney

Ben Teeney (they/he/any) is a Toronto-based musician/singer-songwriter who released their debut EP ‘The Anxious Thoughts Project’ back in 2021. Since then, they’ve released a series of singles, such as “Perfect Stranger,” “Red Sky,” and “SAGA.” Today, however, Teeney releases their debut album ‘Into the Storm,’ out now on A Few Good Records. To celebrate, Ben sat down with Films for the Void to chat about some of their favorite movies!

“I was born and raised in Toronto, and a big reason why it’s so beloved for me is because of the Toronto connection. It takes place in the neighborhoods I grew up in during the time period it was made, so it’s incredibly nostalgic. The books are incredible, as are the TV show, video game, and the movie - the entire franchise is great and seeing my neck of the woods in different forms of media is a really neat experience. It’s really cool to watch the movie and see, ‘there’s this, there’s this', etc. I was away when this happened, but they shot a scene on my street that didn’t make the final cut - I’m pretty sure it’s in the bonus version with Anna Kendrick sitting on the bus talking on the phone to Scott with my neighbourhood in the background. Honest Ed’s, which is a department store that had a Backrooms energy was included too - everything was super warped, you could get haircuts in the basement. I remember going while stoned out of my mind and getting lost. This is something that shows up in the movie, as well as the books, but at the intersection where Honest Ed’s is iconic… I know a guy who lost his virginity on the roof of that building. It’s since been torn down and they turned it into condos, which sucks, but the Pizza Pizza they spent a lot of time in is still on the corner. Across the street on Bathurst at Bloor, there’s a place called “George’s”. My buddy David and I, who records most of my videos for my music, used to go there to get food. Not only that, but it was across from the old Sonic Boom, where author Bryan Lee O’Malley used to work too.”

“I watched it for the first time on demand - our video provider Rogers used to have VOD. I really enjoyed it as a child, but didn’t really connect with it until I was an adult and got really into advanced sports statistics. The landscape and narrative of that movie resonated with me as a stereotypical Canadian who loves hockey. I could watch the cultural response in real time and see the teams that did integrate the philosophy more, tended to do better and invested into their analytics believing in it as a tool. Because it’s also based on a true story and it’s such an underdog narrative, it makes it easy to cheer for the characters, even if the cast hasn’t aged super well. That, and I love the side plot where Brad Pitt’s daughter was really musical and how he’s very supportive of that. That was really cute, as someone who likes to LARP as a musician, I connected with it and found it really endearing.”

“I actually watched this again this week! It’s a fun, well-crafted movie. I love how everyone’s an asshole in their own way, but they’re all endearing. Jackson’s (Crowe) got a heart of gold and he’s good with kids, while Holland (Gosling) is the most pathetic man on Earth and he’s so good in that role. It comes down to him not taking himself seriously and I love that. It’s just a really enjoyable watch. The funny thing is that I recommend this movie to people and in the first two minutes, a porn star crashes into the house and is found lying naked on her car in the most realistic car crash victim way. It’s a movie I come back to whenever I hear people mention it. It’s such a fun watch every time and the cast is really SO good. It’s a bummer it got overshadowed by another big cultural movie everyone’s seen but no one actually really remembers (Captain America: Civil War).”

“It’s a fun musical! I have such a connection with ABBA because they’re one of my mom’s favorite bands and growing up we’d play the Greatest Hits album on road trips, singing along to it in the car. She’s really instilled that love for ABBA in me, so having a musical which is an ultimately wholesome and fun movie is great. Don’t get me wrong, there’s goofy moments - like 1-2 songs into the movie, she’s wondering who her Dad is and trying to figure out when she was conceived and she’s reading her Mom’s diaries, I was thinking, ‘This is some crazy storytelling!!’”

“First and foremost: Rest in Peace, Bonnie Tyler. This is just another good, wholesome movie that I can throw on in any setting. Even if you’re grieving, it’s a cozy, nostalgic movie. Because I grew up with it, I’ve watched the first Shrek more times than I can count and I’ve watched this just as many times, if not more. Beautiful thing about Shrek is that it’s in that early ‘00s era where the writers snuck in a lot of jokes for older audiences on top of the music tracks, which also bang. Every movie now feels like it has an acoustic cover of a song from the ‘80s and ‘90s as the main track/focal point. I think Deadpool 2 started that trend with “Take on Me” by A-ha. There’s something magical about [the Shrek 2] soundtrack and the way that it’s used in the film’s climax where they’re storming the castle and the song matches up with the story motifs. It’s peak. It’s fantastic. It’s such a good movie and they didn’t have to go as hard as they did, but I appreciate it.”

“I actually have a Snowpiercer tattoo. I’ve been thinking about this movie recently and the meme-able moments it’s produced, specifically, like Chris Evans saying that babies taste the best. There totally hasn’t been anything in recent political history that hasn’t reminded me of that statement… no files were released that contain anything similar to that. It’s such a good story of resistance and resilience. The ending of stopping the train is controversial, but I like the message of, ‘You’ve been told this thing your entire life,’ but then there’s also obviously life outside the train countering that. Not to mention, it brings to mind the idea of living on your own terms, even if the system doesn’t want you to and it stays true to that. Bringing yourself to fight and forge your own path, even when all of society is on these rigid train tracks. I found a lot of solace in that message.”