My Interview with James Duff and G.W. Bailey of TNT’s The Closer (Can You Guess What They Confessed?!)

G.W. Bailey and Tony Denison

I was granted some Q&A time with James Duff (executive producer and series creator) and G.W. Bailey (Det. Lt. Provenza ) of The Closer. Remember The Closer will return to TV on Monday, January 26, at 9:00 p.m. EST. I have a review of two of the upcoming episodes that will be posted right here on SofaChip.com. Stay tuned!

What were my impressions from speaking with these two guys? James Duff is a very passionate guy, with a lot of insight to share about his craft. G.W. Bailey is a laid-back, cool, guy who if I drank beer, I’d want to share a beer with. They’re both very proud of what they do (rightly so) and get along great. So…on with the interview!

Jessica Rae: This question is for James. I really love those video blogs you’ve been doing, especially the one where you did the tour of your office and you showed us around. I’m wondering what prompted you to choose a video platform for your blog rather than a written one.
James Duff: Oh, well I did a written blog for TV Guide, and the choice wasn’t actually mine. TNT suggested it and sent someone over to do the video and told me what to talk about, basically. I suggested the tour of my office as one of the three entries; because I just loved the way stuff is accumulating in it and it was a fun break from the routine, I thought, but you know the platform was chosen by TNT and I just – I did what I was told, loyally.

Jessica Rae: Well, they’re really great. Are you going to do any more of them?

James Duff: Yes I will. In fact, as soon as they send someone else back over to film it I will be happy to do another set. I think I did all three of those the same day, and I think I could do like you know I could do three or four more for later viewing. Are people liking them? Do you hear people are liking them or…

Jessica Rae: Yes. I mean I like them a lot and I’ve heard some people say like, “Oh, they’re really cool.” We like getting inside your head kind of and seeing what you’re like because you created it.

James Duff: See, G.W., people do like me. And G.W. is like, this is very boring because I know he didn’t talk about me on the blog, but I did, actually. All right.

G.W. Bailey: You better.

James Duff: We will do more blogs.

Jessica Rae: OK, that’s great. And then I have a question for G.W. – I’m not going to leave you out.

G.W. Bailey: Oh, that’s all right.

Jessica Rae: OK. I’m wondering – if you could bring one of your many characters that you’ve acted previously to be interviewed or interrogated by Brenda Lee, which one would you pick?

G.W. Bailey: I think probably, just out of sheer affection, I would love to see two southerners get after it, and that would be a character named Rizzo, Sergeant Rizzo from M.A.S.H…who retired 26, 27 years ago. But I would love for him to get caught doing something down in the bayou and Brenda Lee has to break – has to break him.

Jessica Rae: That would be awesome.

G.W. Bailey and Jennifer Coolidge in Dial M for Provenza

G.W. Bailey: Yes. I think a Georgian and then a Louisiana boy get going after it would be fun.

Jessica Rae: Yes. Do you think she could break them?

G.W. Bailey: Oh, she can do anything she wants to me.

Jessica Rae: This question is for James and G.W. can answer too if you have input. You guys are gone to do some great things on the show in the past four seasons. Are there still some specific large-scale ideas you’re itching to do for the closure that you’re just waiting to do?

James Duff: Well yes. I mean we always come back into the room with you know lost year goals than we left with. I mean each season we want to be better than the season before. And I think because you get to know the characters better on the show, you get a chance – you get an opportunity to swing for the bleachers.

I mean you may not hit it into the bleachers but you get a chance to swing for the bleachers. And next season is all about change. And that’s the motif that we’ll be exploring throughout the summer. And you know changes in relationships, changes in the squad, changes in the – how investigations are conducted.

And what hasn’t changed too. You know and the – just the process of putting together stories that have never been told before and with these characters. That’s a huge challenge in and of itself. And I know G.W. has things he wants to do…

G.W. Bailey: Well I was just – as you were talking I was thinking about it, in 30 I think 36 years I’ve been in the business and one time, a brief moment in time, very brief I kissed Patty Duke. I was playing her husband, we had a little brush of a kiss and a dance that we were doing in our house, and in 36 years that’s the only time I’ve ever been allowed to get close to a woman.

Jessica Rae: Oh.

G.W. Bailey: Yes it’s a pathetic story.

Jessica Rae: Well they better write something in for you.

G.W. Bailey: I would love for Provenza to have a little action.

Jessica Rae: You should, he’s obviously very entertaining.

G.W. Bailey: Of course he should because there are not that many days left.

Jessica Rae: I think his fans would really like that.

G.W. Bailey: I think they would too.

Jessica Rae: And so would G.W.

G.W. Bailey: And so would G.W.

James Duff: He even has a list of people he’d like to have the action with.

G.W. Bailey: That’s right.

James Duff: I’ve been handed a list of acceptable actresses. I’m sure Reese Witherspoon is desperate to come on the show for a love scene with G.W.; we’ll get right on it.

Jessica Rae: You never know until you ask.

G.W. Bailey: That’s right.

James Duff: That’s true.

G.W. Bailey: That’s right.

Jessica Rae: All right, I think that’s it. You know I did have another question. I saw, again this is again a James thing because I was watching these video blogs again, and I saw you were watching clips of the show while you were writing and I was wondering, do you ever listen to music like – and when you’re writing a really heating interrogation scene, is there a certain kind of music that gets in you in the zone to write it?

Brenda Leigh Looks Innocent Here...but is She?!

James Duff: You know I’m one of those people who has to listen to the music before I sit down to write not while I’m writing. And the reason being is music was my first, I guess you would call it my first love, it was the career upon which I had intended to embark, and …

G.W. Bailey: James by the way is a world class, I mean world class pianist.

Jessica Rae: Oh. Wow.

G.W. Bailey: He’s a brilliant, brilliant pianist and musician.

James Duff: And music – well thank you G.W., half my time is spent trying to play as well as I did when I was 15. But the problem for me for music is that it absorbs me completely.

Jessica Rae: Yes.

James Duff: It is – I’m not one of those people who can listen to music and do something else. Like even sometime when I’m driving I just switch it to talk radio because the music distracts me so completely.

Jessica Rae: So would you say that the music kind of dictates the tone of how you’re going to write?

James Duff: No, I try – I write musically, I write with you know I think of writing as a musical act and I think of in fact I think of The Closer as a concerto where you have a soloist with a brilliant orchestra always.

I mean you have Kyra carrying the melody, but you have – and sometimes she has a solo, sometimes the orchestra has a solo, and that’s how they – I mean I see it that way, I feel it that way but I don’t actually listen to music while I write.

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