Wil Wheaton on Leverage

The terribly talented and witty Wil Wheaton (see what I did there – with my oh-so clever alliteration skills?) is a guest-star for the upcoming Leverage episode entitled, “The Two Live Crew Job“. I spoke to him in a conference call on Thursday the 20th about his experience with the Leverage team. I finally think I can be coherent and tell you guys about the call. Because Wheaton’s a fan of The Guild and Felicia Day, I already knew that I liked him before speaking to him. (Okay, and admittedly I do have a bit of a natural fondness for ‘nerdy/geeky’ guys.)

Wil Wheaton’s episode of Leverage The Two Live Crew Job airs on TNT on Wednesday August 26th at 9:00 PM.  I’ve seen the episode already, and it’s a thrill ride of ridiculously epic proportions – the kind you can only expect from Leverage!

Jessica Rae: Hey Wil, it’s great to talk to you. How do you think your character, Chaos, compares with the resident Leverage computer guru, Hardison.

Wil Wheaton: Well, if you ask Chaos he would tell you that Hardison dreams of one day being half as competent and skilled and accomplished as he is. If you asked Hardison, he would tell you that he thinks it’s just adorable that Chaos holds this opinion of himself and that’s part of what makes their relationship so much fun to create. It was really important to me when I was putting this character together, and Aldis and I were rehearsing our scenes, that the audience get the sense that these guys are both at the absolute top of their game.

And in fact, all of the players in this particular episode, in both crews, are convinced that they are the very best at what they do, and are really kind of happy and kind of excited to finally have somebody to go up against that they consider a worthy rival. So when I was working on my scenes and preparing my scenes with Aldis, we made sure that there was this sense of sparring as opposed to a sense of bare knuckle brawling.

Jessica Rae: Well, it was really enjoyable to watch.

Wil Wheaton: I’m so glad that you liked it. It was  as much fun to do those scenes as you think it would be.

Jessica Rae: That’s awesome.

Wil Wheaton: And there’s a ton of stuff, a ton of really funny like Fark-style trash talking that he and I engaged in that we just improvised that didn’t make it into the final cut of the show but I really hope finds its way to a DVD or something like that, because it’s all really, really silly stuff.

Jessica Rae: All right, we’ll look forward to that.  I am wondering something, and this might seem like an obvious question, but I want you to really think about it. Do you think that right now in this current everyday world is the best time to be a geek?

Wil Wheaton: I wrote a column for one of my first columns at Suicide Girls was called “Have the Geek Inherited the Earth?,” and I examined that because I remember growing up and feeling like I was the only kid on my block and in my school that was into Star Trek and you know there were a few kids that were into Dungeons and Dragons but we were at a parochial school so it was something you had to really kind of keep on the down low as they say. I didn’t know anybody else that played the Ghostbusters soundtrack and recreated the entire movie from memory like I did – you know, playing all the different characters and stuff. I was really, I was really a geek. I remember I had this book that was one of those like here’s how computers work, and it was like a pop-up book that I bought at a bookstore.

But I carried the thing with me everywhere I went and pretended that it was a laptop before laptops existed and I’d go to restaurants with my mom and she’d be like what are you doing? I’d be like stop mom, I’m talking to Norad because I had just seen War Games. And back then I felt like I was the only one, and you know I endured the tormenting that we all endure at the playground and in school, and felt like I was alone. If you fast forward to like the last few years, because of the ubiquity of Internet culture and the ability for us to find other people who are like us, it doesn’t feel as lonely and it doesn’t feel as hopeless is it did in the 70s and early 80s.

You know, one of the reasons I love going to science fiction conventions and comic conventions is because I can find other people who are just like me and we are in an environment where not only is it OK to dress up in a costume, but like you want to impress people with how hard you worked to like put the thing together, and that’s awesome. And that sort of thing didn’t really exist before. So I think it’s probably a little bit easier now, especially when you hear that like… if you’re a kid growing up today and you watch Robot Chicken and then you find out that Seth Green who makes it loves the same things you do, it kind of takes the edge off a little bit. And I think that that does sort of like mitigate a little bit what the whole geek experience was like.

I think that with the advent of personal computers and the success of like the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and the Batman reboots and things like that, we are starting to see the creators of mass culture who are not the little players like me and the other guys who do this stuff online… But the really big, like the giant conglomerates in the studios, are realizing that there’s more of us than they thought and we’re now a viable market. So I guess it’s a very long way of saying that it’s probably a little bit easier now than it was  when I was growing up. But I bet you if you were to find some of the kids who are teased today, and some of the kids who are still in school who are trying to get people together to watch Dr. Who or whatever, that they would probably tell you that it sucks and that it’s hard, because I think that’s just kind of, the fires that forge geekdom are stoked by the cool kids, and I think that’s going to be like that forever. And I guess I just hope that it’s getting easier for people now than it was for me when I was a kid.

Jessica Rae: Well I think that it is and I think people, if they read that quote, they’re going to take a little bit of solace in it, so thank you so much for answering and talking today.

Wil Wheaton: Thanks a lot. It’s really super awesome.  I was really excited to do this because I feel like we’re all of the same tribe and it just rules so much. I remember when I started blogging in 2000 and all the like mainstream media and old media and traditional media, whatever you want to call it, and they were all sort of like sneering at us like “how dare you try to come and play on our baseball field. Your gloves are ugly and you’re fat and stink like manure,” and you know we were like, uh you know we’re doing the same thing it’s just in a different medium, but you enjoy that giant wooly mammoth, keeping standing in that tar pit, we’re going to be over here. I just think it’s great that we who started this whole blogging thing, that we’ve carved out our own little section of the world and I’m so excited to come back and be part of this. It’s kind of weird to be on this side of the call because I’m used to being on the other side. So I wanted to thank you guys for taking time out of your day to talk to me and just letting me be part of this, it’s been really awesome.

Wil Wheaton’s Blog – Check it out, my pretties!

The Two Live Crew Job synopsis:

The Leverage team is forced to go head-to-head against another crew of thieves in order to retrieve their clients’ priceless artwork. The other team has a cast of characters that rival the Leverage gang in every department:

Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Stand by Me) plays Chaos, the hacker opposite Aldis Hodge as Alec Haridson.

Griffin Dunne (TNT’s Trust Me) plays Starke, the mastermind who challenges Timothy Hutton’s Nate Ford.

Noa Tisby (Israeli actress/producer who is co-executive producer of In Treatment) is Mikel Dayan, the muscle against Christian Kane as Eliot.

Apollo Robbins (sleight-of-hand advisor on Leverage) plays Apollo, the thief who tries to out-steal Beth Riesgraf’s Parker.

However, it would appear that they are epically wrong. Several fans (including many people who’ve discovered the show since the unjust 2007 series cancellation from The CW) are desperately hoping that there will be a Veronica Mars movie. All it takes is a quick look for #veronicamars and  veronica mars on Twitter to see that there are fans all around the globe who are lending their continual support and adoration for the show.

There is a long-running, concentrated, group effort by Veronica Mars fans called Neptune Rising. They’re not the only group of people who want the Veronica Mars movie, but they’re a powerful and dedicated one that has my personal respect. I recently spoke with three members of the group to find out everything from how you can support a Veronica Mars movie, why the movie would be such a stellar idea, and why it’s never too late to start watching this show. More than that, we got into the rising Veronica Mars presence online, the substantially important Veronica/Keith dynamic, season three’s polarizing affect on viewers, and the sincere attraction of the show from both genders and almost all ages.

The photo collages used in this piece are all by the LiveJournal.com user padme_370. They are grouped together by some of the most prevalent color schemes used in the show which make watching Veronica Mars such a visual treat.

Who runs the Neptune Rising campaign, and when did the group begin?

M (Mark): Neptune Rising officially started on June 17, 2007 after VM was canceled. Four of us on the CW forums put our heads together and came up with the idea for Neptune Rising. We have Chapters in North America, Europe, Africa, Australia and we are working on getting one started in South America. We all believe in the brilliance of Veronica Mars

Does just any TV show that goes off the air deserve to become a movie? What makes Veronica Mars the exception?

J: I would say no, but these days, it sure seems like a lot of them are getting the green light. They’re making a MacGruber (SNL sketch) movie, for frak’s sake! Everything is fair game, apparently– from board games to tv shows to remakes upon remakes… CLUE is being remade, and I can’t imagine that movie without that entire cast (Madeline Kahn, RIP). They’re also remaking one of my childhood favorites, Adventures in Babysitting, apparently with Raven Symone–it just makes my drop seeing some of the movies that get produced these days. Veronica Mars being what it is (quality! intriguing! smart! funny! thrilling!), and the fact that everyone involved in the show seems to be on board, I’d say it deserves a fair shot at getting out of the gate.

Any idea how many people are out there who support a Veronica Mars movie?

M: To be honest I have a hard time telling, we have about 7,000 members on our various sites and we hear from a lot of people that support our efforts and everyone wants the movie but I don’t know what Warner Brothers requires to be able to greenlight the movie.

Do you feel there is renewed fan interest in the project ever since we’ve received word that Rob Thomas and Kristen Bell are on board for the movie? If so, how can you tell?

M: I do think there is more renewed interest, the internet was buzzing when word first came out that there might be a movie and everyone was very excited.

J: The night that Kristen was posting (on Twitter) about how she wants the movie, it became a trending topic within an hour. It was a wild frenzy of tweets and re-tweets… and the buzz just keeps on rolling. People are still interested, and that’s getting more people interested. There’s this whole digital-grassroots thing going, and I don’t see it stopping anytime soon. The fans are rabid, really.

With Kristen Bell’s star shining brighter and brighter, and Veronica Mars having gotten more fans of the years, why do you think Warner Bros doesn’t want to make the movie?

J: Well, of course, there’s the economy right now… but even that doesn’t work as an excuse. People are still going to the movies, maybe now more than in recent years. Maybe it’s knowing that Serenity (the Firefly movie) didn’t do so well on the big screen… who knows. Kristen Bell says WB told her and Rob there wasn’t any “enthusiasm”–so I guess we’ve just got to put on our Neptune Pirates uniforms and keep cheering for the show. As I mentioned earlier, considering some of the movies that DO get green lights, it seems absurd to not give Veronica Mars a chance.

It’s a modern age, and though we don’t want to be slackers – we do want to take advantage of our new technology. Does tweeting for the cause help at all? Who should fans tweet, what should they say, and do you have a Twitter account we can follow for news?

J: Neptune Rising’s twitter account is @NeptuneRising, and Kristen Bell’s is @IMKristenBell. We’ve bombarded several of the Warner Brothers Twitter accounts with Veronica messages, and Warner Brothers Pictures (@wbpictures) responded: “Thanks for all of your Veronica Mars support! We would LOVE to see a movie, but it’s not up to us here. We’ll pass along ur messages though!” So who knows exactly how those messages will be routed, but that’s the brilliance of Twitter. If WB is perusing the internets for “enthusiasm”, searching for Veronica Mars or #VeronicaMars will bring on countless results that they’ll be able to glance at. We’re putting it out there for WB to see, for the cast/crew to see, for friends to see, for strangers to see— and it just keeps on rolling. Talking about it (or tweeting about it) will get others to do the same, and that’s what we want. In this day and age, we all have our presence online, and we can use it to say HEY! WE WANT A VERONICA MARS MOVIE! (Editors Note: Tweet @Warner_Bros & @WarnerBrosEnt and tell them you want a Veronica Mars movie!)

Why do you think a Veronica Mars movie is such a good idea?

M: Because it’s a great show with a great cast. There have been a lot more people introduced to it since it was first canceled, plus it would make a lot of fans happy.

J: Um…because I want to see it! Maybe it’s selfish, but I know I’m not alone in that. I don’t even know how many times I’ve watched the entire series, and I just want to see it keep going… especially with the series finale (final 2 episodes of season 3), it just winds right back up for more and more to unfold. It’s really fascinating, and there are so many layers to these characters. The writing is brilliant, the design (visually) is phenomenal. Everything from the colors to the lighting is just stunning, keeping with a modern detective noir look–the style of it is very engaging. These characters have stories that still need to be told, and I’m pretty sure that I’d go see the movie in theaters at least 10 times, and then I’d watch it another 100+ times on DVD.

Some fans were vocal about not enjoying the third season as much as the previous two. What would you say to these fans as to why they should still support a chance for a movie?

M: I became a fan of the show in the third season and that made me go out and buy the first two seasons. Season one and two were very good but season three still had a lot going for it. What I would say to the fans though is season three had CW executives trying to tweak it and I think a movie would be left up to Rob Thomas who created the show.

J: Ah, yes, season three…. I know a lot of people didn’t like it as much as the first two seasons, but I really dig it for a number of reasons. #1, Veronica goes to college! There are so many more places the stories can go when you take the characters to higher education. #2, New characters. It’s always nice to meet new people and make new friends… or sometimes, new enemies! They explore deeper and darker themes… for instance, the prisoner/guard study is a heck of a lot more interesting than an egg drop for a school project. Plus, it makes Veronica an even stronger role model because she’s pursuing higher education. Plus, Hearst is bigger, darker, more interesting than Neptune High. #3, The new opening titles. More sophisticated, more noir…it’s just groovy. #4, Ed Begley, Jr! Laura San Giacomo! Rider Strong! Chris Lowell! #5, More mystery. Sure, there’s not 1 large season-long mystery, but they do all tie together, and it’s still interesting. I can’t really compare the seasons on a better-or-worse scale, as I love them all, and they’re ALL pretty fracking great.

To possible new fans: Why is Veronica Mars such a good show? Is it ever too late to get on board?

M: It’s never to late, I’m 44 and my parents are in their 60’s and loved the show. I’ve heard from people from their teens all the way to their 70’s, who wanted us to make sure they got more VM. I think the problem was that VM was marketed as a teen show which was a mistake because that kept a lot of people from discovering it  sooner…

J: It’s never too late! Just make sure you start from the very beginning of the series so you can follow everything. It’s not a show where you just watch a random episode here or there… it’s a story that you become a part of, and every chapter is pretty important.

What is the best way for Veronica Mars fans so show their support for the movie? Who do they write to? Can individual letters really make an impact?

M: The best way anyone can help is to help out campaigning. Don’t think that as long as someone else is doing something that you’re not needed and wouldn’t make a difference. Each and every fan does make a difference! When we finally succeed it will be because of the fans banding together and showing Warner Brothers that have the numbers and want to be heard.

J: Well, we’re still waiting to hear back from Kristen Bell as to who exactly we need to write letters to at WB. We’ve been sending letters to Jeff Robinov at Warner Brothers, but if anyone knows of someone else to write, we’re totally game. Until then, we’ll keep talking about it and spreading the word throughout the social networks (Twitter, MySpace, Facebook), message boards, and of course, our friends!

(Editors Note: Make sure to sign the Veronica Mars movie petition that Ausiello started.)

Is there a time when you’ll stop running this campaign?

J: Maybe if Veronica Mars gets picked up as a renewed series or as a movie… though I imagine the community will still exist even if that DOES happen, because we’ll be celebrating!  So, I suppose the answer is that Neptune is Rising indefinitely!

What pair of characters provides the best dynamic on the show, in your opinion?

J: This is a loaded question, for sure! Probably Veronica and her father, Keith. Their dynamic is playful and sharp, and their bond is very strong. After all the turmoil they’ve been through, they’re still there for each other, no matter what. It’s also worth noting the strength of this relationship as a single-parent family, because that’s not always presented in a positive light, especially with a father. Gilmore Girls did a great job of it, but they didn’t go as deep and dark as the Mars family did.

Is there any reason to think that Veronica Mars is a show only targeted for females?

J: No way! There’s something for EVERYONE in Veronica Mars. It’s dark, it’s funny, it’s soapy, it’s romantic, there’s action… and the snark! OH, the snark! Plus, it’s got the whole underdog thing going, and for anyone who’s been through high school, hell, anyone who’s been through LIFE can relate to some of the stuff that happens on this show. One scene in particular that stands out in my mind is from the episode “Hot Dogs” – this awkward loner girl, Mandy, loses her dog and seeks Veronica’s help. When Mandy is being made fun of by some meatheads at school, Veronica steps right up and chews their asses. Immediately after, Mandy says “I can’t believe you did that,” and Veronica responds, “I can’t believe that you didn’t! If you want people to leave you alone, or better yet, treat you with respect, demand it. Make them.” It’s advice that anyone, male or female, can stand to hear.

And although I think Veronica Mars appeals to both genders and all ages, I do think that it’s very important to have a strong role model like Veronica for females, specifically young women, to have. That’s one reason I was SO upset when Veronica was canceled, because the CW picked up “Pussycat Dolls Present” and “Farmer Wants a Wife”– totally throwing out this strong female character who has been through some serious shit, and replacing her with scantily clad snobs fighting to be the next MTV pole dancer. (No offense, Pussycat Dolls… but…really.) You know, not to trash talk other (obviously) female-targeted programming, but of everything I’ve seen, Veronica takes the cake. Though she may be flawed, she’s a strong, smart, driven person that anyone can look up to in some way. You can’t help but root for her.

Can you tell me a little bit about Operation Mars Attacks?

Jackie: The Operation Mars Attacks campaign was about six weeks long, and every week or week and a half we’d send out a package to the WB. All of the packages contained movie tickets and movie posters. The rest of the contents are as follows:

WEEK ONE
-Marshmallows
-Stickers saying “Well, you know what they say. Veronica Mars, she’s a marshmallow.”
-Neptune Rising 2009 calendar
-Printed movie petiton

WEEK TWO
-Twinkies
-Stickers saying “You’re a marshmallow, Veronica Mars! A twinkie!”

WEEK THREE
-Mars Bars
-Stickers saying “Mars Bar for Veronica Mars”

WEEK FOUR
-Snickerdoodles
-Stickers saying “Wait a minute. These are snickerdoodles. You’re the one who’s been making my spirit boxes?”

WEEK FIVE
-Invisible Children merchandise
-Kool-Aid packets
-Stickers saying “Veronica Mars cast and crew support Invisible Children”
-Stickers saying “Drinking the Kool-Aid”

WEEK SIX
(This package was also sent to Rob Thomas, Joel Silver, Ellen DeGeneres, and Craig Ferguson)
-Microwave popcorn
-Candy
-Mini-magazines
-A note saying “There are 3 kinds of people in the world: Those that make things happen, those that watch what happened, and those that wonder what happened. We’ve got everything but the movie. Help us make it happen!”
-Neptune Rising stickers

Important Links?

NeptuneRising’s Twitter
Kristen Bell’s Twitter
Neptune Rising on MySpace
Saveveronicamars.tv
Watch Veronica Mars Online
Kristen Bell excitedly talks Veronica Mars at Comic Con
SofaChip Coverage of Veronica Mars
Read what Kristen Bell Tweeted about the Veronica Mars Movie
Padme_370 on LiveJournal
Print out your own faux Veronica Mars movie tickets to send!
Amanda Seyfried’s Twitter
Michael Muhney’s Twitter

I’ve designed this post to help show the support for the movie. So leave your (positive) impassioned comments to this post if you’d like to say something. I happen to always love chatting to Veronica Mars fans (or TV fans in general), and the more the fans that speak out anywhere – the better.

Now it’s up to you to help stumble this post, link this post, e-mail, tweet the link – you get the idea. Send it to possible new fans! Show it to anyone you know involved with Warner Bros! The idea is to spread the word and show that enthusiasm. We have it. You know we do. Deep down, we’re all marshmallows.

Montage of Veronica Mars being awesome:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Kristen Bell talking about the Veronica Mars movie at Comic Con:

Click here to view the embedded video.

As always: You can find me on twitter whenever you like. Tell me dirty jokes! Or just send links to cat macros. I’m down for whatever. If you follow me (and you’re not a spambot) I’ll certainly follow you back.

BIG THANKS: The people who participate in Neptune Rising, especially Mark, Jason and Jackie. The entire cast and crew of Veronica Mars, especially Rob Thomas and also the phenomenal continually rising star, Kristen Bell, for never being quiet about her own enthusiasm for Veronica Mars (I believe lesser actresses would have turned a blind eye and simply moved along). Ausiello for his good taste. The supportive fans! You, who coaxed your little sister and dad to watch this show, who encourage your friends to buy the DVDs, who make creative fan artwork, who have memorized the lyrics to the Veronica Mars theme song, who make fan videos, who support and follow the people you were introduced to by the show (i.e. Michael Muhney, Alona Tal, Jason Dohring, Amanda Seyfried), who write fanfic, who would watch the movie in theaters or on the tiniest black and white television you could find, who have a firm belief in quality. Thank you to all of those who have collectively contributed to the Veronica Mars empire of awesomeness. A long time ago, we used to be friends. But to be honest, I’ve never stopped caring.

Warner Bros? We’re standing by to thank you for making the movie. You’ve seen the support, loyalty, and dedication we can offer. The next move is yours.

Don’t forget to subscribe to SofaChip! It’ll be the best thing you do with a sofa all day! Come on, let’s be TV pals! I’m addicted to tons of TV shows (we’re bound to have some in common), so let’s share our thoughts and have DVD marathons. I might even braid you a friendship bracelet.

Jessica Rae: In The Tap-Out Job trailer, we see Eliot being a pro and showing Sophie about wrestling, using Hardison and Parker as sort of puppets. Was there a lot of laughter going on when you guys were trying to film that because you look really straight-faced? Tell us about that.

Christian Kane: So much it was ridiculous, man. It really was ridiculous. I mean we were just – we laughed the whole scene. I mean it was – it was – it was – you’re never going to see… They should – they should get the behind-the-scenes stuff that’s never in because the stuff we do is just like unbelievable. We’re always cracking up. And it was really hard to shoot that scene. I think it actually put us behind on the day because we were laughing so hard and because you know Aldis kept doing these, like, juke and you know Muhammad Ali moves and stuff like that. And I was – and I had to wait to tell Parker to hit him because I was, like, I had to wait for him to settle down because you know I choreographed this whole thing with Beth.

And I choreograph a lot of the fights, and so this was – this was one that I was in on. And I was, like – I was, like, “Beth you know you can’t hit him, so you’ve got to hit him you know by the face because obviously we’re not really punching people. But he kept moving so much that I was, like, “You’ve got to wait, you’ve got to wait,” and so then, I’m, like, “Now, now punch him.” And it was – it was just really, really funny. And Tim pretends not to watch, but Tim was watching the whole time, and we were – we were cracking up. It’s a really funny scene.

Jessica Rae: Yes, I think fans are really going to enjoy seeing that play out the whole way. Do you have another favorite scene from the episode “The Tap Out Job”?

Photos by Erik Heinila

Christian Kane: Yes, I have a really good – I have a – you know one of my favorite and Dean Devlin has gone – has gone on record in saying that his ((inaudible)) probably his favorite of – you know of the season. At the very end when I’m talking to Gina, and Gina you know is from England and you know she’s a tough girl.

Jessica Rae: Yes.

Christian Kane: But she doesn’t understand the mentality of a fighter, and when she walks up to the ring and she’s talking to me and she doesn’t understand why I’m doing this and it’s really not for personal gratification. It’s just because you know Eliot has to fight. And there’s a really, really close, close moment there with me and Gina which you’ve never seen before because we don’t have that much stuff together that I absolutely love. And it’s probably when I’m in the ring and she comes in towards the end and says, “You know you don’t need to do this,” it may be – it’s probably my favorite scene of the whole – of the whole – this far of the entire show.

Jessica Rae: Oh, that’s powerful. And do you hope something happens with Eliot’s love life in season two? Maybe we’ll see Aimee?

Christian Kane: You know I think that – I think that Eliot’s a little bit you know – Eliot was – doesn’t have a heart, and the only way he really does is because Nate’s given him one now because he’s helping people. So, I think that I don’t know to be honest with you. I wouldn’t mind seeing something that. I don’t know if it’ll work for the character. It would be – it would have to be something that John Rogers would have to write because it’s very, very tricky. Tricky to deal with Eliot being you know – he thinks he’s 007 and you know it’s – you know there’s a lot of girls and stuff like that. But it would be very interesting to see. I would love to see it. It’s just – it’s – it’s such a tricky, tricky thing to write you know because then he actually has to start caring about something and I think that you know that’s the worst thing in the world is if he starts you know thinking with his heart instead of his fists. He could find himself in trouble.

Make sure to tune into Leverage on Wednesdays at 9:00 Eastern Standard Time on TNT. The episode that airs next Wednesday (July 22nd) is also the day that Kane’s single will be released.

Because Vartan is so nice (and of course – wants to promote HawthoRNe), he took part in a conference call the other day. I was lucky enough to be a part of this call! We talked about personal risks, his character Dr. Tom Wakefield, Demoted, and the atmosphere on HathoRNe.

Generous with his answers, easy to laugh, and ready to talk all things HawthoRNe…What more could you want? Oh, probably to hear what HE had to say, huh? Well, read on!

“We’ve definitely developed the chemistry between those two characters…”

Jessica Rae: From reading some of your past interviews it seems like you have a strong natural sense of humor which is great, but many of your past characters have seemed really serious. (He totally laughed at this, I want to point that out!) So are you happier to play a character with a more playful side now?

Michael Vartan: Yes, absolutely. I did a – I shot a comedy last year in Detroit called Demoted that hopefully will come out one day. That was probably the most fun, just share fun I’ve ever have in the business because you just spend the whole time laughing and making each other laugh and making fun of one another and it’s a really fun atmosphere.

My character in HawthoRNe obviously is a doctor; he’s head of surgery so there is a serious side to him. But we’re, I think, just wrapping up episode 6 right now. We’ve definitely developed the chemistry between those two characters and they joke around a lot more than they do in the pilot or even in the first couple of episodes so that’s coming along and that definitely is more fun because everyone wants to have a good laugh once in a while.

“…everyone wants to have a good laugh once in a while.”

“Yes. I’m a pansy. I’m not embarrassed to say it.”

Jessica Rae: Your character on HawthoRNe doesn’t seem like the biggest risk taker, do you relate to that aspect of him?

Michael Vartan: Yes. I’m a pansy. I’m not embarrassed to say it. The thing that makes the show interesting to me is she is the ultimate risk taker. She’s willing to break all of the rules to do what she needs to do to help her patients. Whereas my character really is by the book and he hates breaking rules. So that’s why they fight all of the time and have this fun sort of love/hate relationship where they work.

But in personal life I wouldn’t say I’m a big risk taker. No. I like things to be planned out. I’m not a huge fan of surprises. I like to know where I’m going, who’s going to be there, what time we’re going to get there. I do relate to good old Tom.

Jessica Rae: Yes. Would you tell us the last risky decision you did make?

Michael Vartan: The last risky decision? Well, God, that’s a good question.

Jessica Rae: It can be embarrassing !

“Dude. I need to spice it up a little.”

Michael Vartan: Oh God, am I that boring? I’m just realizing, is your life that dull. Dude. I need to spice it up a little. I can’t remember, honestly. I’m not trying to avoid the question at all. I just can’t remember. I think any time you get a job and you accept a job in my line of work is a risk because you never know if it’s going to be successful or not. So I mean HawthoRNe certainly wasn’t a risk. I felt very comfortable coming into this because of Jada and the writing. But yes, I’m sorry I’ve got no risk for you.

You can read more from this Michael Vartan conference call with: (Note that these are not direct links to their parts of the call, just the other sites involved)

Jim Halterman at Progressive Television (Who asked an excellent question about working for cable TV vs. broadcast TV.)

Daniel Fienberg at HitFix.com

Kristyn Clarke at PopCultureMadness.com

Delaina Dixon at DelainaDixon.com (Who dug into the romance factor! Which yes, Vartan says is pretty inevitable! Christina and Doctor Wakefield will probably be an item, but not anytime soon.)

Carrie Borzillo at E Online (Who learned there’s no word on whether Vartan’s character will have any other romances beside Christina.)

Joel Amos with Sheknows.com

Now, don’t you dare forget to tune into HawthoRNe on June 16 for the series premiere on TNT! You can read my advance review of the HawthoRNe pilot right now!

>>> Have you subscribed to SofaChip yet? I don’t know why you’d wait any longer! (There’s a link right on the main page to do so.) There’s tons of super-amazing TV show-related content, so look around. And, I’m really modest so it’s amazingly hard for me to admit that!

Follow SofaChip on Twitter! You’ll get a follow in return, but most importantly – fun TV babble!

JuJu Chan agreed to talk with me about the exciting LUMINA project. Read on below for our interview!

Lumina

SofaChip (SC): You act, model, dance and sing – making me wonder if you’re secretly the Energizer bunny (who’s always on the go)! At what age did you start engaging in your creative pursuits?

JuJu Chan (J): Yes! I am an Energizer bunny LoL! All of my friends said I never stop, always doing everything, and having so much energy in pursuing all passions. I started my creative pursuits when I was three years old. My parents sent me to ballet school to practice ballet, and music school to learn piano and vocal. I had my first dance, singing, and piano performances when I was 4 years old. I’ve always loved being on stage, and my goal is always to be a successful performing artist.  I started acting in high school in school dramas and plays. My first major stage drama role was in high school, then I started acting in some film and TV projects in Hong Kong and New York. I’ve always loved being on camera no matter if it’s still or video. I started modeling since I was sixteen modeling for fashion and beauty magazines, commercial ads, and fashion shows.

Gorgeous anywhere and everywhere.

SC: How did you get attached to the LUMINA web series project? What was most appealing to you about the story?

J: I met my producer/writer/director, Jen Thym, in July 2008. She was a gaming friend of my friend in New York, and we clicked from the start.  Jen talked to me about the LUMINA project on our first meeting, and showed me the first script. I was very interested in her story, and I very interested in taking the role of Lumina. I still remembered we had a three hours meeting that day, talking about the 1st version of the LUMINA project, getting to know each other, and did some cold reading of the script.  After the first meeting, we stayed attached to the project through its various incarnations and story revisions.

There were a lot of things that appeal to me about the story… LUMINA is a romantic story yet it’s dark; you can feel the romance between the two lovers living in two worlds separated by a piece of glass, and discover the unfortunate truth that there’s no way for them to really be together… or maybe there’s a way that no one knows…  The story is very mysterious, and it always amazes me by seeing the use of all different kinds of reflective surfaces to present the two sides of the world in the story. LUMINA is definitely a story that requires a lot of thought and an amazing crew to make it happen.

True love?

SC: Your character, Lumina Wong, has a strong belief in a fairy tale type of love. Do you share a similar outlook? If you were Lumina’s friend, would you encourage her romantic ideals?

J: I am a very strong believer in the fairy tale type of love and I am still waiting for my fairy tale…haha…  I think what a fairy tale love means is to believe in fate and to never give up on your love. I do believe in fate, I don’t mind meeting a man from another world, from the reflective surface, if I do meet him, that’s fate. Hey! How often will things happen like this? I would definitely encourage Lumina’s romantic ideals. Follow your heart, and believe in fate, Lumina!

JuJu, photographed by Michael Jeong

SC: LUMINIA was shot in twelve days. Was it a hectic process? Did you guys manage to sleep?

J: Ya. We had a crazy schedule, haha… I still remember call time for the first day was 4:30am, the city was still dark while we were setting up. The twelve days schedule was very intense, because we were shooting almost every single day. The longest day was almost 20 hours of filming and we’ve got 2-3 hours of sleep before the next day of filming. However, we don’t really feel tired during the twelve days of filming, we all enjoyed working together and filming LUMINA so much that we really don’t mind working non-stop.

Cast and crew

SC: We don’t want any major spoilers (we’re patient, honest!), and we know you can’t give us them anyway – but can you tell us a bit about one of the scenes you most enjoying filming for LUMINA?

J: Of coz!!! There are so many scenes I love and I had so much fun filming LUMINA. One of them is the scene where I was taking to Ryder in a taxi. This is a very interesting and romantic scene, where you will see Ryder in the taxi window reflection and Lumina inside the taxi leaning against the window with the beautiful evening Hong Kong street lights outside the taxi window. Though Ryder doesn’t appear inside the taxi but in the reflection, we actually shot the scene with two of us inside the taxi. How? You can try to figure it out when you watch the episode. *wink *

JuJu Chan on the LUMINA set - photo by Bettina Enigl

SC: Your blog shows pictures of your absolutely gorgeous apartment, and it contains lots and lots of mirrors. Mirrors play a huge role in LUMINA. Have you always loved the decorative aspect of mirrors, or did you feel especially influenced by the series when designing your place?

J: Thanks for the comments on my apartment J. It’s my 1st interior design project for myself. And you are right, LUMINA has influenced me in designing my place. I started to research on different mirror designs and usages of mirrors in apartment design. I renovated my apartment few months after shooting LUMINA. I really love my apartment with all the mirrors.  It makes my apartment look a lot more spacious, and they are very beautiful decorations. Mirrors are also very useful for me to practice my acting, dance and modeling poses and walk at home =D

Behind the scenes!

SC: What are you most excited for as your friends, family, and fans begin their journey into watching the LUMINA web series? Is there anything in particular you think we should keep in mind as we watch? (Like the gorgeousness that is Hong Kong?)

J: LUMINA is a very exciting project, I am sure my friends, family, and fans will be very excited to see this new Asian American production (our producer/writer/director Jen Thym as well as the main characters are mostly Asian American and Asian-Canadian), and will be amazed by how many reflections there are once they start looking for them in the series.

The gorgeous scenery of Hong Kong is definitely one of the particular things that everyone should keep in mind as they watch. We shot all over Hong Kong, and we also looked for the stranger corners, the bits of Hong Kong that you don’t always see in Hollywood films. Besides, LUMINA was shot on the indie filmmaker’s dream camera, the RED One, it features an intricately layered story, exciting cinematography, and spectacular Hong Kong backdrops, and shows again that indie productions can be a serious contender in the web series field. 

SC: I love to know what other TV shows or web series people are into, and recommendations are always more than welcome. So, spill it JuJu! What do you love to watch?

J: I love all kinds of shows and series from sitcom to layered story to romantic story to reality shows to science fiction series…

Here is my top 10 list of shows: 24, Lost, Heroes, CSI Miami, South Park, Friends, Seinfeld, The Amazing Race, The Guild, and Full House (Korean).

JuJu Chan behind the scenes on LUMINA

The trailer for LUMINA the Web Series:

JuJu Chan’s Blog (She’s so fun and sweet, I love all of the pictures she shares.)

The Official Site for LUMINA (Wonderfully expansive and full of goodies!)

Watch the LUMINA trailer in HD (Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Should I say it again? Gorgeous.)

Don’t forget to subscribe to or follow the Lumina Series YouTube channel!

SofaChip (SC): I read you don’t consider yourself too computer-savvy, but have now you learned any cool tech tricks, or used any neat gadgets that you can use in your real life?

Aldis Hodge (AH): I’m still pretty basic on the keys. I learned how to hack a username password, but that’s about it. Maybe I should have my pop show me a thing or two because he actually builds computers for a living.

SC: Do you think it plays to your advantage to be playing a character who is so unlike who you actually are?

AH: Definitely – I enjoy acting so much because I get to step outside of my crazy head for a minute. And I’ve learned that life is about soaking up experiences and foreign knowledge in order to gain access to as much as this world has to offer while I’m here. Every character I play opens up a new universe to me.

SC: Which character on Leverage has skill sets that you would steal if you could?

AH: Definitely my character. If I could do what Alec does in order to get by and help a few people along the way I would be set. It’s not exactly the right thing to do, but if I could hack my way into a large deposit of dirty drug money and use it to shave off poverty or clean up a few schools and put to rest a few black market trades I’d be a happy camper. Besides, computers are a huge part of the world’s economic and logistic social circle – you command that knowledge and you’ll never feel out of touch.

SC: Over the 13 episodes you’ve filmed, how do you think Hardison has changed?

AH: Hardison learns the value within people through teamwork – I think he matures as a person and as a thief along the way as well… I’ll leave it at that because I don’t want to give away any spoilers. If you follow us throughout the season you’ll see what I mean.

SC: Did you audition for any other characters on Leverage?

I tried to audition for the character “Parker”, but they said I wasn’t right for the role – I didn’t possess a certain… elegance (I’m kidding of course). No actually. I was stuck with Alec from day one and I plan on being stuck with him for many seasons to come.

SC: What is your favorite part of the episode “The Wedding Job” that will air next Tuesday night?

AH: Probably my outfit – It’s a little loud. I would never take a chance on colors like those in real life, but for the “t.v. world” it’s not even a question. Shooting this series, especially this episode was like being at a party and, hey, you have to have fun at a party right?

SC: I know it’s hard to pick, but what would you say has been your favorite episode so far?

AH: I honestly can’t say yet. Every one of them is so different that I have favorite things about all of them. Tell you what, stay tuned for the rest of the season then let’s talk again and you tell me your favorite episode. Maybe I’ll have an answer for you then.

Read the SofaChip Advance Review of the Leverage episode The Mile-High Job (Pics!)

Watch episodes of Leverage for free, online at TNT.TV

Subscribe to SofaChip today, it’ll be the best thing you do with a sofa all day!

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.

From FeliciaDay.com

Between Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, and The Guild I’ve become a substantially big fan of Felicia Day. She’s one of those fancy triple threats – she writes (and creates), she sings (and dances – er, did you see her doing DDR?), she acts (and kicks ass on screen), and hey – she’s friendly, relatable AND pretty! Wait! I guess she’s more of a ‘threat’ than we thought… Everybody, get ready! Felicia Day is about to take over the entire known universe (and their dominant moons).

Before ascending her mile-high throne embedded with sea urchins and diamonds, the witty and welcoming queen happily talked with me about The Guild, geeks, and hair trends. Read on!

SofaChip (SC): Let’s talk writing process! Do you have a certain way you tend to write? I.E.* Specific music, jotting ideas or jokes on tattered restaurant napkins, an organized spiral notebook of thoughts, text messages sent while watching movies?

Felicia Day (FD): I definitely am not as organized as I could be. When starting a project, I like to have a few weeks to just let it muse around in my head a lot. I don’t work well under pressure. I do carry a notebook everywhere I go, and when a phrase or idea or character line pops into my head, I try to write it down immediately, because if I don’t, and forget it, the trauma is too much to live with. Then, when I’m ready to sit down and get into the guts of it, I sort my closet by color, LOL, and then when I can stall no more, I compile everything on one piece of paper, and use that to make storylines, lay them out in logical order, make sure everyone has something to do, etc. That outlining part is the most painful, because sometimes I have to write a lot of bad stuff off the top of my head to get to a place where I’m happy. Sometimes I get so bogged down in the outlining stage that the only thing to do is start writing dialogue, see if I can get my characters talking without my brain working, so to speak. We don’t credit our subconscious enough when creating. Bottom line, I write a lot and then rewrite and cut a LOT more. Best lesson I ever heard, you have to write bad to write good. So true.

SC: Are the characters in The Guild progressing and growing as you’d initially planned, or have the concepts snatched up lives of their own? Can you give us an example for one of the characters and how you’d envisioned them compared to where they are now?

Felicia Day Pleads Not Guilty @ FeliciaDay.com

FD: I’d say the characters and their attitudes are VERY consistent with what I initially envisioned. I think my greatest strength is creating characters and giving them a clear point of view, as each of the Guildies seems to have in my head. Six characters in a scene is very tricky to balance for a newbie writer such as myself, but they have such clear voices, it’s hard NOT to hear how Tink will slam on someone or how blurty Codex will get under pressure. Whenever I get stuck on plot or structure, going back to “what would the character REALLY DO” and imagining myself as them gets me out of a lot of traps that I might have forced on them intellectually. Actors bring a lot to the table, especially actors with improv backgrounds, like Sandeep (Zaboo) and Jeff (Vork). They’re always adding lines here and there that send me a curve and make me laugh hysterically on set. Another funny thing is that Dena, Bladezz’ sister, was supposed to be late 20’s and really slutty when I wrote her in Season 1, but when I met Tara (Bladezz’ real-life sister) I thought she was so unique and so special that I rewrote the character for her. I also worked her into Season 2 in a scene in episode 6 because she makes me laugh so much.

SC: Geek. What was once a negative term is now one people can claim with pride! What are the coolest and most important positives that you see for our Geek generation in 2009?

Giving fans smiles at the San Diego 08 Comic Con! From BobbyProm's Flickr

FD: As far as pop culture goes, I see a lot of TV shows adding geek characters to their rosters, and shows like Chuck and Big Bang becoming very popular despite having some strong geek roots. Also, Hollywood has morphed into a “let’s adapt a comic book” landscape, where geeks clearly rule. But clearly, the revolution is in the internet. I think the growing power of online interaction is creating a revolution in where people get content, consume it, share it. Geeks own the internet, so naturally the power is shifting, muhahahaa…oh sorry, my evil laugh escaped.

SC: I gotta tell you, I think hot rollers are just fine to use! They’re much easier to put in your hair than using a curling iron. (Readers: that’s a Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog audio commentary reference, go buy the DVD already!) I notice hair, and I really like when yours has a bit of curl! Do you have a favorite way for your hair to be? (Straight, ponytail, mohawk, etc?)

FD: I love my hair to be really really short, but unfortunately, Hollywood doesn’t dig short-haired chicks, so I grew it out (guys seem to like it long too, whatever ) I do like having the slight curl of a hot rolled head (best way to get it, take THAT hair lady, hehe) but I JUST got a hair cut with rock n’ roll layers and to be honest, it looks hella hot.

SC: I’m a loyal Buffy fan (Buffy!Geek) to the absolute core and am hoping people tune into Joss’s Dollhouse this winter. Since I have you ‘here’, I really want to ask – do you have a favorite Buffy season besides the one you were in?

FD: I don’t have a favorite, because I look at the whole creation at once, all the seasons combined from a total fangirl POV, and say often to myself, “How did you get so lucky to work with Joss TWICE?!” Buffy is amazing girl-empowered seminal work. I should be so lucky I get to kick people in the face again on-screen hehe.

SC: *Vork-inspired typing, dude! I…never say ‘dude’. Ahem.

Links to Love:

Watch Season One and Season Two of The Guild on MSN Video

Follow Felicia Day days’ on Twitter – Always a fun read!

Felicia Day’s Official Website

Check out pictures from the WatchTheGuild Flickr account

Did you catch SofaChip’s interview with Tinkerballa aka Amy Okuda?

What did I learn from talking to McCormack and Cavanagh? Well, that whole quote about not touching your idols ’cause the gilt comes off in your hands? So a lie! They were outstandingly hilarious and I adore them even more than ever. I don’t know if it’ll be weird (if not just cliche) to say that these two have ‘great chemistry’ together…but they really do. It’s super-wonderful-and-patented-Manly-Chemistry. (You can buy it in stores, but it’s usually out of stock.)

I don’t want you to be lost while reading the interview,  so to sum up the premise of the show – it’s about two best friends who work at an advertising agency. I’m admittedly very picky about what TV shows I will watch consistently. However, I’m already positive that Trust Me is going to be on my ‘must-watch’ list. Read on to see who quoted Rocky, what prank has already been pulled on set against Monica Potter, and you know – other cool stuff like Tom Cavanagh saying one of my questions was really good. *Poses poshly* What? No, that isn’t going to my head ! I ALWAYS wear a tiara and feather boa when I write! Now, please kindly do return my champagne flute, I had ‘Tom Luvs Jessica’ written on the side with rhinestones.

—

Jessica Rae: It’s so nice to talk to you both. Sounds like you’re having a lot of fun both working hard. I’m wondering if you could both talk a little bit about your favorite off camera moment or incident while you filmed the first couple of episodes.

Eric McCormack: Off camera. Off the top of my head, what I like, we go – every scene that we do we rehearse first. We go into rehearsal and it’s a different thing for everybody.

Every crew member is there looking at their own department. But we’re there not just to figure out where we’re going to stand to say the lines but we have naturally come into everything looking for what else we can do.

Tom comes in with ideas that had never occurred to me that are just a funny way to start, a funny place to sit, a funny – whatever it is, it’s just something else to add to the great writing.

And I think that’s – I don’t have any one particular – well, there was one the other day. It’s a funny scene; it’s not a very good story. But it’s just a matter of we could just do it as written or we could discover some little things. And my favorite off camera moment are the ones where we invent for the camera and the people will never really know the process that we did to come up with them.

Tom Cavanagh: That was a really good long, boring answer.

Jessica Rae: Yeah. You enjoy the process. Sorry. (Editors note: TECHNICALLY, this really and truly is what I said. But I used a TONE that I think made it kinda funny – not rude.  I just wanted to note that… Oh! Also, I was just trying to not say much. Oops. Transcript technology is out to get me!)

Tom Cavanagh: I was doing a scene with Monica Potter and I poured salt in her beer and she had to drink the beer in the scene. Is that anything?

Jessica Rae: That’s great.

Tom Cavanagh: Cut to the end of the scene and they yelled cut and the first words out of her mouth were, “You bitch.”

Jessica Rae: And I’m going to throw a little twist for you because I know you picked the characters that you play because you like them. But what are your favorite aspects of each other’s characters on Trust Me?

Tom Cavanagh: That’s a good question. You know that line from the classic Sylvester Stallone vehicle Rocky? There’s a line that’s like, “She’s got gas. I’ve got gas. Together we feel gas.”

That’s one of the things that – I don’t know if you know the line but that’s one of the things that I love about the relationship we have together. Like truthfully we do have gas, you know? I siphon some maturity and presence and perspective off his and he gets to live on a high wire a lot off my character.

And not only is it a good thing for the personal but for the professional side of things like necessarily to survive in the cutthroat world of advertising you need to have that kind of symbiosis. You need to be able to react and fill each other gaps and be able to know where the other person is going because you need to come up with a multi-million campaign tagline by 4:00pm.

So you need to be working with somebody that you understand, that you get and that shares your sensibility. So that’s one of the things that I like about the two guys together.

Eric McCormack: Yes. And I like sometimes as Mason, I like sitting back and watching this guy bounce off the walls. I mean it’s what I, Eric, like watching Tom do it and I think Mason likes watching Conner do it.

There is – my wife said one day, we were talking about a stupid friend of ours that is just high strung. She said, “I love being around people like that. I love that because it’s so much energy. You wonder how do they do it? It’s exhausting.”

But you admire it too. Like comedians that are always on or something, you can get annoyed but you can also just admire the sheer non-stop-ness of it. And when we’re on set and Tom is Conner, it pretty much never stops.

Tom Cavanagh: It’s a lot of non-stop-ness.

You can read more with McCormack and Cavanagh over at PopCultureMadness.

I really wanna know: Which character do you think your favorite will be? (Responsible and snarky Mason, or playful and laid-back Conner?)

30 Rock Online Webisode Review – B

The Outburst part 2 is also ready to view! To summarize: Angela never gossips. Kevin keeps bathroom doors open at inappropriate times. Toby’s voice is sad. There’s a bounty out for info? YES. Oscar quotes Jerry Maguire? YES. Kevin never took acting classes. Who knows!?

The Office Webisode Review: A+