And lots of sex. - The Hollywood Reporter

Transcription

special advertising supplement
june 2013
in tune
New coaches Shakira and
Usher keep The Voice
hitting all the right notes
how to make
a killing
Kevin Williamson,
Kevin Bacon and
James Purefoy
create a Following
THE REVOLUTION
IS TELEVISED
How Eric Kripke and
J.J. Abrams took charge
when the lights went out
Style! Comedy! Success! And lots of sex.
THE BIG BANG THEORY
Unraveling the mystery of
TV’s smartest comedy
“ Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs...
are perfect together.”
— People
table of contents
JUNE 2013
10
THE WORD
SUBURGATORY
How a suburban sitcom became a go-to
destination for TV’s top comics ........................ 3
THE VOICE America’s #1 singing competition
show welcomes two new coaches ................... 4
THE BACHELOR 25 seasons of proposals,
betrayals and, of course, the most dramatic
rose ceremony — ever ...................................... 5
"I don’t
think we’ve
ever cast
anyone
quicker…”
SOCIAL MEDIA MVPs
Shows to Tweet about .....................................6
5 QUESTIONS
Talent and producers sound off .......................6
CHUCK LORRE, AUTHOR
They’ve been talked about for years — now
Chuck Lorre’s original vanity cards have been
collected in one very charitable book ..............6
—GREG BERLANTI
ON ARROw STAR
STEPHEN AMELL
SCENE & HEARD
SPANNING THE GLOBE Arrow and Revolution
go to London; the world comes to L.A. ............ 8
THE INDUSTRY
GREG BERLANTI Get inside the mind of one
of TV’s most prolific writer/producers ........... 10
STYLE
TV’S TOP FASHION TRENDSETTERS
The costume designers of The Carries Diaries,
Pretty Little Liars and 2 Broke Girls talk styling for
TV and developing an iconic look ................... 12
FEATURES
AN ORAL HISTORY OF THE BIG BANG THEORY
The full, untold story of how a sitcom about
theoretical physicists became network TV’s
#1 entertainment series...................................14
18
Kevin Bacon explores
the dark places in
The Following
DRAMA CLUB
Getting serious with Kevin Bacon, Jim Caviezel,
Michael Cudlitz, Giancarlo Esposito, Elizabeth
Mitchell and Sigourney Weaver ......................18
FUNNY BUSINESS Cracking up with Beth
Behrs, Jon Cryer, Johnny Galecki, Cheryl Hines,
Eden Sher and Reno Wilson ........................... 22
KILLS AND THRILLS Kevin Bacon and James
Purefoy talk The Following and stalking each
other in TV’s creepiest drama ........................ 26
REVOLUTION ILLUMINATED How Eric Kripke
and J.J. Abrams turned up the heat by turning
off the power in this post-apocalyptic drama . 28
GETTING VISUAL
Trade secrets revealed from Person of Interest,
Arrow and Nikita VFX experts ........................30
ANIMATION ROUNDTABLE
Animation icons attempt a conversation … and
quickly get distracted ..................................... 31
Elizabeth Mitchell
opens up about
fighting a Revolution
26
BACK PAGE
LARRY HAGMAN Dallas stars Patrick Duffy and
Linda Gray offer a salute to their longtime friend
and costar ..................................................... 32
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT INC., UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT | JUNE 2013 | 1
“ NBC’s singing competition hit is
doing something that other reality shows
only wish they could pull off...”
— Entertainment Weekly
the WORD
THE VOICE
NEW SEASON
NEW TEAM p.4
THE BACHELOR
An InsIdeR’s Look At the tv IndustRy
BY THE
NUMBERS p.5
GETTING SOCIAL
CHUCK LORRE'S
NEW BOOK p.6
Destination
Laugh Lines
A few favorite zingers from
TV's quippiest sitcom
How the subdivision
sitcom became a
mecca for TV comics
Tessa alTman:
"Don't you think it's
time you hung up those
mom jeans and went
back to being a dad?"
By Craig Tomashoff
I
T ISN’T LIvE. IT ISN’T TAPEd
in New York City. And it airs on
Wednesdays. Still, it’s easy to
confuse Suburgatory with a certain late-night sketch comedy show.
In its first two seasons, the sitcom
about a big city father (Jeremy
Sisto) and daughter (Jane Levy) who
move to the suburbs has seen more
Saturday Night Live alumni come
and go than Studio 8H. Ana Gasteyer,
Chris Parnell, Rachel dratch, Jay
Mohr and Tim Meadows have all
made appearances, as well as other
well-known comics from other latenight venues, like Gillian vigman
(MADtv) and Malin Akerman (Adult
Swim’s Childrens Hospital).
“As you create these episodes and
guest roles crop up, you go out to
the people who are the ones who’ve
always made you laugh,” says executive producer Emily Kapnek. “And
we’re very ambitious on that front.
I grew up watching SNL, and these
guys are a hugely talented bunch, so
SUBURGATORY
Midseason ABC
www.abc.com/suburgatory
Twitter:
• suburgatory: @suburgatoryabc
• Jeremy sisto: @Jeremysisto
• ana Gasteyer: @anagasteyer
• carly chaikin: @carlychaikin
• rex lee: @rexlee_
• alan Tudyk: @alan_tudyk
• emily Kapnek: @emilykapnek
Dallas royce:
“Let's get involved,
Moms. Without P
we're just T and A."
sheila shay, when Dallas
inTerrupTs banD pracTice:
"George, tell your piece
to hit it. We have a
no-Yoko policy.”
L–R: Jane Levy, Jeremy Sisto, Cheryl Hines,
Carly Chaikin in Suburgatory
getting them was an enticing thing.”
It all began with Ana Gasteyer,
who was cast as the wacky sitcom
neighbor in the pilot. Gasteyer only
had a couple of lines but Kapnek
promised the part would grow into
“more than just the person saying,
‘Yoo hoo! Neighbor!’” Sure enough,
after ABC ordered the first season,
Gasteyer’s role grew so big, she
needed a husband. Enter Chris
Parnell, who Gasteyer knew from her
Groundlings days. “Ana called me to
say, ‘You’re going to get a call about
this part that is really good and really
funny, and it’d be great if you could
do it,’” recalls Parnell. “She and I have
been playing different versions of an
uptight couple for a long, long time.
So now we’re old enough to play
them for real.”
Tim Meadows came aboard after
Kapnek sent a note promising that “I
wouldn’t do any Ladies’ Man impressions,” and then others followed.
Says Parnell, “The word is out that
these particular guys have done it so
maybe we should do it.” Kapnek is
keeping her fingers crossed the trend
will continue.
“The more we build our reputation
and bring in great comedic talent
and write great episodes, I hope that
will bring in more people we want.”
Tessa alTman:
"If you could have
dinner with any
famous person,
living or dead,
who would it be?"
ryan shay:
"Scarlettj
Johansson…
Dead."
AMERICA'S FUNNIEST NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH
RACHEL DRATCH
SNL alum
ANA GASTEYER
SNL alum
TIM MEADOWS
SNL alum
JAY MOHR
SNL alum
CHRIS PARNELL
SNL alum
GILLIAN VIGMAN
MADtv alum
Jane Levy
plays Tessa
Altman in
Suburgatory
Month 00-22
the WORD
Now in its fourth
season, The Voice is
still loud and clear
By Craig Tomashoff
(L-R) Adam Levine, Blake Shelton,
Shakira and Usher
Perfect Harmony
New coaches keep
The Voice at #1
By Craig Tomashoff
B
lake Shelton and
adam levine were nervous
about the future of The
Voice. With fellow coaches
Christina aguilera and Ceelo Green
taking a leave of absence from the
show to focus on their respective
musical careers, replaced for the
fourth season by Usher and Shakira,
there was no telling what might
happen. “to hit on something that
works and then mess with it is risky,”
Shelton says. “I was curious to see if
this was going to fall flat on its face
without the same group of people.”
"There’s been
a very organic
and natural
progression to
the show.”
But then NBC shot a promo for the
new season — Shelton, Levine, Usher
4 | JUNE 2013 | SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT
— CArsoN dAly
and Shakira in a pickup truck, arguing over what radio station to listen
to — and Shelton knew everything
was going to be OK. “The four of
us were in that truck for six hours,”
he recalls, laughing. “When you’re
sitting there between takes with
nothing to do but talk to each other,
that’s how great friendships kick off.
We didn’t want it to end.”
And it hasn’t. The Voice is this
season’s #1 singing series — beatfamily-friendly content that contining both nights of American Idol
ues to build the audience. It’s also its
in Adults 18–49 — and ratings
use of cutting-edge social media to
continue to soar. The series now
make sure The Voice continues to be
averages nearly 14 million viewers
heard. “In the old days — and by that
per episode, making The Voice NBC’s
I mean two years ago — networks
#1 entertainment series. “I’m as
would only use their own website
surprised as anyone that it can keep
to showcase their shows,” he says.
growing even in the fourth year, but
“But now there’s Facebook, YouTube,
there’s been a very organic and natuiTunes, Twitter and Instagram. It’s
ral progression to the show,”
very brave of NBC to recognize
says host Carson daly. “The
that there is absolutely a shift
network really believed it
in viewer habits.”
had something at just the
It also doesn’t hurt that
right time, that this was
The Voice has been smart
cool family Tv, that people
about adaptation, tweakMark Burnett
still wanted that. There’s
ing its formula just enough to
nothing cynical about it, so it
keep it fresh without messing
makes sense that audiences want to
too much with what made it successkeep watching.”
ful. Introducing the “steal” in season
Executive producer Mark Burnett
three, for instance, which allowed the
notes that it’s not just the show’s
coaches to poach each other’s artists
Everlasting Love
during the show’s
Battle Rounds, was a
savvy addition. “Rather
than simply watching
a coach put battles
together and decide
Car son Dal y
who goes forward, now
there’s a consequence,”
Burnett says. “That has raised the
stakes.”
With the absence of Aguilera and
Green this season, the stakes were
already pretty high. Searching for
their replacements was not an easy
task but Burnett simplified the hunt
by focusing on two overriding criteria:
“Are they bona fide superstars and are
they the sort of nice people you’d want
over to your house?” Levine, for one,
is pretty sure they found the perfect
pair in Usher and Shakira. “All of us
coaches are so incredibly different
this season,” he says. “We’re all very
competitive but have a great sense of
humor and I think that combination
continues to make the show really
enjoyable for viewers.”
Usher and Shakira obviously have
had big shoes to fill, but they both
have risen to the challenge. Usher’s
plan from the beginning was to show
“the lighter side” of his personality.
“People have seen me one way for so
many years, so doing this show has
allowed me to relax and be myself. I
didn’t know what to expect when I
first signed on but getting to nurture
artists and maybe teach them a different approach is a win-win for me.”
According to Shelton, it’s a win-win
for everybody. “I see how Usher is in
the rehearsal room with his artists,”
he says. “He’s like a drill sergeant. It’s
the same with Shakira. Adam and I
look at that and think, ‘We’re lollygagging,’ so we’ve had to step up
our game.”
THE VOICE
Mondays 8/7c, tuesdays 9/8c this fall NBC
www.nbc.com/thevoice
Twitter:
• The Voice: @nbcTheVoice
• christina aguilera: @xtina
• ceelo Green: @ceeloGreen
• adam levine: @adamlevine
• shakira: @shakira
• usher: @usher
• blake shelton: @blakeshelton
• carson Daly: @carsondaly
• christina milian: @christinamilian
The Bachelor
franchise celebrates
25 dramatic seasons
By Maria Elena Fernandez
T
He BACHeLor ANd THe
Bachelorette reached the
milestone 25th installment this year, marking
10 years of roses, hot tubs, private
jets and fantasy suites — all packed
with heart-stopping Tv moments.
Who could forget the time
Bachelor Jason Mesnick changed
his mind and proposed to Molly
Malaney … after having already
proposed to Melissa Rycroft? Or
Jesse Palmer, the Bachelor who sent
a girl home after spacing on her
name. Then, of course, there was the
time Brad Womack decided he didn’t
want to spend the rest of his life with
either of the two final ladies — and
declined to pick anybody.
“That was a really big moment,”
says executive producer Mike Fleiss,
“because people saw that it’s not
Michelle Money (left)
happily accepts a rose from
Bachelor Brad Womack (2011)
The
Bachelor
By The
NumBers
EpisodEs
about a preconceived notion of forcing people to get married. If our batting average was ridiculously high, it
wouldn’t be a truthful representation
of courtship.”
Finding love on the show is possible, according to the most recent
Bachelor, Sean Lowe, who should
know — he got engaged to contestant Catherine Giudici last year.
“It takes two special people who
are genuinely willing to work on a
relationship. I think a lot of people
go into it without sincere intentions.
1,231
rosEs hANdEd oUt
But if the person goes into it with the
right frame of mind, it can happen.”
And that, according to host Chris
Harrison, is “the genius of this show.
It comes down to human will — one
guy and one girl deciding what they
want to do with their lives.”
THE BACHELOR
mondays 8/7c abc midseason
www.thebachelor.tv
Twitter:
• The bachelor franchise: @ThebachelorTV
• chris harrison: @chrisbharrison
• mike Fleiss: @fleissmeister
26
MUsiCAl pErforMANCEs
5
AMBUlANCEs CAllEd
Dolly
Parton
Finding true love
sometimes takes much
more than chemistry.
Throughout the first
25 seasons of
The Bachelor franchise
there have been…*
228
Sean Lowe (left) swaps the
final rose for a ring as he
proposes to Catherine Giudici
in The Bachelor (2013)
2
CoNtEstANts
who fEll
AslEEp
dUriNg thE
first Night's
pArty
*Through the end of The Bachelor season 17 in 2013
35
hot tUBs UsEd
15
privAtE JEts flowN
47
36
hEliCoptEr ridEs
CoUNtriEs
visitEd
The Bachelor
frANChisE is sold iN
64
fANtAsy sUitEs
27
iNtErNAtioNAl
tErritoriEs
the WORD
Mitchell
Questions for 14 Actors
(and one producer)
Five Awesome Lines They’d Kill
to Say Again…
Four Roles They Never
Got to Play…
“‘It’s a tiara’ might be my
favorite!”
– Mayim Bialik
(The Big Bang Theory)
General Zod [ from
Superman]. “The old one
and the new one.”
– Stephen Amell (Arrow)
dennings
“don’t go in there!”
– Jensen Ackles
(Supernatural)
“Ask me again when I’m 80.”
– Kat Dennings (2 Broke Girls)
“On The Cosby Show, I played
Howard, who was way smarter than
me. dr. Huxtable says, ‘A stitch in
time saves nine,’ and I say, ‘That line
is derived from the Roman poet
Ovid who wrote Venienti occurrite
Morbo,’ to which he replies,
‘Ooooooh, speak the Latin!
Speak the Latin, my friend!’
It was one of my favorite
exchanges with him.”
– Reno Wilson
(Mike & Molly)
Chapman
Foghorn Leghorn. “He’s really
the brains of the outfit.”
– Kevin Chapman (Person of Interest)
“I would give anything to have been a
guest star on Friends — preferably
scenes with Ross. The best.”
– Lucy Hale (Pretty Little Liars)
A contestant on The Bachelor.
“I am very happily married —
but I like helicopter rides.”
– Melissa Rauch
Two Unforgettable Emmy®
Moments…
heaton
Three Secret
Celebrity Hangouts...
Cuoco
“I’m gay.’ It changed everything
for [her character] Emily, as
she now had that weight off her
shoulders and was able to start the
process of living a more honest life.”
– Shay Mitchell
(Pretty Little Liars)
“A little speakeasy in Burbank with no
name out front that we like to go to
after tapings. It’s pretty
quiet and they
show classic
movies. Now
that I think
about it, that
might just be some
helberg
old person’s house.”
– Simon Helberg
Bar Central in New York.
“Great spot, tiny and private,
and killer drinks.”
– Kaley Cuoco
Firefly in Studio City. “Great atmosphere. It’s so dark, you can’t see who
you’re with. It’s perfect!”
– C. Thomas Howell (Southland)
ChuCK LORRe's BiTTeRLY FunnY BOOK
BACk IN 1996, ChUCk LoRRE NEEDED A BREAk fRoM ThE LoNG hoURS
working on his comedy Dharma & Greg. To amuse himself, he drew up a list of
things he believed in — opinions on everything from beer to gay marriage to
being Pope — and put them on the air as part of his production company’s
vanity card at the end of every episode.
Melissa McCarthy’s win.
“Amazing speech and the
setup with the pageant and
the crown was hilarious.”
– Beth Behrs (2 Broke Girls)
“Getting the first one from the
iconic Cher and the second one from
the iconic Mary Tyler Moore.”
– Patricia Heaton (The Middle)
One Way to Mesmerize a Producer
on the Internet ...
The Big Bang Theory flashmob. “I like
seeing people having a great time while
I look on completely befuddled.”
– Chuck Lorre (The Big Bang Theory/Two
and a Half Men/Mike & Molly)
Four shows creating buzz-worthy
conversation in 140 characters
ToTAL TWEETS
So FAr THIS YEAr:
2.5 MILLIoN
TWITTEr
FoLLoWErS:
4.6 MILLIoN
THE BiG BanG THEOry
LIkES oN
FAcEbook:
25.8 MILLIoN
The show had the most-visited
TV-related Wikipedia page of 2012,
with almost 17 million page views
ToTAL TWEETS
So FAr THIS YEAr:
13.2 MILLIoN
TWITTEr
FoLLoWErS:
10 MILLIoN
prETTy liTTlE liars
LIkES oN
FAcEbook:
10.8 MILLIoN
The March 19, 2013, season 3 finale was
the single most-Tweeted-about scripted
episode in TV history, generating more than
a million airtime Tweets, accounting for
one-third of all the Twitter activity
going on during that hour
ToTAL TWEETS
So FAr THIS YEAr:
3.1 MILLIoN
TWITTEr
FoLLoWErS:
2 MILLIoN
supErnaTural
LIkES oN
FAcEbook:
11.4 MILLIoN
The show’s “Harlem Shake” video has had
over 6.5 million YouTube views since
it was uploaded in March
ToTAL TWEETS
So FAr THIS YEAr:
5.3 MILLIoN
TWITTEr
FoLLoWErS:
12.8 MILLIoN
THE vampirE diariEs
LIkES oN
FAcEbook:
16 MILLIoN
The show averages 344,000 tweets per
episode, and for one week last January,
it was the #1 primetime social series on
network TV, generating nearly 865,000 social
interactions across Twitter, Facebook,
GetGlue and Viggle
Twitter followers = official show feed, stars and producers combined, as of June 12, 2013
asked why he started the jokes. “I figured
nobody could even read it because VCRs didn’t
pause well enough for that.” DVRs changed all
that, making his vanity card ponderings something of a cult hit and giving Lorre an outlet
to the public all his own. “It was my chance
to directly communicate to the audience,
without the filter of an actor,” he says.
“To write something that’s entirely your
own take was extremely liberating.”
Lorre still keeps up that tradition — the jokes run at the end of
Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory and Mike & Molly — but
you no longer have to wait for the closing credits to read them.
hundreds of Lorre’s witty musings have been collected in a cofThe vanity cards have earned Lorre some unexfee table book, What Doesn’t Kill Us Makes Us Bitter, available at
pected fans, like novelist Neil Gaiman (Stardust), one of Lorre’s
BarnesandNoble.com and other booksellers. All of Lorre’s proceeds
Chuck lorre
idols (the two appeared together on a panel at SXSW Interactive earlier
go to the Dharma-Grace foundation, benefitting many healthcarethis year to talk about writing). And although writing the cards has at
related charities including the Venice (Calif.) family Clinic. The vanity cards
times proven to be painful — “I’m constantly considering stopping,” Lorre says
have also been archived online at ChuckLorre.com (random sample: “okay, I’m
— they’ve also been therapeutic. “There are times when I need to sit and just
just gonna say it out loud. There are times when going crazy looks attractive.
write for myself. It’s nice to know that if I have something to say that I think
And I’m not talking about becoming charmingly eccentric….”).
might have some value, I have a place to put it. It’s like having my own blog,
but it gets to run on primetime TV.”
—CraiG ToMaSHoff
“It was a fun exercise in a different kind of writing for me,” Lorre explains when
SCENE & heard
HOLLYWOOD HAPPENINGS
1
International
Press Junket
London
Think Global:
London calling! Arrow
star Stephen Amell joined
Revolution’s Billy Burke,
Giancarlo Esposito, David
Lyons and Tracy Spiridakos
for a trip across the pond for
Warner Bros.’ annual international TV press junket. While
in England, the stars chatted
up journalists from more than
20 countries around the world,
including Australia, Denmark,
Germany, Japan, the Netherlands,
New Zealand, Poland, Spain and
the UK, among many others.
Warner Bros. Television Group
President and Chief Content Officer
Peter Roth (lower right) joins the cast
and creative team of Fringe for the
series’ 100th episode celebration in
Vancouver, B.C.
Family bonds:
Revolution stars Billy
Burke (left) and Tracy
Spiridakos share
a hug at a recent
international press
junket in London.
1 FAmiLy BONdS: Revolution stars Billy Burke
(left) and Tracy Spiridakos (who play Miles
Matheson and his niece, Charlie, respectively)
at an IPJ cocktail reception.
2 ALL HAiL THE QUEENS: Arrow star Stephen
Amell (who plays Oliver Queen) reads up on
the latest royal family news between takes
during a UK promo shoot.
2
3
L.A. Screenings
LoS AnGELES
acT local: Warner Bros.
Worldwide Television Distribution
President Jeffrey Schlesinger was the
man of the hour during the annual
L.A. Screenings sales market, hosting
key international broadcasters from
around the world for dinner with top
talent, producers and executives at
his Hollywood Hills home to talk up
the studio’s hot new series.
3 (L–R) Top producer J.J. Abrams with
Mom stars Allison Janney and Anna Faris,
comedy hitmaker Chuck Lorre and
Warner Bros.’ Jeffrey Schlesinger.
4 Hostages executive producer Jerry
Bruckheimer (left) and Warner Bros. CEO
Kevin Tsujihara.
5 Warner Bros. Television Group’s
Peter Roth (right) and writer/producer
Greg Berlanti.
4
5
“ With forlorn wit and a knack for chaotic slapstick, The Middle
hits wonderfully, if sometimes painfully, close to home.”
— TV Guide Magazine
“ Season 2 of the sitcom about a teenager marooned
in the burbs has been a delightfully awkward gem.”
— Entertainment Weekly
the INDUSTRY
Hitting
the Mark
Writer/producer
Greg Berlanti
has plenty to
smile about
Arrow super producer
Greg Berlanti talks teen
angst, politics and his
vision for Tomorrow
By Maria Elena Fernandez
G
reg Berlanti has a lot of pillows in his office, but it’s not because
this busy producer has time for naps. in
fact, it’s because of his prolific producing history that the pillows exist. for
each of his series, Berlanti’s mother
gives him a custom show-themed pillow. she has done this for years, starting with
Dawson’s Creek. Most of the pillows are embroidered and many have sequins. he will soon
be receiving his 11th pillow, for The Tomorrow
People, a new series for The CW that was just
picked up. Berlanti definitely has no time
for naps.
The New York Times once called Berlanti a wunderkind, although he would probably prefer to
be known simply as a productive storyteller. as
he entered his 40s, he launched no fewer than
three major productions, including Arrow, the
bulls-eye super hero drama that launched as
The CW’s most-watched series debut in over
three years and hit its ratings mark to become
the network’s #1 series among total Viewers.
last summer, he assembled an all-star cast
for Usa network’s Beltway-savvy miniseries
Political Animals, which starred sigourney
Weaver as a first lady–turned–secretary of
state (as if that could happen). This year, he
made his first foray into the gritty world of
the cop show genre with CBs’s Golden Boy.
and this fall, he launches the new sci-fi
drama The Tomorrow People, the aforementioned 11th pillow, based upon the original
UK series that was a favorite of his. We sat
down with the busy writer/producer/director and talked about his latest shows, his
inspirations and what keeps him a perpetual
prodigy.
Why did you want to be a writer?
My affection — and my agony — for writing really
kicked in when i started writing plays in college
at northwestern University. it’s always been about
telling stories. sometimes that comes in the
“Many of us who grew
up in the late '70s or
early '80s were raised
by television and
movies. One of the
great joys for me has
been that my third
parent — before I
even met him — was
Norman Lear.”
—GREG BERLANTI
form of writing or in the form of showrunning, and
sometimes it’s in directing. it’s all about storytelling and being the arbiter of the process — from the
moment of inception all the way through the final
execution and the audience experiencing the same
emotions that we did coming up with it.
How did you get your first job at Dawson’s Creek?
over the course of the first couple of years in l.a,
i wrote eight or nine feature scripts — none of
which sold or got noticed. Then i wrote one that
was actually very personal, The Broken Hearts Club,
which i directed a couple of years later. it was coproduced by Julie plec (The Vampire Diaries) who i
went to college with. she was working with Kevin
Williamson, and Kevin read it and liked it. We then
sold a feature together, and he invited me to come
work on Dawson’s.
Who are your influences as writers and directors?
Many of us who grew up in the late ’70s or early ’80s
were raised by television and movies. one of the
great joys for me has been that my third parent —
Berlanti’s upcoming series The Tomorrow People premieres
on The CW this fall, Wednesdays at 9/8c, following Arrow
before i even met him — was norman lear. he
watched Jack & Bobby, which he quite
liked, and called me out of the blue
and we became friendly. he just
surpassed what i imagined
in terms of his warmth and
generosity and kindness and
intelligence.
You’ve gone from teen
angst and family dramas
to super hero and
cop shows. What
happened?
Arrow’s
Stephen Amell
at the end of
four or five
years of working, i got
really tired of
writing about
characters
slamming
Berlanti, on set
their lockers because they were upset. from that, i
moved to doing more family dramas, like Everwood
and Brothers & Sisters, and then character dramas
like Dirty Sexy Money. in a way, shows like Arrow or
Jack & Bobby, where you have characters that are
almost mythical, give a sense of broadness and bigness to stories that you can still make human and
real. even though i’d come home and watch Family
Ties as a kid, i was at the comic book shop on the
weekends, so it’s been really rewarding to move in
both those places.
You’ve done two projects about political
dynasties — Jack & Bobby and Political animals.
What do you find so fascinating about Beltway
families?
By its nature, the stories that you’re telling on television, if they’re really working, are smaller stories
about how a person was changed or affected. and
when you’re dealing with a larger-than-life character, it immediately gives the story a sense of weight,
size and importance.
aRRoW
“i don’T Think we’ve ever
cast anyone quicker on
any of the shows we’ve
worked on,” says Berlanti.
“he was the first person
we saw. contrary to what
people may think from the
poster, we never saw him
without his shirt on until we were
in production. it was all his acting.
he had the essence of oliver Queen
or the way we imagined him in our
minds — someone who had to play
the innocence of who he was on the
island but also the more tortured
hero now. You wanted a sense of a
burning hero but someone that was
still accessible and that you cared
about. stephen has all of those
things as a person.”
ARROW
Wednesdays 8/7c The CW
www.cwtv.com/arrow
Twitter:
• Arrow: @cw_arrow
• Stephen Amell: @amellywood
• Katie Cassidy: @MzKatieCassidy
• Willa Holland: @Willaaaah
• David Ramsey: @david_ramsey
• Colton Haynes: @ColtonLHaynes
• Emily Bett Rickards: @EmilyBett
• Manu Bennett: @manubennett
• Paul Blackthorne: @PaulBlackthorne
• Greg Berlanti: @GBerlanti
• Marc Guggenheim: @mguggenheim
• Andrew Kreisberg: @AJKreisberg
Sigourney Weaver
in her SAG– and Golden
Globe–nominated role as
Secretary of State Elaine
Barrish Hammond in
Political Animals
PolitiCal animals
“The casTing of Political animals was one of
the rare experiences for me,” Berlanti says. “When
you’re casting for TV, you make these lists of people that you think you’ll never get, but across the
board, we kept getting our first choice. We told
the agents that we need a 'carla gugino-type' —
and then we got carla gugino. it started obviously
with sigourney [Weaver] and who she is and the
caliber of actress that she is. it was immediately
communicated to the world out there what kind
of show we were trying to make. sigourney played
god on Eli stone. i don’t think i would have ever
gotten sigourney to sign up for a TV miniseries if i
hadn’t worked with her on Eli. We had a great time
working together. When i was writing this role,
she was definitely one of the women that came to
mind that would make it worth doing.”
Style
Style
style
The Look of Love
L
Costume designer Eric Daman reimagines ’80s fashion
in The Carrie Diaries By Annemarie Rouleau
eg warmers. shoulder pads. acid-wash
jeans. while most
cringe at fashion trends
derived from the 1980s,
costume designer eric Daman works
tirelessly to revive them on The Cw
series The Carrie Diaries — only this
time around he’s giving each look a
much-needed dose of refined style.
set in 1984, and a prequel to Sex
and the City — credited as one of the
most fashionable TV shows of all
time — The Carrie Diaries follows a
young Carrie Bradshaw (annasophia
robb) as she navigates her way
through not only relationships, her
first job and the halls of high
school — but also her closet.
and like most teenage girls
searching to find their sense of style,
fashion faux pas are to be expected.
But thanks to Daman — who won
an emmy® in 2002 for his work as
assistant costume designer on the
original Sex and the City, and most
recently dressed the ensemble cast
of the trend-setting Gossip Girl for
six seasons — those mishaps are
nonexistent.
“everything we saw in the ’80s was
magnanimous and over-the-top,” says
Daman, who watched the movies
Ordinary People (1980) and Slaves of
New York (1989) in order to get into
the mindset of dressing the cast.
Aspirationally
Authentic
Designer Eric
Daman (right)
works tirelessly
to revive and
streamline '80s
fashions for
The Carrie Diaries.
Carrie's
Winter Formal
Daman opted for
this one-of-a-kind
couture dress hot
off the runway.
“It just felt very
Carrie Bradshaw.”
AnnaSophia Robb as Carrie Bradshaw
Pretty
in Pink
“The breakout
star is this DIY
personalized
bag,” says
Daman.
“Carrie takes it
everywhere."
“we’ve really tried to streamline the
fashion and downsize it a bit.”
Daman strives to dress the characters
as closely to the decade as possible —
“aspirational authenticity,” as he calls
it — but balances the ensembles by
adding modern duds by the likes
of marc Jacobs, Chloe, h&m and
Topshop.
“he’s really good at mixing pieces
that are couture with everyday
brands, so girls who watch the show
can find them,” says robb, who
admits to being a fan of the show’s
attire and excitedly steps into a
wardrobe from the past. “I really
love the mismatched patterns and
over-accessorizing.”
But the fashion isn’t purely for
looks. executive producer/writer
amy harris — who dug out her high
school yearbook for inspiration
before penning the show — explains
how the character’s outfits fuel
each episode.
“Fashion is such an important
piece of the series,” says harris, who
omits any trends too kitschy from
the script. “I want it to feel like we are
upping the ante. [we’re] ’80s inspired,
but I never want [the clothing] to feel
like a joke.”
with Daman, robb and harris all
on board, the show’s fashion is the
furthest thing from a joke. In fact, one
might argue that it’s the star.
Fave Look
Robb’s favorite
look of the season
was this floral
alice+olivia dress,
to which she added
the ultimate '80s
touch: two neon
crinolines.
Sisters in Style
Talking friendship and fashion with Trayce Field and Mandi Line By Annemarie Rouleau
O
ne mIghT ThInk The
competition between
two of the most talented costume designers
in hollywood — who
also happen to be working on two of
the most popular shows on television — would be too hot to handle.
But that couldn’t be further from the
truth when it comes to the relationship that Trayce Field (2 Broke Girls)
and mandi line (Pretty Little Liars)
share.
“we’ve been friends for 10 years,”
says Field, who, along with line,
attended the Fashion Institute of los
angeles, although they weren’t
quick to form a friendship
while there. “we were on this
parallel, but we never really
talked.”
nowadays, the two costume
designers always find the time
to talk or text amidst their hectic
schedules, which include scouring clothing racks, constructing
new outfits and dressing their
respective casts in unforgettable looks that will inevitably be
googled, pinned and blogged faster
than it takes to get to their shows’
first commercial break.
“These girls really have become
fashion icons because of their
clothes,” says line, whose “more
edge, less frill” approach to styling
the cast of Pretty Little Liars has garnered as much attention from the
audience as the stars themselves.
“Viewers are tied to these characters, so I think it’s important to grow
with the trends, but not to veer from
who they are.”
For Field, dressing and accessorizing max [kat Dennings] and
Comrades in Costuming (clockwise from top):
Mandi Line (left) and Trayce Field create the iconic, much-copied looks
for the casts of 2 Broke Girls and Pretty Little Liars
are jokes based around wardrobe,
it’s important to hit your mark so the
joke will sell. But, at the same time,
you want to hit the look.”
Both Field and line have no problem hitting their style mark week
after week, although their process —
and where they gain inspiration for
each outfit — is unique.
“I like to look at catalogues,”
explains Fields, citing department
stores JC Penney and sears as being
among those she browses when
conjuring up ways to dress max
[Dennings]. “I know it’s weird, but
“I think being iconic
comes from spontaneity.”
PhoToS BY DARREN MIChAELS, SMPSP
—MANdi LiNE
Caroline [Beth Behrs] can often
times be more defined, in large part
due to the comedic nature of
2 Broke Girls.
“It’s a wardrobe-heavy show,”
explains Field, who balances the
girls’ opposing styles by mixing in
vintage and couture pieces, all the
while coordinating each look with
the episode’s story line. “when there
they really do have the coolest looks.”
line, however, tends to keep all
outside sources to a minimum when
dressing the foursome on Pretty Little
Liars, opting to put them in the type
of outfits she dreamed about growing up.
“my inspiration comes from what I
wasn’t able to do,” says line. “Things
that I wanted to do, but didn’t get to;
you think of Caroline Channing, you
think of that necklace,” says Field.
as for Pretty Little Liars, it was a
quick, last-minute decision by line
that resulted in one of the show’s
standout pieces.
“Two years ago, I was dressing aria
[lucy hale] when I took a feather
earring from my ear and put it on
her,” says line, who remembers that
not everyone was on board with her
spur-of-the-moment choice that
soon became a global trend. “right
after that show aired, I opened up
Entertainment Weekly, and it was
everywhere. I think being iconic
comes from spontaneity.”
when asked if they wouldn’t
mind role-playing for a second and suddenly become
the costume designer for one
another’s shows, both Field and
line laughed before putting some
thought into it.
“I’d rip and tear; add studs and
leather. Definitely give it my '80s
flair,” says line of the treatment
she’d give 2 Broke Girls. For Field,
she’d “probably add more vintage
pieces” to the girls on Pretty Little
Liars.
Joking aside, both admit they
admire one another’s work and, at
the end of the day, they’re always
there to offer one another support.
“we’ll text each other congratulations,” says line. “There’s really no
competition,” adds Field.
I’m living my inner high school child
that I was never able to.”
while the two costume designers
approach style differently, one technique they share is their ability to
choose extraordinarily iconic pieces
that have since become synonymous
with each show.
“For my series, it’s the
uniforms,” says Field of the
’70s-inspired, red and yellow diner costumes she
created. (Incidentally,
a special halloween
version of the costumes was created
last fall and quickly
became a bestseller
in CBs’s online store.)
“You see them now
and you know they’re
from 2 Broke Girls.
kind of like Laverne &
Shirley.”
another statement
piece within the series is
Caroline’s [Behrs] bauble
necklace, although, as
Field recalls, it wasn’t a hit
with everyone at first.
“It was something I had
Pretty Little Liars cast as styled by Line
to fight for. now, when
food for thought: Takeout has become a tradition
for the characters of The Big Bang Theory
The Comedy CreaTion
arTiCulaTion
First auditions, Comic-Con jitters and a bee
named Bazinga: The Big Bang Theory’s creative
team talks about the show’s improbable rise
to become network TV’s #1 show
BY cRAIG TOMAShOff
M
oStLY uNkNoWN
actors. A failed pilot.
A second chance.
Somehow, it all added
up to turn The Big Bang
Theory into the #1
entertainment series on network tV among Adults
18–49. It may have begun as a show about what
executive producer Chuck Lorre calls “extraordinarily intelligent human beings who are incapable
of applying that intelligence to things we take for
granted — like family and relationships and figuring out tips in
restaurants.” However, it’s now a
part of television history.
A chemical compound of both the
writers’ art and comedy smarts, The
Big Bang Theory has boldly gone where no sitcom has
gone before by not only attracting guest tV icons
such as Leonard Nimoy and Bob Newhart (see sidebar) and pop culture legends like Stan Lee and Star
Trek’s Wil Wheaton, but also luminaries from the
worlds of science and space exploration, including
physicists/authors Stephen Hawking, Neil deGrasse
tyson, Brian Greene and George Smoot, as well as
astronauts Mike Massimino and Buzz Aldrin. to
discover the secrets behind its success, we talked to
those involved in the series to describe how The Big
Bang Theory blew up into a cultural phenomenon.
PRIMORDIAL BEGINNINGS
BILL PRADY (Executive Producer): Chuck said he’d
heard of a certain actress (who won’t be named)
who wanted to do a show about a young woman
who had never been on her own, even into her 20s.
So we tried that, but it wasn’t really going anywhere — and then it turned out that the actress
didn’t really want to do television anyway.
chUck LORRE: We worked on the weekends, sit-
ting in my kitchen kicking around ideas and going
down a lot of blind alleys. But then Bill started telling me stories about his computer programming
days in New York City, and about these extraordinarily intelligent but socially incompetent and
emotionally immature people he worked with.
PRADY: He [Lorre] said, “I’ve never seen guys like
that on television before.” So we started working
on that idea, but got a little stuck right away. Then
we said, “What about that pilot with the woman
we originally started with? What if that character
meets these guys?”
PETER ROTh (President & Chief Content Officer,
Warner Bros. Television Group): Chuck called me
and asked if I’d come to a private reading of a
script he and Bill had written. I went and listened
and thought, “There’s brilliance in this. It’s not
perfect, but I could see the possibilities.” We just
didn’t yet have the brilliance of Johnny Galecki
and Jim Parsons.
IN SEARCH OF … SHELDON,
LEONARD AND PENNY
JOhNNY GALEckI (Leonard Hofstadter): After
Roseanne, I had opportunities to do other multicamera shows, but I just wasn’t ready to do it
again. Then Chuck and Bill said they had an idea
and ran through the broad strokes. Initially, it
wasn’t something that sounded interesting to
me. two dorks that live across the hall from
a hot blonde didn’t sound like something I’d
watch. once I read some scenes, though, I liked
it. I liked the possible romantic dynamic with
Leonard and his neighbor, Penny.
JIM PARSONS (Sheldon Cooper): I’d gone in for
a couple of pilots in the past that seemed like
a good match, but they never went anywhere.
Then I got a call from my agents, who were all
excited about me going in for a Chuck Lorre
pilot. All I thought was, “[Love Connection’s]
Chuck Woolery wrote a pilot?”
PRADY: Jim was, like, guy #37 out of 54. He came
in and did the reading, and I was so excited, I
told Chuck, “That’s the guy!” Chuck said he’d
never be able to do that again, and it would
break my heart. But we brought him in again,
and he gave the exact same performance.
LORRE: Going into the taping, I was confident
of the chemistry between Johnny and Jim.
However, it was a very ill-conceived pilot. The
woman who lived next door came off as a dark,
destructive presence, and the audience
responded viscerally against her. I wasn’t
surprised when I got the call from CBS
saying that it wasn’t being picked up. Then
I heard the most wonderful thing a tV
executive could ever say: “Would you try
again?” So we went to work, and wanted to
re-work the woman next door, Penny, into
someone who cared about these guys as
much as the audience does.
PRADY: We immediately thought of kaley
Cuoco. She’d come in to talk about playing
the lead female in the first version, but at
that point, we thought of the character
as a little older. Also, the character was
tougher, and we told her she wasn’t right
for it.
kALEY cUOcO (Penny): Chuck said he’d
find other things for me. then he called
to say he was revamping the show. the
character was now warmer and sweeter.
She doesn’t judge these guys.
ROTh: the minute kaley signed on, I
felt very buoyed. We all had the feeling
that once we got the right actress and
readjusted the character toward more of
a girl next door, this would work.
THE CAST COMPLETION
PARADIGM
LORRE: We decided that for the second
pilot, we’d throw out most of the story and
just meet the characters. Which included
the new Penny, as well as Howard and Raj.
SIMON hELBERG (Howard Wolowitz): I’d
actually gotten the call at the last minute
to potentially audition for Sheldon for the
first pilot, but I’d already auditioned for
Studio 60. [Helberg was cast as a recurring
guest star in Aaron Sorkin's Studio 60 on
the Sunset Strip.] The second time around
for the show, though, Chuck called my
agent and asked me to go test for this new
character, Howard.
kUNAL NAYYAR (Raj Koothrappali): I
had just moved to Los Angeles and had
just picked an agent. I went in on a Friday
to sign the papers, and was told my first
pilot audition was scheduled for Monday
at something called The Big Bang Theory. I
jokingly said, “I’ll go book that show.” I was
just young and cocky enough to believe it.
And once I’d met everyone else, I felt a real
connection.
(L-R)
Simon
helberg
and
kunal
Nayyar
100th
episode
party
THE FAN FAVORITE
TRANSFORMATION
STEVEN MOLARO (Executive
Producer/Showrunner): There was
always a sweetness and innocence
to the show, and the audience really
caught on to that. The characters
were vulnerable in a very real way,
and that’s why people responded
right away in the enthusiastic way
that they did.
MARk cENDROWSkI (Director): By
the end of that first year, you could
feel that we were catching on with
people. There was one episode where
I looked up into the audience and saw
four girls wearing lab coats. There was
another group that had made t-shirts
with quotes from our characters written on them.
THE XX CHROMOSOME TRANSFUSION
GALEckI: The first time I really felt
PARSONS: Hands down one of the best things that’s happened since the
[that the show was successful] was at
Comic-Con after our first season. We
weren’t really sure why we were going
to this sci-fi convention. I was sitting
next to Chuck on the train on the way
to San Diego, and I asked the capacity of the room we’d be in. He said it
was like 700 [ed. note: it was actually
1,200], but Battlestar Galactica and
Firefly had panels at the same time, so
he looked to see if we could get into a
smaller room because we didn’t want
to feel sad when we saw the miserable
turnout.
Johnny Galecki (left) and Jim Parsons in the pilot episode
university students there with us, they all wanted photographs, and they
were asking questions about the show. I thought this was unbelievable. I’m
from New Delhi, and I didn’t set out to become an inspiration or become
famous. That was a very special moment to me.
beginning of the show was bringing in Mayim Bialik to play [Sheldon’s
girlfriend] Amy Farrah Fowler, and Melissa Rauch as Bernadette. I was so
surprised and delighted at all the new
possibilities that have opened up thanks
to them. And it’s all felt very organic and
honest.
cUOcO: They started doing a couple epi-
sodes here and there, and it felt natural.
It was like they’d been with us all along. It
opened up the entire show.
(L-R) Melissa Rauch, kaley cuoco
and Mayim Bialik
MELISSA RAUch (Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz): The writers have
made each of our characters so specific. They’re two scientists but such
CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
cUOcO: We all agreed we wouldn’t do
it again if it felt weird. Then we got in
there and it was standing room only,
with people calling out our names
and wearing show t-shirts. It was
insanity!
hELBERG: At one point, we also went
to Mexico City to do promotion and
that was completely illuminating in
discovering the scope of our show.
We landed at the airport and got
swarmed by paparazzi. We were on
the cover of all the papers. I saw the
headline “El Nerdos” somewhere. We
had armed bodyguards and got driven
around in cars with bulletproof glass.
It was mind-blowing!
NAYYAR: I will never forget being
on a train from New Delhi, going to
see the Golden temple with my wife
and cousins. There were maybe 20
inSeCTS To aSTeroidS
Some ShowS mark their SucceSS with only ratingS and awardS.
The Big Bang Theory, however, gets the added cachet of asteroids, Brazilian
bees and a family of colobus monkeys in ohio.
the hit comedy has always embraced the scientific community by giving
honored guest spots to luminaries like Stephen hawking, Buzz aldrin and
more. But the show’s scientific love fest goes both ways — with real-world
scientists championing the fictional characters with their discoveries both
great and small.
during the show’s first season, astronomers discovered a new asteroid a
couple of billion miles from earth and decided to name it after a certain
physicist on a certain hit tV sitcom: “24647 Sheldoncooper.” years later, in the
Brazilian rainforest, an intrepid biologist with a sense of humor discovered a
surprising new species of orchid bee and christened it “euglossa Bazinga,” in
honor of Sheldon’s playful catchphrase. earlier this year, the columbus Zoo in
ohio named their newest infant colobus monkey “dr. Sheldon cooper,” with
“additional monkeys to be named after other characters from the show.”
executive producer Bill Prady is astounded. “i still remember the first time i
had to come up with a computer password, and i picked ‘Spock.’ i was a fan of
Star Trek and wanted to use the show in my own life. So to see people taking
totemic pieces of our show and using it in their life, especially in the scientific
—By CRAIG ToMAShoff
community, is very cool!”
SEASON
SEVEN
AND THE
INFINITE
HORIZON
POINT
Bernadette and howard (Melissa Rauch and Simon helberg, center) tie the knot in the fifth season finale
c o n t i n u e d f r o m pa g e 1 5
different people. They’re two different types of smart women.
And I have to say, if anyone had told me at 15 that I’d be doing
a show with Blossom, I’d have lost my mind.
MAYIM BIALIk (Amy Farrah Fowler): It’s always hard to join
a well-oiled machine both professionally and socially. But I
have known Johnny since we were kids, and it helped that
Melissa was also added to the cast around the same time I
was, so we could be in that transition together. And I have so
much fun with the scenes I have as a trio with her and kaley.
It’s usually Penny and Bernadette against Amy, and I think
some of kaley’s strongest comedic work has come from bringing out Penny’s social superiority with Bernadette and Amy.
TIME PERIOD MIGRATION AND
HYPER-ACCELERATED GROWTH
LORRE: We were shuffled around the schedule in the early
days. We were eventually moved to lead off Monday nights.
We were the lead-in to How I Met Your Mother. It was nervewracking because I thought it was too soon and maybe we
weren’t ready. Then, mind-bogglingly, we were moved to
Thursday night and there was no point in worrying because
there’s nothing we could do about it. And it worked brilliantly.
I remember when we hit 10
million viewers, kaley hunted
me down at the gym to tell me
about it. And the same thing
happened when we hit 20
million.
HELBERG: When we went
into syndication, that also
took things to another level.
It seems like we’re on all the
time. And that has helped
people make a connection to
the show in a very deep way.
I had this guy in New York
come up to me — a single
father with two kids — and he
said that for a half hour each
week, we made their lives
wonderful.
GALEckI: We’ve been through dozens of landmarks and
milestones like moving to Thursdays, when our audience got
even bigger. And we’re all constantly excited about each one.
The neWharT
reSurGenCe
Nayyar
GALEckI: All of what
we’ve been through has
been so mind-blowing.
Without making any
predictions about what
will happen after six
seasons, we’re probably beyond the halfway
point, judging by the
lifeline of other series.
And yet it feels so surreal because it all still
feels so new to us. It
doesn’t feel like we’ve
told half the stories we
have to tell with these
characters. I suppose
it all could change
at any point, but we
continue to feel the
infinite possibilities
that have been there
since the beginning for
this show.
ROTH: The Big Bang
Theory offers hope.
If these nerdy geeky
socially inept human
beings can find love
and happiness and
friendship, there is
hope for us all.
THE BIG BANG THEORY
Thursdays 8/7c cBS
www.cbs.com/thebigbangtheory
Twitter:
• the Big Bang theory: @BigBang_cBS
• kaley cuoco: @kaleycuoco
• Simon helberg: @simonhelberg
• kunal nayyar: @kunalnayyar
• mayim Bialik: @missmayim
• melissa rauch: @melissarauch
• Bill Prady: @billprady
• Steven molaro: @Stevemolaro
producers, let them
do what they do and
then take all the
credit! So I’m hoping
to do a couple more
next year.”
AS oNE of hoLLywooD’S MoST BELoVED
performers, Bob Newhart is used to being
recognized for his standup comedy or
legendary sitcoms like The Bob Newhart Show
and Newhart. however, when two teen girls at
a Seattle restaurant recently asked him for
Professor Proton’s autograph, he was taken
by surprise.
After all, he’d only just played the character in
a handful of scenes in one episode of The Big
Bang Theory. “It was amazing to me!,” recalls
the 83-year-old comedian, a six-time Emmy®
nominee who has yet to win. “I knew the
show was popular but to be singled out for
that one part...it was an incredible reaction
that I hadn’t expected at all.”
executive producer Chuck Lorre had spent years
asking Newhart to appear on one of his shows
and the comic finally had two conditions: film
his scenes in front of a live audience and make
sure the role could be recurring.
his appearance as the former host of Sheldon
(Jim Parsons) and Leonard’s (Johnny Galecki)
favorite science show may have been brief, but
it was a long time in the making. Big Bang
Says Newhart, “They perfectly captured the
formula — put Bob in the middle of all these
nutcases and let him react. My philosophy is
to find the best writers and actors and
That news should
make Big Bang fans
happy. According to
Lorre, the response at
the episode’s taping
was so enthusiastic,
TV icon Bob Newhart
“we had to stop the
(left) guest stars
taping and let
as Leonard and
Sheldon’s childhood
everyone calm down
hero Professor Proton
a bit. Elvis was very
much in the building.
Bob’s phrasing, timing and reactions to
Sheldon, Leonard and Penny was a master
class in comedic acting. The audience’s
laughter was explosive.” It was a reaction that
Newhart confesses he wasn’t expecting. “I
told Chuck it would be embarrassing if I’m
suddenly there and people don’t recognize
me. And he looked at me and just said, ‘I have
this feeling they will.’”
Steven
Molaro
4 QUESTIONS FOR
SHOWRUNNER
STEVEN MOLARO
By Craig Tomashoff
At first, Steven Molaro wasn’t quite
sure he was the right guy to be an
executive producer of The Big Bang
Theory. “I thought, ‘This show is
really smart and they’re talking a lot
of science and I don’t know if I could
fit in,'” he says with a laugh. “But
then I realized, I do bring a lonely
childhood and have a lot of Star Trek
conventions under my belt. I guess
that’s what it takes.” The one-time
Nickelodeon writer talked with us
about how he went from designing
direct-response mail to running the
most popular comedy on television.
SO WHERE dId yOUR pATH TO
HOLLyWOOd bEgIN?
I worked at Publishers Clearing
house for seven years, creating all
that stuff you get in the mail and
throw away. I designed the stickers,
those “you Could Be a winner”
cards, etc. I came from Queens and
didn’t know anybody in the
entertainment business. Television
was my friend growing up, but I
never made the leap to thinking I
could have a TV job. But in college,
I’d written a paper about Nick at
Nite’s promos, and that eventually
helped me get a job at Nick.com.
HOW dId yOU START
WRITINg SHOWS?
[while at Nickelodeon] I got to know
Dan Schneider, and he let me write
for one of his shows — The Amanda
Show. I still remember my first
stupid idea. It was a fake commercial
for a cereal called Meat Loaf Crunch.
Just add milk and it makes its own
gravy. After that, I worked on shows
like Drake & Josh, Zoey 101
and iCarly.
WAS IT HARd TO gO FROM WRITINg
TEEN SHOWS TO WORkINg ON
THE bIg bANg THEORy?
I remember working on maybe the
first or second episode after the
pilot, writing a cold open where the
guys were playing World of Warcraft.
I thought, “There’s a lot of smart
science going on here. And if I’m at a
show where I can pitch a
World of Warcraft joke, I’m going
to fit in just fine.”
IS IT SAFE TO ASSUME yOU
dON’T MISS yOUR pUbLISHERS
CLEARINg HOUSE dAyS?
I’d have to say The Big Bang Theory
does have the edge. Although, I still
go online and enter to win the
Publishers Clearing house
sweepstakes. All these years later, it
would be great to win the giant
check with the $10 million prize.
14 million viewers can’t be wrong.
“ ...Melissa McCar thy, Billy Gardell and a fine
suppor ting cast never miss a laugh.”
— USA Today
But, Seriously...
All kidding aside, six top TV actors open up about their very dramatic jobs
T
By Craig Tomashoff
ry to guess which oF the FoLLowiNg
actors once tried to impress a director by
jumping up and down on a sofa and barking like a dog. Does it sound like something
Kevin Bacon (The Following) might do? or
maybe Jim Caviezel (Person of Interest)? how
about Michael Cudlitz (Southland), Elizabeth Mitchell (Revolution)
or Giancarlo Esposito (also Revolution)? hard to imagine Sigourney
Weaver (Political Animals) doing that, but you never know. read
on to find out the answer to this and so many other questions —
like how military school made one of them a better actor, and
why another thinks “guts” is the most important quality an actor
can possess.
When you are approaching a new role, what do you rely on?
Research? Personal experience? Instinct?
Cudlitz: when i’m playing John cooper, i’m not really thinking about
being a cop. i’m not really thinking about where my weapon is or
how i 'm standing. i’ve done the research and i’ve practiced. But you
learn it so you can throw it away — it's in your muscle memory. you
know how to do it so much by rote that it’s part of who you are.
Mitchell: A lot of it is instinct but i also have a cerebral side, which i
try to clamp down because it’s not helpful for an actress. sometimes
it’s better to just react. But i do have a part of me that likes to
research. i like to know what this person’s world was. For Revolution,
i did a lot of research into people who have been held hostage and
also the mind of a scientist.
Esposito: i’m the kind of actor who likes to know as much as i can
about the character i’m playing, especially when they’re in a place
where the Revolution story takes place. Fortunately for me, i went
to military school at a young age and i did Taps early in my career,
so i could draw on the military bearing physically that i would have
to have. This is a show that’s shot mostly outdoors. we have horses
and wagons and sword fighting and hand to hand combat. so i draw
from my physical life.
Weaver: on Political Animals, we were certainly inspired by Mrs.
clinton and the series was a tribute to first families in that bubble,
but it wasn’t historical so there was a lot more work for me to do
than just study the life of someone like Mrs. clinton. it’s always a
combination of approaches when i’m developing a character. in
her own way, elaine had the tenacity of ripley (from Alien). Although
they had a different upbringing, they both had the power, the moral
compass — so i suppose unconsciously, i draw from that. usually,
you’d think if someone were going to cast me in a series, i’d be a sheriff
in Alaska or something. suddenly, i was offered a part where i had
so much to do emotionally and politically. And, of course, these are
things that interest me personally very much.
What is your priority as a dramatic actor?
Bacon: i became an actor because i wanted to walk in another man’s shoes
and everything stems from there. But that being said, i want to play not
just my own moments. i want to be in service of the vision of the writers
and the director and i want to collaborate with the other elements. it’s not
just my show. i’m just a piece and, as a whole, we’re only as good as the
individual pieces.
Esposito: My first job is to surrender to the writing so that i’m truthful. Then
i try to look at the full, bigger picture. Then my job is to immerse myself in
the character and become that human being so i use all the good attributes
and bad attributes and reveal them slowly to the audience. And eventually
my job is to have people, whether i play a
good or bad guy, love or hate me.
"I became
an actor
because
I wanted
to walk in
another
man’s
shoes and
everything
stems from
there."
How do you gauge how much intensity
to give in a given scene?
Bacon: There are people whose first
instinct is to go big. And then there are
people who are terrified of that and don’t
make big choices. They feel like they’re
going to look silly. i feel like you have to
have guts as an actor. you have to have
courage to risk being bad.
Cudlitz: As a series regular, you’re given a
lot of creative latitude in that way because
you’re the one who’s really gauging where
you’re going emotionally. you’re in control
of a lot of that. what i like to do is loosely
map out where i think the scene wants
to go. on the day we do it, throw all that
—KEViN BACoN
away, just perform the scene and whatever emotional reality is coming out of
that moment within that encounter with those other characters, that’s
what it tends to be.
Esposito: No actor acts alone, so i take that tone barometer from the
conversations taking place with my scene partners so i know how strong
to come on or how to come under it. That choice sometimes gets changed
once i do the reading on the set with the other characters and see if it is
commensurate with the energy of what’s happening with the other actors.
But until you commit and go for it, you truly can’t be pulled back or pulled
forward. i rely on my gut. you can never predetermine what something is
going to feel like. you have to put yourself in the situation and act as if.
What types of dramatic roles most appeal to you?
Mitchell: i don’t love procedurals. i’m not good at it. it’s a heck of a lot of
lines that don’t have any emotional meaning to me. And i just don’t think i
CONTINUED ON PAGE 20
Michael Cudlitz,
Southland
Kevin Bacon,
The Following
Elizabeth Mitchell,
Revolution
Giancarlo Esposito,
Revolution
Jim Caviezel,
Person of Interest
in a comedy or drama, it’s always about being
true to the character and being honest and real
with your work.
Caviezel: Person of Interest is a drama but i try
to find moments in there that are light and try
to find the unintentional comedy. it’s just a
matter of what kind of story it is. i used to go
in for comedies all the time. Then you’re in a
movie called The Thin Red Line and you don’t
get hired for that. They think you can’t do that.
it’s called acting, you know?
Cudlitz: comedy can be extremely difficult.
That being said, it’s a lot of fun. And that being
said, with some of the horrible stories that we
tell sometimes on our show, i have a tremendous amount of fun playing John cooper—
probably some of the most fun i’ve ever had in
my life working. i’ve done some comedy and i
love it. i just haven’t been cast in a lot of it. in
the words of Jessica rabbit, i’m just not drawn
like that.
Weaver: i definitely prefer comedy over drama.
i started doing comedy in the theater. it wasn’t
until i did ripley, which turned out to be a
very serious character, that i was considered
a serious actress. so it took me a long time to
get Ghostbusters. i remember saying to ivan
reitman, “you don’t need to make this dog in
special effects. i can play the dog.” And to demonstrate that, i jumped around on his couch,
carrying the pillows with my teeth and it terrified him but he decided to go for it anyway.
That’s what i feel i’m good at. i think comedy is
harder even though i feel more confident in it.
i loved being elaine [in Political Animals]. she
was the class president. of course, i was the
class clown.
c o n t i n u e d f r o m pa g e 1 8
have the kind of skill it takes to do that kind of thing and do it well.
Mariska hargitay (Law & Order: SVU) is amazing! For me, i love
genre because it’s a fantastic situation with real people.
Bacon: when i was thinking about television, i started to look at
what i was really enjoying watching: The Wire, Breaking Bad, The
Sopranos — shows that were edgy and had life-and-death stakes. i
don’t really watch straight-up procedural shows. i like shows that
have interesting places for characters to go. That’s what i found
with The Following. People talk a lot about the horror of the show
and, certainly, it is scary. it’s a thriller. it’s supposed to be. what
i was drawn to was the darkness that was inside this main guy’s
soul even though he’s the hero.
Caviezel: i read the pilot and said, “This is a movie script.” i did this
because Jonathan Nolan is bringing movies to tV. The coverage we
do is extraordinary. our execution is different. it is still a procedural and it has those elements to it but our coverage is more
extensive and our look is great due to the fact that our locations
are all over New york city.
What’s your preference: dramas or comedies?
Bacon: if i look at my career, there’s a lot of things that i feel incredibly lucky about but i think the thing i most feel lucky about is that
i’ve been able to bounce back during different genres. whether i’m
"I
definitely
prefer
comedy
over
drama....
I loved
being
Elaine.
She was
the class
president.
Of course,
I was
the class
clown."
—SiGoUrNEy WEAVEr
Sigourney Weaver,
Political Animals
“...intriguing and dryly funny...ingenious premise...”
— The New York Times
Jon Cryer,
Two and a Half Men
Cheryl Hines,
Suburgatory
Beth Behrs,
2 Broke Girls
Johnny Galecki,
The Big Bang Theory
funny business
a
Six of TV’s top comic actors on the perils of asking for directions in New York City, why
cannibals don’t like to eat clowns and other things they find funny By Craig Tomashoff
physicist, a waitress
and a cop walk into a bar…
we sat down with six
of the funniest people on
tV today — Beth Behrs
(2 Broke Girls), Jon Cryer
(Two and a Half Men), Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang
Theory), Cheryl Hines (Suburgatory), Eden Sher (The
Middle) and Reno Wilson (Mike & Molly) — for a wideranging conversation in which we asked them to tell
their favorite jokes, describe the comedy routines of their
early childhoods and explain why making people laugh is
so much more satisfying than making them cry.
Let’s start with something pretty basic. What would
you say is the funniest word?
Hines: “Jacuzzi.” That’s a good one. it sounds funny, and is
even funnier when people use it as a verb. “Does anyone
want to go Jacuzzi-ing?” and there’s, “Let’s go ’cuzzi!,”
which sounds even worse.
Wilson: i’d have to go with “gravalicious.” it’s a Jamaican
word, and it means “greedy.” i swear i didn’t make it up.
Sher: i’m writing a dictionary of words i’ve made up. i’m
serious! One of the words is “superianated,” which means
frustration due to other people not understanding everything exactly as you mean it or not processing emotion in
the way that you do.
Since you’re all funny for a living, are you good
joke tellers too?
Cryer: i don’t like people to tell me jokes because even if
they are funny, you have to go through that Kabuki ritual
of laughing and holding the smile because it’s been set
up as, “i’m telling you a joke now. please join me in this
ritual.”
Hines: i think i know maybe one or two jokes total. My
go-to joke is, “why don’t cannibals eat clowns? Because
they taste funny.” i do like hearing jokes. i play poker with
a bunch of guys, including ray romano and Brad Garrett.
i’m always impressed they can remember actual jokes.
i make an effort when i hear a joke to take notes on my
phone so when i see ray, i can at least get the punchline
right.
Galecki: i’m always curious to find out from comedians
what their favorite joke is. when we had Bob Newhart
on our show, i asked him and he said, “There’s a tourist
on the streets of New york city, and he asks a New yorker,
‘could you tell me where
the Museum of Modern
art is or should i just go
f*** myself ?’” you’d think
his favorite joke would be
complicated and layered
but nope! he loves the
simplicity of that one, and
i did too.
When was the first time
you were told that you
were funny?
Hines: For me, it was when
i was maybe 8 years old. i
used to do sketch comedy for my parents with
my brothers and sisters
and cousins. it was
basically the
same sketches
every week. i
remember
one about
somebody
in an
elevator, and
every time
somebody
new got in,
they’d have
a nervous tic
like their leg was
shaking. and the
person in the elevator
took on all their characteristics. Finally, a pregnant
woman gets on and the
person goes, “Oh no, i’m
not gonna catch that!” we
got laughs, but i think that’s
because beer was involved
for the grownups.
were performers. so, at parties, they’d ask me to do
something, and i’d do The robot [dance]. i’d imitate
the Jackson 5 doing “Dancing Machine.” people would
think i was cute and laugh, which was amazing.
Behrs: we once had to do a school project about
Magellan, and you were supposed to come dressed
as him. i got up in front of the room, and i think
it was all my note cards that fell out. i then had to
improvise in front of the whole class, and i made
Magellan into this goofy character. he’s a hard guy to
make funny.
How many people here were voted class clown in
their high school yearbooks?
Behrs: i definitely was. a lot of times, i’d raise my
hand in class and ask silly questions. Once in freshman english, the teacher was
going on and on about
trolls, so i raised my
hand and said, “But
they’re not real,
right?” That
ended up in the
yearbook.
"One of
Ashton Kutcher's
great gifts is he can
become a total
dork at the drop
of a hat."
Wilson: My experience
was similar. i came from
a performing family — my
mom was an opera singer,
my dad was a blues organist
and singer, my three sisters
Wilson: i’m
sure i was
class clown
too. if i ever
write a book
about my life,
it’ll have to
—jon cryer
be called Needs
Improvement,
because that’s what my
teachers told me on all my
report cards — “intelligent child,
needs to stop joking in class, needs improvement.”
Hines: i was voted friendliest. Looking back, i’m not
sure how proud i am of that.
Sher: i would never have been friendliest or class
clown. i was way too intensely studious for that. i
was debilitatingly insecure, which i suppose feeds
funniness.
Galecki: i guess that’s why i feel so comfortable
onstage and getting laughs. i was very reserved and
shy into my 20s. i still am that way in certain environments, and have to make a conscious effort to
be comfortable.
Eden Sher,
The Middle
Are there comedians you either grew up idolizing or
worship now?
Cryer: stephen colbert! he’s just one those people who
i just look at and start giggling.
Wilson: sometimes on Mike & Molly, i think a lot about
redd Foxx. i grew up loving Sanford and Son, and i pull
a lot from his comedic rhythms. and there’s Bill cosby,
of course. My first job was on The Cosby Show, so he’s
really responsible for my career.
Sher: we didn’t have cable when i was younger, and
KcaL showed I Love Lucy every day between 5 p.m. and
7 p.m. i’d come home from my theater class and watch.
Looking back now, i see a clear correlation between
how i act and what i saw Lucille Ball doing. she was so
great at physical comedy.
Hines: For me, it was Mary tyler Moore. i just liked how
she’d speak. she could say anything that wasn’t necessarily funny and say it in a funny way. you know, like
“Mr. Graaaaaaaannnnnnttttt!” she didn’t always have a
punch line, but she was still funny.
Behrs: i love Kristen wiig. But i have to say i get my
goofiness from my dad. he’s sometimes not the most
appropriate person with his humor, but he always
cracks me up.
Reno Wilson,
Mike & Molly
Hines: as long as we’re
including family, my
daughter makes me
laugh all the time.
she does imitations. she does
very funny accents.
i’ll say something
very parental like,
“you must go to
bed this moment.”
she’ll repeat it in a
cockney accent and,
suddenly, she doesn’t
have to go
to bed.
“My go-to
joke is, Why
don’t cannibals
eat clowns?
Because they
taste funny.”
—cHeryL HineS
Who on your show makes you laugh?
Sher: everybody is great, but Neil Flynn — his Sling
Blade and Gary Busey impressions leave me in tears.
Galecki: if i could record even 15 minutes of simon
helberg riffing between the scenes, i’d have a legendary
comedy album.
Hines: any time i do a scene with ana Gasteyer, it’s
impossible to keep a straight face. i think it’s her commitment to her delivery. Jeremy sisto and i will be in
the middle of a scene, and even though my character
is playing it pretty big already, ana will come in and be
even crazier. i’m at a 10 but she is at, like, 25!
Cryer: it’s a tossup. ryan stiles makes me howl with
laughter. Then again, one of ashton Kutcher’s great
gifts is he can become a total dork at the drop of a hat.
it’s amusing yet also very disconcerting that somebody
so ungodly handsome can become so incredibly dorkified so easily. and yes, that’s a word i just made up.
What was the last good laugh you had?
Galecki: i watched This Is 40 on the plane, and i loved
the girls in that movie. i watched Ted too, and the
nicknames they had for
high-potency weed made
me laugh.
Behrs: can we count this
conversation? if not, i guess
mine would have been this
morning when i was hiking
with a friend. we saw a lizard and i was freaking out.
i actually pushed my friend
between me and it. i wanted
to save myself. That’s pretty
bad, right?
Which is more fulfilling to
do: comedy or drama?
Hines: comedy is much
more fun. something
physical happens inside you
when you make someone laugh. Drama is very
constrained. it feels like it’s
the writers’ words you are
communicating, whereas
with comedy, there’s room
for interpretation.
Galecki: i love it when
you have a sentence
that can go in a
lot of different
directions. Like
my favorite
Leonard line
this past season. he said to
penny, “i know
i propose a lot.”
There was so much
in that one sentence.
it’s funny. it’s mature. it’s a
bit sad. it’s very layered, and
depending on how you do it
and on the audience, it can
go in different directions.
Wilson: i like it all, but there’s
nothing like doing a sitcom
in front of a live audience.
you get that exchange
between yourself and them.
The electrons in the air are
really charged. comedy
allows for surprise, too. The
audience doesn’t expect
what’s next. and as opposed
to when you do something
dramatic, rarely does anyone
ever come up to you crying
afterward.
Cryer: yeah, if they’re coming
up to you and bursting into
tears after watching your
comedy, there are probably
some other issues that are
presenting themselves.
“ Consistency in T V is rare, but
The Mentalist has met that standard
for five enter taining seasons.”
— Orlando Sentinel
killer thriller
K
evin Williamson has a confession. The guy
who invented the Scream franchise, who created The
Vampire Diaries and who is now producing the chilling
serial killer thriller The Following, hates the sight of blood.
“i can’t stomach the real stuff,” he admits.
fortunately, it’s mostly fake stuff on the set of The Following, a heartstopping cat-and-mouse drama about a former fBi agent with a tragic past
chasing after an erudite english professor-turned-failed-author-turnedescaped-mass-murderer (whose ex-wife just happens to be dating the
ex-agent). “at its core,” says Williamson, “it’s a love story. That’s what keeps
me invested in writing it. But it’s also a character study of two men.” and two
actors: Kevin Bacon plays the hero, Ryan hardy, and James Purefoy stars
as Professor Joe carroll, the charismatically evil literature teacher. “Bacon
and Purefoy are polar opposites but they have a beautiful rapport with each
other,” Williamson goes on. “Kevin is a great leading man but inside he’s a
great character actor. he’s so stoic but there’s something haunting in his eyes.
he can do so much with a look. and James is just out there. it’s a beautiful,
delicious performance. very wicked.”
Broken heroes are hard to find on Tv, which is why Bacon signed on for the
part. “he’s a great hero because he’s kind of a mess,” Bacon says. “What i was
drawn to was the darkness that was inside Ryan’s soul and exploring that,
even though he’s the hero. i wanted to play someone who is challenged, not
just a guy who comes into town on a white horse.”
Purefoy has grown attached to his character, as well, but still finds aspects
of Professor carroll challenging. “Part of his scariness is that he seems to be
very charming, erudite and articulate while simultaneously wondering what
you would look like with your eyes taken out,” says the actor, who read lots of
edgar allan Poe to prepare for the part. “anybody who loves
life and is an addict of life, which i am, can’t get into the
head space of someone who is an addict of death. it’s
such a 180-degree turn to how we normally live in
the world. These really dark areas, where he is at
his most nihilistic, were the most challenging for
me.”
of course, what also makes the show unique
is the cult of killer assistants Professor carroll has
Kevin Williamson
assembled to help carry out his evil deeds — his followers — and none is more loyal than valorie curry’s
emma hill, the Professor’s most dedicated and deadly disciple. for curry,
playing the part isn’t just an acting challenge (“Joe is every male figure in
her life — father, teacher, sometimes lover”) but also something of a postmodern head trip. “What i loved about [Williamson’s] writing is his ability to
comment on a genre while working within it,” curry says. “it’s just so meta!
you have Joe carroll writing this book and commenting about the archetypal
characters that Kevin Williamson’s been playing with. Kevin’s playing Joe
carroll with all of us.”
actually, in more ways than one. already this season Williamson has killed
off scores of emma’s fellow followers. “This is the kind of show it is — people
go left and right,” says adan canto, who played Paul Torres this season, until
he ended up getting murdered by follower Jacob Wells. says nico Tortorella,
who played Wells, until emma ended up cutting his throat, “We all knew
that death was looming over our heads. But you have to have faith in Kevin
Williamson. you know it’s all going to come around and make perfect sense.”
“The idea,” says Williamson, “is to create a new story each year that is an
overarching journey with our main characters and tell a new compelling
story. all the actors know there could be a short shelf life on this show. This is
probably not the best series for job security.”
wanted to play someone
“Iwho
is challenged, not just
a guy who comes into town
on a white horse.
”
— kevin bacon
Beneath the deadly layers
of Kevin Williamson’s
The Following lurks a love story
By Craig Tomashoff
the followers
Emma Hill
Jacob Wells
Paul Torres
Charlie Mead
Carroll’s most
devoted follower,
emma met him at his
book signing when
she was a teenager.
under Carroll’s direction, she becomes
nanny to his son
Joey, and infiltrates
his ex-wife’s house.
a proven killer (and
sometime bedmate
of Carroll), emma
obeys every order he
gives, including the
murder of her own
lover.
Jacob is in love with
emma but, under
orders from Carroll,
poses as part of a gay
couple (with fellow
follower Paul Torres)
and moves next door
to Sarah Fuller, the
only woman ever to
escape Carroll’s first
killing spree when
ryan Hardy rescued
her years before.
emma ends Jacob’s
life by slicing open
his throat.
although their
gay love affair
was a cover, Paul
developed romantic
feelings for Jacob
and became frustrated when Jacob
chose emma over
him. although Paul
ends up getting
shot, Jacob finishes
him off in a mercykilling..
an ex-soldier who
was assigned to follow Carroll’s ex-wife
while Carroll was
behind bars. Charlie
also falls in love with
Claire and fails in his
mission to capture
her. The guilt is too
much and he asks
Carroll to kill him.
Carroll obliges.
Roderick
Jordan Raines
Rick Kester
Molly
The Sheriff of
Havenport, where
Carroll’s cult is
located, roderick’s
also an old pal of
Carroll’s and his
right-hand man —
until he suspects
Carroll of betraying
him and kidnaps
Carroll’s son,
Joey, for leverage.
roderick ultimately
ends up dead, too.
Carroll’s prison guard
protégé, “Jordy”
wanted to be a follower so badly he
honed his murderous skills on dogs.
Then he slaughtered
three sorority girls
by copying Carroll’s
methods. He tried
to kill Claire but was
shot by ryan and
caught by the FBi.
He choked himself
to death on his own
bandages to avoid
betraying Carroll.
disguised as a creepy
edgar allan Poe
street performer,
he lit an innocent
man on fire. later,
he murdered the
college dean that Joe
believed was responsible for the downfall
of his academic
career. ryan shot and
killed kester.
Sent by Carroll to
seduce ryan — and
make him forget
about Claire — but
the romance fails.
She ends up stabbing
both ryan and Claire
in the season one
finale. She’s still
alive. For now.
(Valorie Curry)
(WarreN kole)
(NiCo TorTorella)
(STeVe moNroe)
(adaN CaNTo)
(miCHael drayer)
(Tom liPiNSki)
(JeNNiFer FerriN)
of his scariness is that he
“Part
seems to be very charming...
while simultaneously wondering
what you would look like with
your eyes taken out.
”
— james purefoy
SPECIAL
ADVERTISING
SUPPLEMENT
Guest star Kal Parekh (as Carroll's loyal follower
Aaron)
hangs around
the set. | JUNE 2013 | 27
you sAy you WANT A
No lights.
No power.
No problem.
How Eric Kripke
and J.J. Abrams
turned a global
energy shutdown
into a breakout hit.
By CRAig TomAsHoff
I
“Working on
Revolution is like
finally getting the
job you wanted
to have when you
were 8 years old.”
—Revolution star billy bUrkE
t's hard to say what’s been the biggest factor in
Revolution’s astonishing success its first year on the air. Maybe it’s the
show’s feature film–quality battle sequences. or its engaging, masterfully
crafted characters — all 190 of them. or the subtle but powerful performances by its cast of dedicated, committed actors.
or, maybe it’s the sword fights — like the one in episode 10 between billy
burke’s Miles Matheson and david Lyons’ sebastian Monroe. “These two
former best friends were now in a fight to the death,” creator/executive
producer eric Kripke says, about the scene. “The actors did such a beautiful
job of conveying the emotion and pain and history between them. it was the perfect
demonstration of what we aspire to with Revolution. it proved we’re an adventure
show that can have grand scope but intimate characters, brains and a lot of heart.”
grand scope, good characters, brains and heart are turning out to be a winning
formula. The critically acclaimed nbc series from warner bros. television about
life in post-apocalyptic america (after a defense department project went haywire and deactivated the world’s energy supply) ended up as the season’s #2 new
series and #2 network drama overall among viewers in the all-important adults
18–49 demographic (behind only The Following). Kripke admits that putting the
show together was “really fun, but really challenging,” whether it was writing
for scores of separate characters, choreographing staggeringly complex battle
sequences — both on the ground and in the skies — or convincing his lead actor
to get his butt kicked by dozens of bad guys in just about every episode.
“There are definitely days where you feel pretty beat up,” says burke. “but there’s
never been a day where i would think, ‘why didn’t i get that sitcom job instead?’
working on Revolution is like finally getting the job you wanted to have when you
were 8 years old.”
Revolution’s action sequences have become the signature of the show —
“arguably the biggest ever seen on network tV,” says Kripke — but the producers
take pains to keep its ambiance decidedly down to earth. “when we walk onto
the set, it doesn’t take much imagination to feel like you’re in this strange yet
familiar world,” says burke. “The designers and builders put you right in there. i
still remember walking into a set they’d built, this old library, and it had detail you
wouldn’t find in your own house. and if we can sense that as actors, viewers must
be responding to it too.”
Revolution’s distressed look helps
audiences relate to the
J.J. Abrams
show’s sci-fi premise,
and the sword fights and
explosions keep viewers on their toes.
however, the ultimate key to the show’s
success is obviously the people behind
the battles. which has meant hours
and hours spent weaving personal
dramas into every script in order to give
Revolution’s ongoing mythology more
meaning. explains Kripke, “every time
you ask a question, you need to answer
it, and every time you answer a question, that has to lead to even more story.
genre television really moves at a much
more aggressive pace now, thanks to
shows like Lost and The Walking Dead,
so we’ve thrown ourselves into that a
lot too.”
still, the central concept of the
series remains the loss of the world’s
energy, which means there is plenty
of irony in the fact that Revolution
is one of the most tech-dependent
shows on the air. state-of-the-art
electronics are necessary to keep
Kripke and his burbank-based staff
of writers connected with the production team and actors who shoot
on location more than 2,500 miles
away. for Revolution, a sudden loss
of electricity would be apocalyptic
indeed.
“i was on vacation in hawaii with
my family during our break,” recalls
Kripke, “and there was a blackout.
we were surrounded by bountiful
fruit crops and wonderful scenery,
cut off from the mainland, and i
thought maybe if the power did
go out for good, this is where
i’d want it to happen for me. but
then again, i’d
just spend all
my time thinking about
making season
two.”
Revolution has some of the biggest action sequences on
TV and its stars play no small part. (At left) Billy Burke
and Giancarlo Esposito as Miles Matheson and Major
Tom Neville, respectively. (From top) Creator/executive
producer Eric Kripke discusses a scene with Tim Guinee
(who plays Ben Matheson); Jeremy Baker (guest star
Mark Pellegrino), a member of the Monroe Militia’s
inner circle, stands his ground with other militiamen;
Charlie Matheson (Tracy Spiridakos) takes aim; Nora
(Daniella Alonso) makes a death-defying escape.
REVOLUTION
Wednesdays 8/7c this Fall NbC
www.nbc.com/revolution
Outfitting an Army
From gritty to Gucci, costume designer Roland
Sanchez creates post-apocalyptic style
By Craig Tomashoff
(Left) Extras in distressed duds form a chain gang. (Right) Charlie (Spiridakos) and Jason
(JD Pardo) wear their survival gear well.
R
oLand sanchez is ready
my name now!”
for a shopping break. as
finding the clothes is just the
Revolution’s costume designer, beginning. all the garments also
he’s regularly outfitting some 350
have to look as if they’ve been
extras with post-apocalypticworn for long periods in horrible
style boots, trousers, jackets and
conditions, which means hours
shirts. since the show went into
must be spent aging every item.
production last summer, he
on days when 300-plus actors
and his assistant have
had to be fitted with rebel
regularly been combing
wardrobe, sanchez and a
the local shops in search
handful of helpers would
of enough wardrobe to
find themselves frantigarb a whole rebel army.
cally sanding the edges
“There were something
of hems, rubbing clothes
Roland Sanchez
like 17 different [stores] we’d
with furniture polish or just
use, and they would have meltgrinding old-fashioned dirt into
downs when they saw us coming,”
them. but, of course, such authenhe says. “i’d tell them we’re going
ticity isn’t always cheap, especially
to need six of this or that, and
when it comes to billy burke’s sigthey’d have to then scour their
nature brown suede duster, which
stores across the country to get it
happens to be gucci. “i remember
for us. i think all the stores within
telling the producers it was going
three hours of our location know
to be expensive but it would also
look perfect,” he says. “when he
puts it on, he becomes a hero and
that’s what counts.”
DRESSED TO KILL:
(L-R) Miles (Burke) in his
signature brown duster.
Rachel (Elizabeth
Mitchell) keeps a low
profile in black.
twitter:
• Revolution: @NBCRevolution
• Billy Burke: @billy_burke
• Tracy Spiridakos: @trspiridakos
• Giancarlo Esposito: @quiethandfilms
• Zak Orth: @ZakOrth
• JD Pardo: @PardoJD
• Tim Guinee: @TimGuinee
• Jon Favreau: @Jon_Favreau
• David Rambo: @rambopolitan
SPECIAL ADVERTISING
ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT
SUPPLEMENT || JUNE
JUNE 2013
2013 | 29
SPECIAL
1
the art of
invisibility
Making the improbable possible
without being noticed BY CRAIG TOMASHOFF
T
hanks to visual effects supervisors, not every
fascinating performer or memory maker on tv has a
pulse. sometimes what gets the buzz isn’t a human being
but a thing — like the Machine on Person of Interest. When
visual effects supervisor Jay Worth was asked to develop
the all-seeing, all-knowing computer system that triggers the cases
tackled by crime stoppers reese ( Jim caviezel) and finch (Michael
Nikita’s Maggie Q
emerson), he knew exactly how to make it both memorable and
believable.
“you have to approach it as another character, one of the most
important characters on the show,” explains Worth. “We had to figure out how it
would look, how the camera would move, how this entity would parse out all the
information it has — which is a challenge because of the way images are built into
the show. There might be 140–200 individual elements per episode. i’m not sure if
people realize how much detail has to go into each Machine shot.”
visual effects aren’t just exploding buildings and green-screen action sequences.
it’s the craft of making the improbable, even the impossible — like an omniscient data
processor — totally believable. it can be created with computer-generated images,
or a mix of real photography and matte paintings, which is how that earthquake was
created on Arrow this season or how the spy headquarters on Nikita got blown up. in
the case of Person of Interest, each image from the Machine is shot for a specific scene
and never repeated. Whenever a timeline or address is shown on the
screen, both have been meticulously mapped out for accuracy.
When visual effects are done properly, viewers are completely
unaware of them. “you want what you’re doing to be seamless,” says George Macri, Nikita’s senior visual effects supervisor.
“people aren’t supposed to know they’re seeing something that is
computer-generated.”
a particularly well-done special effect, notes Arrow associate proArrow’s Stephen Amell
ducer Jon Wallace, “may well be the thing from the episode that gets
most buzzed about. so that’s one of the things we talk about before
we start anything. if there’s even a slight chance that something won’t succeed, we
won’t do it. That’s the biggest challenge with this field as a whole. if you do something well, you’re always having to do it better the next time.”
and not just better. on a show like Person of Interest, the main special effect — the
Machine — is also growing and evolving, just like a human character. at the end
of last season, for instance, viewers learned how the Machine “sees” and interprets
data to make its incredibly specific predictions. “That’s what makes it so compelling.”
says Worth. “it can build upon itself. it allows people to dig into the nitty-gritty of the
show. We’re creating effects, but we’re also giving shows reality.”
2
3
4
5
1 POI POV: An
artist’s rendering
of Person
of Interest’s
“Machine view,”
and (2) the actual
scene in the
season finale with
Jim Caviezel and
guest star
Sarah Shahi.
3 The explosive
season 3 finale
of Nikita sees
Division rigged for
destruction.
4 Special effects
shake The Glades
in Arrow’s season
finale. A matte
painting of the
destruction of
Starling City’s
Glades district.
5 Quentin Lance
(Paul Blackthorne)
attempts to
defuse the
doomsday device.
Are you ever mistaken for other
celebrities?
Daffy Duck (The Looney Tunes Show):
One time, someone thought I was Tom
Hanks.
Alfred E. Neuman (MAD): I can see
that — especially during his Forrest
Duck days.
Bugs Bunny (The Looney Tunes Show):
Ehh, that someone was the police,
Daffy, because you were found on his
property and arrested for trespassing.
Daffy: That is a matter between my
attorney and Mr. Hanks’ attorney.
Bugs: Who’s your attorney?
Daffy: Lola.
Lola (The Looney Tunes Show): And
Mr. Hanks better watch out, because
I am great at cross-examination. No,
wait, cross-dressing. No wait, that’s
Bugs. Daffy, Bugs should be your
attorney!
Alfred: One time at Starbucks, Alfred
Molina and I almost came to blows
over whose order was being called
out. Turns out we both get the skinny
vanilla latte.
Robin (Teen Titans Go!): Never.
[Gesturing to his face] These chiseled features, this elegant profile. I’m
unmistakable.
Bugs, you look fantastic for someone
who has been in showbiz for as long
as you have. What’s your secret?
Bugs: Honestly? Carrots. They’re great
for my skin.
Daffy: Oh, is that what they’re calling
Restylane these days? “Carrots”?
Starfire (Teen Titans Go!): What is the
Restylane?
Robin: It’s something that keeps your
skin young.
Starfire: Oh. On my planet we preserve our youth by drinking the blood
of children who have failed in the
combat arena.
Alfred: Let’s not focus on age. If we do,
this entire table will be starring in next
year’s Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
How are you adjusting to the world
of social media?
Beast Boy (Teen Titans Go!): I
love it! I’m tweeting. I’m
Tumbling. I’m still on
MySpace, yo! Rockin’ the
Instagram.
Robin: I’m on Twitter too.
I regret using the handle
@TheBoyWonder. There have
been some misunderstandings.
Alfred: I’m sorry, go to someone else. I
thought you said social chlamydia and
have to adjust my answer.
Bugs: I actually don’t use Facebook
or Twitter. I’d rather have face to face
interactions with people.
Lola: Wait, you’re not on Facebook?
Then, who have I been poking for the
past year?
Daffy: (to interviewer) Please tell me
you got that.
Where did you study acting?
Bugs: I actually spent a semester at
the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
Robin: I grew up in the circus, so I
learned a lot about comedy from
the clowns. Then my parents were
murdered.
What’s the one role you’ve
been dying to play but have
never had the chance?
Robin: Batman. But do you know
who always gets that role? Batman.
Beast Boy: Lassie. But they said I can’t,
cuz I’m green. Racists.
Bugs: Honestly, I’m perfectly content
just being the best me I can be.
Daffy: Ugh. You’re coming across real
unlikeable. You should think about hiring my publicist, Bugs.
Toons, ExposEd
A no-holds-barred, uncensored discussion with some
of the best-drawn characters on TV about being
mistaken for showbiz royalty, stalking Tom Hanks and
nearly coming to blows over a skinny vanilla latte
Lola: Get out! I spent a semester at the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art! Oh, no
wait. I’m thinking of the Waco Academy
of Makeup and Hair.
Daffy: I’ve dabbled in Meisner. Of
course, I’ve also dabbled in Satanism.
Neither really stuck.
Alfred: I study privately with
Delta Burke.
Bugs: Who’s your publicist?
Daffy: Lola.
Lola: (to Daffy) That reminds me, I’ve
got you booked for an appearance on
The Merv Griffin Show this Tuesday.
Alfred: I’m pushing Warner Bros. to
let me star in a remake of Cool Hand
Luke, based solely on the fact that they
wouldn’t have to change the name on
the poster.
Is there a
stigma to
being a cartoon
character?
Daffy: Not at all. I can see perfectly. In
fact, I have 20/20 vision.
Bugs: A stigma. Not astigmatism.
Lola: I actually have 100/100 vision. It’s
just like 20/20 vision, but much better.
Bugs: There’s nothing better than
20/20 vision.
Lola: Really? There’s nothing better?
Like, in the whole world? That’s sad,
Bugs.
Alfred: I prefer not to answer religious
questions.
Robin: I suppose. I have been accused
of being ... two dimensional. BOOM!
Two dimensional! Set it up, knock
them down!
Beast Boy: Really not that funny, bro.
Robin: I’m killing this roundtable!
Starfire: Please stop, Robin. You are
embarrassing us.
Robin: Two dimensional. Ha!
Who are some of your comedy
influences?
Alfred: Delta Burke.
Bugs: Jerry Seinfeld, Mel Brooks,
Woody Allen…
Daffy: Fareed Zakaria.
Lola: Oh, I love her.
If making people laugh wasn’t
your job, what would you be
doing instead?
Daffy: Saving lives.
Bugs: Wow. I’m impressed.
Daffy: Or retail. Probably retail.
Alfred: Uh hello, I was elected
President of the United States last
year. Clearly I didn’t get your vote, but
here’s an Alfred for President kitchen
sponge because we were left with
crates of them.
Robin: What do you mean making
people laugh? Who’s laughing at me?
Are people laughing at me?
FROM SOUTHFORK, WITH LOVE
To his friends from Dallas, the late Larry Hagman will always be
remembered for the role he was "born to play"
“He was
the most
irreverent
person
I’d ever met.
Everything
was fair
game.”
—PatRick DUffy
PhoTo CoURTESy of
Dallas STAR JoSh hEND
ERSo
N
Linda Gray Celebrates
the Man Who Was
J.R. Ewing
T
Larry Hagman (1931–2012)
as J.R. Ewing
Patrick Duffy Remembers His Best Friend
I
met Larry Hagman at tHe
very first table read of Dallas in
1978. He waltzed into the room
wearing a fringe buckskin jacket and a
giant white cowboy hat and had black
saddlebags over his shoulders with
chilled bottles of champagne. When we
shook hands and introduced ourselves,
I knew that he was going to be a really
good friend. Indeed, he became my
best friend.
Larry was never out of costume. I
think he felt his whole life was a costume parade. He would complain about
being noticed all the time or not having
any privacy — and yet he dressed so
outrageously that people would look
at him all the time! He was a wonderful, enjoyable contradiction in terms.
He was the most irreverent person
I’d ever met. everything was fair
game. When I left the show for a
couple of years, I did a tV movie version of Alice in Wonderland. I played
a goat on a train with Steve allen and
merv griffin. Larry turned up on the
set with a couple of live, foul-smelling goats and put them in my dressing room and waited for me. “So this
is why you left Dallas?” he said when
I came through the door.
In 35 years, I never saw Larry in
a bad mood. It was always “good
morning! I’m fantastic! How are
you?” When he was going to radiation therapy every day, he had to put
his head in a harness and strap it
down and have radiation shot into
his neck. He would do that every
morning and then arrive on set, with
blisters on his neck, saying, “good
morning! Fantastic!”
When he died, I don’t think he
had a single regret. I don’t think he
felt he’d left anything undone. He
led a charmed life. and he walked
through life feeling that way — that
life was a celebration and he was
the guest of honor.
He SceneS WItH Larry
were always my favorite. There
was a charisma and chemistry
that started early on. acting with Larry
was like playing a manic game of pingpong. I never knew what he was going
to throw at me. and that was part of
the magic of working with him.
Larry never felt comfortable with
love scenes. He always made a joke.
It was uncomfortable for him to be
romantic. So our best scenes were the
ones where we were angry at each
other. Those were the magical ones.
Larry felt comfortable doing those. Sue
ellen and J.r. had great fights. They
were elizabeth taylor-richard Burton
and Hepburn-tracy types of fights.
I miss him hugely. I remember when
we were in the hospital room, and he
said to Patrick and me that he had
two weeks to live and I said, “Oh no,
that’s not true, we have a scene on
monday.” We were all there at the end,
in the hospital room. His children and
grandchildren were there. He had prearranged a trip to Southfork — he was
taking them to have a picnic but got
too sick. But everyone came anyway.
He spoke to each of the grandchildren
individually, told them to study and
to be good. It was the most amazingly
orchestrated exit I’ve ever witnessed.
He passed while playing J.r. ewing.
I think all of us want to go out doing
what we love to do.
TM & © 2013 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise — without the prior written permission of Warner Bros. Entertainment.
“ ...so irresistible in its vitality and suspense...”
— The Wall Street Journal
F O R
Y O U R
TM & © 2013 FOX and iTs relaTed enTiTies. all righTs reserved.
E M M Y
®
C O N S I D E R A T I O N

And lots of sex. - The Hollywood Reporter

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