|
Post by Sara on Mar 27, 2005 19:29:32 GMT -5
Posted by LeeHollins:
This is from TV Guide Online. In the printed version, there is a little more. I'll add it tomorrow.
Interview With the Vampire
When Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon decided to hook up the show's heroine with a 245-year-old vampire with a soul, he didn't have high expectations. "I thought people would be like, 'That's so cheesy,'" he says. Instead, the chemistry between Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz turned the 1997 pairing into one of TV's great star-crossed romances and transformed the unknown Boreanaz into a heartthrob and, in 1999, the star of his own WB spin-off, Angel.
This week, the drama celebrates a milestone — its 100th episode — with an epic installment that marks the return of original cast member Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) in all her wisecracking glory. "She really is the person to say [to Angel], 'I was here when you started and look where you are now,'" Whedon says. Recently, Boreanaz and the man he affectionately calls "Boss" met up on Angel's Los Angeles set to talk about branching out from Buffy.
TVG: David, what was your reaction to the idea of having your own show? Boreanaz: I'm very fortunate. I mean, to give me my own series — a character like this [who] is so diverse, so old. There's so much to him. When I read the breakdown for the character, it was something like, "245-year-old vampire with a conscience. If you knock him down, he'll get back up like Joe Louis." The Joe Louis line stuck with me.
TVG: Joss, you've said if you had to compare Angel to a superhero, it would be Batman. Is that how you always envisioned him? Whedon: He does have the Batman thing of "I am all alone... with my 12 sidekicks." There are, like, 48 guys with keys to the Batcave. But, and I think this is a human truth, you are still alone. You can be alone in a crowd of people who love you. That is our curse. And that's why I think vampires as a concept register.
TVG: In 2001, Buffy moved to UPN but Angel stayed on the WB. Did you worry that splitting the shows up would hurt Angel? Whedon: In terms of Angel I was pleased, just because it was time for people to realize that it stood on its own.
TVG: It must've been hard, though, to continue to deal with the WB after such nasty negotiations over Buffy. Whedon: Yeah. This was a negotiation where both [then-20th Century Fox chairman] Sandy Grushow and [WB chairman] Jamie Kellner went at each other. And when elephants fight, mice get trampled. It was really just about money.
TVG: David, what did you think the first time you heard about the story line in which Angel's infant son, Connor, would age into a teenager within a few episodes? Boreanaz: It's nuts, man. But when Vincent [Kartheiser, who played Connor] came on, I really enjoyed working with him. But now nobody remembers Connor [on the show] except me. <spoiler deleted>
TVG: Were you shocked at how resistant fans were when you put Angel and Cordelia together? Whedon: "Resistant" isn't the word. They were chasing us through the streets with torches. They hated the idea. The Buffy-Angel [romance] has lingered. Boreanaz: The Buffy-Angel connection has got to win out [in the end]. They're perfect together.
|
|
|
Post by Sara on Mar 27, 2005 19:30:58 GMT -5
Posted by deborah:This is from TV Guide Online. In the printed version, there is a little more. I'll add it tomorrow. Interview With the Vampire<snip> TVG: Were you shocked at how resistant fans were when you put Angel and Cordelia together? Whedon: "Resistant" isn't the word. They were chasing us through the streets with torches. They hated the idea. The Buffy-Angel [romance] has lingered. Boreanaz: The Buffy-Angel connection has got to win out [in the end]. They're perfect together. Jeez, this pisses me off. The above comments are a perfect example of how invested JW & DB (and most likely all of ME) is in the Buffy & Angel romance. Fans hated Angel and Cordelia and JW and DB just assume it's because they can't stand the idea of Angel loving anyone but Buffy. JW said: ""Resistant" isn't the word. They were chasing us through the streets with torches. They hated the idea. The Buffy-Angel [romance] has lingered. [emphasis mine] DB said: "The Buffy-Angel connection has got to win out [in the end]. They're perfect together." [emphasis mine] No indication that either considered the possibility that there might be another reason why fans hated B/C, that it betrayed their close friendship, that it felt like incest. Seems to me that all the ME folks share the fundamental conviction that no matter where the characters' journeys lead them, Angel and Buffy are true soul mates and belong together, whether or not they ever can/will be, so neither of them will ever truly love anyone else. Not that I agree, you understand (as if anyone around here could have any doubts on thatscore). But I can't think of a single interview I've ever read with any ME personage that contradicted this basic premise and even presumed that we all share it. deborah
|
|
|
Post by Sara on Mar 27, 2005 19:32:20 GMT -5
Posted by Laura:
Okay, I realize this might be a little WAY off-topic, but according to this article from this past Sunday's NYT, the role of 007 will be up for grabs soon, and I really can't say that I agree with any of the candidates listed in this article. Let's campaign for Alexis Denisof!
November 9, 2003 Auditioning the Next James Bond By ELVIS MITCHELL AS 2003 rolls to an end, the phrase "Academy Award winner" will appear more frequently in movie ads, Tom Cruise will gaze winsomely from the cover of every magazine except Cook's Illustrated and Black Enterprise, and the annual, unofficial "Who will be the next James Bond?" sweepstakes will commence.
This runoff takes on more weight now. MGM has just finished releasing the complete set of Bond movies on DVD; Pierce Brosnan has stated that he's ready to move on after he completes the next Bond picture, the 21st (scheduled to begin shooting in 2005); and the proposed spin-off starring Halle Berry as Jinx, the secret agent from "Die Another Day," has been shut down.
Bond is due for another redefinition — though not as thorough an overhaul as the one in the late 1980's, when Timothy Dalton, possibly the best actor ever hired to play Bond, was given an anti-pleasure mandate. The character's previous hedonism seemed a little untoward during the days of stock plunges and the first glimmers in the media of AIDS. So Mr. Dalton was stripped of his charisma in his Bond films — he showed more flair as the villain in "The Rocketeer" than he was allowed as a mirthless, driven, monogamous Bond so reliable he could have been a designated driver. And a Bond with a blood alcohol level of less than 0.2 frankly seems like an impostor.
The latest actor rumored to be in line for 007 — James Bond 6.0 — is Hugh Jackman, whose burly, scrappy presence made Wolverine seem like a real-life character in the "X-Men" movies and, more important, convinced fans of the comic books that it was O.K. that the movie Wolverine wasn't short. Clive Owen, whose brooding élan would have made him a prime contender, seems out of the running — which is too bad, since his fluid sensitivity and slender-lipped magnetism supply their own intrigue. (He shouldn't be disappointed — the collection of "Hire" shorts he stars in for BMW are far more comprehensible than the last few Bonds anyway.)
Mr. Jackman's physical wit shows he can embody the virile chill that's a Bond prerequisite — tailors are probably already fitting him for the series of Visa check card commercials he'll be dragooned into, all the better to debase the Bond brand. (This is a good point to remember: it was United Artists, the closest thing the 1960's had to an art-house outfit, that originally released the Bond films; no one imagined the movies would grip the imagination of baby-boomer men and their dads.)
Roger Moore, an actor of glissandos smoother than fat-free yogurt, may have been the only Bond who never looked as if he'd missed a night's sleep — he seemed to be napping even during "Octopussy." I always thought the best choice to replace him was David Bowie, whose wily trimness was close to the Bond described in the novels. His benign, pearly speaking voice was often contrasted with an evil expanse of crooked teeth when he smiled, and he could easily play the predatory elegance. You could imagine Q keeping a safe distance as he demonstrated the latest weaponry. More recently, Sharon Stone was heard clearing her throat, though the sound didn't travel far enough to register — or else, it was politely ignored. Her appetite for nourishment beyond the spiritual might have made her an attractive selection for the role of Bond. (She would have given the character something entirely unfamiliar — a laugh.)
In the 80's, two-fisted, working-class American action heroes played by actors like Mel Gibson and Bruce Willis — who actually broke a sweat while saving the world or, at least, their own area codes — began supplanting James Bond and his high-end, secret accessories. The producers of the Bond films realized that the American inferiority complex was no longer an operative part of movie fiction, and it's said that an offer was going to be made to Mr. Gibson. The question was: would the resulting film be a James Bond movie or a Mel Gibson movie?
It was wisely decided that Mr. Gibson would have overwhelmed the franchise — note the absence of any nationwide casting search for "Lethal Weapon Jr." When the Bond movies seemed to qualify for the collectible antiques section of eBay, Mr. Brosnan finally got his shot. And he earned the role in the opening sequence of "Goldeneye." During a pivotal scene, he wires a device while a nearby building erupts in an explosion, and he flinches briefly — it's like an action man's shrug, the equivalent of callused eyelids — while continuing to make his bomb. It's a pop gesture that showed ownership of the part, something he had also aged into. He had been offered it earlier, but commitments to "Remington Steele," a show that made him seem like a piece of wax fruit, had forced him to turn it down. In walking away before he gets bored — or cross-eyed from trying to keep up with the plot turns, which crop up like additions on a really ugly house — he's showing savvy judgment.
But the possible inclusion of Mr. Jackman in the list of Bonds — Sean Connery, Mr. Moore, Mr. Dalton, Mr. Brosnan and, um, George Lazenby, sort of — is probably sending an extra chill through Ian Fleming's martini in that great Goldeneye of the beyond. Fleming, the creator of 007, was an elitist's elitist — the books are filled with the brittle, patronizing attitude of a man still under the illusion that the sun never set on the British empire. As he runs through his listings of ne plus ultra favorites, his dilettantish preferences in fabrics, liquors and tobaccos make those books seem like either a particularly snobbish episode of "Seinfeld" or the Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog. His Old World manners and diction aside, Fleming could have been a racist out of an old Randy Newman song. (It was always amusing to note that John F. Kennedy was a Bond enthusiast — was it the easy sex or the hand-made shirts?)
What would the priggish Fleming think of the rough-trade islanders — the Scottish Mr. Connery, the Irish Mr. Brosnan, the Welsh Mr. Dalton and, Queen help us, the Australian Mr. Jackman and Mr. Lazenby. He wouldn't have bothered to look up if one of them served him a drink, unless the Scotch reeked of a blend. He wouldn't have thought them qualified to use Suave shampoo, let alone to be called suave. (Mercifully, Fleming eventually exhibited the glimmerings of a soul, or, at least, his greed softened his isolationism. Later in the books, in tribute to Mr. Connery's contribution to the Bond franchise, the author gave Bond a Scottish pedigree.)
As apt a choice as Mr. Jackman would make, perhaps just as qualified — and the right 21st-century alternative — would be Chow Yun Fat, whose somber, bone-deep urbanity might also give Bond the very characteristic he could use as much as a laugh: a heart.
|
|
|
Post by Sara on Mar 27, 2005 19:33:41 GMT -5
Posted by Laura:
July 13, 2003
Cover story: She shoots, she scores She might look as sweet as cherry pie, but Alyson Hannigan has been pretty shrewd in her choice of roles. And now Buffy’s bewitching sidekick is back for another slice of the movie series that has scandalised a nation. Garth Pearce reports For Alyson Hannigan, the magic has gone. As Willow, the (mostly) good witch and right-hand gal of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, she has woven her last spell and disappeared into the night, along with the seven-year-old hit series. It has, she says, been a time when all her wishes came true. But for Hannigan herself, the fantasy is not quite over. She is next on screen as her other regular character, the nerdy temptress Michelle Flaherty, in the third film in the American Pie series. This one is called American Wedding. But we should not be fooled by the respectable-sounding title, apparently. The film is still awash with the kind of appalling bad taste that has turned the small-budget original of 1999 into an unlikely film franchise that has so far earned £150m at the box office. Hannigan is the sole survivor in a cast of some of Hollywood’s best-looking twentysomethings — Tara Reid, Mena Suvari, Natasha Lyonne and Shannon Elizabeth included — and, consequently it’s another big payday. “I have,” she says, “been very fortunate. I have earned well without ever having to suffer the downside, like photographers hanging around to see if you’re behaving badly. It has been a journey rich in work and rewards.”
Those rewards, including a cool £160,000 an episode for the last 22 episodes of Buffy, and £1.8m for American Wedding, are the sort that cause jaws to drop for those in successful television series or movies in Britain. She has been able to buy a mansion in Sacramento, California, and a top-of-the-range BMW convertible — “Black, with leather seats” — with some of the booty. She is also planning a lavish wedding to her actor boyfriend, Alexis Denisof, one of the stars of Angel, Buffy’s brother programme, which spun off four years ago. She met Denisof when his Angel character, the sobersided Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, appeared in the 1999 series of Buffy.
Yet Hannigan looks not the least bit rich or showy when we meet at an ultra-smart hotel in London. She also looks several years short of her age, which is 29. Her sweatpants and T-shirt, finished off with Nike trainers — one of 20 pairs she owns — give her more the appearance of a regular tourist. The only thing missing is the backpack. “When I’m here, I do touristy things,” she agrees. “I go shopping at Marks & Spencer — I love the food, particularly the custard pies — and often hire a car to drive out of the city.”
On her previous trip, she took a few days off from a round of television interviews and went to Ireland to search out the Hannigan family history. “I drove a car down the M4, into Wales, took a ferry over and ended up in Cork,” she says, seemingly unaware that most visiting American actresses need hand-holding to get to the film-company limo to take them 500yd to Gucci. “It was beautiful. But I thought I was a lot more Irish than I really am. I am a weak drinker — one glass of wine or Guinness and I am fuzzed — and my background seems to have got lost in the mists of time.”
What also seems to have got lost is any Hollywood-speak, which so often comes as standard issue. Hannigan, with her pale skin, quirky but sexy features and short, reddish hair, comes across as someone close to normal, which can be a dangerous quality among those who do the hiring and firing. She doesn’t drink, she doesn’t do drugs, she doesn’t sleep around and she is more likely to shop at Gap than Versace.
“I am not typical,” she agrees. “I also have an aversion to mirrors.” Before I have the chance to think that perhaps this is a Buffy moment, she adds: “Everyone in Hollywood seems to be obsessed with mirrors. There are mirrors everywhere, all day — in the trailers where we get changed, in the make-up department, in the hair department, on set. Go to someone’s house and what is the first thing you see? A giant mirror. We look at ourselves far too much, and it makes us all self-obsessed about appearance.”
Hannigan’s own appearance — the approachable, blue-eyed but not too beautiful girl next door — has stood her in good stead in a career that stretches back to the age of four, when she appeared in a McDonald’s commercial. Her parents had separated in Washington DC when she was just two, and her mother, an estate agent, took her first to Atlanta, Georgia, and then to Los Angeles. Was it a case of being pushed by mom? “For some reason, I always knew what I wanted,” she says. “My mom was just following my wishes to act. I don’t know why, because I never really think of myself as a confident person. But I had confidence in acting, even as a kid, and felt at ease. That has never left me. Once I was in Los Angeles, I did all the things that you are supposed to do — get an agent, go to meetings and auditions — and started picking up some work.” (cont'd next post)
|
|
|
Post by Sara on Mar 27, 2005 19:34:30 GMT -5
Posted by Laura:
The work was steady rather than spectacular. Her debut movie role, in 1988, was as Kim Basinger’s stepdaughter in My Stepmother Is an Alien, and she appeared on Roseanne within the same year. After that, there was more television — Picket Fences, Almost Home, Touched by an Angel — until she was hired, as a familiar TV face rather than a name, as the witch Willow Rosenberg in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series could not have done better had it been blessed by a spell from Willow herself.
“We just watched it take off in amazement,” she says. “We all believed in what we were doing, obviously, but suddenly to become this hot new cult show, with fans from all over the world, took our breath away. After that, it was a matter of everyone, from the writers to the cast, making sure it stayed popular. I used to pester the show’s creator, Joss Whedon, to tell me all the future stories. Then, a couple of years ago, he told me all his plans — and most of them did not happen. So, after that, I told him: ‘I don’t want to know a thing. I will take the twists as they come.’”
An unexpected twist was Willow suddenly becoming a lesbian — an old stand-by that has been used to spice up many a series of late. “At one point, I was thinking that Willow was really treading water and nothing seemed to be happening for her,” she says. “Then we are into a whole new scene and it became exciting. It was also a challenge as an actress, because I am not attracted, sexually, to women in the slightest.”
Her strictly heterosexual past includes a marriage proposal from her first long-term boyfriend, the artist Steven Sutphen, after three years together. “Very sweet and flattering, but far too early in my life,” she says. She was also the regular date of Ginger Fish, the drummer from Marilyn Manson’s band — “My rock’n’roll spell” — and is now the fiancée of 37-year-old Denisof, whom she plans to marry in October. “It was flirtation at first sight with Alexis,” she recalls. “I was trying to pursue him, but he did not want to date someone he was working with. So we just developed a friendship, with me hoping it would lead to something else.
“After a time, I got bored with him not wanting to date me. I started seeing someone else and, suddenly, Alexis did not like that. But I kept on seeing this other guy and told Alexis: ‘Let’s just be friends.’ That seemed to make him more enthusiastic than ever. When my other relationship ended, I noticed that Alexis had changed towards me. Flirtation had developed into truly caring about each other. I said: ‘What are we going to do about it now? The attraction is too hard to ignore.’ It had taken me at least a year to get him this interested. Since then, it has been great. Even now, I think I put him under a spell. Either that or I played things very carefully.”
Denisof was entranced. “I remember thinking that if he and I did start dating, it would be ‘real’,” she says. “I think I got scared off a little, and that’s why I let him get off the hook. He had also just got out of a bad relationship and perhaps needed time. After all that, the relationship is now much stronger and better.”
But she was so surprised at his marriage proposal last Christmas, she almost refused. They were in the Napa Valley wine region of California, preparing for a picnic. He told her he was going to the car to fetch another jacket, as he was cold, but returned with a made-to-measure diamond engagement ring. “My brain shut off in shock,” she says. “I said: ‘Oh, no.’” He looked amazed as I recovered and said: ‘It’s a yes.’”
It would have been easy to become a smart celebrity couple around town. That has been avoided so far, as Hannigan is not big on parties or premieres. “I can understand both the good and bad of being well known,” she says. “At its most extreme, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman were photographed and scrutinised everywhere they went. That must have added pressure to the relationship, even though it was the single biggest surprise to me of all the failed Hollywood marriages when they divorced.”
So, it is a wedding, both on screen and off, for Hannigan. In the film, directed by Bob Dylan’s eldest son, Jesse, her musician character finally gets together with the hapless Jim (Jason Biggs). Nothing runs smoothly, of course. “There might be a wedding, but it’s still in the worst taste,” she cheerfully reports. “It is best not to think too closely about some of the gross remarks and scenes. But I think what has kept the films alive is that the audience cares about the characters. The characters still have heart — and that was as important in Buffy as it is in American Wedding.”
It is clear that Hannigan has plenty of heart herself. Next up, she is looking at theatre projects in New York for the autumn. “I have something in mind that is as far removed from Willow or Michelle as it is possible to be,” she says. “Hollywood is an insane place, and we could do with a break. I always remember that, for the vast majority, there is a very different world out there.”
|
|
|
Post by Karen on May 18, 2005 16:23:23 GMT -5
Stupid Playbill, doesn't even mention "Firefly" or "Serenity". They need to get with the program. www.playbill.com/news/article/93004.htmlStage and screen star Alan Tudyk will fill in for Tony Award nominee Hank Azaria when the actor takes his leave from Monty Python's Spamalot on Broadway later this year. Azaria will take a break from his Broadway debut June 6 to return to filming on his Showtime drama series "Huff." He is expected to return to his Spamalot roles (including Lancelot, The French Taunter, Knight of Ni and Tim the Enchanter) by late November, according to production spokespersons. Tudyk was last seen on Broadway in Epic Proportions. The actor appeared in the films "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story," "28 Days" and "A Knight's Tale," on stage in Wonder of the World, The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, Misalliance, Oedipus and Bunny Bunny. Other credits include "Wonder Boys," "Patch Adams," "Ice Age" and as the robot Sonny in "I, Robot" and TV's "Arrested Development," "Frasier" and "Strangers with Candy." Spamalot was recently nominated for 14 Tony Awards including noms for Azaria, his co-stars Tim Curry, Michael McGrath, Christopher Sieber and Sara Ramirez as well as the show's score, book, direction, choreography, designs, orchestrations and the musical itself. Mike Nichols ("The Graduate," "Angels in America") directed the musical inspired by the 1975 feature film comedy "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" which landed at Broadway's Shubert for a St. Valentine's Day (Feb. 14) start and a St. Patrick's Day (March 17) opening. The self-proclaimed "lovingly ripped-off" show features a book by Eric Idle, based on the screenplay he co-wrote with Monty Python creators Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. The new score with music and lyrics by Idle and composer John Du Prez ("A Fish Called Wanda") also includes songs ("Brave Sir Robin" and "Knights of the Round Table") from the original film as well as Python signature "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life." Spamalot tells the tale of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table on their quest for the Holy Grail — with a short stop in the dazzling Spam-filled land of Camelot. Tim Curry, David Hyde Pierce and Hank Azaria star with Christopher Sieber, Michael McGrath, Steve Rosen and Sara Ramirez with an ensemble that includes John Bolton, Christian Borle, Brad Bradley, Thomas Cannizzaro, Kevin Covert, Jennifer Frankel, Lisa Gajda, Jenny Hill, Emily Hsu, James Ludwig, Abbey O'Brien, Daniel Pearce, Ariel Reid, Pamela Remler, Greg Reuter, Brian Shepard, Rick Spaans and Scott Taylor. For more information, visit the show website at www.montypythonsspamalot.com.
|
|
|
Post by Karen on Jun 5, 2005 16:05:32 GMT -5
Good review of "The Wicked Prayer". Edward Furlong in THE CROW: WICKED PRAYER Movie News CROW 4 Review from "A Boy and His Bird" Dateline: Sunday, June 5, 2005
By: NEWS EDITOR By: Source: AHaHB
ABaHB.com has posted their review of the recent screening of THE CROW: WICKED PRAYER.
They stated "THE CROW: WICKED PRAYER marks a return to a stylized form of film making. Each scene, especially early on, is like a framed poetic piece of art work. That word “poetic” was used by quite a few folks when describing the various scenes. The film/story is set in the desert Southwest. Everything has dust/sand on it. Gone is the urban decay of previous stories. This dusty/dirty atmosphere helps to establish the film as a modern western tale."
The reviewer felt the film looked "fantastic" and that Edward Furlong, David Boreanaz, and David Ortiz all gave good performances. They went on to note "the villains overall are a much improved element over previous sequels. The beauty of this film is for the first time, we see the villains as humans. They have back stories that we are given glimpses into." Entire review with small spoilers here: www.abahbnews.com/thecrow4/reviews.html
|
|
|
Post by Karen on Jul 30, 2005 0:03:22 GMT -5
blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/tv/archives/005398.html*snerk* DB Feeling the Joss-love. Interviewer not *getting* DB. *snortle* "there just wasn't an equal amount of blueberries in this one muffin I wanted" *falls over laughing* TV GAL IN L.A. Melanie McFarland blogs from the networks' midsummer press tour. « Hitting the wall | Main | Fox gives us a good "Break" » July 29, 2005 Hush hush, my darling...no, really, zip it.
Here's a tip. If you really like an actor or actress -- and by "like" I mean, they star in dreams that have you waking up flushed and happy, or you decide they're adorable based on a character they play really well -- do yourself a favor and don't attempt to engage them. You'll ruin the fantasy.
Say hi, tell them you like their work, but leave it at that. Trust me. Nine times out of ten, more extensive encounters never end up being everything you expected. And all future experiences with that person on or off the screen will be tainted.
Take yesterday's conversation with David Boreanaz, currently starring in Fox's investigative drama "Bones," airing Tuesdays at 8 as of Sept. 13. Boreanaz co-stars as Agent Booth, the law enforcer to Dr. Temperance Brennan's forensics anthropologist (Emily Deschanel).
Now, don't get me wrong, I've spoken with Boreanaz before, and he's nice enough. A very get-the-job-done sort of guy. And visions of him in "Angel," in which he played the strong, silent type to perfection, still make the ladies sigh.
Boreanaz broods too, but he is not silent. And that's too bad.
When asked about his experience with "Buffy" and "Angel," the shows that made him famous, he had this to offer about character development.
"We didn't have restraints. We were able to open up our lives, bring what was relevant to a character, make it real and personal to the people who were watching, which I think is more interesting to watch than a straightforward typical person who's going to do what's arranged for them -- it never made sense to me."
OK, thanks. You can simmer down now.
"It never made sense in Joss's (Whedon, "Buffy" creator) world as well," he continued. "His eye was always into the unique little blue ball that was spinning freely, and within that is a spark. I think that we have that here, and it's a testimony to great writing because it has to be on the page."
After I sorted out what that speech was about, another questioner took us back to an earlier remark he had made about not initially liking "Bones" producers Hart Hanson and Barry Josephson. That launched Boreanaz into another long story about having gone to the audition on a bad morning that began with chasing his wild three-year-old.
"I was remembering eating some bad muffins. I'm not supposed to eat muffins because it's a bad carb and your LPLs will be going up, but I wanted one anyway, and there just wasn't an equal amount of blueberries in this one muffin I wanted."
Blah blah blah, Boreanaz went into the office to talk about the script. "I was kind of conflicted with some of the ideas of, 'Is this going to be recent bones? Is this going to be a recently decomposed body? How is this going to work week to week? ' And then Hart started talking about my show 'Angel,' and I just really was not into talking about that."
"And then Barry just sat there."
Mind you, this came after the session's highlight, when someone asked about the perks of being partnered with a strong female doctor versus a strong female vampire slayer.
"Well, I can actually go to bed with this one," Boreanaz said.
"You mean without losing your soul," Hanson added.
"Exactly," Boreanaz finished. "Possibly."
So you can still have those fantasies, ladies. Just make sure they start with, "Shh -- no more talking."
|
|
|
Post by Karen on Aug 25, 2005 8:25:00 GMT -5
www.backstage.com/backstage/features/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001021116While working on the TV movie I Want to Marry Ryan Banks Bradley Cooper was constantly regaled with stories about a certain actor. His co-star, Emma Caulfield, couldn't stop talking about Nicholas Brendon, who played her love interest on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. "She kept saying, 'Oh, my God, there was this guy that I worked with who you kind of remind me of, but he's really funny and he's such a great actor. You guys would get along,'" says Cooper. "Every day we'd do a scene, and she'd go, 'Oh, my God, he would be so great in that scene.' I'm, like, 'The scene I just did?' She's, like, 'Yeah, oh, my God, the choices he would have made.' This guy, Nicholas Brendon, I wanted to f***ing kill him."
In a neat twist of fate, the two are now starring together in Kitchen Confidential, a new FOX comedy that revolves around bad-boy chef Jack Bourdain (Cooper) and his staff at a hip New York City eatery. Brendon portrays Seth, an old pal of Jack's who comes to work for him. "It's so crazy that we're working together now," says Cooper. "And [Emma was] right: We both find the same things funny."
That much is certainly obvious. Over brunch, Cooper and Brendon are very much in sync, ribbing each other good-naturedly and jokingly proclaiming that they share a psychic bond. "We actually have become so close we don't have to talk anymore," says Brendon. "What's going on in our heads is 10 times better than this."
Prior to Kitchen, both actors played nice guys on cult-hit series with kick-ass female leads: Brendon was sarcastic sidekick Xander Harris on Buffy; Cooper spent two seasons as well-meaning reporter Will Tippin on Alias. Cooper also has a scene-stealing supporting role in this summer's raucous comedy Wedding Crashers.
To kick things off, Cooper recalled his Kitchen audition.
Bradley Cooper: I remember, in the middle of the audition, I felt like they were excited and I was excited. Usually you walk in a room and you get the feeling they're, like, "Great, do your thing, 'cause there are, like, eight more [actors]." David Hemingson, [who created the show with Darren Star], is amazing, and he was so effusive in his excitement about the project. We started to do the audition, and halfway through I just felt like I wasn't nailing it. I remember, I thought, "I'm not gonna get this. I'm actually losing the role right now." I actually said, in the middle of the audition--which is the best thing I did--"I'm drowning, guys." And just saying that sort of freed me up, and then I was able to do better.
Nicholas Brendon: And what did they say to you? "No, no, no...."
Cooper: David goes, "No, man, you're on a cigarette boat, you're skimming across the waves." I'm, like, "Cigarette?" It took me a second. Then I'm, like, "Oh, Miami Vice, all right." I'm not drowning, I'm on a cigarette boat.
Entrances and Exits
Back Stage West: You've both been a part of hugely successful shows. What was the experience like coming off of those series? And did you find yourself being typecast or pigeonholed at all?
Brendon: I didn't know how to say goodbye properly. It was very bittersweet for me. I had to do a lot of soul-searching when it was over, and I kind of took myself out of acting for four or five months to take care of some stuff. I think I was too deep into the healing process of this thing that had ended that I wasn't aware of any pigeonholing that happened to me. We were over at [the Television Critics Association press tour], and somebody had brought that up in the Q&A session, and Darren and Dave both said emphatically that I would have done this project regardless of Buffy, which is great because I didn't expect that answe--nor did I expect the question.
Cooper: Meaning that they would have hired you because Xander was [like] Seth?
Brendon: Yeah. They hadn't really even seen Buffy, and basically [they said] I embodied the role of Seth, which was neat. You kind of fear that there's a name thing, maybe, that there's a body of work; it's not because you're nailing that part. I always felt that if I had to audition for a part, I had so much more respect for that part than if I were offered a part. Four or five years ago, when I was full of anxiety, I would have rather been offered parts, because I was so terrified of auditioning. Now, as I've grown up and matured, I love the audition process. 'Cause that's life: You're not gonna book everything. In life you're not going to get everything you want. You have to learn how to deal with the ups and the downs.
Cooper: Alias for me was a real whirlwind of an experience. It was like the best of times and the worst of times, truly. I was from New York, and I got hired out of New York, and it was great because Victor Garber and Ron Rifkin also did. So we sort of all came out together, and they have remained two of my best friends. That was a really special experience, and that first season was kind of magical because it was a groundbreaking show in a lot of ways. And Jennifer [Garner] just exploded. It was amazing. But then it got to the point where I felt like I was on location in L.A. rather than moving to L.A. I was living in Hollywood, up in the hills, and I was only working, like, three days a week. And the whole idea of criticism of the public and the network and the [Internet] message boards. I became completely obsessed with the message boards. People really didn't like my character, and it really hurt me. I took it very personally. I mean, it was a joint decision [for me to leave]. I didn't know what the character was anymore. I just felt like I was stagnating as an actor, too, and I thought, "Is this what it's gonna be my whole life?"
Brendon: That really is admirable. Because after about Season Five on [Buffy], or the end of Season Four, I was that guy. [Buffy creator] Joss [Whedon] actually said Xander was done--that there was no more. I was just kind of relegated to the background. It was one of those things that, where I was at in my life, the money was more important than my pride or taking care of myself. [Leaving], especially as the show's just starting to take off...
Cooper: Yeah, but I was drowning, man. [Alias creator J.J. Abrams], who I love, was so sympathetic when I went to him. We talked a lot about ending Will at the end of Season Two, and then we did it. It was a very emotional two years, but I would never take it back. I loved going through it, because I learned so much, and I really learned about what's important. With [Kitchen Confidential], I hope people watch it, but I'm just enjoying shooting the 12 [episodes]. Because that's all I can control.
BSW: Let's talk about your first sitcom experiences. Bradley, I remember you in Sex and the City, and Nicholas, I believe yours was Married...With Children.
Brendon: Mine was demoralizing. I was cast as Guy in Ray-Ray's Gang. I went in for Ray-Ray, but this other actor got it. I [had] one line. In rehearsal, I go [tough guy voice], "Oh, yo, it's the ghost of that dead guy, Al Bundy." That's how I wanted to say it. And the director says, "No, no, man. You're a tweaker, and you really believe that that's the ghost of Al Bundy." What? So in the end, we're rolling dice on the stoop, and I say, [meek, scared voice] "That's the ghost of that dead Al Bundy guy." You could hear a pin drop on tape. And Married...With Children is the rowdiest show ever. Pin drop. And then that flush where you can tell you're turning purple under all your makeup and you're starting to bead sweat a little bit, and you don't know what to do.
Cooper: I played Jake the Downtown Smoker. I remember I didn't know how to drive a stick shift, and they said, "Can you drive a stick shift?" And I was, like, "Yeah, yeah." I ran home and called my agent and said, "I can't drive a stick shift." So they sent me to driving school in New York City. I spent two days driving all over the city in a Honda Accord, and I got really good at it, I thought. Cut to the day of work: It's 2 in the morning, and I get in the car, and it's a 1968 silver Porsche convertible. The brake and the clutch on a Honda Accord are, like, right next to each other. On that old Porsche, it was like driving a bus. All I thought was, "I'm gonna smash [Sarah Jessica Parker's] head on the dashboard." I was starting to sweat profusely, and then, as I'm realizing that, her assistant comes up to me and goes, "Just so you know, Miss Parker doesn't kiss in rehearsals. And no tongue." And then walks away. I was, like, "No, no, I wasn't gonna do tongue." In the whole scene, all I kept thinking of was, I was trying to keep my tongue in the back of my mouth and not bang her head against the dashboard. So it was a pretty trying experience, but it was fun.
Starts and Stops
BSW: Speaking of sitcoms, Nicholas, is it true that you landed a guest spot on Dave's World while you were a production assistant on the show?
Brendon: Yeah. I was cast in it, and I was not a PA for that week, and when I came back, I was fired as a PA. I mean, I fell asleep on the producer's coach the week before. They frown upon that. Because of that, I got into acting when I was 25: A manager wanted to sign me, and I booked Buffy three months later. That was a monumental time in my life. I [first] got into acting when I was 19, 20, because I had a stutter and I wanted to combat the stutter.
Cooper: So you initially were in it at 20 and then went back?
Brendon: I did three or four commercials. When I would go in for auditions, I wasn't having fun. I was terrified about having a stutter, and I would give myself such a hard time if I didn't do well. I would beat myself up. I remember when we had the earthquake in '94. I was in Sherman Oaks, and I had an audition at Universal for something, and after all the rumbling had stopped and I realized I was alive, my first thought was, "Cool, I don't have to go to Universal for my audition today." Not, "Is anyone dead?" but, "Awesome, free day." I realized that I just really didn't want to be doing it anymore. [Later] I was in a place to really not care about what people thought about me and just have fun. And I've realized that I can't book every job. The only thing that I'm in control of is doing a good job in there, and I have five minutes; it's my time. But I really just kind of took all the pressure off me, which is advice that I give to actors: Go in there and have fun.
BSW: Bradley, have you ever thought about quitting the business?
Cooper: Oh, yeah. Once the second season [of Alias] wrapped, I actually had lunch with my manager and my business manager and said, "Stop representing me; I'm gonna move to New York and get a Ph.D. and study literature and teach." I went to see Punch Drunk Love that night, and I was sitting in the movie theatre, and I just loved that movie. I thought, "If I was in a small town with my family and going to see that movie, I would walk away so depressed," because it's the only thing I really want to do: tell stories. So the next day I thought, "You know what? Come on, man. Get your shit together." It was a long road after that and continues to be a long road, but it was a big turning point.
Brendon: I was writing in my journal this morning, and I can't believe how blessed we all are doing this show right now. We're on-set, and it hasn't really hit us yet. I can't believe this is my life. As a kid, I wanted to be an actor. I can't believe that, literally, I'm living a fairy-tale life. It's almost like you're afraid to admit [it], and you're afraid to write it down, because I always think, "Okay, well, God's gonna take that away." But it's just good to write it out and say, "I really appreciate everything that's in my life right now."
Cooper: We're all doing this at the right time in our lives. What I love about this experience is, I feel like I'm living every moment of it and appreciating it. I'm not caught up in any of the s*** that doesn't matter--so far. I'm not worrying about the ratings, I'm not worrying about people even watching. I just want people to watch because I love [the show] so much. It's the perfect time for all of us to appreciate this, and that is a blessing, because timing is everything.
BSW: Any final advice for aspiring actors?
Cooper: I remember when Whoopi Goldberg came to our school [the Actors Studio Drama School at the New School University], and everybody was so irate because she said, "You know what? If you have any doubt about doing it, don't." Everybody was, like, "What the hell?" I think that's the best advice I've ever heard. This business is so f***ing hard. I've been lucky--the fact that I graduated in 2000 and I literally haven't stopped working since. And with that, it's been such a rough road. Between 'action' and 'cut' is the best thing in the world for me. If you get that kind of high, then it's worth it. And if you feel that kind of complete obsession with it, then I think it's worth it. But otherwise, you know what? Don't do it. If I didn't love it, I would not do it. And I never thought that I would say [that], but it's not negative. It's kind of like a disease, acting. But I love it.
Brendon: I'm not sure how to follow that, because that was very articulate and beautiful. But mine's gonna be very simple and completely contrary to yours. Joking aside, the only advice that I would give is to have fun. If you're not having fun, why do it? That's why I quit, initially. Also, when I'm acting, I don't overthink anything. The hardest part of acting for me is the movement of your body, standing in front of a camera. The thing that kind of gets me through that is [thinking], "Listen, as human beings, we're awkward. We don't know how to stand." So just because there's a camera on you, don't overthink that stuff. Or if you do, that's fine, because as human beings we overthink things, as well. As long as you're thinking something. Acting is faking out people and making them believe and taking them through an adventure, and there are many ways to do that, but the most important thing is to really have fun. BSW
"Kitchen Confidential" premieres Sept. 19 at 8:30 p.m. on FOX.
|
|
|
Post by Julia, wrought iron-y on Aug 25, 2005 17:01:07 GMT -5
Interview with Charisma Carpenter in the Seattle Post Intelligencer, August 25, 2005 (linking only): seattlepi.nwsource.com/tv/237838_tv25.htmlJulia, some interesting stuff about both Buffy and VM- and a mellow and mature attitude about Joss, for once
|
|
|
Post by Sara on Sept 1, 2005 8:16:41 GMT -5
Apparently this interview with Julie Benz dates back to August of 2004, but it's interesting nonetheless. It's also nice to hear how much Benz enjoyed portraying Darla and being a part of the Jossverse. And the thought of seeing puppet Angel in a scene with Darla... priceless. You can read the interview here.
|
|
|
Post by Sara on Sept 21, 2005 9:10:31 GMT -5
From smrt-tv.comSeptember 19, 2005 "I Like to Play Those Scruffy Characters" Interview: Adam Baldwin by Alison Veneto Adam Baldwin is well known to fans of sci-fi television. He's been a demon, an outlaw, a super soldier, a serial killer and a serial killer hunter among other things. As it turns out he's also a charming smart-aleck. When scheduling this interview, he asked what it would be about. I said his TV work and Firefly and the movie. To which he replied excitedly (and sarcastically), "They made a movie?" Yes, Adam, they did. Firefly was a great TV show, prematurely cancelled, that is now a feature film called Serenity. Only Joss Whedon (show creator and film director) has the rare power of not only turning a failed movie into a successful TV show (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) but a failed TV show into what we all hope will be a successful movie. Beginnings Adam Baldwin describes his beginnings in the film industry quite simply, "I went on an audition for a movie called My Bodyguard back in 1979 in Chicago and I got the job." My Bodyguard proved to be an obligatory Home Video for an entire generation. Even early on, Adam Baldwin was playing a tough guy. But Adam had already become interested in acting, claiming he "had been dabbling with it since I was a kid. It was something I liked to do, I liked the community feeling. I like the humor. When you're a kid it's all about making your friends laugh. I think that's kind of what it was. It was all about the friends. I enjoyed the literature aspect of it as well. I got to read Shakespeare, which I still have trouble understanding..." But after having worked in the industry for 25 years, Adam declares himself "a working class actor." He also admits that perhaps he didn't see himself being an actor for a career: "If you had told me when I was 17 years old doing My Bodyguard that I'd still be doing it 25 years from now — that's pretty good. To me, that's success. Am I as famous as some people? No. Do I care? No. Do I want more money? Sure." Well at least he's honest. He may not be super-famous, but he's certainly beloved. Those of us in the sci-fi community particularly have very much enjoyed the memorable characters he's created. And he acknowledges his fans along the way, "I appreciate those people out there who enjoyed my work along the way.... I appreciate and give my heartfelt thanks." And few television shows have fans as dedicated as the show in question: Firefly. A TV show called Firefly, a movie called Serenity So, at last, I get to the part of the interview people are dying to know about — Serenity. And he says, "Oh I can't talk about Firefly and Serenity in this interview." After I pick my jaw up off the floor, happy that he can't see me over the phone line, he says, "I'm kidding." I let out a giant sigh. Describing how he became Jayne Cobb, Baldwin says simply, "I went in and auditioned for Joss." His character, Jayne, is certainly a tough guy — a mercenary for the highest bidder. Not the sharpest knife in the drawer but easily some of the best comic relief. Adam's understanding of the character came from Firefly's Western roots. He saw Jayne as a classic archetype from the great Westerns: "The character was someone that I was familiar with from growing up and watching in movies like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly with Eli Wallach and The Wild Bunch with Warren Oates....That kind of rang my bell when I was a kid. I like to play those scruffy characters. I just put on this voice a little bit and off it went." But of course, Adam brings his own unique talents to Jayne, making him a truly memorable character if ever there was one. "As an actor to approach him he's a free, a blank canvas that you can just throw anything at and a lot of it sticks....You can try a lot of stuff and you have license to do that and it's very liberating." In reference to many of the other characters he's played on TV he notes that with Jayne he's "not constrained by a suit and a tie." But he also notes that he also leans on creator Joss Whedon at times: "Jayne is a character that you can be very broad. You can paint with very broad strokes. So my challenge with Joss was to bring in too much stuff, be too broad and let him say bring it back; 'Ok, that's too much.'" Jayne may come off as a simpleton, but through the fourteen episodes we were privileged enough to have we learned that Jayne was a lot more than that. His most character-revealing episode was "Ariel". He explains, "Even though he's a bit of a ne'er do well, that's the realm into which he's painted, but he has that sort of honor among thieves. Even in the episode in the series where I quote unquote betrayed the Captain by trying to dump off the loony fugitives. In my own mind, I wasn't betraying the captain, I was trying to do better and just make a buck along the way. When he clocked me in the head with a wrench — 'Hello, now I'm awake. Ok, I get it now.'" "We thought he was going to be killed. I was living under that fear with Joss. Please don't kill this character." While Jayne may never grow to like the fugitives, his dialogue while in the airlock (where he is put, after being hit by that wrench) shows there's a sensitive side to Serenity's rough and tumble man. But there was some real fear coming from Adam Baldwin, "We thought he was going to be killed. I was living under that fear with Joss. Please don't kill this character." Joss didn't kill the character that day, but something else did — cancellation. Fox had put Firefly in the notorious "sci-fi slot of death". Thanks to the Fox hit The X-Files, they generally put their sci-fi shows on Friday nights to die. And it did. Adam describes the experience, "We were very disappointed. We were like a family and we all loved our characters and loved each other and the work that we were doing and always felt like underdogs. We hadn't gotten the ratings we had hoped for early on for whatever reasons. And we just thought that if more people could see it they would stay with it." It was an uphill battle for Firefly from the beginning. Joss Whedon's original pilot episode was rejected by the network and he quickly wrote a new one more to their liking in order to get the show on the air. But unfortunately, the new pilot pleased the executives, but didn't do much for the audience, myself included. It may have taken a couple of episodes, but soon enough I was addicted to the characters like so many other fans. But not ever viewer gave it the chance I did. Yet those who stuck with it were uncommonly dedicated. "Those that actually did see it and stayed with it became very faithful and appreciated what we were trying to do, I think. And that translated into DVD sales — actually, that translated in the studio deciding to put out a DVD set and the sales thereof met and exceeded expectations. Which then drove us into making the movie." This was something I experienced as well. My friends who hardly ever watch TV were hooked — being shown or told about the series by their friends. I saw those DVDs everywhere. Even my dad had it on his stack to-watch. While I was sad there were no more episodes to be devoured, I was happy to see the growing fan base — better late than never. But, of course, something good came out of it. When Adam and the cast heard there was going to be a movie, of course, they were happy. "I was obviously very pleased but I wasn't surprised. I was expecting Joss to get it done — he never let it go. This was something that he was bound and determined to do. He kept saying, 'I'm gonna get this done' and he did. Again he's really a unique story unto himself in movie history. I can't think of another instance where you had a cancelled TV show after only a half a season that became a major motion picture." This is truly a unique situation. Star Trek had a major motion picture after being cancelled, but that show was on for 3 seasons — not half of one. We can only hope that Firefly and Serenity can be as successful as its cancelled predecessor. And what does Adam have to say about the movie? "It's tight, it's a hot film." There have been a number of pre-screenings in cities across the country and the word from fans has been positive across the board. Adam explains, "It has a lot of stuff in it. It's very.... I'm not going to make any predictions 'cause I don't know. You can never read an audience or what time of year but there are none better than promoting a movie than Universal and we have a good movie to promote. Excellent movie to promote. That's why I'm so behind it. Just wish people would go and see it in those first weekend or two because that first weekend or two box office receipts will determine whether we get to keep going. So bring your friends. Not only tell them, bring them." So it will be like it was with the DVDs. Fans will have to force their friends to get involved. Hopefully, like the DVDs, their friends will love them for it. "I'm not saying that [Joss] has the most gigantic audience in the world, but the audience that he has is very varied. You can't put them in a box you know — young and old, men and women, freaks and geeks — you got 'em all." There's no doubt that the show's fan base is seriously dedicated. And Adam believes he knows why: "I think what that shows is Joss' brilliance. I think that shows his ability to connect with an audience in writing profound stories, with action and quite a bit of sense of humor, that are universal in nature. That touch people across a wide spectrum of age ranges. I'm not saying that he has the most gigantic audience in the world, but the audience that he has is very varied. You can't put them in a box you know — young and old, men and women, freaks and geeks — you got 'em all. I'm just happy to be part of that world. I'm so proud to have been given — I think it's a role of a lifetime." But what was so different about filming the movie than filming the show? Well, they had more money for one. And that led to having "more time to prepare every scene. Therefore we were able to dig deeper. We had more time not only to prepare it but we had more time to shoot it with more angles, the lighting and just it became richer that way. And it ended up giving Joss more options and more time in the editing process. Because when you're doing a television series you're cranking it out in 8 days shoots then you have to edit it and get it on the air. Whereas a film, you shot it and it's coming out a year later so you had an entire year to work on it." MOVIE SPOILERWhile the movie will probably bear a lot of similarities to the show, even the trailer reveals that everything will just be bigger. And it seems that our heros will be facing one of their biggest enemies from the show — disfigured and dehumanized men called Reavers. And does Jayne get to go toe-to-toe with the Reavers? "A bit," he says — not letting out any more information.MOVIE SPOILERBut turning from the beast to perhaps the beauty, what I really wanted to know is if the series continues, is there a love interest in Jayne's future? Adam replies, "I think every human being out there, Jayne included, is looking for love in some way or another and at some point everyone either settles down or gives up. I think he's got kind of a crush on Inara. The ideal woman. Independent and sexy as hell." Well, I know that seeing Jayne settle down is something I look forward to. But lastly I turn to the most important question in my list of questions — What happened to the life size statue of Jayne from the "Jaynestown" episode? "I don't what happened to the body, I have the head." Well that's only right I suppose. If you want Jayne's head too, and perhaps the rest of his body, Adam tells me that "I have an action figure for Jayne now. You can check it out at diamondselecttoys.com." I might have to check it out myself. Fortunately for those of us who haven't seen the pre-screenings, Serenity opens in theaters on September 30th. So we don't have to wait too much longer now (thank goodness). Check back in two weeks for part II of the interview where Adam Baldwin talks about other TV shows he's worked on (X-Files, Angel, The Inside), life in the film industry and what he's up to next.
|
|
|
Post by Sara on Oct 20, 2005 10:29:51 GMT -5
From zap2it.com:
'Angel's' Acker Dons an 'Alias' By Kate O'Hare (10/17/05)
The "Angel/Alias" connection continued on Thursday, Oct. 13, with the debut of former "Angel" regular Amy Acker on ABC's "Alias," playing Kelly Preston, a member of a rogue spy organization headed by the nefarious Gordon Dean (Tyrees Allen).
Acker now finds herself working for executive producer Jeffrey Bell, who took over as show-runner on "Angel" after the departure of Tim Minear, who went to work on "Firefly" with "Angel" co-creator Joss Whedon. Also on hand is "Alias" producer Drew Goddard, who previously worked on "Lost" (the other show from "Alias" creator J.J. Abrams) and Whedon's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," which gave birth to "Angel."
Also, Acker is working with Rachel Nichols, who plays Preston's former colleague -- and now foe -- Rachel Gibson, who has discovered she's not working for the good guys after all. Nichols came to "Alias" after a stint on FOX's short-lived crime drama "The Inside," created by Tim Minear.
"I saw Tim at the 'Serenity' premiere," Acker says ("Serenity" is the feature film based on "Firefly"). "I said, 'I'm working with your girl.' The whole crew of 'Angel' was on 'The Inside,' so we keep finding people we know in common."
Although it took a while to come to fruition, Acker first auditioned for "Alias" back when she was on "Angel." At the time, her character, science geek Fred, had transformed into a blue-skinned demon called Illyria. Acker was trying for the role of Nadia, sister of super-agent Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner), a part eventually taken by Mia Maestro.
"I actually had to go to the audition right from 'Angel,'" Acker says. "We had a break, and I was in the blue makeup. I had to drive across town in the blue makeup and go in.
"That was the first time that I met all those guys, but we kept in touch since that. So I was just happy they asked me to do it."
Because she was working long hours on "Angel," Acker didn't get a chance to see much of "Alias," but she caught up quickly.
"I borrowed the DVDs from my friends and made my husband" -- actor James Carpinello -- "watch five episodes of 'Alias' every day, so we're caught up. It's great."
Acker soon learned that attention must be paid if a viewer has any hope of following the convoluted "Alias" storylines. "James missed a couple in the middle, and I said, 'I can't explain it. Just go with it.'"
In the great "Alias" tradition, Acker is doing fight scenes, something she already got to do on "Angel," and something she's trained for.
"In college," she says, "I did three years of fight training. We did rapier and dagger, broadsword, quarterstaff and an animal kung fu style. I thought it was fun.
"I've had a little experience. I've been trying to figure out how to become more believable as a fighter, but not picking fights in bars or anything."
Acker also got to participate in the show's signature pyrotechnics.
"I blew something up," she says. "I didn't get to actually see the explosion, but I did get to cause an explosion. It's nice, very powerful. You never know what they're going to do. It's like with Joss, you can feel like you're getting to play so many different parts, but you only have to audition for one job."
Right now, Acker is scheduled for 7 to 9 episodes, but she's game for more, saying, "I'm having a great time. I'll stay on it for as long as they'll keep me."
|
|
|
Post by Karen on Dec 6, 2005 19:45:42 GMT -5
www.scifi.com/scifiwire2005/index.php?category=0&id=3348112:00 AM, 01-DECEMBER-05 Who Will Hit U.S. TV Burton Cromer—vice president of BBC Direct, which is releasing the first season of the British SF series Doctor Who on DVD—told SCI FI Wire that the BBC made the unusual decision to release the DVD in the United States before the show had found a broadcast outlet there. But he added that the show will find its way onto American TV, one way or another. "It will be going on television," Cromer said in an interview. "There're lots of discussions going on, and I can't really talk about that. This is a unique situation, really, because there are so many fans of Doctor Who ... already out there, and we were just finding [that] people were getting ... secondhand copies or copies from the U.K. ... We really wanted fans to get the best, most complete version in the United States as [soon as] we possibly could. So we made the decision, and it is unique, to go ahead of the TV broadcast with the DVD and to release the gift set of the DVD basically within two and a half to three months [after] the U.K. [version]." Since its premiere earlier this year, the updated Doctor Who has been a smash hit in Great Britain, and U.S. fans have been clamoring for a way to see the series legally stateside. There's no downside to a U.S. DVD release, even if the show has yet to be seen on American TV, Cromer added. "The good news for us is that we already have that loyal fan base, but then when the show does broadcast in the U.S., we'll have a whole new fan base, because it's just a new Doctor Who: very exciting, but still the great stories and as great as the old Doctor Who," he said. Doctor Who is gearing up production of its second season in the United Kingdom, which will appear next year. A special Christmas episode, meanwhile, will air this month. The U.S. DVD will feature the entire first season of Doctor Who, starring Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper. It hits stores on Feb. 14, 2006.
|
|
|
Post by Karen on Dec 21, 2005 9:47:17 GMT -5
Huh.Former BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER star JAMES MARSTERS has hatched plans for a new superhero TV show. The 43-year-old actor, who also appeared in the US TV show ANGEL, is currently shopping a pilot about a "conflicted hero" who attacks with chains and razors. He says, "(As a child) superpower and the whole proving yourself physically and fighting was very interesting to me." 18/12/2005 21:33
|
|