Moviefone Editorial

Author: Scott Huver

  • ‘Legends of Tomorrow’ Star Brandon Routh Wants to Go Full ‘Game of Thrones’ This Year

    In what way is The Atom, the shrinking superhero of “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,” just as powerful as the mighty Superman? Brandon Routh, who’s flown miles in both of their boots, has the answer: optimism.

    With a third season of The CW’s raucous, anything-goes super-team series now underway, Routh’s Tiny Titan has emerged as a stalwart among the mismatched do-gooders, someone whose positivity, despite occasional bouts of self-doubt and overt nerdiness, has enabled him to emerge as the moral heart and soul of the team, much like a certain Man of Steel, says Roth (a role he notably took flight in for 2006’s “Superman Returns“), as he sat down with Moviefone to take a look at the current state of Ray Palmer – and his own burning desire to play in his personal favorite genre: swords and swashbuckling.

    Moviefone: What got you excited when you heard the architecture of the plans for Ray this season? What felt fresh and sort of creatively challenging for you to take? Take on with him?

    Brandon Routh: Well, comedy aspects, I think, was the biggest thing for me, knowing that, that originally, Ray was brought into Arrow was so that he was to be the comic relief. Coming off “Partners,” a sitcom that I did with Warner Brothers and CBS, that’s what I wanted to do. I would have done that show for a very long time! Or another sitcom.

    At first, kind of, I was like “Arrow? That seems like a very heavy show.” But true to their word, most of the stuff I got to do was comedy, to be the levity. And when I read the pages, seeing how passionate Ray was and kind of excited about his inventions and the fast-talking nature of him was something that enthused me to play a character like that.

    You came equipped with the super hero look, but did you always want to lean into the comedy side of performance?

    When I first moved to LA, I didn’t know necessarily. My theater experience in high school had been largely comedic, so I knew that I liked that, but I didn’t necessarily know that comedy was going to be the thing that was going to be my favorite or that I was going to be most adept at, originally.

    But my first job ever was on a sitcom. I said five words in five lines, but the live studio audience and just that whole process of the theater aspect of it, too, was really something that appealed to me. And I had not only the bug for comedy, but to come out and stay in LA. And to really make a go at this as a career.

    Three seasons in, give me your take on Ray’s place in the group, and give me your take on your own place in the ensemble and the show as a whole.

    They’re kind of similar. I mean, Ray parallels me quite a bit. Ray is there to be kind of the conscience of the group. And he’s the audience, in many ways, the excitement level of how the audience might experience certain new encounters or new people.

    And he’s the glass-half-full aspect of the show, finding the positivity and turning bad stuff on it’s head. And finding the best part of it, the best possible outcome because a lot of our characters come from very different background and have a very dour or sarcastic or dark sensibility, so Ray has to kind of balance out more than just one character. He’s almost more on that side to balance the rest of the cynicism that can exist in our motley crew.

    And I would say that our characters are definitely more cynical than our cast. We have a very lovely cast, very upbeat and positive. But I think Ray is kind of a silent leader of the group. And I would say that I don’t know if I need to be much of a leader because we’re all veteran actors, but I view it as kind of more like we’re kind of all in it together. From my experience, I’ve been through the super hero thing before, so I have that little bit of experience that I can impart on our team. But now with Season Three, we’ve all kind of been through the Comic-Cons and all the stuff, so we’re all about even.

    Does he have a hurdle this season? A challenge? Something he has to overcome?

    I think Ray’s hurdle is going to be largely, at this point, with Zari and their differences and viewpoints about life. Both being into technology, they’ll butt heads to a degree. And I think at some point, Ray starts to do more inventing and that may become a challenge with the team as he’s wanting to influence current time, whatever time they’re in with the technology. And that maybe puts him at odds with some of the other teammates.

    I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but have you seen that the Atom in the comics is starting to skew more toward what you’re doing on the show?

    No, I haven’t. I haven’t seen recent [issues]. Oh, the suit is changing!

    To conform a little more with your look, it seems.

    That’s pretty cool!

    To have that kind of impact must be, especially as deeply involved in comic book-related projects as you’ve been over the past few years, it must be kind of gratifying to leave a mark.

    Yeah. That is cool. I do, I mean I appreciate that. There’s a huge team that’s helped make the Atom, who he is. You know, I’m kind of nothing without the amazing suit that I have that was designed by many people.

    I think the cool opportunity about Ray Palmer and the Atom that I saw at the beginning, was that I wasn’t playing somebody who been played by another actor before. He’d only appeared in comics, so it gave me a unique opportunity to not have anything to live up to, which then allowed me to be creative in creating him more. And also bring him to more popularity than he already had, and give him the due that he should get from comic book readers and TV viewers alike. Yeah, give the Atom his due!

    Starting back with “Superman Returns” on to now, working in this particular genre and with these creators that are super-fans themselves, and mingling with the fans when you can, how has that journey affected you, changed you or changed your outlook on it all?

    Well, I think I didn’t really know a lot about comics before Superman. I didn’t grow up with friends who read comics. There was no comic book culture that I grew up in. I read fantasy novels, and was very much into that, medieval fantasy, magic, that kind of stuff. So Superman was really the beginning of my learning about super heroes. I can absolutely see and understand now why the draw is there to create these archetypes and the create these larger than life versions of who we are. To see them live out problems and struggles and challenges in a fantastical way, so that we can talk about real political subjects and life, social things that are happening.

    But it’s elevated and it’s not us. So you can tell the story, but not have it be too heavy, right? So you can still learn things. Somebody asked in a panel about politically, what does our show mean and does it have a message? And I think all super heroes have a message. That’s why people respond to them. It’s just the circumstances are super heroic, but they still have undertones of all this stuff.

    And lessons can be learned about who we are as a people, as a society. Are we a warring nation, or can we be civil and communicate? So there’s great value in super heroes and it’s not always just fluff. And that’s what I try to bring to Ray, is to maintain that: so he’s not just Ray Palmer, but he’s helping evolve people’s minds forward to a different way of thinking and a different way of consciousness.

    Even if the Legends make fun of him, he’s like a rallying point for the team. His idealism is infectious.

    I mean that’s how I see life, most of the time! And, it’s that unique quality of Superman that I am able to bring into Ray and the writers have honored that and have strength in that. Because Superman is there, and Ray, in an easier form, is there to show that we can all aspire to greatness, to see the world in a different way. To keep our head under ground all the time, we’re only going to see the bad stuff. You have to pop your head up into the clouds and accept that maybe things can be okay at some point

    As an old school fantasy fan, are you dying for your own “Game of Thrones” opportunity? Or your “Conan?”

    Yeah [Laughs]. When I came out here, that’s what I wanted to do. So while my focus was on a comedy, I wanted to be William Wallace. I wanted to do my “Braveheart!” And I actually met Randall Wallace, who wrote “Braveheart” and directed “The Man in the Iron Mask.” There was a project he had a long time ago, a series of books that he has, that he was really trying hard to get that part and have that movie go. And the movie just never went.

    But, yes. I am [hoping]. That’s why I really enjoy the medieval episode that we did last season, the King Arthur episode, of kind of getting a glimpse of sword-fighting and doing that kind of stuff. One day, I’ll have that opportunity, in movie or TV, to do it more fully.

  • The Duffer Brothers Reveal What ‘Stranger Things 2’ Has in Store for Fans

    With Netflix’s 80s-centric-horror-retro original series “Stranger Things” emerging as the sensation of the summer of 2016, we should all expect an even bigger, scarier and splashier second season, right?

    Not exactly, the show’s creators Matt and Ross Duffer tell Moviefone. In fact, “intimate” is the buzzword they suggest. Of course, the twin creative forces are still keeping many of the new season’s secrets close to the vest, but they do guarantee an evolution into a next-level take on “Stranger Things,” and they promise that if you have fond memories of the year 1984, especially in cinema, your nostalgia factor will be off the charts.

    MOVIEFONE: Coming back, you know the expectations are high. How did you deal with that on a creative end, to not overly play into that?

    Ross Duffer: Season one, it was just all of us doing something that we were excited about, that we wanted to tell. We weren’t thinking too much about the audience. We were just hoping that if we liked it, maybe a few other people would.

    So we tried to do the same thing. Once we got to set, everyone was able to black out the noise. It’s been easier for us. We’re not like our kids who now get recognized everywhere they go. So it was easy for us – there’s so much work that you just get into the work mode, and then you sort of forget about all this until you show up at a red carpet, and you’re like, oh my God.

    Matt Duffer: Yeah, it feels very intimate. Very small. This stuff is a bit of a rude awakening sometimes, but when we’re working on it, it doesn’t feel like this.

    At the same time, you were sort of emboldened to envision the whole series, and the bigger picture of everything. What was fun about looking that far ahead and thinking what you might be able to do in four seasons?

    Matt Duffer: We kind of think of each one as a little movie. It’s very important to us that we get to try new stuff every year. It’s important that we don’t get bored doing it, and that the actors don’t get bored. So we want to always be excited. That’s the only barometer we have. Hopefully that translates with audiences, and we were very new to this.

    So we don’t know how it’s going to go, but we’re excited about season two. We’re sticking with what worked for us the first time. The worst kind of sequels to me just sort of regurgitate everything, or the exact same experience. So even though we know certain things worked really well last year, we don’t want to do it all again. So it worked well, great. You can watch season one if you love that so much. I still hope it feels like “Stranger Things,” and still has the same spirit, even if it is very different.

    What specifically can you say about Season Two? What are the talking points?

    Matt Duffer: I can’t even say any good interesting talking points beyond what’s already been said! That’s the thing.

    Ross Duffer: We’ve said this, but it’s a year later. Will may or may not be doing so great. The gateway to the Upside Down is still there. So for us, there was a lot of stuff to start the story with.

    Matt Duffer: The fun thing is we introduce some new characters, but then we also get to spend a lot more time with some of the more secondary characters last year. So like, particularly, Lucas and Dustin, and get to go into their houses, and we get to know them more. And that’s been a lot of fun.

    Is there any tweak or evolution to the cinematic style?

    Matt Duffer: Summer 1984 was a super incredible summer.

    Ross Duffer: There’s some nods to some incredible stuff.

    Matt Duffer: Yeah, so “Ghostbusters” had come out, and “Karate Kid” had come out, and “Gremlins” had come out. “Temple of Doom” had just come out, which is I think super underrated as a sequel. So it was a really good summer, so we’re pulling from some of that stuff. But I was thinking “Gremlins” and “Ghostbusters” for sure are big influences.

    What were you guys doing in 1984?

    Matt Duffer: Being born!

    Ross Duffer: Being born, yeah.

    How did you come to catch the vibe of that year retroactively?

    Ross Duffer: I don’t know. We grew up on those movies. I think we responded to them more than the early 90s movies that were coming out when we were the age of the kids on the show. We just were inundated with that culture from very young. It felt very modern to us, when I was watching those movies. So it’s just, again, trying to capture that vibe a little bit.

    Matt Duffer: We were close enough to it that it wasn’t a stretch to write. Then we have an amazing production designer, and a lot of incredible collaborators, costume designer grew up and went to high school in the 80s. So they help us get the details right, which is very important.

    What’s been fun about having your kid stars growing up on the show and not try to pigeonhole them into exactly the way that we saw them in season one, but let them evolve along with your actors?

    Ross Duffer: I think some of it is we get to go into like Lucas’ house, and we get go into Dustin’s house, and meet their families. I think we just start to see more sides to them than in season one. So we’re excited about the evolution of those characters.

    Matt Duffer: My favorite thing about television though is the actors actually do, more than in film I think, influence the storytelling in terms of, we write to them. And who they are as people inspire us to write better, richer characters for them. So it is cool. It’s fun.

    They’re changing every day, and we’re watching them change. We have no choice but to work that into the show. To me, that’s going to force the show to evolve. Even if we didn’t want the show to evolve, that’s going to make it evolve. I think we lean into it and I think we embrace it. But it is striking to me. I look back at season one. We see clips and stuff -– they’re little babies! They look so tiny and cute. I’m like, “What happened to you guys?”

    “Stranger Things” 2 will stream, in its entirety, on Netflix starting Oct. 26.

  • Andy Serkis on Completing the ‘Planet of the Apes’ Trilogy, ‘Star Wars,’ and Marvel’s ‘Black Panther’

    As we keep learning time and time again, a performance by actor Andy Serkis is as composed of emotion and psychology as it is of digital pixels.

    Over the past several decades Serkis as emerged as the master of captivating and cutting-edge performance capture roles that bring computer-generated characters to startling life on the screen. He’s portrayed everything fromGollum in Peter Jackson‘s “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” films, the titular giant ape in Jackson’s remake of “King Kong,” and Supreme Chancellor Snoke in the new “Star Wars” features.

    But no role has showcased the scope, subtlety and profound impact of Serkis’ acting skill as well as his turn as Caesar in the recent trilogy of rebooted “Planet of the Apes” films. It’s a complex and moving performance that followed a chimpanzee whose elevated intelligence ultimately sparks a primate revolution. As a performer Serkiss reached a singular status akin to creature character actor and makeup maestro Lon Cheney, the legendary Man of a Thousand Faces, although Serkis is disguised in ones and zeroes rather than putty and greasepaint.

    “In a word, Andy is fearless,” says Joe Letteri, the director of the acclaimed visual effects house Weta Digital, which has collaborated with Serkis throughout his career. “He is totally committed to the character, and to him, the lack of a costume doesn’t really matter. In his head he is Caesar, and he also has a lot of confidence that we’re going to give him that back at the end of the film. He sees that it will be his performance, but it will be Caesar doing it.”

    With “War for the Planet of the Apes,” the final installment in the “Apes” trilogy, now available on digital and arriving on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD today, Serkis joined Moviefone for a look at the totality of his experience playing Caesar, and a glimpse into what lies ahead for him.

    Spoiler warning for those who haven’t seen “War for the Planet of the Apes” yet (and really, what are you waiting for?)

    Moviefone: What a great opportunity to be able to play any character through this many stages of life. Tell me what was the essential acting challenge throughout all three movies.

    Andy Serkis: Wow -– the essential acting challenge was that there are so many journeys to be taken, because this was not just an ape. He’s an orphan that has got coursing through his veins this accelerating drug that obviously is a virus to human beings, but is actually accelerating his evolution. So he’s a chimpanzee-plus, really.

    The way I approached Caesar was that he almost believed himself to be a human in ape skin. He was brought up by human beings, and was brought up with a lot of love, and then only when he’s in his teen age he becomes aware of himself as a chimpanzee. So when he is then thrown into the sanctuary in “Rise” with all the other apes, he feels like an outsider. But being that outsider, being half-human, if you like, gave him the ability to galvanize all the disparate groups of apes, the chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, bonobos.

    He wasn’t tribal about being a chimpanzee. He was able to bring the others and unite them together. So the main journey in that first film, to becoming a revolutionary leader, was this search for his own identity. Obviously, he’s evolving, too, and he’s beginning to speak.

    In the second film he then becomes a leader of a civilization. We see it 10 years later, and it’s moved on, and he’s become a father. He has a family, but he’s also got a tribe, and he’s building a new order, a new world, and a new set of beliefs, and a new set of belief systems. The process of finding Caesar in that movie was all about who were the great leaders in the world that I could base him on, and Nelson Mandela was my inspiration for him in the second film.

    In the third film, as the evolution continues and he’s now speaking, and using human words as well as ape vocalizations and sign language. At the beginning of the movie obviously there is a catastrophic incident where he loses his family, where they’re wiped out. Really, for me, this film was the closest to myself. I had to ask myself the question, “If I were Caesar, and this happened to my family, how would I respond?”

    Really, it’s quite an introspective look. I was no longer looking at chimpanzees, or great leaders, but I was looking deeply into myself, and how I would respond if I were placed in that position. Would I ever be able to forgive the Colonel for doing that, despite the fact that Caesar knows intellectually that forgiveness is the only way forward, and that carrying hatred and rage is a road to destruction.Those are the key journeys.

    You’ve devoted considerable time to studying apes and chimpanzees throughout your career, and I’m curious about what you wanted to take from them to layer into Caesar’s character, and what you’ve learned about our primate brethren along the way.

    Well, going back as far as “King Kong,” actually, I studied gorillas in the wild, as well as in captivity. Obviously I studied chimpanzees in captivity, but remember when I started looking at gorillas, and I followed a troupe of 23 gorillas up in Rwanda, I realized that very soon it wasn’t just about studying ape behavior. It was: these are characters. All of them are individual characters, as you and I.

    I mean, we are 97% genetically the same. You can see their personalities, you can see when they’re having a good time, or a bad time, or when they’re feeling aggressive, or when they’re feeling sad. I think that was such a big epiphany for me, in terms of forming an opinion about how to create the character. That was the biggest learning curve, that they are so individual, and that they deserve human rights, and of course now they partially have human rights, which is a huge move forward.

    Tell me a little bit about how playing a character like Caesar is no different from any other acting job you’ve had, and then in what ways is there a major difference?

    What people misunderstand about performance capture is they tend to think there’s some mystery behind it, but it’s absolutely no different creating a character like Caesar, who has a backstory, an emotional center, a physicality, a psychology. You would do that if I was playing a serial killer, or a doctor who’s depressed. You build all that imaginary world, and physicality, and the way they stand, where they carry their pain, how they converse, are they shy? You’re building this whole world for a character.

    There’s no difference between doing that and creating a character like Caesar, because it’s an individual. Like I say, it’s a character. It’s not just mimicking some monkey movements, as some people think it is. There is no difference at all (and I’ve always said this) between live action acting and acting in a motion capture suit. But obviously if you’re playing a character like Caesar, he is an extraordinary character because you’re getting to play him all the way from birth through to death. So there are so many choices, and of course he’s evolving throughout this whole journey. There are things specific to the character which are challenging of themselves.

    We’re going to see you again soon as Snoke in “The Last Jedi,” which is another performance capture character, and we’re gonna see you again as Klaue in “Black Panther,” in which you appear more as yourself. Tell me what are the fun challenges of those two roles for you as an actor?

    Well, Snoke is a very, very dark character. He’s damaged, and out of control, and his lust for power is enormous. So it’s great to climb into the dark soul of a character like that.

    Ulysses Klaue, on the other hand, is trying to expose what he believes is the hypocrisy of Wakanda. He’s driven by… There’s a slight revenge aspect to that character that is dangerous, but also he’s a regular guy. He happens to be a mercenary. He happens to be able to hold many governments up for ransom if he chooses, because he’s connected in terms of the way he deals with arms. He’s a powerful character, but he’s also obsessed with personal wealth, and obsessed with vibranium, in particular.

    What’s the thing that you want to do to challenge yourself next? Is there a level you want to get to that you haven’t gotten to?

    Well, as a director I’m challenging myself hugely. I’ve just directed a film called “Breathe,” which is out in cinemas right now, and I’m still finishing off “The Jungle Book [Origins],” which I’ve directed for Warner Bros., which is a much darker telling and closer in tone to Rudyard Kipling’s book.

    In terms of performance capture in the future, I think we’re just really still in its infancy, because it’s usable, performance capture now, across so many different platforms. Not only blockbuster movies, but now for television, and obviously it’s been used in video games, but now that video games are becoming much more like immersive, interactive movies, it really works well there.

    And then there’s all these new environments of virtual reality, and mixed reality, and also live performance on stage, we’ve started experimenting with. I have a company called The Imaginarium, which is entering into all of those world, and trying to take it to the next level.

  • ‘The Gifted’ Star Jamie Chung Reveals Why She’s Always Wanted to Be a Live-Action Comic Book Superhero

    Jamie Chung‘s long past the “blink-and-you’ll-miss-her” roles, but on “The Gifted” she can still disappear in the wink of an eye, thanks to her character’s mutant powers.

    As Clarice Fong, aka Blink, Chung is one of central characters of FOX’s hit series set on the fringes of the X-Men universe, a member of the mutant underground with the unique ability to teleport in and out of situations – mostly out, as Blink continually proves elusive in both combat situations and emotional confrontations.

    Chung – who first came to fame on the MTV reality series “The Real World: San Diego” and rose to prominence in Hollywood with her roles in films including “Once Upon a Time’s’ Mulan and “Gotham’s” Valerie Vale – admits she has been chasing a superheroic role for quite a while now, and as she tells Moviefone she’s extremely pleased that she was the one who finally caught up with Blink.

    Moviefone: On a scale of one to ten; how excited are you to not just be a voice of a superhero like in “Big Hero 6,” but to actually physically get into the action in “The Gifted?”

    Jamie Chung: I’ve missed out on so many opportunities to be a superhero, and I’ve come so close, that this time I kind of went in with an attitude like “I don’t really give a f**k.” You know what I mean? Which was kind of perfect for the character, because they wanted someone who didn’t care, who kind of had an attitude about things, who’s kind of guarded, and kind of sassy. So I played all of those things, and I got the gig. If only it worked out like that all the time, but it doesn’t.

    Maybe that’s the trick. Act like you don’t want it.

    No, no, no – sometimes you have to care like you want it!

    Matt Nix has told me that in a sense Blink’s super power is “I’m outta here!”

    Yeah, exactly! She doesn’t stay long enough to develop any true relationships or friendships, and she’s always kind of been on her own.

    What was fun about kind of getting into her head?

    I don’t know about you, but growing up as a minority, I’ve experienced a lot of racial discrimination, teasing, some bullying, and you develop tough skin. You go through a phase where you kind of hate who you are, culturally, and how you look. And then, ‘Why don’t I fit in?” And then later in life, you realize how awesome your background is, and how proud I am to be a Korean-American – from an immigrant family, but someone who is also able to succeed in such a tough world

    My parents have nothing, and they barely speak English, and they were still able to buy a home, build a business, and support two kids, and send two of them to college, so I think it’s something, definitely, to be proud of.

    There’s certainly a resonance of this show will have in this particular moment in time when people are targeted and ostracized for being different – when different can mean “mutant,” or different can mean “immigrant.”

    It’s alienating a group of people based on their religion, their culture, or being a mutant, like on our show. But throughout history, we’ve done that: discriminated against and stereotyped a group of people because we feared them. So during World War II, it was the Jewish people from Europe – we shut down our borders. Today it’s Syria. And before that, even also World War II, it was the Japanese – sending them to [interment] camps. It’s always overcoming some sort of adversity, based on your race.

    And that “outsider” aspect has always been part of the X-Men story. When did the X-Men sort of trip your radar? When did you discover them?

    Aw, man! I mean, as a kid, I loved watching the “X-Men” cartoon. That’s kind of what got me really excited.

    That cartoon still deeply resonates.

    It’s the 90’s! For the kids of the 90’s, totally. It was one of my favorites. But it was so sad, because there were so many reruns because they actually didn’t have a lot of episodes. So we were watching the same ones over and over. And then, after that, I got into the comics, and then the movies came out when I was in college, and post-college. I’ve always kind of been a fan. There was always something every year.

    You’ve worked with Marvel before, on “Big Hero 6.” Was there a difference in the experience?

    There’s certainly a different vibe. For example, for the Marvel Disney movie for “Big Hero 6, it’s just a totally different story. But never have I worked on specifically an X-Men project. And this is quite different and unique, because I’ve never experienced anything like it.

    We certainly are in good hands, you know, we have Lauren Shuler Donner, the Donner company, as well as someone like Bryan Singer who’s attached to this show that have really guided the way to make an awesome Marvel movies. “Days of Future Past” is one of my favorites. I know we’re in good hands.

    I know FOX has a particular look to their shows. I feel like “Gotham” is a great example of that. It’s targeting a different audience than, say, something on ABC – which is also a great network, and I’ve worked with them many times as well. It’s just the tone is a little different, and I’m sure you’ve realized, you’ve recognized that. I feel like ABC is geared heavily towards women, and FOX, there’s a different variety of people that watch the show and different programming.

    It’s cool. It’s gonna be different. I think the universe that we’ve created, there’s something really gritty about it, and dark, and even though we’re talking about super powers, and mutant abilities, and it’s quite fantastical, it’s still very much grounded.

    Yeah, I was pretty well-schooled in X-Men comic book lore in my youth, but then I kind of drifted away right about the time Blink came in with “Exiles.” Doing my homework to refresh about her and backstory, they’ve come at her in so many different ways. I didn’t envy you in your research!

    So what did you latch onto as you looked at her? Obviously, there’s the Blink that you got on the page on the script, but then was there anything about the Blink in the comics that you wanted to draw a little inspiration from?

    Doing some research on Blink, I realized that she was quite … She’s kind of a spaz! She’s really spazzy, but she’s also kind of scared, and she works on fear. That’s a similarity, because my character runs on fear. Her abilities are the strongest when she’s scared, when she’s trying to get out.

    That was quite similar, but in terms of the different iterations of Blink through the different comics, her look is so different. She’s always kind of changing, and her powers grow. In “Exiles,” she was able to throw the crystal daggers through her portals. Our Blink doesn’t have those powers. It’s cool to know where the power could go, could possibly go, and how easily she can do it, and how it can be used in cool, different ways.

    We’re kind of playing with the idea of what happens if a portal closes too soon, and you’re halfway through it? What happens if she’s having a bad dream, and she opens a portal? I don’t know. We don’t think about the things that could possibly go wrong, and how dangerous it can be if these powers are out of control.

    Settling on what you were gonna do with Blink for TV, what was fun about getting in on the look, and what was a little torturous?

    Well, I think when you’re first sitting through prosthetics, the first time, it took around two hours. Once you get it down, it takes about an hour. I think the most painstaking process was the process of elimination of different contacts. I just spent one day at the optometrist, and he does a lot of contacts for movies, and films, and TV shows. He was taking them in, putting them out, but we were just trying different colored contacts. It’s a lot of touching of your eye for one day. But physically, that was the most irritating, I think – literally, for my eye.

    Is there another character that you’ve spent a little more time with in the others? Is there one that you would’ve liked to?

    Because of the story, we end with her going with her new mutant friends, Because the underground mutant group, Polaris, Eclipse, and Thunderbird decide to try to find and help Blink, they lose one of their own in the process. That’s a huge burden of guilt that Blink feels. It’s because of me that one of your own is gone.

    She’s currently in a lot of scenes with Thunderbird, Eclipse, and the other mutants at the headquarters, one of which is Dreamer, played by Elena Satine. She’s amazing. There is something so sensual about her, but powerful. She’s good. She’s really great, and can say so much with her eyes.

    Elena and I were having our own conversations, and it’s not very tasteful to talk about the superhero parts that you’ve missed, or gotten so close to getting, but you can bond with someone because of all the heartbreak. Only another actor would truly understand what you go through, and we had a really deep conversation. I thought mine was pretty big, and she told me hers, the role that she lost, and I was like “You win!” It was a big one. It was life-changing. It was crazy.

    You’ve handled action before. What was different or challenging about the approach that you had to take for this?

    It’s a little different. It is a physically demanding role, but there’s something unchoreographed about her. I’ve done a lot of choreographed fight sequences that required a lot of technical kicks and punches and moves and weapons training. So fun! And I love doing that, but there’s something a little bit more raw about her. I think she’s growing up on the streets, hopefully we’ll see her get physical, and maybe it’s like a dirty, gritty, fist fight. She’s working with her powers, but she’s also physical, but it’s something that she struggles with, which is more straining on her.

    I’ve talked to a lot of people who play on superhero shows about figuring out how to act your power.

    It’s the hardest! It’s the strangest thing! And some people can make it look really cool, like Professor X! I watch actors all the time, and how they do this. Wolverine is super physical, doesn’t require much. Cyclops is pretty self-explanatory, pretty cool. There’s some physical things. Like Polaris makes it look so beautiful. That was choice that they did.

    And for Blink, they were like “She’s having a really tough time.” I’m like, “Okay, that’s not fun.” “Okay, now you’re straining and pulling apart space.” Okay, how do you practice that? “Now you’re tearing a hole, but it’s the size of a volleyball…” It’s all very technical looking. “Don’t strain too much. Okay, now really make it exhausting.” It’s exhausting just talking about it! But it’s exhausting acting out. It’s the weirdest thing, and I know it looks so silly in person, but once they put in all the special effects it looks really cool.

    I’m sure you’ve seen the cosplay. What’s it gonna mean to you when you see someone, not just being Blink, but being your Blink?

    Oh, I think it’s so cool. I think she’s also really quite subtle, but I don’t know. I think I’d be more into seeing the fuchsia pink Blink with the green hair, and the green eyes, and a shaved head, and completely painted purple. I think that’d be really cool.

    Do you think you could go there on the show? Do you think she could mutate and evolve?

    I mean, we are playing with the idea of all of her markings on her face. We made a conscious decision to start with one, and as her powers continue to grow, you’ll see more of the markings on her face, so that’s kind of a cool progression.

    Tell me the advantage of having Bryan Singer, who knows the X-Men backwards and forwards on the screen, right there, and to be directed by him?

    The obvious advantage is the fans love him. I love him. Like I said before, “X-Men: Days of Future Past” was on of my favorite X-Men movies. It was smart. It played with the concept of time. The what-ifs. The characters who were like literally on the edge of desperation. The mutants of the future who needed the most. It’s playing with the time jumps was really interesting to me.

    Bryan came up with one of the coolest sequences ever. His vision is incredible. Quiksilver’s moment of taking down the guards one by one in slow motion, because he’s super fast, was one of the coolest sequences I’ve ever seen. It’s also someone like him that would be able to say what he wanted and then bring it to life. He’s very particular about how something looks. He has a heavy hand in how a scene turns out, and what the super powers look like.

    We had great guidance on this show. We also have someone like Derek Hoffman, who works with Lauren Shuler Donner. Her right-hand man, who’s very well versed in the Marvel X-Men universe. And then, someone like Matt Nix who’s made it his life goal to do a show about the X-Men, someone who’s been a fan since he was child – we’re in very good hands, no matter how you look at it.

  • After a String of Butt-Kicking Roles, Adrianne Palicki Goes For Laughs In ‘The Orville’

    After taking on a series of characters particularly adept at kicking butt, Adrianne Palicki was ready to take on a role that gave her a good laugh – but also kicked butt from time to time.

    After making a splash in early roles on “Friday Night Lights” and “Supernatural,” Palicki almost became both a new generation’s “Wonder Woman” and “Lost In Space’s” Judy Robinson but those respective TV pilots weren’t picked up. Instead, she tackled a string of hard-hitting action gigs in films like “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

    The actress has since boarded her latest TV hit, playing “The Orville’s” first officer Kelly Mercer, who grapples with being made second-in-command to her embittered ex-husband of one year, Captain Ed Mercer (Star Trek” fan who does more than just parody the sci-fi franchise on “The Orville.” And it’s a role that makes the most of many of Palicki’s strong suits, from adventuring on alien words to navigating the awkward but still percolating chemistry between Kelly and Ed.

    “There is so much heart and depth to this show,” says Palicki, who joined Moviefone and a small group of journalists to discuss her role. “Not that there’s not comedy as well, but there’s another level to this. And it hasn’t been done, and I’m excited to see how people feel about it because I think it’s very unique and original.”

    Working in the genre, and then in this case being able to tweak it, what’s exciting about that for you?

    Adrianne Palicki: Here’s the thing — genre is fun because this kind of show, whether it’s set in space or not. The whole through-line and the point of the show is these relationships –- this one being a big part between Kelly and Ed. I think that’s the heart of it. That and having stakes.

    So what Seth said from the beginning is, “It doesn’t matter that these are weird, interesting story lines. We have to play it as though this is our truth.” It doesn’t matter if it’s set in space, and I think that’s what gives you that kind of feeling of there are real stakes at hand. We’re not talking about aliens, we’re talking about our friends. It kind of gives an interesting dynamic to the show.

    How prepared were you to hit those comedy beats after a long stretch of action and drama in your career?

    I’ve done some comedy. You have to be able to do it. She’s a bit of straight man, so the comedy can be out of that. So that’s fun to be a part of. But I’ve known Seth forever and to play around with one of my dearest friends is super cool, and we’ve just become a family. We always say that, but I mean genuinely those are some of my best friends.

    How often do you laugh at work?

    All the time. Scott [Grimes] is the funniest, but once he starts laughing I can’t stop laughing. It’s like we have to stop for 10 minutes to recoup from that. It’s a whole thing. But it’s hard not to, especially when we’re on the bridge, it’s our family time. It’s like our living room. We all get to be together. They are long days. You get delirious at some point. Somebody laughs, and then just…It’s over. It’s done.

    And you’ve had so much action in your career lately. Are you getting enough on this show to satisfy the action junkie in you?

    I was able to have a little bit of action on this show. Not enough for my taste, but it’s nice to have a little bit of a break, I guess!

    The production design is incredible. Can you talk about walking onto these sets for the first time? What went through your mind?

    I was able to walk on throughout the process of the building –- which, by the way, was so minimal if you really think about how epic that set is. They were amazing. They blasted through that and worked their asses off and made some brilliant things.

    So to be able to actually see the progression of it, and just how hard everybody is working –- everything is functional! It’s a functional set. We walk around the hallway, and we don’t have to stop and start again. And to be a part of that, I’ve never been a part of something so epic.

    What’s been interesting about being around set and seeing the depth of Seth’s sci-fi knowledge? And then there’s also Brannon Braga, who’s run actual “Star Trek” series -– has it been fun being the bystander watching them living out this kind of homage?

    It’s just intriguing. Like I said, I’ve known him for almost a decade now. This is the first time we’ve actually worked together, other than on “Family Guy.” To see him work and how particular and specific he is about everything is infectious, but not in a negative way. He’s building a world that is literally the reason he came out to L.A., to do this show. That’s been his dream since childhood, and getting to be a participant in that and helping it evolve is such a luxury.

    He’s very, very, very, very particular about everything, and it’s amazing to watch. I’m in awe of him every day, and Brannon as well, and the scientists that they have on set who are like, “What about this planet, and this thing?” I’m like, “I have no idea what the hell they all are talking about, okay?”

    When you were on “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” did you discover how much the fanbase for that show liked the humor that you brought in your scenes with Nick Blood. I feel like that genre fandom loves when you guys on these “serious” shows do something funny.

    Absolutely! It’s actually interesting you bring that up, because I think it’s very parallel to these characters, Ed and Kelly. It’s that relationship. They are exes who have this banter back and forth, and it’s fun to watch. Is it sexy? And you still don’t know if they are going to get back together or if they are not going to get back together. There’s a lot of that push and pull and that tug. So, yes, absolutely. I think that fanbase will be very, very similar. Hopefully.

    Do you feel there’s an open door for you to make a return appearance on “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.?” Maybe one day in one episode, or an arc? Some kind of appearance?

    Listen, if they asked me to, and they wanted me to and it worked out with the schedule, I’d absolutely do that. Yeah, I love playing Bobbi. She was so fun. And I loved working with Nick. Everybody on that show. It was awesome.

    Like Seth and just about anyone who pursues a career in show business, you were a fan yourself. What’s got you so hooked that it made you want to live out the dream of being an actress?

    “The Princess Bride.” I wanted to be Princess Buttercup. Robin Wright changed my life, and I wanted to live in that world. And I also always just wanted to be everything I saw on television. I remember seeing “Apollo 13,” and I was like “Well, I want to be an aerospace engineer.” My mom’s said, “Do you know what that entails?”

    Then I saw “Elizabeth,” and I saw Cate Blanchett walk down as the Virgin Queen, and that was the moment I knew I had to be an actress. Because I was like, “I want to make somebody feel the way that she made me feel in that moment.”

  • Ron Livingston Is Soberingly Funny As ‘Loudermilk’s’ Abrasive Lead

    After his 25-year-career in Hollywood, you’ve probably seen Loudermilk” offers a Ron Livingston you’ve never seen before.

    As Dave Loudermilk (referred to by last name only), a former music critic, current recovering alcoholic and AA counselor whose people skills leave much to be desired. Even as he’s doing his best to rebuild his life and reconnect with society, his unfiltered and outspoken nature still manages to constantly rub people the wrong way. Thankfully, Livingston brings a freshly rumpled and amusingly abrasive quality to his repertoire.

    The Audience Network series created by The Colbert Report”) is constantly amusing even as it never shies away from the darker potential of the addiction struggle. Livingston infuses the oft-cynical lead role with a deftly light touch that makes him compellingly relatable, even in his more misanthropic moments. Livingston joined Moviefone for a look at the role he’s loving playing, as well as an overview of his quarter-century in the spotlight.

    Moviefone: Tell me about the entry point. What did you first find fascinating and understandable about him?

    Ron Livingston: I started with the idea that he’s hyper-critical. He’s hyper-critical of himself, he’s hyper-critical of the world around him. And it happen to make him a very good music critic because he’s hyper-critical. And I wanted to play with the idea, because I’ve got a streak of that, and my dad’s got a streak of that. There’s a lot of that in there and I wanted to play with the kind of way that that can really push you towards excellence and also completely tear you apart and paralyze you from being able to do anything. When is that? When is it helpful and when is it destructive?

    So I like the idea and I thought it was funny! I was drawn to the idea of getting to play an unfiltered guy on a show that doesn’t have to adhere to the standards and practices. And doing it in a world of comedy.

    And then there’s the element of Peter Farrelly, who has such a unique and fantastic like track record. You see where all through his career he’s been willing to sort of cross the line and explore exactly where that line is. But everyone I’ve ever talked to, when I said that I was in the mix for this thing were like, “Ah, you’re gonna love Pete! He’s a great guy!” So that was something that was a big part of it, too.

    This show really straddles the dark and the light, and that tone is always a tricky thing to land on. What has that been like for you to keep him dark enough that you can see why people hate him and light enough where people are still rooting for him?

    Well, I’m a firm believer that there’s a whole cult of a character’s likeability, and a lot of the characters you know –- Dudley Do-Right, Prince Valiant -– they’re not very likable. Like they have all these wonderful qualities, but there’s something that’s missing from them.

    There’s something about scoundrels, you know? There’s something about Han Solo and that I think we’re drawn to because we wish that we could say that, or we wish that we could do that. I also think that audiences give you the credit if they see a character struggling, trying to do the best he can. He doesn’t have to actually succeed at doing anything of positive value. You just see that he’s trying to live his life according to whatever principles he’s found for himself. And I think they relate to that, because I think everybody struggles with that some form or another.

    Do you feel optimistic for him? On one hand it looks like maybe his best days are so far sort of behind him, but so are his worst days.

    I think he’s been given a rebirth, as far as in the sobriety has really allowed him to plug back into his life again. And it’s something in a half hour comedy, too. There’s always this idea where some crazy sh*t would happen but by the end of the episode we’re right back where we were because it’s gonna match up, it’s gonna dovetail, you know? So you’ll go on a loop but people don’t really change. They end up exactly where they are.

    We don’t do that. It’s very much a serial show, although Pete tries to build it so that you could watch one episode out of context and really enjoy it and not necessarily have to know what the big stories doing. But there’s something about addicts and alcoholics, that they’re in a dramatic sense fighting against that circle of constantly returning back to square one.

    And there’s the idea that recovery is this ongoing thing that never actually ends. You’re always fighting the same demon. It’s not even a new demon with a new face, it’s the same thing. And you get a whole bunch of people who are doing that and they can’t manage to take care of themselves, but somehow they find a way to take care of each other. To me there’s something that’s both really funny about that but also really human.

    Did you check out any AA meetings, to get a sense of that community?

    I did. Yeah, I had been to some Al Anon stuff in the past, and I went to a couple of AA meetings to sort of get a taste of it. Something I really quickly realized is that, “Oh, we’re not doing AA on our show. This is…We are doing AA’s dysfunctional cousin.” Like, it’s the little-messed-up version.

    The main difference is, in AA they don’t have designated counselors. Everybody’s equal who walks in, someone will raise their hand to chair the meeting, but there’s no teacher in the room. In our show, Sam is the guy that’s there to shepherd the whole thing along. So it’s 12-Step, but we’re not really able to adhere to all of the AA stuff.

    So I did go. I found it actually a lot more stressful. The first meeting I went to was really intense, because I expected it to be an auditorium with like 100 people and coffee in the back, and it was a table with six people, so it became very clear that I was going to have to talk. You go from there.

    Did you find that there was a humor in there too?

    Oh yeah. I’d known that already, because if you work in showbiz enough you meet plenty of people in recovery, and people who aren’t in recovery. There’s a gallows humor to it, there’s a cavalier attitude. I think because what it is, is you’re so vulnerable. It’s very sobering to realize that, and I think you almost have to counteract that with some sort of humor to make you feel like you have some kind of control over it, and to get through it.

    You’ve had such an interesting and diverse career. You’ve had things that have had a huge pop spotlight like “Sex and the City,” and you had something that’s had a cult endurance like “Band of Brothers.” Are you happy with the map that you have now as a career?

    I love it. I love it. I was always kind of driven by the idea that I was always scared of getting stuck in something. I didn’t want to do the same thing over and over again. I didn’t want to get put in one box, so I was always looking to do something that I’d never done before. Or something, like “I haven’t done one of these –- let’s do a horror movie!” “Well, I want to play an astronaut, let’s go do that!” “Let’s do an improv movie where we make up all the lines.”

    So, if there was one thing I would change, it’s that I think I’d put a lot more energy when I was younger into saying no to a lot of things that I would say yes to now, because I was scared of them, because I couldn’t necessarily see in my head, reading it, what it was going to look like or sound like. Like, when I read “Office Space,” I was like I” know what this is going to look like.” And “Band of Brothers” was like “I know what this is going to look like and sound like. I know how I’m going to do this.”

    Those were wonderful, wonderful experiences, but I’ve also had some really, really wonderful experiences on stuff that I went in having no idea how I was going to pull it off. I had those great experiences on stuff where I did in fact end up pulling it off. And, I had great experiences on stuff where I went down in flames, and there’s something really freeing about that.

    Now, at this point in my career, where, I’m not really afraid of going down in flames in the way that I was, because it’s like, “Eh, flames.” If you get shot, you get back up again.

    You could have said “I’m a movie star, I’m only going to work in movies, but with “Sex in the City,” “Band of Brothers,” you’ve been part of the vanguard that led the change to what TV is today. So was it easy to say yes to a TV show now?

    Oh definitely. I think if anything, I remember back in the days when I would be meeting with TV executives, trying to look for a fit on a show, and they would go, ‘Well, what kind of thing do you want to do?” I would pitch this sort of crazy idea about this and that, and they would look at me like I was from Mars. Like, “Have you never seen an hour of television?” Whereas now, that’s the kind of stuff that everybody’s doing.

    Everybody’s trying to find something that’s strikingly unique, because everyone’s trying to carve out a unique niche for themselves to stand away from everything else. So I think it’s kind of a golden age for the medium. The technology too, we’re not chained to, you have to clear your schedule every Tuesday at 7:30. That really kept us from being able to do really long form, great serial stuff on television, because there was only so many shows that people could make that kind of commitment to.

    And, nowadays, I feel like with the DVR thing and the streaming thing, you can tell a 10-hour story, and people might even actually sit through it and watch it back-to-back for 10 hours. You never know. But, yeah I think you can get a lot deeper in stuff nowadays.

  • Rachel Bloom Says ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’ Goes Full ‘Fatal Attraction’

    It’s the dysfunctional relationship you can’t get enough of: “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” that hilariously demented musical rom-dramedy that a legion of devoted fans hopes The CW never breaks up with, is back for a third season. And this time, says Rachel Bloom, Rebecca Bunch won’t be ignored.

    The season picks up with Rebecca still reeling from the smoking rubble of her romantic life in West Covina after being jilted at the altar by her dream man/unhealthy obsession Josh, and focusing her considerable energies on extracting her revenge –- she’s going full-on Glenn Close in “Fatal Attraction,” says the show’s star and co-creator.

    “I get where she’s coming from in it,” Bloom tells Moviefone. “She doesn’t want to be ignored, and I think that that’s the worst thing, being cast aside. You’d rather, at a certain point, be hated than not be thought of at all.”

    “It’s a bit of a villain origin story, so it’s really her girding for battle,” says executive producer and co-creator Aline Brosh McKenna. “What’s fun about this season is that anything you thought you expected about this show –- this is the crazy ex-girlfriend who started on a mission to exact some revenge -– we’re finally there. So it’s been incredibly fun for us to actually sort of go there and do the kind comedic ‘Fatal Attraction’ that the show has always promised. So it’s been incredibly fun and liberating.”

    In previous seasons, the show has explored the show’s titular adjective in terms of Rebecca’s mental health: there are genuine issues that she needs to address, and this year they’ll be put under a microscope, says. McKenna.

    “That character is sort of a fused autobiography of Rachel and I, and we started working on it like the second we met, essentially,” says McKenna. “And we wrote her by feel, and then this year we did the work of sitting down and figuring out exactly what’s troubling her. So we did a ton of research and talked to a lot of people, and she’s going to get a specific diagnosis and a specific course of treatment, and that has been really interesting.”

    Bloom joined Moviefone to dig deep into both Rebecca’s revenge and her road to self-discovery –- and the things the star has discovered about herself on her own journey.

    Moviefone: The first thing when I heard what the premise of the season was going to be is thinking about how you’ve very artfully exploited the comedic side of her but then there’s that serious side of her issues, too, that you’ve touched on. Tell me a little bit about the approach, how sensitive you’re going to be to certain things, and how you just want to go for the funny in other ways.

    Bloom: Well, I think that there’s a wackiness in that Rebecca is actively trying to take on the persona of a character, right? That’s a crazy thing to do and leads to kind of these humorous scenarios. But then there’s the other side explored –- like, okay if you actually do this in your life, you try to be Glenn Close, what is going to happen that happens in your real life? How are people going to actually react to this?

    And so that’s been kind of the tightrope to walk — that on the front end if she gets crazy or wacky in a funny way, we have to then deconstruct that and make sure we are calling out how crazy the first thing was.

    How easy was it to find big, splashy comedy prospects in this new path?

    “Easy” is the wrong word because nothing is ever easy, but definitely there were some things that we just hadn’t mined yet that we had always wanted to mine. I mean, Aline said it so well, where it’s like her version of “Fatal Attraction” is like trying to boil a bunny looking at the bunny’s face, making the bunny a pet, and then she ends up with like 50 bunnies and she doesn’t know how they got there. I mean, that’s a pretty good way to sum up at least the beginning of Rebecca trying to be a villain.

    What was the dimension to her that was really creatively exciting to explore that you hadn’t really dug in too deep before?

    Going further into sexual manipulation. That’s very fun for me, and interesting. And it’s something we did in the pilot. The idea of, you know, hooking up with Greg just to get information, like we’ve done shades of that but going further into that is very interesting

    It’s a very unique thing to your show. People don’t go there very often on shows.

    Yeah, because they want to, as Aline said, “protect the lead,” but as long as she and I are portraying a flawed person who’s somewhat of an anti-hero, as long as it’s earned, as long as you understand where she’s coming from that it doesn’t feel gratuitous and it doesn’t feel like those edgy cable shows where suddenly people are f*cking and you don’t know how it happened. Like, as long as you understand what’s going on, that’s all that matters to us.

    Which character in your deep bench of great characters was kind of crying out for a little more attention this season?

    Heather. She’s been so wise for the past two seasons, you know? She’s been so wise and I think that’s what makes her fun is she’s so kind of above it all. But it’s like, Heather’s a perpetual community college student. So I think that’s been very interesting, and Vella Lovell who plays her is just a star. I mean, she’s so wildly talented. But, when someone’s already enlightened that leads to less plot points, and so that definitely is something that we have actively tried to do this season.

    Like, “Okay, how do we take this really interesting but enlightened character who’s arguably a few steps ahead of Rebecca and ingrain her into the story?” Because ultimately it’s Rebecca’s story and sometimes when characters have storylines that have nothing to do with Rebecca, they end up getting cut. And so that was our challenge, and I am very excited.

    The musical numbers, as you well know, are part of the pop of the show and that’s what people love, but you also keep everybody engaged in between, which is the big trick.

    Oh yeah! And it’s funny there are people who only watch the musical numbers, who go on YouTube and watch them, and then there are people who watch it and fast-forward through the musical numbers. There are both.

    So how are you when it comes to the creative side? Do get a concept in your head and feel like, “Could we just film this video now please?” Or do you want to always get to where you need to be to set up the right kind of song and video approach to it?

    Oh no, the set up is important. I’m not precious about cutting songs at this point, like, if it’s not earned cut the song. The songs being earned are very, very important. I mean, there are occasionally songs we’ll shoehorn in. “Heavy Boobs,” “Man Nap,” we knew we wanted to do from the start. We kind of wrote little plot points around them, but even then we wrote plots kind of around them to earn them. I really try to have things come from an emotional place and I think we do that very well this season.

    Tell me about the different influences for the music and for the videos this time around. Were there things that immediately sprung to mind and you knew, “Okay, I want to do it in this vein or do this style of song?”

    “Big Disney ensemble song” I think is something I’ve always been wanting to do and this Season Three opener –- pretty much the top of Season Three is the biggest production number we’ve had since the pilot, which is so exciting to me.

    When it came to rebuilding the intro number for the new season and coming up with what you wanted to do, you knew that early didn’t you?

    Well, yes and then as Aline and I broke out the season, “I’m Just a Girl In Love” for Season Two ended you up applying to a lot of Season Two, no matter what twists and turns. Like, “I’m just a girl in love, I can’t be held responsible for my actions…” –- that applies to a lot of the season. And when it came to this season, the part of the challenge of finding the right theme song was what is going to still be true in episode ten? Will the revenge angle still hold weight in the same way? And so that was our main challenge.

    Because it’s not just a song. It’s our emotional thesis statement and it’s finding the emotional thesis statement in a sitcom-y way for a show that has a lot of plot. I mean, it’s why “Game of Thrones” is just like “Here’s where the show’s taking place” –- that never changes right? “Westworld” is kind of this fundamental thing about like “This is what the show is,” but ours, because it changes with the seasons. It’s finding that balance between “Okay, what’s specific to the season but vague enough so that it can apply to episode one and also apply to episode 13?” It’s hard!

    What has observing your super devoted fan-base. and what they say about the show told you about the show that you’re making?

    So much. I mean, there’s so much that they notice that sometimes I’m like, “Okay...” I used to go on the “Crazy-Ex” Reddit and then be it good or bad things… I’ve heard a saying recently: “What other people say about you is none of your business.” And I took Twitter and Facebook off my phone –- I just wanted to focus on making the show.

    But the fans glean so much, I mean, the way they see Nathaniel, the thematic connections that they make … We have very smart fans. That’s the thing I’ve taken away from this is whip-smart fans.

    The show has so much craft to it. It’s clear how much work you guys put into it.

    And Aline’s a brilliant show-runner.

    And everybody involved does an amazing job. Tell me about making sure that in all of that tight craft there’s room to follow the crazy idea, the silly notion–

    Well, to me, comedy has an even tighter craft than drama. The way that I learned comedy was not rigid, but this very specific technique taught by the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, which is the idea of, “What’s the game of your scene?” Playing out the game to it’s fullest extent. So to me, broad comedy actually has the most firm structure. It’s when you start to get into drama that I think, for me, the structure almost gets a little looser.

    So that’s been an adjustment for me — that sometimes I will gravitate towards the wackier thing because it feels structurally right. And Aline will say, “Well, no that’s not what a person would do.” Let’s go for the unexpected thing rather than following the A to B to C to D to E structure that you sometimes learn when you’re starting out in sketch.

    How has the success of the show changed your life?

    My life is unbelievable. It’s obviously gone in phases, but the workload has changed my life the most. It’s given me a confidence I didn’t have, but also made me appreciate things that I had before. Like it makes me appreciate my husband, my dog, my friends that I had before the show.

    My career is forever altered. And for a long time my career was synonymous with who I was. It’s less so that now. I think the pressures of being in the limelight and being in the spotlight have caused me to do some of the work that Rebecca’s doing, which is look inside myself and find out like, “Who am I, really?” Cutting out a lot of the external BS that has nothing to do with what I want to say and the art that I want to create.

    The show has changed my life in so many ways. I went from being a person who was doing moderately successful videos online and working as a moderately successful TV writer and aspiring to do this to having a Golden Globe. Really within a year I went from having a dead Showtime pilot to winning a Golden Globe. So it’s just insane.

    You talked about that spotlight, and as a young, creative person starting out you crave the spotlight. You’re seeking it and then it hits you. And when it hit you, was there a moment like, “Did I really want this?”

    I would say it’s 90% gratifying. I actually really like having the spotlight on me. The thing that I crave now more than ever when I’m doing interviews, when I’m turning it on, I can be on. When I’m not on, I want to be left alone. I want to have quiet.

    I think that I would have never called myself an introvert before this -– and I’m not an introvert. I’m definitely not -– but now, I’m kind of like a puppy that’s played a lot and I just need to nap. When I want to rest, I want to rest hard. I want to be with my husband, I want to read a book, I want to be left alone, I want to take a bath, I want to get a massage. I just want to left alone.

    So the idea of decompressing with, like, a crazy party, I can do that for a night if I have alcohol in me. But short of that, I just want to go home and rest. I think that’s been like an actual big change and that’s been the thing that makes me feel most adult, is craving my relaxing alone time. That’s been really important.

    What are the interesting opportunities that have come out of being known for the show? In Hollywood, success breeds more success, generally.

    I’m doing a lot of voiceover right now. There have been so many opportunities like countless guest spots of television shows that I’ve done. Being on the Tony Awards. I think getting interest to maybe write Broadway shows. I mean, it’s opened up a whole world and all stuff that I wanted to do that I dreamed about doing before I had the show. So it’s all in the same vein. I mean, it’s nothing that’s out of the ordinary. I’m not getting offers to be on ‘The Bachelorette” or anything.

    Maybe the next “Star Wars.”

    Exactly, exactly! You know, that would be amazing! But like it’s all within the vein of what I’m doing because my show is still a specific niche show.

    Immediate bucket list: what’s looming? Given that the show takes up a lot of your time and energy, what’s something that you’d like to check off sooner rather than later?

    Well, I have a book deal so I’ve got to write that book. I want to do Broadway, I want to write a live stage musical. But the main part of the bucket list other than the book –- which I am contracted to do and I’m excited to do it -– is making the show the best, because it’s a finite amount of time. It’s a finite show. I want to make sure we’re doing, up until the last second of editing, the best show we can.

  • ‘Once Upon A Time’ Star Lana Parrilla Reveals What’s Going on With the Show’s Radical Reboot

    For the new season of everyone’s fairy tale-meets-real world series, maybe the more accurate title would be “Twice Upon a Time?”

    After resolving its ongoing storylines and delivering “happy beginnings” to many of its central characters in its sixth season, “Once Upon a Time” is about to embark on a brand-new tale. The show will fast-forward into the future to follow the journey of all-grown-up Henry Mills –- now played by The Walking Dead”) –- who appears in Seattle with his daughter Lucy in tow. In a shift in locale from the rustic to the urban, city’s Hyperion Heights neighborhood is subject to an ever darker curse than Storybrooke. And while many of the series’ long-familiar faces are off living new lives, a handful remain on hand to help the adult Henry in his quest — most notably, his adoptive mother Regina, the Evil Queen of lore (but not always so evil anymore).

    Of course there’s a catch: Regina is not exactly what she used to be –- or even who. Hyperion Heights’ curse has cast her into a whole new persona: a bar owner named Roni.

    “I’m no longer in pantsuits – I’m in denim and rock T‑shirts!” laughs Lana Parrilla, the actress who is thrilled to be once again reimagining her role over the past six years. “When we meet her, she’s a little rough around the edges, not the queen that we’re used to.”

    “I’ve played so many different versions of this character and this one feels really different,” Parrilla adds. “All the other versions were evolutions of the character. And this one — I mean, her name’s not even Regina! She’s no longer in charge, and we’ve always seen Regina in charge, or try to be in charge, try to control, try to manipulate. And then she redeemed herself. But this Regina is something else, and I’m having a blast playing her.”

    Parilla joined Moviefone and a small group of journalists at ABC’s press day for the Television Critics Association and offered her take on the show’s big change-up.
    ONCE UPON A TIME - "An Untold Story" In the second hour, with the possibility of magic being destroyed and the fate of Storybrooke hanging in the balance, it's a race for Emma and Regina to track down Henry before Gold can find him first. Regina continues to struggle with her frustrations over her former evil-self and, elsewhere, Snow, David, Hook and Zelena are imprisoned and must contend with very two very disturbed individuals that may give Gold a run for his money. The season finale of "Once Upon a Time" airs SUNDAY, MAY 15 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EDT), on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/Jack Rowand) LANA PARRILLAMoviefone: As one of the remaining cast members who’s been on the show since the very beginning, what’s kept you coming back?

    Lana Parrilla: I’m always inspired by her. She started off as this Evil Queen, and then she was this mother to Henry, and the fact that she could have lost her son is what really changed her. And so then she became this redeemed woman.There’s just been so many levels to this character, that as an actor, I’m constantly intrigued.

    What’s been fun, creatively, in this radical reinvention? Because you’ve tweaked her over the seasons, but this is a whole new starting point.

    Yeah, it’s just fun building a character from scratch, discovering who she is, and kind of collaborating with the writers, just learning more about her background. Even making things up, because I don’t know much about it yet

    It’s kind of how I approached the evil queen when we first started. I didn’t know that her boyfriend, the love of her life, was going to be killed. I made some stories up just so I could have something to draw from. And I’m doing a little bit of that now, but it’s going to take some time. We don’t know who she is just yet. We know that she is the voice of the people. That is something. She has a little Norma Rae quality to her.

    She’s much more down to earth, she’s more relaxed. Her body’s different. She moves differently. She’s not malicious, she’s not evil. She’s the redeemed version, but maybe — just slightly …

    Were you given a choice to come back, or did they always tell you, “Please, please, please …”

    My contract was up in the sixth season, and I decided to come back.

    People say, “Why would you want to come back? Aren’t you bored? Don’t you want to do something else?” I think — because of what they’ve done with Regina — it feels like a new job. It feels like the old “Once,” but then it doesn’t. And I think the only thing that really brings me back there is some of the flashbacks. But even then, Regina in the flashback is a different person. She’s much more mature, she’s a little more contemplative and not so reactive. She has a little bit of the fairy godmother quality. She’s a bit of a mentor, an advisor. And that’s a side of her we haven’t really seen.

    When you started, did you have any idea that she was going to go through so many emotional changes? Evil to good, back to evil and so on…?

    I had no clue. And I think it’s our job as actors, when you work on a part or a show, you have to show different levels. I couldn’t just lead with being this evil woman. It didn’t make sense. She was evil for a reason, and so I had to tap into that, which then makes her very human, relatable, and vulnerable.

    And that’s what I love to do with these villains. It’s kind of like the Tony Soprano. It’s like the Walter White: you get these controversial characters, and it’s like, “I can’t believe I’m rooting for this guy. I can’t believe I’m rooting for Regina, who slaughtered villages and has murdered so may people. And yet we love her.”

    I had no idea where she was going, but I always wanted her to be really multi-layered. I always wanted to tell a story that wasn’t necessarily on the page.

    You actually get to show off your musical talents with Roni.

    That was a lot of fun. I had a blast. I’m not a singer, and I was terrified to sing. But I took on the challenge, and I love to dance. So it was fun. And I love rock and roll. And I felt like I had the rock and roll number, which was cool.

    How about the external change with this character and her wardrobe? What do you love about the new look, and what do you miss about the old look?

    I do not miss running in the forest in heels! I’m really happy to have thick heels now, and boots, and motorcycle boots. I like being in jeans. Regina was always in a skirt suit and stockings, and after all these years —

    Did you ever complain about the shoes?

    Oh, I’ve said, “We’ve got to change these shoes. No more running in the forest.” If you actually watch the last six years, you can see our continuity is all over the place. I’m in heels, and then I’m in high boots, and then I’m in rubber boots. It rains all the time. And then our excuse is we’re magical. We can make anything happen, we just change our shoes.

    What was it like saying goodbye to your cast members that you’ve worked with for six seasons?

    It was hard. It’s still hard. I miss them. I pass by their trailers, and their names are on them. I think of how often I would just run into Ginnie [Goodwin‘s] room and catch up with her and have a cup of tea. Or Rebecca [Mader] and I — she’s one of my best friends. We became sisters.

  • What ‘The Gifted’ Star Stephen Moyer Learned About X-Men from Wife Anna Paquin

    After seven seasons of playing a dashing, supernaturally powered vampire in the Southern Gothic world of “True Blood,” The Gifted” is as human as they come –- but surrounded by super-powered mutants, including his own children.

    But don’t go scouring through countless comic book back issues in Marvel’s X-Men line looking for the pen-and-ink antecedent of Moyer’s Reed Strucker. He’s a wholly original creation for the new series set within -– or at least adjacent to –- the X-Men cinematic universe of the 20th Century Fox film franchise (but there is very likely some significance to his familiar-to-comics-fans surname).

    Strucker’s a D.A. who specializes in prosecuting crimes relating to mutants, the genetically enhanced and often persecuted individuals who form both the X-Men and the various enemies they combat. But his world is turned upside down when his teenage children Lauren and Andy come into their mutant gifts, and he finds his family suddenly on the run and allied with the same kind of genetically gifted rebels he was putting behind bars.

    It’s Moyer’s first foray into a super-heroic world, but one he entered with plenty of preparation: his “True Blood” co-star and wife Anna Paquin logged plenty of hours in the X-verse playing Rogue for filmmaker Bryan Singer, who executive produces “The Gifted” and directed the first episode, and as Moyer tells Moviefone, she was the perfect professor when it came to Mutant 101.

    Moviefone: I hear you had a lot of fun doing your research, going through your iPad checking out all the old comics. Was that more of a treat than you thought it was going to be when you first starting diving into it?

    Stephen Moyer: Yeah, there’s such a never-ending resource. It was extraordinary. Yeah, that [Marvel Unlimited] app’s amazing, so that was a lot of fun, getting to know the world.

    I went back and watched all of the “X-Men” [films] again so it was really fun seeing a 17-year-old Anna. This show has no lack of ambition, in terms of scope. It’s quite rare to be able to do a television show where, artistically, if you can come up with a reason to do something and it pushes the narrative along the network will say yes. And [Fox] is incredibly behind the show in terms of narrative dramatic storytelling and character.

    So that’s pretty exciting, because it means that you get to do it correctly. There’s no way that you look back at episode one or two and go, “Oh, I wish we could’ve done that.” Because they’ve let you do it. Anything that the writers have been able to think of, if there’s a good reason and it tells the story in the right way and has the impact on the characters, then they’ve pretty much let us do it.

    So tell me what’s been intriguing to you about that process? Working with Matt to develop this character without some kind of road map that’s already been written out.

    When Matt [Nix] came to me with the script, there were some differences in the version of Reed that you’ve seen, and on paper he was quite dark. He was secretive, and you didn’t quite know where his intentions lay – and that was really interesting. And of course, as an actor when you read scripts, certainly for me, I’m always looking at “Oh, that’s nice. I get to play that. Oh, that’s a dark twist. That’s interesting. It’s gonna go this way…” If you’ve got that to do in the course of either a season or seven seasons or even an episode, as was written in this, then it’s really exciting.

    But ultimately, because the audience are watching the show through Reed’s eyes, they have to connect with him. They have to attach to him. And there has to be something that is redeeming somehow. So we make some alterations and did a couple of rewrites and just honed it a bit… so there were a couple of changes that we made which I think, ultimately, are the right choices.

    A lot of the superhero projects are about individuals who sort of come together as a family. This has a little of that but also starting with an actual family. What was intriguing to you about that element of it and trying to bring that into the superhero genre?

    Well, I like that fact that it’s about an everyman, and it has the added layer, of course, in Reed’s case where the very thing that his kids become is the thing that he prosecutes. I think that it brings into question for him everything that he’s built. Everything. The 2.4 kids, the house, the swimming pool, the nice life at the country club. The seven years of law school. The 20 years of practicing law. Everything that he’s done is about to get flipped on its head for the very thing that he’s been studying.

    And it’s almost like Einstein’s theory of doing things wrong repeatedly, so I think that what I was most drawn to: the fact that, ultimately, he’s always going to choose family, and that means being prepared to give up on everything that he’s ever believed in.

    The X-Men has always had this theme of the outsider and being persecuted and it’s applied in different ways in different eras. Tell me what appeals to you about what you guys are doing with that theme –- especially today, with the climate being different than even when Matt sat down to write this the pilot.

    It’s a really interesting aspect of what we’re doing, I think. When Matt sat down to do this there were certain elements that he and Bryan put into the pilot that they had absolutely no way of knowing would be as prescient as they are now. 18 months ago. There’s no way.

    And it’s because of that, I think, that in our pilot it doesn’t feel heavy handed. Because it’s authentic. And therefore the zeitgeist-y element of it is…you know, zeitgeist is something that happens by accident, not something that you’re copying. Zeitgeist is a feeling. And so you’d be hard pushed to watch our show without thinking about present society but it’s a happy accident, if you like. It’s not that happy, but it’s good for us because I think it’s a really interesting aspect of our show.

    You obviously had the advantage of Matt and Bryan’s X-brains, but did your wife [Anna Paquin] give you any special hints about how to deal with this franchise and phenomena?

    She did. Anna was great, because we were in Toronto when the script came to me and I was working on a project with her, and I’d read it. And the way it works now, because of the internet the way it is, when Fox or Marvel sends you something, they send you an exploding link. It lasts, like, two hours. So we had this two hour link and I read it and I thought, “Oh, this is really, really good.”

    And Anna and I had discussed the fact that we were gonna try and find something to do in LA, try and find something to do that was where we’d all be together. And this was down in Dallas, and so I immediately was a little bit reticent because I wanted us to be together. And then she read it and she went, “You’re on crack. This is awesome.” I had to get the exploding link put back up again. But I was also really interested to see what she thought from an X-point of view, and she thought it was excellent.

    And so then it just became, “Okay, so I’m now gonna mine your extraordinary brain and just ask you things.” And she told me some great things about working with Bryan. They’re very close, those two. So I was kind of prepped for the Bryan-ness of the role and she gave me some pointers about research and knowing your topic –- because you kind of don’t get forgiven for that. Which was great and I would have done anyway but I was like, “Noted.” She was an invaluable resource for me and is constantly. It was also, as I said, it was really nice getting to back and watch the films from scratch.

    Did she prepare you for the fact that people like me will ask you constantly now, “Will we see Rogue on the show?”

    Yes. Well, you know, poor old Anna has … when she did “Days of Future Past,” we were shooting season six, I think. of “True Blood,” and there was absolutely no way that they could get her out for a week of “True Blood.” And they wanted her for longer but we couldn’t even release her for a week.

    Somehow, bless his heart, Gregg Fienberg, our Executive Producer on “True Blood,” managed to find five days. And so she flew to Toronto and shot the first five days – but it was five days that she shot before the production was even up and running. And when she came back from Toronto she said, “You know, the interesting thing is that having been part of this world, and knowing how these films come together, and knowing that I’m right at the beginning and these scripts will go through 25, 30, 40 machinations as they move forward. I’m not gonna be in the film.”

    She went, there’s no way that in six months time, when they come to the end of the film -– because her character was in the end of the film -– that that’s gonna be the ending that they’ll have come to, by that point. She’s a really smart lady. She knows how this stuff works. She knows that people are gonna ask. She sat me down and explained it to me.

    And of course I thought rather astutely I answered that question the first time I was asked: “It’s an X-Men universe –- Is it possible? Yes.” And of course that was a mistake because then up online it becomes [a headline], but there is no plans to do it. Is it possible? Yes. But the X-Men world is over here and our world is here, and our world is now as opposed to 10 years ago. There’s no plans to do so, and I know nothing. So I’ve probably just dug a hole… but I know nothing.

    It won’t be in the headline here. I’ll give you that much.

    I know nothing!

    How has this required you to use different muscles than your last series?

    It’s always interesting, one of the things I get to do that a lot of the others don’t get to do is use an accent. So, for me, I always spend a lot of time on that. Last year it was North Carolina. Let’s see, “True Blood” was Louisiana, and North Carolina is quite different. So I spent a lot of time following this lovely guy that I was working with who was the Captain of Charlotte police. And me and Ken –- Captain Ken, as I called him -– became very close. For me, it’s another part of the costume of the character so this is a very specific, different accent.

    And so I go online and I listen to voices and I find a voice that I like and this one, very specifically, was Jon Hamm –- I like Jon’s voice. So I went to YouTube and then found some voice recordings that he’s done and I have them on my phone and I also have a dialect coach. And so I go to the dialect coach and I say “This is what I want to sound like. This is the place…” I then invent where he’s from, somewhat around where Jon’s from, and then I start creating it. And then it veers off and it becomes what it becomes.

    What do you love about genre entertainment? Because “True Blood” obviously fit that mold, and so does this. What’s fun about working in genre?

    The writer gets to use a framework that, on paper, feels like it’s completely different from the world we live in. But you get to use that, for want of a better way of putting it, sci-fi framework to create a story that is very prescient to today’s society.

    “The Gifted” premieres tonight on Fox. Check your local listings.

  • How Johnny Carson Remains the King of Late Night 25 Years After He Retired

    While The Tonight Show,” he also remains the definitive master of the genre today, 25 years after he left his desk without looking back.

    And for generations of fans who fondly remember Carson’s reign as the King of Late Night, it’s been easier than ever to indulge in nostalgia for the host who’s still considered the gold standard by the many who’ve followed him. Along with regular airings of classic episodes on Antenna TV, Carson aficionados have reveled in the DVD sets currently being released by Time Life.

    This month sees the release two hefty new collections: “Johnny & Friends: The Complete Collection,” a 10-disc set collection featuring episodes (complete with original commercials) highlighted by many of Carson’s favorite recurring guests, including Robin Williams, Steve Martin, Jerry Seinfeld, Eddie Murphy, Don Rickles, and Bob Newhart; “The Vault Series, Vol. 1-6” features six discs filled with complete episodes from 30 years of shows, including landmark anniversary specials and classic guests like Dean Martin, Orson Welles, Paul McCartney, Muhammad Ali and dozens more.

    The collections highlight Carson’s particular command of what have become late night staples: the topical monologues (which were even more hilarious when his jokes landed with a thud and Carson quickly spun his bombs into gold); the banter with his sidekicks (where announcer Ed McMahon and bandleader Doc Severinson frequently scored with their own one-liners;, the comedy sketches (the precursor to the viral skits of today’s late night shows); and the effervescent back and forth with guests, celebrity or otherwise (along with film and TV starsCarson welcomed everyone from authors to zookeepers).

    “My favorite thing was Johnny when he’s talking to civilians – the old ‘Potato Chip Lady’ or whatever it might be,” Carson’s “Tonight Show” successor Jay Leno told Moviefone, referencing a memorable bit from 1987 featuring Myrtle Hunt, a woman who collected potato chips she thought resembled celebrities. When she was distracted Carson tricked her into thinking he’d taken a bite out of one of her prized chips, then charmed her after she’d realized she’d been pranked. “And that was always his great gift. He could connect with just about everybody.”

    “Johnny was the best because he connected with ordinary Americans better than anybody else,” added Leno. “The best example I could give, I remember, I think it was Dean Martin was on with Johnny. Johnny looked at Dean Martin’s shoes, I think they were Ferragamos -– this was the mid-60s -– and Johnny said, ‘What did those shoes cost?’ And Dean said, ‘300 bucks.’

    “And Johnny, even with his own line of clothes, he comes from that Midwestern [perspective], so he was like, ‘Whoo!’” Leno laughed. “In the 60s, that was a lot of money for a pair of shoes – it is now! And Johnny was stunned by that. That’s what connects with regular folks, and I think that’s what he did so well.”

    Carson’s nephew Jeff Sotzing began working as a gopher on “The Tonight Show” in 1978 and eventually rising to the role of producer, remaining through his uncle’s retirement in 1992, and currently serves as the head of Carson Productions. Sotzig is the official keeper of the flame, diligently releasing the carefully curated Carson collections and licensing historic clips to films and television series while being careful not to oversaturate the market. And as Sotzing reveals to Moviefone, the sustained interest in the late night king ensures that fans will be hearing “Here’s Johnny” for a long while to come.

    Moviefone: I am, as always, excited to see new Carson material on the home video market. Tell me what got you excited about releasing this current material to the audience that is still there for Johnny.

    Jeff Sotzing: Yeah, it just is so hard to believe that, we’ve been off the air for 25 years and there’s still tremendous demand. This material that Time Life has released has not been released before. It’s all new, full shows. And these are kind of the go-to guys, Robin Williams, Steve Martin, Bob Hope, etc., and I just like the fact that it was able to capture the pace of that era, which is gone now, it’s fun.

    What’s it been like to kind of see that interest sustained, and I’m sure in some cases spike up again over the 25 years since Johnny’s “Tonight Show” tenure ended?

    It’s actually spiking up right now, which is so strange, because when we went off the air in 1992, Johnny and I both said, “Well, that’s the end of that. That was a great run.” And then we sold some VHS tapes a few years later. I said, “Wow, that’s hard to believe.” And then, we sold some DVDs.

    Initially we said, “We’ve made enough DVD product or enough VHS product. We don’t really need to do more. We don’t want to overdo this.” But the demand is there and the product continues to sell, and it just shows you that if you have a quality product, there’s gonna be a market for a long time.

    And as the years go by, the historic quality of the material starts to come in to sharper relief. Tell me about that aspect of what you do.

    Well, I love the fact that the monologue is such a great combination of a humorous compilation of current events, so you want to find out about coffee prices or what’s going on with politics, or anything, you just essentially go back and take a look.

    There’s a joke that Johnny did in like, 1972 about how he was in Beverly Hills and a bum stopped him and asked him for two dollars so he can get a cup of coffee –- and that’s the joke, that a cup of coffee in Beverly Hills would actually cost two dollars. I think it’s five dollars now. So it’s funny to watch that stuff.

    I’m sure that there were many secrets to Johnny’s success, but what are some of the keys that you still see today – like, why it’s so obvious to you that’s why he’s gold standard?

    Well, because number one, he’s really, really well-read, he’s a great listener and he always felt that the most important thing was for the guest to be successful. So, if there was someone like Rodney Dangerfield or Robin Williams, who was just succeeding totally on their own, he just let them go. And if there was someone who was struggling, he would jump in and help out

    He knew when to lay in and he knew when to lay out. He was, you know, the master of timing, for sure. And he’s truly a funny guy.

    As you spent time going through the archives, what are some of the discoveries or the revelations that, even though you were a part of the show, took on a new light?

    The fact that it holds up so well. We have some full episodes running on Antenna TV and they span the whole era of the show between ’72 and ’92 and I was concerned that when we did that, people would say, “You know, I thought this show was really funny, and it’s not that funny.” But it is funny. It’s really, really funny. It holds up. The timing is great, it’s very simple, it’s clean and it’s relevant. It works today.

    Do you think that Antenna TV deal has contributed to a resurgence in interest in Johnny right now?

    Yeah, for sure, because my problem is I’ve been with this show for 40 years, 50 years. So in my mind everybody knows the show like I know the show, and they don’t. But there’s this incredible connection to the show.

    I spoke with a gal who I met for the first time just a couple days ago. She’s with a movie licensing and television firm and she said to me, “Oh, by the way, I have a Johnny Carson connection: My dad was the navigator at Air Force One in the 80s and he flew Ronald Reagan out here to his ranch and for some reason they were able to get them seats for the ‘Tonight Show’ and they were in the studio audience and Johnny acknowledged that they were in the studio audience and had them stand up on camera.”

    And I said, “Well, you know, if you search our archives, you can probably find that.” Sure enough, she called me back 10 minutes later. They found the show, she played it for her mom and her sisters –- her dad has been gone for a while now, so it’s just amazing. The connection –- I can’t get away from it. It blows me away.

    Is that also a big part of your business now? The different kind of docu-series getting in touch with you to license those kind of clips?

    Yep. I mean, we’re providing clips for the “The Deuce” on HBO, we’re providing clips for a documentary on Gore Vidal…I get requests for footage, I don’t want to say every day, but it probably averages out to one a day. I mean, sometimes it’s like, four or five a day. Sometimes more -– it’s just incredible and for the strangest things.

    You’ve been very judicious about what you do with Johnny’s image as far as licensing and merchandising. Tell me what the philosophy is now. Has there been an evolution, or do you still stick to a certain set of guiding principles, in as far as how you want to keep exposing Johnny and “The Tonight Show” in the future?

    Well, I want to make sure that the quality and the brand is protected. So we only release material that we feel has strength and is entertaining, and we don’t want to overdo it. I know that he would be very reluctant about releasing very much at all.

    You know, he had a clothing and he a cologne line and restaurants, and by the time he was finished with doing ‘The Tonight Show,” he was done with that. So I was never involved with any merchandising of his name and likeness, and I think it’s probably a good thing. It protects the brand and makes it strong, and people feel that when they buy this product that they’re going to get quality stuff –- and they do.

    And you’ve got a streaming series related to Johnny’s experience coming up.

    We’re actually working with Paul Reiser on this show, “There’s Johnny” –- and I’m an executive producer on that show, so I should tell you that up front! But it is a show that takes place in 1972 backstage at ‘The Tonight Show,” and it’s not necessarily about “The Tonight Show,” it’s about a fictitious group of people working on ‘The Tonight Show.” So, that’s gonna be available on Hulu soon and that’s exciting.

    What was fun about kind of doing that unseen side of a life that you lived yourself?

    Well, I gotta tell you: the funny thing about it, Scott, was they recreated the entire set with all the cameras, all the backdrops, and we had body doubles who would stand in and then they’d do the scenes so we could actually put these body doubles in. We replaced Johnny and Doc, and we shot this scene where it was just kind of wide, generic shots.

    I was talking to a boom operator about what he did and where he worked and I realized, he’s not the boom operator. He is an actor playing a boom operator. There is no boom. It’s all wireless and the camera’s not here, it’s back there. So I felt like I was right back in the studio again. It was very strange.

    Why was Paul the right guy? I know he was a pretty regular guest of Johnny’s in his standup days.

    Paul Reiser came to me with this idea 10 years ago and I said, “I don’t think so.” Johnny had just passed away, and I had to see what it looked like. You know, I just was not comfortable again, merchandising or overexploiting him and the brand.

    And Paul actually continued and convinced me that he would write a script and he did it with David Simon and it was just sensational. And at that point, I said, “Okay, let’s see if we can sell this,” and they did. So I’m very excited about that. They’ve done a great job.

    Tell me your favorite memories of working on the show. What are the things when you think back to your time on “The Tonight Show” that always leap immediately to mind?

    I started attending “Tonight Show” tapings in New York in the 60s when my uncle Dick was the director of the show. I lived in Philadelphia, and I would take a train, go to New York, watch Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin – I loved all these Motown stars – then sit in a booth because I was too young to sit in the audience.

    Fast forward to 1978, I get a job as an intern on “The Tonight Show.” Basically, I go for a receptionist and I end up as a producer. I turned that into a producing job and put together the final show, and was there with Bette Midler and Robin Williams.

    And to go from that arc, to see that happen was just had to believe. To see the beginning of the show and then the very end of the show, the incredible effect that had on people was a surreal moment, for sure.

    What did you love about watching Johnny in the moment, doing his job when the cameras weren’t rolling -– and when they were rolling?

    Just because he has such great timing and so incredibly fast and able to pick up on things that are going well. Rodney Dangerfield tells a story about sitting on the panel after doing a great standup and then doing his little bit at the panel and he said to Johnny, “You know Johnny, you and Ed, you guys have been working together, what? 25 years? No kids?”

    And he got this huge, huge laugh and Johnny sat there and waited and waited and he looked at Rodney and said, “Well, it’s not like we haven’t tried.” It’s hysterically filthy, but it’s still funny and Dangerfield said, “That’s unscripted. That just came off the top of his head, and how do you top that?”

    I mean, he’s just amazing. I was so fortunate to be able to work with such an incredible talent for so long. And he became my friend, which is even more strange. But yeah, a terrific man.

    And it’s amazing that his personal politics were so hard to identify. In his monologues he managed to be so funny critiquing everybody on all sides of the aisle.

    He would say, “Why alienate half the audience? Let’s keep it straight down the middle.”

    He was terrific because if you go back and look at some of the material, it’s pretty clever the stuff that he comes up with.

    A show just licensed some Gary Hart material from us from the monologue and you know, just Johnny talking about, “Hey, if you’re going to go on vacation and you’re running for president, do you really think it’s a good idea to get on boat named Monkey Business? Is that really a good idea?” I mean, it’s just funny. It’s great.

    What was interesting about watching Johnny after the show was over and he clearly chose to lead a pretty private life after being in everybody’s bedrooms for all those years? What was interesting about seeing him in retirement?

    The fact that he could be much more relaxed –- that show just eats you alive. You spend every minute of the day thinking about how that show is going to be put together and what you’re going to do, what you’re going to ask and then when it’s done, you think about what you’re going to do tomorrow. The fact that he didn’t have to do that, I think, was a great relief.

    He also made a conscious decision to not go back. He was pitched, and we were pitched together, lots and lots and lots of ideas for television shows from various producers and individuals, and he would basically say at the end of these meetings to me, “I don’t think we can do much better than we did on ‘The Tonight Show’ for 30 years, so I don’t see any reason to go back and screw that up.”

    Because he let go, he was loose and he would invite staff members over for lunch, which never happened before. They’d come and hang out, and then he traveled and he had a beautiful yacht and he was very much more relaxed – but still funny as hell!

    And every once in a while he couldn’t resist slipping a joke to David Letterman.

    Well, that was the great thing. He would just do like one or two a week, and then Letterman would send him an envelope of checks for $39 each. “Independent, freelance joke writer – 39 bucks.” It’s hysterical.

    And I bet Johnny cashed them.

    I don’t know! They had a funny relationship together. I remember once I came into the office and it was June, I think, in California and there was a set of snow tires in the lobby. “What the–? Why is there a set of snow tires in here?” Johnny said, “I don’t know. It’s a Christmas gift from David Letterman.”

    Johnny didn’t invent the late night talk show, but he certainly perfected it. He owned that corner of TV at the time, and we now see everybody trying to get into the act 25 years after he left. What does it mean to you to see that his legacy not only exists in the shows that he taped, but in the fact that everybody’s still trying to capture some of that magic that Johnny created every night?

    You see Jimmy Fallon the other night with Jennifer Hudson, I think it was, having a Tomahawk toss using a cutout similar to Johnny’s Ed Ames bit in 1964. It’s just crazy that they would do that. But the technology has changed now too, so there’s much more that you can do with video and inserts, and you couldn’t do that because we did the show basically live. We start at 5:30 and we’re over at 7 and only went for an hour, 5:30 to 6:30 and you couldn’t stop tape at all.

    So, things were much more simple, and because of that, they had to be strong. So the fact that simple technology and a casual conversation holds up after all these years is a true testament to how good he was.

    I’ve never seen a show where Johnny didn’t look like he was having fun. Do you have a sense of why he loved what he did?

    Well, he’d tell you that because when you’re in front of the camera that you’re in control. He liked being in control and he liked getting laughs.

    I think the one thing he missed the most when he went off the air was not to be able to do the monologue. When you stand on that star and 500 people are screaming out your name and laughing at your jokes, that’s pretty strong stuff.

    That’s pretty heavy stuff, and I know that he liked that. But he had his own small audience of people who would come to visit him and he entertained for them and made them laugh. It was terrific, just wonderful.