Like many young, in-demand starlets, Rachel Boston has co-starred in her share of television series — in fact, too many to name. As a veteran of such nighttime dramas as “Grey’s Anatomy,” “American Dreams,” “ER,” “Scoundrels,” “In Plain Sight” and “7th Heaven,” Rachel’s latest endeavor is that of high-school-reunion-goer in the Lifetime original movie “Holiday High School Reunion,” which premieres this weekend.
I spoke with Rachel recently about “Reunion,” as well as the new pilot she is shooting for Lifetime (to air in spring 2013) called “Witches of East End,” where she’ll star alongside Julia Ormond and Jenna Dewan-Tatum. But first up, high-school reunions.
Daytime Dial: Tell me a little about the movie and your character, Georgia.
Rachel Boston: “Holiday High School Reunion” is a romantic comedy filled with Christmas music. I play Georgia Hunt, a woman in her 20s struggling to find her way through career and relationships. When Georgia returns home for Christmas, her mom encourages her to attend her high-school reunion, and through a series of events, she is asked to face her fears and find the courage to go after what she really wants for her life.
DD: When you first read the script, what was it about the movie, or Georgia, or both, that made you want to be a part of it?
RB: I read the script when I was on a road trip with my mom through the desert. The relationship between Georgia and her mother really inspired me. She wants her daughter to live her destiny but supports her as she falls down along the way. It was also wonderful to sing Christmas music all day long while filming in the middle of the summer.
DD: In what ways are you and Georgia similar to each other, and how are you different?
RB: Well, we are both looking for true love and have walked down many different paths to find it. Georgia is still holding on to the idea of a love she experienced when she was 17. You can’t start the next chapter in your life if you keep rereading the last one, and she is working through the process of letting go. I went to an all-girls school, so our high-school experiences were very different. I loved the scenes of cheering, food fights and dances.
DD: How were Marilu Henner and Harry Hamlin to work with?
RB: Marilu Henner plays my mom, and she is delightful in the film. There’s a scene after I’ve been out with the boys in the football field that really touched my heart. Harry Hamlin works at the high school with my mom, and we have some really funny scenes.
DD: How would you describe the filming experience? As the star of the movie, did you feel more pressure, or was it just such a nice experience that that all flew out the window and you just had fun?
RB: We had 16 days to shoot the entire film, including three musical numbers, so it was a very intense schedule, but an extraordinary experience. We had a very small crew of brilliant artists, and working with our director, Marita Grabiak, was beyond wonderful. She poured her heart into the film and brought so much truth to Georgia’s journey. It was a true collaboration, and I feel so blessed to have been a part of it.
DD: After watching the movie, what do you hope viewers take away from it, like a central message, theme or feeling?
RB: My 94-year-old grandmother always tells me, “Just be yourself!” She is 94 and one of the most joy-filled and wisest people I know, so she has great advice, and it’s the central message of the movie. There will always be voices telling you to turn a different way, and it takes courage to stand in your center and stay true to your heart.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Interview: Catching Up With Rachel Boston
Friday, October 19, 2012
INTERVIEW: Kellie Martin Enters New Territory
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| Kellie Martin as Capt. Nicole Galassin (Photo courtesy Lifetime Television/ Army Wives) |
Daytime Dial: Your role on “Army Wives” is definitely one your fans haven’t seen you play yet. How did the whole thing come about?
Kellie Martin: A friend of mine, a writer friend from “ER,” called me up and said: “Would you be open to playing a lesbian military intelligence officer? We’re going to explore the world after Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” And I thought: “Yeah! That sounds really interesting.” I have never played anyone in the military; I’ve never played a lesbian. That’s rare for me to say, since I’ve been doing this 30 years — I’ve played everything. But that is something I’ve never played.
I didn’t know that it was going to be as much of a story line as it turned out to be. I did eight episodes. I really feel like they hit the highlights of this woman’s life and how fast this couple’s world changed after the repeal. The way all of a sudden they were able to have more friends, they got married, they got a baby — it really hit all the high points.
DD: You sound like you really enjoyed playing this character.
KM: Oh yes, I was honored to play this woman. I thought she was so brave and so smart, yet in her personal life, she had to hide. It was really fun to play someone who comes out. And then to have Patti LuPone play my mom again was awesome. That’s the third time Patti’s played my mom on television. And it was just an honor.
I have so many people who tweet at me or who just come up to me and say, “You don’t know how this story line has changed my life.” Or, “This is me. This is exactly me. And I’ve been in the closet for years, and I’m in the Navy.” It’s nice to make people feel like they are not alone in this often-challenging world. I feel like Capt. Galassin is the girl next door. Everybody knows someone like her. I’m just very proud of “Army Wives” and Lifetime for following through with the story line like they did.
DD: Like with “ER,” you came onto an established show with established actors in place; did it make you a little nervous? How is the “Army Wives” cast to work with?
KM: It’s funny, because they’re both pretty big ensembles. I found on “ER” and on “Army Wives,” if you weren’t a part of someone else’s story line, you never saw them. The cast was very welcoming, and I was super nervous the first day. I had a ton of things to say. I had to put that uniform on for the first time, and I just fell into the character the second I put it on. So, that was a really big help to me. But the cast is lovely. I had a really, really good time. It wasn’t easy for me to be away on location so much. I was flying way more than I care to mention, because I don’t like to fly, but it was a really good experience.
DD: Do you think Nicole will be back for the seventh season?
KM: I don’t know if Nicole’s back. She was on a plane to Afghanistan at the end of the season, and there was a lot of turbulence …
DD: Yes, but turbulence can go away, and planes can go back the other way, too …
KM: Absolutely! I had a great time, and I never, ever know where my career’s going to head, so it’s always interesting for me to see what happens.
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| Kellie as Jordan (Photo: Copyright 2011 Crown Media Holdings, Inc./ Photographer: Alexx Henry) |
KM: I’ve been working with them since 2003 or 2004, and I’ve really just gotten to love the people over there. I knew the CEO when he wasn’t the CEO, and all the publicity people who’ve been there since I started working with them. It’s really the people who keep me coming back. They just are very good to me, and they let me have a bit of input into the work we do, which I really appreciate.
I really have liked doing romantic comedies — the past two movies that I’ve done for them have been really fun, upbeat and, best of all, I don’t have to cry. I love that, because I’ve spent so much time doing drama that this is a really nice way to lighten things up for me.
DD: What was it about this particular movie, especially the character of Jordan, that caught your attention?
KM: I love the arc she goes through. Jordan starts out as a very tightly wound real estate agent about to get married to a very tightly wound attorney. She has to face who she really is beyond being type A and totally under control. She unravels a bit, and it was really fun to play a character who was unraveling.
DD: How are you and Jordan alike?
KM: Well, unlike Jordan I like to drink. Jordan doesn’t drink. I’m Irish, and I do enjoy a good drink. I did marry an attorney, but unlike Peter (in the movie), my husband is a recovering attorney. Eight months after our daughter was born, he said: “You know what? I don’t think I want to do this anymore. I don’t really like this.” I do like to be in control. I like to know what’s going on. I like routines, especially having a child. I love the ritual, routine nature of a day, because my daughter has a very strict schedule. We have a very rigid schedule, and that’s very much like Jordan.
DD: You had great chemistry with your co-stars, but I especially loved your scenes with Adrienne Frantz. Her character is hilarious, and she did such a great job!
KM: Can you tell we had fun? She’s so much fun.
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| L to R: Daphnee Duplaix, Adrienne Frantz and Kellie Martin (Photo: Copyright 2011 Crown Media Holdings, Inc./Photographer: Alexx Henry) |
KM: I frequently didn’t. There’s one scene I could see how they had to cut around our giggling. When we’re eating pizza, and Adrianne and I are hysterically laughing, and they had to find the little moments where we weren’t laughing because we were total goofballs. But it’s so nice to work with someone like her because she is a pro. She’s so much a pro that she can let loose, and you can allow for those little surprises to happen. It’s just lovely to be in a scene with someone who’s so good at what they do that we know we are going to say our lines and hit our marks, but we’re going to have fun and allow surprises to happen. And that’s what we did. I would love to do a series with that girl. We would have so much fun.
DD: What do you hope viewers take away from the movie after watching it?
KM: I really think it’s good to shake up your life every once in a while. I’m not saying to marry someone who’s not your fiance, but I think it’s good to step back every once in a while and get perspective on your life. Maybe step back and say: “You know what? Let’s do something crazy. Let’s go to Paris next summer,” or “Let’s take off school today and go to the park.
Just shake up your life every once in a while and realize you only live once.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Interview (Army Wives): Brigid Brannagh: "I'm a Little Geeky"
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| From left: Wendy Davis, Brigid Brannagh, Kim Delaney, Sally Pressman, Catherine Bell |
Daytime Dial: I can’t believe it’s almost time for the sixth season of “Army Wives” to premiere. I can remember the day I received the press screener for pilot, and I knew right away that you had something special there.
Brigid Brannagh: I know, it’s crazy to me. Time flies! It feels like yesterday to me, and it also feels like a million years ago.
DD: Last season was especially heart wrenching, with Frank and Denise losing their son Jeremy. The scenes dealing with that — especially the funeral — must have been torture to film.
BB: Oh my God, we were all like, “Make this episode stop.” It was bad. I’ve been to enough funerals where “Taps” was played and the song is, just hearing it, it just evokes so many things. It’s impossible not to feel completely consumed with melancholy when “Taps” comes on, let alone that it’s playing over and over [for filming the scenes]. We’ve been surrounded by this world, by this military army life, for all of these years that you just think about a soldier that you love being gone, and you know he’s done his best for his country, and he’s gone, and he’s just a boy. It tore all of us up. Watching Terry Serpico (who plays Frank) walk in and trying not to cry.
It was so exhausting that I didn’t watch that episode for a few weeks, because I didn’t feel like crying again. I was like, “Enough.” And we certainly didn’t go light on it. It was kind of relentless to shoot it, but we all really appreciated what it was. It was just a long day of shooting.
DD: Tell me about working with Jeremy Davidson, who plays your husband, Chase.
BB: We work really hard on trying to get things right, working with the writers and trying to really dig into some of the things that have gone on for Pamela and Chase, and the arc of what our characters have done. We’re very much alike; we’re both a little geeky. Everybody has a different way of rehearsing. Some people think that if they work on something too much it takes away spontaneity. I disagree. For me, I think if you work on something so much, it becomes second nature. So, he and I do that together. There are so many things in our story lines that I’m proud of. Right now I’m just thinking of the divorce, which also killed me. That was heart wrenching. But when you’re working with somebody who you work well with, it’s like a dance. It just flies and it’s amazing.
DD: What’s it like on the “Army Wives” set?
BB: Everybody’s a decent person — there’s no drama about trailers or anything like that. Nobody cares about that sort of stuff, which is nice, because I hear horror stories about other shows. Everybody’s a decent person. Just starting with that is a pretty big deal. I spend a lot of time with Sally Pressman (Roxy) on screen, and she and I have a really easy working relationship. And I always feel humor working with Sally. Everything she does has a wink in it. And then Kim (Delaney, who plays Claudia) is really an emoter. Like when you’re doing an emotional scene and you’re watching Kim do her thing first, you’ll start crying just because she’s so good. She just always has that emotion right there at the ready.
Catherine (Bell, who plays Denise), we’re always cracking up, because Catherine has her phone in one hand and a sandwich in the other, and is totally doing her job. It’s very funny. I’m like, “Are you doing a love scene and you’ve got a turkey sandwich in your right hand?” It’s hilarious. And then Sterling (Brown, who plays Roland) is just standing back, kind of looking at everything. He’s such a good and decent person — although he likes to cause a little trouble. We have a good time.
Monday, August 01, 2011
Interview: Catching Up With Brandon Quinn
Brandon Quinn has played everything from gigolo Spencer Bullitt on “The O.C.” to an eye-candy boyfriend on “Entourage” and even a teen wolf on “Big Wolf on Campus” (way before it was all the rage to be a shapeshifter). Now Brandon is playing a role he’s always wanted to play, that of a cop, on the Lifetime Television new original series “Against the Wall,” which premieres Sunday night, July 31, at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Brandon told me all about his new show, and how excited he is to be a part of something of this caliber.
Daytime Dial: Were you as surprised as I was to see that this new show, a police procedural, was for Lifetime Television, as opposed to TNT or FX or another cable network along those lines?
Brandon Quinn: Oh my gosh, big time. The folks at Lifetime are in a position now where they are really trying to re-identify themselves, and this show is definitely unlike anything else they have right now. I really feel like it’s going to put them on the map. I’m really proud of this show. I would stack our show up against any other show in its category on network television right now. Lifetime could potentially have a really big hit on their hands if all goes well. It’s hard to say what people are going to respond to, but I just can’t imagine viewers not responding to the show.
DD: Tell me about the show, and your role of Richie Kowalski.
BQ: It’s a family drama first. It is a police procedural, but it’s a family drama about a family of three generations of Chicago police officers. Dad is a patrol cop, along with my older brother, middle brother, myself and then the youngest sibling, Abby —the only girl in the family — who was a patrol cop and decides to join Internal Affairs. Which if you know anything about cops, it’s cops on one side, Internal Affairs on the other side. They investigate the cops that are considered the traitors. So, it creates a huge upheaval in the family.
I play Richie Kowalski, the youngest of the three brothers. Richie’s a really good guy. He’s got a good sense of humor. He’s an excellent cop. He has a lot of integrity. He takes his job really seriously. Richie and Abby have an extremely close relationship. We have the closest relationship of all the siblings, she and I. I’m her shoulder to cry on, her confidant. I don’t judge her for the decision she made to join Internal Affairs.
DD: How excited were you to play Richie when you first got the script for the pilot?
BQ: I’ve always wanted to play a cop. What kid at some point in his life isn’t obsessed with cops and robbers, if just for a day? For the longest time I actually really wanted to be a cop when I was younger. So, right away I was like, “Awesome. I’ve always wanted to play a cop.” Then once I read the script, I loved the character of Richie. He’s this blue-collar, down-to-earth guy’s guy. He’s a family man. He’s really close with his wife. He’s a really good friend, and he loves football — and these are all traits that I possess. I come from a blue-collar middle-class family that shaped who I am as a person. It’s easy to be Richie, because it isn’t a stretch. I just opened myself up, and the rest was on the paper.
DD: This show has such a great cast — what are they all like to work with?
BQ: It’s such a dream job — you couldn’t ask for a better group of people. From Rachael Carpani all the way down to the guest actors, they’ve all been tremendous, and it’s literally one of those jobs where I keep pinching myself. Content of the show aside, it’s all about the people you go to work with every day who help inspire you. It starts with Kathy Baker and Treat Williams, who are two veterans who have been doing this for years. They really set the tone, and they are both so down-to-earth and great. Kathy is so motherly and a very approachable, sweet woman.
And Treat, he really wants to give us our time in the spotlight. He’s like: “I’ve had my time. This is your guys’ time.” And Rachael is absolutely phenomenal. The show wouldn’t be nearly as great if we didn’t have the cast we did, and we all get along so well. Honestly, there’s not a diva in the bunch.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Interview: Catching Up With Poppy Montgomery
Poppy Montgomery is a familiar face to many TV viewers. She is a veteran of many TV series, most notably CBS’ “Without a Trace,” as well as “Party of Five,” “NYPD Blue,” “Glory Days” and much more. On July 18 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, you can catch Poppy in Lifetime Television’s original movie “Magic Beyond Words: The J.K. Rowling Story.” I spoke with the gorgeous Aussie recently, and she told me about portraying such a private and interesting woman who created the magical world of Harry Potter.
Daytime Dial: J.K. Rowling is known for being very guarded about her private life and is very reserved. Did you have any reservations about taking this role, especially since Ms. Rowling was not involved in the production?
Poppy Montgomery: I had enormous reservations. I’ve been a Harry Potter fan long before I did this film, and I’ve read all the books and I’ve read them since I was in my 20s. I read the first one right when it came to the States. I didn’t want to do anything in any shape or form that was exploitive or tabloid-y. So, when they sent me the script, I definitely had reservations, because I knew that it was unauthorized. I knew that she wasn’t collaborating on it. It was based on a book that just told the facts, basically, from her childhood through to the present. And when I read the script, I found that it was a love letter to J.K. Rowling, and it really was a story that was inspirational for other people. I didn’t think that there was anything about it that was not good, and so then I changed my mind.
DD: Just watching the movie was so inspiring; I couldn’t wait to be creative once I was finished.
PM: Right? You just feel so inspired by her, which is exactly what I loved about it and why I wanted to do it. And that inspires you to be better, because she was so driven. The fact that the first Harry Potter book was written basically in one of the darkest times of her life and she pushed through, and as a single mother with very little money, this extraordinary book was born. I just think it’s incredibly inspiring.
DD: What were some things about J.K. that you hadn’t known prior to filming this, and that had perhaps surprised you?
PM: I didn’t know that her mother had been ill for so much of her life, and that must have deeply affected her, because I’m really close to my mother. I didn’t realize really how bleak and difficult things were for her. I’m a mother of a 3-year-old, so to be alone at the age that she was in her 20s with a baby and having left the marriage that wasn’t working, and being so poor, and still being able to have this enormous creativity and write this book under those circumstances. The power of her spirit is something that I wasn’t as aware of until we did this movie, and I just thought it was extraordinary.
DD: I was very happy to see that it was, like you said earlier, a love letter of sorts to the elusive author …
PM: Me too. Like I said, when I was sent the script and I knew that she wasn’t involved directly, I had strong reservations. But the script told such a beautiful story. Her books have affected millions and millions of children and adults all over the world. It’s magic — she’s been responsible for getting kids to read books again. And I just think it’s a story that everybody can relate to and hopefully be inspired by, and that was what drew me to it.
DD: What were some things about J.K. that you could relate to and you found enjoyable to portray?
PM: Her tenaciousness, her drive, her never-quit attitude were all things that I really dug into and loved. In fact, it made me a better person, made me work harder and want to be better. I love the way her mind works, her funny, irreverent, unusual, magical mind. I found that to be fascinating. To try to even get inside that for a minute was really intriguing to me.
DD: Tell me a bit about your role on this fall's new CBS series, “Unforgettable,” and the role of Carrie Wells.
PM: I play a woman who has hyperthymesia, or total recall. It’s a person who can remember every moment, in vivid detail, of her life as though it happened five minutes ago. You could ask: “What happened on June 20, 1984?” and she could tell you every single thing — what she was wearing, what she had for lunch, if she had a fight with her boyfriend. It’s extraordinary. It’s a blessing and a curse, because you can forget nothing, and sometimes there are things that we need to forget.
My character is an ex-cop who couldn’t be a cop anymore, because the condition obviously didn’t allow her to forget any of the hideous things she saw. It’s also what made her an extraordinary cop, and basically she’s pulled back into the cop world through a number of circumstances, as well as her ex-lover, played by Dylan Walsh.
It’s a love story, it’s a mystery, and it’s a cop show. There are so many elements going on that it’s almost impossible to describe. It’s very compelling — and it’s directed by Niels Arden Oplev, who directed “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.” He’s just a genius. The writers are amazing. Ed Redlich wrote it, and I did “Without a Trace” with him the first couple of years. It’s a fantastic group, and it’s on CBS, and they do amazing shows.
DD: How were they able to lure you back to network series television?
PM: The script was amazing. I’m obsessed with Niels and had been long before I ever met him, because I’ve seen “Dragon Tattoo” maybe 30 times. I’ve worked with CBS since I was a baby, so it’s like coming home again. CBS is like my family. It’s such a great place for me to work, and I feel like they support their shows so wholly and completely that it is just a joy. Everything about it lined up for me.
To see a strong female character leading a show is very exciting. Now that my son, Jackson, is 3, and I spent two years after “Trace” really just being with him and being a mommy, I felt really ready to go back to work. I’m very proud of the show. I think it’s quite extraordinary and really good.
DD: I know fans will be glad to see Dylan Walsh regularly again. What is he like to work with?
PM: My darling Dylan — I love that man. He’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever met in my life. We’re on set and he just makes me laugh. I’m like, “You have to stop making me laugh so I can shoot the scene.” It was like that with all my co-stars on “Trace” too. Anthony LaPaglia is Jackson’s godfather; Roselyn Sanchez is my best friend. We’re all still very, very close. And I never thought that could happen again, and it did with Dylan and the cast on this show. We all instantly just bonded and became friends, and everyone is amazing. So — knock on wood — that’s a huge blessing as well.
Monday, March 07, 2011
Interview: Catching Up With Heather Locklear
Lifetime Television’s new original movie “He Loves Me” (airing tonight 9 ET/PT), brings “Melrose Place” alum Heather Locklear back to the small screen with a bang. Heather plays Laura, who believes she leads the idyllic life: She’s a successful Seattle real estate agent, presumably happily married to one of the city’s leading cardiologists and mother to their darling 6-year-old daughter. When Laura begins to suspect her husband is cheating on her, she is devastated by his infidelity, despite having a torrid affair of her own. Desperately trying to save her marriage, Laura’s mysterious past begins to emerge. I spoke with Heather recently to learn more about her role in this dark, psychological thriller.
Daytime Dial: When you first read the script for “He Loves Me,” were you excited to play the dichotomy of a woman devastated by her cheating husband who is also an adulterer herself?
Heather Locklear: Absolutely. First of all, her idea, the idea that she knew what Sam (her lover) was about and what her affair was about — she knows it’s not an emotional connection. But now, knowing that her husband has been unfaithful, and not knowing what it’s about, you go: “Well, I know what I’m doing, but I don’t know what his is about. Is his even about love? Does he want to leave me, or is it just about the sex?”
DD: I like that even though your character is far from perfect, you are able to elicit sympathy from the viewer. How did you go about portraying that?
HL: I tried to make her, and her situation, as real as possible. It’s all happening to her, and she has to deal with it, especially when details of her past emerge. I just tried to make it as real as possible.
DD: You have quite a few sizzling scenes with co-star Max Martini (Sam). How was he to work with?
HL: He’s such a man. It’s so funny — just hearing his voice, I’m like, “Oh my god, he’s so masculine.” He’s also very sexy and adorable, and also very sweet and funny.
DD: The subject of this movie is pretty heavy. How did you lighten the mood on set?
HL: Just by laughing a lot. We laughed at the absurdity of some of the things we had to do. It wasn’t absurd for the movie, but just for us in real life. His wife and kids were there. I met his wife. She’s really sweet. But it was also weird. You always trust an actor that they will take care of you when you feel so naked.
DD: I know that you are a mom yourself, so it was fun to see you playing a mom in this role. How was Megan Charpentier, who plays your daughter Emily, to work with?
HL: She was adorable. It is so easy now for me to squeeze and hug and kiss and be all over kids. I’m thinking, “Oh, I hope the mother doesn’t care.” Because my daughter is 13 now, and it’s harder to kiss her these days. It’s just not cool. But it’s really fun when they are little and sweet, and they talk to you, and they’re just really adorable.
DD: You’ve done a few movies for Lifetime now — what is it about the network that keeps you coming back?
HL: Lifetime always has good stories. They are trying not to call it a woman’s network, but women love this stuff, and I think if your man sits down with you, he would be interested too. The networks don’t make movies of the week so much anymore, so this gives us actors a chance to do something different rather than just a series or hoping to get a feature film. What comes to me from Lifetime is always good.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Interview: Catching Up With Jaime Pressly
While Jaime Pressly (pictured left, photo courtesy Lifetime Television) might be forever known best for her role of Joy Turner on NBC’s long-running hit sitcom “My Name Is Earl,” she has also put in her fair share of time on nighttime drama series, including “Jack and Jill” and “Charmed.” On Sunday, Nov. 21 at 8 ET/5 PT on the Lifetime Movie Network, you can catch Jaime as she flexes her dramatic-acting chops when she portrays Britt Shelley in “Smoke Screen,” an adaptation of the best-selling novel of the same name by Sandra Brown.
Daytime Dial: Since “Earl” ended, you’ve had a lot of high-profile roles on some big-screen movie hits. What was it about this movie and the role that made you decide to return to the small screen to do it?
Jaime Pressly: First of all, when I read the script, I thought the script in general was great. This kind of movie — suspense thrillers — can be very hit or miss. But the story was there. It was also a type of character that I’ve never played before since people are used to seeing me in comedy, and this is a different side. So I was really excited to be a part of it.
DD: What were some of the qualities of the character of Britt that you really liked and were anxious to portray?
JP: Well, first of all, she’s an investigative reporter and very career-driven. I think so many of us, women especially in today’s day and age, we all think it’s so much easier to be single and take care of yourself and not have to worry about anything. But then it becomes lonely, because after you make the money and you’ve done well in your career, then what? And I really liked that aspect of the character and the story line. And Sandra Brown’s book is incredible.
DD: In preparing for the movie, did you read the book first? Or did you not want to taint your character or the discovery process?
JP: Sandra actually came to the set and gave me a book, and then my mom and I both read it afterward. A lot of times when you do a film based on a book, it’s very difficult to kind of get it all into one movie because of time constraints. So, I read it afterward. And there’s a couple more characters in the book and there are more details in the book. I definitely suggest that everyone read the book, because it is outstanding. She is an incredible writer. And if you see the movie and then read the book, you're still going to enjoy it. It’s not like the film will ruin the book for you by any means.
DD: I love that the Lifetime Movie Network really is starting to make a name for itself with smart women protagonists in smart, intelligent movies. They are steering away from the helpless woman-on-the-ledge kind of stereotype.
JP: Which is awesome, because in this business, from the beginning of time, from the beginning of Hollywood, everything has been based around the men. You know, the leading man is cast first and they cast the women around the man. And with this network, they typically cast around the woman, which is awesome. One of the things I loved about this character is she’s an awesome character to play. She’s smart. There’s nothing dumb about this girl at all.
DD: Now, you and main co-star Currie Graham had a great chemistry together. I was wondering how was he to work with?
JP: He was an absolute dream to work with. The first three days of the film we shot, we got through one-third of the film — in the first three days! It was very difficult, and had he not been as awesome to work with as he was and as professional as he is, it would not have gotten done. I like to laugh when I work. I’m not one of those people who everybody needs to shut up and don’t look me in the eye. And he’s not that way either. So it was nice to laugh in between takes and kind of make fun of ourselves and make light of whatever situations we were in. It was nice to kind of have somebody to vent to and lean on.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Interview: Catching Up With Jane Kaczmarek
Before her breakout role in “Malcolm in the Middle,” Jane Kaczmarek was a featured performer in a plethora of television shows, including “Raising the Bar,” “Party of Five” and “Felicity.” In the Lifetime original movie “Reviving Ophelia,” Jane switches back to drama to play the mother of a teenage girl who’s trying to escape an abusive relationship with her boyfriend. The movie, which airs tonight at 9/8c (check your listings for encore performances), is based on Mary Pipher’s seminal book for teen girls, “Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls.”
Celebrity Extra: As a mom, this whole subject matter must have really struck a chord with you. What were your thoughts about the script?
Jane Kaczmarek: You know, it really did. I have three children: two daughters and a son. My oldest and youngest are daughters, and my oldest is 12, so she’s kind of on the cusp of this. And I’ve always called her my little nun because she is so modest. She practices the piano and does ballet and is a very diligent kid. And it never dawned on me that something like this could happen to her. And I think what I found interesting about this script and the casting of the girl who played Rebecca, who is my daughter in the movie — she comes across as such a clean-cut, beautiful, innocent kid. You don’t think that she’s the one who’s going to get involved in this. It’s the cousin who seems kind of naughty, and you think she would be the one that would end up in the situation like this. So that was the real eye-opener for me. You know, as a mother it was a real cautionary tale about really keeping your eyes open about everything that’s going on in your kid’s life.
CE: I am not a mom, but this would be the kind of stuff that would scare the crap out of me.
JK: And I thought that Nick Thurston, who plays the boyfriend who beats her, he was so charmingly eerie. He was so sincere and so earnest. And he really loved her. You could see why she would stay with this guy. She’s just caught in this lie of protecting him, and everything is just swirling out of control.
CE: What was it about Marie or the movie itself that made you really want to be a part of this?
JK: Well, I think because it was just an unexpected look at this really, really big problem. You know, I live in Pasadena. I live in a very comfortable, leafy suburb of Los Angeles where the kids for the most part are good and the parents for the most part are hyper-responsible. And what surprised me was it was happening to a family like that.
I also like (director) Bobby Roth. He had directed an episode of a TV show that I did, and I liked the way he told the story with the camera. I thought it was a very fresh and interesting and unexpected way of working. I hadn’t worked in a year. This has been a really tumultuous year for me. My husband and I got divorced, and I hadn’t worked since “Raising the Bar” ended in the summer of 2009. So this came along, and I thought I was ready to step back into the world of “Jane the Actress.” My manager sent me flowers in Toronto and said, “Instead of ‘Reviving Ophelia,’ I think this should be called ‘Reviving Jane.’” And I had a wonderful, wonderful time working with Lifetime and with Bobby Roth, and all of the actors. It was a really, really satisfying experience.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Interview (Brothers and Sisters): Patricia Wettig and The 19th Wife
Patricia Wettig first caught our eye as Nancy Weston on “thirtysomething,” the nighttime drama that broke ground on every front, paving the way for many series to follow in its footsteps. The “Brothers and Sisters” star is currently starring in the Lifetime original movie “The 19th Wife,” which premieres tonight, Sept. 13 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Patricia plays BeckyLyn, the 19th wife of Mormon Sawyer Scott, who is accused of murdering her husband.
Daytime Dial: The role of BeckyLyn is different from any role I’ve ever seen you do. What was it about her — how did you connect with her — to made you want this role?
Patricia Wettig: I know! It is so different. It’s that fervor … that religion thing. My great-grandmother was married to a Methodist minister. And when I was growing up, she was the person I was closest to of anyone in the whole world. And she had a certain sternness about her and a certain way of doing things. But with me, she was always so loving and so kind and so soft. And nobody else responded to her like that. I don’t know what that was. And she died when I was 9 years old, and it was just such a huge loss to me. But I think it’s a little bit about her — that way about being so absolute in your faith. At least I hope I portrayed it that way. I haven’t seen the movie yet myself. Like the way she connects to her son, that underneath it all is this loving, touching place.
DD: That’s definitely what I was thinking of when you told me that with you she was very sweet and tender. I pictured BeckyLyn’s interaction with her son the moment you mentioned that, so it definitely comes off that way.
PW: Oh good! And Matt (Czuchry) was wonderful to work with. We just sort of had this instant chemistry, and that is such a blessing for an actor, I have to say. I thought that that was a really central thing for this part. And you never know who you’re going to be cast with. It was really lovely to work with him, I have to say.
DD: The way these people are thinking and living, it’s pretty way out there for most Americans. How did you relate?
PW: I guess I had to take it off of something in my own life. You have to personalize it in some ways because it is certainly not the way I live my own life and it’s not my religion. But I think I had to personalize it in the way that, what are the things that I have unshakable faith in? What are the things I would not put into jeopardy?
DD: I have to commend the writers of it and your performance of her, because she could have very easily been an unlikable character, but she wasn’t. During the jail visits, as we get to know your character, we get to see the pureness in her. You can’t not like her.
PW: Oh good. Yes, I do think it’s almost an innocence. Like a purity is how it was coming off to me on the page when I was reading it. It’s like she never really grew up and thought and formed her own thinking. And I think it’s really true for a lot of women in that sect; it’s almost like a brainwashing, like a blind faith. And other people say, well, that’s what faith is. It’s almost like being innocent and young and not looking at all the other possibilities.
DD: This is definitely going to be an eye-opener for some people as they watch this. We know what we read in the news, about Warren Jeffs, and we get the glamorized version with HBO’s “Big Love.”
PW: I like “Big Love” too, but that’s sort of the “fun” version of plural marriage. Look how handsome he is, and all of the three of the wives are so pretty. They do get into stuff, but still it all looks rather pretty to me. I don’t think it is pretty a lot of the time. When we talk about a 60-year-old man marrying a 15-year-old girl, that’s not pretty. That’s not OK with me. I’m sorry, but that’s not all right with me!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Interview: Rena Sofer’s Second Chance at Love
Rena Sofer — who is most known for her roles on “Loving” and “Melrose Place,” as well as her comedic turns on “Coupling,” “Two and a Half Men” and “Monk” — is back on prime time to offer a story of love and second chances. She stars in the Hallmark Channel original movie, “Always and Forever,” which premieres Saturday, October 24 (9/8c).
“Always and Forever” is about a single mom and successful career woman, Grace, who begrudgingly attends her 20-year high-school reunion. Her angst turns to hope when she reconnects with her former high-school sweetheart, Michael, played by Dean McDermott.
Rena’s own 20-year reunion was nothing like Grace’s. Rena explains: “I wasn’t invited. It’s the funniest reason why: They couldn’t find me. You’d think out of everyone, they could have found me.”
But she wasn’t too keen on going to her reunion anyway. For her senior year, she was sent to public school because she “sort of had a fight with the rabbi, and they asked me not to come back. So I went to public high school for my senior year, and that’s the school I graduated from. I didn’t really know anybody. I was one of the newest kids in the school in my senior year, so I was friends with all the freshmen. I wouldn’t have gone even if they had found me.”
Rena’s decision to do this movie was all about the story. “It was the first movie where there was just no drama — running away from a murderer, covering up a vicious secret or somebody trying to kill me — it was just a lovely love story. I was excited to just have a nice time.”
Unlike Grace, Rena didn’t have a childhood sweetheart. “I didn’t experience the one-who-got-away kind of thing. I could empathize with her in the sense that she’s a woman who had a relationship that fell apart and her priority is her son and her career. All of a sudden this curve ball is thrown in of the possibility of opening your heart to something that could be crushing — or it could be wonderful.
“Do you take that risk when things are just fine? Are they great? Maybe not; they’re just fine. Is just fine what we expect in life, or do we look for greatness? She takes a great leap of faith.”
Working with Dean McDermott, aka Tori Spelling’s husband, was great. “We had a great time. We had a lot of fun. There were a few days where the cameras were following us for their reality show, which was not intrusive in any way. He wasn’t a big diva — he was really nice. I have no complaints.”
She also got to work with television legend Barbara Eden, who played her mom: “She is just lovely. What a lovely lady, really! She’s so sweet and so kind. We were all smiles every time she would come on set. I mean, here is this huge icon standing next to me playing my mom, and I was just like, ‘Wow!’”
A big theme of the movie is second chances, especially for Grace and Michael. So, does Rena believe in second chances? “Forgiveness is a great quality to have. When people take responsibility for their actions, then forgiveness should be given in most situations. I do believe in second chances.”
Monday, October 05, 2009
Interview: Sherri Shepherd Shares Her View on Sherri
Sherri Shepherd’s infectious sense of humor is clearly evident during her day job as a co-host of the wildly popular talk show “The View.” But, as many fans know, Sherri got her start in comedy, and she is returning to her comedic roots to bring her own sitcom to Lifetime Television. “Sherri” will premiere on Lifetime this Monday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. ET/PT. After a week of original episodes, the show will move to its regular timeslot, Tuesdays at 10 p.m.
“Sherri” is loosely based on the comedian’s own life and follows the story of a working mother and part-time entertainer trying to pick up the pieces of her life when she splits from her husband after she discovers his affair.
The first thing I had to know was how she fits it all in. Sherri explains: “I guess if it were a job that I hated it would be very hard. But this job is a dream come true for me — I’ve always wanted to have a talk show, I’ve always wanted to have my own sitcom and I’ve always wanted to make people laugh — so it’s all coming true. It just energizes me. I keep thinking that if you pinch me, I’ll wake back up as a legal secretary with some lawyer telling me to get him some coffee.”
It’s difficult to get a new show off the ground, so Sherri jumped at the chance to star in her own sitcom when the opportunity presented itself. “The executive producers — Nina Wass and Gene Stein, who also produced my 2002 sitcom, ‘Less Than Perfect’ — called me in for a meeting and told me: ‘You’ve been an ensemble player for years. It’s time to be the star of your own show, and we want to pitch something (to a network) for you.’
“So, I told them all the gory details about my husband and going through a divorce, and I went through my stand-up act for them. They were laughing and crying, and they said: ‘This is what you should do. This is the show! It will really resonate with women everywhere.’”
Lifetime Television network was the perfect place for Sherri to take her show. Sherri tells me: “Lifetime is very supportive of the show. I love working with a bunch of women; it’s so great. This ain’t your grandmother’s network anymore. It’s very hip and very cool. It’s edgy — my show can get really edgy.”
Sherri draws from her real-life experience for material for the show. For example, Sherri reveals: “I was with my husband for 11 years. Now I’m a single woman, a single mother trying to meet guys. Everyone says to go to clubs. So there’s a scene where we’re all dressed up in leather jackets and leather pants, and I had a wig on. That’s how I dressed 11 years ago when I’d go out to a club.
“So we go to the 40/40 Club, which is Jay-Z’s club, and I see all these half-naked girls. So I say to my girlfriends: ‘These girls have no C-section scars; they can dress how they want. How hip can we be? We look like six mad mothers looking for their kids.’”
Is it easy for Sherri to switch between talk-show host and sitcom star? According to Sherri, it takes a little doing. “On ‘The View’ we have to give our opinions; we don’t hide behind lines, since nothing is scripted. I have to be very assertive and aggressive. Then I come over to the ‘Sherri’ set, and I get to hide behind a character. I have to sit for five to 10 minutes before I can get to that zone, but once I’m there, it’s just a lot of fun.”
Don’t miss the fun with Sherri, and be sure to check out “Sherri” on Lifetime beginning Monday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
