March 16, 2006 |
The Office "Kids" Around
This week's episode of The Office [Thursdays at 9:30 pm/ET on NBC] is called "Take Your Daughter to Work Day," and it is written by the hot and talented Mindy Kaling (who also plays Kelly on the show). Every few weeks we have a scene that knocks me on the floor laughing while we shoot, and this was one of those weeks. I haven't seen the final product so I'm not sure what made it in and what didn't. And who knows if the comedy translated on screen or if it was just one of those days where we were slaphappy and giggling at everything. But this was a fun episode to shoot.
In this episode the Dunder-Mifflin employees bring their daughters to work for the day. Stanley brings his hot teenage daughter who starts crushin' on Ryan. Toby brings his shy 5-year-old, who melts Michael's heart despite his rivalry with her dad. Kevin brings his girlfriend's daughter. Meredith brings her son to work since it's cheaper than day care.
It was fun having all the kids on set. Everyone had to be on their best behavior. No cursing and no dirty jokes allowed. It was a bit of a challenge — we aren't a "G-rated" bunch by nature.
My character, Pam, makes it her mission to befriend just one kid. She puts candy out on her desk to lure them over. Anyone who has been following my blogs knows that candy is one of my weaknesses. In the Halloween episode they put candy corn on my desk and I ate so much of it I got a stomachache. I seriously got sick like a 6-year-old who eats all his Halloween candy in one sitting. Fast-forward to Valentine's Day. Same story with the little conversation hearts they put on my desk.
I'm happy to report that I didn't eat any candy from this episode! I sat behind bowls of Starburst, Lemonheads, Smarties and LifeSavers 12 hours a day for five days and didn't eat a single thing! I am very proud. I had good motivation — in my upcoming movie, I have a scene where I am in lingerie. If you ever want to forgo sweets, just imagine yourself in your underwear on a giant movie screen in front of millions of people. It's the best diet plan around. That reminds me, I should really work out today.
Last week was our final week of work on The Office until next season. We finished up last Friday and it was a sad but fun day. The catering folks treated us to steak and lobster. Brian [Baumgartner], Oscar [Nunez] and Angela [Kinsey] hired a coffee cart to serve gourmet coffees. And the publicity folks at NBC sent over a gelato stand. I took lots of pictures. We were like a bunch of schoolkids on the last day before summer — giggly, lots of hugs, tons of hyper energy. I am going to miss everyone so much! We genuinely enjoy one another. Since we are done filming, I can't do my blogs from my desk at work anymore. This blog comes to you from a quaint little coffee shop in Montreal. I'm listening to "She's Always a Woman" by Billy Joel, it is snowing outside and a couple just rode by in a horse-drawn carriage. I'm here filming Blades of Glory, a new movie from DreamWorks starring Will Ferrell, Jon Heder, Amy Poehler and Will Arnett. We started on Monday and I couldn't ask for a better job to follow The Office. I think Will Ferrell and Steve Carell have a secret competition to be the nicest man in the world. I've heard a lot of Hollywood horror stories about bratty actors and entitled movie stars, so I feel very fortunate; I've only worked with gracious, kind people. I hope I can keep it that way.
I had the day off on Tuesday — my first full day off in over a month. Here is what I did: slept until 2:30 pm, ordered room service, watched Oprah, watched Dr. Phil, watched Judge Judy, went to dinner, came home, watched Rainn Wilson on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, watched Conan, watched a little CNN and then went to sleep. I love room service and I love TV. It was a good day.
One of my favorite parts of being an actor is the opportunity to travel to places I may not have gone otherwise. Last year my husband [James Gunn], who is a writer-director, made a movie in Vancouver (SLiTHER, opening in theaters March 31). He lived there for five months and I visited often. Vancouver is an amazing city. So I'm very excited to explore Montreal. They speak a lot of French here. I took French in high school and it was fun trying to watch The Simpsons and King of the Hill in French. My sister Emily is coming for a visit this weekend and we plan to take the city by storm! It's a good thing she's coming because otherwise I might not make it out of my hotel room. Although...
Yes, there is a casino here. Yes, I plan to go there. Yes, I will be playing poker.
Oh, don't worry, we might be done filming The Office but we have plenty of new episodes yet to air. And we go back to work in July to do Season 3!
Have feedback or a question you'd like to send to Jenna Fischer? Click here.
For even more Office gossip, check out Jenna's blogs from Jan. 12, Jan. 19, Jan. 26, Feb. 2, Feb. 9, Feb. 16, Feb. 23, March 2 and March 9. Also, click here to see what Dunder-Mifflin's own Dwight Schrute is thinking. |
Astronaut Blasted Off Survivor
Retired rocket man Dan Barry spends his days building robots but found himself struggling to put together a much simpler puzzle on last week's Survivor: Panama—Exile Island. As a result, the 52-year-old father of two found himself packing his bags after copping to his poor performance on the immunity challenge, thus diluting La Mina down to three members going into the tribal merge. TVGuide.com spoke with the space man about how his NASA excursions affected his island outlook, who he's rooting for to win Survivor and more.
TVGuide.com: How has the reaction been since your elimination aired?Dan Barry: It's been pretty positive. It's a disappointment to go home, but I feel like the things I did in the game were well represented. I'm pretty satisfied with the performance.
TVGuide.com: It's so nice to see someone own up to their actions and accept their fate with the vote. You should be commended for your graceful exit.Dan: Thanks.
TVGuide.com: You have taken part in three NASA shuttle flights, spending a total of 734 hours in space. What, if anything, from your space travel or study prepared you for Survivor?Dan: It isn't specific skills as much as the sense that "I can do this," that it isn't impossible. I brought to the island a spirit that isn't going to be broken, despite the challenges. That's what you get from training, and also from the life experiences of seeing people who struggle and work through it.
TVGuide.com: You really opened up to the La Mina guys when discussing your career. Were they as receptive as you had hoped?Dan: Absolutely. I didn't want to tell people before, because I wanted them to see me as Dan — not somebody with this special job or past. Once I told them what I'd done, they were really curious about it. Austin was like "I knew you did something!"
TVGuide.com: How'd you get the nickname "Dan Fuego"?Dan: That was awesome, because I was "the fire guy." In fact, I was really hoping we'd end up at a tribal-council challenge, which is usually to build fire. I'd get right through that.
TVGuide.com: During your elimination episode, Sally said she would be surprised if "the La Mina Boys Club" stayed intact. Now that Terry's up against the younger guys without you, how do you think the tribe will fare? Dan: I think Terry has already shown them that he's not a real reliable ally. He cut away his two best friends. He's got a long, lonely road to walk.
TVGuide.com: When Terry returned from Exile Island, did you have an inkling he had found the immunity idol? Ruth Marie told me she could tell just by the way he spoke. Dan: When we were going to tribal council and Terry said, "Let's all bring our satchels — as a symbol of unity for Ruth Marie," I was like, "Hmmm, why are we bringing our satchels? Ohhh...." We didn't come right out and ask him, and I'm realizing now that I didn't talk to Nick or Austin about it. I assumed that they knew, but it's possible they didn't. [Terry possessing the idol] was a huge issue because if he had it, Nick and Austin couldn't vote against him — they'd just be voting against themselves. That left me with very few options. If I couldn't get Nick or Austin to vote against the other guy, I had to get Terry to vote against one of them, which was what I thought he'd do.
TVGuide.com: What was that immunity challenge like? Those puzzle pieces looked really heavy!Dan: They were heavy, but looking back, it wasn't that hard of a challenge. Some days you have your act together when you do it, and some days you don't. That's life. [Laughs] If your timing was bad and the day your act wasn't together was the day someone was going home, you put yourself on the line.
TVGuide.com: Your tribe had a bit of a lead once Terry stepped in, but Casaya ended up solving the puzzle more quickly. Was your initial strategy to try to copy their puzzle?Dan: We should have killed 'em, but we didn't. Sally was great, and she told us to put the first piece in the spot she thought was right. While it was the right spot, it wouldn't fit. We were over there working it when I turned to look at Casaya and saw they already had one piece in. I should have told one of our runners to watch Casaya. If we had seen right away when they got their first piece in, we would have been set. Maybe that strategic error was my bad.
TVGuide.com: When Sally was on Exile Island, she said she considered it a vacation from the guys. What was it like at camp while she was away?Dan: She got immunity! I should have asked Casaya to send me [to Exile Island] — they might have, if I explained how I screwed up the puzzle. They may not have thought too hard about it and sent me. Camp was lousy when she was gone because we had to decide who we were going to vote off. [Laughs] It wasn't lousy because we missed Sally so much as the fact that one of us was going home. TVGuide.com: La Mina seemed to bond extremely well since the creation of the tribe in Episode 2. Were you happy with how the team came together?Dan: I knew I really wanted to be in La Mina. When it came down to the end, Cirie was picking between Bruce, me or Bobby. She looked right at me and I had to make a decision about whether or not to smile, be nice and have her pick me, but be on Casaya. I just smiled, looked down and so she picked Bobby. Then I gave Ruth Marie the million-dollar smile and she picked me.
TVGuide.com: What does your family think about your time on Survivor?Dan: They think it's a hoot and a half — they love watching my silly adventures. My wife is like, "That's just my idiot husband doing his idiot things." [Laughs] But when you come home, it's time to take out the garbage, just like it always is. They were unbelievably supportive. Just think of the impact [a husband-father] going into space three times has on a family, then picture me coming home and saying I want to go on Survivor. I am so lucky to have them.
TVGuide.com: What made you try out for this latest "silly adventure"?Dan: I was a fan of the show. Not a fanatic fan, but I thought it was an intriguing thing to do. When you fly in space, you have about 1,000 people making sure you'll be successful, and I thought it would be interesting to try a different challenge where you don't have that kind of support. Survivor was an interesting model for what we have to do in long-duration space flights, having a small group of people in a confined space under a lot of stress with continual monitoring, where everyone has to get along with each other and perform well in emergencies. There's not really another model out there that incorporates all that.
TVGuide.com: What are you up to now that you're retired from NASA?Dan: I build robots for my company, Denbar Robotics.
TVGuide.com: Who are you rooting for to take the Survivor: Panama title?Dan: Sally. The reason she's still there, as opposed to Misty, has nothing to do with challenges or that sort of thing. If anything, Sally should have gone for losing the spear. It's all about Sally's love for the show. Where she works, she's known as "Survivor Sal," she applied for five years before finally getting on and she knows everything about the show. I'm amazed she got Ruth Marie voted out. Go, Sally!
TVGuide.com: Lastly, what is one item future Survivors should pack in their suitcases that you wish you had brought?Dan: What you should pack in your suitcase is the spirit of never giving up. Beyond any other resource or skill, that spirit is key to Survivor — said by the guy who got voted out sixth! [Chuckles]
Are you addicted to shows like Survivor? Find out the real reason why reality TV is a hit. |
Simon Cowell Seeks an American Genius
With $1 million in seed money at stake and a bevy of Caractacus Potts wannabes in queue, ABC's American Inventor — cocreated and executive-produced by American Idol icon Simon Cowell — offers the promise of actually impacting the millions of us who don't necessarily worship pop-music newbies. After all, the winner of this amateur-inventor competition might bring into our homes a product that is both revolutionary and desperately needed, right? Um... maybe?
At the very least, American Inventor (premiering with a two-hour special tonight at 8 pm, then airing Thursdays at 9 pm/ET) promises to bring to your television screen a parade of characters — "a million" of them, to hear Cowell tell it. "I sat through a number of the auditions quietly in the back of a room," he shares, "and I would say that 90 percent of these people have devoted their entire life to this one single idea they think will make them famous."
Having reviewed the first few episodes, Cowell says that the idea of a reality contest about ideas and things is as compelling as one about idols who sing. "It definitely works," he reports. "We wondered at the beginning, 'Can we create that level of craziness we have on Idol?' And this show has a lot of similarities in that you can relate to the person coming into the room. You can form an opinion early on. It's got the flavor of the kind of shows I like to be involved in. It's about giving normal people an opportunity and [watching] all the insanity that follows."
Along those lines, yes, some of the players certainly can be typified as "normal," while others definitely bring the insanity. "What we always try to do on these shows is offer a mixture between the good, heartwarming stories and the people who come in partially or completely disillusioned," Cowell says with a chuckle. "The first person you're going to see kind of typifies [the latter category] — a dental hygienist who walks in wearing a suit carrier that you can pee in in public. It's like, 'OK, here we go!'"
While that unsettling notion lingers in your mind... Cowell estimates that "60 percent" of the 10,000 people who tried out for American Inventor are flakes — "and by 'flakes' I mean [people with] just ridiculous ideas that would never have had the chance to win. But every person who came in the [audition] room had a product they believed would change your life."
Mind you, one of those seminal designs is a racetrack for cockroaches, touted by a man wearing an astronaut suit. Another is a wand — "We called it a stick," Cowell scoffs — designed to ward off mountain lions and cougars.
"It's not a show about gadgets," Cowell points out. "[The ideas] are much more interesting than that. They are more bizarre. Some of the ones that got through are incredible, really incredible."
At the culmination of the 10-week run, at which point the public gets to vote in the series finale, Cowell says, "I think we'll find something that does revolutionize... something." |
Your Veronica Mars Questions Answered!
As UPN's Veronica Mars returns with fresh episodes (Wednesdays at 9 pm/ET), fans are still trying to wrap their heads around the mysteries of this season as well as looking ahead to next season. Did Wallace really want to return home? Will Veronica go to the prom? Is Logan going to attend college with her? In an exclusive Q&A, Mars creator Rob Thomas provides tantalizing answers in response to these and other burning questions from TVGuide.com readers.
Question: Would Wallace really never have come back to Neptune if it weren't for the hit-and-run accident in Chicago, or is that just the reason he came back at that exact time and not, say, a month or two later? — KaraRob Thomas: Wallace is/was interested in getting to know his father. He was frustrated in Neptune with Veronica and a little lovesick over Jackie. Those things would've (and did) wear off, but his desire to really get to know the man who sired him was genuine. So, in response, I didn't intend to devalue his relationship with Veronica, but I do think the pull to connect with Nathan remains a powerful one.
Question: I'm a bit perplexed by the recent trend of having Veronica trick the audience. It seems that in the past, we've always been privy to her perspective, but since Duncan's disappearance, we can't ever be sure. Is this going to continue? — AmyThomas: Trend? Did we do it more than once? Veronica wasn't attempting to trick the audience. She was attempting to trick her dad, the sheriff, the FBI, her classmates.
Question: Are we going to see Veronica go to the prom or graduation? — ShainaThomas: Prom — sort of. Graduation — yes.
Question: Did Lilly know that Aaron abused Logan? And if you could be so kind, maybe you could also settle a debate: When Mrs. Fuller referred to "that boyfriend of [Meg's]," she was talking about Duncan, right? — ElizabethThomas: "That boyfriend of Meg's" was Duncan, yes. Lilly did not know that Logan was abused by Aaron.
Question: Hi Rob, I am a longtime fan! I was wondering if the fortune cookie Duncan gave Veronica in the season premiere was a shout-out to your first screenplay, Fortune Cookie. — KLThomas: Wow, good background knowledge. I have a tricky response: It was definitely not a shout-out. I didn't intend for it to be any kind of inside joke, but I think it might've been inspired a bit by my screenplay largely dedicated to fortune cookies.
Question: Why was it illegal for Duncan to run off with the baby? Considering that the mother is dead and he is the father, doesn't that give him automatic custody? — BethThomas: We did quite a bit of research on this. It's likely that Duncan would have eventually gained custody of his daughter, but it's a process that could've taken many years, and Duncan wasn't prepared to allow the Mannings to raise his child for that long. With Duncan's mental-health problems and documented instances of violence, the Mannings could've stalled the process for a long, long time. We should've spent a little more time laying that explanation out for the audience.
Question: Could the document Veronica signed in the "Leave It to Beaver" episode, concerning legal claims against the Kanes, interfere with collecting the Kane Scholarship should she win it? — TabathaThomas: Nope. If she finishes first, she'll get that. But, man, that's an interesting question.
Question: I heard that Troy is coming back as a love interest for Veronica. It surprises me that Veronica would even think about re-reuniting with a character who feigned romantic interest in her as part of a drug-stealing scheme. Will we see Troy making amends for his past behavior? Could Troy be worthy of Veronica's affection? — ZaraThomas: Don't believe everything you read on the spoiler sites. I never said anything about Troy returning as a love interest.
Question: Will Logan and Veronica be going to the same college next year? — Emma-KayThomas: I'm not telling.
Question: Solving Lilly Kane's murder was the theme of the first season. The bus crash/Felix's murder/baseball scandal/and other mysteries are the theme of the second season. Do you have a major story line planned for the third season? If yes, any hints? — JessieThomas: We do have a Season 3 mystery planned. I believe the careful observer will be able to figure it out before the end of Season 2. It falls under the heading of "You'll know it when you see it." |
Did Beauty Find Love with Her Geek?
Who would have thought that a show called Beauty and the Geek could be one of the nicest reality shows on television? This season began with seven guys and girls paired up with the goal of pushing everyone out of their comfort zones, all while shooting for a $250,000 payday. The winners of executive producer Ashton Kutcher's "social experiment" this time were Josh Herman, 27, and Cheryl Tenbush, 24 — a surprise in only that this nondating show resulted in a romance for Cher and fellow contestant Wes Wilson. Since Beauty and the Geek wrapped, Josh has sold a comedy screenplay to Fox and Cher has moved out to L.A. (But as our phone call will reveal, it seems she's not out there by her lonesome....)
TVGuide.com: Congratulations to both of you on winning. Is this something you put on a résumé — "Winner, Beauty and the Geek 2"? Where would that fit in, exactly?Josh Herman: I'm not gonna put anything else on my résumé but that. It's just going to have my name, address and then in big bold letters in the middle, "WINNER, BEAUTY AND THE GEEK." And I think we'll include some screen grabs, too. Cher Tenbush: [Laughs] How about the screen grabs from after we found out we won the map challenge? We were rolling around on the floor.
TVGuide.com: Did you enjoy rolling around on the floor, Josh?Josh: People have asked me that. Many friends of mine do say they want to frame that picture where I am on top of Cher. Cher: When Josh became a man.
TVGuide.com: Was it tough to watch yourselves on TV? Cher: That's what was tough for me. All of a sudden I became the "villain" in the house. When we were in the house, everyone got along really well — we still talk — so every week I was dreading [it]. The thing that changed for me [during the series] was how I viewed my life and how I did things in my life.
TVGuide.com: Josh, you got a makeover during the show. When you look back at that early footage, what are you thinking?Josh: I'm thinking I like the long hair. It is in the process of being grown back. Cher: I like it short because then you can see your face. You have a cute little face. Josh: I've always said this about Cher: She helped me become a better version of myself. She never tried to change me. When we had the makeover, she said, "We're gonna get clothes in the kind of style you're already wearing."
TVGuide.com: It's interesting that we didn't see some of that.Cher: Of course not! I was the villain then!
TVGuide.com: Josh, you've been open about what an anxious person you are. Did you feel that auditioning for this show would help you "snap out of it"?Josh: Absolutely. I think you have to do what scares you. I actually got off one of my anxiety meds at the conclusion of the show.Cher: Wow! I didn't know that!Josh: Yeah. So the experience was absolutely helpful. I don't want to get too sentimental here, but a lot of the e-mails I've gotten are from people who have anxiety themselves and they're like, "It's so inspirational to see that if you can do it, then anyone can do it. And I feel that I can do it now. You've given us hope."
TVGuide.com: Did you meet exec producer Ashton Kutcher during the audition process? Cher: He grilled us, actually. Well, he grilled me. Josh, did he grill you?Josh: He grilled me like... a grilled cheese sandwich. That was terrible.
TVGuide.com: C'mon, Josh, you're a writer. You can come up with a better line than that.Josh: I know, but you gotta give me a minute. Cher: He grilled you like a steak at Ruth's Chris. Josh: Use that one.
TVGuide.com: Cher, is it safe to say that you didn't expect to start a relationship on the show?Cher: [Laughs] Uh, it's absolutely safe to say that.
TVGuide.com: Was it weird to watch the episode in which you all went to Vegas, when it appeared that your romance with Wes had started?Cher: Well, it was weird because they made it seem like all of a sudden in Vegas there was so much attraction! But we had been staying up really late talking [prior to that]. I had a huge crush on Wes after the first night. I don't know how he felt about me. I think having the makeover kind of gave him a little more courage to pursue his feelings for me. Josh: They'd stay out late cuddling on the couch and I'd have the whole room to myself. I think it was a really symbiotic relationship.Cher: And I would always talk to Josh about it because when you're first in a relationship and you're excited about someone, you want to talk to someone about it. And Josh would always tell me, "Cheryl, I'm not your girlfriend."
TVGuide.com: What's your status with Wes now?Cher: We just moved out to L.A. together last week. Wes is sitting right next to me, actually.
TVGuide.com: Can you put him on for a moment?Cher: Yeah. Here's Wes.Wes Wilson: Hello!
TVGuide.com: Tell us, Wes, are you now a god among your geek friends since your girlfriend is a "beauty"?Wes: Yeah, when I got back from the show and Cher actually came to visit me in Atlanta, everybody was like, "Wow. Wes, you lucky, lucky... " — fill in your own expletive there. Josh: Wes was one of the most outgoing of the geeks so it was great having him on the show. He kind of led the way for everyone. He was inspirational. Especially after he hooked up with Cher. Everyone was like, "How can we be more like Wes?"
[Cher gets back on the phone.]
TVGuide.com: What's the biggest thing you'll each take from this experience?Josh: Well, it's nice seeing how much I've grown. I was able to get over some of my anxiety. [By the time I left] I was able to throw away one of my anxiety medications. That just shows me that I was able to get what I wanted to get out of the experience. The money's nice, especially that I don't have to spend it on therapy and on drugs. They were costing me so much money!Cher: I was able to realize that I am really scared of failure. It's like I am paralyzed by fear sometimes, so instead of pursuing what I want to do, I'll stop and do whatever's comfortable instead of risking anything. What was the quote that you told me, Josh? Josh: "Don't worry about failing. Worry about the chances you miss by not trying."Cher: That's something that Josh tried to grill into me and I always get the quote wrong but I know the meaning. I know the meaning in my heart. |
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