Announcement Interview Transcript
Announcement Interview Transcript
After crashing Google hangouts because too many fans inundated the site, the video of the Jenna Busch interview with creators of the Pretender , Craig W Van Sickle and Steven Long Mitchell is now available.
The transcript below has finally been completed, with a great deal of help from Vania, Emily and Mallory. If you notice any errors, please contact us so they can be corrected.
Jenna: | Joining us Steven Long Mitchell and Craig W Van Sickle. |
SLM: | Hi guys, nice to see you. |
CVS: | Happy anniversary. |
Jenna: | Yes, happy anniversary and guys thank you so much for joining us today on Google Hangout. If you’re watching live on Fan Voice, there’s a little button on the articles you can click so you can join us on the hangout and ask a question. All you have to do is go to the chat, little button on the left side of the screen and type in your question and our lovely moderator Jenna Hannon – say hi Jenna!- hopefully she’ll say hi. |
Jenna2 | Hello. |
Jenna: | But anyway she’ll be moderating your questions and she will be telling us all about it. There she is. Ok guys, so um, you have big announcements, 3 big announcements. |
SLM: | Oh I don’t know about that. Excuse us if we look at notes because we’re writers, not actors and we couldn’t remember what we wrote. We’ll be as clear as we can with you guys today. First we want to thank everybody around the globe for joining us today. This is a day that we’ve waited for, for many years. It’s also as Jenna said, it’s an anniversary and it’s a birthday for the Pretender, apparently 17 years ago as everyone else pointed out to us. It was the first time the Pretender aired and so we thank you for that. We thank you all for the tweets we got this morning, all the happy birthday tweets. I forgot that it had been 17 years and I had forgotten how old Craig and I got and you know. |
CVS: | Well guilty again. It’s been a long, lonely, silent trek, from the last beach of Island of the Haunted and uh, what’s keyed us was that you guys never gave up and we never gave up and we knew this day would come and thank you for showing up today. |
SLM: | Ok, so what we’re really thrilled about as we mentioned before is that we got the rights back to the Pretender and we’re on the brink of something that is new and wonderful for all of us. I want to step back for one second again, thank you. It’s like ten weeks ago Craig and I were looking at others and thought, “Okay, we’ve written a novel, is there anyone out there that who even cares anymore?” So we thought, and we’re, you know, we weren’t social media guys, so we thought, ok, we’ll tweet, we’ll send out a few Facebooks and see what happens. And we are just really humbled by the fact that literally from around the world, from Moscow, to Algeria, to Australia, to America, to Portugal, France, Italy, some place called the Duchy of Luxembourg that we didn’t know existed, that you guys have embraced us in such a way, and we just wanted to let you know that we’re only here because of you. That you kept us alive and gave us a lot of strength. You’ve always been loyal to us and we’re going to be loyal to you. And basically what we realize is that together we can do really great things. |
CVS: | Great news. Jarod is free. Right? He’s free. And we’ve been working hard to finally find the best ways to basically bring the Pretender back in a special way for you guys, for everybody. We’re thrilled to say that there’s a lot great stuff in store for the loyal fans and new fans alike. We’re very excited. We believe and hope that the rebirth of the Pretender will absolutely blow your mind. That’s our goal. |
Jenna: | Alright you guys; let’s start with your first announcement. |
CVS: | The first announcement is the immediate launch of our website which is… |
Jenna: | I have it right here. |
CVS: | You do? |
Jenna: | I do. |
SLM: | Hmm hmm. |
CVS: | See I have… I have a high tech version right here. So that’s … |
Jenna: | (holding a paper with the address: thepretenderlives.com). |
CVS: | (holding a card with the address) It’s thepretenderlives.com and it’s up, it’s going. We want you guys to go on it. |
SLM: | First we want to say this site was built by some incredibly talented people. Fans chipped in, we’ve got a company that we wanted to kind of talk about is IMIsoftware, Pete Amari we love you Pete, thank you, you did great work. (SLM and Jenna and Craig hold card with address imisoftwareinc.com) And they’ve done amazing work, so please check them out he’s … they have been great, terrific. |
SLM: | Yeah, they’ve been terrific. One thing I want to say about the website. We want you to go and explore and like it. But I want to say, too, that its, um, it is not a just a website, not just the celebration of a TV show. There are a lot of those out there. And what we realized as we were putting it together with the help of Pete and everyone else who contributed to this site, the Pretender wasn’t just a TV show. It was something that, kind of a shared experience with millions of people around the world, who sat in front of their televisions and saw some amazing characters like Jarod, Miss Parker and Sydney who somehow touched their hearts. So when we were putting this together we thought we want this website to be our face and basically our website intended to continue the rebirth experience and make that communal experience something that will really connect us all globally. Let the website be a place that people come to for all things Pretender past, present and especially the future. And home base for what is the rebirth of the Pretender, not just Rebirth, the first novel, the rebirth of everything else and we have a lot of stuff in store. |
CVS: | Steven and I talked for a long about the site and the key thing for us was to create a site that was for the thinkers, creators, innovators, people who are turned on by the odd and unusual. And as Jarod said many years ago, “life is a gift,” and people who want to share that kind of community, together, globally. This is global, that’s been our whole goal. We are so excited to be a part of this experience and we hope you guys are too. We can’t wait for you guys to jump on the website and get involved. We really think we have something that is going to take you on an amazing ride. |
Jenna: | Now, okay, now you’re bringing a second announcement. |
SLM: | It’s funny you should say that Jenna Busch. I just wanted to say that one of our newer projects besides the book, the first novel, we’re going to launch a series of graphic novels and I know I mentioned it earlier but we want to launch a series of graphic novels and we want to do a couple things or there’s a couple of reasons why we’re so excited. One, the first series of graphic novels is going to be about the origins of the Centre, about how the Centre began, basically we want to have it serve as something that can answer all the questions, or maybe not all of them, but a lot of the questions you’ve asked about the origin of the Centre, how it was started and established, and the other thing we are very excited about it is that we’re lucky to collaborate and make a partnership with some very, very talented people who are going to do these books with us. |
CVS: | First and foremost will be Miss Jenna Busch. |
Jenna: | I’ve been dying to say something about this! |
CVS: | And along with Jenna, of course, is one of our favorite graphic artists, Jeffrey Henderson, amazing talent, both of them. Jenna blew our minds with both of her stories in a… (Cuts out) |
Jenna: | Ok guys, the Centre took us down so we’re going completely guerilla now, changed everything. So, we’re going to keep going where we left off. Sadly you will get the secret of Baby Parker. |
SLM: | And we want everybody to know that is on our website live chat and I want to answer but I can’t figure out to get on. Ok, someone is telling me now. I’ll be on soon to answer all of your questions. Where were we? |
Jenna: | We were talking Planet Henderson. |
CVS: | Jenna, can tell us is there a broad time frame for this graphic novels? |
Jenna: | It’s coming pretty quick. If you go to Comicaze, Los Angeles, we’re going to be handing out a 6-page promo, so that is the beginning of November. |
CVS: | 1st and 3rd I think. |
Jenna: | 1st and 3rd, yes. So I’ll be actually writing very, very quickly, so it shouldn’t actually take very long. |
SLM: | Ok, here’s the other thing too. We have this 1st and the 3rd and we have what do we call it? |
Jenna: | Comicaze Expo, yeah, I know what, what are you doing next? Oh the previews! 6 page preview. |
SLM: | So, somehow we’ll have to make that available for everyone. |
Jenna: | Yes, we will. |
SLM: | So that I think it’s a Craig thing. It’s a match! |
SLM: | So we’re sorry we were gone, thats all we have to say for today, thank you… |
Jenna: | Wait a second. There was another thing. |
SLM: | There was? |
Jenna: | Yeah! |
SLM: | Oh yes, oh the book thing. What are we going to announce? |
CVS: | We are thrilled to announce the release date of the 1st Pretender novel. |
SLM: | What is it called? |
CVS: | Rebirth. |
SLM: | I should read that one. |
CVS: | Really this whole thing started, the novel “Rebirth” was the tent pole for the rebirth of the Pretender and we are so very proud of it. So we are finally able to announce the release day is going to be October 7th! |
SLM: | October 7th. Let’s put it out loud so hopefully everyone- |
CVS: | IIt’s going to be available globally on Amazon, book format, e-book format, all of the e-book stores that we can find. It’s going to be there. So October 7th, Rebirth, the Pretender, we’re putting it out there. And we hope you’ll love it. |
Jenna: | I should point out that there were so many of you guys, so many loyal fans up here that is actually what crashed us, so wouldn’t it be cool if we could crash Amazon? Not really, we don’t want to crash Amazon, you know. |
SLM: | Oh yes we do, yes we do. And this kind of takes us to something else. You guys have done- we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you guys. Everything you guys did, the way you kept this dream alive for us and whatever else it was that touched your heart, and we’re thrilled that we’re back together again… And the reality is together we can do anything. What I thought is, you know, we can crash Google, we can crash Amazon. If we can do that when the books come out, the graphic novels come out, everyone in this town, Hollywood, will say… oh s***, oh look someone’s calling me from Portugal telling me how to chat with you. I’ll be back with you in a second. But the point is, you guys have done this and, as we roll this out, the momentum builds, it’s all going to help us start taking over the world by making movies and hopefully new TV shows and all the other medias and books and stuff you want. |
CVS: | It was kind of our goal with the website, too, to create a website that was truly global, number one, but also literally would build a whole new, what we call a Centre Universe, a place where everybody, new fans, old fans, no matter where you live, can come and can check out the novels, can check all the exciting stuff we have planned. Because it is a whole new Centre Universe. We’re going to keep adding stuff, bringing you new stuff thats weird and odd… |
SLM: | We realize, and this was something Planet Henderson said, “You’re bringing fandom to a whole new level.” And the truth is that is our goal, to bring the fandom to a whole new level globally, to embrace you into what we do. I know some of you know that we have some characters that are based on some fans, fans like Kylie- hi!- who created the cover for our book. It blows our minds, the contributions everyone makes. And so our thought is, we’re in this together, let’s bring everybody together and do this together. |
CVS: | And it really comes down to your loyalty about the Pretender in all the years that passed, and we want to embrace that and we want you to know that weve never forgotten it and we never will. |
Jenna: | Speaking of that, I have a present for you from many of the fans, that they’ve been putting it together for a long time, so this is for you guys. |
CVS: | The Red File. |
Jenna: | The Red File. So this has been put together by all the fans and it really, it is really a cool thing, while you guys look at it, that is really a cool thing that you’re able to bring all the fans into this and they’re going to be a part of everything, so that’s something that it really hasn’t been done before. |
Jenna: | So guys, you can start sending in your questions. We already have a bunch of them, as we are about to start answering. So I’m not sure if our moderator, Jenna Hannon, can send us the first question. |
Jenna2: | Yeah, I can ask the first question. We have a question coming over from Alice and she wants to know, “When you say graphic novels do you mean it will be released directly into a trade paperback format, skipping an individual comic-size release?” |
Jenna: | I can answer that. |
SLM: | Yes you can. |
Jenna: | There’s actually going to be 6 issues of 22 pages each. We’re not 100% sure if we’re going to do it just digitally or put them out as copies, But we’re going to take all 6 issues and put them into one hardback graphic novel, that I believe will be available digitally as well. And that will not only have the 6 issues but it will also have artwork, sketches, script pages, all kinds of things in it. So we’ll be doing both of those things. |
SLM: | And we’ll figure out how, whether we do it on paper, or do it electronically, and make it as successful to everyone as possible. Going back at this [Red File] for a second. This is pretty amazing, I just wanted to say thank you. |
CVS: | You guys have gone above and beyond and this is what we talked about, your friendship. It’s going to be something that we cherish for a long time. Thank you very much. |
Jenna: | Ok, next question. |
Jenna2: | All right, so we have a question from Emily on Facebook, “So Mr. Steven Long Mitchell and Mr. Craig Van Sickle what kind of question would you like us to… Steven Horn says, As asking not fair questions here. That was Emily. So we’re going to go to Christian: “How long ago did you start writing novels for the Rebirth? When can we expect the second novel? And how long will the graphic novels be?” (Cuts out.) |
Jenna: | You guys do realize that Twitter is going to explode. |
CVS: | We’ve blown up Google twice, so… |
Jenna: | Guys, again, just so you know, that was actually not the Internet. That was because there’s so many of you guys that love the show that it just exploded. Okay so let’s- I don’t know if Jenna Hannon is back on yet but if not- take some questions from your site? |
SLM: | Yes, I say. |
CVS: | You can read, right? |
SLM: | Nathalie says,”Merci for the Red File.” So what do you think about that, Craig? |
CVS: | I love the Red File gift, you guys. |
SLM: | Nathalie who works now on SL-14? Which is just below or… |
Jenna: | You don’t want to say where she works on the interwebs. |
SLM: | Oh, we’ve already said it out loud. |
CVS: | She works in the Centre wine cellar, which is a key place |
SLM: | Mr. Lyle is asking, “Could you say it in English please?” Okay, we will do that. |
Jenna: | I think that translates to say, “Thank you for the Red File.” |
SLM: | Apparently we’re back. And for everyone out there, all of our fans who have been telling me how to get on the shout thing, my password is not working, so. Neither is Craig’s, so we don’t know what to do. |
Jenna: | When you know secrets about the Centre, that’s what happens. So it looks like we actually have a question up here. |
SLM: | Ok. |
Jenna: | Ok they want to know if you’re going to make a movie or a mini-series |
CVS: | Well, a lot of that… |
SLM: | We explained a lot of that, just a minute ago. |
CVS: | Its really the synergy of Hollywood loving synergy and excitement and action and success, and we think that if can all pull that together and do that, make the books successful, everything, the website, we can build something and they have to take notice and we can do Kickstarter. Veronica Mars, that’s one of our models. |
SLM: | And if what they did just shows what the fans are, and we’re not necessarily saying we’ll do Kickstarter with the financing, but the point is, our goal, internally, is to do a series of movies, but also perhaps do a miniseries within the series. As things evolve, we will decide what that is and what the best way is, because we do want to answer all these questions, but we just answered that. |
CVS: | Yeah, you just weren’t here. |
SLM: | Yeah, you weren’t here. We did answer that. I think we’re done! |
Jenna: | Ok. So we have a question. How much does the first book cost? Do we know that? |
SLM: | Uh, not yet. |
Jenna: | Well that was Lena. |
SLM: | But we will let you know ASAP. |
Jenna: | Isabella wants to know if… umm… Jarod will have sex. |
SLM: | Well, it’s funny you should ask. |
CVS: | Yeah… I’m feeling more of a Book 2 kind of thing with that. |
SLM: | Let me just put it this way. Ice cream isn’t the only thing that’s good. |
Jenna: | And I would like to point out that there’s a very steamy scene in the first one. |
CVS: | Yes, there is some steam. |
Jenna: | Steam. There’s some steam. |
SLM: | PG-ish, [PG]13-ish. |
CVS: | Its all good. |
Jenna: | Ok, so, shall we grab one from site? |
SLM: | Yes, you’re all talking to each other. “Guys, if this doesn’t work I’m going to bed and read about it tomorrow.” Sorry. |
CVS: | It’s working! |
SLM: | It’s working. Oh, well let me go to Twitter. |
CVS: | The problem is that Larry Ellison is racing in Americas Cup and not minding the store! |
Jenna: | Ohh, all right, I’m actually curious about something. So would you actually consider every single person out there buy the book October 7th to show Hollywood that this is a big deal, would you guys consider even doing a spin off series? |
SLM/CVS: | Oh yeah. Absolutely. Oh sure. |
Jenna: | From different point of view of different characters, because I know that’s something that we talked about that is really cool that we’re not just going to find more about Jarod and Miss Parker, but also all sorts of stuff too. |
CVS: | There are so many aspects to this whole series that we never got to explore: young Miss Parker, her line in the pilot where Sydney says, “You were such a happy little girl, what happened to you?” There’s a 10-year span there that we never got to explore in the series. We will explore that. The Centre, Jenna and Jeffrey are going to bring to life, the history of the Centre that builds into where the series started, to where we are now. It’s just incredible what we can do here. |
SLM: | If you go into the Centre Universe, which is on the website, what you see is there is a lot of things. What Craig was saying that the period in between Miss Parker’s mother’s death and Sydney saying those prophetic words, “What happened to you, you were such a happy little girl,” we’re going to do a series of books about that, we’re going to do a series of books about her introduction of being indoctrinated into the Centre. We are also going to do some books that kind of are spin offs from the Pretender, which allows us to do spin off series and spin off movies. The Centre universe is pretty vast and we really invite you to come and join us, and also one thing that I think with the pool of talent we have, Craig and I made very clear is, email us, tell us what you think, what you want from every aspect of this because we are very responsive to the fans and we’ve been gone for a long time and more TV shows we don’t have that opportunity but now that we will be a lot of different things, we do have that opportunity. |
CVS: | The Centre Universe starts with you guys because we want to hear back what you want and we’ll do everything we can to meet the need of the crowd and the fans want. As Steve said, you’ll see that we have some things on the pipeline that are really cool. As you know, the Centre with all its sublevels, has a lot of different hidden secrets and within that we will expand on as much new material as you guys want. |
Jenna: | Okay, I have a question from Twitter, from Miss E in the Decoding Department. Miss E asks, “Since Jarod kept discovering things (Oreos, etc.), is there any chance that he is going to discover Cheerios cereal? |
SLM: | Wow, it’s provocative. |
CVS: | It is. |
SLM: | He may understand, he may discover something about serial killers. |
Jenna: | Oh. |
SLM: | But that’s a different book line. |
CVS: | How do you feel about Lucky Charms? |
SLM: | Lucky Charms. |
CVS: | Just sayin. |
Jenna: | I have something for you. Lauren would like to know if any of the original cast will return to the movies. |
CVS: | Well, we certainly hope so. I mean, we talked to Andrea and Michael and everybody is so in. The Pretender has been an experience, it’s been so… |
SLM: | It’s a family. |
CVS: | It’s been a real family and everyone is as excited as we are about this re-launch. Let’s see where things go. Hopefully together we can make some more things happen. |
SLM: | And here is the thing too. It’s like, when we were doing the Pilot, Michael T. one day looked up at us and he goes, “You know, one day, when you make a movie I’m going to end up playing Sydney. And we know that, and the reality is that I don’t think we would have Michael play Sydney, because Michael has been such an important part and all these characters are important, but the reality is we kind of thought of amazing ways that they can be involved, not only in a show or movie that wraps up the original series, but in ways that will blow your mind and certainly blew ours, as if we go forward in a whole different kind of realm, they would still be involved. We can’t imagine doing this show, or this movie, or this saga without them at all. |
Jenna: | Well, we have one more from Jennifer- oh this is great. Have you guys ever read any fan fiction online? |
SLM: | It’s funny she should say that, isn’t it? |
CVS: | Yeah it is funny… We loved seeing it before; a lot of times, I know during the series when some of this stuff was coming online, we frankly legally couldn’t touch a lot of that stuff but we looked. There’s a lot of fan fiction, there’s a lot of talented people, that’s why we are bringing it into the Centre Universe and make this. |
SLM: | One thing about the fan fiction is our lawyer Lector versus Gene Gene the Lawyer Machine, she doesn’t like- basically she’s said you can’t do this, but we’re going to find a way we can and embrace it because the reality is, as Craig was saying, there’s a lot of talented people out there and we would like to find a way that all those talented people, or some of those talented people anyhow, can percolate to the top and not only be acknowledged for that, but maybe even something more special. |
Jenna: | I know what it is and it’s pretty cool, guys, so start writing. |
Jenna: | Do we have another question from the website or Twitter? From the Twitterverse. And I can’t wait for you guys to read the whole Red File because it’s really, really cool! |
SLM: | “Can’t you record a video and put this on YouTube?” |
Jenna: | Well, we will. |
SLM: | Or we’ll go all French revolution on you, says Rym. |
Jenna: | Wait guys, I can actually tell you that. Okay so this will be all on YouTube so we’ll be able to put it on Fan Voice, which is voice.fan.tv, so you’ll be able to go back and re-watch all of this and see if you can figure out if there are some hidden things in there. But yes, you’ll be able to watch it all in one place. So it looks like we have another question coming? |
SLM: | Oh here’s one, a really good one from Code Name Firestarter. “Why was Jarod’s birthday never an issue on the show?” |
CVS: | Jarod addressed the issue of his birthday, I can’t recall the exact episode but… |
SLM: | Did you ever watch the show? |
CVS: | Occasionally. |
SLM: | I really need to watch it. |
CVS: | But the idea of Jarod’s birthday came up and all the writers set up and though, hm, would he even know what his birthday would be and we wrote a story about that. It has been addressed and we will probably address it more in the novels. |
Jenna: | Looks like have some more from Google. Alright, Matija asks, How many novels?” |
SLM: | How many do you want? |
Jenna: | So I guess the answer is lots. |
CVS: | If you guys keep wanting more books, we’ll keep writing them, because this is our love. |
SLM: | It’s our passion. |
Jenna: | I have Bill from Fan Voice asking, “Why was the second movie [Island of the Haunted] so different from series. Why monks and prophecies? |
SLM: | Well, you know, it’s funny you should ask that in fact. You know what, Craig go ahead. |
CVS: | They’re the ones that gave us the free wine, monks are good with that. No it’s, you know, we always thought the Pretender was a push-reality world that we could also push a little further, and we kind of feel like there’s still room there to go even deeper into mythology and spirituality and whatnot, and we just wanted to touch, sort of edge up against it. |
SLM: | Right, and as you will see in what Jenna is doing with the graphic novels, there’s a plethora of back story for where the Centre came from and all the things they ran for a long time, that one day will all make perfect sense, along the line. |
Jenna: | Steven asks, “Is there a change of a clone of Kyle being around somewhere?” |
SLM: | Well, now that Burn Notice is over, there’s damn good chance, cause what is he [Jeffrey Donovan] doing? Hes got nothing going on. |
CVS: | He’s spending his money on Miami Beach as far as I know. All the history and all the lore stuff that we really want touch on, touchstones in the novels that are coming. So keep watching and keep reading. |
Jenna: | I’ve got something and I hope I’m spelling this right, Circes, who says, “What will the spin off be about?” |
SLM: | Okay. |
Jenna: | The one you just decided you’re doing. |
SLM: | Well, lets find out. Actually, as far as the novels go, there will be a few spin offs. One is the one we described about Miss Parker’s early years, one is called Patterns or Patterns of Behaviour- were not sure yet- that is written by a special friend of ours, you guys will know, but we won’t say who that is yet, but it’s part of the Pretender family. |
CVS: | And it’s on our website, so go there. |
SLM: | Shhhh. And it’s a spin off for a different character who had a past with Jarod. And we have 2 or 3 others planned that are about how Jarod has reached out into the world, and basically the Centre has a reach out to the world. The Centre may be in Blue Cove, but it’s really all over the world. The Centre Universe really expands in a very unique way that we find quite entertaining, and we think you will too. |
CVS: | It’s all sort of centred on the odd, the weird, and the unusual, so if you ever have that feeling when you pull over in this town that is just a little too perfect, it probably is. Theres a town like that the Centre is sort of behind, that one we call Paradise. So welcome to Paradise, check it out. And that’s coming… |
SLM: | We can’t say. |
CVS: | It’s in the cookbook. |
Jenna: | So also I had the peach cobbler, Catherine’s peach cobbler. And it’s kind of amazing. I don’t know, I might have been drugged; I’m not 100% sure. |
SLM: | That’s a mystery. |
CVS: | That’s what peach cobbler is. |
Jenna: | It’s true. Okay, so I think we are going to start taking out the final questions now. |
SLM: | I know that when were done here, you can go to our website do this for another hour, if we can figure out to do that, and we will figure that out really soon. |
CVS: | And thank you for being patient with all the technological stuff. |
SLM: | But it’s your fault! |
Jenna: | Blame the Centre! |
SLM: | Can I say something about the peach cobbler? |
Jenna: | Yes. Its delicious! |
SLM: | Because I know people have asked this. Yes, there is something about the peach cobbler and something about Miss Parker’s mother’s recipes that are going to be very important in the future. And that’s all we’ll say for now, but there will be things that people who are on the Centre Insiders list get, not just the recipe, but they will also get the handwritten notes that Catherine Parker wrote on her recipe book for her daughter, and they weren’t just about how to cook. |
Jenna: | I just want to throw this out there. If you want to start re-watching the series, which I’ve been doing, if you go to fan.tv and put in the Pretender, it will take you to all the places that you can stream it. |
SLM: | Wait a minute, I should learn how to do this. |
Jenna: | I’ll totally teach you. Fan.tv |
SLM: | Then I may actually watch the show. |
Jenna: | I actually have a question. Marc says, “Was it your choice to cross Profiler with the Pretender and did you like it a lot?” |
CVS: | It was more of a network thing, because thats ratings and all that. We were kind of thrilled because we discovered that our Pretender crew, our family, was way together, we were way on the dime when it came to mixing the two shows. Basically, the way it works, in a nutshell, is that our cast goes to shoot with their cast, their cast comes to shoot with our cast, then we put the episodes together. |
SLM: | It’s a chaotic nightmare. |
CVS: | Right, and we were friends with the gentleman who ran that show and he called- |
SLM: | His name is Steve Kronish, great guy. |
CVS: | Yeah, Steve Kronish, a great guy, and he says, “My people love you over there. What are you doing with that?” And I just… we have a little family here. |
SLM: | Those actors loved our show, and what was kind of fun about it was that we made it a point to send flowers and cookies to their actors when they showed up. |
(Cuts out) | |
CVS: | And that’s why the Centre was formed in Blue Cove. |
SLM: | Right, and that’s why they knew exactly who Jarods parents were and how they were able to get their address out there. So now that everyone has the address of Jarods parents, we should be fine. |
CVS: | Yeah, I think we’re good. |
SLM: | And Jarod’s happy. |
CVS: | So it’s all over. |
SLM: | Ok, we’re done. |
Jenna: | We have one more question and it’s from Love, who is talking about how long the Pretender has been around. She is 17 and she wants to know why you think the show is so successful with kids. |
SLM: | Well, I’ll tell you what, it kind of goes back to there was something special that we really stumbled into. When the Pretender started, we sat down to write the script. It was spec and Craig and I looked at each other and said, what if we did this, and what if we did that, we decided not to worry about what the network would think, what the studios would think, and we just started writing whatever we believed from our hearts. And we did that and somehow we stumbled into something marvellous, that has touched people over so many generations that it blows our minds. I mean one of the ladies Nathalie, that asked a question earlier, or Rym, who asked a question earlier, they’re pretty young women from France. The idea that we have young people who love the show and older people who love the show is a testament not to what we did, but what we tapped into somehow that meant something to us and means something to you and that’s what we’re talking about forming this communal feeling, it’s something that we figured out without figuring it out, and want to keep giving it to you guys. |
CVS: | I think the fact that there’s a young audience out there is because part of the testament to the fact that the character Jarod is a man-child and he is discovering life for the first time. |
Jenna: | And ice cream. |
CVS: | And ice cream, yes, and a lot of things. He is a man-child, so there’s a relationship to that. The emotional justice he tries to exact is very pure, very innocent, very childlike, so I think that’s a huge part of why it’s so popular. The Centre, in many ways, represents a cruel parental figure, if you will. So, that’s my theory. I think that’s why there is such a young audience that related to Jarod and even Miss Parker, who in many ways is a damaged child who is finding her way, but she hasn’t found it yet. |
Jenna: | And you are going to find out a little bit about why very soon. So before we wrap up, I want to give you a list of where people can find everyone, because if you do have any more questions, so first of all I’d like to thank Rick Nathan- I’ll give you their Twitter handles- @RicklesNathan and Valerie Whitlock, @ValerieWhitlok whos doing our camera work, and if you want to- and Im not saying you have to- get Jeff to do more covers for us, he is @PlanetHenderson or planethenderson.tumblr.com |
SLM: | I’m glad you did that, because we could never incite a riot that would crash a site. |
Jenna: | You can blame me. Maybe well crash Tumblr- that would be impressive! If you want to ask me any questions about the graphic novels, its Jenna Busch, thats B-u-s-c-h, like the beer, not the President. And guys, please come check out our site, its voice.fan.tv, thats the blog portion and you can find out all the really cool entertainment news. If you go to fan.tv, and put in the name of any TV show or film you want to look at, including the Pretender, and it will take you directly to where the livestream is. Theres all kinds of cool stuff there. And you guys can be found on Twitter? |
SLM: | We can be found on Twitter, @PretenderSteve or- |
CVS: | @CraigVanSickle1. |
SLM: | Yup, and let us also give our thanks not only to Jenna, but to everyone at fan.tv and to Steve there for arranging this. Also, apparently, I’ve stumbled into getting on our chat, so I’m in, Craig will be in soon, and you can ask him all the difficult questions. |
Jenna: | Thepretenderlives.com! |
SLM: | And we’re in SL-15 Live Chat. |
Jenna: | Guys, thank you so much, we really, really appreciate you being here. Definitely come say hi on Twitter and on the website! |