Veronica Marsathon, Part II
So, you guys? There was this awesome Veronica Mars event in Austin at the Alamo Drafthouse last weekend! Maybe you heard about it? (Click for photos and more photos and lots of fan photos from the autograph sessions.)
On to the Q&A portion of the evening. These will be in no particular order, although I tried to put Saturday's questions before Sunday's, combining answers when there was overlap. I'm sure I left a lot out, and I will be editing this to add new stuff in when I remember (or get reminded). Obviously everything is paraphrased, because who takes shorthand nowadays? And if you were sitting just a few feet away from Jason Dohring (or Kristen Bell), trust me, taking detailed notes would not be high on the list of priorities. I was sitting in the second row, and they were both almost directly in front of me, and both of them looked me quizzically a couple of times when I was jotting stuff down.
At some point fairly early in the Q&A on Saturday, the flea gifts and the T-shirts were presented to RT and the cast. Read spectralbovine's report for more on that. RT & the cast seemed genuinely touched by the gifts and MM even put his "Biggest Dick Without a P.I. License" t-shirt on as soon as the Q&A was over so he would be wearing it for the autograph session. (And I saw him change into it, yes I did, you read right -- 'tis a pity I didn't have a camera handy.)
I have no idea what the first question was, but I know we got to the censor stuff before too long. The conflicts with UPN/CBS Standards and Practices seemed to come up with almost every other question. I can't remember what was asked, but RT said that S&P had an issue with Veronica drinking a glass of wine with Christmas dinner in "One Angry Veronica," so when Keith asked her if she was drinking wine, she just said "no" and they had a bottle of grape juice on the counter in the background. RT doesn't understand how the scenes at Shelly's party could show kids drinking and doing drugs with abandon, but if they showed that Veronica drank one glass of wine in Keith's presence, that would not be allowed because "Keith would be a bad parent." RT finds it baffling and doesn't think most of America would be offended by an 18-year-old girl having one glass of wine with dinner at home with her father.
Q: Do you perceive Veronica to be a totally different person this season? She seems to be written differently this year.
RT: I don't see Veronica as being written differently necessarily, but she's definitely in a different place this year than she was last year. She isn't the social outcast she was last year and she has a billionaire 09er boyfriend so of course she's going to react to things differently. Plus, the mysteries that are driving the story this year affect her in different ways so she's not going to be stagnant, she's reacting to what's going on around her.
Q: For RT, what are your noir influences?
RT: I've only read Raymond Chandler, so that would be it in terms of books. But I've seen a lot of noir movies [and listed some]. JD mentioned Chinatown.
Q: Someone asked how RT came up with the names Dick and Beaver, or just commented on the names.
RT: Well, we had Dick, but we couldn't get away with calling Big Dick "Big Dick." Again, Standards and Practices didn't allow that. But they allowed the line "Can Dick and Beaver come out to play?" That's all they gave us, so we couldn't say "Big Dick," except that I think we do get to call him that in an upcoming episode.
Q: Why does Veronica even speak to Dick this year? He was an almost-rapist last year, and now she acts like she doesn't even remember all the stuff that happened in "A Trip to the Dentist."
RT: Well, first, let's remember that everything that happened in ATttD is sort of hazy and nobody's memory can really be trusted fully on what happened that night. So Veronica can't really be sure of exactly what Dick said or did. Plus, it's not as if she likes him. I mean, I wouldn't want my daughter dating Dick, but that doesn't mean he can't serve some sort of purpose, and he is funny.
RT talked about how Ryan Hansen was originally cast out of San Diego as a glorified extra with just one line in "Credit Where Credit's Due" -- "Logan!" [RT mimiced this line quite hilariously.] But every time they needed a random 09er pal of Logan, they'd say, "Where's that blond kid?" And Ryan would continue to do a good job on his lines. RT talked about how the casting in San Diego is usually only for very minor roles because most people in Southern California who are interested in acting are living in L.A., but Ryan was one of the few people cast in SD who grew to have a substantial role, until he he grew into the Dick we all love (or don't) today.
Q: Will we see more of Beaver and Mac in the season?
RT: Yes.
Q: Are the physical mannerisms of the characters something written into the script, or is it something the actors bring on their own? Like Veronica's head tilt, for example.
KB: Well, I can tell you that all actors have tics, and sometimes the writers will notice them and write them in, like the head tilt. That was written into the script, when Weevil comments on it, but that's because it was probably was an unconscious tic that I was doing without realizing it.
Both KB and JD talking: "What was the line? If I did the head tilt, I'd own you?" [Crowd chiming in: "Be glad I didn't flip my hair, I'd own you!"] Oh, right! Okay, then. [Laughter.]
At some point, either RT or JD mentioned that JD came up with the wind blowing hand gestures in the "Annoy, tiny blonde one" scene, but I'm not sure if it was in response to this question or not. There were several mentions of gestures that JD does as Logan, and almost all of them seemed to be stuff Jason came up with on his own. (Like the shocker, for example.)
Q: For KB, which of your characters that you've portrayed is most like your personality in real life?
KB: Well, I'm pretty gullible, so I'm sort of like Mary Lane (from Reefer Madness) in that way, but I also speak my mind and when I have an opinion you can't get me to shut up, so in that way, I'm like Veronica. So I'm a little of both.
Q: Why doesn't Veronica stand up to Duncan? He pulls so much stuff, and why doesn't she call him on anything he does??!! [Takes out the list of Duncan's crimes and reads.]
RT: You have a list? [Surprised] I know that the bad boy is always sexier, but I don't think I agree that what Duncan has done is all that bad. I see him as basically a good guy trying to do the right thing -- [at this point, he was interrupted, and I'm not sure what all was said].
KB: [Trying to help RT]: I think Duncan has also shown a lot of compassion to Veronica when nobody else did, and maybe you aren't seeing everything he does for her onscreen [interrupted].
RT: Okay, well I get that not get that not everyone is going to like him, but I just see it differently. (Paraphrasing.)
Q: For the actors, what scene has been your favorite to act in and why?
KB: Any scene I get to act with Rico in, because we get along so well offscreen and I just love acting with him. He's the greatest. (Agreement from JD and MM.)
JD: The scene from "You Think You Know Somebody" when I am talking to Veronica at the lockers and she is accusing me of being involved with the whole drug thing. I like any scene when I get to act alone with Kristen, because we were just trying to one-up each other, like "I'm a better actor than you," and that scene was fun.
MM: The end scene from "Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner," when that "Run" song was playing, when Lamb lets Veronica and Duncan out of the squad car, because Lamb showed that he is more than just a big dick and there is more going on with him.
Q: Would you reather eat a small piece of poo or be covered in poo?
RT: Covered in poo.
KB: Covered in poo.
JD: Covered in poo.
MM: Well, if the small piece of poo was covered in chocolate, I would eat it.
Q: I know you sometimes read the TwoP boards for fan reactions after an episode airs. How much does fan reaction affect the direction you take the show?
RT: Honestly, not that much. We have a large lead time in writing the episodes, so by the time an episode airs, we are writing several episodes ahead so the plans are in motion and that ship has probably sailed. And we tend to have a pretty good idea of what the fan reaction is going to be to any particular episode anyway. It's rare that fan reaction is a surprise to us. Although I will say that the fan reaction to episode 2.08 ("Ahoy Mateys") was sort of a surprise because people were saying, "this was a pretty good filler episode," and I was like, "filler episode?" So much happens in that episode! Veronica gets threatened, Logan has a gun, he gets kidnaped, what filler?
RT: But in general, we do like to be aware of the very general fan reaction when people have an overwhelming positive or negative response to something. Lately, I tend to check out the first 20 pages of comments or so after the episode has aired on the East Coast, just to get a very general sense of the reaction. And sometimes, I just don't agree with the general reaction, and we are going to make the show we want to make. (And yes, I care about the opinions of fans on the West Coast, but that's when I'm watching the show.)
RT: For example, I was surprised that a lot of people didn't seem to like Leo last year (many cheers for Leo!), but I think people didn't want to see Veronica with anyone other than one of our established characters. I liked the actor and what he brought to the show, and I basically ignored the reaction. I also am surprised at some of the moralistic attitudes about dating from some of the fans. Some people were upset that there was the slightest overlap with Leo and Logan, and it was like, she'd only gone on a few dates with Leo, they weren't engaged! It's as if Veronica goes on one date, she's not allowed to look at anyone else. [This was all said very jokingly. RT was more amused by the reaction than anything, imho.]
KB: Yeah, not unless they're going steady or something. I think Veronica should have has many, many boyfriends as possible! [Said with a smile.] Don't be a hater! [She may have said that in response to a Duncan question, but I can't remember which one. But it was cute.]
RT: On the other hand, I've seen a lot of complaints this season that Veronica doesn't seem to be as actively engaged in solving the bus crash mystery as she should be, and I actually agree with that and so we're trying to make some changes in that respect.
RT: I also know everybody hates Jackie right now, but that's okay. We have a plan! We know where we're going. [Chuckles.] One thing that has struck me, though, again, is how moralistic a lot of the complaints are about Jackie showing up at Java the Hut with that other dude. I mean, she only went out with Wallace once or twice, they're not engaged! [Chuckles.] I thought Veronica was being sort of mean to her, but everybody sided with Veronica and turned on Jackie, and I didn't really see that coming. Or let me say that I didn't expect the Jackie hate to be quite so strong. But I know it's mostly that everyone loves Wallace. (Crowd seems to agree and claps for Wallace.) (Major paraphrasing here because this discussion was lengthy. RT also praised Tessa Thompson.)
Q: I'm not sure what the question was, but the subject of Veronica and Duncan's sex life came up.
RT said that he knows that the fans think that Veronica and Duncan don't have much of a sex life, but that was not their intention to create that impression. KB ad-libbed the spitting and football line in Veronica and Duncan's sex scene and they left it in because they thought it was funny. RT thinks they have a normal, teenage relationship. KB said "Yeah, what's wrong with that, YOU PERVS!" (Paraphrasing here. Their reaction was funny, but RT did sort of sidestep the issue that V/L were shown in all these passionate embraces in just a single episode last year, when V/D were never shown as exhibiting any sort of passion at all over ten episodes this season. Imho.)
Q: For KB, what happened to the dog you rescued that you were trying to find a home for? (Which she talked about when she was on Punk'd.)
KB: Oh, right, Punk'd. When my ASSHOLE BOYFRIEND set me up for a punking -- that's right, I'm talking about you -- [looking at her boyfriend Kevin sitting in the audience]. Anyway . . . we found the dog's owner and he's back with him now, but the dog wasn't being taken care of very well, so we're still a little worried about him. But now we've also adopted a black Lab who was a victim of Hurricane Katrina, so I think now we are at the Los Angeles legal limit and can't take any more.
Somewhere around this time someone at the far left asked RT to move back so she could see JD and MM better, and RT did his best GOB Bluth impersonation. "You want the guy in the $8,000 suit to move??!!! Come ON!" [Seriously, the Arrested Development jokes were flying fast at this point, and if you aren't watching AD, you should be. Speaking of which . . . oh, right, I promised not to reveal casting spoilers. I'm sure most people know by now that RT made a big casting spoiler announcement, which was met with much rejoicing.]
Q: For JD, how does your wife feel about you becoming a sex symbol?
JD: Well, you can ask her, she's sitting right back there. [Jason's wife Lauren was sitting near Kristen's boyfriend Kevin in the audience.] Really, it's no big deal. I don't even think about that stuff. (Or something to that effect, I think he just brushed it off.)
Q: Whose idea was it to use "the shocker" in the season two premiere?
JD said something about the script having a reference to a generic fist bump, but he decided to sneak in "the shocker" because he thought it would be something Logan would do.
JD: Because at that point, the audience thinks he's referring to Veronica, but he's really referring to Kendall, so that would be something he'd do, because it's Kendall. Plus, nobody knew what it meant.
RT: *I* knew what it meant! [Lots of laughter.]
Unbeknownst to RT, JD did it in every take, so they were stuck with it in the editing room. RT only hoped they would get it past the censors, and of course they did. (Heck, I didn't know what it was, so it's not that surprising. I'm sure the censors have a few years on me. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, uh, Google it.)
[This is where the Saturday questions end and the Sunday questions begin. But the question about whether RT changes the direction of the show based on fan reactions was asked both nights and there is a lot of overlap in some of the responses. The Q&A went on quite a bit longer on Saturday night and RT & Co. were signing autographs and chatting with fans until well past midnight. They didn't have as much time on Sunday night and asked that nobody get in the autograph line if they got an autograph on Saturday because they all had flights very early on Monday morning.]
Q: Will Wallace and Logan ever have a scene together?
RT: Yes. It may not happen until season three, but we will try to get them together in a scene at some point. When I worked on Dawson's Creek, there was that "hurricane episode" when all the characters were thrown together in one room for an entire night, and when a show does that, it's to save money. One set, all the actors in one place, no exterior location shooting, so it's cheap. Someday we will have our "hurricane" episode, although it probably won't be a hurricane.
Q: Are you worried about making the transition in the third season from high school to college, because most shows set in high school struggle with that?
RT: I don't see VM as a "high school show," so I'm not worried about that. I see VM as a detective show first and foremost, and she just happens to be in high school now. But the first season she was a junior, so I always envisioned it as two years in high school, and she's out. I think the show will actually work just as well or even better in college, and I don't want Kristen to be 35 and playing a high school student. [KB has a look of horror. "35??!!"]
Q: Do you plan to ever have a musical episode, like Buffy did?
RT: I always thought if we jumped the shark, that's what we might do. And I don't mean that's what Buffy did at all, because I haven't seen that episode, but when we cast the actors, we asked all the guys if they could sing and they all said "NO." So Kristen is the only singer we have. [The crowd chimes in, "but Percy sang!"] RT said that he thought Percy did a good job with "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," but when they asked him last year if he could sing, he said "no." But we'll try to have Kristen sing again at some point, maybe.
Q: Why do you feel the need for fan interaction at all? Do you ever regret getting so involved with the fan reactions? (Funny question, coming from.)
RT: As our producer Dan Etheridge has said before, reading the TwoP boards after an episode is like being overwhelmed by a tidal wave of love, and then getting cut by a million paper cuts. Sure, it can be painful. It can be quite painful sometimes. I can tell you, just as an example, that I didn't check the fan reaction after episode 2.10 ("One Angry Veronica"). I know we ended up having too much exposition packed into that episode, and what we were trying to do just didn't work.
KB: I love having fans that are so passionate and devoted to the show that they care so much. I would rather have three million rabid fans than thirty million that just watch and don't really care.
JD: I love that the fans notice every little detail. It makes us work that much harder, because we know people out there are noticing the smallest little thing. And when people say something negative, it only hurts when it's true.
Q: For the actors: Do you ever want to change a line or something else in the script that just doesn't seem right to you for your character?
KB: I can think of maybe only twice when that's happened. We have really good communication with Rob and the other writers, so it's not a problem for me to speak up when I don't think a line is working or something like that.
RT: Kristen has complained about a line so seldom, that if she really has a problem with a particular line, I'm going to listen to her.
JD: If I have a problem with something, I try to think of a way to make it work. How can I put a twist on it, or do something different that will make it work for my character? So it's not usually a problem.
Q: For RT, what's with all the mythology references? You were in a band Hey Zeus, you had a show Cupid, and now you have Veronica MARS who lives in NEPTUNE, California.
RT: Seriously, it's a coincidence. I have no particular interest in mythology, I really don't. [KB rolls her eyes and shakes her head.] Mars is the name of the drummer for The Replacements. I came up with Neptune because I was thinking of Jupiter, Florida, and trying to think of something that sounded right for California. I actually know less about mythology than the average person, I would say.
KB: Yeah, right. That's the story he told me, too, but I'm not buying it. [Shakes head.]
Q: For RT, would you ever want to get Joss Whedon to write an episode of VM?
RT: It wouldn't work like that, because we are on two totally different levels. He's a big movie writer now, up here (high) and I'm down here (low). He would have to be the one to ask me to write something for him.
But speaking of movies, Diane Ruggiero and I have written a feature script for Joel Silver which is sort of a remake of a movie called The Last of Sheila, which is a murder mystery out at sea. They are talking about Lindsey Lohan for the lead. (The crowd groans.) But I've written roles that would be perfect for Kristen Bell and Jason Dohring and their characters have a steamy sex scene. (Laughter and applause: Crowd is pleased, actors look embarrassed.)
RT goes on to describe said sex scene, with something about KB's character lying naked on a bed and JD's character walks in. She says "I've learned some new tricks since college," and he replies, "so long as one of them is roll over." I'm sure I'm getting this all wrong, but it seemed to me like RT was just trying to embarrass KB by describing the alleged "sex scene," and it seemed to work. (Again, crowd is amused, actors are more embarrassed.)
Q: Are Veronica and Logan ever going to get back together?
RT: Yes, in season five. Remember Moonlighting? You can't get people together too soon. [He was chuckling and being a bit facetious here.] In the meantime, Veronica and Duncan needed to revisit their relationship and let that play out. (I'm paraphrasing, but imho, he sounded like he knows very much that the majority of the audience wants V/L to reconcile at some point, and all the writers are well aware of their chemistry.)
Q: For RT, what has been the most challenging scene to write?
RT: I hate writing what I call "emotional exposition," which is what happens on every WB show, and I used to write for a WB show, so I know what I'm talking about. "Oh, you betrayed me, and this is how you made me feel and now I don't know if I can trust you, yadda yadda yadda." I prefer letting my characters deflect their emotions and express their feelings through their actions. So I find the straightforward emotional scenes like the Veronica and Duncan scene in "A Trip to the Dentist," for example, the most difficult to write, when they can't deflect any more.
Q: When will Duncan and Logan wear different colors?
JD: I think they kept us in different colors so people could tell us apart at the beginning.
RT: I just think Logan is clearly an autumn. Seriously, I know you guys are hard core fans, but sometimes we do have to do things to make things easier for the new fans, and that's where it gets annoying for you guys. Like when Celeste enters a scene and there is some line like, "Hello, Celeste, mother of Veronica's boyfriend Duncan and mother of her dead best friend Lilly," I know it sounds dumb to you guys but that's the kind of thing we have to do to make it a little easier for new fans of the show to understand what is going on.
Q: How do you find writers for the show?
RT: We have a very small writing staff. There are only five of us (I think?), and on a show like Lost, they have like 20 writers on staff or something like that. With Diane Ruggiero, I had read a script she had written a few years before that never got made and I knew if I got my own show, I'd want her on the staff with me. Basically, when you're a showrunner trying to staff a show, agents send you hundreds of scripts that you've got to read through and you are looking for someone who has that distinctive voice that sounds like they might be able to write in Veronica's voice, or the voice you are looking for. Obviously we are looking for people who can write witty stuff, so it's a similar sort of characterization and wit that I'm looking for when I read somebody's sample script. (Major paraphrasing here.)
On to the Q&A portion of the evening. These will be in no particular order, although I tried to put Saturday's questions before Sunday's, combining answers when there was overlap. I'm sure I left a lot out, and I will be editing this to add new stuff in when I remember (or get reminded). Obviously everything is paraphrased, because who takes shorthand nowadays? And if you were sitting just a few feet away from Jason Dohring (or Kristen Bell), trust me, taking detailed notes would not be high on the list of priorities. I was sitting in the second row, and they were both almost directly in front of me, and both of them looked me quizzically a couple of times when I was jotting stuff down.
At some point fairly early in the Q&A on Saturday, the flea gifts and the T-shirts were presented to RT and the cast. Read spectralbovine's report for more on that. RT & the cast seemed genuinely touched by the gifts and MM even put his "Biggest Dick Without a P.I. License" t-shirt on as soon as the Q&A was over so he would be wearing it for the autograph session. (And I saw him change into it, yes I did, you read right -- 'tis a pity I didn't have a camera handy.)
I have no idea what the first question was, but I know we got to the censor stuff before too long. The conflicts with UPN/CBS Standards and Practices seemed to come up with almost every other question. I can't remember what was asked, but RT said that S&P had an issue with Veronica drinking a glass of wine with Christmas dinner in "One Angry Veronica," so when Keith asked her if she was drinking wine, she just said "no" and they had a bottle of grape juice on the counter in the background. RT doesn't understand how the scenes at Shelly's party could show kids drinking and doing drugs with abandon, but if they showed that Veronica drank one glass of wine in Keith's presence, that would not be allowed because "Keith would be a bad parent." RT finds it baffling and doesn't think most of America would be offended by an 18-year-old girl having one glass of wine with dinner at home with her father.
Q: Do you perceive Veronica to be a totally different person this season? She seems to be written differently this year.
RT: I don't see Veronica as being written differently necessarily, but she's definitely in a different place this year than she was last year. She isn't the social outcast she was last year and she has a billionaire 09er boyfriend so of course she's going to react to things differently. Plus, the mysteries that are driving the story this year affect her in different ways so she's not going to be stagnant, she's reacting to what's going on around her.
Q: For RT, what are your noir influences?
RT: I've only read Raymond Chandler, so that would be it in terms of books. But I've seen a lot of noir movies [and listed some]. JD mentioned Chinatown.
Q: Someone asked how RT came up with the names Dick and Beaver, or just commented on the names.
RT: Well, we had Dick, but we couldn't get away with calling Big Dick "Big Dick." Again, Standards and Practices didn't allow that. But they allowed the line "Can Dick and Beaver come out to play?" That's all they gave us, so we couldn't say "Big Dick," except that I think we do get to call him that in an upcoming episode.
Q: Why does Veronica even speak to Dick this year? He was an almost-rapist last year, and now she acts like she doesn't even remember all the stuff that happened in "A Trip to the Dentist."
RT: Well, first, let's remember that everything that happened in ATttD is sort of hazy and nobody's memory can really be trusted fully on what happened that night. So Veronica can't really be sure of exactly what Dick said or did. Plus, it's not as if she likes him. I mean, I wouldn't want my daughter dating Dick, but that doesn't mean he can't serve some sort of purpose, and he is funny.
RT talked about how Ryan Hansen was originally cast out of San Diego as a glorified extra with just one line in "Credit Where Credit's Due" -- "Logan!" [RT mimiced this line quite hilariously.] But every time they needed a random 09er pal of Logan, they'd say, "Where's that blond kid?" And Ryan would continue to do a good job on his lines. RT talked about how the casting in San Diego is usually only for very minor roles because most people in Southern California who are interested in acting are living in L.A., but Ryan was one of the few people cast in SD who grew to have a substantial role, until he he grew into the Dick we all love (or don't) today.
Q: Will we see more of Beaver and Mac in the season?
RT: Yes.
Q: Are the physical mannerisms of the characters something written into the script, or is it something the actors bring on their own? Like Veronica's head tilt, for example.
KB: Well, I can tell you that all actors have tics, and sometimes the writers will notice them and write them in, like the head tilt. That was written into the script, when Weevil comments on it, but that's because it was probably was an unconscious tic that I was doing without realizing it.
Both KB and JD talking: "What was the line? If I did the head tilt, I'd own you?" [Crowd chiming in: "Be glad I didn't flip my hair, I'd own you!"] Oh, right! Okay, then. [Laughter.]
At some point, either RT or JD mentioned that JD came up with the wind blowing hand gestures in the "Annoy, tiny blonde one" scene, but I'm not sure if it was in response to this question or not. There were several mentions of gestures that JD does as Logan, and almost all of them seemed to be stuff Jason came up with on his own. (Like the shocker, for example.)
Q: For KB, which of your characters that you've portrayed is most like your personality in real life?
KB: Well, I'm pretty gullible, so I'm sort of like Mary Lane (from Reefer Madness) in that way, but I also speak my mind and when I have an opinion you can't get me to shut up, so in that way, I'm like Veronica. So I'm a little of both.
Q: Why doesn't Veronica stand up to Duncan? He pulls so much stuff, and why doesn't she call him on anything he does??!! [Takes out the list of Duncan's crimes and reads.]
RT: You have a list? [Surprised] I know that the bad boy is always sexier, but I don't think I agree that what Duncan has done is all that bad. I see him as basically a good guy trying to do the right thing -- [at this point, he was interrupted, and I'm not sure what all was said].
KB: [Trying to help RT]: I think Duncan has also shown a lot of compassion to Veronica when nobody else did, and maybe you aren't seeing everything he does for her onscreen [interrupted].
RT: Okay, well I get that not get that not everyone is going to like him, but I just see it differently. (Paraphrasing.)
Q: For the actors, what scene has been your favorite to act in and why?
KB: Any scene I get to act with Rico in, because we get along so well offscreen and I just love acting with him. He's the greatest. (Agreement from JD and MM.)
JD: The scene from "You Think You Know Somebody" when I am talking to Veronica at the lockers and she is accusing me of being involved with the whole drug thing. I like any scene when I get to act alone with Kristen, because we were just trying to one-up each other, like "I'm a better actor than you," and that scene was fun.
MM: The end scene from "Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner," when that "Run" song was playing, when Lamb lets Veronica and Duncan out of the squad car, because Lamb showed that he is more than just a big dick and there is more going on with him.
Q: Would you reather eat a small piece of poo or be covered in poo?
RT: Covered in poo.
KB: Covered in poo.
JD: Covered in poo.
MM: Well, if the small piece of poo was covered in chocolate, I would eat it.
Q: I know you sometimes read the TwoP boards for fan reactions after an episode airs. How much does fan reaction affect the direction you take the show?
RT: Honestly, not that much. We have a large lead time in writing the episodes, so by the time an episode airs, we are writing several episodes ahead so the plans are in motion and that ship has probably sailed. And we tend to have a pretty good idea of what the fan reaction is going to be to any particular episode anyway. It's rare that fan reaction is a surprise to us. Although I will say that the fan reaction to episode 2.08 ("Ahoy Mateys") was sort of a surprise because people were saying, "this was a pretty good filler episode," and I was like, "filler episode?" So much happens in that episode! Veronica gets threatened, Logan has a gun, he gets kidnaped, what filler?
RT: But in general, we do like to be aware of the very general fan reaction when people have an overwhelming positive or negative response to something. Lately, I tend to check out the first 20 pages of comments or so after the episode has aired on the East Coast, just to get a very general sense of the reaction. And sometimes, I just don't agree with the general reaction, and we are going to make the show we want to make. (And yes, I care about the opinions of fans on the West Coast, but that's when I'm watching the show.)
RT: For example, I was surprised that a lot of people didn't seem to like Leo last year (many cheers for Leo!), but I think people didn't want to see Veronica with anyone other than one of our established characters. I liked the actor and what he brought to the show, and I basically ignored the reaction. I also am surprised at some of the moralistic attitudes about dating from some of the fans. Some people were upset that there was the slightest overlap with Leo and Logan, and it was like, she'd only gone on a few dates with Leo, they weren't engaged! It's as if Veronica goes on one date, she's not allowed to look at anyone else. [This was all said very jokingly. RT was more amused by the reaction than anything, imho.]
KB: Yeah, not unless they're going steady or something. I think Veronica should have has many, many boyfriends as possible! [Said with a smile.] Don't be a hater! [She may have said that in response to a Duncan question, but I can't remember which one. But it was cute.]
RT: On the other hand, I've seen a lot of complaints this season that Veronica doesn't seem to be as actively engaged in solving the bus crash mystery as she should be, and I actually agree with that and so we're trying to make some changes in that respect.
RT: I also know everybody hates Jackie right now, but that's okay. We have a plan! We know where we're going. [Chuckles.] One thing that has struck me, though, again, is how moralistic a lot of the complaints are about Jackie showing up at Java the Hut with that other dude. I mean, she only went out with Wallace once or twice, they're not engaged! [Chuckles.] I thought Veronica was being sort of mean to her, but everybody sided with Veronica and turned on Jackie, and I didn't really see that coming. Or let me say that I didn't expect the Jackie hate to be quite so strong. But I know it's mostly that everyone loves Wallace. (Crowd seems to agree and claps for Wallace.) (Major paraphrasing here because this discussion was lengthy. RT also praised Tessa Thompson.)
Q: I'm not sure what the question was, but the subject of Veronica and Duncan's sex life came up.
RT said that he knows that the fans think that Veronica and Duncan don't have much of a sex life, but that was not their intention to create that impression. KB ad-libbed the spitting and football line in Veronica and Duncan's sex scene and they left it in because they thought it was funny. RT thinks they have a normal, teenage relationship. KB said "Yeah, what's wrong with that, YOU PERVS!" (Paraphrasing here. Their reaction was funny, but RT did sort of sidestep the issue that V/L were shown in all these passionate embraces in just a single episode last year, when V/D were never shown as exhibiting any sort of passion at all over ten episodes this season. Imho.)
Q: For KB, what happened to the dog you rescued that you were trying to find a home for? (Which she talked about when she was on Punk'd.)
KB: Oh, right, Punk'd. When my ASSHOLE BOYFRIEND set me up for a punking -- that's right, I'm talking about you -- [looking at her boyfriend Kevin sitting in the audience]. Anyway . . . we found the dog's owner and he's back with him now, but the dog wasn't being taken care of very well, so we're still a little worried about him. But now we've also adopted a black Lab who was a victim of Hurricane Katrina, so I think now we are at the Los Angeles legal limit and can't take any more.
Somewhere around this time someone at the far left asked RT to move back so she could see JD and MM better, and RT did his best GOB Bluth impersonation. "You want the guy in the $8,000 suit to move??!!! Come ON!" [Seriously, the Arrested Development jokes were flying fast at this point, and if you aren't watching AD, you should be. Speaking of which . . . oh, right, I promised not to reveal casting spoilers. I'm sure most people know by now that RT made a big casting spoiler announcement, which was met with much rejoicing.]
Q: For JD, how does your wife feel about you becoming a sex symbol?
JD: Well, you can ask her, she's sitting right back there. [Jason's wife Lauren was sitting near Kristen's boyfriend Kevin in the audience.] Really, it's no big deal. I don't even think about that stuff. (Or something to that effect, I think he just brushed it off.)
Q: Whose idea was it to use "the shocker" in the season two premiere?
JD said something about the script having a reference to a generic fist bump, but he decided to sneak in "the shocker" because he thought it would be something Logan would do.
JD: Because at that point, the audience thinks he's referring to Veronica, but he's really referring to Kendall, so that would be something he'd do, because it's Kendall. Plus, nobody knew what it meant.
RT: *I* knew what it meant! [Lots of laughter.]
Unbeknownst to RT, JD did it in every take, so they were stuck with it in the editing room. RT only hoped they would get it past the censors, and of course they did. (Heck, I didn't know what it was, so it's not that surprising. I'm sure the censors have a few years on me. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, uh, Google it.)
[This is where the Saturday questions end and the Sunday questions begin. But the question about whether RT changes the direction of the show based on fan reactions was asked both nights and there is a lot of overlap in some of the responses. The Q&A went on quite a bit longer on Saturday night and RT & Co. were signing autographs and chatting with fans until well past midnight. They didn't have as much time on Sunday night and asked that nobody get in the autograph line if they got an autograph on Saturday because they all had flights very early on Monday morning.]
Q: Will Wallace and Logan ever have a scene together?
RT: Yes. It may not happen until season three, but we will try to get them together in a scene at some point. When I worked on Dawson's Creek, there was that "hurricane episode" when all the characters were thrown together in one room for an entire night, and when a show does that, it's to save money. One set, all the actors in one place, no exterior location shooting, so it's cheap. Someday we will have our "hurricane" episode, although it probably won't be a hurricane.
Q: Are you worried about making the transition in the third season from high school to college, because most shows set in high school struggle with that?
RT: I don't see VM as a "high school show," so I'm not worried about that. I see VM as a detective show first and foremost, and she just happens to be in high school now. But the first season she was a junior, so I always envisioned it as two years in high school, and she's out. I think the show will actually work just as well or even better in college, and I don't want Kristen to be 35 and playing a high school student. [KB has a look of horror. "35??!!"]
Q: Do you plan to ever have a musical episode, like Buffy did?
RT: I always thought if we jumped the shark, that's what we might do. And I don't mean that's what Buffy did at all, because I haven't seen that episode, but when we cast the actors, we asked all the guys if they could sing and they all said "NO." So Kristen is the only singer we have. [The crowd chimes in, "but Percy sang!"] RT said that he thought Percy did a good job with "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," but when they asked him last year if he could sing, he said "no." But we'll try to have Kristen sing again at some point, maybe.
Q: Why do you feel the need for fan interaction at all? Do you ever regret getting so involved with the fan reactions? (Funny question, coming from
RT: As our producer Dan Etheridge has said before, reading the TwoP boards after an episode is like being overwhelmed by a tidal wave of love, and then getting cut by a million paper cuts. Sure, it can be painful. It can be quite painful sometimes. I can tell you, just as an example, that I didn't check the fan reaction after episode 2.10 ("One Angry Veronica"). I know we ended up having too much exposition packed into that episode, and what we were trying to do just didn't work.
KB: I love having fans that are so passionate and devoted to the show that they care so much. I would rather have three million rabid fans than thirty million that just watch and don't really care.
JD: I love that the fans notice every little detail. It makes us work that much harder, because we know people out there are noticing the smallest little thing. And when people say something negative, it only hurts when it's true.
Q: For the actors: Do you ever want to change a line or something else in the script that just doesn't seem right to you for your character?
KB: I can think of maybe only twice when that's happened. We have really good communication with Rob and the other writers, so it's not a problem for me to speak up when I don't think a line is working or something like that.
RT: Kristen has complained about a line so seldom, that if she really has a problem with a particular line, I'm going to listen to her.
JD: If I have a problem with something, I try to think of a way to make it work. How can I put a twist on it, or do something different that will make it work for my character? So it's not usually a problem.
Q: For RT, what's with all the mythology references? You were in a band Hey Zeus, you had a show Cupid, and now you have Veronica MARS who lives in NEPTUNE, California.
RT: Seriously, it's a coincidence. I have no particular interest in mythology, I really don't. [KB rolls her eyes and shakes her head.] Mars is the name of the drummer for The Replacements. I came up with Neptune because I was thinking of Jupiter, Florida, and trying to think of something that sounded right for California. I actually know less about mythology than the average person, I would say.
KB: Yeah, right. That's the story he told me, too, but I'm not buying it. [Shakes head.]
Q: For RT, would you ever want to get Joss Whedon to write an episode of VM?
RT: It wouldn't work like that, because we are on two totally different levels. He's a big movie writer now, up here (high) and I'm down here (low). He would have to be the one to ask me to write something for him.
But speaking of movies, Diane Ruggiero and I have written a feature script for Joel Silver which is sort of a remake of a movie called The Last of Sheila, which is a murder mystery out at sea. They are talking about Lindsey Lohan for the lead. (The crowd groans.) But I've written roles that would be perfect for Kristen Bell and Jason Dohring and their characters have a steamy sex scene. (Laughter and applause: Crowd is pleased, actors look embarrassed.)
RT goes on to describe said sex scene, with something about KB's character lying naked on a bed and JD's character walks in. She says "I've learned some new tricks since college," and he replies, "so long as one of them is roll over." I'm sure I'm getting this all wrong, but it seemed to me like RT was just trying to embarrass KB by describing the alleged "sex scene," and it seemed to work. (Again, crowd is amused, actors are more embarrassed.)
Q: Are Veronica and Logan ever going to get back together?
RT: Yes, in season five. Remember Moonlighting? You can't get people together too soon. [He was chuckling and being a bit facetious here.] In the meantime, Veronica and Duncan needed to revisit their relationship and let that play out. (I'm paraphrasing, but imho, he sounded like he knows very much that the majority of the audience wants V/L to reconcile at some point, and all the writers are well aware of their chemistry.)
Q: For RT, what has been the most challenging scene to write?
RT: I hate writing what I call "emotional exposition," which is what happens on every WB show, and I used to write for a WB show, so I know what I'm talking about. "Oh, you betrayed me, and this is how you made me feel and now I don't know if I can trust you, yadda yadda yadda." I prefer letting my characters deflect their emotions and express their feelings through their actions. So I find the straightforward emotional scenes like the Veronica and Duncan scene in "A Trip to the Dentist," for example, the most difficult to write, when they can't deflect any more.
Q: When will Duncan and Logan wear different colors?
JD: I think they kept us in different colors so people could tell us apart at the beginning.
RT: I just think Logan is clearly an autumn. Seriously, I know you guys are hard core fans, but sometimes we do have to do things to make things easier for the new fans, and that's where it gets annoying for you guys. Like when Celeste enters a scene and there is some line like, "Hello, Celeste, mother of Veronica's boyfriend Duncan and mother of her dead best friend Lilly," I know it sounds dumb to you guys but that's the kind of thing we have to do to make it a little easier for new fans of the show to understand what is going on.
Q: How do you find writers for the show?
RT: We have a very small writing staff. There are only five of us (I think?), and on a show like Lost, they have like 20 writers on staff or something like that. With Diane Ruggiero, I had read a script she had written a few years before that never got made and I knew if I got my own show, I'd want her on the staff with me. Basically, when you're a showrunner trying to staff a show, agents send you hundreds of scripts that you've got to read through and you are looking for someone who has that distinctive voice that sounds like they might be able to write in Veronica's voice, or the voice you are looking for. Obviously we are looking for people who can write witty stuff, so it's a similar sort of characterization and wit that I'm looking for when I read somebody's sample script. (Major paraphrasing here.)
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