Burn Notice
My Experience on the Set of Remaindered (a Lee Goldberg Short Film)
Sep 18th
So, last weekend, I was a production assistant on a short film shot in nearby Owensboro and Henderson Kentucky. Lee Goldberg, executive producer of Diagnosis Murder, writer for Monk, Spencer For Hire, Psych, Nero Wolfe Mysteries, and a whole slew of other well known series, was the director on this project- his directorial debut from what I understand. Nicest guy you could ever ask for– very cordial on set, easy going, more than willing to sign any of his many books for you (if you ever try to get two books signed within 5 mins of each other, use a different name the second go around 
…just a really cool guy all around.
I read the script for Remaindered a few days before the first day of shooting on Friday, and I loved it. It’s comical, there’s a bit of violence, but it’s balanced so well with the light nature of the whole project that it doesn’t ever really get dark in any manner. It’s got some really nice plot twists…I remembering reading– thinking to myself, ‘this seems rather mundane– pretty standard stuff’…until the end where you sit back and smile at the smart ending. Very clever, Mr. Goldberg, very clever, indeed.
So, production assistant isn’t a very glamorous job, and I spent most of Friday night outside just waiting for something to do. I had to miss Saturday’s shooting due to issues at work I had to deal with, and Sunday was fun. I met a lot of nice people Sunday– it was definitely nicer to be inside to see some of the shooting and the whole process as it takes place, even if I was lying on the floor in the produce department cueing extras into the scene for background action. It’s always nice to get any experience possible.
I’m nearly finished with this video and film program at school, hope to move somewhere in the southwest next fall to finish a bachelor’s degree in film or something closely related. My goal is directing, but I do love cinematography- just the way they make things look really fantastic in movies and TV. God knows the raw footage looks nothing like the finished project, and that process is just exciting in a lot of ways.
I’d like to thank Rodney Newton and P.J. Starks, whom I got in touch with about taking part in this whole process. I had a small role, but like I said, any chance to get more experience is worthwhile if you ask me. I hope to get the chance to do some more projects with them in any role they’ll have me fill. Same goes for the rest of the crew- Marx, Lewis, Neil, Sharon, and all the others who couldn’t have been nicer throughout our time together on this project and others.
I’d also like to thank Lee for being a cool guy. Friday night, I approach him, all fanboy nervous (I love Monk and the Monk books he writes), my voice cracking, trying my best not to sound dumb in front of THE Lee Goldberg, and what do I do, I awkwardly mention we had chatted online twice before about his first Monk book, and how I made a big deal about how he had the character of Monk eating cereal and milk (not realizing Monk is deathly afraid of milk). Shooting was about to start again, so our conversation was kind of cut short, so I kept hoping he didn’t think I was bashing him! He took it in stride, making note that around 10, 000 people had told him about the milk thing, totally cool about all of it.
Lee did tell us some really interesting and often hilarious stories while on set…about Hollywood, his experience in writing for TV, and even some of his experiences in years past in Owensboro where he comes to work with the Mystery Writers group.
I got that first Monk book signed and got a second stand alone novel of his signed as well. Now, I just need to get a Burn Notice book signed by his talented brother, Tod Goldberg, who is also an author (of course). Someday.
Can’t wait to see the final product of a weekend of hard work by all. I have a feeling, from what I did see, that it’s going to turn out great. A totally enjoyable experience, and hopefully there will be more to come.
Bruce Campbell/Sharon Gless Interview (Transcript)
Aug 5th
Bruce Campbell from USA Network's Burn Notice
Sharon Gless from Burn Notice on USA
Here is the full transcript from the Burn Notice conference call the other day. I talked to Bruce Campbell and Sharon Gless about Burn Notice. They talked to media for about an hour, and they gave some details on the run of the series, their characters, and what it’s like working on a hit cable series. Check it out below.
Remember to enter my Burn Notice giveaway and win the DVD box sets and more!
Final Transcript
NEW MEDIA STRATEGIES: Burn Notice – Bruce Campbell and
Sharon Gless Q&A Session
August 4, 2009/12:00 p.m. EDT
PRESENTATION
Moderator And we will begin with the line of Jennifer Iaccino with MediaBlvd Magazine. Please go ahead.
J. Iaccino Hello there.
B. Campbell Greetings, how are you doing?
J. Iaccino I’m very good. Hello, so wonderful to speak to both of you. I know I’ve spoken to Bruce, but it’s an honor to speak to you, too, Sharon.
S. Gless Thank you.
J. Iaccino Alright, my question is Bruce, I know that you played in Xena and Hercules as sort of a rogue who helped out the good guys as well. And Sharon, obviously you played Cagney, a bad-ass cop and she also knew her way around bad guys. So I was curious how these roles and others may have helped to cultivate the characters that you play on Burn Notice.
B. Campbell Go ahead, Sharon.
S. Gless Well, the only bad guys I have to find my way around are Jeffrey and Bruce. I mean, my job on the show is the mother from hell. I don’t get involved in the heavy stuff like they do.
B. Campbell Sharon, your character is scarier than some of the bad guys.
J. Iaccino You helped out in that case when Bruce got captured and you were sort of interrogating the one guy.
S. Gless That’s right, I think that’s when Michael was captured.
J. Iaccino Yes, that’s when Michael was captured.
S. Gless Right, that was very, very funny. It’s not often that I get to do one-upsmanship on Bruce Campbell.
B. Campbell What’s amazing is she turned out to be a very good interrogator and then who knew. I actually think we’re going to see in the scenes that come – because Sharon, you were also on a stakeout and you had to spot somebody. You had to be a lookout.
S. Gless At the bingo game.
B. Campbell Right. So don’t kid yourself. You’re going to be an operative before too long maybe.
S. Gless Okay, look out.
J. Iaccino How about you, Bruce?
B. Campbell Well, I mean, I’ve always enjoyed playing a little left of center characters. Otherwise I’d be on a soap opera, you know. What’s attractive to me was that these are real characters. These are characters who drink and smoke and make mistakes and have foibles in love and try to fix their mother’s garbage disposal. That’s what’s attractive to me. That’s what got me into this show and knowing that I’m with four, three other kind of seasoned adult actors. That’s always attractive when you know you’re going to be working with people that it’s going to be worth showing up for.
S. Gless It’s true.
B. Campbell It’s made a big difference. And this show, I can’t speak for Sharon, but this show came out of nowhere.
S. Gless Yes.
B. Campbell The things that I plan never happen. Things that I don’t plan do.
S. Gless Exactly. That’s how I thought. I think that when Bruce and I first – we were interviewed together. Do you remember that, in Pasadena or somewhere?
B. Campbell Yes.
S. Gless And I was actually sitting in the fat farm and this script arrived and I was sitting all alone in my room and it made me laugh out loud and I was all by myself. And I thought, this is funny. This is fun, I like this. It had substance to it, too.
B. Campbell It probably didn’t hurt that you live in Miami, too.
S. Gless I forgot about that, but I didn’t tell them that during the interview.
B. Campbell Exactly.
S. Gless I wanted to live in a hotel like you guys. And then when it sold, I had to ‘fess up.
B. Campbell Right.
S. Gless Yes, I do, though, I do live here in Miami.
More >
The Blue Site Burn Notice Giveaway!! Enter to Win!
Aug 4th
UPDATE (Aug 7, 2009): Thanks to everyone for entering the giveaway. What a finale, huh? Catch the rest of Burn Notice season 3 in January on USA. A winner has been chosen and notified…if you didn’t win, don’t worry, there will, no doubt, be more contests including Burn Notice giveaways in the future here at The Blue Site. Be sure to check back often for the latest in news, movies, TV, politics, and more.
Scene from Burn Notice on USA Network – “Long Way Back” …
Uploaded by USANetwork – Check out other Film & TV videos.
To celebrate the summer finale of Burn Notice, The Blue Site will be giving away one Burn Notice prize pack (see details below). Enter for your chance to win the season 1 and season 2 DVD sets, a Burn Notice novel, and a special Burn Notice T-shirt.
BURN NOTICE SUMMER FINALE EPISODE:
A dangerous man from Fiona’s past resurfaces in Miami after years of hiding, with deadly intentions.
Follow Burn Notice on Twitter, Become a Fan on Facebook and Visit the Official Website.
Enter To Win:
Burn Notice Season 1 & 2 DVD
Burn Notice Novel
Burn Notice T-Shirt
To enter, simply leave a comment below and tell me who your favorite Burn Notice character is. A winner will be chosen Thursday night, the night of the summer finale…watch the show, then find out if you won the prize pack again. I will notify the winner by Friday afternoon at the latest via EMail, so be sure to leave an EMail address so I can contact you!!!
Good luck, and be sure to catch Burn Notice summer finale- Thursday 9/8C on USA.
Bruce Campbell/Sharon Gless Interview Today
Aug 4th
UPDATE 2 (Aug 5, 2009): You can view the complete transcript of this call at the bottom of this post. As I explain above that, I won’t be doing a more complete writeup. I will do a review of the summer finale of Burn Notice with some comments, and I will be updating on Psych and Monk with reviews of the season premieres for those two shows as well. Stay tuned here for all of that as well as a Psych and Monk giveaway for this week!
UPDATE:
I won’t be doing a true write up for today’s conference call with Bruce Campbell and Sharon Gless.
Go to the bottom of this post and click READ MORE for further details.
———————
I will soon be talking to Bruce Campbell and Sharon Gless from USA Network’s hottest series, Burn Notice. The mid-season finale is this Thursday, and the show will take a break until January 2010 when the second part of season 3 will return!
I’ll have more soon with full transcript and maybe some info. on the summer finale! Check back this week for the full Psych= James Roday/Dule Hill interview transcript which should arrive anytime. I will do a more complete writeup based on that as well.
Upcoming Interviews- James Roday/Dule Hill (Psych), Bruce Campbell/Sharon Gless (Burn Notice)
Jul 31st
Just a reminder, I will take part in two interviews week and next. I will be talking to James Roday and Dule Hill from PSYCH tomorrow afternoon, and I will be chatting with Bruce Campbell and Sharon Gless from Burn Notice Tuesday. If you have any suggestions for questions to ask either duo, be sure to post them in the comments section here or post a message to me on my twitter account (use the sidebar tweetdeck for that).
USA Series Burn Notice and Psych Coming to Comic-Con (July 23)!
Jul 9th
USA NETWORK’S CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED ORIGINAL SERIES –
BURN NOTICE AND PSYCH – COME TO COMIC-CON ON THURSDAY, JULY 23
BURN NOTICE’s Bruce Campbell and PSYCH’s James Roday, Dulé Hill & Corbin Bernsen
plus series creators to give inside scoop in back-to-back panels
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – July 9, 2009 – On Thursday, July 23, 2009, USA Network, the #1 cable network, will participate in Comic-Con for the first time with talent and creators from two of its critically acclaimed and top rated shows – BURN NOTICE and PSYCH.
With its foray into Comic-Con, BURN NOTICE, the #1 scripted show on cable, will be represented by cast members Bruce Campbell who stars as Sam Axe, everyone’s favorite washed-up military intelligence officer; Seth Peterson who plays Nate Westen, Michael’s (Jeffrey Donovan) brother; Ben Shenkman who plays Strickler, a smooth-talking, gregarious freelance spy broker; and Jay Karnes who plays Brennen, an arms dealer who has a vendetta against Michael upon ruining a lucrative deal he had in the works. No stranger to Comic-Con, Campbell is a fan favorite from such hits as “Evil Dead” and “Evil Dead 2.” Along with the four stars, creator/writer/executive producer Matt Nix and co-executive producer/writer Alfredo Barrios Jr. will give an insider’s look at the writing process and share behind-the-scenes anecdotes. Fans will get an exclusive sneak peek at an upcoming Season 3 episode of the show. Michael Shanks – who starred in “Stargate SG-1” for ten years and who will be guest starring on BURN NOTICE in a four-episode arc at the beginning of next year – will be moderating the panel.
Also making its Comic-Con debut is the hit original series PSYCH, which will have the entire cast on hand including James Roday, who plays Shawn Spencer, solving crimes for the Santa Barbara police department in his own special way; Dulé Hill who plays Shawn’s best friend and reluctant sidekick Gus; Corbin Bernsen as Shawn’s disapproving father; and Maggie Lawson and Timothy Omundson who play the police detectives O’Hara and Lassiter who reluctantly rely on Shawn’s skills; along with creator/writer/executive producer Steve Franks. Executive producers Chris Henze and Kelly Kulchak will also be on the panel. Fans will have their chance to ask the panelists what it really takes to put together a show about a fake psychic, with never-before-seen footage. Developed exclusively for Comic-Con, the audience will be taken from “script to screen” documenting the process of creating an episode. They will be introduced to the writing and creative teams, as well as see the Vancouver set, meet the production team and the cast, and become part of how each episode comes to life. The PSYCH panel will be moderated by Jennifer Godwin, a journalist from E! Entertainment.
BURN NOTICE has had two record-breaking seasons, beating both cable and broadcast networks across all key demos. The show premiered as the #1 new show on cable in 2007, continued its streak as the #1 scripted series on cable in 2008, and it is now the #1 series on cable for 2009 to date. The past season of the show was the most successful of any show in USA’s history, and it delivered the most total viewers USA has seen in over eight years (7.6 million). BURN NOTICE is a sexy action-packed series starring Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Westen, a blacklisted spy who finds himself stranded in sun-soaked Miami without money, resources, or a clue as to who burned him, or why. The only tools at his disposal are his wits, his charm, his special ops training and his “friends:” Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar), a beautiful ex-IRA operative who also happens to be Michael’s ex-girlfriend, and Sam (Bruce Campbell), a washed-up military intelligence contact who works as Michael’s sidekick, and his mother (Emmy Award-winner Sharon Gless), who Michael has spent most of his adult life trying to avoid.
More >
Burn Notice’s Bruce Campbell Q&A (June 1, 2009)
Jun 3rd
I recently had the opportunity to take part in a conference call with Bruce Campbell, who plays Sam Axe on USA Network’s Burn Notice. Bruce gave us some insight on Sam’s character as well as what we could expect of his character and the rest of the gang in this new season (starting tomorrow night- June 4 @ 9PM/8PM Central on USA).
Here are the two questions I asked Bruce during the call (the call took place June 1, 2009):
Moderator Thank you, and next we go to the line of Josh Bozeman with Thebluesite.com. Please go ahead.
J. Bozeman: Bruce, good to talk to you. Thanks for taking the call.
B. Campbell: You bet.
J. Bozeman: What is it like playing the comical one to Michael’s kind of straight man? It’s kind of a pattern here, you’ve got Jack Stiles and Brisco, you didn’t really have anyone to play off there, you were the main character, the main guy. What is it like playing off of him?
B. Campbell: It’s great, because he carries the show. I’m just hiding behind him, cracking jokes and getting out of there. So it’s fine to actually be the guy who doesn’t, you know, Sam can be a little snotty, he can be a little snide, he’s sort of a naysayer, and he always second guesses things that these guys do to make sure it’s safe or tactical, whereas Michael gets involved from a passionate level. He’s got to help these people, whereas Sam’s like, no, you don’t, no you don’t. So sometimes he’s the voice of reason. But it’s nice to have that difference between the characters, and Michael does have kind of his funny wit, a lot of it comes out in the voiceover that he does, but someone’s got to be the straight guy, and fortunately, it’s Michael Westen.
J. Bozeman: Good to talk to you again, Bruce. The big series you’re known for, Jack of All Trades and Brisco County, Jr., and now Burn Notice, they’re very cinematic. They’re something that you didn’t see. I know Jack of All Trades and Brisco, back in the day, you didn’t see anything like that. They were more movies than they were TV shows. Are you attracted to that sort of thing, or is it just a coincidence?
B. Campbell: It’s just the subject matter. Jack of All Trades was just kind of a pretty looking show with big props and drama, and Brisco being a western. Westerns, I’m always, I’m still looking for another western today. It’s a genre that every actor wishes they could do, and it was a really enjoyable year, running around, playing with horses, shooting guns, kissing the ladies. And some jobs are the cliché job, and that’s one of them. But every actor wants to be in a western, and so, I’m definitely attracted to certain types of material.
Now, if you recall from the end of season 2, Sam and Michael’s mother, Madeline, were trapped in Madeline’s house by a pack of goons. Sam, having little other choice, used explosives to keep the bad guys at bay and escaped intact. Turns out, this season, he’s living in a room at Madeline’s, and the house is still a wreck.
Bruce says he’d like to direct again, but you probably won’t ever see him directing an episode of Burn Notice. When asked about this by Stefan Blitz of ForcesOfGeek.com, Bruce said this:
S. Blitz Hey, Bruce. Do you plan on directing again soon, and would you possibly want to direct Burn Notice?
B. Campbell Yes, I’d like to direct another movie one day. Movies are more my bag. I’ve directed television in the past. I’ve done Hercules and Xena episodes, and even a couple of VIPs with Pamela Anderson, but I don’t think directing Burn Notice is in the cards for me because it changes the dynamics of all the actors. Directors and actors have much different, I guess, motives and goals, and I don’t want any of my directing skills to impact my relationship with the actors, which is currently very good. So I don’t really want to boss anybody around, because I think it’ll change something, so I don’t think I’m going to go there.
He also doesn’t think his good friend Sam Raimi would ever direct an episode of Burn Notice.
Emma Loggins (of Fanbolt.com): Hi again. Do you think there is any chance that Sam Raimi would ever direct an episode of the series?
B. Campbell Sam Raimi will never direct an episode of Burn Notice because it’s done too quickly. Sam is used to shooting these big, big, big, big, big movies, and it takes 100 days or more to film a two-hour piece of entertainment. We film these shows in seven days, so it’s a real different mentality of features versus television. So I wouldn’t wish that on Sam, because it’s actually a difficult challenge every week to pull these shows off, not that Spider-Man 3 isn’t, but we have a little bit of a different circumstance here.
And what can Bruce tell us about his character Sam Axe that no one else knows (not even the writers?) Back to Stefan Blitz from ForcesOfGeek.com for that one…
B. Campbell About Mr. Sam Axe? That he reads a lot. He reads fiction, because it takes away from the reality; and that his favorite book is Wuthering Heights. That Sam is a secret romantic. That’s all I can reveal. I’ll have to kill you if I tell you more.
For some reason, when Bruce Campbell says he’d tell you more but he’d have to kill you, I believe him.
Catch Bruce as good ol’ Sam Axe in the 3rd season of Burn Notice, premiers tomorrow night on USA. 9PM/8PM Central.
JEFFREY DONOVAN (Michael Westen in Burn Notice) will appear on Regis & Kelly tomorrow morning!
Below (after the cut) are a few other questions from the Q&A:
More >
Recent Comments