Episode 7 -- Complete!

Important Note: Tomorrow (Wednesday), I'll be posting the complete schedule which shows when actors will receive their scripts and when Episodes 7 through 12 will shoot. The schedule will include when the music video and the documentary will shoot as well. In the meantime, please check your voice mail and/or email as Cris has now made contact with all actors in the second half of the season and needs to talk to you about details.

At just before midnight, hours before today dawned, the script for Episode 7 was sent to the actors who appear in the enchanted apple investigation scenes. It was an amazing experience to send that script because it marks two milestones:

1. The beginning of the second half of Season 1.
2. The schedule change that allows actors to have their scripts almost a month before they shoot.

That first item is pretty obviously a reason for excitement. A lot of people say, "Gee, I want to make a series." But how many actually do the work and make it a reality? It took ALL of us... and we did it. We're doing it! Every cast member. Every crew member. Day to day.

But that second item means that actors get to TAKE THEIR TIME. On the Episode 1 DVD, there's a thirty minute interview with me. One of the things I talk about (quite candidly) is what type of actor I like to work with. I don't want someone who memorizes lines quickly and effortlessly, delivers them fast and easy, then leaves the set. I want an actor who actually cares about the character. Who wants to know why they say what they say, why they feel what they feel. I want someone who lives and breathes this show because, goodness knows, I do.

I won't embarrass anyone by naming names, but at the premiere, as I was walking around delivering the winner's auction baskets and checking in, there was one actor who was still watching the credits, bouncing up and down, just getting down to the classic theme that runs during our credits (and opener). This actor was brimming with excitement. This actor could not contain that excitement... and didn't want to leave the "Ghost Sniffers" world. Not yet. I thought to myself, "That's someone I will cast again... and again. Not just for Season 1, but Season 2 when we start paying our actors. And in other shows that we produce!"

Instead of giving actors a week, or (yikes!) three days, we can now give actors more than three weeks to look over their script, to ask questions through email or by phone, to tweak their costume, to rehearse with family and friends.This isn't about more time to memorize. This is about more time to become your character. It's about making better actors by allowing them to live with their characters.

I may seem like a big (though short) meanie when I tell actors (adults, kiddos and teens) that I really do consider it a requirement that they watch ALL the available episodes before they show up to shoot an episode. I want everyone on the set to understand where we are in the mythology, what the audience is feeling, and how far we've come.

Because, in the end, we're making this series TOGETHER, aren't we? In my heart, I know we are.