Month: May 2007

From the NBC blog featuring Greg Daniels and B.J. Novak, dated May 17, 2007:

May 17, 08:54 PM
Welcome

Hi everybody! This is Greg Daniels. I’m here with BJ Novak. My parents just called and they liked tonight’s episode very much. I hope you all did too.

May 17, 09:03 PM
To Anissa

HI Anissa, it’s B.J. First, be sure to send your phone number to me c/o nbc.com… just kidding… seriously, I think there will be some very funny plots next year involving Michael and Ryan… Their relationship could take on some characteristics of Michael and Jan… I’m sure that’s Ryan’s fear anyway. Thanks for the question. The short answer is I’m looking forward to that twist from both sides of camera.

May 17, 09:09 PM
hour long episodes

Yes we will have a bunch of hour long episodes next year. They seemed to work for the finale and when we combined Traveling Salesmen and The Return that time. In future years, the plan is to gradulaly spread out over all of nbc’s schedule, like csi.

May 17, 09:10 PM
Toby-Pam crush

Does Toby have a crush on Pam? We didn’t intend that. Paul has an obsessive crush on Jenna, perhaps that’s what’s coming through. When she rebuffed in New York, he pushed her down the stairs. Actually, Jenna did fall down a steep stairway at the nbc upfronts, but she is doing fine.

May 17, 09:13 PM
keep skipping grey’s anatomy

To the fan who is skipping Grey’s Anatomy to read these posts: keep it up. A great new habit to get into.

May 17, 09:14 PM
second ending

We did write and shoot an alternate ending, but it differed only in the how it happened, not in what happened.

May 17, 09:16 PM
the note

The note to Jim included a yogurt lid, which Pam had saved since Office Olympics.

May 17, 09:19 PM
To “Nobody ever answers my questions on these blogs.”

No comment

May 17, 09:21 PM
more people here in our room

Mike Schur is here now, to accept someof this praise:
way to go , mike!!

May 17, 09:21 PM
to young writers

A number of you asked about our process and how to get writing jobs.
We have already started writing season 4. The way we do it is, we eat a lot of candy andjunk food, we sit around on couches and tell each other the ideas we came up with, we throw them out because they are terrible, after lunch we come up with more, and write them on index cards and thumbtack them to the wall. Eventually there are enough to stuff a half hour.
To get a job, you have to have a great writing sample, usually a spec episode of a series, or an original play or something. I find the only thing I have to add on the subject of how to write a good spec is that I found it helpful to tape episodes of shows I liked and actually transcribe them. Just copy them word for word. I don’t know why it helps, but I think it does.

May 17, 09:28 PM
Jan and the ensemble

Thanks for all the appreciation of all the supporting characters on this chat — the warehouse guys, the accountants, it feels like any combination of these characters could fill a whole comedy series. It’s an embarrasment of riches and it will probably help us fill those hour-long comedy shows with incredible moments we wouldn’t otherwise see. Yes, Jan will be back — adding more complications and over-drama and over-sized breasts to Michael’s life and to your television screens… This is B.J. but I happily accept your compliments directed to the rest of the cast too.

May 17, 09:33 PM
season 3 dvd

Yeah, that will come out in Spetember right before we premiere. We are pulling together all the deleted scenes and extras now, finding stuff that wasn’t on nbc.com.

May 17, 09:35 PM
mose

There are calls for a Mose-Creed romance. Mike?
This has been in the works for a long time, and I’m sad that somebody had to spoil it like this. But yes, Mose and Creed are, in the mythology of the show, already very much in love. Next year is being thought of as the Mose-Creed will-they-won’t-they? season.

May 17, 09:37 PM
favorite moments

BJ: when Dwight puts the garbage bag over Meredith’s head and traps the bat.
Lee Eisenberg: in Beach Games, Michael fake strangling Pam and saying “I can’t stay mad at you.” And the Convention.
Justin Spitzer: The arm marking!!!!!!!
Gene Stupnitsky: Paris Hilton being sentenced to jail.
Mike Schur: when Michael showed up at Pam’s art show.
Jason Kessler: Andy singing rainbow connection,

May 17, 09:41 PM
how does the old cast feel about the new cast?

I’m so glad someone asked this. (This is B.J.) Rashida is a doll, but — off the record — I hate, hate, HATE Ed Helms!!!!!!!! He’s just, I dunno, I can’t explain it. He’s fine as Andy — actually, he’s really really good as Andy. But in real life, I hate his guts and also he can’t read but he pretends he’s sooooooo good at reading. Don’t tell anyone I said this, thanks. Between you and me!

May 17, 09:44 PM
new writers

Announcing two new writers that joined our staff today:
Anthony Q. Farrell
and
Ryan K. Koh.
If next year sucks, you know who to blame. Favorite moments, newbies?
Ryan: tonight’s episode — Pam’s talking head at the end.
Anthony: Creed taking a number two in the women’s bathroom.
We have hired them for two different types of writing, as you can see.
Also, we bid goodbye to Caroline Williams, who has left to have a baby.

May 17, 09:47 PM
More on Caroline

And that new baby is…
a show called MissGuided on another network. Travel Channel I think.

May 17, 09:49 PM
clarifications on dvd

Yes, the deleted scenes from nbc.com will be on the season 3 dvd. We are also looking for a lot of other stuff you haven’t seen.
Jen Celotta and Paul Lieberstein have entered the room, if you have any questions for them.

May 17, 09:51 PM
why so little toby in Paul’s episodes?

This is Paul. Truth be told, I’m not a big fan of Toby. He seems weird, and weak, and why doesn’t he just punch Michael or something. Pathetic. I mean, I get it, he’s hot, but… I need more than that.

May 17, 09:54 PM
shooting beach games

Hi – Jen Celotta here. We shot Beach Games in the Congo. It was very expensive but i thought worth it in the end. Also redressing the jungle was very expensive and many of us got malaria. Also, Benihana Christmas was shot in Tokyo. But for the convention, we recreated philly on a soundstage. Production is very complicated and I can’t go into it all now. thanks for your question!

May 17, 09:58 PM
documentaries and flashbacks

Documentaries don’t have flashbacks, but documentary editors can and often do change the order of scenes they have shot to tell their stories. The editor of this documentary saved the footage from Beach Games and decided to put it where he/she did for effect.
ah HAH! Wriggled out of that one.

May 17, 10:00 PM
Roy

shmoy

May 17, 10:01 PM
Roy for real

Roy is still alive and living in the Scranton area. He is working construction with his brother.

May 17, 10:01 PM
why does Michael hate Toby?

It is a crazy weird story that will probably be explained in February, November or May of some year. Killer story, really. One of our best.

May 17, 10:04 PM
How do office fans differ compared to fans of other shows?

Office fans are taller, better teeth, more body hair, lefties, longer life expectancies, eyes like an eagle, allergic to shellfish, second toes longer than big toes, and luckily for us, have more than the average number of children. They are the future of the show — raise them well.
This question was answered by Doctor John Professor, from the Univsersity of Science.

May 17, 10:08 PM
the writing process

Hey guys, B.J. here again. Have you noticed how our first entries were pretty articulate, straight-forward answers, and now they’ve devolved to some pretty bizarre tangents and silly concept leaps understood only by us? That’s the way a typical night in the writer’s room will go — from straight-forward, smart answers, to silly loopiness, until somehow we hit the right combination of inspired lunacy/smart stuff.

May 17, 10:10 PM
Good bye and thank you

Okay, we have run out of things to say. It was a pleasure writing the season this year. Having fans who are so interested in the stories makes us energized and excited and feeling that people “get” us and like what we do, and that is a great feeling. So, a sincere thank you to all of you and I hope we can come up with some good things for you to enjoy next year!
Greg