Classy Christmas Q&A with Mindy Kaling

Here’s the complete four pages of Mindy Kaling’s answers to your questions about the Season 7 episode, Classy Christmas!

In her customary witty and hilarious style, Mindy provides insight into the comedic quality of snow, Kelly’s more upscale wardrobe, and why Dwight was so mean to Jim.

Randy (producer), Kim (hair), and Alysia (wardrobe) answer a few questions as well.

Thanks to Mindy, Randy, Kim, and Alysia for the behind-the-scenes-scoop!

Kim: Is it weird to shoot outdoor scenes when it’s meant to be snow-worthy weather but in reality it’s hot? Does everyone get ultra sweaty underneath their coats?

Mindy: Fortunately for us, we shot this in early November, so while it wasn’t cold out, it was also never super hot.

Also, unlike other episodes with scenes outside, like “The Fire” or the cold open for “The Sting” with Michael learning to ride a bike, there weren’t any big group scenes. (I remember feeling like I might pass out during “The Fire.” We all stood around in 108 degree heat with coats on, having to pretend it was fall.)

Big group scenes add a ton of time because they tend to be longer. During the shooting of Wuphf.com, however, a few weeks prior, there was practically a heat wave. I was certain the hay would catch on fire and there would be some kind of tragic accident on set.

lilian: Was John Krasinski actually ‘injured’ during the snowball fight? Sure looks like Rainn had a lot of fun!

Mindy: John never got hurt, or if he was, he never complained. He really did a great job of selling it, though, didn’t he?

He has such long legs, so when he went fetal on the ground, it looked so much funnier than if a short person did the same thing.

The snow made for a lot fewer takes, because snow does not cooperate very well. Man-made snow somehow doesn’t stick together the same way natural snow does, for some reason (natural snow has a better sense of comedy, I guess?).

Our snowballs tended to “explode” before they made contact with John. So I think you saw pretty much every take of a snowball making contact.

JimisBigBird: How many times did John and Rainn have to shoot those snowballs in the face scenes? Snowballs can hurt! And it sure didn’t look like they were holding back.

Mindy: I do think snowballs to the face hurt! Again, John was a total trooper. Also, what sold it was an almost too generous use of fake blood on his shirt.

If you remember last year’s Christmas episode, Erin had two ghastly scratches on her face that were also bloody.

I like streaks of blood on the young good-looking actors in my Christmas episodes. I think America has come to expect that from our show.

ASFan: Was it in the script as to how many snowballs Dwight threw at Jim for the snowball attacks or was it a directorial choice on Rainn’s part? He really seemed to be having a hell of a time throwing them at John.

Mindy: I didn’t specify how many snowballs. It was a directorial choice, but probably fueled and informed by Rainn’s cruelty.

NotABadDay: About those snowmen at the end…What were they made of and how long did it take the Props crew to make them?

Mindy: Michael, Randy, and our AD Rusty had probably the most difficult logistical and scheduling challenge with this episode. We shot so many scenes out of order, so they were constantly re-dressing the sets from white, spare “classy Christmas” look to the elaborate, colorful, “regular Christmas look.”

The same with the snowmen, which took an entire day to build, and took a lot of maintenance. Also, things like footprints had to be tracked constantly.