Posted on by tanster

Jen Celotta answers ‘Goodbye, Toby’ questions

Q. How did you manage to film Dwight and Angela’s sex scene without including her ever-so-pregnant belly? | Pam Scherbatsky

Jen: This was the work of the fantastic Paul Feig (director). He looked for places around the office that could conceal her belly but where we could also spot that it was Angela and then Dwight. It was Rainn’s idea to take his shirt off.

Fun Fact: Paul Feig also directed “Email Surveillance” — which was the first time Dwight and Angela were caught on camera in a compromising position (in Jim’s treehouse) — although Angela wasn’t pregnant then so the logistics were easier.

from tanster: here’s what Rainn Wilson had to say …

Rainn: We actually tooled all over the office looking for great love-making nooks. Copy machine. Creed’s desk. Michael’s desk. Mail cart. On the floor by the file cabinets … but came back around to the place that Paul Feig originally envisioned, which worked perfectly.

It was quite a challenge to hump Angela with her belly so enormous. I suggested referring to the Kama Sutra for some ideas, but was swiftly shot down.

There was another long discussion of whether I should have my glasses on or not. But we decided ‘glasses yes’ so there would be no confusion whatsoever about who was straddling America’s favorite accountant.

And yes, I enjoy taking my shirt off, especially if it’s for comedic effect.

Q. How long did it take to write the season finale? I know people always ask how long it takes to shoot an episode, but how long does it really take to write an [awesome] episode like that? | Sonni

Jen: Thanks. It took us about four or five days I think. We talked about the episode as a whole for a little while and then we divided up the acts to write.**

When we were done, we pasted it all together into a giant master draft and went through it to rewrite it and make cuts.

Usually we get about a week to write an episode — but it can vary depending on our schedule. Last year, we each wrote a script over our month-long hiatus in between seasons and that is the plan for this year as well — so we will get more time to turn the scripts around.

We’re busy at work breaking stories for Season 5 right now.

**It was during this section of our writing that I found out about the junk food drawer that exists in our Production Assistant’s desk. Last year we removed all of the candy from our kitchen in an attempt to be healthier, but Kevin let us in on the secret drawer and I ate a lot of Twizzlers during the writing of the finale. If this ends up in print, I’m sure the candy will be relocated again.

from tanster: thanks so much to Jen and the guest contributors! see y’all next season …

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Check out more Q&As in the Episode Q&A Archive. Essential reading for every Office super fan!

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49 comments

  1. Wow, what a compilation!

    A big thank you to Tanster, Jen and all the special contributors!

  3. Another awesome Q&A for us fans.. thanks to TanMonster & Jen, I’m also always amazed at how much in-character work Jenna does with Pam. it’s awesome.
    Can’t wait for the Season 4 DVD :-D

  4. That was a great read. Thank you thank you tanster, Jen, and all the special commentators! I still can’t get over how awesome it is that the fans actually have contact with the creators and executors of the show =)

  5. Thank you for sharing so much with us . I love learning about extra details regarding the show. It sounds silly, but this show brings a lot of joy to my life

  6. I love these! Thank you to Tanster, for orchestrating them all!

    Glad to hear about the choice of, “Just My Imagination.” I had wondered the same thing about the lyrics and if they were significant. It’s such a romantic song- GOOD choice writers- one I wouldn’t have quite expected but so sweet and magical and perfect!

  8. Thank you so much, Jen and Tanster! I love these Q&As. My favorite part is Mose’s answer. I love him and I hope we can see more of him in Season 5! Thanks again!

  9. I read this whole thing really slowly to let the joy last as long as possible. Jen! Jenna! Mose! Rainn! Band guys! Man, this was good. Can’t wait for Season 5.

  10. This was the most amazing q&a yet! I loved Mose & Rainn’s responses! This almost makes up for the lack of commentary on this episode for the s4 dvd. :)

    Target should put together a booklet of all of these q&a’s as a special feature!

    Thank you so, so much for doing this Tanster.

  11. Great stuff! I really hope that this trend continues next season. It’s rapidly becoming my favorite feature on this site. Thank you, Jen and gang! Terrific insight! See ya next year!

  13. I love reading these!
    Thanks Tanster, Jen, and all the other awesome people!

  16. So, Mose names every animal ever after what he’s seen it eat? They must have a lot of livestock named “Grass” and “Oats”.

    Mose’s baby will be named Milk.

  17. Thank you Jen, Craig, Chris, David, Jenna, Mose, Rainn, and tanster! I hope we can continue this next season!

  18. That was a great read. Thanks Jen, tanster and special guest contributors! Can’t wait for next season. ;)

  19. The rough cut was 72 minutes?!?! There are going to be a ton of deleted scenes in the DVD :)

  20. that was the best Q&A! thanks for getting so many people! and i love that mike schur wrote as mose.

  21. I was really impressed with Jen at the convention and this Q and A didn’t disappoint!!
    thanks so much for sharing all the behind the scenes stuff
    the show is so hilarious i think i forget sometimes how many people work so hard to make this show special

  22. Thanks for this. It was very informative and it was great to hear from so many different cast members (and Mose, of course!)

  23. This was the best Q&A yet. Thank you so much, Office cast and crew, and thanks to Tanster for posting it.

  25. My question got answered!!!! Best Q&A yet. And Rainn actually responded! Very informative!

  26. Yay Mose! That was really funny input, Rainn’s too. Thanks Tanster- this really makes me look forward to the DVD and all.

  27. Thanks Jen et al for answering the TallyHeads.

    Looking forward to Season 5 – I hope you make Mr. Kevin Malone even more “special”. That would be awesome.

  28. Cool, my question got answered this time and on the dinner party Q and A. Can’t wait for next season.

  29. Tanster, that was so amazing that you could get all those people to contribute! Thanks for putting that together; that was a great read.

  30. Thanks tanster, and also kudos to the Tallyheads for all these great questions (I haven’t been able to think of one yet!)

  31. These Q&A’s are awesome! Thank you so much to Tanster, Jen, and all of the previous writers for doing this!

  32. Jen, I feel the exact same way about deep fried Twinkies.

    Thanks Jen and Tanster. I absolutely love these Q&A’s!!

  33. THANK YOU!! i literally came to this site 10 times a day for this Q&A! you rock, TANSTER!!!

    btw, i hope they include the extended rough cut version of goodbye, toby on the DVD

  34. Thank you so much everybody for a fantastic season finale and Q&A! This is one of my favorite features on the site and I have been eagerly awaiting these answers.

    I also enjoyed the recognition of Pam’s mad note taking skills – I started laughing so hard when she started writing after Toby’s answer to “Who do you think you are?”

  35. Big thanks to Tanster and Jen for these answers. It is so great that the writers do this for us fans.

    I literally do not know how I’m going to make it until Sept. 25th…

  36. Thanks to the awesome input from Jen and the Office gang! And a special thanks to Tanster for organizing the Q&A! Office fans are so spoiled :)

    I was glad that they originally chose a badger… Go Wisconsin Badgers!!!

  38. Goodbye Toby was so much fun to watch and rewatch, and it’s wonderful to learn about the making of it. These Q&As are so generous and just golden. Thanks so much! Jen Celotta can even make me laugh when she’s answering questions about an episode! No wonder the talking heads are always so great. The effort and care that goes into them is amazing.

  39. Thanks once again, Tanster, for putting this together. Also, BIG thanks to the awesome Jen Celotta (and guest contributors) for answering my question and all the rest! Craig, I think your band needs to book a gig in Minneapolis. ;)

    I have to agree with the earlier comment “It sounds silly, but this show brings a lot of joy to my life.” :)

  40. Thanks Tanster for submitting my question! Thank you to Jen and Jenna for the response. It feels great to contribute.

  41. What great insight into the episode. Thanks for taking our questions Tanster, and thank you to the writers for answering them. :)

  42. holy gosh! Tanster, this is sooo awesome! I love how you put other tidbits from different castmembers!
    Thanks for all the effort you put into this website that satisfy my office craving!

  44. I am so excited and grateful that Jen answered my question. Thanks so much for doing all of this Tanster!

  45. I do not normally laugh at stuff I read(I’m the type who finds the delivery of lines to be more amusing than the actual dialogue.) But wow, the “Chair” story definitely had me LOLing. Possibly even LMAOing.

  46. I have to admit that after the finale I was bitter about the lack of JAM nuptials – but reading Moses’ account of chair and trampoline leg just make me fall in love all over again. Thank you SO much Mike Schur!

  47. Wow, I want to see the 73 minute rough cut! It’d be like a feature length version of The Office!

  48. Ahaha, that chair and trampoline leg made me laugh so hard!

  49. WOW. I promised myself I would not obsess about anything related to The Office until after my final exams…and it was a very rough few weeks, but OFFICETALLY MAKES IT ALL WORTH IT!!! It is so great to have such devoted fans (tanster) who will set up discussions with such amazing and talented writers. We are indeed very lucky fans : )
    Thanks again for all your willingness to share with us, and for giving me a nice happy light at the end of the tunnel of exam-taking!

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