From Jenna Fischer’s MySpace blog, dated July 26, 2006:
I just had the greatest week of my life filming a movie called “Quebec”. I never thought I could experience a cast, crew and creative vibe as awesome as The Office. I just figured everything would always pale in comparison. But, “Quebec” has been out-of-this-world AMAZING on every level.
First off all, I’ve loved living in Chicago. I’m originally from St. Louis so it’s been great to get back to my Midwestern roots. The people are warm and friendly. The days are HOT and muggy. Perfect! My folks even drove in for a visit. They had never visited me on a movie set before. It was a real treat. We went to Navy Pier, Michigan Ave. and the Lincoln Park Zoo.
You might be asking, “Jenna what makes this movie so great?” Well, number one is Steve Conrad the writer/director. He’s basically brilliant. he wrote The Weather Man. He writes great dialogue and he has a really cool overall vibe that is hip but sweet.The movie, Quebec, is about 2 assistant managers of a grocery store (Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly) competing for the same job as manager. I play Seann’s wife. I’m a nurse. Lili Taylor is John’s wife and Fred Armisen plays their boss. Gil Bellows is amazing as the district manager of the grocery chain. And, Bobby Cannavale plays my boss at the hospital. During one of the scenes with Seann and Bobby I was laughing so hard I didn’t think I could make it through.
The movie isn’t one of those high concept comedies. Instead, it focuses on the humor of everyday folks in ordinary situations which I love. The interactions are painfully relatable and also very funny. I remember making the first episodes of The Office and I kept thinking. “This show is great right? I mean, it’s seriously funny. How can people not love it?” That’s I feel about “Quebec” now. I just don’t see how this movie won’t be awesome.
Another reason this movie is so terrific is Seann William Scott. His performance is going to blow people away. It has been a total joy working with him. His character is quiet and layered and sweet and so, so funny all at the same time. There is one scene in particular that I still think about. It is possibly the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. His work is out of this world. And, he is the nicest person on the planet.
The entire cast is great both personally and professionally. I’ll miss them a lot. We’ve been kicking around Chicago and having lots of fun.In other news, I returned to work on The Office today. I hope I don’t sound like a broken record but I’m seriously feeling like the luckiest girl in the world. The first script of Season 3 is AMAZING. I know everything that happens! Finally!
It was hard to go back to Pam hair. It’s always a shock at first. Or, to see Angela in her severe wardrobe when I’m so used to seeing her cute jeans and t-shirts. The whole day felt like the first day back at school after summer vacation listening to people’s stories about what they did over their break.
Oh…we don’t have internet on set so far this year. They say it will be fixed in the next couple of weeks. And, I won’t have internet when I return to Chicago this weekend to work on “Quebec”. I’ve been totally out of the loop and haven’t opened my Inbox in almost 2 weeks. Yikes!