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Fan Forum Hero
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 69,662
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Scott Pertterson part 3 thanks to Sassy at TWoP
It's very long 
Quote:
Okay, I have finished the epistle, Lunch with Luke. At least I think so, but if I think of anything else, I will post an update. Well, here is the last part:
In telling Scott some of my fantasies for the L/L storyline (the clean ones, not the dirty ones), I casually mentioned that I thought that the Crap Shack should be burnt down.
Scott’s reaction to my comment was classic.
His face first took on the expression which I can only describe as a total a wide-eyed startled look and then it morphed into an amused bewilderment as he asked me why on earth I thought the house needed to burn. He added, “and where would you have Lorelai live?”
I explained to him that since Christopher had now lived in the Crap Shack, his (evil) essence infused and infested all aspects of the house. (I can’t help it but every time I think about Christopher in that house, I have a vision of him peeing all around the perimeter marking his territory and no, I did not share that image with Scott.). I continued on explaining how there is no way I can imagine Luke ever feeling comfortable in that house or the fans feeling comfortable with Luke living there after Christopher sullied it.
I declared firmly that all remnants of the EiF must be erased. Of course then I had to explain about the EiF, which produced another hearty laugh from Scott. He really does have an infectious laugh.
At that point he interjected that David Sutcliffe is such a nice guy that it is too bad so many seem to dislike him.. I responded that we don’t hate David just Christopher and we do understand the difference between the actor and the character. In fact many of us like David so much we put forth a great effort last summer in an (unsuccessful) attempt to find him a permanent acting gig. (Scott laughed.)
I continued explaining that we don’t just want him gone from the show just because he interferes with Lorelai and Luke but because we don’t like how Lorelai acts around him. The Lorelai that Lauren is presenting around Christopher is just plain annoying.
I mentioned to him that beginning the second half of last season, the transformation of both Lorelai and Luke into characters that we didn’t recognize and didn’t particularly like had alienated many fans. (His body language told me that I wasn’t telling him anything new.) I told him that I understood that the story needs drama and tension to maintain interest but just because a story is dramatic it doesn’t make it good and entertaining. (He smiled kind of apologetically but said nothing.)
I went on to say that thankfully Luke seems to have returned to pretty much his old self this season but Lorelai has gotten worse. Well maybe not worse because her behavior in Partings took the character to a detestable level most of us can not identify with and the character has stay at that level all season so far. I then mentioned that maybe it is the way she is being directed or maybe it is because the Christopher is so quippy also but the two of them together are the equivalence of squeaky wheel. Their banter just annoys the hell out of me and gets on my last nerve.
I also mentioned that I find their chemistry together more like a brother and sister than two lovers and that makes their sleeping together and marriage creepy on so many levels.
Scott mumbled something like maybe it is because they are such good friend that it comes across that way. I took from that the brother/sister vibe that I am picking up is definitely not what they are trying to project.
His next comment was in the vein of an analysis; not a snide remark. He asked me if I thought that Christopher was not strong enough against Lorelai. I enthusiastically replied yes, that is part it. He kind of mumbled something sort of to himself about Luke needs to always be strong around Lorelai. (That was kind of interesting. Sort like I was momentarily privy to his work product.)
I went on to share the theory that so many on this forum have articulated (and to which I agree) that Lorelai’s attachment for her house is impeding her maturity. I explained that initially the house symbolized her growth and independence but now it has become a restraint preventing additional growth and progress. It is acting like her cocoon and the time has come for her to break free, spread her wings, and take flight.
Then I declared that Luke should build them a new house (well, not him by himself but of course I wouldn’t mind seeing him with the tool belt with or without tee). I went on to explain that what we want to see in this show is the type of everyday drama that it depicted in the first years, the type of drama that we can connect and relate to.
I told him that we don’t want nor expect Luke and Lorelai to unite and just become a happy boring couple. These are two feisty people with enough baggage to require a separate travel trailers so of course we would expect bumps and fire. What we want to see is them plug away through their issues, sometime awkwardly and sometimes with grace but mostly we want to see them passionately strive to work through their problems together.
I mentioned that as a daughter of a homebuilder (and granddaughter of one, and sister of two) I have seen a lot of couples bargain, bicker, negotiate, cajole, bully, charm and full out fight as they make the many decisions needed to build a house. I pointed out that I could see that as a running issue popping up in several episodes as they try to put together the perfect home for them and their growing family. Okay, I might have mentioned that if Lorelai was pregnant (with twins) it could build up an additional complication as Luke struggles to rein Lorelai in with wild hormones causing vacillation and moodiness in her decisions.
As I spoke of this I could almost see the wheels turning in his head as he seem to get what I was trying to say. He made a comment kind of like “so the tension between them would revolve around their struggles to find a way to blend their styles and desires.”
I nearly jumped out of my chair (and into his lap – LOL) when he said that. I was trying (almost desperately) to explain that there are plenty of day to day issues that can cause tension between a couple without tearing them apart and he seemed to get it. What’s more, he seemed to like it. (Maybe I was reading what I wanted to see into it.)
I think I said at that point something like, “If you could just get me into the writer’s room…” Yeah, like that’s going to happen. All I can really hope for is he shares some of this with the writers but I don’t think the actors have that much input into the stories.
Actually at one point Scott pleaded (almost apologetically) that he had not idea why the writers chose the direction they did. If I was reading him correctly, he was trying to convey that he didn’t really agree with their choice but he wasn’t going to openly contradict them.
I did touch on the issue of the contract negotiations for season eight. I shared with him what we had heard, that Lauren was open to the idea especially since they are now giving her producer credit but Alexis really doesn’t want to. I also stated that it is our understanding Lauren has made it clear that she will only sign if Alexis signs. I cautiously mentioned that we heard that his people are currently in contract negotiations with the studio and they are negotiating for an increase in salary (I felt a little sheepish as I said because that is really very personal).
He stared at me dumbfounded as he asked, “How do you know all this?”
I admitted that I couldn’t remember exactly but I thought the information came from several sources, one being Michael Ausiello.
He smiled politely but I got the impression that he didn’t really want to talk about the negotiations. I did ask him if it would help motivate Alexis to feel more positive about signing if we all sent her letters begging her to stay. He laugh as he said, “Remember she’s only 24” (actually she’s 25 but I guess he doesn’t keep track of her age real closely) “and who knows what 24 years old want. I did something really stupid when I was 24 and it had a major affect on my career.”
No, I don’t know what he was talking about and I got the distinct impression that he wasn’t going to talk to me about it. Anyway, I think my take on this is what we have heard about the negotiations for an eight season are accurate. No one is signed but everyone is talking and trying to get the sweetest deal possible which makes sense. This is their careers and they have to look at this pragmatically.
Oh, I forgot something. At one point earlier in the conversation I had asked him what he wanted to do after Gilmore Girls was over. He admitted that he was being sent a lot of scripts, some movies and some pilots. Then he gave me that infamous smirk as he asked me, “What kind of role do you see me playing next.”
Wow, that kind of caught me off guard. I hemmed and hawed while I tried to form a logical thought (unsuccessfully) and then I started babbling about Ben Casey (Vince Edwards in a “gritty realistic hospital drama featuring a manly Dr. Casey against the medical establishment”). What can I say, I had a crush on Vince Edwards when I was 10 and I never got over it.
He laughed and said, “I think House filled that niche.”
I responded that I didn’t mean he should remake Ben Casey or imitate House but I could see him play a character like that. I told him that he should find a character that is flawed but passionate and intense. Someone that inside is basically a good guy but far from prefect (okay, I am describing House). I said that very few actors can project as much passion and intensity with just their eyes as he could.
Scott responded with a gracious smile as he said, “Thank you, I appreciate that. So, no evil guys and no scoundrels.”
I went on to mention that I had seen Scott Cohen in an old NYPD Blue episode (which I think he did before he did GG) and he played a dirty cop but I could never get past thinking why the heck is Max acting like that?
I told Scott that I didn’t mean that he always has to play a character like Luke but he needs to honor that character since it will always be identified with him. That’s not saying that he is type cast. I brought up Sean Connery. I mean, I still identify him with James Bond but look at all of the roles he has played since then.
Scott responded, “So Luke will always be with me”. He didn’t seem upset about it. It was more like he was processing it as a fact.
He is very intense and dedicated to his work. (Yes, I know I am jumping around a bit but I am trying to cover everything.). Earlier in the conversation I asked him what motivated him to become an actor after his baseball career was over. I mentioned that I had read some place that he originally moved to LA to be a writer or director.
Scott quickly corrected me. He said he definitely intended to be an actor when he moved to LA (around 10 years ago). In fact, he had been an actor for some time in NY where he had begun his studies. He said after he gave up his ball career he went to Europe for a year (he didn’t expand on it). Anyway when he came back to the US, he decided to try acting. There was a girl involved in the decision. He was dating an actress and got hooked by running lines with her. No he didn’t tell me her name.
He said acting was kind of a natural draw for him. Both his mother and one of his sisters had acted and he stated that his family was always very literary. He admitted that in high school he wrote plays.
I asked him if he thought his plays were any good, He answered proudly that they were performed (I took that to mean that someone thought they were good.)
I asked him if he was still writing and he said no. He went on to explain that when he does something, he gives his all and now he is acting. He stated that, “I break my butt to give the best performance I can every single time.”
Scott explained that he had seen a lot an actors as talented as or even more talented than him give up before they made it. He said his biggest asset is his tenacity, he never gave up. He admitted that he had a handicap to overcome because he started acting late but he was determined and still is. He talked about how tough it is to go to audition after audition and never hear anything. He said the worse was to go to an audition and be told they loved you and would be talking with your agent. Then waiting for days to hear something only to have your agent call to say they changed their minds and went a different direction. That type of uncertainty and stress breaks a lot of talented people before they get a chance. I could tell he takes pride in the fact that he didn’t break.
He mentioned that it is not uncommon for him to put in around 70 hours a week on the set plus he does have his own production company to run. I didn’t get the name of his company but apparently everyone in Hollywood has a production company.
I did ask him to explain what a production company does. I kind of had an idea but I wasn’t sure. He said it finds properties (ideas) for movies or TV shows and pitches them to companies like WB Studios. If the studio likes the idea then the production company works to get the project financed and filmed. He explained that even a studio like Warner Bros only films about 15 movies a year so with so many production companies competing, it is tough.
At one point we discuss the change in the pace of the Gilmore Girls this season. I made the comment that maybe once this crappy story line is gone that the pace of the show will be more like before.
Scott’s response was immediate. He said that we (all of the fans) might as well get accustomed to the slower pace because it is here to stay. He stated that the pace the actors were forced to follow in the previous 6 years almost killed them. That Amy made them to perform EVERY SCENE over and over about 20 takes. He said that if a scene had 10 pages of dialogue that the all actors said word perfect except that one of them said “uh” instead of “oh”, they had to redo the entire scene.
He went on to explain that not only was it physically exhausting but it worn them down mentally. He said that you can’t imagine what it does to an actor to shoot the same scene over and over until you feel that you really nailed it only to be told to shoot it again. No explanations, no praise, no comments to indicate what they wanted from the actors other that doing it over and over again.
My take on this was that Amy pushed really hard and was not very forthcoming with praise.
He didn’t say anything overtly negative about Amy but my impression is that he is not sad that she is gone. I also surmised that Amy’s strict regime may be one of the reasons that Alexis does not want an eight year. She is just too tired of not having a life.
Well I think that is just about everything. It was after 2:30 PM when Cat (the intern) returned. Scott saw her and asked, “They need me?” She answered yes. Then he asked, “Makeup?” Again the answer was yes but I got the distinct impression that he hates makeup from his tone and body language.
Anyway, he walked me to my vehicle, told me he had a good time, and wished me well. He gave me a friendly hug which I immediately reciprocated (hey, if you had a chance to get your arms around Scott, would you hesitate?) Remembering what Lauren had said in an interview I took the opportunity to run my hands up and down it his back (seriously, this was my one shot and I was making the most of it). Lauren is right, his back is amazing.
I also accidentally brushed my cheek against the stubble of his beard during the hug. Well, maybe not so accidentally but at least I did not place my hands any place inappropriate (and of course I would never ever think of doing that!) His beard was much softer than I expected.
He then opened the car door for me (he is a gentleman) and helped me in (his hands are soft but strong). I couldn’t believe it was over, but I had to leave. He was really great and I will never forget it.
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I still can't wrap my mind around it 
running her hands down his back??? oy... 
It's weird because everyday Tuesday i'm like yay I can't wait for the next new... promo? But of course i'm excited for the episode too 
I just really want to see what's next.
SP and his back.
