Open Letter to the Cast of The Office
Congratulations. You are on a hit show. Your faces are on the cover of Entertainment Weekly (special collector's issue no less). People are quoting your lines. Everywhere you go people tell you they love you. You get invited to A-parties. Free flat screens. The first new Prius off the line. iPhones. You are currently "America's Guests."
But with sweeping success come a number of traps. You seem like a wonderful cast, lovely folks, and my guess is you know and intend to avoid most of this stuff already...but it never hurts to have a reminder. And I offer these selfishly. I love your show. I don't want to see anything screw it up.
Enjoy every single minute of being on a hit series. Never take it for granted. Not for one second. Yet always remember: these people who love you? They love you in context. They love the character, not you. And to that end...
Do not quit the show to launch your big-time movie career. You are not the next Will Ferrell despite what the CAA agent trying to poach you says. Jenna, do not fall for these standard agent statements. "I can get you in a room with Spielberg." "I can get you in a room with Scorsese," and their typical closer: "I can get you in a room with the Pope".
Supporting cast members: do not quit the show to star in your own vehicle. You will forever be more popular in this supporting role than you will starring in your own cancelled-after-three-episodes series. The TV landscape is littered with Joeys and Bob Pattersons and Hello Larrys.
Do not count lines. EVER. Do not complain that so-and-so has more to do than you. Be happy you're there. Not to discount your talent but there by the grace of God you're on The Office and not Caveman.
Don't hold up the studio or producers for gigantic raises. It's disruptive and these days you could find yourself out on your ear. You could fill Madison Square Garden with former Law & Order cast members. The show will go on without you...or even all of you.
If you do features during your hiatuses never treat The Office as just an imposition. ALWAYS put it first. It is the reason you have movies, it is the reason you're not working in a real office.
DON'T PHONE IT IN.
You've been given a huge gift. Appreciate it. Yeah, after awhile it might seem old hat still playing the same character week after week, but it's your job to make it seem fresh. And having to find a way to make your character interesting in episode 200 should be your biggest worry in life.
Just know this: the crew NEVER phones it in. The writers NEVER phone it in. And speaking of writers -- I know this is a gray area because some writers are also in the cast and there is some ad-libbing -- but never think you can write the show better than the writers. You may come up with a great line or bit but that's very different from sitting down at your computer and staring at the tyranny of the blank screen. Show them respect. They don't get the magazine covers and glory. James Lipton will never host Inside the Writer's Studio.
Be on time. Don't make 100 people wait for you just because you can. Not every phone call has to be taken right now. And you can hold your water for two more minutes until the director gets the take. (Actors pee more than any human being on earth.) You may be saying, "We don't do any of that," and if so, great! But as the years go by this bad behavior may begin to creep in. Don't let it. You can approve tile samples later.
Awards are evil. They destroy cast unity, they cause resentment, jealousy, and disharmony. Don't hate your former best friend just because he/she won an Emmy and all you have is a shitty People's Choice Award.
And finally: You will probably be identified the rest of your life with this show. Don't shy away from that. Embrace it. I'm not saying you can't go on to do many great things in exciting new directions but today, this minute, you're on a Superbowl winning team. Wear the ring proudly. So very few ever get one.
Have another undefeated season!
You can read more from Ken at kenlevine.blogspot.com.
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You are right Mr. Levine. Some don't realize that success is a double edge sword. It's rewarding and can be delusional at the same time. Chevy Chase, Arsenio Hall and countless others learned that.
Sitcom cast members sometimes ignore the reality that "sitcom" stands for situation comedy and the popularity is earned by the ensemble, writers, producers, directors, crew, etc. The popularity of the most popular cast members is based on individual and collective talent. The latter arises from the chemistry in the cast. Take a popular member out of that cast and into another one, there is no guarantee the same or similar chemistry will arise.
Dear Office,
Try being funny.
Love,
JJ
johnnyjust, I thought you were justplainwrong about everything political. Now I find out you'rejustplainwrong about humor too.
OFF TOPIC
Open Letter to the writer of Grey's Anatomy:
Please spare us the d'Izzy/George relationship!
or
if you're going to put the two most irritating characters together, balance it by putting the two strongest characters together. A Christina/Callie relationship would be HOT! They should both be hatin' men quite a bit right now and they could really be interesting together working out their sh!t -- even if it's just a flirt with the idea sotryline
Hear, hear!
Lovin' it! Too true. This season on Atlantis(Sci-Fi Channel) sees Amanda Tapping continuing as her character Colonel Samantha Carter (from Stargate 1). It's wonderful to watch a woman portray someone in charge who displays great competence & compassion. Big fun! However, an exception may be William Shatner. Also, big fun!
Beautifully stated! This should all be quite obvious to actors, but I guess it all goes to their heads with the dream of big screen stardom. It happens to soap opera actors as well as they try to move to prime time. They are lucky to be welcomed back to their shows (I'm sure some aren't) when it is quickly found that audiences preferred them as Nurse So and So.
I love your writing and look foward to your posts.
...and, finally, remember the lessons of Kelsey Grammar who left one of greatest comedies on TV, "Cheers", to star in that abject failure called "Frasier".
Or of Julia Louis-Dreyfus who left that legendary SNL cast to star in the ill-fated "Seinfeld" AND the miserable "New Adventures of Old Christine".
Let us not forget how Ester Rolle threw away her chance for immortality when she turned her back on "Maude" to star in "Good Times" or how Robert Guillame could have cemented his actorial immortality in "Soap", but instead opted for the less successful "Benson". It might have been better had they remained maids and butlers.
Finally, take pity on the actor Steve Carell, who had a good thing playing a reporter on that hit "The Daily Show" but chucked it all away only to star in one movie flop after another, from "Over the Hedge" to "Little Miss Sunshine" to "The 40-Year Old Virgin" only to land in that hellhole that pretends to be a comedy, "The Office".
Let that be a lesson to you all.
See Steven Weber's Profile
What he said!
(Steve "Wings" Weber)
BUT those are the exceptions, not the rule.
Hundreds of sit coms and you can only name a half dozen that made it on their own?
The odds are greatly against you.
Besides, several of those people did not LEAVE the show, but rather continued on from AFTER the show ended.
Frasier was AFTER Cheers, He did NOT LEAVE Cheers to start that show.
Julia did not LEAVE SNL, her contract was up and she moved on, not quite the same thing and besides her latest attempt really is miserable. Just terrible.
Steve Carrel did not have a great thing playing an occasional fake reporter on The Daily Show. He was not a star nor was his character in any way shape or form necessary for The Daily Show to continue. The only person who counts is Jon and everyone else is an occasional bit player. None of them are daily participants in any of the shows.
The only person who did a spin off in your little diatribe was Esther and she was a very strong character as was her husband.
So indeed the odds are against you.
As for Steven. You are a great writer and I love watching your work, but I don't remember, did you leave Wings for other pastures or did you move on AFTER the show was over?
So Ken is right on target.
Like he said there are tons of people who were convinced they were stars and lookee what happened.
So ONE example of someone leaving an ongoing hit and making it big is hardly reason for hundreds if not thousands of actors to leave a successful show because their heads and entourages have gotten huge or as stated, some agent is whipering sweet nothings in their ear.
oh, Steven, don't tease us with 3 words.
you should be posting a couple of times a week.
I'd love to hear your take on the new fall shows.
for instance, how do you feel about "Pushing Daisies"
do you watch "Dexter"
I know a lot of people on HuffPost are annoyed that some of us enjoy the Entertainment section and we still watch some TV, but play along with us, Drones that we are, apparently.
Well, at least no one from THE OFFICE is going to pop up on BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
:wink from a BAS fan:
Oh for God's sake, Steven, with YOUR writing talent... that minimalist post is the best you can do?!? :-)
Personally, I would love to see you try your hand at creating a TV show, yourself! Of course, knowing nothing (my primary talent!), you probably have already wallpapered your guest bathroom with rejection letters related to just such a project (or two)...
(Eh, so what! Back on the horse, with ya, now! I always suggest: same script, different title page, new pitch recipient. Less work for mother, you see...)
Gee, I wonder which of those irritants have crawled up YOUR butt from time to time. Maybe...
"Do not count lines. EVER. Do not complain that so-and-so has more to do than you."
or
"You may come up with a great line or bit but that's very different from sitting down at your computer and staring at the tyranny of the blank screen."
Nah, never mind.
i think all actors should copy/print ken's column and paste it on their bathroom mirror so they can reflect on it during their many pee breaks. it should become tattered in their hands as they remove it and repaste it on various mirrors as they go through their respective careers.
i, myself, must confess to only watching and enjoying the original "office" on DVD from the devilishly clever minds of ricky gervais and stephen merchant.
while i have enjoyed carrell and especially rainn wilson in other endeavors i just couldn't bear the thought of having the original version tampered with. "new" people in the same roles - i just haven't been ready...though i assume that eventually i will watch it on DVD. just not now.
I recently rewatched the first few episodes, and it's clear they didn't really strike the right balance until somewhere in the middle of that first season.
Steve Carrell has been amazing -- this US version wouldn't work nearly as well if his character was a complete A-hole. He provides him with just enough humanity and occassional decency to make it work, in spite of Michael's numerous flaws.
I've come to enjoy ALL of the characters on this fine show.
Geez, Ken. Calm down.
Loved Cheers, btw.
I like the Office, too. Especially Jenna Fischer. I've watched it from the beginning. For the past few months, though, I've felt the show is really losing its edge, it's becoming too predictable.
One thing I HATE about the show is the blatant commercials inserted into the show. The never-ending mention of Chrysler model names and options.
One show had Staples as a sponsor, and it seemed like half the show was devoted to talking about a stupid paper shredder and mentioning Staples. For these reasons, I decided I would not buy DVDs of the show. Why would I pay to watch commercials? Still, it's one of the better shows on TV, right now.
"I like the Office, too. Especially Jenna Fischer. I've watched it from the beginning. For the past few months, though, I've felt the show is really losing its edge, it's becoming too predictable."
That's why the brilliant BBC original version that has spawned a host of pale imitations did the right thing and dropped the curtain after just 12 episodes and a 2 part Christmas special. There's only so much comedy gold that can be mined from the typical office environment.
There's only so much comedy gold that can be mined from the typical office environment.
That's right, so they better start writing the cast out to their homes and apartments, like the "Mary Tyler Moore Show" did, then they can play around some more.
I'm a big fan of The Office, but I'll be hornswoggled (and if you've ever swoggled a horn...) if I can think of a quotable quote. Indeed, one of the appeals of the show is that the dialog is so realistic, it doesn't seem written. So catch phrases would be rare.
Yeppers.
WHERE ARE THE TURTLES!?!
"and if you've ever swoggled a horn"
That's what SHE said...
DWIGHT: "Question:___________ ?"
Great lesson.
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