By Karen Davidson and facilitated by Deb Craig

When we requested an interview, Allison graciously agreed.  Questions were submitted to her; then she wrote her responses and sent them back.   No changes have been made to her responses.

How did you end up directing an episode of SouthLAnd?

My manager Ragna Nervik knew about “Southland” and suggested me to Andrew Stern in John Wells office.  Andrew and I met and we really got along great.  Then I met with Chris Chulack, and he and I had such a great meeting talking about Los Angeles, and the neighborhoods and the life here that is often portrayed on TV and in movies really wrong.    Southland gets it RIGHT.  I also loved how Chris described the way the production is run and how it shoots.  There is a brilliant philosophy behind the style of Southland, and this is what gives us fans that feeling of being right there with the characters.  It’s the way I also shoot my movies.   In fact, I’ve even said, Chris is even more of a querrilla filmmaker than me!  I knew I was going to learn a lot from him.

So I was over-joyed when they offered me an episode.   Believe it or not I was actually supposed to direct Episode 7 of the first season of Southland on NBC!  But as all you Southies know, there was no episode 7 of the first season!  They were canceled before I could direct my episode which Cheo had written, which would have been awesome. (Cheo and I are homies, we met online from being mutual admirers — haa haa:  I loved “Notorious” and he loved “Mi Vida Loca”.  We finally met in person on Southland!)

As disappointing as it was when the show was canceled, I was so happy to be offered an episode again for season 3, and to finally get my Southland break!  And I absolutely loved Jonathan’s script for “Sideways”.  It was so perfect for me.

 How easy or difficult is it to step in and direct a show you’ve never worked on before?

Tommy (Dewey) and I were talking about how awkward it can be doing guest work on a show that’s already rolling.  Southland was NOT one of those experiences!!  Chris and John Wells and all the writers value directors and their point of view, which is not always the case in TV. 

 Had you watched SouthLAnd before you directed?

Absolutely — HUGE FAN!  ”Southland” and “Mad Men” are my two favorite shows on TV!  Totally different shows stylistically, and yet they both have such a strong point of view and are so emotionally rich.  (I watch a LOT of TV.)

Was SouthLAnd’s on-location and fast-paced shooting style easy for you to work with?

Shooting on location was awesome, and it’s how I often shoot my own films myself, preferring real locations to sets. Southland has an incredible locations team.  I was in heaven going into real LA hoods, a few of them were new to me, and I REALLY KNOW this city better than most people!  So to be shown a new neighborhood or two was a lovely surprise!  

Having said that I also loved shooting on (production designer) Maxine Shepard’s sets for the cops stations — she’s brilliant.  Every little detail on every desk and everything on the walls is just perfectly real.  And even when she dresses a location, there is just enough real detail that makes you feel like you’re THERE.  I loved working with her.  Funny, the night Southland aired, there were 2 other TV shows aired with African American men in hospital beds!  And each of their hospital room sets were so overdone.  It made me appreciate so much that in “Sideways”, there was only all the REAL detail needed, not a bunch of flowers and balloons and dressing, just enough to be real, so the viewer could then focus on Regina and Malcolm and Lydia’s story.  Striped down.  And yet — what a beautiful location, the light, the traffic down below outside the windows. Jimmy Muro was so happy shooting there!

 Why did you want to direct SouthLAnd?

I love the realism and vibe of the show, love the beautiful writing, love the amazing cast, and I knew I was going to be able to both bring something to it, and take a lot away from my experience.   

I read that this was your first car chase and it was great.  How did you approach the filming of the chase?

Thank you, I wason top of the world that day!  (Yes we did that all in ONE DAY!) Well, I made no bones about it to Chris and Jonathan and Jimmy, everyone — “I have never done a car chase, I have no idea how to do this!”   I was nervous and excited about getting that opportunity.  Luckily, and Chris told me not to fret, “we have a great team”.  

Southland has a fabulous stunt coordinator Pee Wee (Richard Piemont) who really taught me how to break a car chase down into sections, which made it so much easier for me to wrap my head around it.  We sometimes forget when we’re making movies or shooting TV shows that we are basically gathering the material during production to tell our story, we’re not shooting the story whole!  It’s all pieces for assembly.  It’s like if you’re making a dress or a craft, or cooking a great dish — you’re sketching out your idea and gathering your materials before you begin making it. Production is exhilarating, but really you are not making the actual film or show during this time, you’re getting your material.  

So when you break down a car chase into beats it makes it so much easier to plot it out, to organize it, to wrap your head around it.  So I ended up writing it down for myself like this:  1. On Cahuenga: Chickie gets out of the car, tells the suspect to stop.  She chases him on foot, Dewey follows in the car. 2. Alley off Cahuenga to Cosmo:  Chickie chases suspect down the alley, Dewey pulls down alley.  Suspect jumps in accomplice’s car.  3.  Cosmo to Selma: Chickie gets in car with Dewey in pursuit…etc;

It takes a lot of people working together to pull off a good car chase.  My first AD Warren Gray and producer Jon Pare and location manager Mike Haro and I got in the van and drove the streets Mike proposed for the chase. Along with Pee Wee, we also needed the expertise of the great guys in transportation, and the LAPD traffic control officer who can shut down traffic, during certain times, for often less than 2 minutes at a time.  We needed this to be able to shoot the chase down Selma Ave which is in a pretty dense part of Hollywood.  So we found the best dips in the blocks to get a little lift and bounce on the cars as they sped over them, we’d only have a minute to stop traffic for our chase.   Remember that amazing scene in Chris’s opening episode of the season, when Ben and Cooper are trying to stop the sniper down Hollywood Blvd?  That was all done in 90 second pieces — incredible!

I was particularly happy with our car chase route because it meant that the chase would ended with the iconic Capitol Records Building in the shot.  DP Jimmy Muro teased me that it was all about the Capitol Records Building for me!  HA!  But, he was partly right, and I knew Chris and Jonathan would like it too because that location is so LA.  The Capitol Records Building is one of the few iconic landmarks to survive, because anyone who knows this city and loves it, is often heartbroken by landmarks being mowed down and discarded and demolished.  That landmark means a lot to anyone who really knows Los Angeles and Hollywood.  It’s a part of our lives, and definitely a part of the lives of Southland’s characters.

So it was matter of really putting my trust in the hands of people who knew how to do it, and maintain a point of view and keeping the emotional beats at the front of the stunt, while allowing the team to do what they do best.  And I guess for some directors that may feel like they’re not ‘directing’ but I learned that from one of the greats — Martin Scorsese, who was a producer of one of my movies (“Grace Of My Heart”) and a mentor to me. He taught me:  hire the best and let them do their best.

What was it like working with the cast and crew of SouthLAnd?

Well I’ve been talking a lot about the great crew, so let me just give my love now to the cast.  You can rest assured that the Southland cast is 100% worthy of your admiration.  I love actors, I am very much an actors director because I am so empathetic to how vulnerable they are required to be in order to tell the story.  So I am always touched to the core by how much they give.  But I don’t think I have ever worked with a group of actors so completely dedicated to their show and to their characters.   They are all completely different in their approach to their craft, but each one is entirely dedicated.  These actors are any director’s dream cast!  And all such good people.  There was no ego stuff, no neurotic stuff, no one with their head in the wrong place. They care about the WORK, the scene, getting the best.  And if something wasn’t working they were the first to point it out, so we could adjust to make it the best it could be.  They all get along with each other too!  You’d be surprised how often THAT is not the case.  

What knowledge and/or memories did you take from this experience?

Well because you have such pros on this show, hearing their stories — other films and TV they’d worked on before,  was such a treat for me.  I also loved working with the LAPD consultant Chic Daniels — what a godsend, and what an incredible life of experiences to draw from.  And my god — that stunt team!   Jeannie Epper, the stunt lady playing the woman who is hit and killed by Dewey and Chickie in the car chase, is a legend.  She’s worked under the direction of some of the greatest directors in the world, and has done every genre of film.  She’s done everything from “Kill Bill 2″ all the way back to “Cheyenne Autumn” (under the direction of the great John Ford!).   What an incredible opportunity it was for me!

Is there anyone who has influenced your career?

A lot of people, but I have people had 2 mentors; directors Wim Wenders and Martin Scorsese.  And now after Southland I have a third Chris Chulack!

Do you have a favorite project that you’ve worked on?

Not really, my films are all my babies.  But I definitely have to say that this was my favorite work I’ve done on any TV show, it feels as precious to me as my own films.  I’m very proud of it.

Is there a certain genre you like to work with? You’ve directed a lot of documentaries.

Actually I haven’t made any docs (well one on Joni Mitchell was started but never finished).  Most of my work has been done in indie features.   I love doing character driven work with great detail.  So of course, I was well suited to Southland!  I also think I’d be well-suited to Mad Men, don’t you?  :)

What project are you currently working on?

I’m presently working on a film “Strutter” which is the last film in a trilogy about LA music scenes that I’ve co-directed with Kurt Voss. We made our first film in the trilogy at UCLA film school in 1986 “Border Radio” (which is my only film lucky enough to be on DVD in the exquisite Criterion Collection.)  Our second film in the trilogy “Sugar Town” was made in 1998.  We’re shooting “Strutter” now, it’s about a love triangle amongst young LA musicians inspired by the Brit Pop romance of Brett ‘Suede’, Justine ‘Elastica’, and Damon ‘Blur’.  We raised our financing through crowd-funding on Kickstarter.  I’ll include a link here so you can read more about it.  http://larecord.com/interviews/2011/02/15/allison-anders-and-kurt-voss-be-a-wonder-in-yourself

Anything else you would like to add?

Southland is so lucky to have such great fans, and thank you for making me feel as welcome as the cast and crew did!

Allison has a public page on Facebook (Allison Anders).  Or you can follow her on Twitter at @MsAllisonAnders.

For on-the-set photos by Allison Anders http://www.southlandforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=347&p=2772#p2772

Photo Credit: TNT (Greg Williams)

I have had a number of people ask me

Where are the original interviews from SouthlandTvfans.com this season?

This is, actually, a very excellent question! The answer, however, is not quite so simple. It never is, is it?

There are a few reasons for our current lack of original interviews on the site for Season 3:

• The actors have been INSANELY busy recently, not just with a crazy filming schedule (5 episodes “in the can” since October 28th), but also doing all sorts of “official” promotions for TNT. As a Fan site, we normally rely on the good will of the actors to give us their time, which they usually do.
• With all the publicity surrounding the premiere of the season, I figured there is already a lot of promotion out there, so I have been content to wait – after all, there is still 10 weeks of episodes to come!
• There are a TON of interviews out there right now, because it IS premiere time. If we do interviews now, I’m afraid we’d just get lost in the mix. Why not wait until later, when the buzz has died down a bit, so we stand out a bit more? We’ll get more attention here on the site, and maybe rekindle the fires some after the big buzz from the premiere has died down and keep attention focused on the show!
• Once filming has finished (they only have 5 episodes left to shoot, with episode 6 starting today), the actors will mostly have more time available. Sure, some will be moving on to other projects, but I’m playing the odds.

Have no fear, though – we WILL have more SouthlandTvFans.com original interviews! In fact, we already have some scheduled – not just with cast members, but also with some of the crew, to give you some unique, behind the scenes perspectives not seen on other sites! Just be a little more patient and you will be amazed and impressed, as always!

This is the next in our series of videos from our visit to the set of Southland on December 17th, an interview with Michael Cudlitz who plays Officer John Cooper. We get a bit off track towards the end, but I left it in anyway because it gets a bit funny - you’ll see when you watch. You’ll also notice what I’ve observed in the past about interviews with Michael. He is very animated and boisterous, an extremely lively and fun interviewee.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E_8x_pS5jw

Still to come - Michael and Regina together, Regina Part 2 and Chic Daniels!

Due to the limitations of video lengths on YouTube, as well as my desire not to give away too much in the way of spoilers for the upcoming Season 3 of SouthLAnd, there are 2 small sections of the interview in this video that have been “redacted” - sorry folks! Ben got to talking when one of the other media reps asked some questions she shouldn’t have and gave away more than was appropriate for general consumption at this stage, so you’ll just have to wait for the episodes to air!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFTl4rhz8Wg

If you haven’t already done so, don’t forget to check out yesterday’s video interview with Regina King, and the picture gallery from the visit!

More to come - probably tomorrow!

Regina was amazingly gracious and friendly, although she had to have been under immense pressure. In fact, all 3 of them - Regina, Ben McKenzie and Michael Cudlitz, plus technical adviser Chic Daniels - were very pleasant and wonderful with us the whole time. It was their last day of filming for 2010, they had a very long day ahead of them still, after a very early start, the weather was horrible outside, and yet they all still treated us like old friends there for a chat instead of website reporters there to pick their brains. They know, as does TNT, that the fans are the ones that helped save this show not once, but twice. They know who they are making the show for and they appreciate it.

So on with the video interview!

The initial question got cut off, because we had just sat down from greeting Regina and shaking her hand, when the guy from one of the other media outlets jumped right into his first question before I could start the camera! His question as something along the lines of “How valuable is it to have the real, off-duty LAPD Detectives on set with you working as extras?”

If you have trouble viewing the video as it is embedded here in it’s HD format, try viewing it directly on YouTube here. You can also download this and our other videos in a variety of formats for your mobile phone, iPod, AppleTV, etc., from our YouTube Channel.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gw4HjivBHM

Importing, processing and editing each of these videos takes a LONG time - this 7 minute clip took approximately 2+ hours alone, so please be patient with me! I will try to get one done per day until all 5 remaining videos are done. The remaining videos will be:

Part 3: Ben McKenzie

Part 4: Michael Cudlitz

Part 5: Michael Cudlitz & Regina King

Part 6: Regina King Redux

Part 7: Chic Daniels Weapons Discussion (part video, part written description - the battery died on the camera!)

While I don’t have the time to get a full and detailed writeup of the day online just yet, I know you would want to see at least something to start things off.

So, I’ve started by uploading the still photos from our visit to a new Gallery here on the site, along with a short description of our activities of the day. (Warning – the photos are all Hi Def! If you have a slow internet connection, trying to view the ORIGINAL sizes may take a LONG TIME!!!) Over the coming week I will be editing & posting videos online through our YouTube Channel for your viewing pleasure – in full HD, of course!

So what exactly did we do, yesterday?We started with a tour of the two detective squad rooms at the LA Center Studios, which is the only permanent home of Southland since most of the shooting is done on location throughout Los Angeles. Most of this is documented in the still photos in the Gallery. Yes, it was very exciting to see the offices and desks of Lydia, Josie/Russell, Sammy, Nate, Sal and the rest of the gang.

We (along with the other media groups there) then met in the Homicide Detective’s Conference Room where we got to interview Regina King, Ben McKenzie, Michael Cudlitz, then Michael and Regina together, and for good measure a bit more time with Regina alone.

Next we spent some time watching an actual scene from Episode 3×05 being shot in the Gang Squad Room with Ben and Michael – that was fun!

Finally, we went to the Gang Conference Room where Technical Adviser and retired LAPD officer Chic Daniels spent a while giving us a demonstration of the various weapons and tools that the cast use and wear on the show (which are mostly the exact same weapons and items that the REAL LAPD officers use!), before several people, including Chris, got to fire a real Taser at a dummy.

It was an incredibly fun day and the people at TNT were the greatest. Much thanks to Cassie and Diane at TNT Public Relations for being our hosts and setting up this visit for us. Huge thanks to Michael, Ben and Regina for taking the time in an incredibly busy last-day-of-the-year of shooting to talk with us. Special thanks to Chic Daniels for giving us a great lesson on the tools of the LAPD and why SouthLAnd is so incredibly realistic and authentic.

Please check back, watch our Tweets or subscribe to our YouTube Channel – videos of the interviews will be up as soon as I can get them prepared (and edited for spoilers!) over the next week. Until then, please enjoy the pictures!

Last week I had the privilege of speaking with SouthLAnd‘s own Arija Bareikis (pronounced Ar-ee-yuh), Officer Chickie Brown. It almost seemed as if the interview as doomed to failure, as the original interview was plagued with a bad phone line that canceled the interview on Wednesday after 3 failed attempts to start the call. Thankfully Arija was very gracious with her time and rescheduled for the next day.

Graciousness is the overall theme of this interview – in fact, the entire 30+ minute that I spent speaking with this wonderful lady. Soft spoken, intelligent, laughter always just under the surface – often bursting through – this was one interview that was more like a conversation between friends than an an interview between celebrity and fan. For that, I will be eternal grateful to Arija. While words on the page cannot convey the same tone of voice and emotions and the spoken word can, hopefully fans will get a sense of that conversation from what is written here.

Arija Bareikis as Officer Chickie Brown

SouthlandTvFans.com [STF]
At the very beginning of the show Chickie had aspirations for being in the SWAT team. Do we have any idea if that’s still something that she wants to do?

Arija Bareikis [AB]
I think so and I hope so. That was the story line I was really excited about. That and surfing. So I hope so. we’ll see what happens if we’re lucky enough to get the opportunity to keep the story going. I think it would be really exciting to see somebody come back from a place that seems less than excellent to more than excellent.

[STF]
We notice that all of the other characters, of the 8 main ensemble characters, we seem to have gotten some peek into their private lives, but we haven’t really seen anything of Chickie’s.

[AB]
Well, you did see a scene, I think just one scene with my son. So Chickie has a son who is probably about 13 and she’s a single mom, as far as we know. I’ve come up with an elaborate back story that works for me, but I don’t know what’s going to happen and I’m so excited to find out.

[STF]
We’re all feeling pretty confident, and I know we got the ratings numbers for this week and it stayed pretty consistent with last week.

[AB]
Oh, we did, I’m so happy to hear that. I had no idea.

[STF]
I haven’t seen the exact numbers myself yet, because I was so busy yesterday, but I understand they were pretty consistent about 2.3 million.

[AB]
All right.

[STF]
We’re happy with it, and I know the DVR numbers are coming out consistent increase about 40% above live.

[AB]
Isn’t it so funny now, there’s all these different ways that things have to be looked at that are not the way they were done before. It’s so amazing, isn’t it?

[STF]
Well I know the fans are confident, I’m confident.

[AB]
Awesome.

[STF]
I think TNT is going to be happy and I think the critics are so enthused about the show.

[AB]
I’ve got to say we are so blessed, I think we really are blessed. This whole project has been a real roller coaster. We’ve had everything going for us on paper. We’ve ended up being, we thought we were this big machine and suddenly we’ve become this little engine that could. It would be so wonderful if we could crest the top of the hill and coast into the sunset, that would be a wonderful thing.

[STF]
It certainly would. Everyone said Mad Men couldn’t do it either and look what happened to them.

[AB]
I’ve got to say, I’m not an enormous TV watcher, although I do watch because of the business I’m in, and I love Mad Men. I think it’s just such a wonderful show. I’m so happy it’s around.

[STF]
People keep comparing Southland to Mad Men, I’m more than happy.

[AB]
Wow. I didn’t know about that, that’s quite an honor.

[STF]
I’ve heard people comparing it critic wise, and what could happen wise, I’ve heard people compare the two shows.

[AB]
Wow, that’s a beautiful things. Oh my gosh, you’ve just made my day.

[STF]
Why do you think Chickie waited so long to turn Dewey in?

[AB]
I think it’s a real struggle with any intimate relationship where there’s alcoholism or addiction. You love a person, you forgive them for their faults in the best case scenario and you, you know, he’s a wonderful guy. He’s an excellent police officer and he’s kind of an over achiever. He’s an over achiever at being an alcoholic. I did a lot of ride alongs before we started shooting and some after, actually, with cops in LA. One thing I really became aware of, and I’ve done ride alongs before, and this time it was really clear to me. that car is so intimate and stuff kind of just comes out. You’re in a care with someone for a long time. It’s very intense and it’s peppered with these very intense exits from the vehicle and stuff comes up. You share these things. People are complicated, their not just bad or good.

I also think there may be, in my own work on Chickie and this story, I tried to come up with some ideas in my mind, some daydreams about what Chickie’s life was like before Dewey and before being a cop and why she is a cop, and I think there are some reasons why a person would become. Why a person wouldn’t immediately tell an alcoholic that they need to face the music and imagine that they can get it together on their own. Or maybe together. I guess maybe at the end of the day it gets to the point where in the classic AA vernacular people hit a bottom and that’s where they really get turned around. Sometimes they get turned around because people confront them and sometimes they get turned around because they are forced to confront their issues themselves. Usually a combination of both. I hope that answers your questions.

[STF]
Oh, absolutely. That was fantastic. Now that she has turned him in, we’re seeing a lot of side effects from the other police officers on the force, like getting assigned to “The Slug”.

[AB]
Yeah.

[STF]
Do you think that’s more to do with the fact that she delayed, or do you think it’s resentment that she turned him in period?

[AB]
I think it’s resentment for turning him in.

[STF]
Good old boys club?

[AB]
Yeah, for sure. I also think that the only person who really uses that delayed thing as an excuse is John Cooper, because it works for him.

[STF]
Because of his own issues?

[AB]
Possibly. THat’s my own idea, but I think it works for him. It’s convenient. He’s such an interesting character and I think Michael plays him so beautifully. He’s very complicated and has such beautiful dichotomies. So I think that that delay thing works for him when it works for him. But as far as getting put with the slug, it’s punishment. I think getting put in the kit room, it’s punishment. I don’t think it’s because she’s a bad cop, I think it’s partly because she got caught up in the personal element of that Dewey relationship and it was complicated. There’s being loyal to your partner, then there’s being loyal to the commitments you make as a police officer and I think it’s complicated. Ultimately that’s what the shows about. Ultimately, if you’re a good cop, you do your job first. I think, on an emotional level, I think that it’s possible that getting caught up in the emotional component of the stress of having an alcoholic partner could make you distracted from using your better judgment well, especially if there’s a personal element, a personal history there that could make that so. You know, I think some people say you’re always attracted in life to the people with whom you could always work out your stuff, and you either do or you don’t. And if you do, then both people become better people and they grow and learn. If you don’t then you just fight and stay the same and get more embedded in being the same.

[STF]
That makes sense. Looking at the characters at Dewey and Chickie, they obviously have been characters for a very long time. It’s almost like a codependent relationship in a way.

[AB]
Oh, totally. Totally and completely. You know, he’s a great guy. Actually, Tommy Howell [C. Thomas Howell] is an unbelievable guy, a fantastic actor. he was such a pleasure to work with. I think actually really brought a lot to that character. But you know, he’s so lovable and charismatic and a good cop. But he’s a terrible addict. That disease really can permeate everything. Obviously if you’re drinking in the morning on the job, staying up all night and drinking, then trying to go to work in the morning as a police officer, that’s not going to work.

[STF]
In the episode where Cooper and Ben went to visit him in rehab and told them how much he had been drinking.

[AB]
Yeah, kind of shocking, right?

[STF]
I’ve known some alcoholics in my time, and that’s a lot of alcohol!

[AB]
And it’s amazing how some people can hide it, and some people can hide it better than others and some people just don’t care. I live on a very historically alcoholic street in New York and it’s just amazing the different types of alcoholics and addicts there are. Some are just totally functional and some aren’t. But, you know, at the end of the day if you’re an addict, it’s what you’re really committed to. And you can’t really be committed to anything else. I think there are different ways of handling that. I don’t think personally that AA is the only way to go, but thank God it’s around, it’s such and extraordinary institution and I’ve seen it save many people, people that I’ve known and loved. It’s pretty amazing.

[STF]
Yeah, I’ve seen the affect on people in my own life.

[AB]
Wild isn’t it. Really wild.

[STF]
One of the fans sent me a question on Twitter.

Friday I got a chance to chat with Shawn Hatosy, SouthLAnd‘s Detective Sammy Bryant, about SouthLAnd and this week’s episode What Makes Sammy Run? that focuses on his character. It was an enjoyable time me talking with him, which hopefully carries over in text here for you the fans, as his passion for the show and the character was clearly evident in every word that he spoke.

Shawn Hatosy as Det. Sammy Bryant

SouthlandTvFans.com [STF]
Thanks for doing this, I really appreciate it. I know the fans are really going to love it.

Shawn Hatosy [SH]
Well thanks for the support.

[STF]
You did get to see your birthday greetings?

[SH]
I did, yeah, I saw them. I did. On your site, there?

[STF]
Yes.

[SH]
Yeah, that was awesome, and unexpected. I think my father pointed me to it and I it was unexpected and it made me feel great, so thanks.

[STF]
The fans had a great time doing it and you and Michael started a tradition there.

[SH]
Well good. Well, we have the same birthday, which is unique.

[STF]
It’s kind of unique to have two actors in the same show with the same birthday like that.

Your father is great. You have an amazing champion there, especially on Facebook.

[SH]
Yeah. I think that my father’s enthusiasm for the show, as well as the fans’, it speaks to what a wonderful show it is. For me, it’s really the first time I’ve had the experience of working on something, while also at the same time I’m a fan of the show. I really enjoy everything about it, even the episodes I’m not in. I watch it like you guys and I’m so curious to see what’s going to happen next. It’s quality television and and I’m excited to be a party of it.

[STF]
I think that’s pretty evident to everybody watching the show.

[SH]
Yeah and it really is a unique experience because I think all of us feel that way. We’re sort of in it together and we really care for it. We’re protective of this thing. No matter what happens, even if it’s just these 13 episodes, I’ll always to these last 18 months as a very special time in my life. You know, fingers crossed, I hope we do more.

[STF]
We’ve got a pretty strong feeling about it. We feel pretty positively about it.

[SH]
That’s good. You know, I don’t think we’d be where we are if it wasn’t for the fans. I really don’t. I know that people say that you guys are responsible, but I really think what people are saying on Facebook and Twitter and the Cudlitz Army, all that stuff it really has had an effect on TNT’s decision. I hope it continues, I really do.

[STF]

Well, we all have our fingers, crossed.

So, What Makes Sammy Run? That’s quite a title.

[SH]
(laughing) You know, one of things that drew me to the pilot episode of SouthLAnd, or to the character of Sammy Bryant, was his relationship with Janilla in the first episode and sort of how he was able to, you know, get a phone call from Tammy that was just crazy and then in the next breathe sit down with these three witnesses and did “the dance” and was able to do his job. Did his job with compassion and did his job well. So anyways, for “What Makes Sammy Run” there’s another character that was created, this young boy Casper, that is sort of on the fence on whether or not he’s going to be involved in this gang lifestyle. Sammy sort of makes it a priority to try to help this kid. As Sammy is very emotional, I guess he takes it personally and makes it sort of his mission. This episode sort of explores all the different things that can happen in a situation like that. Cheo [Hodari Coker], who wrote the script, it’s just a great script. It’s one of the reasons that I was so excited to be a part of the show. It’s a very dynamic episodes.

[STF]
We saw Casper on this weeks episode.

[SH]
Yes.

[STF]
I loved the fake arrest scene.

[SH]
He was actually in episode 2, as well, but they did some shifting so one of the scenes got cut. He [Jonathan Castellanos] was a great actor and a cool young kid.

[STF]
Overall, as things have really changed for Sammy in S2 over S1 with the appearance of Gil Puente, Laz Alonso, and your involvement in the new Task Force, would you say that’s put a strain on your relationship with Nate as your partner?

[SH]
I would say so. I think what the writers are doing is giving us some cool stuff. I mean, from my understanding of things, this sort of partner juggling goes on all the time. They’re spending so much time together as partners, it’s like you’re being cheated on. Laz Alonso is coming in and creating this love triangle if you will. And he’s a terrific actor, man. We’re just lucky to pull the talent that we’re getting. That’s evident in the scenes, especially in this evident this episode coming up it sort of comes to a climax.

Yeah, it’s tough man. Tough from Sammy’s point of view because he’s sort of the odd man out and that’s never a good feeling. As an actor I don’t really know where they’re going either, so it can also be a bit of a thorn in your side, too. Obviously I’m pretty comfortable in my position on SouthLAnd, but it’s just kind of like “Whoa! Where are we going here?” But it creates drama and tension, and you know, also from Lydia’s perspective I know that the fans seem a bit confused about what happened to her partner. But you know that shit happens all the time. All of the sudden her partner is injured, she gets another guy, and then there’s another guy. It’s kind of like this tumultuous thing.

[STF]
I think what confused the fans and viewers about that, was not so much the partner change and that Rene Cordero was gone and Ray Suarez was there, but that the writers didn’t mention it at all or give an explanation. As in, “oh, you’re my new guy”, it as just all the sudden he was there.

[SH]
Well, shit happens. Also, we didn’t know that we were going to get canceled. Not that has anything to do with it, but we only have a couple of episodes left, but there isn’t a lot of explanations for many things. Why we’re only half way through a season and it’s effectively the last episode, and possibly for the series. There was no opportunity to go back in and say, you know, this is how this stuff ends. It’s just kind of life.

[STF]
I don’t know if you know, I talked to Kevin Alejandro yesterday, too.

[SH]
No, I didn’t know.

[STF]
Yeah, he had some very complimentary things to say about you.

[SH]
He better! (laughing)

[STF]
He said you guys have a very good working relationship.

[SH]
We do, we do. You know, it’s just fun working with him. You guys get to see it a little more with Ben & John, because that’s been kind of the focus, but we have that stuff going on with us too. It’s just only whatever a 40 minute show and you can only get to so much. Yeah man, he’s a great actor.

[STF]
We get the feeling that things were headed in the direction of focusing more on you two when the show got canceled.

[SH]
Yeah, I know. It’s like the first season, we only got 7. Every time we get full steam ahead, there’s a hiccup, but that’s television.

[STF]
You will get more chances!

[SH]
Alright, well, I hope so. (laughing) I hope so. I like this show, and I like LA. The people are great.

[STF]
Now Sammy’s also have a lot of tension at home with Tammy.

[SH]
Yes, that can be frustrating.

[STF]
Of course, they’ve always had a bit of tension, but it seems to be getting worse, now.

[SH]
It’s hard for me not to just say “What the fuck is wrong with her?” I can say fuck, right? We’re on the internet? (laughing)

[STF]
Yes, that’s just fine. (laughing)

[SH]
I can also, looking at that relationship from an outsider’s point of view, I’ve definitely seen dysfunctional relationships. While it’s easy from an outsider’s point of view to say “God, why doesn’t he just end that,” when you’re in one of those relationships its dysfunction is what makes you live, you know. It’s almost the same as an addictive relationship with a drug or something to that effect. It’s poisonous, but addiction by it’s very nature is hard to break the habit. I wish I could say I haven’t been in those relationships, because I have and I have experienced them. It’s so hard (laugh). You look at it from the poor guy’s perspective, it’s like “She’s crazy, she’s crazy, she’s crazy.” Well there’s something there that keeps in him in it. While it’s very easy to point the finger and say Tammy needs help, what really needs to happen is that Sammy needs to look inside himself and see why he continues in those patterns.

[STF]
When you look at them though, from the fan perspective, look at them, yes it looks like she’s crazy and everything but you can also see they’re in love.

[SH]
They are. They are. It’s almost like what is it that makes it. Where is it coming from? What do they give to each other, what do they bring to each other?

[STF]
It’s a great dynamic to see and it’s obvious that Emily Bergl, she’s an amazing actress. Playing that kind of crazy character cannot be an easy task for her.

[SH]
No. No, no, no. I think she takes a lot of heat, too, because of the things that she does to this kind of likable guy, but yes she is terrific. She’s one of those that can take a scene and paint it many different colors. Often times not what I initially envisioned when reading the scripts. She’ll bring this different dynamic to it. Yeah, she’s terrific.

[STF]
Now with the tension at work with Gil and the tension at home with Tammy, do you think the two are related at all? Or do you think it’s just that they’re both there and kind of bouncing off each other?

[SH]
Yeah, I think that one thing has, that’s the one quality of Sammy that I was always drawn to was his ability to separate the things.

[STF]
Compartmentalizing?

Surprise!

This morning I was privileged to spend a few moments speaking on the phone with Kevin Alejandro, who plays Detective Nate Moretta on SouthLAnd. Kevin was doing a series of interviews on a “Press Junket” to promote next week’s episode of the show, What Makes Sammy Run?, and TNT graciously scheduled me in to an available slot. So here, on behalf of all you fans of the show, is the interview.

Kevin Alejandro as Detective Nate Moretta

SouthlandTvFans.com [STF]
Thank you for taking the time to talk with me this morning. I know your schedule is crazy busy.

Kevin Alejandro [KA]
No, thank you you. I appreciate what you and the fans are doing for the show.

[STF]
So Nate and Sammy have always had a great chemistry, but with Season 2 we are seeing a bit of a change up with their roles now.

[KA]
Yeah, Shawn and I have always worked well together. I love working with him. This season is definitely different for the characters, but without giving away anything, things are coming around, coming full circle. This next episode things really come together.

[STF]
You mean What makes Sammy Run? – we got to see a sneak preview on the TNT site and it definitely looks powerful.

[KA]
Yeah, man. I got to see it last week and it’s definitely one of the best episodes so far.

[STF]
And with Laz Alonso’s character Gil Puentes, he brings a whole different dynamic to the situation, too.

[KA]
Yes, he’s just great. He brings something totally new to the show, something we haven’t had before. He really shakes things up and keeps it real.

[STF]
Well, the fans really love you two as partners, I know that. I mean, I know that Cooper and Sherman get a lot of attention as the patrol officers, and of course Lydia, who doesn’t love Regina King. But when it comes to chemistry, you two really seem to have such a great chemistry together all the time, it’s been so much fun to see more of you two interacting this season.

[KA]
We haven’t had much chance to explore them in the past, so it’s great that we are seeing more of that now. It’s opened up a lot more of their characters in the story lines.

[STF]
We’re starting see a lot more into Nate’s personal life this season, now, too. I mean, we started to see some of it at the end of season 1, but we’re really getting to see a lot more this season.

[KA]
A lot more, yeah. Again, I can’t say too much without giving away stuff I shouldn’t, but we’ll see a lot more coming up. It gets very personal for me.

[STF]
Well, we’ve already seen that his daughter is involved with the gang that he’s investigating, and we know from the preview of next week that she is involved in some sort of dramatic event.

[KA]
Like I said, it gets very personal and involved. It’s a very complicated situation for him.

[STF]
It seems that way. We saw that a couple of weeks ago when he took his baby from the older daughter and said “Give me MY daughter”.

[KA]
Yeah, it’s a trust issue. He feels betrayed by her. Things have been troubled for so long, he wants things to be simple again and not so complicated.

[STF]
That’s what we love about the show and Ann Biderman’s writing. It really makes you think, not just watch. You really get involved.

[KA]
Yes, she does such an amazing job with the show. It’s so involved and complex, really amazing.

[STF]
So are you ready to get back to work on new episodes if TNT renews the show?

[KA]
I am so ready. I can’t wait. We are all on pins and needles here waiting for some good news, hoping we can get back to work on it.

[STF]
I hear you have a new movie coming out this year?

[KA]
Yes, it’s called The Legend of Hell’s Gate. It’s about the Possum Kingdom Lake area of Texas and how it got the name of Hell’s Gate. I play an ex-confederate soldier who creates his own group of bounty hunters. I got to shoot guns, ride horses all over the place, it was a lot of fun.

[STF]
And you got to work with Summer Glau, too?

[KA]
Yeah, Summer Glau and a whole bunch of other amazing actors. The movie was also written and directed by a friend of mine, Tanner Beard, so the whole project was a blast.

[STF]
It sounds like a great movie, I can’t wait to see it.

So is there anything you’d like to say to the fans before we wrap things up?

[KA]
Just thank you for all the amazing things that you’ve done. You give an hour of your life to us every week, do so much to support the show, and we really appreciate it.

[STF]
Thank you so much for your time, Kevin, I really appreciate it and I know the fans will, too.

[KA]
Thank you, Bob.

By Bob Parker
Interview conducted February 1, 2010
Posted on March 5, 2010

Michael McGrady as Detective Daniel "Sal" Salinger

Last month I was privileged to spend quite a bit of time on the phone speaking with Michael McGrady, who plays Detective Daniel “Sal” Salinger on SouthLAnd. While it took a while to get this interview written up for the website, I think all you fans will be as pleased with the results as I was talking with him.

SouthLAndTvFans.com (STF)
Thanks for talking with me, I know you’re extremely busy right now. I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me today.

Michael McGrady (MM)
It’s my pleasure. Anything I can do to get the word out that there’s a great show on TNT called SouthLAnd. I don’t think it’s any secret that as a cast, and as a group, that we’re just as much behind the show as the fans are. We think we’ve got a real winner on our hands here. I’m not just saying that because I’m in the show, because I’ve been in a few shows and some films and you know, you get excited about them but certainly not like you do a project like this. Because all the elements are there, the people behind the camera, the people in front of the camera are the best at what they do, and to be apart of the mix of an ensemble cast with this level of talent is a very rare and unique opportunity. So anything I can do, of course, to promote the show… I’m all for it. Thank you so much for having me.

STF
Not a problem, I appreciate it. It’s great for all of us to get a chance to hear from the individual stars from the show. Not many shows have given us access to the individual stars the way y’all have given us access. It’s a very rare opportunity and we very much appreciate it

MM
It’s my pleasure.

STF
So, the first question is, you obviously play “Sal” Salinger on the show, and as we go through the season and watch the show, it quickly becomes obvious that Sal is a character that is quite a bit more complex than he first appears.

MM
Yeah, I agree with that. You know, it’s funny. By the way my first name in the show is Daniel, but they call me “Sal” because it’s short for Salinger. (laughing) It’s so interesting, because I don’t think we ever really refer to it. Everybody calls him Sal including my wife, and of course my mistress as well.

When I first took the part and read the script I was very intrigued by this character because I saw a lot of potential for complexity, and then of course once having been cast in the role I spoke with Ann Biderman, the creator. We had quite a few conversations about Salinger and how his role was going to evolve. I was very excited about it because you know, typically the “boss job” on most shows, you show up every once in a while and you hand out a couple of assignments and that’s the end of it.

But I knew that this was going to be an opportunity for me to really bite my teeth into a character that was going to be an integral part of the show. I have the daughter, and of course we met the wife in the last show of the first season, and then there’s the mistress. In addition to all of that I’ve got all the gang detectives and the ensuing story lines as well. So I knew there were going to be the possibility of story lines in all those different directions and that’s exactly what has played out. And we’ll see that even more in the new episodes that start coming out March 2nd. It’s everything I thought it was going to be and more. So I’m very excited about it and very glad to be a part of the show with the role of Salinger.

STF
Well, you just answered my second question, which was going to be what’s it like playing him. (both laughing)

MM
Well, you know, for me it’s like, you’ve seen a lot of detectives in a lot of offices on TV and film and they’re fairly straightforward and maybe even bordering on cliché. I think that’s one of things that makes this show so unique, is that none of us are doing any kind of cliché work on the show. We’re all making very interesting, very unique choices with our characters, given the parameters we’re given by Ann Biderman and our creative writing staff and our producers. So, that being said you know, we’re able to create a flavor in the show, if you will, that is not cliché, not typical, not predictable, and so far as my role is concerned, that’s what I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve wanted to bring something unique and something different.

One thing that Ann and I spoke about was that Salinger on the job is in absolute control of everything, and that’s where he is most comfortable, most confident and of course, most respected. He’s got rank; he’s a D3, which is a supervising detective. He’s got many years on the job. Been there, done that. Everything the young guys are doing like Sammy and Nate, I’ve done it seven times over. I like that.

Then you take that to the home front and it’s an entirely different story. Where he does not get the respect at home. He’s dealing with those father issues. He’s dealing with a marriage he’s unhappy in. I have my own back-story on that, but you know he’s got this affair going on with the news reporter. That’s just a whole ‘nother added layer to his personality and his make-up. I just think all those different elements are what make this role, for me, so exciting and so challenging and so rich.

STF
That’s very apparent. I love the scene in Two Gangs, where after crashing your car into the light pole and you go home, you do the drill with your daughter where “there’s someone at the door, what do you do?” and she’s like “big deal, I’m trying to sleep”. He’s trying to emphasize the importance of “I’m a cop and this is your life, it’s what could happen to you” and she couldn’t care less.

MM
You know, it’s funny there’s such a balance. You know, we have a tendency, because we like this TV action stuff, with Ben and Cooper and that’s a huge part of our show in fact that work seems to be a popular part of our show, that exciting bang-bang, shoot ‘em up, get the bad guy and stuff. You’ve got some pretty funny lines as well.

Well we knew the detective story lines weren’t going to include a lot of that stuff, especially not in the first season. We weren’t going to do a lot of bang-bang shoot ‘em up. Contrary to how they were portraying Cooper and Ben’s character in the beginning, which is basically their professional life on the job, although we reveal little bits and pieces of Ben’s story and more of Cooper’s back-story and whatnot in subsequent episodes, we predominantly delve right into the personal lives of the detectives, with Sammy & Tammy and Sal and his personal world. So we knew there was going to be a challenge juxtaposing the very exciting and I’d say popular action scenes with the cops with the more mundane, every day world of the personal lives of the detectives. But how do you do that, how do you make that balance so that people are as intrigued by the back story of personal life issues as they are by the action scenes the police officers are doing

That was one of the things I talked with Ann about. I said, you know I made the mistake of assuming that some of the stuff I was doing with the daughter was trivial by comparison and rather mundane. But in reality it’s… reality. It’s very real. I’ve got to know some D3 Homicide detectives who have become personal friends of mine. Dewaine Fields – who I’ve worked with very closely in terms of research for my role, have spent a substantial amount of time together, and in fact have become good friends and just talking about life and what it’s like being a D3. He says that what I depict and what I do in the personal life is very honest, it’s very genuine. Although he tells me that detectives do a lot more interesting and exciting things than what we portray on the show.

I know as a father – I have 2 teenage girls and a son, I have to say that raising two 2 teenage girls in Los Angeles who like to drive their cars out to the clubs and who sometimes have to go out in those unsafe areas, causes me concern, at times it keeps me up at night. I’ve told them, please, call me as soon as you get in or let me know you are home because I just want to know you are safe. The stuff with Kimmy? That is kind of my life. In the show I’m a cop and I’m a supervisory detective and I’ve seen where you don’t have to be mixed up in gangs to get hurt in LA. There are innocent shootings all the time. People just wander into the wrong areas at the wrong time and they get hurt or killed. This is something that these police officers deal with all the time, they have kids and they’re very concerned about them. They spend the whole day out there in the jungle, the Wild, Wild West if you will and then they have to come home and act like everything is OK. And like any parent, they are concerned about their kids, but I think even more so.

STF
For what it’s worth, you know obviously I spend a lot of time on Twitter talking with the fans and communicating with people through the website. It’s that realism and getting to know the detectives as people rather than the action, which has actually drawn in a lot of fans from what I’ve seen. The action is good, and that’s brought in some people, but there’s a lot of fans who’ve seen the show and seen the realism, and appreciate the fact that it’s not just a cop show with guns and car chases and stuff, they appreciate seeing the real side of a detective and what’s going on outside of the job.

MM
I think that, first of all, I’m very happy to hear that. I think people have a tendency to tune into these shows under the assumption that there’s going to be a lot of action and we knew our show wasn’t predominantly that. Like you were saying, we are going to delve into the real life drama of these characters. That is real life.

You know, we kind of have a tendency to naively assume that police officers for the most part, with the exception of maybe a couple of bad apples we might read about in the newspaper here and there are like choir boys or boy scouts, when the truth of the matter is, that’s not real life. Nor are their lives simple, and organized, or even law abiding. Some of their kids are in jail, some of their kids are on drugs, and some of them have been in trouble with the law themselves. They deal with the same issues that you and I or anyone else deals with when it comes to family and personal issues. They have a badge and a gun, and that’s what they need for the job and everybody respects that, but on the home front you’re just “dad”. Or you’re the husband. You just can’t pull rank at home.

STF
A question from one of the fans: Do you think Salinger is really a bad boy, or is he just someone who has made some really bad judgment calls over time as circumstances have overcome him?

MM
It’s interesting because as an actor you flesh a character out. The creator gives you the bare bones then you have to bring your own back-story, your own thing to it. One thing I spoke with Ann about was that my take on Salinger is that he really loves police work, he loves being in the field, he got married and started a family and. he wanted more, he wanted more than just living in the Valley somewhere in a basic 3-bedroom rambler home. He and his wife wanted to live out in Santa Clarita where some of the bigger homes and safer neighborhoods were. So he took the detective job in hopes that the added income would provide him with a better lifestyle. Once he did that and committed himself financially to that, I think he just sort of took the path of least resistance and went from a D1 to a D2 to a D3.

But in reality I think he’s bored, and he’s at his wit’s end sometimes. I think he’d much rather be out in the field working on cases. I think that’s why you find him spending time trying to find out what his daughter’s up to on the Internet and why he has time to have a mistress. I think he’s a blue collar individual at his core and would much rather be out in the field rather than be in the office shuffling papers. I think he’s a good leader and he’s a good mentor to the young detectives, but if he had his opportunity to turn back the clock, he might have gone the route of a cooper possibly. I really think it’s not so much that he’s a bad boy; I think he’s just bored. When you get to that place where there’s no excitement, no drama in your life, you just create it.

STF
Without giving away too much of Season 2 spoilers, how do you see the relationship between Sal and his daughter Kimmy progressing as time goes by?

MM
Let’s just say I think things are going to get worse before they get better and leave it at that.

STF
This one was asked by quite a few people, actually. In the lead up to the launch of SouthLAnd on TNT we saw a lot of promotions that featured Michael Cudlitz, Regina King and Ben McKenzie, but we didn’t see any of the reset of the cast like you, Shawn or Kevin. Was that something that was a marketing decision on the part of TNT or was it simply a scheduling conflict on your parts that kept you from being available while they were doing the promotion shoots?

MM
I don’t presume to know why certain decisions are made at the adult table, if you will. They had their reasons for doing what they do. When we were originally brought onto this project we were told time and time again repeatedly that it was an ensemble cast and we would treat it as such. Then once we made the move over to TNT, yeah there was definitely much more emphasis on Regina, Michael and Ben. Which is fine, you know, I hold no grudges on that. I think that at the end of the day Regina and Ben especially have a following. Regina is a highly respected film actress and that comes with a lot of credibility and as does Ben with the success of The OC and the high profile movie projects he’s done recently. I think the two of them have been bringing in a fan base. I think the first two episodes really focus on those two characters as well. I think that’s probably the reason why marketing did it that way. It makes sense; you’ve got to put the money where the money’s being spent, too.

STF
Given the opportunity, though, if you could shoot behind the scenes, or in depth character shoots like they did for their characters, to put up on the website, or maybe more promos for the new episodes starting March 2nd, you’d definitely jump at the chance to do it, then?

MM
Oh, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. I was involved in another project at a network, called Daybreak, about 3 years ago and it was an ensemble cast as well, with some really tremendously talented people, But they decided to focus on the lead character in that show, Again, it was a marketing decision. I think sometimes the networks, in my opinion, miss the mark with that kind of thinking and approach. I think that they’re selling the audience on something, on one particular star or a couple of characters, then when the fans tune in thinking that this is a show about those particular people and then suddenly there’s a bunch of other regular characters on the show as well. You know what I mean? The world of the show’s much bigger and more populated than what’s originally depicted.

Some of the movies these days? That whole star power draw is kind of coming to a close. The big stars don’t pull in the big dollars like they used to. Now days it’s not enough to have a name, people want a story and they want a good film, they want something that’s entertaining and fulfilling and satisfying, regardless of who the star is, and I think the networks need to discover and cater to that a little more. If you look at some of the more famous ensemble shows like ER, Friends, CSI, shows that have ensemble casts in them, or even more recent ones like Heroes, they didn’t select one particular star or name and promote the show on that. They sold the show as an ensemble show. So people correctly presumed, OK, these are the people in this “world”, I have to buy into these people, and they’re in this world whether I like them or not and I’ve got to somehow just accept that. What I think happens then is that people are open to receiving all the different characters, all the different story lines, realizing that this is the show, let me get on board 100% as opposed to dissecting the show… I don’t like this character, or that story line. Then what your really asking for is a different show and you’re only enjoying perhaps 10 minutes out of the show and jettisoning the other 20, and that’s crazy. I think the fans of our show are settling in with all the different characters and attendant story lines.

STF
And Ann Biderman and Chris Chulack did such an amazing job putting this show together, if you take any one character out, the whole thing just falls apart.

MM
Right and that’s always the sign of good composition. The composition of even a piece of artwork, if you remove anything it upsets the balance of the whole. Yes you’re absolutely right. For instance, Shawn, Kevin, Arija and Tom Everett Scott are all tremendous actors, I mean extremely talented with solid credentials, they’ve got great resumes and there’s a reason for that, because they are great actors and very interesting performers to watch. They make great choices and unique choices, each one of them has brought a compelling mix of ingredients to the show and I think that needs to be respected. I love what all the actors bring to our show.

STF
Michael Cudlitz said numerous times now that he’s pretty confident TNT will order new episodes, as have several other people. Do you have any gut feelings on that?