This was a fun season of this show. I know I enjoyed it-
especially the musical episode. I have been watching Grey's Anatomy since the
first season, so I am a long-time fan. I am a sucker for every medical show,
though. I grew up watching Medical Center and Marcus Welby MD, then later
watched St. Elsewhere, General Hospital, Chicago Hope and ER. Grey's Anatomy is
a great medical show as well as a great soap opera. It's gone through a lot of
changes through the years, but it's still a fantastic show.
The DVD has a lot of features. The longest one is all about the musical episode.
I really enjoyed it. There is also an extended version of that episode. It's
awesome. There are the usual outtakes and deleted scenes that you will see on
most DVD's, and there are tons of them. There is also all of the webisodes,
which I also enjoyed. I never have time to watch TV online, and this was a
really cute little thing.
If you like this show, this is a great DVD to add to your collection. Frankly, I
can't imagine anyone who likes good TV drama that wouldn't like it. You don't
have to have watched the previous 6 seasons, either, to know what's going on or
who has slept with whom. They do a good job of catching you up.
On behalf of Walt Disney Studio's Home Entertainment, we now want to share
with you two brand new interactive quizzes for Grey's Anatomy: The
Complete Seventh Season, and Private Practice: The Complete Fourth Season,
available on DVD on September 13th!
* Six Degrees of Addison: How well do you know Dr. Addison
Montgomery?
* Do You Know Your (Grey's) Anatomy? Find out how much you know
about season seven!
Grey's Anatomy Widget
Walt Disney Studio's Home Entertainment has announced that nine
exciting ABC Studios Series, such as Grey's Anatomy, Cougar Town, Brothers
and Sisters, and more, will be available on DVD this fall! Each collectible
Complete Season DVD Set is packaged as a multi-disk set that includes every
episode in the season, as well as exciting bonus materials including
bloopers, outtakes, behind the scenes featurettes and more.
Check out the
press release announcement,
detailing each series release. You can watch the DVD's uninterrupted by
commercials, in the comfort of your own homes!
On behalf of Walt Disney Studio's Home Entertainment, we wanted
to share with you all-new DVD extras from Grey's Anatomy: The Complete Seventh
Season, and Private Practice: The Complete Fourth Season, which are available on
DVD TODAY September 13th! You can order copies at the ABC
Store Below
are the video clips:
Grey's Anatomy: The Complete Seventh Season:
Not In the Business of Hugs
Surprising Voices
Private Practice: The Complete Fourth Season:
Bloopers Clip
On behalf of Walt Disney Studio's Home Entertainment, we wanted to share with
you never-been-seen interviews with Grey's Anatomy's Chandra Wilson, Shonda
Rhimes and Sara Ramirez and Private Practice's Amy Brenneman, Taye Diggs and Tim
Daly! Grey's Anatomy: The Complete Seventh Season, and Private Practice: The
Complete Fourth Season, are available on DVD tomorrow, Sept. 13! You can
pre-order your copies at the ABC Store:
http://abctvstore.cafepress.com/abcstore
Grey's Anatomy:
AN INTERVIEW WITH CHANDRA WILSON FOR SEASON SEVEN OF GREY’S ANATOMY
For her critically acclaimed role of Dr. Miranda Bailey on Grey’s Anatomy,
Chandra Wilson earned a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress in a Drama
Series, as well as a Peoples' Choice Award and three NAACP Image Awards. With
the Season Seven DVD of the medical drama about to be released, we catch up with
the five-time Emmy nominee to find out about her experience on the show and to
discover what’s in store for fans this season…
Did you have any idea how successful Grey’s Anatomy would become when you
first signed up for the role of Dr. Miranda Bailey?
I had no idea how popular Grey’s Anatomy would become, but I’m extremely pleased
with its success. I didn’t have a lot of television experience when I got this
job, so I found it very difficult to visualize the show from the pilot’s script.
However, I’ve enjoyed every aspect of my work here. It’s been fun to act in and
direct such a successful show.
How many years did you think the show would run when you first signed up?
I had no idea the show would run for as long as it has, but we’ve been
blessed. When I joined the cast of Grey’s Anatomy, I signed a contract for
something like six years, but that’s just a formality with television shows.
Normally, you do the pilot and that’s probably it; not everything gets green
lit. Not everything goes past a pilot. Even when we were building momentum and
doing well in the early days, we could only dream of getting as far as seven
seasons – but to know we’re going forward into Season Eight is the icing on the
cake. It’s amazing.
Do you think Season Eight would be a natural time to wrap the show?
No way. I think something like Season Sixteen would be much better. The
characters are still growing on Grey’s Anatomy and there are a lot more stories
to tell. We’re still kicking along and I think there’s a lot more life in the
show yet.
How do you keep the audience interested in the show?
I think the fans stick with us because they really enjoy the characters. They
are heavily invested in these people and they want to see where they’re going.
Of course, they love the Meredith/Derek relationship – but they also really care
about everybody else in the show too. It’s like a soap opera in the way that
fans tune into see these characters every week, so we just try to keep doing the
same thing we’ve always done, especially as actors. We try to give people
classic Grey’s Anatomy every week, and that’s why everyone has stayed with us.
Do you see yourself on the show until the very end?
Sure. Why not? Even though we’ve done seven seasons, time flies when you’re
working on a show like this, so why not ride the ride? It’s a great gig and I
have never got to the point where I feel like I have done everything possible
with my character. I’m not at that place by a long shot, which is one of the
reasons why I’m still having such fun on Grey’s Anatomy.
How has Grey's Anatomy changed since Season One?
We run things smoother around here now and the show is a little slicker than
it was in the beginning because we were finding our feet back them. We all
looked much dirtier on the show in the first season. We barely wore any makeup
and everybody was running around the place, so there was a lot of sweat going
on. Slowly, over the seasons, they’ve prettied us up.
What surprised you the most when you saw the very first episode of the show?
I was really excited the first time I saw the pilot episode. I thought the
acting was superb and the drama was fantastic, but I was surprised to discover
the huge part that music had on the show. The music drives the story and it
helps to keep the show current. It still does that today.
How is Season Seven different to the previous seasons of the show?
Each season, the visual concept is a little different. Our visual concept in
Season Seven is a little bit darker, so the lighting is darker and that helps
you zero in on the characters. The background is a bit more muted too. The
audience might not pick up on subtle things like that, but it makes Season Seven
look very different in my eyes.
Will Bailey find true love on Grey’s Anatomy in Season Seven?
I’m sure Bailey will open up to exploring romance again soon, but she has to
regroup at the start of Season Seven. She’s been through a traumatic experience
with the shootings at the end of Season Six, so she has to stop everything and
collect her thoughts, which is why she just wants to be a doctor for a while.
That’s her coping mechanism.
You have directed a number of episodes of Grey’s Anatomy. Does it get easier
to direct over time?
Each time I direct, I get more and more anxious. I don’t think I sat down once
the last time I directed! I kept thinking, ‘If I'm on my feet then things will
go like I want them to go.’ It takes an incredible amount of planning to direct
an episode and you feel like you’re steering the ship, but it’s an amazing
opportunity to be given and I’m extremely appreciative of that. I’ve had a blast
directing. And being both an actor and director means that I have an
appreciation for time, too. If I can get a wrap in 12 hours instead of 14 so
that people can go home and have dinner with their families, I will.
Which is easier: directing or acting?
It is always a relief to get back to acting after directing an episode. I always
think to myself, ‘Great… All I have to do today is be Bailey and yell at
somebody.’ However, I love the challenge of directing and I can definitely
appreciate how much responsibility directing carries. It’s not something you do
lightly. You feel the weight of responsibility. You don’t have a choice but to
succeed.
Do you find it easy to unwind after working such long hours on set?
To be honest, we are pretty good at leaving the show behind us when we go
home. We are out of here when they say, ‘That’s a wrap.’ The only time I still
feel anxiety is when I’m directing – but I still get home at the end of the day.
Do you see doctors in a different light after working on a medical drama for
all these years?
Definitely. I think doctors have such a tough job. As a patient, you walk in
with your symptoms and you think that your doctor will immediately know what’s
wrong with you. You also think that they will immediately know what they can do
to make you better. However, that’s not the case. They have to run these
symptoms through a catalog of information to figure out everything. They don’t
always know everything off the top of their head. Of course, doctors can make
assumptions – but patients expect them to know right off the bat. I now
understand that, more than anything, a doctor’s job is a work in progress. They
are human beings and they have to go back and research absolutely everything.
It’s a fascinating occupation, but I’m glad I only have to play it. I’m not sure
a doctor’s life is for me.
AN INTERVIEW WITH SHONDA RHIMES FOR SEASON SEVEN OF GREY’S ANATOMY
Shonda Rhimes is the creator and executive producer of ABC’s critically
acclaimed show Grey’s Anatomy. With the Season Seven DVD about to be released,
the talented television icon talks to us about her inspirations behind the
writing of the medical drama, and the emotional process that it often involves…
How would you describe the casting process for Grey’s Anatomy?
We have an amazing casting team on the show led by a fantastic casting
director named Linda Lowy. They work really hard to find interesting people.
Sometimes we’ll look at an actor because Linda finds somebody interesting that
she wants us to see. Or sometimes I’ll say to Linda, “I need a guy. He needs to
be this age and I think he’s going to be like this.” Linda will ask me what the
character’s story involves but I’ll say, “I can’t tell you anything because I
don’t know.” That's how we found Jesse Williams, who plays Dr. Jackson Avery on
the show. I said to Linda, “I need a guy, but I don’t know why.” And she then
told me, “I’ve found him.”
Does the casting process work in any other way?
Sometimes Linda will bring in a number of people to read for a role. Someone
might stand out who isn’t right for the role we’re casting – but we keep them in
mind for the future. Jessica Capshaw read for the role of Nurse Rose, which was
Derek Shepherd’s love interest in Season Four. Jessica wasn’t right for Nurse
Rose, but I knew she was somebody we could work with further down the line. When
we started to look for a love interest for Callie Torres, Jessica was perfect.
What do you look for in prospective actors during the casting process?
We’re constantly looking for people with a little spark. I think our entire
cast is full of actors with amazing, sparking, talented energies. They are all
people who are interesting to work with, and each one of them is very different.
One of the great things about working with Linda Lowy is that she knows exactly
what I’m thinking about during the casting process. Every time we cast a role,
Linda knows exactly how to find the right person.
What can you tell us about the new characters in Season Seven?
There are a number of new characters in Season Seven, and Rachael Taylor is
one of them. Rachael plays a character called Dr. Lucy Fields, and she turns up
at the hospital with an interest in maternal fetal medicine. There are three
doctors possibly having a baby this season, and she ends up helping Callie take
care of what’s going on with her pregnancy. Lucy also has some run-ins with Alex
Karev and has big issues with how he chooses to practice medicine. She’s a very
interesting character. I think she's a nice foil for what’s going on with our
other characters for the back half of the season.
How far in advance do you map out the season’s storylines?
Some of the stories are mapped out at the start of the season. For example,
I walked into Season Six saying that we were going to end the season with a
disgruntled patient shooting up the hospital. It seemed like a really great
idea, and I spent the entire season mapping it out.
How emotional do you get when you write scripts about shocking events, like
the shooting at the hospital at the end of Season Six?
It was surprisingly emotional to write the finale script for Season Six because
I didn’t realize how hard was it going to be to injure our characters and to
watch these events happen to them in such a brutal way. It was such a dark
subject, and I got really depressed when I sat down to start writing it. In
order to write that episode in a way that made sense to me, I had to put my head
in the mindset of the shooter, Gary Clark. That was the only way I could
understand why he would do what he did and where he was going. In a way, I had
to walk in his shoes during the writing process and that was seriously
depressing for me. I’d go to the writers’ room and I would cry. I would say,
“I’m not writing this anymore.” And the writers would say to me, “We can do it.
It’s going to be fine.” It took a long time to write that finale script.
What was the message you were trying to get across at the end of Season Six?
The whole point of that episode was to say that violence, or a gun, is not the
way to solve your problems. I feel like we put across the point that there’s
nothing glamorous about violence, but we really felt a responsibility to not
tell that story in a gratuitous way.
What did you think about the positive response from television critics to the
Season Six finale?
I felt really good about the way the finale episodes turned out. The episodes
made sense to me, and I felt like the emotional response was really strong. The
positive response of the audience was also very nice to hear.
Why did you decide to return to the subject of a shooting in Season Seven,
with the storyline of the student rampage at a nearby school?
I wanted our characters to come full circle and heal from the events of the
shooting at the end of Season Six. I felt like we worked really hard to honor
the experience of people who have PTSD [Post Traumatic Stress Disorder] who have
been in that environment.
Did you do any research into the subject matter before you wrote the script
for the shooting episode of Season Seven?
I did a lot of reading, and we talked to a lot of therapists about how the
episode would work. We wanted to close the circle to the storyline and we felt
like the best way to do that was to have our doctors help another group of
people go through a similar experience.
What other episodes stand out for you in Season Seven?
There is an interesting real-time episode in Season Seven. There is
something fascinating about the speed that doctors work, so we wanted to see
what an actual hour of a doctor's life was. I am really interested in the speed
in which they have to make decisions and how many patients they really see in an
hour. We joke that on our show a character like Callie Torres will see one
patient for the entire episode. In reality, she’s probably seeing 40 people that
day or that week. That’s why we thought, ‘Let’s tell a real-time one-hour story
and follow one of our doctors to see what happens to them over the course of the
hour.’
Will we see any old faces return to Seattle Grace in Season Seven?
Addison Montgomery returns to Grey’s Anatomy for the musical episode in
Season Seven, which is the 18th episode of the season.
How would you describe the musical episode?
I am really excited about the musical episode. We have been working on it since
the beginning of the season, and we knew Callie Torres was going to play a
pivotal role in the show – but we didn’t know what music to use for quite a
while.
What were your options?
We didn’t know if we were going to write new songs or find new songs, but then
Sara Ramirez [who plays Callie Torres] said, “Why don’t we sing the songs that
we’ve already made iconic on the show?” I thought it was a fantastic idea, and
everything clicked into place after that. Suddenly, we knew exactly what we were
going to do, so the songs that are sung on the episode are the songs we made
famous on Grey’s Anatomy. Our characters are the people singing the songs, and
actors like Sara have the most amazing voices I’ve ever heard in my life, so it
works really well. I can’t wait for everyone to see it.
AN INTERVIEW WITH SARA RAMIREZ FOR SEASON SEVEN OF GREY’S ANATOMY
Sara Ramirez has appeared on numerous television shows including NYPD Blue,
Third Watch and Spin City. However, after a stint in the smash-hit Broadway
show, Monty Python’s Spamalot, she signed up for Grey’s Anatomy – and she hasn’t
looked back since. The talented actress stars as Dr. Callie Torres in the
medical drama, and with the Season Seven DVD about to be released, she discusses
her thoughts on the show and her rather complicated character…
What’s happening with the relationship between Callie Torres and Arizona
Robbins [played by Jessica Capshaw] in Season Seven of Grey’s Anatomy?
Callie and Arizona find themselves in a very complex situation in Season
Seven, and there are many different ways to look at it. There’s the Arizona team
that think, ‘Arizona had every right to break up with Callie because Callie was
being horrible.’ And then you’ve got the Callie team who think, ‘Why did Arizona
break up with Callie? If she hadn't broken up with her, Callie wouldn’t have
slept with Mark Sloan [played by Eric Dane] and she wouldn’t have got pregnant
by him.’ There are so many different perspectives, but that’s what makes the
storyline dramatic and interesting. There are various sides to the story, and
the stakes are high for everyone.
How much fun are you having with Callie this Season?
Callie is very exciting to play because she’s in this very complex
situation. Today, families are made up of people that aren’t necessarily blood
related or even in a romantic relationship, and it’s interesting to play that on
the show. It’s very current. It’s very modern. It’s also interesting to play the
sexual fluidity that’s happening with Callie right now. It’s great. It's
dramatic. It’s complicated. I love it.
What do you think will happen to Callie and Arizona?
I don’t know what’s going to happen to them because the writers keep me
guessing, but I know they are going to have a very interesting journey. Callie
is having a child after wanting one for so long, but the viewers are split as to
where they want the story to go. There’s a lesbian community that roots for ‘Calzona’,
but then there are people that just don’t understand why anybody would stick
around when you’re ex-partner went off and got pregnant with somebody else. It’s
such a rich storyline and there are so many places we can go with it. Assuming
the baby is born and everything is fine with the child, I think it’s really
interesting to think about what could happen to these people, so I’m really
excited to play the story out. This storyline is making a lot of people talk,
and that’s a good thing. We’re creating civic dialogue on the show, which I
think is always helpful.
How has the show affected your life away from work?
I’ll let you into a secret: I’ve become a total hypochondriac since working on
Grey’s Anatomy. My mind continually gets over-run with possible illnesses. I go
to the doctor all the time if I think something is wrong, but that’s a positive
thing. I’m blessed that I have medical insurance that allows me to do that.
Have you had any bizarre hospital experience since you started work on Grey’s
Anatomy?
Let me tell you a funny story about the time I had to have some tests done
and [Grey’s Anatomy creator] Shonda Rhimes came along with me to the hospital. I
thought I had a problem with my small intestine and the doctors trying to figure
out what was wrong with me when Shonda realized there was an intern learning the
ropes during my consultation. I was completely clueless because I was in a lot
of pain, but Shonda was standing over them saying, “Is this guy training? No
way. He’s not training on our watch. He’s out of here.” She got him kicked out
and they had to bring in a different doctor!
Did it feel weird to be lying in hospital after working all day on the
hospital set of Grey’s Anatomy?
I guess it was a little strange, although it wasn’t as strange as the time I had
to fly over to the east coast every weekend to go to hospital. I went through a
tough time in my life a couple of years ago when a friend of mine was diagnosed
with liver cancer. He died within six weeks, and during that time I was shooting
in Los Angeles but flying over to New York to see him as much as I could. I
would be working in the ICU on the show and then I’d fly to New York and visit
him in a real ICU – and it felt like I was walking right back onto the set. I’d
take off my gloves at work in Los Angeles, but then put them on again for real
in New York.
That must have been a tough experience to go through…
It was extremely difficult to be on the set of Grey’s Anatomy after my
friend passed away. I was constantly reminded of the situation. However, I
discovered how up-to-date we were with the machines on the show because they
were exactly like the machines in the New York ICU. It took a long time to get
over it, but I’m feeling much better now. I can talk about it much easier now.
It’s good to remember him in this way.
Walt Disney Studio's Home Entertainment would like to share with you and your
readers, additional never-been-seen interviews with Grey's Anatomy's Chyler
Leigh, Jesse Williams and Kevin McKidd! Grey's Anatomy: The Complete Seventh
Season is now available on DVD.
AN INTERVIEW WITH CHYLER LEIGH FOR SEASON SEVEN OF GREY’S ANATOMY
Chyler Leigh stars as Lexie Grey – the half-sister of Meredith Grey – in ABC
show Grey’s Anatomy. With the Season Seven DVD now released, the former model
talks about her experiences on the long-running medical drama, and reveals her
thoughts on the change in tone for Season Seven…
How excited were you to be cast as Meredith Grey’s little sister in Grey’s
Anatomy?
I was hugely excited to join the cast of Grey’s Anatomy. It was a big role
to take on, but it’s been a fantastic experience. I jumped right into the drama
because my first scene saw my character hitting on Derek Shepherd [played by
Patrick Dempsey on the show]. I knew that would spell trouble for me because
people want to see Meredith and Derek together, so some of the audience became a
little angry at me – but thankfully they soon started to warm to my character.
How did it feel to walk onto the set for the first time?
I felt like the new kid in school in some ways. I joined the show during the
last two episodes of Season Three, and by then the show was already massive. I
was terrified because I didn’t know anyone and I didn’t even know who I was
playing until three days before my first scene. However, I was welcomed into the
family with open arms, which was wonderful. I was accepted and appreciated and
celebrated, and everybody was excited for me. The entire experience has been a
blast.
Why didn’t you know anything about your character until three days before you
started work on the show?
My journey to Grey’s Anatomy was very nontraditional. I sat down with [Grey’s
Anatomy creator] Shonda Rhimes and she told me that I was going to be a part of
the show, but they wouldn’t tell me anything about the role. They told me I
would find out that information closer to the time. It was Grey’s Anatomy so I
wasn’t going to say no to the job. I would have played whoever they wanted me
to! However, when they told me I was going to be playing Meredith Grey’s sister,
I had a huge smile on her face. I was over the moon.
The Season Six finale was extremely dramatic. How does Lexie deal with the
aftermath of the hospital shooting in Season Seven?
It is a very difficult time for Lexie at the start of Season Seven because she
struggles with a lot of guilt. The shooter from the Season Six finale was a
character called Gary Clark. He walked into the hospital and said, “I'm here to
kill three people.” Those three people were Derek Shepherd, the chief and my
character, so Lexie feels a lot of guilt that other people died when Gary was
looking for her.
What else happens to Lexie in Season Seven?
A few months later, a student goes on a shooting spree in a nearby college, and
that scrapes open a raw wound for Lexie. In fact, it opens up a raw wound for
everyone involved in the hospital shooting at the end of Season Six. Lexie has
an extremely difficult time handling the situation, but Mark Sloan [played by
Eric Dane] helps her through it. He holds Lexie’s hand and encourages her, which
causes her to say, “I love you.” It’s such a genuine and sincere scene, and I
think it’s a big realization for Lexie. She thinks to herself, ‘Through good and
bad, Mark is going to be there and he’s always going to push me to be better no
matter what.’ That’s a wonderful feeling for her.
How would you describe Lexie’s relationship with Mark Sloan?
It’s a rocky relationship, but that seems to be the formula for the show.
It’s a realistic relationship because you can't expect things to be perfect and
to work out exactly as planned. Mark and Lexie are in two different parts of
their lives and that becomes evident as Season Seven continues. She is
continuously slamming on the brakes because she is younger than he is. She is
also younger in her career. A lot happens to them this season, and something in
particular throws a wrench in the works – but I don’t want to give away any
spoilers to people who haven’t seen the episodes.
What can you tell us about the musical episode in Season Seven?
The musical episode is something very different for Grey’s Anatomy and
that’s what made it very exciting to work on. Even though it was a serious
storyline in the episode, we were all laughing because it was so different. I
was really keen to hear what everybody else sounded like because I love singing,
but I didn’t know if everyone else would be excited to show off their voices. I
couldn’t wait to see what this episode would look like on screen. There are some
amazing singers on the show, especially Sara Ramirez [who plays Callie Torres]
and Chandra Wilson [who plays Miranda Bailey]. Sara has one of the most
beautiful, striking voices I’ve ever heard.
Did you feel excited or nervous about singing in front of the cameras?
I was really excited about it, although it was difficult to imagine how it
was going to look and sound. At first I felt a little bit dubious – but I knew
that Shonda would make it work. When she explained the concept to us, she
mentioned that she didn’t think it would be like anything anyone had done
before. She was right about that. It’s great. I was really happy when I saw the
finished product.
Are there any other alternative or different episodes in Season Seven?
There is also a faux documentary-style episode in Season Seven where a film
crew comes to Seattle Grace to film the goings on. They interview the staff and
they video the interactions between the doctors and the patients, which is
really interesting to watch. I especially love what Justin Chambers [who plays
Alex Karev on the show] does with his character in that episode. You get to look
into why he behaves the way he does and why he acts so tough when in reality he
is extremely caring and soft. The audience gets a behind-the-scenes look at his
love for pediatric care, which is really fun.
Do you think Season Seven is more light-hearted than previous seasons of Grey’s
Anatomy?
Some episodes are light-hearted but there are many serious issues addressed this
season. Without giving away too much information about specific storylines,
there are a couple of episode which involve a lot of crying and that’s
definitely exhausting as an actor. There is no denying that getting past the
heavier, more dramatic episodes was a big relief to me – but Grey’s Anatomy
constantly challenges us all as actors and that’s part of the reason why we love
working on the show. We never know what’s coming up, so we’ve got no idea if
we’re going to be playing someone happy or sad or emotional. However, we
wouldn’t have it any other way. Getting this job has been a dream come true.
AN INTERVIEW WITH JESSE WILLIAMS FOR SEASON SEVEN OF GREY’S ANATOMY
Since 2009, when Jesse Williams first appeared on Grey’s Anatomy, television
viewers around the world have been bowled over by the scene-stealing charm of
the American actor. With the Season Seven now released, the Chicago-born star
talks about his experience on the medical drama, and reveals his personal
thoughts on his character’s flesh-flashing antics in the hit ABC show…
How much has your life changed since you joined the cast of Grey’s Anatomy?
My life has changed completely since I joined the cast in 2009. Grey’s
Anatomy is a huge show and I’ve never been exposed to an audience of this size
before, but I love an adventure and that’s exactly what this experience feels
like. Everything has changed in my life. I moved to Los Angeles from Brooklyn,
New York, for the show, so my friends and surroundings have changed. Even the
amount of tacos I get to eat every day has increased! I’m always happy to pick
up and move around to experience whatever life throws at me, so it’s been a fun
experience and everything has changed for the better.
What happens to your character, Jackson Avery, in Season Seven?
Since the shooting in the finale of Season Six, everything has changed for
Jackson. He came into the hospital as one of the new guys. He worked hard to
prove himself in a very competitive industry – but then he lost the closest
things to him, his best friend and his roommate, Reed Adamson and Charles Percy.
He’s having a tough time dealing with the aftermath of the trauma of the
shooting, but he’s moved into Meredith’s house where he’s trying to get to know
the others that live there.
Does he enjoy the move?
He’s welcomed into the home where they are all dealing with the aftermath
together. He’s trying to develop solid relationships and a stable life, and it’s
great for him to become part of the family. He develops a real rapport with
Sarah Drew’s character, April, who also moves into Meredith’s house, as well as
the others living there. It’s great for him to be with people who went through
the same traumatic experience as him.
How does Jackson deal with the grief of losing his close friends in the
shooting?
Jackson tries to bottle up his
feelings to protect himself. He hides his emotions, but he has a lot of issues
dealing with the death of his best friend. He hides everything. He passes all
the tests with the trauma therapist at the hospital and he gets cleared for
surgery again, but his emotions start to spill out as soon as he’s back in
there. His grief starts to creep up and creep out during operations and it gets
in the way of work. He’s got a tough year ahead of him.
Is romance on the cards for Jackson in Season Seven?
I don’t want to give away too many storylines for Season Seven, but I’ll let
you into a little secret… Down the road, he’ll be trying to find ways to get
involved romantically with somebody. I can’t say who that will be, but it’s
going to be a fun and interesting storyline.
Jackson has been known to flaunt his body on Grey’s Anatomy. Will there be
more opportunities for him to take off his top in Season Seven?
[Laughs] You know what? The cast laughs every time we get a new script and
discover that the writers have found a new way to have me take off my shirt.
It’s pretty hilarious and I don’t take it seriously at all. We crack jokes about
it and the others give me hell about it, so it makes for a good time. Sure,
Jackson takes off his top a number of times in Season Seven.
How comfortable do you feel in front of the cameras?
Stripping off is terribly uncomfortable at times, but it’s my job. And if
the audience pays attention and I’m entertaining them, then I have to learn to
have fun with it. When I signed up for this role on Grey’s Anatomy I knew what
the job entailed and I was fine with that. I did a movie called The Sisterhood
Of The Traveling Pants 2 before I joined the show. That was my first big job,
and the role also involved me showing off my body. I guess that helped me be a
little more prepared for Grey’s Anatomy.
Is Jackson over his crush on Cristina Yang in Season Seven?
Again, I don’t want to spoil anything – but I can reveal that he admires and
respects Cristina, and he sees her as a challenge. She is somebody to be in the
race with, and she is somebody to measure yourself against. I think she has been
a real inspiration to him and he is always rooting for her, especially when she
starts to struggle with her work after the shooting.
What makes Season Seven different to previous seasons of the show?
Season Seven feels very fresh. We hit rock bottom emotionally at the end of
Season Six, so everything got recalibrated. Everything was shaken upside down
and flipped on its head, and now we all have a chance to start over in some way.
We all get to develop new relationships or repair previous ones. Everybody gets
a fresh start, which is great.
Would you like to see less drama on the show and more comedy?
No, not necessarily. I think the show has a nice little injection of comedy
every now and then. There is a lightness and humor to the show, as well as
terrific music, drama and tension. I think the balance is great.
Do you enjoy learning about the weird and wonderful ailments your character
treats on the show?
I love reading the script every week to discover all of the amazing ideas,
concepts and diseases that we end up treating on the show. Everything on the
show is real, so the stories are based on meticulously researched reality. It’s
like reading up on a greatest hits compilation of the craziest illnesses that
have happened around the world.
How much medical research do you do every week to prepare for the show?
I usually go online to read up about everything we cover on the show. I like to
check out what really happened and I get tutorials on all of the bizarre
ailments, but it can be terrifying at times.
Is it hard to get the choreography of surgery correct in front of the
cameras?
It’s tough to look like you are comfortable performing surgery, but you have
to look like you do them all the time. It builds a foundation and it sets the
tone, but it took me a while to get it right.
Do you think the viewers relate to a lot of the issues covered in the show?
One of the things I was most impressed with was how often we get to see the
difficult decisions that patients and doctors have to make. We cover real issues
like healthcare in this country and what it means to be taken off of insurance,
as well as issues like euthanasia. All of these political issues are brought
into play and they are made into very real issues. I think the show acts as an
education to many viewers. It gives them information that they might not have
read about, which is a good thing. It’s good to get people thinking.
AN INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN MCKIDD FOR SEASON SEVEN OF GREY’S ANATOMY
British-born actor Kevin McKidd plays Dr. Owen Hunt in the hit ABC show Grey’s
Anatomy. With the Season Seven DVD now released, the actor talks about his life
in front of the camera, his thoughts on the show and some secrets from the set
of the new season…
What can you tell us about Season Seven of Grey’s Anatomy?
Season Seven has been a lot of fun to work on, especially as I got the
opportunity to direct an episode this year. Directing was a very interesting
learning curve for me and it’s something I’d love to do again on Grey’s Anatomy.
It was a little overwhelming at the start and I spent a lot of time holding my
hair and thinking, ‘I’m going to lose it.’ However, I really enjoyed it.
What did you love the most about directing?
I especially loved the preparation, which involved me walking around the sound
stages and sets by myself. I’d wander around the place playing all of the
different parts in my head, and it was fascinating. I had a blast.
How difficult was it to direct your peers and co-workers?
I was incredibly nervous in the beginning. I kept thinking to myself, ‘How is
everyone going to react to my direction? How are they going to feel about it?’ I
shouldn’t have worried because everyone was fantastic. I felt really touched and
moved at how kind everyone was. They all went to bat for me because they knew it
meant a lot and they knew I didn’t want to screw up. Let’s face it; failure was
not an option.
Would you ever consider a career change into directing?
Acting is still the thing that I love the most. Perhaps I could see myself
directing an independent movie in England or Scotland at some point, but I don’t
see myself having a career as a TV director. That’s not for me.
As a child growing up in Scotland, did you ever imagine you would go onto become
the star of a huge American TV series like Grey’s Anatomy?
Absolutely not. I always knew I wanted to be an actor, but I didn’t expect to
get this far. To be honest, I was destined to become a plumber like my father,
and as a child I remember thinking, ‘If I get as far as London, I will be
lucky.’ I never left Scotland until I was 20 years old. That’s how sheltered I
was, so to be here is pretty remarkable.
Does Los Angeles feel like home to you now?
It does actually. I’m very happy here. I think we might go back to England or
Scotland at some point, but there’s not much to hate about where I live. I’ve
got a great job and the weather is pretty special here in Southern California.
I’m not in any rush to go anywhere else.
When you joined the show, were you nervous of your hunky competition in
McDreamy and McSteamy?
I wasn’t because I knew I was coming onto the show to be Cristina Yang’s love
interest for a while. I knew I had a specific job to do, so I didn’t feel like I
was coming in to be thrown into the mosh pit.
What else can you tell us about Season Seven?
There’s a musical episode in Season Seven, which was great fun to work on. It’s
meant to act as a love letter to the long-term fans of the show, and there’s a
gripping storyline in the episode. What else happens? Well, my character has an
interesting love life in Season Seven, too.
Is that because he has feelings for two women: Teddy Altman and Cristina
Yang?
A lot of viewers think differently about this, but Teddy and Owen never
actually hooked up. They never did it. They almost made out, but it was just
breathy talking. I’m not exactly a purist, but Owen has only slept with one
woman on the show.
Will Cristina and Owen's relationship survive Season Seven?
You’re going to have to watch and see. They get married at the start of Season
Seven, but then it gets pretty quiet for the pair of them. He helps her through
her Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder issues, so that book has closed – but there
are going to be problems again for them in the future.
What problems will they face?
They are two very complex people, so I think they’re always going to have a
rocky road. Their relationship exists in angst, but there is a big disagreement
on a fundamental subject in their marriage that they have to deal with in Season
Seven. They have very opposed views on a certain issue and because they rushed
into this marriage they didn’t ask certain important questions to each other
before they put the rings on their fingers.
What did you think of the dramatic final to Season Six?
I think the finale to Season Six rebooted the show in a really healthy way. It
was a genius storyline, although it was a little shocking to discover Owen was
going to be shot. Often, we don’t find out about storylines until we sit down
for the table read, so I had no idea that Owen was going to be in trouble.
You had no idea that your character was going to be shot?
I knew nothing about it until I opened the script at the table read. The
shooting was described at the end of a page in the script. Boom! Owen is shot,
and then Cristina says to Meredith, “Is Owen dead? Is Owen dead?” Then it was a
page turn of the script, and it was the longest page turn ever. The whole world
slowed down for a second – and then I turned the page to discover I could keep
paying my kids’ school fees. Owen survives! Phew. What a relief. I was over the
moon.
Private Practice:
AN INTERVIEW WITH AMY BRENNEMAN FOR SEASON FOUR OF PRIVATE PRACTICE
Amy Brenneman stars as Dr. Violet Turner in the medical drama, Private Practice.
With the Season Four DVD about to be released, the accomplished actress reveals
her thoughts on family life, finales and 40-year-old flirts…
First things first… You’re sporting a new look in Season Four of Private
Practice. How did that come about?
I had my haircut this season because I wanted a change. It’s the first time I’ve
cut my hair this short since seventh grade! I was really freaked out to see the
back of my neck for the first time in years – but so far, so good. I used to
have so much hair that I would spend an hour and a half in the hair chair at
work every day before heading onto the set. It’s been fantastic to cut down that
hair time.
What can you tell us about the surprise wedding for Violet Turner at the
start of Season Four?
It’s a great surprise on the show because Cooper [played by Paul Adelstein] and
Charlotte [played by KaDee Strickland] are engaged, so the audience was
expecting them to marry first. Pete Wilder [played by Tim Daly] and my character
are busy trying to figure out how they are going to parent their child – but
then the big surprise at the start of Season Four sees them heading down the
aisle. It happens very spontaneously, but it was a lot of fun to shoot. I was
really excited about the storyline because I thought it was a great way to start
the season.
Dell Parker [played by Chris Lowell] dramatically died in the finale of
Season Three. How have the other characters in the show adapted to his
departure?
In the first draft of the script for the Season Four premiere, there wasn’t
a lot of talk about Dell – but we all thought that he was such a huge part of
the show that it needed to be spoken about. We all miss Chris Lowell dearly on
set, so it’s great that he’s mentioned. We knew that Season Three’s finale was
going to be his last episode, but we never know the exact stories of what’s
going to happen until we read them in the script. I loved Shonda’s sneaky
plotline in that episode. All of the focus was on Maya Bennett, so it was
devastating to discover the demise of Dell.
Private Practice was a spin-off to Grey’s Anatomy when it first started. How
easy has it been to forge the show’s own identity?
Watching our show come together was like watching a child break out of the
shadow of its older sibling. The cast of Private Practice is ten years older
than the bulk of the cast on Grey's Anatomy, which is something that Shonda
brought to the forefront. How does a 40-year-old flirt versus a 30-year-old? We
tackle the concerns of a slightly older group of people, be it fertility or
family or medical worries. These are not people who are starting out in their
medical careers, which is what Grey’s started as. These are established
characters who have gone through much more in their lives.
Violet and Pete come together to raise their child, Lucas, in Season Four.
Has this made you broody for more children?
It’s funny you should mention this because I am trying to persuade my husband to
have a third child. Unfortunately, he’s not biting right now. He says, “I think
we’re good.” He’s correct, we are good and I think two is probably right – but I
love little babies. They are so cute.
Do your children understand what you do for a living?
Yes, they do. They play-act all day long – it’s their favorite thing to do – so
they understand pretend and make believe. If my son visits me on set, or even if
I’m just talking about it, I’ll explain to him that I’m telling a story. One day
my son looked at me and I said, “Yeah that’s what I do for a living. Isn’t that
awesome. He loved it. It’s an ancient activity, to pretend to be somebody else.
What’s your idea of the perfect family time?
My children are now old enough for us all to relax. We live in the San
Fernando Valley in California where it gets very warm, so we spend a lot of time
in the water. We go to the beach a lot. I think we – the kids included – live a
pretty structured life during the week, so we really don’t do much at the
weekends. We just lie around. That’s bliss to us.
How important is it for children to get an education before choosing a
career?
When I was younger, there was no question of me not going to college because
that’s what everybody did in my family. There was no way I was going to get out
of that. I went to Harvard, but I didn’t study acting; I studied comparative
religion. However, I was always into acting and I started by forming a theater
company right out of college. I eased myself into the industry. I didn’t come to
Los Angeles or get an agent until I was in my late twenties. I took my time, but
it all worked out – and now I’m happier than ever. I couldn’t wish for a more
fun or more interesting show to work on than Private Practice. It’s fantastic. I
have the best job in the world.
AN INTERVIEW WITH TAYE DIGGS FOR SEASON FOUR OF PRIVATE PRACTICE
An established star of film, television and theater, Taye Diggs appears as Dr.
Sam Bennett in the hit ABC show, Private Practice. What does the accomplished
actor think of his character? What research did he undertake for the role? And
what can fans look forward to in Season Four? Read on to discover all…
What can you tell us about Season Four of Private Practice?
I am very proud of the show and I’m very proud of the writing this year. There
are some remarkable storylines, including some heartbreaking scenes from KaDee
Strickland. She did a tremendous job in Season Four and I’m very proud of her.
Our television show is a lot of fun, but I’m always filled with pride when we
get the opportunity to represent serious issues. I’m not going to say what
happens because I don’t want to give away a major storyline for this season –
but I will tell you that you will be shocked when you see it.
What happens to Dr. Sam Bennett in Season Four? Will he finally get together
with Addison Montgomery?
There’s definitely a possibility for Sam and Addison to get together in Season
Four. Obviously, the sexual tension is still there. There are a lot of furtive
glances, loaded looks and whispers. Will they get together? You’ll just have to
watch it and see for yourself.
Would you like to see Addison and Sam together as a couple?
I think it would be interesting to see them together because they have very
different personalities. In the past, Addison has always been a little freer in
life – but Sam is a little more buttoned-up. I'd love to see what that chemistry
could yield.
Could Sam still be holding a torch for Naomi?
I cannot say. Naomi and Addison are
both beautiful women. There’s a history with between Sam and Naomi. Well, they
were married. But there’s a new-ness and an actual love that exists with
Addison.
Is Sam ready to be a grandfather this season?
He has no choice. He has to be ready because that’s what the writing says!
How does it feel to play a grandfather when in real life, you’ve only
recently become a father?
It’s a little strange, that’s for sure. My son was born in 2009, so I’m nowhere
near to becoming a grandfather.
Do you enjoy being a father?
Fatherhood is amazing. And I’m really excited about it because it’s just going
to keep getting better. Fatherhood is like nothing I could have ever expected.
It’s wonderful.
Were the doctors in the hospital where your son was born aware of your role
on Private Practice?
I think the nurses were more aware than the doctors. They gave us a really nice
care package to take home with extra blankets and diapers, which was nice. It
brought to the surface the respect that I have for the people who do this as a
career.
Did you always dream about becoming a father?
Yes, I always knew I wanted a child. Or should I say, children!
Who inspired you to act when you were growing up?
My mom was in Community Theater where I grew up in Rochester, Upstate New
York. She gave me the bug. She raised me and my four brothers and sisters, and
then she went back to school for theater and dance. She was a very inspiring
lady.
Did you have any crazy jobs when you were starting out in the industry?
Oh, sure! I was everything from a janitor to a sandwich maker. I worked in
donut stores and even at Disneyland in Tokyo. What did I do there? The show was
called Sebastian’s Caribbean Carnival and I had to wear some wild outfits. I was
the M.C. who’d sing Day-O and other crazy Caribbean songs.
When you first joined Private Practice, did you know Dr. Sam Bennett would be
such a complex character?
I knew that my character would be multifaceted because that’s how [Private
Practice Executive Producer] Shonda Rhimes works. However, I didn’t know how
complex he would become, and I’m not sure the writers knew either. When I
started on the show, I was given some background to the character – but I had no
idea where he would go from there. I only found out when I opened up my script
every week.
What research did you do for the role?
We have a great team of production staff on the show. They scheduled for me
to view some actual surgeries, which was a great help. Obviously, I wasn’t
standing right next to the bodies during the surgeries, but I could observe what
it’s like to be there. I also got a few DVDs and a lot of literature on the
subject. I was very well researched by the time we started shooting.
What goes through your mind when you view a surgery?
It was a complete reality check to see what heart surgeons do for a living.
It was also a reality check to see an actual body on the surgery table. To be
honest, I felt a little removed because I am so desensitized from watching so
many surgeries on television. In practice, it’s much more boring than watching
TV, although it’s definitely eye opening for sure.
Do you have to learn medical jargon for your role as a doctor?
I do, and it’s tough. That’s something I always struggle with, so I always
have to get my scripts a couple of days in advance. I need to really memorize
those words because we try to be extremely accurate on the show.
Do you think you could perform some of the medical procedures your character
talks about on Private Practice?
No way. I get extremely nervous when they set me up with the fake blood and the
fake heart on set because it feels like we’re really going into surgery. It
feels very real. I’ll be performing and I’ll notice my hands are shaking because
it’s so nerve-wracking.
Not only are you an actor, a singer and a performer, but you’re also an
author. What can you tell us about your book?
When I was a kid, I grew up in a neighborhood where nobody looked like me. I was
the only black kid in my school, so when I got older I wrote a poem about what
it felt like to look different. I got with my best friend, Shane Evans – a great
illustrator – and we wrote a children’s book about self-esteem called Chocolate
Me.
Do you see yourself as a role model for other black people?
I don’t see myself as a role model, but I gladly accept and understand that I am
– and I don't shy away from that. I think both of Shonda’s shows – Private
Practice and Grey’s Anatomy – are great for representing African-American
people. Shonda sets a great example for people of any color, creed or
background. I like that she’s setting such a strong example with having such a
diverse cast. She mixes up relationships and represents things that are
happening in the real world, which is what I love about working with her. She’s
fantastic.
AN INTERVIEW WITH TIM DALY (B)
FOR SEASON FOUR OF PRIVATE PRACTICE
Actor Tim Daly is widely respected for his appearance in the television sitcom,
Wings, as well as for his recurring role in The Sopranos. Today, the
accomplished performer is most known for his role as Dr. Pete Wilder the hit
medical drama, Private Practice.
In this exclusive interview, Daly reveals his thoughts on Season Four of Private
Practice.
What can you tell us about Season Four of Private Practice?
We’ve had a lot of fun filming Season Four and there are lots of plots and
interesting twists for all of the characters on the show. When it comes to Pete
Wilder, we find out that he witnessed his mother murder a guy when he was
younger. Pete’s mother is a drunk with a long string of men, but the one guy
that stuck around? Pete witnessed her stab him to death.
How does the truth come out after all this time?
Violet [played by Amy Brenneman] pushes Pete to reveal it. He doesn’t want
to talk about it and he doesn’t want to revisit it. Even after all these years,
it’s still a fresh wound for him – but he eventually opens up and reveals
everything to her.
Season Four opens with marriage on the cards for Violet and Pete. Are they
destined to become the perfect couple?
I fear that they are just avoiding their inevitable downfall because Private
Practice isn’t known for being a show where relationships work out. At the start
of the season, I assumed that we’d have a couple more episodes of happiness
before everything turns bad – but I could have been wrong on this one. The
problem is, happiness is inherently not dramatic.
So you don’t think they will live happily ever after?
I don’t know. Pete has Addison's permission to be with Violet, but that
doesn’t mean anything. A lot of our storylines are based on how happy Pete and
Violet were once upon a time – but they were only happy for 15 minutes. There’s
a myth in the fan base that everything was fantastic when they are together, but
people don’t really know the truth.
Is there any possibility of Pete and Addison rekindling their romance?
Addison is deeply into her thing with Sam. I don't know if any of that stuff
is going to resurface, but so far Addison and Pete have been happy colleagues. I
hope they leave it at that for now.
As a result of Violet and Cooper’s friendship, will we see a similar
relationship develop between Charlotte and Pete?
I think that they are interesting to put together because Charlotte is so hard
and critical, but Pete is to this point. Pete is a humanist and he tolerates the
gray areas of life, which is something Charlotte struggles with.
What do you think of Pete’s gradual journey from being so uptight to being
more open and warm?
It was a dramatic change, but I believe that people can alter their path. It’s
not always easy, but Pete had a big episode in his life that shook him out of
his complacency. That happens sometimes. Sometimes people build up to making a
change over a long period of time, and then it suddenly happens. But being
reborn is painful and interesting, and people reinvent themselves as something
else. I do like that about him.
How good are you at taking advice?
I'm good at it and bad at it because I have a very difficult time being
definitive about things. Once I am, I'm good. But it’s the decision-making
process and the advice that I solicit. I’m a Pisces, which my sister tells me is
the sign of two fish swimming in opposite directions at the same time. It’s very
easy for me to make a scenario where I empathize with everybody with both sides
of an issue – and it drives me insane.
You’re the male spokesperson for a breast cancer charity, which is quite
unusual for a guy. Why did you get involved?
A dear friend of mine fought this disease and her husband was so profoundly
affected by it that it made me realize how breast cancer is important to men as
well as women. These are our wives, our mothers, our sisters and our daughters
who are fighting the disease. That’s why I decided to get involved – and I’ll
continue to do so for a very long time. It’s a very important charity that’s
close to my heart, and I do everything I can to help out.
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