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I don't know how many people have alread heared the rumors about the chance of having a 3rd pretender movie.
The following is a transcription of the interview (most of it anyway) with Pretender creators, Steven Long Mitchell and Craig W. Van Sickle featured on the newest French DVD release for The Pretender.
Where did the idea of the Pretender come from?
CVS: It came from 3 things. It was during the O.J. Simpson’s trial, we thought that in a time where lawyers can clear criminals, it could be nice to have a hero appreciated by the audience. When we read the newspapers, we ask ourselves why nobody is able to charge those who are guilty. We wanted a hero who could obtain a real justice out of a trial context.
SLM: The Genesis of the series comes from… We were reading an article about an injured boy in Florida. He’s been admitted to the hospital and the doctors cut him the wrong foot. We said shit, you turn the page thinking “that’s terrible, why the justice is not interfering?” Us, we wanted a hero who would not turn the page and who would act without thinking at the assurances. Just imagine if we looked into closely, if the surgeons were drunk and were hiding behind a collective act of negligence….
CVS: Negligence…
SLM: Exactly, negligence… Another idea came from the movie with Tony Curtis “The Great Impostor”. We’re really fans of this movie. It’s sci-fi. He could be a racing driver, a fighter pilot, a surgeon. Just imagine what could a man like that do bringing his help to the needy!
CVS : The third idea was the CIA’s project “Genius”: their project of recruiting prodigy children. Classes on morning, maths or other, and on afternoon, simulations of a nuclear war, taking new ideas in the brain of these little geniuses. This idea fascinated us and we wanted to integrate it in the running of the Centre.
SLM: Yes something really fresh… the ideas we were having when we were kids. If children learn and that others are dying of hunger, they’ll say “give us our breakfast”. It’s simple. We wanted to create a man as down-to-earth, ready to act, as well as a genius.
The connections between Jarod, Miss Parker and Sydney
SLM: For Miss Parker, we wanted to discover her as a child, having bonds with Jarod. She seems to be a nice little girl, normal… and then we meet her later: a real bitch. We told ourselves that the audience would probably wonder what has happened to her during this time. The answers to these questions led us to understand who she was and what she’s become, as well as her bonds with Jarod. With Sydney, we wanted to etablish a difficult relationship. He’s not thinking that he really have to be caught, because an episode where all the cast is after Jarod would be soporific. All of them have emotional bonds with him. Sydney is his father, but also his jailer. Jarod is his son and also his guinea-pig. So Jarod is torn. For Miss Parker, her relationship with Jarod is probably her reason to live. Everything but him is a “closed case”. She’s ahead all of them but not ahead of him. We have tried to treat all the relationships deeply from every corner. We wanted to arouse curiosity, to
prompt questions and to create tensions and suspense. Nothing’s going ok with them. It’s making us crazy but that’s the real life. Not a schmaltzy story we’re used to watch on TV. It gives the audience the desire to keep on watching it. They can be bad or nice, it’s always interesting. Miss Parker is a really severe character but she’s able to touch us even if she’s working on the dark side. We can guess her inner conflict. Jarod too can guess it and that is improving the series. At least, that’s what we think.
Here are the parts which are interesting for the 3rd movie :
§ Have you an idea at the beginning of what will be the conclusion?
o […] What is interesting is Jarod’s quest for his identity. And the aim of this quest will be revealed when we’ll shoot the end
§ Why all these mysteries about the identity of the characters?
o We’d like to satisfy the audience, if we can make this last movie, giving all the answers in the epilogue.
o The identity is the key thema of the series. All the characters are looking for their identity and they find it at the end because it’s at the end that everything is having a meaning
§ How’s does the hierarchy at the Centre work?
o The heart of the intrigue is at the end. For the time being, all that we know is that the power is in the Centre, with the Triumvirate ahead of it. And in the last movie, we’ll have a surprise. For years, it has been Mr Parker who was the chairman of the Centre; Now Lyle, Miss Parker and Raines are fighting for the power, but they’re still under the authotity of the Triumvirate. This fight for power will be understood at the end, and in the same time as all the questions will find their answers. Because everything is linked to “Who is Jarod?” and why the Triumvirate is urging the Centre to bring him back.
§ What secret did Catherine Parker tell to Jarod before she died?
o It’s such a big secret that Jarod better likes to spread clues step by step, in order to give Miss Parker the feeling that she’s finding the truth alone, and to make her aware that she’s living in a nest of vipers. All these elements will have answers in the last episode we hope to shoot soon. If not, we’ll published the script.
§ Why doesn’t want the Centre Jarod to meet his mother again?
o He wants to find his mother and the Centre wants to stop him which shows that the Centre is really ahead of Jarod. By the way, it’s a part of the paroxysm of the last episode. Which still needs to be done…. The secret of his mother is really a part of the big final sercret.
§ What did you feel at the sudden stop of the series?
o It was really frustrating to stop us without any warning. We were really shocked: we were winning on the schedule, the audience was there, the fans’ number was improving, we really had a lot of margin to develop the series. After it, were very happy when TNT and FOX came to let us shoot again.
o At first, the fans have insisted on it especially in the US. And frankly, nor us or NBC have anticipate the stop of the series. They have bought this sports event XFL for the Saturdays’ evenings, and that made a great flop. A few weeks after its stop, so many people were complaining taht they had to recognize their mistake. They contacted us in the same moment than TNT but proposing us to shoot only one episode vs. two with TNT which was telling us the possibility of shooting two others more. So, we went on for two and by this way, we could continue the 4th season and start the next one. Unfortunately, the series has been put on stand-by after the 11th september because of financial problems. But we hope that TNT or NBC, or both of them, would make us an offer to finance the epilogue and to answer the last questions. Even if it’s just to release it in DVD for the fans… and maybe that we’ll shoot it in France
§ Why is France important for you?
o We think about shooting in France for others reasons than their fidelity. We would like to salute them and to involve them in the last answer.
§ Are you gonna make the last movie with the same actors?
o First of all, everybody is very enthusiastic about the idea to satisfy the fans in concluding this series. We’re keeping in touch, we get along extremely well. The cast of The Pretender was a real family and even if I know that it sounds like a cliché, it’s true. Everybody was supporting the idea of making the best show. It’s very important for us to keep in touch. The actors are calling us often to know when will the last episode be shot. But it’s clear that they’re keeping their career on. Andrea Parker is playing in the sitcom « Less Than Perfect” on ABC. MTW is invited in a lot of shows and is playing in independent movies. Patrick Bauchau is on « The Carnivale » on HBO ans John Gries is on “Napoleon Dynamite”. But in spite of it, they’re all still enthusiastic to act in together again. We can do it. I’m sure this family’s meeting will took place.
§ Are you eager to shoot the end?
o CVS : Absolutely, it’s like if we were pregnant since 4 years. We’re waiting for the birth of this last baby bacause we wanted to finish the show. We know that is what fans want. And for us either, this is not settled. We wanted to go on and continue the work. I think that some will watch the show and will think that they have missed a detail somewhere. That’s how we wanted to write it. This idea is going to continue on in some part. Those who hadn’t known the show in at the beginning will think that they’d like to have watched it before. And if we could end it, it would be great! Since the first day we knew how the series would end.
o SLM : We’ve built this series as a patchwork and as creators and scriptwriters, we’d like to allow the audience to stand back to see the entire picture and to become aware that what they saw was in fact another picture. That’s our aim as soon as we’ll have the financial partners. We’ve got a start, a middle and a little part of the end.
This translation is courtesy of Lily. Thank you Lily!!, You are simply the best!
OK people, comments, thoughts...
anything?