Mockumentary III - The Search for Stories (Read 8,508 times)

[Kpatch]

I understand how hard it had to be to write out Mr. Waite. Very sad.

I was glad that you set things right for Nicole and Eric. I agree with Jen. I'd like to see her kinder side more often.

[fluffysmom]

Thanks for sharing the deleted scene with Father Matt. I miss Ralph Waite's portrayal of Father Matt.

[André DiMera]

Shine On You Crazy Diamond

ANDRE DIMERA (of MyHourglass): Okay. Action!
James picks up the ax and hits the door with it. The ax squeaks. James laughs.
ANDRE DIMERA (of MyHourglass): Cut!
JAMES SCOTT (laughing): I'm sorry. I'm sorry, is this a dog toy?
James squeezes the ax, it squeaks.
JAMES SCOTT (laughing): Is this a dog toy?
ANDRE DIMERA (of MyHourglass): Yes, it is. We're gonna sort out the sound in the dub.
JAMES SCOTT: Okay. Just give me a moment. I have to try to get used to this.
James laughs. He clears his throat.
JAMES SCOTT: Okay. I think I'm good now.
ANDRE DIMERA (of MyHourglass): Okay. Take two. Action!
James hits the door with the ax, it squeaks.

SOUNDTRACK
“Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)" by Pink Floyd
Theme from “The Shining”
“Midnight, the Stars and You” by Ray Noble and His Orchestra
“Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts VI-IX)” by Pink Floyd

INTRODUCTION
ANDRE DIMERA (Writer): I think that adaptations are a lot of fun to do. Taking a well known story and adapting it to for the Days characters is something I find a joy to do. I wanted to do an adaptation of a Stephen King novel, either “Carrie”, “Misery”, or “The Shining”. I couldn't think of a character who I was willing to have become Carrie, nor could I find two characters who fit the characters of “Misery” well enough. However, if I tweaked some of the characters a bit, such as having E.J. be a recovering alcoholic, I could do “The Shining”.

THE STORY
ANDRE DIMERA: This adaptation is more an adaptation of the Stanley Kubrick film than the actual novel. It shares many similarities with the film, and some lines of dialogue are lifted straight from it.
JAMES SCOTT (E.J. DiMera): It was a very different sort of story to do. I mean, at times, we've seen E.J. be evil, even downright cruel, but nothing like this. In this, he's just completely insane. I think “The Shining” is a brilliant story, and I'm very happy that we had the chance to make an adaptation of it.
ALLISON SWEENEY (Sami DiMera): Doing this kind of story, it was disturbing. It was great to do a different sort of story, but the story itself is disturbing. I think that one of the good things about it is that at least the atmosphere on set was very different than the atmosphere must have been on the set of the original version of “The Shining”. I mean, I've heard the horror stories, and if you haven't, you can easily find out about them, about what Scatman Crothers and especially Shelley Duvall had to go through during the making of “The Shining”. Thankfully, our director did not take as much of a method approach as Kubrick did. On the whole, though, I think the story turned out pretty well. I enjoyed it.
WAYNE NORTHRUP (Roman Brady): For me, shaking Ali (Sweeney)'s hand as if her character and my character met, was very amusing. She's played my onscreen daughter for years, so it was kinda funny to imagine that these two characters had never met. Of course, in this story, they're supposed to be two completely different characters. My character is very similar to the hotel owner in the book, and not at all like in the movie. In the movie, he's a pretty nice guy. In the book, as well as in this adaptation, he's a jerk. He has reason to be distrustful of this man who's going to be taking care of his hotel, but he's still a jerk. I never got the chance to work with James (Scott) before, as far as I can remember, but it was very nice to work with him. Working with Ali is always wonderful. I've known her since she was about fifteen or sixteen, and she is so great at what she does.
JAMES REYNOLDS (Abe Carver): The character I play is essentially the same character Scatman Crothers played in the original film. Because he and Johnny have this special ability, they form a close bond very quickly. I don't get to do many scenes with Aaron and Griffin (Kunitz) on the show, so it was nice to do a few scenes with them here.
JAY KENNETH JOHNSON (Philip Kiriakis): I fought to get a shirtless scene in the script. I really did, but it just didn't happen. Sorry, ladies. Maybe next time. In all seriousness, though, I had a lot of fun doing this story! I got to do something that I haven't really done before, which is play Philip as evil. I've played Philip as ruthless, but never evil. So, it was a lot of fun to take that kind of turn for that character.

THE END?
ANDRE DIMERA: I have no idea what the ending means. It is a scene directly from Kubrick's version of “The Shining”, and I don't have any idea what it means in that movie, either. I think it's up to the viewer's interpretation as to what it means. If you have any idea what that scene with the picture at the very end means, please let me know, I'd be fascinated to have a discussion about this.

[fluffysmom]

Too funny that Jay tried to get a shirtless scene into the script. LOL at the squeaky ax. I like the behind the scenes secrets.

[André DiMera]

That Summer

LIANA LIBERATO: Hi! Welcome! We're back on the set of Salem High, shooting a new story, our first in nearly a year for this set of stories! I'm Liana and standing here next to me is...
GEORGIA HENSHAW: Hi! I'm Georgia Henshaw. I'll be playing Ceri and Rhiannon from now on. And, I am Welsh, just like my characters.
LIANA LIBERATO: So, this is our first day back on set. We're filming a story called “That Summer”. Georgia and I are just getting ready to shoot our first scene together.
GEORGIA HENSHAW: Which is interesting, this is the first scene we're shooting, but it's not our first scene in the story. We'll be shooting our first scene in the story later on. And, I'm really pumped for this! We've got a lot of exciting things happening in this story!
LIANA LIBERATO: For one thing, our characters, Ceri and Sydney, go through something big together. And it all starts with a box.
GEORGIA HENSHAW: Hmm.
LIANA LIBERATO: Hmm.
GEORGIA HENSHAW: Well, it looks like we've got to start shooting in a minute, so I need to go now, because I start this scene by walking into the gym.
LIANA LIBERATO: And I need to get on the stage of the gym, because that's where I start. So, we hope you enjoy “That Summer”, and we'll see you soon!
GEORGIA HENSHAW: Bye!
Liana and Georgia wave.

SOUNDTRACK
“That Summer” by Garth Brooks
“Danny's Song” by Gator Creek
“Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears
“Counting Stars” by OneRepublic
“Pompeii” by Bastille
“You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This” by Toby Keith

INTRODUCTION
ANDRE DIMERA (Writer): I spent about a year away from this storyline. In that time, I had written a lot of the stories that I wanted to write. So, when I had gotten the adaptation of The Shining finished, I decided that it was time to bring back these characters.

THE STORY
ANDRE DIMERA: So much happens in this story. It starts with Sydney and Ceri getting engaged, Ceri and Rhiannon now both being played by Georgia Henshaw. As stated earlier, sadly, the Russo twins were unable to film when I needed them to, so I hired Welsh actress Georgia Henshaw for both parts. Thankfully, the recast went over well. She and Liana (Liberato) clicked straight away.
GEORGIA HENSHAW (Ceri and Rhiannon Alamain): I've never really done a soap opera before. The closest I came was a few years ago when I appeared in the Red Nose Day special for EastEnders. Coming over and playing these two roles was really fun. The cast were all great to work with. Liana and I got on really well. It was great.
LIANA LIBERATO (Sydney DiMera): Georgia was a very welcome addition to the cast. The Ceri and Sydney scenes in this story have been some of my favorite to do.
ANDRE DIMERA: To add to that story, I brought in a preteen Ari, who was constantly trying to break up Ceri and Sydney.
KERRIS DORSEY (Ari Horton): Ari's a little schemer. She keeps trying to get between Sydney and Ceri. Admittedly, she's not very good at it, though. I mean, she's twelve. She has no idea what she's doing. I think characters who are schemers are a lot of fun to play.
ANDRE DIMERA: Then, there's the big bait and switch storyline where I bring Philip back from the dead, have him fight with Brady over control of Titan, only to turn around and reveal that, nope, it's not even really Philip. It's Nick in disguise.
JAY KENNETH JOHNSON (Nick Fallon): This is, I think, the third character I've played for these stories. I've played varying incarnations of Philip, I played Justin and Adrienne's son Victor Kiriakis II for one story, and now I've played Nick. And I loved doing it. I loved playing a character who is so warped and twisted, he's such a departure from who I normally play. It was great!
ANDRE DIMERA: I like to put in little bits of my personal life into my stories every now and then. In this story, I wrote in that Sydney gets migraines, which I actually get. If you've never had one, be thankful, because they are the worst ever!
LIANA LIBERATO: I am so glad that I don't get migraines! It was interesting playing a character who does, though. Since our director gets them, I had a bunch of talks with him about what happens during a migraine and what it feels like, and so I tried to put myself into that position.
ANDRE DIMERA: And then, we have, what I consider to be, the meat of the story: The Storm.
ERIC MARTSOLF (Brady Black): A storm hits, and there is complete devastation. Luckily, everyone's safe. Such as my character, Brady, who was in the basement of O'Haire Airport at the time, hitting it off with Billie Reed. Lisa (Rinna) and I had a lot of fun during our scenes together. I hope we work together more in the future.
JASON COOK (Shawn-Douglas Brady): It changes over time from just a heavy rain to a downpour, to a tornado, to a water cyclone, to two water cyclones. It was just insane! The story was very cool to do, and it was nice that Kristen (Storms) and I got to spend most of the story on the Brady Pub set, which is an awesome set to work in.
PETER RECKELL (Bo Brady): The Storm was quite a story. I wasn't in that much of it, but I had fun with what I got to do. I mostly just updated all of the weather bulletains and such as that. Either way, it was great. “That Summer” as a whole was great!

THE END?
ANDRE DIMERA: Whether this is the end for this story or not, I don't know. If I can think of a good story that would fit this group of characters, then I will certainly write it. I'd love to do another story set in this canon, but we'll see. Only time will tell.

[fluffysmom]

I liked the way different characters were thrown together by the storm especially Brady and Billie.

[Kpatch]

Jay is so talented, he can play anyone. Loved the musical selections Andre. Good job!

[André DiMera]

Previews

Next week...
KATE MANSI: She can't really show how upset she actually is.

More drama...
VICTOR WEBSTER: It was...definitely interesting.

More behind the scenes footage...
JEN LILLEY: It's so cool that we finally see this other side of her.

And more interviews...
CASEY MOSS: That part was really cool to play.

All this and more next week on THE SEARCH FOR STORIES!

[fluffysmom]

Thanks for the previews André DiMera. You had me at Victor Webster.

[André DiMera]

Long Black Veil

Kate walks up to a tombstone.
KATE MANSI: Is this one good?
ANDRE DIMERA (of MyHourglass): Any of them in this row, as long as it's not the first five.
KATE MANSI: Okay.
ANDRE DIMERA (of MyHourglass): Okay. Put the veil down over your face, please.
Kate walks off to the side and pulls the veil over her face.
ANDRE DIMERA (of MyHourglass): Action!
Kate walks back up to the tombstone and begins fake crying. A strong gust of wind blows the veil back. Kate laughs.
KATE MANSI: The wind's taking my veil!
Kate grabs the veil and puts it back on.
ANDRE DIMERA (of MyHourglass): Okay, we'll have to wait a minute for the wind to die down.
Kate laughs as the wind blows away the veil again, and she catches it. After a moment, the wind dies down. She puts the veil back on.
KATE MANSI: Okay, I'm ready.
ANDRE DIMERA (of MyHourglass): All right. Take two. Action!

SOUNDTRACK
“Long Black Veil” by the Georgia Rae Family Band

INTRODUCTION
ANDRE DIMERA (Writer): This story first came about after watching the music video for a song, with the same title as this story. After the video had finished, I decided that it would be cool to try and adapt this into a story. If you haven't heard the song, or heard of the Georgia Rae Family Band, please, check them out. They are so amazing! Such wonderful young ladies. This story was also a guinea pig, of sorts, to see if it was possible to make a coherent story based almost entirely on song lyrics. And this would eventually lead to another story based on a song, but I'll get to that later.

THE STORY
ANDRE DIMERA: The story in the song goes that a man is arrested and tried for murder. He didn't really kill this person, but at every chance, he denies to say anything, because he didn't want it to get out that he was having an affair with his best friend's wife. He is put to death, and his mistress cries over his grave. I took that basic idea and adapted it to Days. I wrote it right around the time that the E.J./Abby affair had come out, so I put E.J. as the alleged killer, Sami as the victim, and Abby as the mistress.
JAMES SCOTT (E.J. DiMera): Putting E.J. on trial for murder, or accusing him of murdering Sami is brilliant. For the longest time, when I first got the script, I was convinced that he had. It doesn't seem too farfetched, to be honest. I could definitely see Sami killing E.J. I think the story was magnificent. As I said, I was convinced E.J. had done it.
WALLY KURTH (Justin Kiriakis): Justin is ready to throw the book at E.J. He's tired of the DiMera's being able to buy off the judges or escape their fate. Plus, Sami is his niece, even though they've never had a close relationship. But, Justin, is more than ready to get rid of E.J., no matter what.
JAMES SCOTT: E.J. doesn't make any attempt to defend himself, I think, because he feels that he deserves whatever punishment he may be given. Although he continued it for so long, he does feel bad for his affair with Abby. At the same time, though, he doesn't want it to come out, and that's what's different in this story. On the actual show, the affair came out. In this story, only E.J., Abby and Nick knew about the affair. So, as much as E.J. hates Nick, and doesn't want to cover for him, admitting to what he did, in his mind, would be even worse.
ALLISON SWEENEY (Sami Brady): I have one line in this entire story, “Hey, what are you doing here?”. That's my line. However, I was on set for the entire thing. I saw everything play out. I think everybody did a wonderful job. The courtroom scenes were great! Wally (Kurth) and James (Scott) in particular, I think, did a fantastic job in this story. I really had a good time.
KATE MANSI (Abby Deveraux): I can't say that I feel bad for Abby, because what she did was just so horrible. I can't feel bad for her. The only thing that I felt kinda bad about, was that I think she really did love E.J. in some fashion. I know that that sounds weird, but that's just my opinion. Abby's very upset when E.J. dies, however, she can't really show how upset she actually is. That's why, when she watches E.J.'s execution, she has a stone cold face, but she's also the last one to leave. The only time we do see her being upset is at the very beginning and very end, when she's wearing the veil. That was an interesting scene to shoot, the graveyard scene. On the whole, I liked this story. I think everyone did a really good job.

[Kpatch]

I love how you find your inspirations André DiMera. I'm the same way. Sometimes a song will get under my skin and it sparks an idea for a story. Fun stuff!

[fluffysmom]

I liked getting the background info on your inspiration for this story as well as the actor's thoughts.

[André DiMera]

Crazed

ANDRE DIMERA (of MyHourglass): Here we have a glorious, if somewhat creaky mansion.
I burst out in laughter.
ANDRE DIMERA (of MyHourglass): No, that's creepy, not creaky. Sorry, everyone. Let's try that again.
I cough.
ANDRE DIMERA (of MyHourlgass): Here we have a glamorous...darn it!
Everyone laughs.
ANDRE DIMERA (of MyHourglass): We're trying to do this all in one shot, as well, so Shelley (Hennig)'s waiting for us in the shower. Will someone tell Shelley we're working on it, but it'll be a while, please?
VICTOR WEBSTER: I'll go.
ANDRE DIMERA (of MyHourglass): Thank you.
I laugh again.
ANDRE DIMERA (of MyHourglass): Okay. Let's try this again.
I clear my throat.
ANDRE DIMERA (of MyHourglass): Here we have...
I burst out in laughter again.
ANDRE DIMERA (of MyHourglass): Oh, dear. Oh, dear. Sorry, everyone. See, this is why I'm usually the one behind the camera.

SOUNDTRACK
Theme from Psycho by George Fenton

INTRODUCTION
ANDRE DIMERA (Writer): I hadn't seen Psycho until mid 2014. And, when I saw it, I feel in love with it! I thought it was one of the best films that I'd ever seen! I knew then that I had to do an adaptation of it. But, who to put as the main characters? This was right around the time that the E.J./Abby affair had finally been wrapped up, so I thought that Abby would be a good replacement for Marion Crane. But then, there was the trouble of the other main character. And I thought for quite a while about who to put in the role. Then, I eventually ended up choosing Nicholas Alamain to take the role of Norman Bates.

THE STORY
ANDRE DIMERA: I wanted to try to be as close to Psycho as possible with this story, but, with every adaptation, some things need to change. The main change is that the Mother role was given to Vivian Alamain, who although she claimed to be Nicholas' mother for a while, is actually his great-aunt.
VICTOR WEBSTER (Nicholas Alamain): I've played a few different variations on Nicholas. I've played him as nice, manipulative, and evil, but never crazy. And in this story, he is outright crazy. Except, he doesn't really know that he's crazy. That's the thing, he starts off as just this normal, unassuming guy. Then, you get to know him, and you see just how disturbed this guy really is. Nicholas in this story, as well as Norman Bates in the original Psycho, is very much inspired by real life serial killer Ed Gein. I did a little bit of research on Gein before going in to play this role. It was...definitely interesting. He's a creeper, that guy.
KATE MANSI (Abby Deveraux): It was so fascinating! This story was really creepy, but at the same time, it was really cool! The weird thing for me, is that in both the book and the movie, Marion Crane dies a third of the way into the story. Here, Abby dies halfway. Although, I think it was a good change. We got to see more of this version of Abby and get to know her more. Working with Victor (Webster) was awesome! He is so good at this role! It was great!
LOUISE SOREL (Vivian Alamain): Although I make an appearance in this story, you never actually see me. You just hear my voice. I'm just a figment of Nicholas' imagination. Which, is a very interesting way to go. I play the Mother role from Psycho, except that I'm Nicholas' great-aunt. I play the role that Virginia Gregg first played in the original Psycho. All of my scenes were done twice. First I was on set with everybody, but stood just off camera so I couldn't be seen. The second time I did my scenes was in a recording studio, just to see which would sound better. And, I think it turned out quite well.
ANDRE DIMERA: For me, the most fun part was recording the preview for it, which is one of the few times that I've been seen on screen in a story. I tried to do a very Alfred Hitchcock type voice. A lot of the stuff I do from the preview is taken from the original six minute trailer for Psycho. It was just a very fun story to record all around.

[Kpatch]

I definitely think you should stick to being behind the scenes Andre! I found Shine on You Crazy Diamond to be the scariest story you ever wrote. I didn't realize you wrote so many stories since the last mockumentary aired. You are so prolific!

[fluffysmom]

I liked Victor Webster in this role. He did a great job with it.