WEBVTT - Should Charlotte have given Carrie the money??? With Amy Harris... (S4 E16 "Ring A Ding Ding") 0:00:01.639 --> 0:00:04.880 Hi, I'm Kristin Davis, and I want to know are 0:00:04.880 --> 0:00:07.920 you a Charlotte? 0:00:08.600 --> 0:00:15.000 This is exciting everybody. Finally, finally we have Amy V. Harris, 0:00:15.720 --> 0:00:16.120 one of. 0:00:16.079 --> 0:00:19.159 Our glorious, glorious writers. She has finally joined us on 0:00:19.239 --> 0:00:21.560 Are You a Charlotte because we have gotten to our 0:00:21.560 --> 0:00:23.880 first episode. Now we're going to go through the history. 0:00:23.920 --> 0:00:26.280 But she was in our world for a long time 0:00:26.640 --> 0:00:28.960 before she had her first episode. But her first episode 0:00:29.000 --> 0:00:31.640 with her name on the script is Ring It Ing Ding. 0:00:32.120 --> 0:00:35.600 It aired on January twenty seventh, two thousand and two, 0:00:35.840 --> 0:00:39.160 which is interesting, And Michael Patrick was just on last 0:00:39.159 --> 0:00:43.720 week and we were talking about how in the so 0:00:43.800 --> 0:00:45.720 we're on the air in the summer of two thousand 0:00:45.720 --> 0:00:49.599 and one. Obviously it's leading towards nine to eleven. Yes, 0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:53.720 and then they had separated the episodes into like a 0:00:53.840 --> 0:00:57.360 second season, yes, and no one really remembers. 0:00:57.400 --> 0:00:59.280 Why do you remember? So? 0:00:59.400 --> 0:01:03.200 I think we did eighteen episodes that season season four. 0:01:03.360 --> 0:01:06.960 I think I think they decided instead of running eighteen 0:01:07.080 --> 0:01:09.480 through the summer, which would be a very long season 0:01:09.560 --> 0:01:12.080 for an HBO show, that they would split it up, 0:01:12.440 --> 0:01:17.240 and so we ended up doing I believe the first 0:01:17.280 --> 0:01:22.399 ten were in the summer, and the second the eight 0:01:22.760 --> 0:01:23.759 were in January. 0:01:23.800 --> 0:01:24.959 That makes sense, that's interesting. 0:01:25.040 --> 0:01:29.120 I don't really remember that as being like something different 0:01:29.120 --> 0:01:30.920 that they did, and obviously something that they would be 0:01:31.120 --> 0:01:35.320 continuing on doing up until this day where they separate seasons, 0:01:35.959 --> 0:01:40.279 which is interesting because I remember, I don't know if 0:01:40.280 --> 0:01:42.360 this is probably silly, but I was always a little 0:01:42.360 --> 0:01:45.080 annoyed when they did that because it was almost like 0:01:45.120 --> 0:01:48.000 they got another season, but we were just paid the same. 0:01:48.320 --> 0:01:51.160 Yes, we did season four and then they split it 0:01:51.240 --> 0:01:53.080 up and made it season four A and four. 0:01:52.920 --> 0:01:55.640 P, right, and then season six. We worked that whole 0:01:55.680 --> 0:01:59.240 solid year and it was two seasons. That's right, bonus 0:01:59.280 --> 0:02:00.440 whatever you call it. 0:02:00.440 --> 0:02:02.360 Different things, yes, right, but you don't get the boneus 0:02:02.560 --> 0:02:04.320 exactly exactly right. 0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:06.240 And I mean, in some ways it's kind of silly 0:02:06.280 --> 0:02:08.560 to even think about it now, right because obviously it 0:02:08.639 --> 0:02:12.760 was all incredibly wonderful and we were richly, you know, 0:02:13.000 --> 0:02:13.880 paid for it all. 0:02:14.480 --> 0:02:17.600 Eventually it took a while. I think it was just 0:02:17.639 --> 0:02:18.600 the wild wild West. 0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:21.560 They know exactly how to do that, and I think 0:02:21.600 --> 0:02:25.600 probably when they started thinking eighteen episodes over the summer 0:02:25.680 --> 0:02:27.679 is more, we we wouldn't have finished. 0:02:27.360 --> 0:02:28.880 Till the fall. That's a good point. 0:02:29.040 --> 0:02:31.799 So I think they were probably like, yes, let's take 0:02:31.800 --> 0:02:33.640 advantage of thus and split it. 0:02:33.680 --> 0:02:36.200 But I know that is wild wild West on that one, 0:02:36.240 --> 0:02:36.919 I think will the West. 0:02:36.919 --> 0:02:39.160 But you know what else I think was happening. I 0:02:39.200 --> 0:02:41.840 think some of what was happening was that David Chase 0:02:41.960 --> 0:02:45.160 was taking a long hiatus. Yes, because at a certain 0:02:45.200 --> 0:02:47.840 point they pushed him to go back, and he felt 0:02:47.840 --> 0:02:51.600 like the season suffered, that he hadn't had time to really, 0:02:52.240 --> 0:02:55.400 you know, just state his ideas and whatnot, so that 0:02:55.440 --> 0:02:57.960 he wanted to take a longer time. And it had 0:02:58.000 --> 0:03:00.520 been that they would kind of counterprogram us. Yes, right, 0:03:00.600 --> 0:03:01.760 so then they. 0:03:01.639 --> 0:03:03.520 Were like, oh, well, let's just chump but. 0:03:03.760 --> 0:03:05.480 Yes, we can put Tex and the city in twice 0:03:05.520 --> 0:03:07.960 and people will be thrilled and they'll wait for sopranos 0:03:07.960 --> 0:03:08.240 that way. 0:03:08.280 --> 0:03:10.080 I didn't, that's right. I forgot. 0:03:10.080 --> 0:03:13.320 He was sort of the first person who sort of, 0:03:13.919 --> 0:03:16.480 I as somebody who's such a rule follower. I had 0:03:16.520 --> 0:03:18.400 never seen that before where it was like, oh, no, 0:03:18.480 --> 0:03:20.880 you just deliver year to year to year to year. 0:03:21.320 --> 0:03:23.119 And I think he really was the first person who 0:03:23.200 --> 0:03:25.800 said I'm delivering when it's ready. 0:03:25.720 --> 0:03:28.720 Right, which is pretty amazing. And now, of course with streaming, 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:30.520 it's all insanity. Yes, it's all that. 0:03:30.639 --> 0:03:33.000 No one does eighteen that I know of, expt. I 0:03:33.000 --> 0:03:35.320 guess wait, I mean just the pit do they don't 0:03:35.320 --> 0:03:35.880 do eighteen? 0:03:35.960 --> 0:03:39.760 They do? They do thirteen? Yeah, twelve or thirteen? It 0:03:39.800 --> 0:03:41.960 almost like a lot. We do eight. My show, we 0:03:42.200 --> 0:03:43.440 do eight, Yes, we have. 0:03:43.720 --> 0:03:47.200 I launched a show June tenth and we did eight episodes. 0:03:47.320 --> 0:03:51.160 Why eight? How did they come up with that? I 0:03:51.200 --> 0:03:51.640 don't know. 0:03:52.880 --> 0:03:56.200 I know that we were a couple of years ago 0:03:56.240 --> 0:03:58.320 on Amazon you would do ten and then they moved 0:03:58.320 --> 0:04:01.760 it to eight, and I think my gut is they 0:04:01.840 --> 0:04:04.320 wanted to. I don't know if we've said we need ten, 0:04:04.560 --> 0:04:07.240 if they would have said, okay, great, But we started 0:04:07.240 --> 0:04:09.400 building the seasons to be eight. 0:04:09.600 --> 0:04:10.040 Got it. 0:04:10.400 --> 0:04:12.840 Did the budget change when it went from ten to 0:04:12.880 --> 0:04:13.800 eight or is it rough? 0:04:13.840 --> 0:04:14.000 No? 0:04:14.080 --> 0:04:18.560 That's a way is that you're amortizing over eight instead 0:04:18.560 --> 0:04:21.120 of ten, so sets have to they cost more, and 0:04:21.680 --> 0:04:23.200 so it gets a little trickier that way. But I 0:04:23.240 --> 0:04:25.320 think at the end of the day, they're spending two 0:04:25.320 --> 0:04:26.400 episodes less money. 0:04:26.560 --> 0:04:29.640 So it's still our world. 0:04:29.800 --> 0:04:33.960 Ooh ooh, it's crazy different. It's so amazing that you're 0:04:34.000 --> 0:04:35.120 just a big old showrunner. 0:04:35.160 --> 0:04:39.200 Now, Wow, I know. I really it's a job I love, 0:04:39.640 --> 0:04:42.040 I really really I love it. I feel you're very 0:04:42.080 --> 0:04:43.200 well suited for it. 0:04:43.480 --> 0:04:48.200 I think it's a strange skill set of creative and practical, 0:04:48.520 --> 0:04:51.520 and I think some people are very practical and some 0:04:51.560 --> 0:04:55.120 people are very creative. And for me, the fun of 0:04:55.160 --> 0:04:58.960 it is figuring out how to merge those two things 0:04:59.200 --> 0:04:59.720 the main time. 0:05:00.440 --> 0:05:00.839 I love it. 0:05:00.920 --> 0:05:03.200 Those puzzle pieces are the best for me. Like you, 0:05:03.279 --> 0:05:04.000 how am I doing this? 0:05:04.120 --> 0:05:06.680 Was this always your dream? I don't even think I 0:05:06.760 --> 0:05:08.919 understood this could be a dream. You know. 0:05:08.960 --> 0:05:11.320 When I meet young writers now and they say their 0:05:11.320 --> 0:05:14.560 goal is to become a showrunner, I think, how would 0:05:14.600 --> 0:05:17.279 you have even known to know that was something? 0:05:17.400 --> 0:05:19.440 I loved? 0:05:19.480 --> 0:05:24.000 The business, I mean, my first real I had one 0:05:24.080 --> 0:05:26.400 job before Sex and the City and TV, which was 0:05:26.520 --> 0:05:28.360 Darren Show, Central Park West. 0:05:29.200 --> 0:05:31.960 And I back up, how did you meet Darren? So? 0:05:32.160 --> 0:05:35.080 Darren's little brother and I went to nursery school together. 0:05:35.960 --> 0:05:39.000 I love it, and our parents had been friends forever. 0:05:39.160 --> 0:05:43.839 We grew up in the same neighborhood. We had beach 0:05:43.880 --> 0:05:46.760 condos near each other, and I hadn't seen him in years. 0:05:46.760 --> 0:05:50.240 She was older than me, and I was working at 0:05:50.320 --> 0:05:53.440 Vanity Fair magazine and he had done Melrose nine or 0:05:53.440 --> 0:05:55.840 two and zero, and I was in awe and he 0:05:56.000 --> 0:05:58.360 was so kind and so generous to me, and we 0:05:58.360 --> 0:06:00.960 were talking on the beach and he told me his 0:06:01.000 --> 0:06:04.440 next show is about editorial assistance at a magazine, which 0:06:04.480 --> 0:06:07.800 is what I was doing. And he said, can I 0:06:07.839 --> 0:06:10.000 take you to lunch when I come to New York 0:06:10.040 --> 0:06:12.479 next and pick your brain? And I my head almost 0:06:12.520 --> 0:06:12.960 popped off. 0:06:12.960 --> 0:06:13.640 I was so excited. 0:06:15.000 --> 0:06:19.000 So we had this long, great conversation, and then I 0:06:19.040 --> 0:06:22.800 wrote him a letter and said, I don't know if 0:06:22.800 --> 0:06:24.080 you're going to shoot this in New York or not, 0:06:24.120 --> 0:06:26.360 because he wasn't sure. Things didn't shoot in New York 0:06:26.400 --> 0:06:28.320 except for Law and Order at the time. But if 0:06:28.320 --> 0:06:30.680 it shoots in New York and there's any opportunity for 0:06:30.680 --> 0:06:32.560 me to come work for you, I would love it. 0:06:33.279 --> 0:06:36.359 And his assistant decided not to come from LA to 0:06:36.400 --> 0:06:38.400 New York, and I became his assistant. 0:06:38.839 --> 0:06:40.280 And how long did that last? 0:06:40.640 --> 0:06:45.159 So Central Park West was on for a season and 0:06:45.240 --> 0:06:50.040 I was in the writer's room taking notes and doing 0:06:50.279 --> 0:06:54.080 everything assistant related and then that ended, and I was like, 0:06:54.120 --> 0:06:56.479 oh gosh, what's next, and he's like, I bought And 0:06:56.560 --> 0:06:58.760 Candice had been around because she'd been doing a piece 0:06:58.800 --> 0:07:00.960 on him, and he said, I bought, can this his columns? 0:07:01.000 --> 0:07:03.920 And I'm going to write the pilot and I hope 0:07:03.960 --> 0:07:07.719 you'll stay on working for me. And then he was 0:07:07.720 --> 0:07:11.880 debating whether to sell it to ABC or HBO, and 0:07:12.120 --> 0:07:15.000 Jamie Charzis, who ended up becoming one of my closest friends, 0:07:15.200 --> 0:07:16.960 was like, I'm not even sure we can title it 0:07:17.080 --> 0:07:19.920 Sex and the City and he's like, I need to 0:07:19.920 --> 0:07:24.000 go to HBO, right, And then we shot the pilot 0:07:24.720 --> 0:07:29.400 and that was thrilling and so New Yorky, and like 0:07:29.440 --> 0:07:31.160 I was like, I can't believe I'm getting to do 0:07:31.240 --> 0:07:35.360 this in New York City. Yeah, and then it got 0:07:35.360 --> 0:07:37.480 picked up. But that first season, you remember, we had 0:07:37.640 --> 0:07:40.720 no idea if it was going to be anything. 0:07:41.000 --> 0:07:42.000 We don't know what it was like. 0:07:42.080 --> 0:07:44.960 I was like, oh, this is fun, and I don't 0:07:44.960 --> 0:07:46.480 know if it's going to get a season two. And 0:07:46.560 --> 0:07:49.440 I never worked in TV besides one show that hadn't 0:07:49.480 --> 0:07:51.160 gotten a season two, so I was like. 0:07:51.680 --> 0:07:54.800 My parents were panicking. They were like, you went for 0:07:54.960 --> 0:07:55.800 like a job. 0:07:55.640 --> 0:07:59.400 With you know, all sorts of like perks and benefits 0:07:59.440 --> 0:08:02.480 and health insure to these like these shows work or 0:08:02.520 --> 0:08:06.360 don't work and you're unemployed again. But yeah, and then 0:08:06.480 --> 0:08:10.200 Darren was really wonderful. He's I was very I was 0:08:10.240 --> 0:08:12.960 sort of living a Carrie Breadshast style life where I 0:08:12.960 --> 0:08:14.720 wasn't making a lot of money, but I was spending 0:08:14.720 --> 0:08:16.760 it all on my clothes and going out and shoes. 0:08:18.000 --> 0:08:22.240 And both Michael Patrick and Darren I think, really supported 0:08:22.480 --> 0:08:25.920 my desires to kind of move forward. And did I 0:08:25.920 --> 0:08:28.280 want to produce? Did I want to develop? I wasn't sure. 0:08:29.520 --> 0:08:32.360 And Michael and I have a debate about this, but 0:08:33.559 --> 0:08:36.520 I swear I read a script of a freelance script 0:08:36.520 --> 0:08:39.000 that came in and he said I read it before 0:08:39.000 --> 0:08:40.400 Michael did. And he came out and he goes, how 0:08:40.480 --> 0:08:44.600 is it? And I was like, it's okay, it's a 0:08:44.720 --> 0:08:48.520 rough draft, and he I believe he said to me, like, 0:08:48.880 --> 0:08:51.160 it's hard. You should try it, and he said I 0:08:51.200 --> 0:08:53.800 would never have said that, And I was like, whatever 0:08:53.880 --> 0:08:55.880 I heard was like, you should give it a go 0:08:56.600 --> 0:08:59.640 and see how challenging the process of writing is. Right. 0:08:59.880 --> 0:09:01.240 I was like, you know what I do want to 0:09:01.280 --> 0:09:03.360 see how challenging the process of writing is. 0:09:03.520 --> 0:09:06.559 Yeah, and I wrote a spec Sex in the City. 0:09:06.720 --> 0:09:10.160 Oh, And I said to Michael, I don't inspect in 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:12.120 any way for this to be used on the show, 0:09:13.720 --> 0:09:15.640 but I would love for you to read it and 0:09:15.679 --> 0:09:18.200 give me notes and just tell me, like, either you 0:09:18.240 --> 0:09:19.720 have talent or don't. He was like, I'm never going 0:09:19.800 --> 0:09:21.319 to say you do or don't have time because he's 0:09:21.320 --> 0:09:25.200 so amazing and wonderful and like wants the best for you. 0:09:26.800 --> 0:09:30.920 And he read it. And I had made Samantha falls 0:09:30.960 --> 0:09:33.559 in love with a woman in my episode, which they 0:09:33.640 --> 0:09:36.400 ended up using. Yes, I was going to say, maybe 0:09:36.480 --> 0:09:40.520 you're the origin of this. I was amazing because I 0:09:40.559 --> 0:09:42.440 just thought that's who she was. She would fall in 0:09:42.480 --> 0:09:44.920 love with different types of people and be attracted to 0:09:44.920 --> 0:09:47.080 different types of people, and that felt very real to me. 0:09:48.040 --> 0:09:51.720 And I knew the draft was at least good enough 0:09:51.760 --> 0:09:53.720 because Darren came right to me and said, why didn't 0:09:53.760 --> 0:09:55.920 you let me read it? And I was like, I 0:09:55.960 --> 0:09:58.079 just thought you'd be too busy and if it was terrible, 0:09:58.160 --> 0:10:00.560 you would feel the like I knew Michael would be 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:03.160 able to sort of walk me through, like why it 0:10:03.240 --> 0:10:05.440 wasn't working and why it wasn't good, and I didn't 0:10:05.480 --> 0:10:07.320 want to put two people through having to tell me 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:11.679 it was. But yeah, and then Michael offered me a 0:10:11.800 --> 0:10:14.040 job on the writing staff, and so I moved from producing, 0:10:14.280 --> 0:10:16.840 which i'd been doing for those first two years, onto 0:10:16.840 --> 0:10:17.320 the staff. 0:10:17.720 --> 0:10:19.560 And then when you moved on to the staff, what 0:10:19.679 --> 0:10:21.680 was your first title on the writing staff? 0:10:22.640 --> 0:10:27.360 I think they gave me consulting producer because I wasn't 0:10:27.880 --> 0:10:29.920 They felt like I'd already been a producer on the show, 0:10:29.960 --> 0:10:31.440 so they didn't want me to come on as like 0:10:31.440 --> 0:10:32.440 a story editor. 0:10:32.920 --> 0:10:35.880 But do you at some point have the story editor title? 0:10:36.120 --> 0:10:38.160 Maybe I did, I feel like you. Maybe I did. 0:10:38.280 --> 0:10:39.600 And part of the reason, you know what I think 0:10:39.640 --> 0:10:42.560 I did maybe the season I think at the beginning, 0:10:42.920 --> 0:10:46.960 maybe it was I went from story editor to co producer. 0:10:47.000 --> 0:10:49.439 I guess that makes sense, Yes, that mass that's right. 0:10:57.200 --> 0:11:00.880 Okay, my Hyundai hot take for thispisode, which is called 0:11:00.960 --> 0:11:03.680 Ring and Ding Ding, I am going to go with 0:11:03.760 --> 0:11:08.080 the final scene where Charlotte gives the ring to Carrie 0:11:08.520 --> 0:11:11.440 after all the talk of money and whether friends should 0:11:11.480 --> 0:11:14.680 lend friends' money, and Carrie gets mad at Charlotte because 0:11:14.720 --> 0:11:18.280 Charlotte doesn't offer like the others do, and then Charlotte 0:11:18.320 --> 0:11:20.800 really has this great boundary and says, you know, it's 0:11:20.840 --> 0:11:23.200 not my job to fix this financial problem that you 0:11:23.280 --> 0:11:26.000 created for yourself. Then I think we have the most 0:11:26.040 --> 0:11:29.920 beautiful scene where Charlotte does give her the ring and 0:11:29.960 --> 0:11:33.359 Carrie says she's going to pay her back, and basically 0:11:34.120 --> 0:11:36.640 they kind of pledge themselves to each other. That's how 0:11:36.640 --> 0:11:38.080 I look at it when I see the scene, and 0:11:38.120 --> 0:11:40.640 I just love it, and I love our work, and 0:11:40.679 --> 0:11:43.160 I think we feel so connected in that scene, and 0:11:43.240 --> 0:11:45.040 I think it's such a beautiful ending. And I wish 0:11:45.080 --> 0:11:49.120 that everyone who posts the memes of her asking for 0:11:49.200 --> 0:11:51.959 the money would also post the memes of me giving 0:11:51.960 --> 0:11:55.319 her the ring and us bonding over it. So that's 0:11:55.400 --> 0:12:01.320 my Hyundai hot take celebrating iconic moments. Bold moves unforgettable style, 0:12:01.679 --> 0:12:07.160 just like Hende. I want to talk a little bit 0:12:07.200 --> 0:12:10.120 about what does a story editor do, because I think 0:12:10.120 --> 0:12:12.600 this is a job title that people don't really think 0:12:12.600 --> 0:12:14.120 about and I think is kind of important. 0:12:14.360 --> 0:12:17.520 It's really interesting, and I think a story editor is 0:12:17.520 --> 0:12:20.960 probably very different in every room. I have looked at 0:12:21.000 --> 0:12:24.280 story editor the way Michael and Darren looked at story editor, 0:12:24.320 --> 0:12:28.720 which is you're a less experienced writer in a room 0:12:28.720 --> 0:12:33.280 where everybody's opinions and ideas matter. So you're given some 0:12:33.679 --> 0:12:36.719 grace in the sense that I think your drafts when 0:12:36.720 --> 0:12:39.679 they come in, if they're not as sharp and wonderful 0:12:39.720 --> 0:12:44.600 as a co executive producers drafts, they understand you're less 0:12:44.600 --> 0:12:47.960 experienced in your learning. But what I never felt in 0:12:48.000 --> 0:12:51.800 the room was it wasn't a democracy. I mean, at 0:12:51.800 --> 0:12:54.760 the end of the day, Michael was deciding which stories 0:12:54.840 --> 0:12:58.760 went and had a very clear idea of what he 0:12:58.880 --> 0:13:01.640 was chasing. But the fun of our writer's room was 0:13:01.640 --> 0:13:05.080 that everybody was pitching on sort of an equal level, 0:13:05.360 --> 0:13:08.440 and then the ideas that sort of bubbled for people 0:13:08.480 --> 0:13:10.480 were the ones that sort of started to take off. 0:13:10.600 --> 0:13:13.640 That makes sense, and so I've always sort of looked 0:13:13.679 --> 0:13:18.200 at those younger levels, like staff writers, story editor, executive 0:13:18.200 --> 0:13:21.840 story editor as just writers that don't have the same 0:13:21.920 --> 0:13:25.160 level of experience, but in a writer's room are bringing 0:13:25.559 --> 0:13:28.160 the same value as someone with a lot more experience 0:13:28.160 --> 0:13:31.080 in terms of story ideas and had a shape story. 0:13:31.679 --> 0:13:34.800 And then obviously writers with more experience, and there was 0:13:35.760 --> 0:13:39.200 unbelievable talent on that room. They're there to sort of 0:13:39.200 --> 0:13:42.440 help guide those younger writers through the process. 0:13:42.559 --> 0:13:42.920 Got it. 0:13:43.000 --> 0:13:45.800 So if you're so, you're there and you may have 0:13:46.120 --> 0:13:49.480 less experience, but you're obviously living a life that is 0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:52.400 going to have rich ideas for the stories. Are you 0:13:52.520 --> 0:13:56.440 also in some way in charge of overseeing the stories 0:13:56.480 --> 0:13:57.600 that other people are writing? 0:13:57.800 --> 0:14:01.000 Or no, No, in our I think every room is 0:14:01.040 --> 0:14:04.319 totally different. But the room that Michael ran has been 0:14:04.360 --> 0:14:08.600 my template for every room I've run since. You try 0:14:08.640 --> 0:14:11.959 to figure out like, okay, like I was listening to 0:14:12.040 --> 0:14:15.360 Julian Elisa's episode and my mother board myself. They came 0:14:15.400 --> 0:14:18.920 in with three ideas that went right into that episode, 0:14:18.920 --> 0:14:22.680 and that very obviously became the episode they needed to write. 0:14:23.000 --> 0:14:26.560 Sometimes that's how it happened. Sometimes it can be Okay, 0:14:26.720 --> 0:14:30.160 this person, I have five writers, and three of them 0:14:30.160 --> 0:14:32.680 are writing scripts and two are still in the room, 0:14:32.720 --> 0:14:34.840 and so this person's writing this next episode. But what 0:14:34.880 --> 0:14:36.960 Michael always did, which I really loved, is he tried 0:14:37.000 --> 0:14:41.160 to find he wanted the writer to have like a 0:14:41.200 --> 0:14:44.120 deep connection to the stories that were being told, which 0:14:44.200 --> 0:14:47.800 I really thought was like a very beautiful way to 0:14:47.920 --> 0:14:50.320 kind of make sure I mean, look, every writer who's 0:14:50.320 --> 0:14:52.720 in a room, that's your hope, right that they connect 0:14:52.720 --> 0:14:54.880 to the characters, to the stories you like to tell. 0:14:55.800 --> 0:14:59.360 But he would kind of click into that and know, Okay, 0:14:59.400 --> 0:15:01.560 this is your app episode coming up. And so then 0:15:01.680 --> 0:15:04.360 in the room as you were pitching for that episode, 0:15:04.400 --> 0:15:08.680 you knew it was your episode. You were responsible for 0:15:08.840 --> 0:15:12.240 keeping the story straight, thinking them through. But you're in 0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:15.680 this unbelievably supportive room where all these amazing ideas are 0:15:15.840 --> 0:15:19.000 popping up and notes are being taken, and you're you know, 0:15:19.120 --> 0:15:24.800 it's like a beautiful pileon of people sort of developing 0:15:25.160 --> 0:15:27.720 the show with you always said like I always felt 0:15:27.760 --> 0:15:30.120 like the thing I think that was so beautiful on 0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:32.520 Sex and the City is you really felt ownership of 0:15:32.560 --> 0:15:35.280 your episode, but you felt fully like you were not 0:15:35.400 --> 0:15:36.560 cut a drift to like good. 0:15:36.480 --> 0:15:38.880 Luck, hope you do a good job at your script. 0:15:38.920 --> 0:15:42.280 It was like, so it was this community that was 0:15:42.320 --> 0:15:45.480 sort of servicing the story and the show, but you 0:15:45.560 --> 0:15:47.880 got to kind of find your way into the episode 0:15:47.880 --> 0:15:50.160 in a way that you were encouraged to do. 0:15:50.480 --> 0:15:51.240 That's so nice. 0:15:51.320 --> 0:15:53.960 I mean I obviously felt I mean it was the 0:15:54.000 --> 0:15:56.640 first show that I was around for this amount of time. Right, 0:15:56.680 --> 0:15:59.160 But when I was on Melrose, you never saw the writers. 0:15:59.200 --> 0:16:00.920 You know, it was one of those old fashioned kind 0:16:00.920 --> 0:16:03.080 of TV sets where the writers were off in a room. 0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:05.600 It might be in a different place even Yes, and 0:16:05.680 --> 0:16:08.680 for us, I think this is a known fact. But 0:16:08.720 --> 0:16:10.520 you know, you guys were part of our lives and 0:16:10.600 --> 0:16:12.320 part of the day to day of the set, and 0:16:12.360 --> 0:16:14.800 if it was your episode being filmed, you were on 0:16:14.840 --> 0:16:17.640 set with us. Yes, I mean almost the whole time, 0:16:17.720 --> 0:16:20.120 unless you like fell asleep at five am or whatever, 0:16:20.320 --> 0:16:24.040 which was totally understandable. But you know, did you feel 0:16:24.320 --> 0:16:27.520 like that was something that was normal or did you 0:16:27.600 --> 0:16:28.560 know it was special? 0:16:28.840 --> 0:16:30.960 I did not know it was special because I'd never 0:16:31.120 --> 0:16:35.240 really done this before. In my mind, writers went to 0:16:35.280 --> 0:16:39.360 set all the time. Michael loved having the writers on 0:16:39.440 --> 0:16:41.960 set to talk through stuff, and you know, we weren't 0:16:42.360 --> 0:16:45.120 ripping apart scenes, but a joke could be at it 0:16:45.480 --> 0:16:48.320 or why do you think this isn't as funny as 0:16:48.360 --> 0:16:51.440 I'd hoped it would be. He was so collaborative in 0:16:51.480 --> 0:16:54.600 the process. I mean, my joke was like that show 0:16:54.720 --> 0:16:56.760 was no Sex in the City for me, because I 0:16:56.800 --> 0:16:59.400 spent all my days and nights on set, and then 0:16:59.680 --> 0:17:02.760 Riday was Faturday, and I'd wake up at two on 0:17:02.880 --> 0:17:05.000 Saturday and I'd get up, you know, and then Monday 0:17:05.080 --> 0:17:08.680 was five am. Yes, So but I loved that process 0:17:08.800 --> 0:17:13.960 of just continually being because it also helped you as 0:17:14.000 --> 0:17:17.800 a writer to see how you guys were finding your 0:17:17.880 --> 0:17:21.480 character and what you were bringing that sort of inspired 0:17:21.520 --> 0:17:25.920 some other storytelling idea or device, And so for us 0:17:26.000 --> 0:17:28.639 that was I loved it. And I think one of 0:17:28.720 --> 0:17:32.000 the things, you know, that's been hard for me as 0:17:32.119 --> 0:17:36.160 I've moved as since the pandemic really is that often 0:17:36.760 --> 0:17:39.320 the other writers aren't on set anymore because you're not 0:17:39.359 --> 0:17:42.639 shooting in the same city as where you're so like, 0:17:42.680 --> 0:17:45.560 they don't bring everyone, they don't bring everyone. That is 0:17:46.000 --> 0:17:49.240 that is that's been for me as a showrunner whose 0:17:49.359 --> 0:17:52.760 goal is to try to train other people to become showrunners. 0:17:52.800 --> 0:17:55.560 That has been sad for me, really hard. 0:17:56.000 --> 0:17:58.040 Yeah, because you want because if you're not on set, 0:17:58.359 --> 0:18:00.639 I think it changes you're writing too, right, Like you 0:18:00.760 --> 0:18:04.399 really understand if I give this person this crazy action, 0:18:05.160 --> 0:18:07.200 or I give them not enough action, and then there's 0:18:07.240 --> 0:18:10.240 a twenty minute voiceover, right, like what are they going 0:18:10.320 --> 0:18:14.719 to happening? Totally so you start learning how to write 0:18:14.960 --> 0:18:17.280 to the actual reality of shooting, which. 0:18:17.160 --> 0:18:18.120 Yeah the best. 0:18:18.400 --> 0:18:21.399 Sometimes when you read a script, you definitely feel like, Okay, 0:18:21.440 --> 0:18:24.240 this person is in a room and everything's happening in 0:18:24.280 --> 0:18:26.159 their mind and they're trying to help people who are 0:18:26.200 --> 0:18:28.680 reading the script envision it right. So there's a lot 0:18:28.720 --> 0:18:31.560 of description, and I'm always like, oh, no, you know, 0:18:31.880 --> 0:18:34.320 because when you get onto the set that sometimes that works. 0:18:34.320 --> 0:18:37.200 Sometimes that doesn't work, and you never know how attached 0:18:37.200 --> 0:18:39.479 the writer is or the director is to all of 0:18:39.480 --> 0:18:43.080 that description on the script page. Yes, but sometimes you 0:18:43.160 --> 0:18:44.639 need that to help people reading it. 0:18:44.920 --> 0:18:47.240 Well, that's always I think the fine line. 0:18:47.560 --> 0:18:51.120 I sort of look at scripts as novels for the executives, 0:18:51.160 --> 0:18:53.760 but then you have to create something that actually like 0:18:53.880 --> 0:18:57.639 gets on its feet for production. So it can be 0:18:58.440 --> 0:19:00.840 you know, maybe how you write a p to kind 0:19:00.880 --> 0:19:03.920 of give people the wink wink and let them know 0:19:04.040 --> 0:19:06.560 what they're supposed to be feeling, because you know an 0:19:06.600 --> 0:19:11.240 actor will give you that feeling underneath the happy attitude 0:19:11.520 --> 0:19:14.960 is desperation, but you might have to write that in 0:19:15.040 --> 0:19:17.800 And I always feel bad because I feel like actors 0:19:18.359 --> 0:19:21.359 don't necessarily need you to like give them the true men. 0:19:23.000 --> 0:19:25.800 So I often will pull that stuff back once you 0:19:25.880 --> 0:19:28.720 go to production. Smart smart smart, but it helps with 0:19:28.760 --> 0:19:29.120 the read. 0:19:29.359 --> 0:19:32.080