Brothers and Sisters: Bloggers and Sisters

More Photos From The Fourth Floor

Sorry for the blogging slowdown – this last week was a busy one for the assistants here in the writers’ office, with Ben’s stint as a jury foreman leaving us understaffed. Fortunately we’ve got him back now, so things are back up to speed.

Michael Morris, David Marshall Grant, Ben "Jury Boy" Kruger and Jennifer Cecil look on as Episode 206 is broken like a twig in a combine.

Things are moving swiftly downstairs on the soundstages, as well. Production is essentially wrapped on episode 201, with production on 202, written by Molly Newman and David Marshall Grant, officially underway as of today. Friday’s read-through was another big success – just watching the actors read through the lines was hysterical and riveting…we all can’t wait to see it on the screen!

Unaware of the apparition lurking behind her, Sally Field celebrates another fine read-through.

Here on the fourth floor, the writers are hard at work keeping the momentum going (and keeping me busy with the constant coffee runs!) Scripts 203 and 204 are going through the polishing process, while the blog’s very own Cliff Olin and Pete Calloway are busy hammering out 205, one grande iced chai latte at a time.

Cliff and Pete making TV magic... one frozen caffeine bomb at a time.

Luckily, after all of our hard work, the cast and crew took a breather today when Ken Olin, one of the show’s marvelous executive producers, celebrated his birthday with cake and ice cream for everybody. The wonderful Jennifer Garner stopped by to join in the festivities, Ken being an Alias alumni (along with Ron Rifkin, Balthazar Getty, Patricia Wettig, and loads of folks from the production crew). All in all, it made for the perfect break from the strenuous production schedule – happy birthday, Ken!

That’s all for now – more soon!

Ryan

Happy Phlog Friday

Happy Friday!

This is Ryan again, live from the 4th floor at Stage Six. It’s been a wonderfully hectic week, with the cast and crew back up to full speed after a restful hiatus. The energy is phenomenal, and it’s showing…we watched some of the dailies - the raw, unedited footage shot each day on set – and were totally blown away.

There was one moment in particular, a quietly emotional scene for Nora that Sally knocked out of the ballpark on her very first take...all of us can’t wait for you guys to see it!

The cast also had their first table read this week, where everyone sits down and reads through the script, getting used to the dialogue. It was one of the first times this season where they’ve all been together, so there were plenty of laughs and jokes to go around (also quite a bit of sushi). As expected, the script sounds just as good as it reads – seriously guys, it’s going to be a GREAT premiere!

In other news, head-writer Mark Perry’s super-assistant Andrew Major is getting married this weekend! [Editor’s note: Andrew has been kind enough to bequeath last minute invitations to Dan and Beth, and they’re going to be kind enough to make him regret it.]

Dan (left) shamelessly buys into Andrew's (right) wedding.

We all wish him the best for his big day, although Mark misses having someone to yell at. Luckily, he’ll be back in the office next week. With Andrew being gone, it’s been busier than ever for us around here, but strangely, productivity has soared…eleven scripts have come out in the last hour.  Hmmmm…

Cliff Olin delivers a withering aside regarding Michael Morris and, just out of earshot, Beth Schwartz.

Now, like Dan said, we have our hands tied when it comes to questions about the new season’s storylines. However, I’ve been given the green light to give you a sneak peek at one of the show’s newest cast members…pay attention to the oh-so-lovable three-legged dog pictured here…you’ll be seeing him again in season two!

That’s it for now – have a great weekend, and stay tuned next week for more posts and pictures!

Congratulations to our EMMY Nominees

That omniscient organization, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, announced the nominees for the 2007 Emmy Awards this morning.  And it's my pleasure to tell you the 3 nominations our once troubled little show received:

Best Actress in a Drama Series:  Sally Field
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Rachel Griffiths
Best Casting in a Drama Series: Jean Bacharach & Gillian O'Neill

Around these parts, we couldn't be prouder of our nominees, and no less proud of the rest of our deserving cast and crew!  Thank you loyal viewers, for helping to keep Brothers & Sisters on the radar.

Your pal
Dan

PRODUCTION DAY 1

Greetings, loyal legions,

Today at 7am, cast and crew convened anew at Stage 6 for the beginning of something beautiful: the first day of shooting for the second season.  Joy abounded as coworkers greeted each other after a restful hiatus.  Many looked thinner.  All looked refreshed. Calista, Sally, Matthew and Emily were all on set.  It was a very festive day in Brothers & Sisters camp, to say the least -- which is an incredible blessing since outside on the Disney Lot it was an open air oven.

I found myself running a couple errands over at the ABC building, a brick and steel monolith accessible from Disney Studios by a pedestrian bridge that stretches above Riverside Drive.  I nearly fainted on the way over, though my spirits were riled by some yahoo in a Beamer that actually honked at me as I crossed in front of him on my way to the crosswalk.

This is all neither here nor there.

It's been great to read all of your comments the last few days.  I can only convey my regret for not writing more.  The questions you've posted involving storylines are for the moment unanswerable.  If I were to violate this directive, I would surely be beheaded at the intersection of Mickey Way and Dumbo Drive.  But I can see that there is demand for crumbs of info about Season 2 and our favorite family -- so I'll take this outcry to the top and see what I can come up with.  It never hurt to ask, right? 

Mostly though, I'm jealous of you guys.  Because when we finally open the doors to this season, you'll go in blind.  And it'll be a lot more fun that way.

Photos to follow shortly --
Love
Dan

The New Guy Speaketh

Greetings from Burbank! This is Ryan Crist, the writer’s intern here at B&S. I’m kind of the new kid on the block, only having been in the office for a few weeks now, but I’ve quickly learned how lucky I am to be here. The people here are incredible, honestly some of the kindest, friendliest, most talented folks I’ve ever been fortunate enough to work with. However, they’re also incredibly busy, which is why the blog hasn’t been updated as regularly as we’d like…I’ll do my best to help get it back up to speed!

Starting tomorrow, we’ll be shooting the first episode of season two, written by the dynamic duo themselves, Monica Breen and Alison Schapker. It’s a truly terrific script, and as a fan of the show, watching it all start to come together production-wise is a bit surreal. I like to think that I exhibit a fairly professional veneer, but below the surface, I’m just a colossal dork, totally new to Los Angeles and the magic that is television production. I try and play it cool, but as the wide-eyed new guy, being a part of the process is about as thrilling as it gets.

Along these lines, my favorite part about being the office intern is that I get to be that proverbial fly-on-the-wall, sitting in with the writers when they brainstorm story ideas/watch the Dramatic Chipmunk forty-seven times in a row. Seriously though, you couldn’t put twelve more talented people in a room together (thirteen if you count the chipmunk). The ideas they’re working on for season two are so exciting – I really can’t wait to see what you guys think (and I’m sure you’ll let us know!)

Well, it’s getting close to my afternoon coffee run, so that’ll be it for today. Keep checking back – I’ll try and post more in the coming days and weeks, along with help from the rest of the gang!

Ryan

Outfest Welcomes... BROTHERS & SISTERS!

Things around here are fairly humdrum, aside from the occasional illicit trips to Valley parking lots for the purpose of securing caviar.  That and the usual water cooler talk about which exciting guest stars will be on the show this year and how many trillions of dollars they'll cost.  Sometimes, this television business is awfully remarkable (rarely remarkably awful, I'm thankful).

Missing you, as always.  We're nothing without you.

I do want to bring it to your attention that Brothers & Sisters will be featured in a panel for the Outfest Film Festival.  It's on Saturday, July 21, at 1:30 pm, at the Director's Guild of America, on Sunset Blvd in Los Angeles.  Executive Producer Ken Olin will moderate, and the panel will feature show Creator Jon Robin Baitz, Sally Field, writer David Marshall Grant, Rachel Griffiths, Matthew Rhys, Ron Rifkin and PatriciaWettig. For tickets, please visit www.outfest.org.

We promise to write more frequently.

Love,
B&S assistants.