{"id":1154,"date":"2012-01-21T16:06:22","date_gmt":"2012-01-21T20:06:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/?p=1154"},"modified":"2015-07-11T05:56:07","modified_gmt":"2015-07-11T09:56:07","slug":"i-get-to-interview-sam-neill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/?p=1154","title":{"rendered":"I get to interview Sam Neill!"},"content":{"rendered":"

After watching the new show Alcatraz<\/em> on Fox earlier this week, I was a bit disappointed. It wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. But then I thought… what does Sam Neill think? So I decided to call him up and ask him through my shady underground Hollywood connections (which as of now can only help me contact three people: Sam Neill, Andy Griffith, and Sean Connery, all of whom are supposedly part of a secret club that meet annually to play cards, exchange stories of the old days, compare accents, and watch cartoons).<\/p>\n

So here’s my interview! Thanks to Sammy old pal!<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> So. I didn’t think Alcatraz<\/em> was all that great. But what did you think?<\/p>\n

Sam:<\/strong> Oh, I don’t watch the things I’m in. But I assume it was very good. Maybe you missed something.<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> Not possible. But let’s move on to the next question. What is it like working with all those other actors and actresses?<\/p>\n

Sam:<\/strong> It’s great. They are nice people. In fact, one day one of them told a joke and we all laughed. It was really funny.<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> What was the joke?<\/p>\n

Sam:<\/strong> You wouldn’t get it. It’s an actor joke.<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> Please?<\/p>\n

Sam:<\/strong> No.<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> OK. Let’s move on. Your character in Alcatraz<\/em> seems like a good guy with a dark side. Do you think that deep down he’s evil? Or nice?<\/p>\n

Sam:<\/strong> I think deep down he has a lot of issues. I wouldn’t call those issues good or bad. It’s all about what side you’re viewing them from, kind of like how a leaf is a lighter shade of green underneath it, or how some west-African frogs can change their sex from female to male in an all female environment.<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> So what you’re saying is: life finds a way.<\/p>\n

Sam:<\/strong> What? No.<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> Oh. Now, how did you come to play this character in Alcatraz<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Sam:<\/strong> Well, it was actually Abrams himself who asked me. He came by helicopter and just waltzed into my trailer one day and opened a bottle of wine without even asking! I told him I was saving it, and he said: “For today!” And then, after promising to fund me for a further three years, I took the job.<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> That seems very unorthodox.<\/p>\n

Sam:<\/strong> You’d be surprised.<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> When you ran into your trailer, did you knock any pants off your clothes line?<\/p>\n

Sam:<\/strong> Yes, I actually did.<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> Interesting indeed. Let’s move on. How many seasons do you think Alcatraz<\/em> will last?<\/p>\n

Sam:<\/strong> Well, Abrams, as a producer, is always thinking about the big picture. Maybe not all the answers and a sense of closure; that’s up to the hack writers, I mean, the writers. Abrams is a questions guy, because that’s the easy, I mean, that’s the Abrams part. So he already has about 796 questions that will come up in the first season alone. That will generate so much interest and excitement that I think this show will go on for at least 25 years just to answer those questions, or at least explore possible answers while introducing new questions.<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> But — wait. Is the show inserting questions before the writers even know the answers?<\/p>\n

Sam:<\/strong> Oh, I don’t know. As an actor, I just have to evolve.<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> Interesting. So how does your character in Alcatraz<\/em> compare to characters you’ve played in the past?<\/p>\n

Sam:<\/strong> In some ways, he’s very similar. In other ways, he’s very different.<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> Can you be more specific?<\/p>\n

Sam:<\/strong> Well, just think about it.<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> OK, now I see what you’re saying. Let’s go on. How does it feel to be working on TV instead of the movies? Do you feel less important?<\/p>\n

Sam:<\/strong> No. I’m still the main character.<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> I don’t think you are.<\/p>\n

Sam:<\/strong> Well, what’s to be scared about? Just a little hiccup in the writing.<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> I didn’t say I was scared.<\/p>\n

Sam:<\/strong> I didn’t say you were scared.<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> I know. Anyway, speaking of being scared, those criminals aren’t really that scary, are they? They’re more like a six-foot turkeys.<\/p>\n

Sam:<\/strong> Turkeys, huh? Imagine you’re in Alcatraz and you spot a prisoner, and you keep still because you think his vision is based on movement.<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> Why would I think that?!<\/p>\n

Sam:<\/strong> And that’s when the attack comes! Not from the front, but from the sides! Whewsh!<\/em> From the other two prisoners you didn’t even know were there. And you are alive with they start to eat, I mean, kill you. So, you know, try to show a little respect!<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> OK! I’m sorry! Geez! One more question: if a certain trilogy is continued with a certain fourth film, would you be interested in reprising your role?<\/p>\n

Sam:<\/strong> Ah, yes, of course! I have been dying to reprise that role! I dream about it all the time! It will be the best movie ever! Unfortunately I don’t think there’s enough interest, so I don’t think The Omen 4<\/em> will ever happen.<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> Argh! Oh well. Thanks for your time!<\/p>\n

Sam:<\/strong> After careful consideration, I’ve decided not to endorse this interview.<\/p>\n

Me:<\/strong> So have I! *Do DO, do DO, do do DOOO do DOOO do DOOO*<\/p>\n

Thanks for reading this interview.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After watching the new show Alcatraz on Fox earlier this week, I was a bit disappointed. It wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. But then I thought… what does Sam Neill think? So I decided to call him up and ask him through my shady underground Hollywood […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[73],"tags":[464,465],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gI4B-iC","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1154"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1154"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1154\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1901,"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1154\/revisions\/1901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wizardwalk.com\/newblather\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}