Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Comic-Con 2009 - Chuck Discussion and Q&A - July 28, 2009

Comic-Con 2009 - Day 3 - Chuck Panel DiscussionComic-Con definitely felt like a victory parade for Chuck after the awesome fan campaign that saved the show. Chuck is one of my favorite shows and I can’t possibly recommend it enough!! Chuck opened up HUGE at Comic-Con!! First, there was this Comic-Con trailer which aired.


Then, Jeffster opened it up as they performed Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls”. This was awesome!! The rest of the cast walked out during the song and danced. Huge ovation from the crowd as they walked out. I’m sorry but based on everything that I’ve seen, everyone has to follow that entrance from here on out. LOL. The mark has been set for other panels.

Co-creator Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak joined Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Joshua Gomez, Adam Baldwin, Sarah Lancaster, Ryan McPartlin, Vik Sahay, Scott Krinsky, Mark Christopher Lawrence. This was a fun, fun Q&A to watch!! So many laughs!!

Here are some of the highlights of the Q&A.

Question: Why that song for Jeffster’s entrance?
Schwartz: “Fat Bottomed Girls seems like a song that really Jeff would gravitate to. He has a shape. And Jeffster has an era where I think they really rock the hardest. “

Question: Who came up with the band in the first place? Whose idea was it?
Schwartz: “One of our writers, Allison Adler.”

Question: How much did any of you actually expect to be back here and be back on the show?
Zachary: “Look at them. We’re here because of you guys (pointing to the crowd). I felt cautiously optimistic, I guess that’s the right term but when you have the best fans in the world who will go and eat multiple Subway sandwiches and start grassroots campaigns and stay with you through thick and thin and believe in you as a cast and crew. You guys are incredible. I love you guys. Thank you so much.”
Schwartz: “You guys have been amazing.” (He named off a bunch of names of people that helped promote and push the show to help get it to return.) “Is Wendy Farrington here?”
(She was there and got their attention in the crowd.)
Zachary: “I met Wendy in the UK. Wendy started the footlong finale campaign that a lot of you guys caught wind of or saw on the internet or whatever. It was basically the best way that a show could get that kind of traction and get out there. It got picked up virally. Wendy was one of those genius fans that said ‘you know what, I think I know what might actually do something beneficial that has some reward. Let’s get everyone who really digs the show to go and patronize one of their main advertisers, Subway, and you did that. You guys picked up on that and you went with us and now we have all of ballroom 20 (pointing at the room). Best fans in the world.”

Question: What can you tell us about season three to hold us over until when the show premieres?
Fedak: “The Chuck story is one of a hero. You know in Superman how he goes to the Fortress of Solitude and he comes out Superman, but we’re telling the story about a hero in pieces. If you think about seasons one and two, he’s figured out now that he has powers. Now, he has these abilities but you don’t just figure that stuff out in a day. It’s going to be exciting for us to get in there and figure out how he learns. Now, he has Sarah and Casey protecting him but also in some ways being sensei’s. There is pieces of that that is going to be really fun for season three. It’s fun for Chuck to take the story of a guy who could be a hero and what’s going to happen next.”

Question: How is Subway going to be put into the show next year?
Schwartz: “To be determined. It is very early. We can tell you that because we had to take some budget retractions or cuts, this year we can only afford for Adam Baldwin to grunt. (laughs)."
Adam: "My inner monolgue when I grunt is the name Joss Whedon." (Big ovation and the cast jokes and gets on him for pushing Whedon instead of them.) "We’re at Comic-Con. I have to throw them a bone. Look at them cheer.”

Question: Anything on the powers that Chuck now has?
Zachary: “The powers which you’ll grow to find out in the new season, he can’t just know kung fu all of the time. Then, his handlers are obsolete and we have to have them cause we need Yvonne and Adam or otherwise there is no Chuck. The writers and creators have structured it in a way that the chuck fu or any other physical powers that I may be able to have, they have a window, they have a bit of a shelf life. There is a glitch in the system. I flash and I have my physical powers but they don’t necessarily last. That is kind of the secret to the chuck fu or whatever else.”
Fedak: “Plus, this new intersect was designed for a guy like Bryce Larkin, super spy.”
Zachary: “What are you trying to say?”
Fedak: “Cold, emotionless but unfortunately they’ve went into Chuck Bartowski. Big emotional guy. Lot of issues.”
Zachary: “That’s true”

Fedak talked about the new Chuck website. The website is at this link at: http://chuckmeout.com Fedak had these comments on the website: “It’s one part: thank you to the fans because you were so instrumental in the show coming back. So, we really wanted to create a hub for all Chuck activities. If there is something going on out in the world or something with the show, we want to be able to tell you about it. Also get some behind the scenes stuff, lot of writers right now but we’re going to get some actors. It’s a great place so, for us, we wanted to be able to communicate with you guys more directly and connecting all the great bloggers and critics who talk about the show. It goes live today. It will be great and we’re very excited.”

We then move on to the fan questions. This gets funny with the joke being that fans would suggest things in their questions, the panel would say great idea, and write it down for future ideas.

Question: Will Chuck have to pay a price for having his temporary abilities? Like he can do kung fu but then can’t walk for half an hour afterwards.
Zachary: says “great idea. That is actually art imitating life right there.”
Schwartz says ”that’s why we’re here today people” as Fedak writes it down.

This little girl asks: Who are you closest to in the cast and who is your best friend?
Gomez starts easing in to secure his spot. LOL
Zachary: “First of all, you may be the most adorable little girl that I’ve ever seen in my entire life. You should be bottled and your parents should bring you around and say ‘oh a little adorable? Here you go’. I feel like everyone in the cast has different connections in every different way but probably Josh and I from day one. He does play my best friend on TV and he’s one of my best buddies in real life and we get to play video games together. He’s a man after my own heart but I love everybody. “

Question: Did Chuck’s dad program him with any other abiltiies such as learning languages or knowing how to shoot?
They immediately start writing things down again saying these are good. “Any language suggestions?” Crowd starts yelling all sorts of suggestions. Funny stuff.

A kid steps up the mic and says: “My name is Orion.”
Zachary: “Your name is Orion? That’s awesome. Are you my father?”
Kid: “I’m not. “
Zachary: “I would hope not cause he is sitting right over there and that would be very odd.”
Kid: “Are there going to be action figures or maybe a video game?”
Fedak writes it down.
Adam: “Yeah, I need another one.” (this got a lot of laughs as he cheered with that comment)
Zachary: In response to Adam’s mention of having a figure, “It hurts a little bit.” Starts to mock Adam “I was on Firefly everyone loves me”. This got a huge applause from the crowd as Adam continued to egg on the cheers. LOL
Adam: “What? I just said four words.”
Zachary: “I hope we get action figures if for no other reason to have one and throw it in his face” (pointing at Adam)
Gomez: “Then, have it beat up the Adam action figure.”
Zachary: (Starts to do an imitation of being up the Jayne action figure on the table) “Yeah, Jayne, look at that Jayne. Not so shiny now are you Jayne?” (pauses and reflects on what his own figure could be.) “And furthermore so I can have a kung fu grip.”

Comic-Con 2009 - Day 3 - Chuck Panel Discussion
Question: Which superhero does Chuck most identify with and which would he like to be most like?
“It is much like a Peter Parker kind of a thing. He gets bit whether he likes it or not. Not by a spider but by email which is on the world wide web. Who would he like to be? I don’t know Deadpool? But apparently Ryan Reynolds gets all the jobs. (laughs).”

Adam was asked on whether he would be branching out to do more romantic stuff. Gomez looked over and said that he couldn’t wait to hear this answer. Adam says: “I just do what they tell me.”
Schwartz: “I’ve always been obsessed with the idea of Ellie and Awesome being on the rocks a bit. Hypothetical. Casey is trimming his bonsai tree in the window. Ellie and Casey’s eyes lock in the courtyard. Then, there’s a moment.”
This got a lot of laughs with a lot of the cast groaning. LOL
Adam: “I would do that. That I would do.”

Question: Loved the 3D episode . Any thought of doing a musical episode with Jeffster?
“Write it down.”
Schwartz: “Now, there will be.”
Zachary: “That may have been your answer right there.”

Yvonne was asked about Sarah talking about her sister and whether Corinna would be coming back?
Yvonne: “Maybe you should write that down. Is Corinna coming back?”
Yes, Corinna will be back.
Schwartz: “And Morgan will try once again.”
Gomez: “And fail once again.”
Schwartz: “Or not.”
This perked up Gomez.

Comic-Con 2009 - Day 3 - Chuck Panel Discussion
Other happenings. Schwartz did leave open the possibility that Chuck could return earlier than had been talked about. That would be great if it works out. The season three poster was shown at Comic-Con which was very cool looking. The Buy More will be a part of the show in the new season. A fan asked about if there were any guest stars to name for the new season. To continue with the pattern, they said to yell out names and they’d write them down. LOL. Somebody mentioned having Casey’s parents on the show. Schwartz and Fedak loved the idea and said “Casey’s mom. Thank you” while adding great idea as they wrote it down. Some fan yelled “Yvonne, you’re hot”. Zachary said “good answer” and then Adam followed with “yeah, from the duh files”. This was a great, great time from top to bottom. The mood was great and they did a lot of joking around. They made sure to thank the fans huge as you can tell for all the work with the campaigns to bring the show back. Anyone that attended this Q&A got a show and a half. If you’re a Chuck fan, you were very happy with this.

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