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Michael: Exactly.
Steve: There is a brief script review before the director walks the cast through a scene. The cast provides input. The camera angle is fixed. There are one or two rehearsals ( the shot is found ) A walk-through for cast and crew is called "blocking." Have I got that right?
Michael: Exactly.
Chiara: How large was the entire crew apart from the actors?
Michael: Main Unit was comprised of about twenty people, and Second Unit about twelve. Crews were not interchangeable. Being Second Unit didn't mean any less quality. Peter Fitzgerald’s on Second Unit and he’s an excellent director.
Steve: Let’s talk a little about your fellow cast members. David Orth is from southern Canada. As I understand it, he replaced Wil deVry ( Ned in the pilot ) because Wil was very tall and the producers didn't want two Roxtons. You referred to David as a "puppy in the Jungle." Would you care to explain why in a little more detail? What was it like working with him? What was it like working with Wil DeVry? Do you think the substitution of one actor for the other in the series was a good move? Which of the two actors do you believe comes closest to the central character in Conan Doyle's book?
Michael: Wil was fine to work with and we never had any problems. He's very professional and hard-working. As regards the substitution, I can't guess what was in the producers' minds. I can only assume they wanted someone who was nothing like Roxton. After all, Roxton is the prototype of a big game hunter and Malone is a “cub” reporter. He only went on the expedition to prove his manhood to Gladys, the girl who rewarded him (in the book!) by marrying someone else. David is a resident of Toronto. He has that innocent quality, as well as being somewhat shorter than Will Snow. They aren’t at all alike. Hence "puppy in the jungle." David’s very friendly and easy to get on with. I enjoyed working with him. It's not unusual for there to be a change of cast after a pilot. That's what its for … as a "try-out."
Steve: Jennifer O’Dell must have been terrified. Initially she only wore sandals and her legs were bare, yet she ran, climbed, and performed acrobatics through a jungle that housed a variety of venomous creatures. I understand though that she was a total sport and completed any number of takes no matter how strenuous they were without a whimper, and that she is very intelligent and warm. Have I summed her up accurately? What was it like working with her? Can you list any other endearing traits? Are there any anecdotes you might share with us?
Michael: No, Jen wasn't really terrified, just a bit nervous at first as anyone would be working with almost no foot and leg cover. Yes, she was/is a good sport and certainly performed all her scenes like a trouper. Without a whimper… well ... sometimes, after several takes that were unsuccessful for technical reasons, she could be very vocal! We just covered our ears and carried on ... Jen is indeed very intelligent and insightful. She's quick to respond to any suggestions, and just as willing to give them, which made for some lively exchanges sometimes, but always for the better. One of her most endearing traits was the warm and radiant smile one got in the morning, even when she had been called before everyone else and was sitting in make-up with her hair in curlers. She's very kind and considerate and about the furthest thing from a bimbo that one can imagine. Another endearing trait was her lack of bashfulness: she has a lovely body and is proud of it, and wasn't bashful about her skimpy costume - she enjoyed the admiration she got from all the red-blooded OZ males in the crew. Working with her was no problem - she was always focused and energetic.
Steve: How did you and Peter get along? What was it like to work with him? How do you think the series Challenger compares with Conan Doyle's Challenger?
Michael: Peter is a gruff, kindly person, with a vast amount of professional experience behind him in stage, film and TV work. Quite early in the game we found common ground in exchanging banter and back-chat, the kind of sarcasm that Challenger and Summerlee exchanged in the novel, although not nearly so erudite! He's done many things in his career - managing a rock group was one of them - and his hobby and passion is horses. He has a small estate in new Zealand where he keeps his animals. When David Orth joined us, he heard Peter and I arguing and carrying on. He was quite nervous about it as he thought we were really quarreling. Actually we became very good friends. I also met his wife, Catherine Wilkin, who is one of Australia's most respected actresses. You can see her in Richard Franklin's Brilliant Lies. They're an easy-going, unassuming couple who are very good company. I think the writers should have maintained the rivalry between us: it started off that way and gradually petered out except for the odd bicker. Doyle's Challenger is much more violent and aggressive than ours: if you remember from the novella, he literally throws Malone out of his house for contradicting him, and then sits his wife on a high pedestal when she defends the newsman. I think the truth is that actions like that are easier to describe in prose than to actually play, so our Challenger was somewhat toned down.
Steve: In Challenger's office during filming of the pilot, Marguerite correctly identifies a skull as that of an ichthyosaur. You identify it as a mosasaur. Challenger sides with Marguerite. " it's as plain as your bald pate" he exclaims. Was that whole exchange your idea?
Michael: ( laughing ) It was a line-change: I forget what was originally there, but Peter MacCauley and I connived to find something really insulting; he was a bit hesitant when I suggested the bald pate line, but I encouraged him to go for it, as it helped to strengthen my next line, which was: "I'm really going to enjoy making a fool of that man!"
Steve: You said that everybody helped each other out and that Will Snow could be quick to assist a camera crew when he wasn't in a shot. What was he like to work with on camera? I'll bet the two of you have some good stories to tell ( that Chiara and I could print ).
Michael: Snowy is a trained stunt person as well as an actor, and enormously strong - more physical than verbal. Yes, he often helped the crew to move things if they were short of hands. He's generous on-camera, and takes great care in planning the handling of his props: he was nearly always carrying a heavy rifle - this takes some maneuvering - which he often had to shoot. Some of his action meant sudden stops and firing, and sometimes he'd fall over and land on the grass grinning: the crew put a few of these pratfalls together in the comedy reel of out-takes that is always shown at the final (wrap) party for cast and crew. He was also very good at finding the best way of doing things, and helped me from time to time when I got in a muddle: he has a talent for quickly seeing the most efficient way of getting a shot for the director, a talent which is very useful when one is working fast. He's very reserved: he didn't socialize at all as his fiancée, an anchor woman for TV in Sydney, was up most weekends. We didn't see much of them. Snowy's off-camera occupation is the stock market, so early morning pickup calls usually involved a quick stop at a convenience store to get the early edition of the newspapers. He’d retire behind the financial pages, get the latest quotes and plan his next coup. I never found out whether he was successful ... I hope so!
Chiara: Do members of the cast resemble their characters?
Michael: There is very little resemblance. Just the appearance. It's a common mistake to think that actors are like their characters. They just have to be able to imagine themselves as the person they're portraying. Look at Gary Oldman: he's not a crazed over-the-top psycho, but a well-educated, charming and pleasant guy. At least he was when I did a couple of scenes with him in Criminal Law...
Chiara: You mentioned that Peter McCauley is married. What about the others?
Michael: David, Jennifer, Will and Rachel are not married. Rachel was. She’s separated, but still friends with her husband.
Steve: You have said nothing about Rachel Blakely, not even in passing. Is there a reason for that? What was it like to work with her? Did you get on well together? Is she as cool as she seems? I was impressed by her reaction to the loss of most of the expedition at the bridge in the last episode. There is that moment of sudden realization that you're all gone. She strikes me as a very accomplished actress. What is your opinion?
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