Monday, July 13, 2015

#MajorCrimes Facebook Chat Recap with James Duff, GW Bailey, Phillip Keene, Graham Patrick Martin and Dawnn Lewis





James Duff, Co-creator and executive producer of Major Crimes (and The Closer) returned answered fans questions on Facebook once more this week. He was joined by Phillip Keene (Buzz), Graham Patrick Martin (Rusty), GW Bailey (Provenza!) and Dawnn Lewis (Provenza's girlfriend, Patrice). Graham's mother was also there. The recap is below. James does a good job of recapping the answers in his questions so you'll only see the answers below. 

Before we get started, here's the 6th installment of Rusty's vlog about searching for the real name for the murder victim who goes by the pseudonym of Alice Herera. 


James Duff Welcome everyone. We have a one-of-a-kind episode for you tonight, courtesy of one of our long-term producers, Michael Alaimo! And I'm here tonight with GW Bailey, Graham Patrick Martin, Phillip P. Keene and Graham's real live mother, Cindy!

James Duff And Dawnn Lewis, who plays Provenza's new girlfriend, is joining us via speakerphone. She was going to be here live and then got another job! She chose an acting gig over sitting with us around a computer!

James Duff So hard to believe. All right. Here we go. Questions?

James Duff We have some interesting personal relationships to develop tonight.

James Duff And Rusty has his first real friend from school.


James Duff Carolyn D M asks Graham what his favorite part of playing his character is. I assume you mean other than the check!


 James Duff Graham says his favorite bit about doing the show is hanging out with a bunch of fellow performers who have about three hundred years of acting experience (between them). Half of which is G.W.'s.

James Duff Barbara C G asks if we will see the date between Sharon and Andy. No. But you will see them reacting about that.

James Duff Susan L J says she loves the relationship between Patrice and Provenza and Ilona Arcari want to know what it's like exploring a romantic relationship in the later part of life. G.W. says he loves it, and that he thinks he's pursued more women than he has in real life. Dawnn says sixty is sexy! And not to knock it until you've tried.

James Duff Lorraine B loves to see Dawnn Lewis on the show and, as one sister to another, she loves the whole idea of this relationship.

James Duff Dorothea M V asks where's Fritz? Jon Tenney returns as Deputy Chief Howard in the next episode!


James Duff Linda D asks how Patrice puts up with Provenza, and why is he getting so cranky. It's a little like when you buy a house. Or a big car. And it's a major purchase. And the day after, you wonder if you've done the right thing. And Provenza has done this five times before. So I think what you're seeing is a bit of nerves. 

James Duff @Jen W asks if we will be seeing more of Rusty's v-log after he identifies Alice. Rusty's v-log will go on this winter, too, with a surprising new subject for his show, Identity.

James Duff Megan H asks me who my favorite character is, and what my favorite show is. I should probably shoot myself before answering that question.
But let me ask Graham, GW, and Phillip. Phillip's favorite moment was becoming a reserve officer.GW's favorite scene Major Crimes hasn't been written yet! No, he says it has. He loves the scene where he tied Graham's tie before trial. Graham admits this scene also happened in real life when they were in New Orleans for Mardi Gras.

James Duff Cindy, Graham's mother, says she loves the vlogs that Graham is doing after the show, which appear on this page, YouTube and at the Major Crimes website on TNT. You can't blame her.    



James Duff And we will see more of the characters' personal lives. Provenza's, for example. Tonight. You are seeing a great deal of his personal life and you will see how it affects the other characters.

James Duff Ashley B asks a few things. Like will we see more action scenes. Yes, next week you will see a lot of action scenes. It's big episode, like last year's Two Options (though the cast is a little less sprawling!).

James Duff Evelyn David, an extremely talented writer herself - who's mysteries are available on your Kindle - points out that it's pretty difficult to keep plotting for all the series regulars and recurring guest stars, and to solve a mystery while giving them all personal lives is sort of tough.

James Duff Helen L asks if our interaction with fans have changed the story. That's an incredibly interesting question, really. The short answer is probably it has.I am not conscious of doing anything directly because of these interactions, but it is impossible to say they have had no effect. In a way, it's like asking if a friend has ever affected what I write. Just having a friend affects what you write. Just having an audience changes how you feel about your work.

James Duff Yes, it's true, to the person that  asked, that G W went to high school with Janis Joplin and football coach Jimmy Johnson.

James Duff @Jen W asks if we will be seeing      
more of Rusty's v-log after he identifies Alice. Yes!  Rusty's v-log will go on this winter, too, with a surprising new subject for his show, Identity.

James Duff I liked showing Patrice and GW moving in together as a crime scene! Michael Alaimo did a great job of pulling all that together!

James Duff @Jon S asks if Captain Raydor came close to violating the Johnson rule last week when she created a situation where a suspect could have been in danger is he were released. No! Because she never released him, nor was she ever thinking about doing that.

James Duff Cynthia M asks if Graham has learned anything from working with all these veterans? He has! He has learned exactly not what to do! He's joking. Of course, he's learned a lot. Mary and G W and Tony and Raymond and Michael Paul Chan are terrific teachers. And he adores scenes with Robert Gossett.

James Duff Graham's mother says, she has learned not to trust Graham any further than she can throw him. Because she now sees what a great actor he is! Fortunately, she has nothing to worry about with Graham.

James Duff Phillip says one of the things he's learned from working with all these veterans is to be still. And listen.

James Duff Dawnn is back after running off to talk to the producers of the show she's shooting tonight, a new movie called, Welcome to the Family. You can also catch Dawnn as the voice of the teacher if you take the kids to see InsideOut. Disney Pixar's Inside Out. And while I'm promoting other work, for the seriously adult members of the audience, Netflix has a new series called Sense8, which I loved.

James Duff Cynthia J asks if Graham and Phillip Keene are brothers.They aren't! But! You are not the only person to ask. In fact, sometimes they are asked if they're related when they were out.

James Duff Mary McDonnell has a field day in the scenes she does with Jeri. I love the interviews where Sharon hides her true intentions. She's so strait-laced, so when she does difficult things or lies to criminals, it's always great!

James Duff Asking Dawnn what it's like to appear with a group of actors who've been working together for so long. She says they have made her feel like so much a member of the family - especially G W - that she would love to be here even more often! That's what we all want to.

James Duff I think it's time I confessed to all of you......those duck lamps were mine. Yes, those duck lamps were in my house, and I was forced to take them to my office, which has now grown overwhelmed by stuff. And now they are where I can look at them, even if I can't use them.

James Duff This show was directed by Sylvain White, his first time behind the camera on our series. He did a terrific job.


James Duff And now good-night from GW, Phillip, Graham (and Graham's Mom, Cindy).

James Duff All right. That's all for tonight. Tune in next week when two patrol officers are shot to death and Sharon and Fritz are on the case.      

James Duff does this almost every week at 5:45 pm PST and 8:45 PM EST when an episode of Major Crimes is airing. So if you have a question, be sure and check the Major Crimes Facebook page for your chance to get it answered. 



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