Interviews
On Monday, June 23rd, barnesandnoble.com on AOL welcomed Stephen J. Cannell to discuss KING CON.
JainBN: Thank you for joining us this afternoon, Mr. Cannell.
Stephen J Cannell: It is great to be here!
JainBN: We're going to get started immediately and turn the mike over to the audience. Here's our first:
Question: I am wondering if you are aware of the growing number of Web sites devoted to "Silk Stalkings" as well as the fan fiction stories being written about Chris and Rita, some of which restore the character of Chris?
Stephen J Cannell: I am aware of the fact that there are a lot of Web sites for "Silk Stalkings." I was sad to see them leave the show after five years; however, it was their choice to move on despite my intense efforts to renew their contracts. They were great stars and wonderful people, and I wish them nothing but the best. Often when an actor or actress has done a series for five years, they feel that there is very little more they can do with their characters. You must remember that although you see the show for an hour, they are working on it for 13 hours a day 8 months out of the year, and it was their choice to move on. I hope you can all get invested in Chris Potter and Janet Gunn, who are excellent performers doing their very best to carry on the great tradition.
Question: I loved "Profit." Do you have any new TV series in the works you can talk about?
Stephen J Cannell: I am currently finishing re-hanging the pilot for "Hawaii Five-O." This revisits the show with new actors and new characters. My hope is CBS will program it. I have written the screenplays for both my second novel as well as my third novel, KING CON, both slated to be motion pictures. The movie version of KING CON will star John Travolta.
Question: Any chance for a book or movie using the original characters from "Silk Stalkings"?
Stephen J Cannell: I am not certain where any show will end up. Right now, I am just happy to be making the series, but who knows? Some good characters will never die.
Question: What contemporary authors do you currently read?
Stephen J Cannell: I love Michael Connelly, Nelson De Mille, Lawrence Saunders, Ed McBain, Joe Wambaugh, and a host of others. Mostly I read authors who write in the same genre that I write.
Question: Are there any plans for a Chris and Rita character wrap-up, to let the viewers know about Rita and their baby?
Stephen J Cannell: No.
Question: How is it different writing for television compared to writing books? Which do you prefer?
Stephen J Cannell: Books are a more complete form of writing, where as an author you can go into a character's head. In TV, you must convey all the information through dialogue, which at times is a little unnatural. For pure writing fun, I prefer the novel form because it allows me so many more tools. However, doing film is a much more social environment and is also really fun because of all the people that come together to make your words a reality.
Question: I really like your shows. Do you come up with all the ideas yourself, or are they presented to you to develop?
Stephen J Cannell: It happens in a variety of ways. Sometimes they are solely my ideas, as in "Wiseguy" or "The Greatest American Hero." Sometimes they are cocreated, such as "The A-Team" and "The Commish," and sometimes they are the direct result of a network trying to fill a particular void in the schedule -- "Riptide" and "The A-Team." They come from all directions.
Question: What happened to "The Rose" starring Richard Grieco?
Stephen J Cannell: It was actually called "Marker." I am not sure what happened, I wish I knew because in my opinion it should have never been canceled. It was getting a 3.5 rating and a 4 rating. Ratings that shows don't even get today. My suspicion is that there were political reasons within the network that resulted in its cancellation.
Question: I'm just now seeing "Wiseguy" for the first time during its WGN reruns and enjoying it tremendously. Any chance you'll do another WG movie?
Stephen J Cannell: We made one movie last year, and I am certainly up for it if the network is interested.
Question: What do you think is the best TV out there today? What about books?
Stephen J Cannell: The best television, in my opinion, is "NYPD Blue," "Law and Order," "The Larry Sanders Show," "Friends," as well as many others. As far as books, any of the books written by the previously mentioned authors.
Question: I heard you made a new "Hawaii Five-O" pilot. When will we see it? Tell us a little about it, please. Thank you.
Stephen J Cannell: It is up to CBS to decide when to show the pilot. It starred Russell Wong, Gary Busey, Elsey Flippen, and Stephen Flynn. Also some of the old "Five-O" cast, including Can Fong and several others.
Question: What actor would you like to play Beano X. Bates if they were to make a movie out of KING CON?
Stephen J Cannell: Well they are making a movie with MGM, and John Travolta has been slated to star.
Question: Have you heard from Mitzi Kapture or Rob Estes since their departure from "Silk Stalkings"? And if so, how do they feel about doing a wrap-up episode for their characters?
Stephen J Cannell: We have spoken to Mitzi, who might come back, having had her baby. Rob Estes is a regular on "Melrose Place" and will probably not come back. We will just have to wait and see.
Question: Can you tell us about the "A-Team" movie? Who will be in it? Are the original three going to be in cameos?
Stephen J Cannell: The movie is currently in second draft of the screenplay. My hope is that the three remaining guys will play cameos. George Peppard, as you know, passed away a couple of years ago. The script, I believe, is excellent, written by a young writer named Richard Hatem.
Question: Which of your shows have you had the highest hope for, which went on to not get an audience? Also, which did you not think had a chance and became a hit?
Stephen J Cannell: The highest hopes I had were for "Ten Speed and Brown Shoe" with Jeff Goldblum. Also "Profit" in 1997. Neither of these shows, in my opinion, got a long enough running to get a fair chance. They were both bull's-eyes. The show I thought had the least chance and became the biggest hit was "The A-Team," because it was so unusual that all the characters broke the molds of heroes. It was put against big hits, and lo and behold, "The A-Team" exploded, knocking both of these shows off the air. So what do I know?
Question: "Wiseguy" was great. Do you have any projects coming up that will include Ken Wahl?
Stephen J Cannell: Not at this point, although I think Ken is a great actor, so maybe something will happen in the future.
Question: What is the physical process of creating a script like? Is it a lonely quest or a cooperative process.
Stephen J Cannell: It can be either. There have been times when I worked with other writers and we had fun. There were also times when I was alone, banging my head against the wall trying to figure how to make certain that the story you are telling is both evolving and rich in character, since no writing is taking place, just outlining. It doesn't tend to be as much fun. So getting together with other writers takes the stink off the process. When you write dialogue, the characters come alive in your head and on the page. Most writers prefer to do that process alone.
Question: I heard you speak a few years ago at a Mystery Writers of America dinner in L.A. At that time you announced we'd see the occasional "Columbo" episode coming back; which we did, for a while. Any chance of more coming our way?
Stephen J Cannell: I only wrote one episode of "Columbo" and therefore don't have much to say whether it comes back or not. I know Peter Falk has been making "Columbo" for the past couple of years. My understanding is that they will make them. However, we have been making "Rockford" movies. We just finished the eighth two-hour movie for CBS, but I am not positive when it will be on the air.
Question: You have been in some of your shows, for example in "Silk Stalkings." Do you enjoy acting?
Stephen J Cannell: Yes, I enjoy acting, I hope maybe as my responsibilities as an executive decrease with the sale my studio, I will have more time for it. It is fun!
Question: In the movie version of KING CON, who is going to play Dancer? Are you happy with the casting of Travolta as Beano?
Stephen J Cannell: I am delighted with Travolta as Beano, and no other actors have been slated. I would like to see someone like Andy Garcia as Dancer. But this will be a decision made by a lot of other people, as well as me.
JainBN: Thank you for joining us, Mr. Cannell, and congratulations on the publication of KING CON.
Stephen J Cannell: It has been great pleasure talking to you. I look forward to my next chat. Until then, do a struggling writer a favor and buy my book!