Ian Anthony Dale as CIA Agent Simon Lee in The Event. Photo by Joseph Viles and copyright of NBC.
NEAR the end of World War II, a mysterious aircraft with passengers onboard crashed in northern Alaska. The survivors, all of whom appeared human on the surface, were, in fact, non-terrestrials. Many of them were captured by the U.S. government and taken to a secret facility, while others escaped and began new lives among the general public. Turn the clock ahead to the present day - newly-elected U.S. President Elias Martinez (Blair Underwood) has discovered the existence of this facility and plans to release the alien detainees and make their presence on Earth public knowledge, much to the objections of various intelligence agencies. Meanwhile, CIA operative Simon Lee (Ian Anthony Dale) has been assigned to head up a covert mission to hunt down and eliminate the aliens posing as ordinary humans. Unknown to his superiors, Lee is, himself, an alien. And what part does Sean Walker (Jason Ritter) and his missing girlfriend have to play in this decades-old conspiracy?
These are the stories unfolding Monday nights on NBC's Sci-Fi drama The Event. A few weeks ago, series creator/co-executive producer Nick Wauters and Ian Anthony Dale, who plays Simon Lee, spoke with journalists about their involvement with the series. The following is an edited version of that Q & A. Enjoy!
First off, we wish you continued success of the show. But if The Event should get a cancellation notice before the central mystery is resolved is there a way to sort of tack on a final episode that would resolve all the plot lines or do you really need to finish out the season and go into Season 2 in order to finish?
NICK WAUTERS -That’s a great question. As I said before I’ve really planned out what Season 1 should be and how we’re going to continue into Season 2. There’s a plan that kind of defines how each piece of the puzzle fits together. But I think right now we’re doing really well which, fingers crossed, means the show is going to continue. My hope is, though, that if we were to eventually get a cancellation before we can solve any stories or before its time, that we could get that extra episode to wrap up story lines. That’s definitely something that I would want to do. I get frustrated sometimes when I follow a serialized show and then it gets pulled and you never get any of your answers. So I understand how audiences feel; you don’t want to invest all this time if you’re not going to get a resolution at the end. So we’ll do our best not to let that happen.
One of the things that we always see is when they flash the logo on the screen the second "E" in The Event flips over backwards. Is that any sort of representation about something in the series or symbolic of something in the series, something we should sort of look at as a clue?
NW - I can’t really tell you. It’s one of those mysteries, so maybe it actually does mean something. But definitely our graphic designers do an amazing job, and there may be something to that.
Has The Event changed much from your original pitch to NBC, and, if so, what changes did the network ask you to make that you incorporated into the series?
NW - The original pitch was based on a spec script that was written four-and-a-half years ago, but when NBC looked at it and decided to buy it last fall, the one change that they wanted to make is they asked me if I would be open to adding a small element of Science Fiction, which I didn’t have before. I’m very much into Sci-Fi, I’m kind of a big Sci-Fi geek, so for me that was actually very, very exciting and I jumped on the opportunity. The pilot itself and the characters are pretty much the way they were before. The way the pilot is structured is pretty much the same, but it’s really the bible of the show and what happens next. That’s what I spent a lot of time working on during the development process. So that added element of Science Fiction is definitely there, but it’s only one of the many elements that make up the fabric of our show.
I've read that you intend to wrap up the central mystery of what is "The Event" early on in Season 2 rather than dragging it out for five or six years, hoping and praying, of course, that the show gets to Season 2. Is there any concern on your part that once you do wrap up the central mystery that the audience will sort of feel satisfied that they got their answers and simply tune out?
NW - I’ve always imagined and designed "The Event" itself as a seminal event that will affect the characters as well as the world in which they live, and it’s something that will happen early on in the life of the series. We haven’t picked exactly when, but it’s not going to be the end all. So you’re going to follow our characters before "The Event," during the event and after the event. So in a way I’m hoping that the sub-mysteries that we set up along the way will capture the attention of our audience, but also our characters. I mean I really hope people respond to our characters, and in the end that’s why they’ll tune in, just to find out what happens to our characters, whether it’s before, during or after the event.
Ian, some of your fellow cast mates have talked about how, yes, they already know what "The Event" is and they’re been sworn to secrecy, while a few others say, no, I don’t know what the event is. What’s your story?
IAN ANTHONY DALE - I actually fall in to the category of knowing what the event is and that’s about all I can tell you.
Can you tell me, is it a good thing, a bad thing, is it hard to keep it secret even for cast members, from managers, publicists, friends, family,etc?
IAD -Well, you know what’s kind of neat is that being sworn to secrecy falls in line with the character, Simon Lee, that I’m playing. He’s a guy who has to keep secrets and lives a double life. So it’s kind of good practice for playing the character, and I’m actually kind of enjoying that aspect of it. So no, it’s not that hard to keep the secret. It was at first, though. It’s so exciting and you want to tell everybody because it’s so cool, but over time and with practice it becomes a lot easier. So I’m pretty hard to crack at this point in time.
You guys started out really well in the ratings, but are you at all worried, Nick, that people might have trouble feeling like they missed the boat because they didn’t get in right away?
NW - I’m hoping they don’t. People have been talking about the show, and the pilot aired a number of times after its original premiere. It’s available online, too, so hopefully people who hear about it and want to check it out will be able to watch the pilot and then follow the show. But in a way, even if you don’t see the first episode, just watching the second episode, to me, is OK. The Sean Walker (Jason Ritter) character is so relatable in a way and he's just this regular guy who could be any one of us. He gets sucked into this giant conspiracy and just really wants to make sense of it all and find his girlfriend. Hopefully people will get hooked by that feeling and they'll just be able to follow Sean and not be confused by the set-up from the pilot.
In the show, how close are you modeled after our current administration?
NW - When I originally wrote the pilot four-and-a-half years ago, our government was very different from what it is now. And the political situation of the country was very different. But in the way it still translates and applies to what’s going on today. Some people have said that the character of Martinez (Blair Underwood) is inspired by President Obama and actually he really isn’t because I created the character way before we actually knew who Obama was. So we’re trying not to connect ourselves too much with what’s happening in current events. There are certain messages that, you know, I want to get across and certain ideals that Martinez really cares for. But it’s a bipartisan, it’s the first bipartisan ticket, so each of them is from a different party and that’s one of the differences that kind of defines the dynamics of their administration. So I think our show's president and vice president and their White House is very different from what we have in our real world right now.
Nick, you guys have been gathering a lot of great reviews and people have been comparing The Event quite heavily to Lost and 24. Do you want to be bigger than Lost and 24?
NW -Do I want to be bigger than Lost and 24? I think I wouldn’t mind being bigger than Lost and 24. I mean, I’m a big fan of both shows and I can only hope that we can have the impact that those two shows had. They were fantastic, so it's definitely something to aspire to, but, yes, if I had a magic wand I would definitely try and make us bigger than those shows. Why not?
What has been the biggest challenge of filming The Event so far?
IAD - I’ll start this, Nick, and you can finish it, but for me, on the production end of things and the shooting, we have some very ambitious scripts that we’re trying to shoot in eight days. Ideally we could use eighteen days per episode, so one of the challenges is trying to fit everything into those eight days. But the product is definitely looking great. So that’s what I’m experiencing as the challenges. I don’t know about you Nick. I’ll let you take over.
NW -On the production side of things, now that we’re up and running, the challenge is to keep coming up with the best scripts and stories that we can every week. And we’re doing our best to make them as good as movies and that involves, among other things, a lot of special effects. There are so many aspects, so many different elements that are involved that it ends up being this giant machine. So we’re right in the middle of it and the challenge is to keep making sure that we’re doing our best and delivering the best stories possible as well as on time. So it’s juggling those two things while not sacrificing quality.
In this day and age, how hard is it to create a series and keep so many secrets?
NW -We have a pretty tight-knit group and I think everybody’s really excited about the show and understands that the secrets and the reveals are part of what’s going to make the show exciting for our audience. So far it hasn’t really been an issue. I know other shows in the past have had that problem and it could definitely happen to us. But right now I think the system we have in place seems to be working.
IAD - The prospect of losing your job if you let a secret out is a pretty effective deterrent. But, no, seriously, especially with social media these days and Twitter and Facebook, it’s so easy for a little secret to get out there and spread like wildfire. But yeah, we’ve been able to do a really good job of keeping everything under wraps and that's important. Like Nick said, the show is predicated on revealing secrets and we don’t want to spoil it for anybody.
Nick, how do you go about writing an episode of The Event? For example do you sit there and say, OK, I need to have this particular series of plot points happen in this episode and then carry them over to the next? Or do you just try to plan things out based on your characters and what they’re going to be doing?
NW - Basically we have all of Season 1 planned out, but we stay flexible, too. If there’s a story that becomes more interesting than we thought, then we’ll take a look into it or definitely follow it. But we usually look at our big plan and then break down each episode by which characters are in the episode, what they’re doing, where they start and where they need to end up in that episode. So part of it is the characters' stories and then on top of that we try to add a smaller story that is specific to the episode and more self-contained. So that’s kind of been the way we’ve been working so far.
Nick, the first three episodes of the show are very heavily plot driven and have character moments, too, but I’m wondering if there are any plans in the future to sort of do a Lost-type thing where you focus more on characters and the plot takes a back seat or are you just going to keep pushing forward with plot for the foreseeable future?
NW - Our show needs a certain amount of energy and mystery to keep the audience captivated. But I also think that characters are everything, and even though there wasn’t a lot of room for character development in the pilot, I did spend a lot of time creating those characters, developing them and really getting to know who they are. Only a tiny little piece of their personalities were featured in the pilot, so we’re definitely going to start exploring each character. And probably in a similar fashion to Lost and sometimes focusing on specific character. Episode Six, for example, is a big episode for Simon where it really looks into his past and who he is. And as we move forward, the flashbacks that we’re using are going to help us look into who our characters are. So the flashbacks are going to be more character-driven than plot-driven.
IAD -The flashbacks serve as a really great device for getting to learn more about who these characters are, especially in Episode Six and then Episode Seven with Blake Sterling Zeljiko Ivanek). But having said that, the present day storyline and the action doesn’t get sacrificed when we delve into the characters more. I think we balance the two very well as we move forward.
Ian, the chemistry onscreen between you and your co-stars looks really flawless. Was it instant when you began working together or did it take a bit of time for it to develop?
IAD - You know what, it felt pretty instant. I have the luxury of working with some really talented actors and really great people like Blair Underwood, Laura Innes and Zeljko Ivanek, I’m the luckiest guy in the world to get to work with these people who are veterans at the game. I’ve been in the business for about 10 years but you know any time you get to work with people of this caliber it’s kind of special. So I almost feel like I have to raise my game in order to meet their level and it’s always great to just work with people who are really talented because they bring you up, you know? They lift you up and so, yeah, it's kind of effortless with them, and it’s just been awesome to work with these guys. I’m loving it.
Ian, how is this character different than any other character you’ve played and what kind of a journey do you think he’s on?
IAD - I’ve played a lot of bad guys and at this point in the show we really don’t know if Simon is good or bad. But his driving force and, I guess, his belief in what he wants to accomplish is very honest and truthful. To him, it’s for the best reasons you could think of. So I love playing a character that has such conviction in and passion for what he’s doing and is willing to risk his own life at times to do what he needs to get done.
As the story continues we’ll begin to learn a lot more about Simon and, ultimately, if he is good or bad. And things I’m getting to do on the show are really great. I mean, Nick spoke about Episode Six being an episode where we really get to learn a lot about what makes Simon tick. And we get to explore things in his past that really show a different side of him. I really can’t speak too much about it, but I guess I can tell you that I’m getting to do things on this show that I’ve never had the chance to do before. and it’s just been awesome. I’m being challenged as an actor and that’s all you can ask for, to have challenging, juicy opportunities. I pretty much get that every episode on this show, and I'm so happy and thankful for that.
As noted above, photo by Joseph Viles and copyright of NBC, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!
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