LOS ANGELES, California - Will Ben and Felicity stay together? Will Elena have sex? Will Felicity's hair ever grow back?
In hopes of finding answers to these pressing questions, CNN Showbiz Today anchors Jim Moret and Lauren Sydney
visited the set of the WB's Felicity Wednesday and grilled the cast.
It's the show's third season, and while cast members couldn't reveal any details, they did introduce Molly, a new character
played by actress Sarah-Jane Potts. Molly made her debut Wednesday night as Felicity's new roommate.
One detail that the network did reveal: Consecutive original episodes of the show will air throughout the fall. One more
time: No repeats.
The cast was coy about Felicity's fortunes, but Greg Grunberg, who plays Sean, promised "crazy hijnks and
misadventures."
TRANSCRIPT:
JIM MORET, CO-HOST
Hi, everyone. I'm Jim Moret along with Laurin Sydney, and we are reporting today live from the set of the WB drama
Felicity from a secret location. We can't even tell you where we are.
LAURIN SYDNEY, CO-HOST
Absolutely. But we have rustled up Keri Russell, the star of the show, and the executive producers J.J. Abrams and Matt
Reeves. And welcome to your secret location.
(LAUGHTER)
JIM MORET
Let me thank you for inviting us to a show that we are technically too old to watch.
J.J. ABRAMS, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, FELICITY
That's not true.
JIM MORET
I appreciate that. Talk about -- this is a 20-something show. You are in college right now, right?
KERI RUSSELL, ACTRESS
Right, yes, a junior in college now, yes.
LAURIN SYDNEY
And the network has really given you a vote of confidence, because they are actually allowing 13 straight episodes to be
broadcast with that and it repeats. How did you guys do that?
J.J. ABRAMS
How did we do that? Oh, my God. Well, it was basically because in repeats, the show, you know, doesn't do as well because
it's a serialized show and they thought, well, instead of doing that why don't we do -- you know, every week, have a new
episode. So it's really great for us, we'll get the momentum, you know, building and I think it's sort of better, because
we have like six weeks of reruns sometimes.
MATT REEVES, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, FELICITY
We would always get like really, really terrible letters from people saying, how can you do this to us, because we'd leave
them at some place where they wanted to see what was going to happen next and then they get to find out about a month and a
half, so ...
LAURIN SYDNEY
Jim wrote one of those letters.
(LAUGHTER)
J.J. ABRAMS
Yes, we know that.
JIM MORET
And you're not allowed to talk about some new developments in your show, but give us a sense of what's going to happen this
year. It's your third season.
KERI RUSSELL
Yes, third season. I don't know, what should -- what can we say?
J.J. ABRAMS
I think really (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is that Matt answers this question probably.
(LAUGHTER)
JIM MORET
Matt is concerned about his film that's opening tonight, The Yards.
KERI RUSSELL
Yes, he is, yes.
J.J. ABRAMS
Yes.
MATT REEVES
Yes.
JIM MORET
He is basically too big for the room right now and he is being very gracious to come here.
KERI RUSSELL
Right.
MATT REEVES
It was directed by James Gray, a terrific movie, but we were talking about Felicity. It's not really my movie.
LAURIN SYDNEY
But, Keri, it is in the notes that you are having a bonafide real, real, real relationship this season.
KERI RUSSELL
Right.
LAURIN SYDNEY
So that's not a secret.
MATT REEVES
With J.J.
KERI RUSSELL
Yes, which is odd for everyone.
KERI RUSSELL
But yes, I think this year, you know, Felicity has kind of established herself in New York as an independent person, away
from her parents, and now she'll explore being in a real relationship for the first time.
LAURIN SYDNEY
And have a good time doing it, I should say.
KERI RUSSELL
Yes, I hope.
LAURIN SYDNEY
Well, we've had a good time, but right now we have to move on, so thank you so much.
JIM MORET
And we're going to be talking more with some stars from Felicity ...
LAURIN SYDNEY
Jim, I don't know if you know this or not, but Felicity actually means happiness or bliss. And it gives us great
happiness to be talking to other co-stars of the show.
JIM MORET
Turn this way. I'll introduce you. We have Tangi Miller and Robert Patrick Benedict -- and the first time viewers will see
her tonight: Sarah-Jane Potts.
JIM MORET
We've heard about you on the show. This is the first time you're going to make your premiere tonight. Tell us about your
character briefly.
SARAH-JANE POTTS, ACTRESS
She is called Molly. And she is kind of completely left of the middle. She is a good contrast, I think, to anybody that
they ever have met before on the show. So ...
(CROSSTALK)
JIM MORET
And unlike the title, which means happiness and bliss, you're the angry character.
ROBERT PATRICK BENEDICT, ACTOR
I'm pretty angry. I play Richard, who -- he is not very happy with anybody. He's not. It all comes from inside, though --
his internal angst -- very misunderstood.
LAURIN SYDNEY
And Tangi, you are the frustrated character, because your -- the person you are involved with has not been a -- does not
want to have sex.
TANGI MILLER, ACTRESS
Yes, my boyfriend is a virgin. And we've been together for a little over a year. And my character is a little -- I don't
know if frustrated is the right word, because she loves him and is very happy about him. It's just ...
(CROSSTALK)
LAURIN SYDNEY
And what do fans come and ask you about that, your position?
TANGI MILLER
They ask me: How do I feel? Have I ever been in that situation before? Do I think it's realistic? And I go: Yes, yes. All
of this.
LAURIN SYDNEY
Far be it from us to ask that.
JIM MORET
And do people come up -- do folks identify with you on the street?
ROBERT PATRICK BENEDICT
A few of them, a couple of them. But, you know, mostly for me, it's people going, you know: Why can't you just be happy and
like other people on the show? Because, I am, you know, the guy who that has trouble with people.
LAURIN SYDNEY
And Sarah, this is the junior year of the series. And you are actually the new kid on the block. What is it like coming
into this big happy family?
SARAH-JANE POTTS
It was cool. I mean, you know, I had to get over a few problems at first, because I didn't really like anybody. And they
were all really mean to me. No, they were so lovely to me. And they welcomed me with open arms. And we have fun. You know,
we have a laugh every day. So it's cool. I love it.
JIM MORET
Thank you all for being here.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERT PATRICK BENEDICT
Thanks for having us.
JIM MORET
Now, John Ritter recently visited the cast of Felicity for a guest spot. He played Scott Speedman's father, who
plays Ben on the show -- Scott Speedman.
LAURIN SYDNEY
That's right. And the Three's Company star is now on Broadway. He starring in The Dinner Party with another
very famous TV face -- I'll give you a hint -- the Fonz ...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, FELICITY)
FELICITY
At some point, like, if I look as sad as you are, and if I was, you know, going through as much as you are, suffering, you
would try to help me.
BEN
I don't need a bunch of people who have no idea what it feels like trying to figure out why I'm not running around the city
looking for my father. Okay?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIM MORET
Okay, today on SHOWBIZ: all Felicity all the time. Let's meet some more castmembers. We have Amanda Foreman,
who plays Meghan, and Greg Grunberg who plays Sean. And you are a couple on the show. Tell us about it.
GREG GRUNBERG, ACTOR
Can you believe it?
JIM MORET
I can't believe it.
GREG GRUNBERG
Is that a shock to you?
AMANDA FOREMAN, ACTRESS
We were shocked when it happened at the end of last season.
JIM MORET
Amanda, what were you thinking? That's the only thing that runs in my mind.
GREG GRUNBERG
Thanks a lot, Jim.
AMANDA FOREMAN
I was thinking that I'm lucky because I get to work with him, because he's funny.
GREG GRUNBERG
Yes, we have a good time.
AMANDA FOREMAN
And he's just -- we have a great time.
LAURIN SYDNEY
You have a good time, but yet you are argumentative. With one another all the time. But, but, but.
GREG GRUNBERG
Which is a lot of fun. I think that makes for a great relationship. These two characters are so polar opposite and to see
us getting along, then in every episode we are fighting and breaking up and getting back together.
AMANDA FOREMAN
Which is why we like each other, I think, as characters because they challenge each other.
JIM MORET
That sounds like us.
LAURIN SYDNEY
Yes, but we never make up.
AMANDA FOREMAN
Do you guys make out, though?
LAURIN SYDNEY
No, that's for another show. And that's not for now, even though we are on cable.
JIM MORET
That's right. So this romance just is blossoming this season or the last season.
GREG GRUNBERG
At the end of last season.
JIM MORET
What happens this season.
GREG GRUNBERG
All sorts of shenanigans, that's all.
JIM MORET
That's the problem with these serialized shows, you can only say all shorts of shenanigans.
GREG GRUNBERG
Crazy high jinks and misadventures, I will give you that.
LAURIN SYDNEY
Oh, I love that. We have that also.
GREG GRUNBERG
Tonight's show is insane.
JIM MORET
Give us just a little bit of a sense of tonight's show.
GREG GRUNBERG
Tonight's show, the Ben character is frustrated with his father, played by John Ritter. He takes his aggression out on me,
okay, in the form of a broken nose. That's all I will give you.
AMANDA FOREMAN
Brady Bunch. Think Brady Bunch.
GREG GRUNBERG
Exactly.
LAURIN SYDNEY
And yet it heals.
GREG GRUNBERG
Yes.
JIM MORET
Greg Grunberg and Amanda Foreman. Thank you very much.
AMANDA FOREMAN
Thank you.
GREG GRUNBERG
Thank you ...
JIM MORET
Now we are out of time, but if you want to keep the party going with Felicity, find out more about the show, you can
talk to Amanda Foreman, who plays Meghan on the show, by going on to our Web site. Go to the chat room. Let's see, it's
showbiz -- what is it? cnn.com/showbiz, click on the Green Room.
AMANDA FOREMAN
All right.
LAURIN SYDNEY
We're going to keep you. That was good. That chat will start in just about a moment from now. From the set of
Felicity, I'm Laurin Sydney with Jim Moret and Amanda. We're going to leave you now with Sarah McLachlan performing
her song off the Felicity soundtrack. So long.
(MUSIC)
CHAT:
Amanda Foreman plays a character named Meghan in a Warner Brothers television show called Felicity. When
Felicity debuted, it was considered one of the brightest new shows of the television season. The show is about
college life in the big city.
HOST
Welcome to the Showbiz chat room, Amanda Foreman.
AMANDA FOREMAN
Hi!
QUESTION
Do you shoot Felicity in a studio, or on the campus of New York University?
AMANDA FOREMAN
We shoot in Los Angeles, on sound stages in Culver City. We go to New York -- usually once or twice a year -- to shoot
exteriors.
QUESTION
Will "the box" be back this season?
AMANDA FOREMAN
"The box" has been absent this year, so far, but I've been told that it will be coming back.
QUESTION
Are you Internet-savvy? Do you ever go online to get feedback on your character, or perhaps the show in general?
AMANDA FOREMAN
No, I am completely Internet-challenged! I have a computer, but it's not hooked up. It was a gift. I'm interested to see
what people have to say about my character. But I'm also afraid I'd see something that would hurt my feelings, or that I
would feel the need to change what I was doing in order to please a particular viewer and not be true to myself. So, I'm of
two minds about it.
QUESTION
How do you feel about the ongoing use of "docuventary"?
AMANDA FOREMAN
I think it's a great device because, first of all, it's much faster to shoot video scenes than to shoot scenes on film, so
it saves time and money. It also can work to speed up the process of giving information to the audience by allowing
characters to talk right to the camera about what they're feeling, instead of having to illustrate how they're feeling with
complicated scenes.
QUESTION
What happened to the skull necklace Sean gave Meghan?
AMANDA FOREMAN
That is a really good question, and when I'm done with this chat, I'm going to ask the wardrobe department about that. I'd
actually forgotten. Thanks for reminding me!
QUESTION
How long does it take to go from reading a script to shooting?
AMANDA FOREMAN
On this particular show, the writers have been very painstaking in their process, so the scripts have been coming out
pretty much the day before we start filming them. Normally, like last year, we were getting them about a week in advance.
QUESTION
How do you feel about the direction the show is taking this year?
AMANDA FOREMAN
I like it, because it's becoming more of an ensemble show, so it's fun for me to get to do a little bit more character
exploration with Meghan. I think it's important that television shows be emotional, and also fun sometimes, and I think the
show was lacking a little bit of fun last year.
QUESTION
How tall are you, because on the show you look pretty tall, but on CNN, you looked quite petite. Is it true the
Felicity actresses are all so tiny they have to stand on boxes to do scenes with the male co-stars?
AMANDA FOREMAN
I am 5'5", and I do look tall on the show, because I generally wear extremely high platform shoes and boots. And, no, the
actresses don't have to stand on boxes, but we are all generally pretty short, or about my height -- except Tangi Miller's
very tall.
QUESTION
Do you think Meghan has lost too much of her edginess? Is she becoming too mainstream?
QUESTION
Is Meghan's "humanization" going to continue?
AMANDA FOREMAN
I think the second question answers the first, in a way. I don't think she's losing too much of her edginess, because all
the writers are doing with the character is making her more human. All people have a lot of different facets to their
personality, and Meghan is showing some new ones this season. But she is still -- and you'll see that there's a lot of
edginess still left to be explored.
QUESTION
Did you help contribute to your new look?
QUESTION
Do you get input into what direction your character should go in?
AMANDA FOREMAN
In terms of the look, the only thing that's different about this look is just less makeup. First and second season, I would
spend about an hour in the makeup chair every morning, and this year, we've got it down to about a half- hour. I think the
character, like any college student -- maybe the Goth thing -- she's growing out of it a bit. I think people tend to do
that. There's less makeup because it's less of an influence on her life.
QUESTION
Are you still in a band? Do you have any gigs coming up?
AMANDA FOREMAN
Yes, I am still in a band. The band is called Teen Machine. We just had our record release party on Saturday night at the
Viper Room. I don't know when we'll be playing again. We have a CD out on Popsquad Records.
QUESTION
When is the next planned filming in New York?
AMANDA FOREMAN
I don't know. I actually am not sure if we're going back there this year or not. The budget has been cut, and that was one
of the first things they discussed dropping.
QUESTION
I think Meghan rocks. I'm happy to see more of you on the show. What's up with your character and Sean?
AMANDA FOREMAN
Sean and Meghan are gonna stay together for a while, and we go through some interesting experiences together, which is all
I can really say right now.
QUESTION
Who is the clown on the set?
AMANDA FOREMAN
The great thing about this cast is that everybody is funny, and I guess if I had to say who's really the biggest clown, it
would probably have to be Greg Grunberg. He's really hilarious. But I have to say that Robert Patrick Benedict is also
hilarious -- as is Keri.
QUESTION
What attracts your character the most to Sean?
AMANDA FOREMAN
Probably the fact that he doesn't let me get away with pulling any crap. He calls me on everything, and I think that's
probably what makes him different from other guys I've dated.
QUESTION
Is Finn (the neighbor across the hall) going to be involved in any future episodes?
AMANDA FOREMAN
Yes, he will be. That's all I can say.
QUESTION
Who is most like his or her character? Who is most different?
AMANDA FOREMAN
That's hard to say. I would say everybody is a little bit like their character, but I'm probably the least like my
character.
QUESTION
Are there any more special episodes, like the Twilight Zone one, planned?
AMANDA FOREMAN
Not that I know of. I wish they would do something like that again, because I thought that was really special.
QUESTION
Do you get recognized out in the streets of Los Angeles? How do fans react to you?
AMANDA FOREMAN
I don't think I get recognized very often. My boyfriend always tells me people are looking at me and talking about the
show, but I never pick up on it. I guess I get recognized, but I'm not generally aware of it. People don't come up and say
anything.
HOST
How will this season be different than the past two seasons?
AMANDA FOREMAN
They're trying to give this season a little bit more of an ensemble feeling, and I think they're trying to -- maybe --
lighten up the tone of the show.
QUESTION
Do you foresee the show lasting after graduation?
AMANDA FOREMAN
I really have no idea. I don't know. It's hard to say. Ratings and so many things play a part with whether a show stays on
the air. I'm not savvy enough to make a prediction like that.
HOST
If you were not in entertainment, what would you be doing right now?
AMANDA FOREMAN
Well, I've always been interested in writing. I don't know if that would be considered being in entertainment, but that's
what I would do. I can't see myself doing any job that didn't involve creativity.
QUESTION
Who picks out your clothes -- you, in conjunction with a stylist?
AMANDA FOREMAN
Linda Serijan is the costume designer for the show, and she goes shopping at different stores around Los Angeles and
Hollywood and chooses clothes for me, which she then brings back here for me to try on. I definitely have a say about which
clothes we keep and which we take back, but it's basically her thing. She's very good at her job.
HOST
What should people get from watching Felicity? Is there a message to the show?
AMANDA FOREMAN
I think the character of Felicity is always striving to be true to herself, and if there's a message, that might be it --
that young girls try to be true to who they are, no matter what obstacles they come up against.
QUESTION
Will Meghan be casting any more spells?
AMANDA FOREMAN
I hope so.
QUESTION
It was great to see you all today, but for us devoted Felicity fans, where were the two Scotts?
AMANDA FOREMAN
I wish I knew! I'm not sure. Maybe I should call them and tell them to get their butts down here!
HOST
Are you working on any other projects at the moment?
AMANDA FOREMAN
No. I don't have time right now.
HOST
Do you have any final thoughts for us?
AMANDA FOREMAN
I'd like to thank everybody for watching and supporting the show. It's really great. I certainly appreciate it, and I know
everybody in the cast does, too.
HOST
Thank you for joining us today, Amanda Foreman.
AMANDA FOREMAN
Thanks.