USA Network, by many criteria the number one cable entertainment network, had a unique take on this year’s upfront presentations. As most TV watchers are aware, the networks generally hold mega events in early may in New York to present the new and returning shows in their line up to current and potential advertisers. This year, USA spread their upfront presentations over three host cities; New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, and held their gala celebrity attended events in early April. MediaBlvd was lucky enough to be invited to attend the magical event held April 1 at the Chicago Arts Club. Celebrities in attendance included Monk’s Tony Shalhoub, Psych’s Corbin Bernsen, Burn Notice’s Gabrielle Anwar, and the wrestler, Maria, from WWE.
USA’s Chris McCumber spoke about the new brand campaigns that the networks plan to launch around the Characters theme. “Characters Welcome has quickly become one of the most recognized brands in the business,” he said. The first of the new launches is called Character Projects, and involves finding award winning photographers to capture the characters of USA across the country. “We’re talking celebrities, we’re talking local heroes. Really, to capture the country in a way that is uniquely characters welcome, and uniquely USA,” he said. Additionally, the network plans to launch Characters Approved, it’s own “good housekeeping seal of approval for characters,” McCumber added “this is a celebration of the leading brands, people, and things that are making an impact on pop culture.” Finally, Characters Unite is the networks attempt at launching a social initiative. “Characters Unite is all about combating intolerance and promoting acceptance with a true call to action for our viewers. And it’s something obviously that we need more than ever. Characters Unite for us, really embodies the idea that all characters are welcome at USA,” he said.
USA is also leading the charge in its universal gaming strategy with it’s online Character’s Arcade. Launched in December of 2007, the casual gaming destination already has over 200 thousand registered users, has generated more than 1 million uniques, and has scored over 40 million page views. According to the sales presentation traffic to USA.com has also increased over 360% since last year.
MediaBlvd’s interviews with the network’s stars follow.
Interview With Burn Notice’s Gabrielle Anwar
MediaBlvd> So how do you do with the accent on Burn Notice, you try to make it Southern, right?
Gabrielle Anwar> It’s funny that you should bring that up, because I was trying to take a nap in the hotel, and I didn’t realize that Chicago was such a windy city. I was up all night with the hotel shaking and rattling. I couldn’t take a nap because I was so paranoid trying to remember what dialect I was pursuing in Burn Notice. I couldn’t remember if it was Irish. Then all of a sudden I’m like ‘Am I pursuing it with a US dialect or am I British?’ I couldn’t remember. Needless to say, no doubt, it was a lot of anxiety.
MediaBlvd> Who do you enjoy working with the most among the cast?
Gabrielle> I am so not one of those actresses who says everybody is lovely. Bruce is really fucking funny. And Jeffrey is very cool. And if I’m feeling like my ego can handle it, then Jeffrey’s awesome. If I’m in the mood for giggles up the Ying-Yang, then it’s Bruce.
MediaBlvd> It sounds like you have a good relationship with Bruce then?
Gabrielle> You can’t not like Bruce Campbell. He’s awesome, he really is. He’s the coolest guy. He’s so enthused by life that I can’t stop myself from being around that kind of energy.
MediaBlvd> Is this like a dream come true for you to have a show like this that just kicks off it’s first season?
Gabrielle> I was hoping that I would get to play a woman that was smart, and funny, and sexy; multidimensional. But there aren’t that many of them being portrayed on television, and she actually is. So I just hope I can do it justice.
MediaBlvd> I’ve really enjoyed the fact that she’s so powerful… just pull out the gun and get it done!
Gabrielle> Yeah, I think she’s sort of the modern day version of what was going on in the wild west.
MediaBlvd> That’s a great way of putting it.
Gabrielle> I just came up with that! I didn’t need a nap after all.
MediaBlvd> So tell me, can you tell us any idea of what to expect when the show comes back?
Gabrielle> No, I have no idea.
MediaBlvd> Do you get to kick Bruce’s ass?
Gabrielle> I would love to kick Bruce’s ass, that would be awesome. But no, I have no idea. I had dinner with Matt Nix, the incredibly brilliant creator of the show, who told me nothing. So I can’t possibly give anything away, because I have no information to give.
MediaBlvd> How was it working with Sharon Gless?
Gabrielle> Sharon is a really phenomenal, eccentric woman to be around, she really is. She was kind enough to invite us all over to her home which is just full of all kinds of crazy memorabilia.
MediaBlvd> Do you have any movies or other projects coming up?
Gabrielle> I just did a little something on a show called Driving Lessons with a brilliant actress, Hope Davis, for what that’s worth in my humble opinion. And then Dermot Mulroney; those are the stars and I have a tiny part in it.
MediaBlvd> We’ve tracked you in so many series; John Doe…
Gabrielle> Oh my God, you saw that? You’re the only human on the planet.
MediaBlvd> I think you did two episodes, Rachael Penbrook wasn’t it?
Gabrielle> Holy Camolie, I didn’t even see that!
MediaBlvd> Was that your natural accent in that?
Gabrielle> I don’t remember.
MediaBlvd> I always thought they were going to bring you back.
Gabrielle> They were. In fact, I started looking for a little apartment in Vancouver, but it didn’t work out. Now Dominic Purcell has Prison Break.
MediaBlvd> You should be on Doctor Who or Torchwood. You’d be a natural and wouldn’t have to change your accent!
Gabrielle> But that’s not what I want is it? My brother used to chase me around the house going ‘I will exterminate, I will exterminate’ [a reference to the Daleks- one of Doctor Who’s primary villains]
MediaBlvd> Which do you prefer, comedy, drama, or some other genre?
Gabrielle> If the writing is there, I’ll do anything. I’m a literary whore. So I’m looking for something that has some truth. There aren’t that many characters that have any semblance of authenticity, as far as I’m concerned.
MediaBlvd> Well, you’re just awesome on Burn Notice.
Gabrielle> Thank you! It’s the writing though.
MediaBlvd> So what has been your best experience on Burn Notice so far?
Gabrielle> It’s a little intimidating, why does anyone want to know what I think, you know? I need to come up with something interesting to say. I like the USA team. We have quite a road show as you can see here tonight. I’m just glad to be a part of something so great.
Interview With Monk’s Tony Shalhoub
MediaBlvd Magazine> What do you like best about playing such a character in Monk?
Tony Shalhoub>Well, I work with great people; the actors that I work with, the directors, the crew. We have amazing writers. We’re going into our seventh season now, and how they keep throwing us curve balls makes you feel really alive. It’s kind of a dream job. And the fact that we all get to play dramatic and comedic stuff factors in. That’s rare on television. There are so many things about the show that I love.
MediaBlvd> How did you get into Monk?
Tony> My manager brought me the script, and I’d heard it was a script that had been floating around for a number of years. First over at ABC, it was in a state of semi-development, and an executive who was trying to get a position at USA talked ABC into letting him take it over there to see if they could do something with it there. A little more time passed, then they brought it to me, and I met the writer and producer, and it seemed like a good fit.
MediaBlvd> Do they allow you to do a lot of impromptu things with the character?
Tony> Well, yeah. It does lend itself to that kind of a thing. The writers give us great stuff of course, but they can’t always anticipate what might happen at any given location or on any given set. The actors are always finding things that would be distracting for Monk, or would preoccupy him. So it’s always kind of moving and never set in stone.
MediaBlvd> Do you ever have a hard time keeping a straight face when you are filming?
Tony> I do very often, because I work with really funny people. The shrink scenes that I do are just so off center and the more serious scenes become funnier I think.
MediaBlvd> It’s a really wonderful show.
Tony> It’s gratifying to know that people still care about it.
MediaBlvd> The way you play it deadpan is just so funny, you just have to laugh at it.
Tony> Well sometimes it’s because I’m just so tired; I don’t even have the energy to make a face.
MediaBlvd> Is this a dream for you, to be doing a TV show, or what would you want to be doing in the future?
Tony> Well, I did a series in the 90’s called Wings. I was on that for six years. I’ve kept my hand in film and theatre. It’s great to have a steady series. The nice thing about cable is that we only do sixteen episodes a year, so it only takes six months a year and so I have time to do other things. Sometimes in network for an hour long series of a series you’ll go over ten months. So it’s kind of ideal in that it affords me the luxury of doing other projects. But in the future when Monk ends…. I’m sure it’ll end one day. When it does end, I think about maybe producing a series. I’m a producer on Monk and I’ve learned a lot.
MediaBlvd> We love you in Monk.
Tony> Thank you so much.
MediaBlvd> Now how about Galaxy Quest, did you enjoy filming that?
Tony> That was one of my favorites.
MediaBlvd> I’ve heard that they are talking about possibly a sequel?
Tony> Every couple of years we hear rumblings about that. It would be great if we could do it. Interestingly enough the director of that film directed the pilot of Monk. I asked him to direct the pilot of Monk. It’s a guy named Dean Parisot, and he’s a fantastic feature director.
MediaBlvd> Thirteen Ghosts, that’s another one of your roles that I absolutely loved.
Tony> The director there was a visual effects guy, and Thirteen Ghosts was his first feature. He was just amazing. He would just paint pictures for us about what it was all going to look like. You could sort of half imagine it, and when you saw it, it was exactly what he described. I did enjoy working on it, and I’d never done a horror movie before or after. Well actually, I did work on 1408 too.
Interview With Psych’s Corbin Bernsen
Corbin Bernsen> I saw you talking to Tony Shalhoub just now. Wings was on right before LA Law, now Monk is on right before Psych.
MediaBlvd> How do you feel about Psych now?
Corbin> It’s a fabulous show. It’s doing well. People of all ages like it. What could be wrong?
MediaBlvd> Is this a great series for you?
Corbin> Yeah, it’s great for me. It’s a very important part of my life. It’s nice to be back with the whole NBC family now, after all of my years with LA Law.
MediaBlvd> What else do you have coming out?
Corbin> I’ve actually directed a couple of movies; Donna on Demand, and Dead Air. Dear Air’s got a cool trailer, you can see it at deadair-movie.com. Donna, we don’t have a trailer yet.
MediaBlvd> Are you acting in those films also?
Corbin> Donna- I’m in that move. Dead Air, I’m not in. I wrote, directed, starred in, and did film effects for Donna. It’s my baby.
MediaBlvd> So what’s been the funniest moment for you on Psych?
Corbin> We’ve had a lot of times. The funniest, that’s a hard one. I hate to be bland about it but it’s all been really great because we have such a good time, we laugh. I think there was one moment that was really funny last year, there was a time was Shane was talking about ‘Dad who did you go to parties with in the 60’s and 70’s and they had to have a psych-out on it.’ They're great. I don’t get to do those that much.
MediaBlvd> Didn’t you have a horror film in the 90’s, Dr Giggles or something?
Corbin> The Dentist. I was in that.
MediaBlvd> What’s your all time favorite character to have played?
Corbin> I hate to keep pushing it, but the one in Donna on Demand, the one I directed. It was a fun character because I actually reunited with the woman who played my secretary on LA Law. So we sort of explored the characters, even though they weren’t “the characters” twenty-five years later. I liked the character and I got to go a little more of the direction I’d like to go. I also liked the character I played in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. He was kind of a very quiet killer.
MediaBlvd> So what do you like to play better, villains or heroes?
Corbin> All really. Villains are more fun, there’s more to do. Every actor will probably tell you that. I like to play it all, but I really like to play faulty heroes. I don’t really like sweet, gushy romantic heroes. But I do like faulted heroes like the LA Law character or the character in Psych. It’s good to have it all, but to have some problems.
A USA sales executive put the networks philosophy into perspective in his closing remarks. “USA is creating a whole new space in entertainment which defies the traditional notions of a broadcast network or a cable network. The space is marked by huge reach, driven by outstanding original programming, wrapped in a great brand. This is a space we feel that USA exclusively owns,” he said.
