Post by HollymCombs on May 7, 2006 13:17:59 GMT -5
Cast hopes to charm spellbound viewers for one last episode
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Ian Spelling
NEW YORK TIMES SYNDICATE
Call it a Charmed-apalooza.
It’s midafternoon on an early April day, and Charmed stars past and present are everywhere on Stage 14 at the Paramount Pictures lot in Los Angeles.
They include Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs and Rose McGowan, of course, but also Kaley Cuoco, Denise Dowse, Drew Fuller, Finola Hughes, Brian Krause, Marnette Patterson, Wes Ramsey, James Read, Jennifer Rhodes and Victor Webster.
Most are waiting to shoot a scene. A few stand off-camera clad in bathrobes, waiting to be called to action. A couple of others are dressed in civvies, hanging around.
"It’s a lot of familiar faces, and I’ve only been here five years," said McGowan, who joined the show in its fourth season, after the contentious departure of Shannen Doherty. "This has really got to be deja vu all over again for Alyssa and Holly and the crew."
Welcome to the fourth day of production on "Forever Charmed." This episode, the show’s 178 th and final hour, will be viewers’ farewell to the bewitching Halliwell sisters Phoebe (Milano), Piper (Combs) and Paige (McGowan), who will cast their final spell on May 21, closing out eight magical years on the WB network.
"I saved every penny I could throughout this season so that I could do exactly what you’re seeing now, which was to bring back as many members of the Charmed family as I could possibly afford," executive producer Brad Kern said. "It’s our thank-you to the loyal fans for their support over the years, and our thank-you to the actors for helping to make the show what it is."
Without giving too much away, the finale — written by Kern and directed by Charmed veteran Jim Conway — is a time-tripping affair in which the Halliwell sisters try to save the future by dodging death and battling witch-in-training Billie (Cuoco) and her twisted sister Christy (Patterson). Along the way they encounter their father (Read), their late mother (Hughes) and grandmother (Rhodes), and the Angel of Destiny (Dowse).
And, to be sure, there’s closure on the relationships between Piper and Leo (Krause), Paige and Henry (Ivan Sergei), and Phoebe and Cupid (Webster). In fact, don’t be surprised if there’s a wedding to be celebrated before the door to the Halliwells’ San Francisco manor closes for good.
"The one evil that the girls have never had to face was basically mirror images of themselves, powerful witches who have that sixth sense," Kern said. "That’s what’s made the Charmed Ones impossible to stop, impossible for demons to ever beat them, and that’s what the Triad, in looking down the road and imagining what it would take to defeat the Charmed Ones, came up with as a plan. They came up with mirror images of the sisters, and that’s Billie and Christy."
Back on the set, Conway completes a shot featuring Combs, Krause, Hughes and Rhodes, and then everyone breaks for lunch — a tasty sushi spread that McGowan has provided for the cast and crew. During lunch numerous people mention, either nervously or quite happily, that only five days remain, while others comment on the tearinducing wasabi and a few discuss recent job interviews.
Combs is focused on "Forever Charmed." She approaches Kern with a script in one hand and a piece of paper in the other. A co-executive producer of the show, she has a few ideas to share with Kern, particularly for her portion of the voice-overs that will play over a montage sequence at the end of the episode.
After a couple of minutes of conversation, Combs walks away, then stops and turns back, a playful smile crossing her face.
"Are you sure," she asks, "that you want her to end up with Leo?"
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Ian Spelling
NEW YORK TIMES SYNDICATE
Call it a Charmed-apalooza.
It’s midafternoon on an early April day, and Charmed stars past and present are everywhere on Stage 14 at the Paramount Pictures lot in Los Angeles.
They include Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs and Rose McGowan, of course, but also Kaley Cuoco, Denise Dowse, Drew Fuller, Finola Hughes, Brian Krause, Marnette Patterson, Wes Ramsey, James Read, Jennifer Rhodes and Victor Webster.
Most are waiting to shoot a scene. A few stand off-camera clad in bathrobes, waiting to be called to action. A couple of others are dressed in civvies, hanging around.
"It’s a lot of familiar faces, and I’ve only been here five years," said McGowan, who joined the show in its fourth season, after the contentious departure of Shannen Doherty. "This has really got to be deja vu all over again for Alyssa and Holly and the crew."
Welcome to the fourth day of production on "Forever Charmed." This episode, the show’s 178 th and final hour, will be viewers’ farewell to the bewitching Halliwell sisters Phoebe (Milano), Piper (Combs) and Paige (McGowan), who will cast their final spell on May 21, closing out eight magical years on the WB network.
"I saved every penny I could throughout this season so that I could do exactly what you’re seeing now, which was to bring back as many members of the Charmed family as I could possibly afford," executive producer Brad Kern said. "It’s our thank-you to the loyal fans for their support over the years, and our thank-you to the actors for helping to make the show what it is."
Without giving too much away, the finale — written by Kern and directed by Charmed veteran Jim Conway — is a time-tripping affair in which the Halliwell sisters try to save the future by dodging death and battling witch-in-training Billie (Cuoco) and her twisted sister Christy (Patterson). Along the way they encounter their father (Read), their late mother (Hughes) and grandmother (Rhodes), and the Angel of Destiny (Dowse).
And, to be sure, there’s closure on the relationships between Piper and Leo (Krause), Paige and Henry (Ivan Sergei), and Phoebe and Cupid (Webster). In fact, don’t be surprised if there’s a wedding to be celebrated before the door to the Halliwells’ San Francisco manor closes for good.
"The one evil that the girls have never had to face was basically mirror images of themselves, powerful witches who have that sixth sense," Kern said. "That’s what’s made the Charmed Ones impossible to stop, impossible for demons to ever beat them, and that’s what the Triad, in looking down the road and imagining what it would take to defeat the Charmed Ones, came up with as a plan. They came up with mirror images of the sisters, and that’s Billie and Christy."
Back on the set, Conway completes a shot featuring Combs, Krause, Hughes and Rhodes, and then everyone breaks for lunch — a tasty sushi spread that McGowan has provided for the cast and crew. During lunch numerous people mention, either nervously or quite happily, that only five days remain, while others comment on the tearinducing wasabi and a few discuss recent job interviews.
Combs is focused on "Forever Charmed." She approaches Kern with a script in one hand and a piece of paper in the other. A co-executive producer of the show, she has a few ideas to share with Kern, particularly for her portion of the voice-overs that will play over a montage sequence at the end of the episode.
After a couple of minutes of conversation, Combs walks away, then stops and turns back, a playful smile crossing her face.
"Are you sure," she asks, "that you want her to end up with Leo?"