DUE SOUTH: Answers from Paul Haggis 12/04/99
Elyse
post, you'll see that Paul couldn't get to all 17 or so questions last night!
All of his answers begin with >>>>
Elyse
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1) From: Jan McCourt <mission...@dial.pipex.com>
Date: Sat, 27 Nov 1999 13:38:25 +0000
Paul,
Kathy Slevin once indicated that Fraser had no specified religious belief.
What were your reasons for having Fraser talk about Victoria in a Catholic
priest's confessional? Was he seeking spiritual guidance, or was he just
talking to a friend?
>>>>>
--Jan,
I can't speak for Kathy, but she may be right. However, I tend to believe that
Fraser did have a specific religious belief -- he just decided to keep that
private. So much so, that he never even told me. But to your question, I
think Fraser desperately needed some sort of spiritual guidance at that point
in his life...and to him, a priest would seem a good person from whom to seek
such advice -- whether or not he was a Catholic.
--Paul
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2 - From: "LadyShoes" <Car...@londonSW16.freeserve.co.uk>
Date: Sat, 27 Nov 1999 15:15:20 -0000
Dear Mr Haggis,
Re: The Riv
I'd love to know who decided that Ray Vecchio should drive a 1971 (or 1972
depending on which episode you are watching!) Buick Riviera. It seemed to fit
him so perfectly - sort of flashy, but classic with a romantic streak.
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2a - Gordon <scottishfe...@onelist.com>
Date: 29 Nov 1999
Re the Riv:
And why did it get changed from the old Merc with naff alloys seen in the
Pilot?
Cheers,
Gordon
>>>>>
Carole and Gordon--
-- Here's how that came about. As you may recall, in the pilot he drove a
classic (read very old and so cheaper) Mercedes Benz. When it came time to do
the series, my producers informed me that, crashing up classic (or even old)
Mercedes Benz could be very pricey -- not to mention the fact that you always
need a back up car, in case something goes wrong, and since we were shooting
two units at the same time -- one for the drama and a second unit for the
stunts -- that means you'd need three or four of these cars. And if you
crashed one...well, you get the point.
So, we went on a search for a classic american car that we thought would look
cool, but also one that a cop would actually drive -- which would require it to
have terrific pickup and handling. The transport guys showed be plenty of
photographs, and then we save a Riv and I said "I love that -- get me one to
try out." So, the transport and stunt coordinator went out and found one,
brought it to me, I hopped in and took it around the lot, did a couple of
sliding 180's and I fell in love. We went out and bought 2 of them right away,
and we added to our collection over the first year.
But still, every time we considered damaging one -- as in the man who knew too
little -- we checked around with classic car shows to make sure there was an
identical one available -- and then we would blow up a "junker" version of the
car, and keep the original or "hero" car. We also had a couple of them
reinforced with roll bars and support panels for stunt work. It was a great
car!
Thanks for asking!
--Paul
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3 - From: Melanie M <melanie_...@my-dejanews.com.invalid>
Date: Sat, 27 Nov 1999 07:23:56 -0800
Mr. Haggis:
I was wondering if you ever had difficulties with the network's Standards &
Practices departments (isn't that what they call the censors these days?) In
particular, I was curious to know if CBS (or any other "Power that Be") gave
you a hard time about the scenes in which the 16 year old girl visited the S&M
bar in "Chicago Holiday." I was very impressed with the way the program
handled these scenes, and portrayed the patrons of the bar dignity and respect,
while still maintaining the humor. ("Does anyone here happen to have a pair of
handcuffs?")
Would you be willing to tell us about any story elements, in this episode or
others, which the network may have wanted you to change or cut?
Thank you kindly,
>>>>>
-- Melanie --
They were always complaining about something -- and they were VERY worried
about that particular episode. The president of the network called me himself
to ask me if I was insane. But for some reason we just were able to thank
them for their input and then go ahead and do what we wanted.
I think Standards and Practice departments have a valuable place in television
-- and sometimes they fulfill it. For example, in a recent episode I did of
Family Law, I worked with S&P very closely to make sure that I was presenting
an Islamic couple realistically and fairly -- the least we owe people is
respect. As with the scenes you mentioned, it's easy to get humor out of a
subject while still granting people a little dignity.
And then you usually find those people -- meaning whatever group you're dealing
with -- have a very realistic view of themselves and a terrific sense of humor.
The National S&M Society of Canada named me their Man of the Year for their
portrayal in that episode! (I made them come to the set to present the award,
and I made Paul Gross get his photo taken with myself and Miss S&M Canada).
--Thanks for asking
Paul
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4 - From: Longshanks <longs...@home.com>
Date: Sun, 28 Nov 1999 04:11:02 GMT
From: Ed "Longshanks" Wilson
Subject: Jay Semko
I'm in Saskatoon and Jay Semko and the Northern Pikes are originally from
here. I remember when they just had their two indy albums (on vinyl l.p.'s!)
and when they had a half-hour special on one of the local TV stations years
ago. I didn't grow up in Saskatoon but some of my friends knew Jay when he was
a kid. When the Pikes got their Big Break and got a big recording contract, I
thought it was great but also figured that fame as a member of the band would
be all there was to it.
When we saw the initial episodes of "Due South" back in '94 and saw Jay's name
as one of the music people we all gasped, "What the--?!?" I just never
expected to see his name associated with the soundtrack of the TV show.
So, the question is, how did you come to hire Jay to do music on the show? In
the Pikes, he was the principal songwriter and usual lead vocalist, but, as I
recall, his instrument in the band was usually the bass, and, in my opinion,
most of the band's music is rather unlike the strummy guitar sound of "Due
South". Why would you think of Jay as someone who could provide music for your
show?
On a further note, Jay is living in Saskatoon again and has formed a new band
with two of the other three members of the Northern Pikes (along with another
guy). A local TV station did a series of short features about Jay over three
evenings on the supper-hour news. They said a lot of different things about
Jay and the Northern Pikes, but there was nothing about "Due South". All the
features stated was that Jay was "back from Toronto", with not a word about
"DS".
>>>>>
--Ed--
--When I was shooting the pilot, I listened to tons of Canadian artists on CDs
and I kept putting them in stacks...and The Pikes kept ending up in the stack
of bands that I really enjoyed.
So, I called them up and Jeff King and I went to a gig they were doing in
Toronto. I met the guys, asked them if they'd be interested in doing a show and
they went off and knocked out the theme song in a few days. The band was just
breaking up then (I think I saw their last show in Toronto), so Jay said he'd
be interested in working on the series. I then put him together with two other
composers that I liked -- each for different reasons -- John McCarthy and Jack
Lens, none of whom had worked together before. And the four of us went about
finding the sound that became the series.
I love Jay and miss him. Say hi to him for me if you see him.
--Paul
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5 - From: Longshanks <longs...@home.com>
Date: Sun, 28 Nov 1999 04:23:16 GMT
From: Ed "Longshanks" Wilson
Subject: "Letting Go"
It was my understanding that "Victoria's Secret" was originally intended to be
the final episode of Season 1. In fact, in Canadian "TV Guide", when "VS" was
originally listed in 1995, there was a notation that it was the last show of
the season and I'd read in other sources that there was going to be a
season-ending cliffhanger. But, then, a few weeks after "VS" was broadcast (I
don't remember how long after, now), "Letting Go" was broadcast.
I know that, at the time, CBS had officially cancelled "Due South" and CTV
hadn't yet decided whether they would go ahead and make new episodes, anyway,
so the future of the show was utterly unknown.
So, what happened? Was "Letting Go" originally intended to be the first
episode of Season 2? Was it broadcast as the final ep of Season 1 when
everyone thought that there wouldn't be any more "Due South" because it was
already "in the can" anyway, and besides, it would give the series closure?
(When my friend and I first saw "Letting Go" when it was first run on CTV, we
both said, "Well, if they never make any more episodes, then that's a good one
to go out on.")
>>>>>>
Ed--
what happened was -- I also thought VS would be the end of the series, and
that's the way I wanted to go out. But then Alliance said we had to shoot
another one -- and since I was going crazy directing VS, I turned to Kathy and
Jeff and said "Have at it", and they did it all on their own -- and a terrific
job they did. I was too involved with VS, and too drained from the experience,
to be any good to them.
--Paul
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6 - From: jmh <jmhorsma...@hotmail.com.invalid>
Date: Sun, 28 Nov 1999 12:37:42 -0800
A perennial argument on DS lists is about Fraser talking about going
undercover at the used car lot. When he says the stuff about taking off his hat
and saying 'Have you seen any stolen cars' or something.
The 'innocents' claim that he is perfectly serious. He is unused to the
complexities of American policing and believes he can simply go undercover in
that way.
The 'not so dumb' camp think that he is conning Ray into helping him by
playing dumb. This means when Elaine says 'You're good.' she is admiring his
technique. (The 'innocents' believe Elaine is just being encouraging to the
dumb lummock since he is clearly not up to American city policing.)
So which is it?
>>>>>
JMH--
Let's just say that innocence is wonderful tool, in the right hands. And don't
Americans just love to ride in and handle situations that others just can't
seem to get right themselves.
--Paul
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7 - From: f...@nospam.ozemail.com.au (Felicia Bartlett)
Date: Mon, 29 Nov 1999 08:16:43 GMT
Paul,
This is something I've been dying to know like...FOREVER
I have gathered you are not one to just choose things willy nilly. Everything
or almost everything has some sort of significance.
With this is mind, what is the significance of using The Windhover as the poem
that Victoria recited to Fraser in Fortitude Pass? Or was it just because
you've always liked it???
Felicia
>>>>>
Felicia--
It's a terrific poem -- and I'd love to take credit for using it -- but it was
Paul Gross' idea -- and as soon as I heard it I knew it was a great one. There
are hundreds of examples of the way we worked together like that.
--Paul
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8 - From: Lorna Patricia Stevenson <lp...@students.stir.ac.uk>
Date: 29 Nov 1999
Paul,
I've seen so many different angles on the origins of the character names, but
I'd be interested to hear how and why you, or anyone else thought them up,
particularly that of Benton Fraser. Several in-jokes....(Margaret thatcher,
etc) have been noted, but why choose Fraser as a last name? (me being Scottish,
I'm hoping it has some kind of Scottish connection!). Thanks,
Lorna
>>>>>
Lorna--
My first working name for him (meaning just the first name I gave him while I
was writing the pilot story) was Sgt. Prescott -- a take off on Sgt. Preston,
the old serial. Then legal told me I couldn't use that name for that very
reason, so I quickly went -- Preston Sturges is one of my favorite directors --
so his name will be Sgt. Sturges, and that way, to me, he'll still be Sgt.
Preston. Well, after a few pages I didn't like the name, so I tossed it out.
I then realized I wanted something heroic, but uniquely Canadian. So, I looked
at the names of the big northern rivers and came up with Frobisher -- named
after the great explorer. And Frobisher he stayed for a long long time --
until we were just about ready to shoot the pilot and CBS said -- no really,
what's his name? After just repeating "Frobisher" a dozen or so times, they
threatened to smack me if I didn't change it to something that Americans could
say without laughing. So, I went back to the rivers...and came up with Fraser.
I named him Ben Fraser...and Kathy said "Benton"...and I said "YES!"
--Paul
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9 - From: Ruthie
Date: 29 Nov 1999
Paul, how do you feel about fans tearing apart plotlines, finding "errors",
and "nitpicking"? For instance, in "Victoria's Secret", how did Victoria get
the key in the snow globe without breaking it and/or all the water draining
out?
>>>>>
--I never mind people picking it apart. It's fun! And Victoria got the key
into the snow globe the same way that we did...by turning it upside down,
unscrewing the base, dropping the key in, replacing the base, and then turning
it back over. The key then sinks to the bottom...and is covered in snow.
--Paul
////////////// I'll get to the rest of the questions as soon as I can!
Love, Paul/////////////////////////////////////
--end transmission --
Elyse
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