Jericho Blog: The Salty Scoop

From Executive Producer Jon Turteltaub

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 15:36:00 -0800

To Our Fans:

This is Jon Turteltaub, Executive Producer, and I’m finally posting after all that has happened. Like everyone else, I have been completely overwhelmed and impressed with the campaign you led to save the show. It wasn’t just your passion, but your persistence that paid off. Last summer, I got a call from CBS saying they were being overrun with emails, phone calls, and peanuts. Then they asked me if I would help them to make it all go away. I pretended that my phone was dying and that I couldn’t hear a word. Eventually, I suggested what everyone suggested… PUT THE SHOW BACK ON!

After a lot of deliberating at the highest levels, CBS realized that the show that they themselves loved was more of a success than the research had led them to believe. So here we are with seven new episodes that start airing on February 12th. And I can honestly tell you, these are the best seven episodes we’ve made. (Except for the two I directed in season one, of course!) The show keeps getting better, mostly because we have listened to all of you… trying to give you more of what you love and less of what you didn’t. So this season of Jericho is 100% dedicated to all of you. This is YOUR show. We made it for you. And we hope our work is worthy of the support you have given us.

Now if each of you can find two or three million friends to watch it, we’ll be around for a long time.

Jon

Jericho DVD - THE BIG DAY!!!

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 13:07:14 -0700

Oh Man!!!! October 2nd is here… this is the greatest day… well the greatest day since you fans brought us back. The DVD is out there and you guys are leading the charge as we watch it fly off the shelves. Hopefully by the end of the day - every store will be sold out.
We are heading to a press event for today’s release. We are going to do our part to get the word out, especially since you guys have been working your tails off to do the same.

The Campaign for the Soldiers
The Christmas Gift Campaign
The Emails and Calls to Family, Friends and Strangers

Thank you so much for your hard work because this DVD release should get us tons of new fans and eventually a new season.
Best,

Carol Barbee, Dan Shotz and Karim Zreik

Karim Zreik, Carol Barbee and Dan Shotz and the First Season...

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 13:03:10 -0700

Karim Zreik, Carol Barbee and Dan Shotz and the First
Season DVD!!!! (You like how CBS called it The First Season - that means there are many more to come!!)

The Steinbergs (Rebecca and Jon) with Dan O’Shannon (on...

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 23:19:22 -0700

The Steinbergs (Rebecca and Jon) with Dan O’Shannon (on left)

Seats and Tray Tables in Full Upright Position...

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 23:10:57 -0700

Bringing the second season of the show in for a landing. Lots of writers and actors and random people i’ve never met before in the writers’ room here. But there’s pizza and beer and Lennie’s ridiculous accent, so it’s as good a way to end this season as any.

Here’s me, my wife, Rebecca, and some guy who wandered in off the street. He seems funny and willing to pay for pizza, so we’re humoring him.

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who had any part in bringing us back for this second season. It’s been an unbelievable gift for us; hopefully we’ve managed to tell a——-hey there, Steve Scaia here, I’ve been watching poor ol’ Jon laboring at this blog entry for what seems like hours now, and I offered to step in and bring THIS thing in for a landing for him. If he were still coherent right now, I think he’d say something like this: “Thanks again for everything. You made all this possible. And I’ll think of you all fondly when I’m sailing around the Carribean in my solid gold yacht. Suckers.”

Yeah…that’s what he’d say alright. Perfect.

Posted by: Jon Steinberg (with Stephen Scaia)

Lennie James, Writer…?

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 22:41:42 -0700

Lennie James, Writer…?

Last Night With The Hawk

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 22:34:14 -0700

Hey friends and the family Jericho,
Lennie James here on the set of Jericho on our last night of filming. It’s a great night of filming around our goodbyes and fun in the writers room. These 7 episodes have been a blessing, a blast…a gift. I’m still in awe of what you guys achieved. Whatever happens…these last few short months have been goodtimes.
I’ve a few thank yous…Thank you to ‘Rubber Poulty’ for the Doctor Who mock up. Thank you to Pat for the fantastic T-shirts. Thank you Bill for the ‘Strippersthatbounce’ website and thank you all for you kind words and encouragements.
I believe we have put together some great episodes that really move our story on and justify our return now and in the future. I hope you all agree. We did it for you and you alone.
All the best you classy bunch of super fans
Cheers
Lennie

A snapshot from the floating party in the writers’...

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 22:15:11 -0700

A snapshot from the floating party in the writers’ room—pictured left to right: Michelle Rubinstein (John Kousakis’ assistant), Dan O’Shannon (Former “Jericho” Producer but now Producer of TV’s “Back To You,” Wed. Nights on another network), Carol Barbee (Exec. Producer of “Jericho,” and the FUTURE Exec. Producer of “Swingtown” [who are inheriting the writers’ offices starting Monday] but still loves “Jericho” more!), Robbie Thompson (Detroit Red Wings Fan), Matt Federman (he says: “Hi Mom!”), Kenchy (the real-life inspiration for Jericho’s fictional town doctor), Sprague Grayden (TV’s Heather Lisinski, and owner of a smelly dog), Loomer (On Set Dresser and blogging fiend!)

Not pictured (because they wandered into the room after the photo, and I’m too lazy to take another): Patrick Wymore, P.J. Tancinco, X-tina X-cavel, Lisa Schultz, Jon Steinberg, Rebecca Steinberg (Jon’s wife!)…oh, and two dudes named Lennie and Skeet.

Posted by: Steve Scaia

The Last Night...

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 22:02:34 -0700

Hey everyone! Steve Scaia reporting to you LIVE from the final night of production here at Jericho…it’s bittersweet, and sad, and slightly salty…it’s like a chocolate covered pretzel, really…only less chocolately, but I digress.

As we finish shooting the final scene (it’s awesome, but I can’t say anything more than that) the writers and some very special guests are celebrating the completion of photography with some well-deserved pizza…

Just wanted to take a break from the festivities to say a HUGE THANK YOU for all you’ve done, and we truly hope you love these next seven episodes as much as we loved making them.

Alright, the party must go on, so…this is the Jericho writing team, signing off, until Season Three!

(and our uber-awesome showrunner Carol Barbee would like to add: “don’t forget to buy the Season One DVD, available Tuesday October 2nd!!”)

Joe Hall, Assistant Editor

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 09:02:11 -0700

Joe Hall, Assistant Editor

Putting it all together...

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 09:00:49 -0700

So I’m an assistant editor here on Jericho and I’m in the fortunate position of being able to see all the episodes in their various stages before they air. So, speaking from that perspective, the fans of Jericho are in for quite the ride-and rightly so. Today is day four of production on episode seven and I gotta say I can’t wait to see this one cut together. The raw footage looks great. From the season 2 opener to this finale, the excitement is non-stop - the stories just keep getting better and better. Our writers, producers, cast and crew have done a phenomenal job of capturing the next chapter of Jericho. Now it’s up to us editors to turn that hard, grueling work into seven hours of compelling entertainment. The first and last episodes are in the hands of Conrad Smart-the talented editor I assist. So both he and I are lucky enough to be on the show from start to finish. Right now, I’m working on piecing together an “animatic” sequence (animated CG storyboards) of an intense, action-packed scene that has none other than Jake Green in extreme peril. Our visual effects guys over at Zoic Studios need to get a rough idea of how we plan on cutting the final sequence together once production has shot all the pieces. Even the temp visual effects they’ve sent over tell me that this is going to be an awesome scene. One like you’ve never seen on Jericho.

So, what can I say in conclusion? Well, all I can say is that the impassioned efforts of you fans have paid off-I’ve seen it with my own eyes. The new episodes are close to completion. Only a month or so left. It’ll be worth the wait.

Joe Hall
Assistant Editor

On set action…

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 09:48:09 -0700

On set action…

Tales from JERICHO SEASON 2's Second Team

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 09:47:31 -0700

I guess I will start with my name, John A. Dalton. I am a “Stand-in” or “Second Teamer” on JERICHO (both seasons.) What is a “Stand-in” and what do you do; you may ask, like my family? A “Stand-in” is basically an understudy for the Actors. Whenever an actor is unavailable and they are needed on set, a stand-in fills in for them. This is mostly for lighting and camera blocking but often we read off-camera lines, give eye lines for the Actor, and read-thru scenes with Actors before they shoot their scenes. Doesn’t sound like much, does it? But we must watch rehearsals and actual takes (shooting) to see what the actor does and then re-create the scenes for the lighting crew, grips, and cameras; while the main actors are doing interviews, discussing the scene with writers/producers, getting make-up and hair retouches, or even getting into wardrobe.

How did I get this job? Or how do most stand-ins get this job? Most of us, and there are roughly 6 regular stand-ins on Jericho, are frustrated actors, directors, writers or stunt people. I am one of the actors. I have a BFA and a Post-Graduate degree in Acting. I have been working in TV, Film, and Theater since 1989, living and working in Florida, Iowa, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, and LA. I moved to NYC after graduating school and lived there for 9 years. While in New York I continued studying and worked on soap operas, did a feature film and some modeling. In 1998 I moved to Chicago where I had a successful commercial and theater career before moving to LA on Sept. 10th 2001. Since moving to LA, I have been working on some independent films, produced a cooking show, hosted a game show and cooking series. Most of the time stand-ins or second teamer’s get their jobs through Central Casting. Central Casting is the BIG casting company that supplies most TV series and Movies with their background artists (also known as atmosphere or extras). Everyday that I work I have received a call from Central Casting that tells me the scheduled start times, and where to report. We make a base salary, for 8 hours, of $145 a day and are in the Screen Actors Guild. But most days we work for 10-14 hours.

How did I end up working on JERICHO? I had met Skeet through a mutual friend right before he shot the pilot. When he returned from the shoot he and I were talking one day and found out we were both golfers. He is self-taught! And I have played since childhood, golfing runs in my blood. We started playing often… I have to say he usually beats me even though I have played my entire life! We played almost every day the summer before JERICHO’s first season. When shooting began on season one I was lucky enough to get a stand-in job. I worked about 2-3 times an episode the first season and this season I am in everyday for almost every hour. The first season I was the 3rd male utility stand-in; which means I was used for any male character when there were more than 3 male actors in the scene. This year, the second season, I am designated Skeet’s/Jake’s stand-in, so I mainly just stand-in for him; unless he is not in the scene, in which case, I then fill in for other actors in the scene. It has been the best scenario for me. I get to work with my friend AND I also get to watch a very talented performer make interesting choices.

Hey everybody!

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 19:15:32 -0700

It’s the last shooting day of episode 6, written by my writing
partner Stephen Scaia, our awesome boss Carol Barbee, and myself.
It’s been another great experience in a long line of great
experiences—made even better by our director, Scott Peters.
Contrary to some blog reports, Scott will not be bringing aliens to
Jericho. Also, as of this writing, there’s not a zombie in sight.
Sorry about that. Maybe Season 3? Anyway, as I look at a crowded
Main Street full of things I can’t describe without spoiling the
season, I wanted to give my personal thanks to the fans for all of
this. A particular shout out to our superfans Shumi and Bill who I
got to meet recently. If we have any questions about continuity,
we’re calling them from now on. They know the show better than we do.

Right now the sun is setting as we prepare for the last scene of the
evening. Without giving anything away, I’ll tell you it involves
some fire…some gunshots…and some flesh-eating zomb—oh wait, I
shouldn’t ruin it. Anyway, thanks again for the support. Hopefully
you’ll enjoy watching these next 7 as much as we have enjoyed making
them.

—Matt Federman

Jake on the mixing stages!

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 17:41:01 -0700

Jake on the mixing stages!

The First Sound Mix

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 17:40:10 -0700

Dan Shotz and I are at the sound mix for the season opener, “Reconstruction.” At the moment, we’re playing with the levels of music and sound effects in the teaser. This may be the loudest teaser we’ve ever had and it’s all kinds of awesome. Dan and I keep asking them to turn it up! We won’t be happy until your tv speakers blow out.

Co-Producer Keira Morrisette, our head of post production, runs the mix. Sherry Klein (mixer) is in charge of mixing the music and dialogue. Brian Harmon (mixer) takes care of sound effects and foley (creating or enhancing background sounds such as adding footsteps, body hits and doors closing.) Mark Friedgen (Supervising Sound Editor) has a group of editors who cut together the sound effects, the dialogue and the ADR. Mark designs the sound and brings it to the stage for Brian and Sherry to mix. Mark has won seven Emmys. Erich Gann is his Assistant Sound Supervisor. Adrian Van Velsen (Music Editor) takes the score that David Lawrence (composer) creates and edits it together, working closely with Sherry as she mixes it into the episode.

Dan Shotz is hilarious at these mixes. He is meticulous and he has great ears. He says he annoys everyone because he keeps them here late, but he really saves the show by catching glitches and helping guide the overall experience of watching and listening to the episode.

I co-wrote this episode with Jon Steinberg and it’s so exciting to see all of the elements come together at the mix. We have the opportunity to point up moments that we feel are particularly important by adding sound (turn it up!!!) or by bringing everything down so we can focus on the dialogue.

And they bring us warm chocolate chip cookies, so this is a very nice place to spend the day.

Enjoy the picture of Skeet. Thanks for checking in with us.

Carol Barbee

P.S. We just mixed in the morse code - guess what it is?????

Saturday Re-Run Trivia - Final Answers

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 12:27:10 -0700

Okay, Trivia junkies, here are the answers to the three re-run trivia questions from Saturday.

Question #1: Which three actors in Jericho also appeared on the HBO series “Deadwood?”

Answer: “Deadwood” shared three cast members with “Jericho” last season. Gerald McRaney, Timothy Omundson, and Titus Welliver.

Question #2: What do the 21 stars and the vertical stripes on the new flag represent?

Answer: A little glimpse into our Season Two storyline here. The stripes represent the thirteen original British colonies, same as Old Glory, but they are placed vertically instead of horizontally to indicate a new direction for the country. The twenty-one stars represent the states that have united under the leadership in Cheyenne, Wyoming following the attacks.

Question #3: Which members of our producing staff made cameos this season?

Answer: There were two producer cameos in “Why We Fight,” both playing Cheyenne officials on the teleconference between Valente and Colonel Hoffman. Executive Producer Carol Barbee appears in the bottom-right monitor. Co-creator Jon Steinberg appears in the bottom-left. Finally, co-executive producer Karim Zreik appeared in episode 17, “One Man’s Terrorist,” as The Buyer.

Thanks everyone for watching the re-runs and participating in trivia!

Friday/Saturday Re-Run Trivia - Finale Edition

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 00:38:23 -0700

Hey all,

So we’ve reached the end of our re-run broadcast, and to commemorate that milestone (as well as to make up for our negligence this week and last), we’re holding a special edition of Friday/Saturday Re-Run Trivia, with not one, not two, but three questions.

Watch “Why We Fight” - tonight at 8 pm.

Remember to post your guesses on this thread at the Jericho message board. We’ll post the answers here first thing on Monday.

Question #1: Which three actors in Jericho also appeared on the HBO series “Deadwood?”

Question #2: What do the 21 stars and the vertical stripes on the new flag represent?

Question #3: Which members of our producing staff made cameos this season?

Terry Ahern, Craft Services

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 18:11:56 -0700

Terry Ahern, Craft Services

More behind the scenes with Loomer!

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 18:10:47 -0700

Good Morning Rangers,

Today is the first day of shooting on episode 6; this episode is being directed by Scott Peters. This is Scott’s first episode of Jericho but his resume includes being the creator of “The 4400.” Scott is really jumping in with both feet and is making great TV.

We received really great feedback on the interview with Matt Sigloch so Karim asked me to talk to a couple of other people on set that you might be interested in meeting. So without further adieu I would like to introduce you to Terry Ahern. Terry is a key member of our Craft Services Department, a department that consists of him, department head Marilyn Kleist and occasional day players as needed. Craft Services, or Crafty as we call it, is truly one of the most overlooked departments on the set, but is also one of the most important. Their primary mission is to provide snacks and refreshments to the crew, but with an 80 person crew and up to 200 background actors, that is a bigger job than you would think. In addition to providing refreshments, Crafty is also responsible for cleanup, and believe you me this crew and film companies in general generate a lot of trash. I talked to Terry the other day and this is what he had to say.

Loomer: Can you please tell me a little bit about the craft service profession?

Terry: The Craft services job is to help make people who are working ungodly hours more comfortable and motivated by providing drinks and snacks throughout the day. We try and have a mix of snacks available from healthy to unhealthy, items like doughnuts, and pastries will sit right along side fresh fruit and granola in the morning. In the afternoon we like to have chocolate out as well as a vegetable platter and a variety of nuts and trail mixes. Beverages range from bottled water, Gatorade, sodas, coffee, tea, milk, soy milk, organic juices, just about anything you can imagine. When we are not stocking the food tables we are constantly patrolling for trash that accumulates in and around the sets, and when we aren’t doing that we are budgeting, arranging pickups and deliveries from vendors and making trips to Costco for re-supply.

Loomer: How many pots of coffee does the crew go through on a normal day?

Terry: It really depends on the day, when we are outside on a hot day not to many, but on an average day probably 15 to 20 pots. As well as several bottles of creamer and a few hundred sugar packets. We also go through about 25 cases of bottled water a day.

Loomer: WOW! 25 cases a day?

Terry: Yeah that’s not even the tip of the iceberg. On one particularly hot day at our Ranch location we went through 75 cases of bottled water, approximately 30 cases of Gatorade and 45 forty pound bags of ice.

Terry’s got one of the hardest gigs on the show and is one of the hardest workers. That’s the reason he was the first person to win the coveted Jericho-Employee of the week award two seasons running. Great job Terry.

Thanks for supporting our hard work, keep bringing in new viewers and above all fight on

Loomer
Jericho/On-set Dresser