Stay ConnectedTHAT’S WHAT SHE SAID takes an in-depth look at the world of NBC’s THE OFFICE. Each and every week we will offer audio highlights, episode commentary, news, reports on upcoming media appearances of the cast, retro reviews, a selection of podsafe music, and much more.
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Copyright: © Matthew R. Sommer
Kevin and I are going to be recording a mini "pre-season" preview episode of the podcast tomorrow night, consisting of our hopes and fears for season five, some season four "Dundee" awards, news, feedback and more.If you'd like to get your comment read "on air," please post your predictions for season five (no spoilers, please... just honest speculation) in the space below, or send an email to TWSSpodcast@gmail.com before 7 PM Eastern tomorrow night.
by Kevin CrossmanGeorge Clooney's Leatherheads is at once a throwback sports movie about the early days of professional football but also a throwback to the era's screwball comedies. Clooney directed the movie written by Duncan Brantley and Rick Reilly, and also stars alongside Renee Zellweger. The Office's John Krasinski stretches his acting chops with an effective performance in a tricky role.Leatherheads tells of the story of Dodge Connolly (Clooney), an aging football hero in the days when "professional" football was closer to rugby or even organized street fighting. But Connolly sees a way to save his sport by attempting to recruit handsome, glamorous college football star Carter Rutherford (Krasinski). Meanwhile, Lexie Littleton is a star newspaper reporter sent to dig up dirt on Rutherford who is a war hero and product pitchman in addition to the star of the Princeton gridiron.For the first two acts, Clooney deftly directs a tale that respects and celebrates the subject matter and the type of filmmaking present in those days of yore. He has several effective scenes of snappy dialogue with Zellweger who is brilliant at playing the smart and sexy reporter. Clooney is underrated as a physical comedian and plays many scenes for laughs in the early part of the film that will keep you laughing and smiling throughout.During the last act, the film takes a distinct dramatic turn as the story heads towards its climax. Will Rutherford's slimy agent (Jonathan Pryce) find a way to keep him in the spotlight or will his secret ruin his career? There is true dramatic tension and while it is distinct in tone it is not lacking in effectiveness or in pleasure for the audience. Additionally, as a sports movie the climax provides a true twist unlike any I've ever seen in the genre. The twist is among the many well-crafted aspects of this movie that is great fun.Office fans should take note that Krasinski isn't phoning in the performance as Jim Halpert circa 1925. Instead, Krasinski plays the role with equal parts likable all-star and haunted melancholy. He's extremely effective in a trio that involves two Oscar winners, and his role is the most nuanced and well rounded in the film. Krasinski proves he has the acting chops to form a healthy career.The DVD extras are interesting but Office fans should not feature very little Krasinski material. - Deleted Scenes - Football's Beginnings – an inside look at the making of the film with brief interviews with the stars - Visual Effects – an interesting side by side look at the scenes before and after the special effects were added to recreate football scenes from 1925 - No Pads, No Fear – Preparation for the film's football scenes - George Clooney – A Leatherheaded Prankster - Feature commentary with George Clooney and Producer/Actor Grant Heslov – An unfortunate extra that features little of the charm and prankish fun that we usually see from Clooney.Overall, Leatherheads is a film that is fun for men and women of all ages. Office fans should immediately head to the DVD store to pick up the film and root for their favorite salesman in a different kind of uniform.---------------------------Kevin obviously liked this movie much more than *I* did. See my original review HERE.-Matt
Just got word from NBC Universal that Melora Hardin will be doing a signing from 12-1 pm at the NBC EXPERIENCE STORE in New York City on September 24th.If you're a local, this isn't a bad way to usher in the premier next week (speaking from personal experience, she is definitely worth seeing live).
Nothing spoilery or shocking to be found, but the piece on Ed Helms in this week's NEW YORK MAGAZINE is worth a quick read.From the article:Ed Helms wasn't always a jackass. For a while, he was an aspiring filmmaker in New York. He worked for a postproduction house, loved the job, and even now talks of it wistfully. "I was and still am very infatuated with filmmaking," he says, before describing his editing duties in all earnestness as "sexy and fun." While training as an editor, he laid down a few rough-cut voice-over "scratch tracks." From there, he landed some real voice-over gigs. From there, he got an agent. Finally, he realized he could quit his job and pursue stand-up comedy full-time, because, as he says, "I was finding this thing that I love, which is acting like a jackass professionally."Read the rest of the article HERE.
NBC has been running two new teaser trailers this week to help hype the season premier of THE OFFICE.The first one focuses on the Michael/Jan/Holly triangle:The second uses much of the same footage as the first, but we DO get to see Pam's replacement, as well as Michael Scott in a fat suit:EDIT: listener Jorgen Petersson (a resident of Sweden) let me know that people outside the US can't view Hulu videos. Never fear, Jorgen! Here are the links to view the trailers on YouTube:Trailer #1Trailer #2 (hmm... can't find clip #2 yet... will keep looking)
I found this article on The Hudson Hub-Times website and thought it was worth a quick read.In the article, actor Stefan Kumor gives a brief summary of his experiences with filming as a background student in scenes showing Pam's college classes. Nothing really "spoiler-ish" here, but he does give an alternative view to the "John Krasinski is a horrible diva" rumors that were flying around a few weeks ago.
During Apple's big iTunes/iPod focused media event today, Steve Jobs let the audience know that Apple and NBC have buried the hatchet, and that our favorite NBC shows would be once again available through the iTunes store (in full HD).Great news!More details HERE.EDIT:As mentioned in the comments section, Apple is giving away a FREE HD copy of "Fun Run" at the following LINK.
NBC set up a conference call today with Paul Lieberstein and Amy Ryan.No, I wasn't invited.Thank goodness for E!'s Kristin (and the other people who actually DID get to sit in on the call).The comments get a lot more "spoilery" than usual, so I won't quote anything here. If you're curious about the fate of Mr. Flenderson, however, I highly recommend clicking THIS link (also HERE and HERE).The most disturbing thing mentioned, at least for me, was the revelation that Greg Daniels is splitting his time and Mike Schur has TOTALLY left the show in order to work full time on the "Unnamed Amy Poehler spinoff show." Schur wrote many of my favorite OFFICE episodes over the last 4 years, and the thought of him NOT being a part of the creative staff for season 5 has me more than a little pissed. Do you see what you've wrought, Mr. Silverman? FOR SHAME.
Listener Kath informed me via email today that TWSS has been nominated for a pair of "Blogger's Choice" awards! Imagine my surprise. We've been nominated for BEST PODCAST BLOG as well as BEST ENTERTAINMENT BLOG. So far, we're getting our asses kicked by just about everyone, but if you'd like to send a few votes our way, please check out the links below.
by Kevin CrossmanComing to stores on September 2nd is the DVD release of Season 4 of The Office. The four-disc set contains all 14 episodes and a host of extras. The entire set comprises over 400 minutes of content.The EpisodesEach episode is presented in pristine widescreen format and looks sharp on DVD. Season 4 saw many of the office relationships take on new roles and challenges and once again a season collection like this is a great way to revisit the story arcs and go back to earlier episodes for hints of what is to come later. In particular, the character of Ryan (B.J. Novak) is a completely new role and by season's end is in a very, very different place than when the season starts. His "transformation" is fun to watch over the course of a season.The packaging of episodes is pretty much what you'd expect. The episodes are shown in entirety, with Deleted Scenes for each episode easy to get to after playing the episode. Unfortunately, the Deleted Scenes are presented as one large clip, unlike the Deleted Scenes on The Office website where you can pick and choose which scene to watch. But it is hard to complain about the amount of deleted scenes, which run from over five minutes for the regular 21 minute episodes to over twelve minutes for some of the "hour long" episodes like "Fun Run" and "Dunder Mifflin Infinity."One of the interesting and unusual episodes this season was "Did I Stutter?" In addition to taking the episode name from a line of dialogue, the episode was unusual in that it featured the character of Stanley (Leslie David Baker) in a major role. Thankfully, Baker's performance is one of the strongest from any actor in any episode in the entire set. "Did I Stutter?" also features a interesting and informative commentary from Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Leslie David Baker, Kate Flannery, Justin Spitzer, Brent Forrester, Gene Stupnitsky, and Randall Einhorn.Fans of Jim and Pam are not left out in Season 4, as our favorite TV couple actually get to be a couple. This puts the characters in new situations, such as their overnight stay at Schrute Farm in "Money" and their cringe-worthy visit to Michael and Jan's condo in "Dinner Party." The engagement storyline is another season-long story arc, though as fans of the show know it did not quite conclude in the season finale, "Goodbye Toby."Speaking of the season finale, "Goobye Toby" features one of the best performances in the entire series by Steve Carell. Carell masterfully communicates his joy at saying goodbye to his HR nemesis, and the excitement of meeting a new "love of his life" in the character of Holly (Amy Ryan).The Bonus MaterialsA complete list of bonus features is shown below. "Unique to the DVD" items include the hilarious 22-minute blooper reel that every fan of The Office should watch again and again. The complete Michael Scott Dunder Mifflin Ad is the kind of extra that makes sense for the DVD and is a welcome addition. Similarly, the Summer Vacation Promo features some unique content and is a good piece to play prior to watching the season opener, "Fun Run." Unfortunately, the Summer Vacation Promo is available on Disc 4, rather than on Disc 1 where it would have fit chronologically.Last season, I complained about episode commentaries with too many participants. This year, the number of participants has not been reduced, but the overall effectiveness has improved as there is less "talking over" and everyone trying to get a word in edgewise (this is also attributed to a couple "quiet" writers on some of the commentaries). Only Rainn Wilson and Jenna Fischer participate of the "Big Four" but their presence is most welcome on three of the four commentaries, even if we do miss Steve Carell and John Krasinski. B.J. Novak, Leslie David Baker, and Paul Liberstein all provide insights to their characters and the process of creating the show. The commentaries are very entertaining, though some fans may wish for a more-mellow Melora Hardin in next-year's collection.Available in some packages and probably the best overall extra is the table draft script of "Dinner Party." For those who are unfamiliar with script formats, this is a great way to see what the writers produce prior to filming an episode (in a year that featured the writers' strike, this is even more appropriate). It's lots of fun to read the script and watch the episode at the same time. For example, the video camera in the bedroom and the scene with Angela and Andy eating ice cream were not in the original script. The script also features of scene where Michael prank-calls Toby, sitting alone at home watching Las Vegas by himself.Finally, The Office Convention Writers' Block is another good "behind the scenes" piece that provides real insight to the show (unlike the recent writer panel at Comic-Con). The camera work is a little shaky, but at least we get to see the writers answer their questions in a way that does make this piece a little more engaging compared to a pure audio version featured on podcasts like That's What She Said. (If you missed our coverage of the OTHER panels at last year's Office convention, follow the links tn the sidebar to your right -Matt).The PackagingThe "office" theme is presented well in the packaging. The photos and post-it notes once again make references to events of the season. In addition, the inside fold of the DVD pakage features Dwight's org chart from "Did I Stutter?"The DVD menus are animated and well-done. There are visuals and audio that are pertinent to the episodes on each disc, and they provide a wonderfully immersive experience.OverallDue to the writer's strike, the season was shortened to only 14 episodes spanning 19 half-hour segments. Unfortunately, the reduction in number of episodes did not translate into a lower retail price for the collection, compared to previous seasons. As with Season 3, the extras are reduced again this year. Worse, many of the extras are already available on the NBC.com website. Still, it's nice to have all the content in one place.If you're a hardcore fan of The Office, there's no question this is a must-own item. Casual fans will be well-served by this set as well, since the immersive experience can help you understand and appreciate the show's humor and sensibility. However, the middling bonus features and lesser overall value do present flaws to be aware of.Bonus MaterialsBloopers, photos, and more at the official The Office DVD site.Disc 1
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