Sunday, April 5, 2015

MOP Interviews the Cast of Outlander at the Ziegfeld!


As I'm sure many of you know, many heavy hitters from the cast of Starz' Outlander series were at the Zeigfeld theatre in NYC on Wednesday night for the show's mid season premiere. And as you may *not* know, Tracey and I were lucky enough to be on the red carpet! (Thank you, Starz!)

My amazing, Outlander-loving
friends who put up with my
MOP rambling on a daily basis
The event started out with my Outlander friends and I meeting up with Tracey, her Outlander mentor, Emily, and Third Sister Jill at Randolph's in the Warwick Hotel.  We were lucky enough to snag a table near the window, so we could frontload have some refreshments, watch the festivities out the window, and giggle like 7th graders.

Tracey, Third Sister Jill, Carol & PJ
After some much needed libations, Tracey and I headed over to the press tent, where we were treated like rock stars by the staff over at Starz.  We had never done a press event like this before and felt really welcomed by everyone we dealt with.

We then spent the next 2.5 hours in our little spot in the press area, waiting for the stars of Outlander and kabitzing with our fellow bloggers/journalists. (We have to send a shout out to Beth from That's Normal for being fabulous and giving us some pointers on what to expect on the red carpet.)

First, we were treated to a conversation with the seriously stunning Lotte Verbeek (TALK about cat eyes!) about the psycho-licious Geillis Duncan.  And as cookoo as Geillis is on the written page and on your tv set, that's how absolutely lovely Lotte is in person.  Not only was she gracious and answered our questions, but she actually asked to have her picture taken with Pocket Jamie.  You have no idea how that made our day.  Can't say enough about this fantastic actress.  (I only wish I'd told her how amazing she was in The Fault in Our Stars):

 

Was I right?  Lotte Verbeek is a doll.  And an old Hollywood-style star.  I absolutely adore her.

NEXT we were treated to the dynamic duo of Graham McTavish and Gary Lewis. These two were quite a hilarious tag team...and a ton of fun to meet.  We discussed sibling rivalry...among other things!



TELL me you wouldn't want to hang out with these two?  Forget the castle, they are seriously down to earth fellows...and EXUDE Scottishness from their pores.  We were in awe.

NEXT - after I saw him coming and had to regain my composure - we spoke with Tobias Menzies about how much time he spends with Sam off screen during filming, as well as the possibility of plans to bring The Fever to New York.



I had to bite my tongue to stop from fangirling when Blake from OutlanderCast asked about Tobias' role as Brutus in Rome.  My sincere apologies go out to Blake because I know I jumped his train when I spit out, "he was conflicted!" as he was telling Tobias how much he loathed Brutus.  LOL I can't stand when people steal others' celeb moments, but Tobias Menzies brings out the feisty in me.

NEXT we all gasped when Caitriona Balfe came along.  As beautiful as she is on the show, you canna imagine how pretty she is in person.  And I think it has to do with her friendly personality.  She's so easy going and fun to talk to - like hanging with your BFF at the mall - and quite hilarious.  We had a lot of laughs while discussing the three P's: Her version of Purgatory, Pranks on set (or lack thereof!), and who else? Pocket Jamie!



What did I tell you?  The woman is positively adorable.  I have never felt more comfortable around an actor.  She is seriously the real deal.

LAST but as far from least as one could possibly get, we spoke with Sam Heughan.  Sam was so gracious and answered all our questions about his own version of Pocket Jamie, Purgatory, and how Jamie Fraser would feel about the modern day world (those of you who come to chat know how I obsess over that concept; I had to know how he felt about it, too!)


Squee, right?  I mean, seriously.  How do you follow that up?  What in the world do you say after having a conversation with this man?  He's beyond description.  "Nice" is just not going to cut it, although that's what he is.  A very sweet person who doesn't put on airs or give off any feelings of pretense.  Oh and an amazing actor.  So yeah...he's got that going for him, too.  :)

Soooo....after the red carpet, Tracey and I were seated in the theater while the show was already well in progress.  I'll give you a hint as to where it was; "You're tearing my GUTS out, Claire!"  I was in stare-at-the-screen mode instantly.  The episode was fantastic, as all are...and our feelings were thoroughly discussed in our recap video which you can watch here.

The cast of Outlander at the Ziegfeld Theater on April 1, 2015
The Q/A with the cast was quick...but fun, as they had another showing and were running very

behind schedule (undoubtedly because the actors were so sweet about not rushing us and answering all of our questions!)

I would be lying if I said I wasn't already dreaming about the Episode 1 premiere of season 2...and if we'll get an invite to that premiere, as well.  Whistle, whistle...looks at the sky...

Hope you've enjoyed our red carpet recap!  And stay tuned for more interesting conversations with some other Outlander folks who gave us some pretty important info about what's to come!

2 comments:

  1. Guys -

    I have been so looking forward to this post; and it really lived up to my dreams! The best part was that we could see the thought you put into your questions (they were original and tied into the MOP website name); and you really seemed to be enjoying yourselves with the stars. Good on you!

    I do want to say something by way of venting about another website. I noticed that you praised the woman form "That's Normal" and said how nice they were to you, which I'm glad about. Who couldn't be nice to you: you're the kindest, most upbeat women -- BUT -- I don't think the "That's Normal" people are "nice." Here's why: First, some context: I have had a form of lymphoma since 1999. I still have it; my docs are fabulous - they have kept me going, and going well, during all that time. I've been able to see my oldest sons graduate college, and I'll be sending my two youngest (twins) off to their gap years next year. Plus, I've gotten to spend time with my own Jamie, my wonderful husband, time which I feared might be lost. Anyway, the "Outlander" book series got me through some really rough times. I remember reading "The Fiery Cross" during an experimental treatment and having total strangers walk up to me and say "You like "Outlander"? Me too!" Imagine my joy when I found out that they were finally going to make a TV series out of it! Then to learn that the man picked to play Jamie had been supporting a leukemia/lymphoma charity for years! It wouldn't have mattered if Sam Heughan had turned out to be a one-eyed Himalayan dwarf, I'd have been solidly on his side, This is NOT fangirling; for that I squee about Duncan Lacroix (Murtagh). Anyway, I adore Sam for reasons that go way beyond they part he plays.

    Jump forward to "That's Normal." At first it seemed like a lot of fun, but gradually I began to see some major cracks in its façade. I'm uneasy about the fact they have not read all the major books in the series; but I'm REALLY not cool that they are unashamedly PROUD about that fact. (It's actually their overall shamelessness about a lot of things that turned me off on them) Then there's their unapologetic ageism; which has manifested itself in snarky comments about people over age 35 culminating in saying that Diana Gabaldon should stop writing altogether because her main "Outlander" characters were "old."

    But all of that pales for me behind their relentless, merciless, and unabashed campaign against Sam Heughan. I think it started with their criticism of his hair on the show - it's inconsistent styling (a problem that also vexes me and a lot of others). But their campaign has blossomed into a full-out let's-torture-Sam fest, that has included his IRL dating, his fanfollowing, and even his charity. Much of it seems fueled by an incipient homophobia and a not-so-incipient sadism. And let me repeat: they're proud of it!!! I give Heughan credit for even talking to them at the NYC event. I would have spit in their eye. (I realize he wouldn't do that.) He did express a sort of theatrical reluctance to approach them, kind of an "uh-oh, now I'm in for it" sort of attitude. Then they asked them if he thought Tobias Menzies was a good kisser (I guess based on what they imagine about the Wentworth prison scenes)!!! This betrays such nastiness, such gratuitous cruelty - not to mention a dangerous conflation of sadism and homosexuality which ought to be out of place anywhere (even Indiana) and which any fair-minded person ought to abhor But not these babes: their proud of how they "stick it" to Sam. It just makes me sick.

    Be grateful they're nice to you. Just keep your hairdos excellent, don't give any women the glad-eye, and don't get old!

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  2. Loved your interviews! It's so refreshing to see you guys ask some new questions! Is swear if I hear someone as Tobias what its like to play 2 characters one more time I'm going to loose it!

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