Tag Archives: Interviews

Interview with Tim Tebow from Home Free!

HOME FREE: Tim Tebow. Cr: FOX. © 2016 FOX BROADCASTING CO.Tonight is the season premiere of Home Free on FOX. If you missed last season, the premise is this: Contestants come on the show to compete to win a dream home. Last season, couples competed against one another to win themselves a new house (or in the case of a couple of sisters, a home for their parents). This season is a bit different, in that it’s individual competitors, not couples, AND they are all competing to win a dream home for their personal hero (from a mother-in-law and brother to a woman who donated her kidney to the contestant’s father and a soldier who saved another soldier’s — the contestant’s — life during the war). This season, whoever wins the dream home for their hero also wins $100,000 for themself. The biggest twist (for both seasons)? EVERY contestant (or their hero, in this season’s case) wins a new home! The houses get bigger and better (so they say… Personally, I liked some of the earlier houses in season 1. *shrug*) as they go along. And this season, as opposed to houses in different areas of the city, the houses are all located in a brand new neighborhood development called Home Free Boulevard.

I absolutely loved last season, which was hosted by celebrity contractor Mike Holmes and his son. This season, Mike is back, and with him is new co-host, professional football player Tim Tebow. Tim recently spoke to the press about how he came to help host the show and what it means to him. Check out what he had to say.

On how he got involved with the series

Tim Tebow: When they came and were pitching the idea to me, I was obviously, kind of — I’d heard about this show and knew what they did in Season 1. But then I really understood what they were going to do in Season 2, and they were going to have 11 contestants competing to try to win a dream home for their personal hero, but then one of the twists is that every single one of the contestants gets to give away one of the homes to their heroes. So, everybody walks away a winner. But then you really start to understand the stories of these heroes, and these contestants, and why they’re really special. It’s because the heroes have done so much to sacrifice to get the contestants where they’re at, and now it’s the contestant’s chance to really make a dream come true for these heroes. I think that’s really special. And then you really get to understand the stories of sacrifice, whether it’s Nick, who was the war hero in Afghanistan, who’s competing for the man that picked him up on the battlefield and saved his life and brought him to safety. Or the contestant that we had that was competing for a young lady who does random acts of kindness all the time and donated her kidney to save his father’s life when he was going through dialysis. And I think when I really began to understand the stories, and how the contestants really had a chance to change the lives of the heroes, I think that’s what really gripped me. To really understand the narrative of it, it’s people loving and sacrificing for other people to make a difference in their lives. And when I heard that, I knew it was something that would be a lot of fun to be a part of.
 
Jump with me to read more from Tim.
 

On how his personal experience with charity work plays into what he’s doing with this show

Tim: Well, I think it definitely plays into it, just coming from the place of wanting to help other people and wanting to make a difference. I think it’s also the theme of what you’re trying to promote, and I think this show promotes to young people, and even not so young people, is that it is such a blessing to be able to help other people, and sacrifice for other people. Whether it’s your money, your time, your energy, your effort, whatever it is, it’s worth it, and it’s not just worth it when they return — they give you a home in return, but it’s worth it because of the lives that you’re able to change. I think that’s something that I’ve really learned through a lot of the work that we do at the Tim Tebow Foundation, and the work that I’ve done in third world countries. I think it’s also just as important to be able to do it here, in our own communities, and our own homes, because people need help, and they need hope. Sometimes that’s as little as a hug, and sometimes it can be as much as giving away a home, but I just think it’s so important. I think to be able to tell that story and have people see that, I think it’s good, especially in a day and age when it can be so much about me, me, me, and how can I get mine, where this show is totally about helping other people and that’s really cool.
 

On what it was like to be a part of a reality program

Tim: It was fun. It was exciting. I got super close with all the contestants and everybody, all the crew. I think that was really fun building those relationships, and investing in everybody on set. Especially contestants who, they go through so much, right, they put pause on their life to be able to do this and so, to really invest in them, and hear their story, and why they’re doing it, really understand the why behind it all, I think that was really, really cool. And another cool thing about it was, to be able to see some of them grow, throughout the — whether they were there five weeks, or ten weeks, whatever it was, to be able to see some of them grow, whether they’d start to believe in themselves, or find their confidence, or to be able to overcome obstacles. It’s a lot for people to be away from their families, and put their job on hold, and their life on hold, to be able to try to win a home for someone else. It was really cool to be able to experience that with them.
 

On how it was to host with Mike Holmes

timtebowcall2smallTim: It was so much fun working with Mike, obviously, as everybody knows, he’s the master builder, and I am definitely not. We were — the whole — how everyone competes, is skill, will, and strategy. So you have to learn the skill and Mike’s going to teach you that. For me, it was to try to push them and encourage them with their will to push past their limits. Then for them, it was to figure out how, whatever strategy they wanted to use. But, what was also really important in their strategy was how they treated everybody else. So it was really fun working with Mike, and we’re just so absolutely different, but we got along so well. We would tease each other, we’d go back and forth. He thinks that everybody should know how to build certain things, we’d go back and forth, I was like, people just don’t know how to do this stuff. I would give him a hard time about wearing overalls every day, that I just call a fancy onesie, but he’s awesome. We really did get along really well. He tries to put on that really tough man exterior, but he’s got a super soft heart; he loves helping people. A little tidbit about this show, is you might see him cry once or twice, which he probably won’t like me saying, but he even gets emotional, so you know it’s doing something good.
 

On his personal heroes he’d build a home for

Tim: Well, I’m blessed with so many heroes in my life, and role models, but I think more so than any, it would be my mom and my dad. My dad for having the most passion and courage I’ve seen out of any man, and then my mom, for being the sweetest lady. They’d definitely be my top two heroes.
 

On what he hopes viewers will take away from the show

Tim: I hope a lot of things. I think people are going to watch it, and they’re going to see that it’s probably the biggest build show America’s ever seen, so if they like building, it has a lot of that. It has so much competitiveness, which was so fun for me, really fierce competition. It’s obviously got its fair share of drama, but I think, more than anything, I’d want them to take away that it can be cool to be able to love and sacrifice for other people and give for other people. And I just believe that it’s more blessed to give than to receive. I think that’s something that this show really — I think that’s something that it really shows every single week in this show.
 
 
Thanks so much to Tim for taking the time out of his schedule to chat. Don’t miss the season premiere of Home Free tonight on FOX at 9/8c. I promise, you don’t want to miss this fun, inspiring show!

Share
Posted in Interviews | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Interview with Tim Tebow from Home Free!

Interview with Executive Producer Stephen Nathan from Bones

bonescall1211asmallIt’s well-known on TV Is My Pacifier that Bones is one of my favorite shows, and honestly, Stephen Nathan & Hart Hanson are two of my favorite people in the biz. Last week, Stephen took a few minutes out of his busy schedule to sit down and talk to the press about this week’s landmark 200th episode of the series, which is a one-off episode that was filmed and written similar to classic Alfred Hitchcock movies. It’s all about our favorite characters and how they might have met if they lived back in that era and their lives were different (for example, Temperance is a cop, Booth is a thief, Max is Tempe’s boss…). I’ve seen the episode, and it’s a fun look into a completely alternate reality while still keeping so much of what makes Bones a great show. Check out what Stephen had to say about the episode, Emily’s pregnancy, and the future of the show.

On how they came up with the Hitchcock idea and what character would play what role

Stephen Nathan: Well, I think coming up [conceptually] with this, we wanted to go back to something that was classic because after ten years, we’re moving into the classic category; not many shows last for 200 episodes. I think there have only been 24 dramas in the history of television from what I’ve been told. We wanted to do a classic examination of the show and of the romantic nature of the show. This style, this time, really sets it apart and allows us to highlight that aspect of our series in a way no other time really could.

We also got a chance to reintroduce Booth and Brennan, see the initial attraction and the blossoming of their romance, again, in new circumstances. In terms of which character played which parts, Booth and Brennan, essentially, are the same people in different specific roles, but Booth is still this honorable man who had been through the war and who was trying to right wrongs. Brennan is somebody who is stubbornly holding onto a set of beliefs that no one can shake from her, and she will be proven right in the end in this circumstance.

The other characters, we just had a great time with them. We just tried to put them in similar roles, power structure wise, if there is such a thing, and also to see which roles would allow them to have simply the most fun. What’s going to be the most fun for all of these characters, some of whom we can only see for a line or two, others we see for a scene, but what was just going to be the most enjoyable situation to put them in and that’s what we did. This was really a labor of love, and we wanted the audience to share the fun that we were all having doing it.
 
Jump with us to read more from Stephen. Continue reading

Share
Posted in Interviews | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Interview with Executive Producer Stephen Nathan from Bones

Interview with Sasha Roiz & Claire Coffee from Grimm

grimmcall516smallRecently, Sasha Roiz (who plays Captain Renard) and Claire Coffee (who plays Adalind) from the NBC hit drama Grimm took time to chat with the press about their characters and the season finale.

It’s been a great season for this show and all the characters, but particularly these two characters. First the surprise pregnancy, then a battle with the Royals, and finally having their daughter sent away to protect everyone. Now we have Adalind running around, crazy, trying to figure out how to get her daughter back while Renard tries to stop her from hurting others. What a tangled web.

Check out what these two fantastic actors had to say.
 

On their relationship development now and in the future

Claire: They really do have kind of a sickeningly codependent relationship. I don’t know that there’s ever really forgiveness or ultimate trust. But it does seem like the playing field is a little bit leveled with what they’ve done to each other.

Sasha: She certainly has a way with Renard. And I think there’s always a possibility of them finding their way back to each other to some extent. But you know, there’s also that baby that bonds them.

Jump with us to read more. Continue reading

Share
Posted in Interviews | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Interview with Sasha Roiz & Claire Coffee from Grimm

Interview with Bones Executive Producers Hart Hanson & Stephen Nathan

bonescall311bsmallLast week, Bones creators/executive producers Hart Hanson & Stephen Nathan spoke to the press about the return of the show to Mondays and what we can look forward to the rest of the season and into next. To start off, check out their answers to my first two questions.

Because Wendell is my favorite squintern, I had to ask about him and the cancer story line. When I asked what they could tell me about whether or not we’d see him soon and why they chose to go with cancer, they said:

Hart Hanson: Nothing. Don’t say anything—

Stephen Nathan: Wendell will be coming back this season. He’s coming back. I think it’s in Episode 18.

Hart: It’s an unfolding story.

Stephen: Yes, we will not tell you how it ends, but we will revisit Wendell. And he will come back mid-treatment and be working at the Jeffersonian still in his old job. Although, that will get very, very complicated, and it will not unfold the way, I think, we expect it to.

Hart: Well, maybe the way we expect, but not the way the audience expects.
 
 
Jump with me to see why they chose the Wendell and the cancer story line. Continue reading

Share
Posted in Interviews | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Interview with Bones Executive Producers Hart Hanson & Stephen Nathan

Interview with Ventriloquist/Comedian Terry Fator

terryfatorcall33smallI recently spoke to Terry Fator, America’s Got Talent season 2 winner, about his new DVD, “Terry Fator Live in Concert.”

This is Terry’s second DVD, following “Live from Las Vegas.” Terry said he’s proud of the first one, but because it came right after his jump to success because of America’s Got Talent, he was “surrounded by people who pushed me and prodded me and took over—they really kind of took over my life and my show.” He didn’t feel he was ready for the first DVD, but they kept telling him it had to be right then, so while he’s proud of it, in the end, he doesn’t feel like it’s entirely his. Terry took complete control of his career shortly after, and “this DVD was a result of that. This one’s mine, and I’m so proud of it. It was three years in the making. I worked so hard and honed all of the routines and tried to get everything as perfect as I could. That’s what I’m just so excited about…looking at this DVD and saying ‘This is mine. This is my creation from the ground up.’”

Terry has a pretty big group of characters now. When asked who his favorite to play is, Terry said he had two favorites. His sentimental favorite, “my cowboy puppet Walter because he was my first professional puppet. My mother gave him to me on my eighteenth birthday. He’s been with me my entire professional career.” As for his favorite, it has to be “Winston the impersonating turtle. He’s the guy that did it all for me. If it was not for Winston… I truly believe he won America’s Got Talent for me.” As to who was the hardest character to play, Terry said there were none that were really that hard to do. “When you spend so much time and energy learning a craft, it kind of becomes second nature,” although he said there are some that are more difficult to voice. “The hardest voices I do are the ones where I have to do a gruff voice, like Louis Armstrong, or a really high voice, like Adele.”

Jump with me to read more, plus to see an exclusive clip of Terry and Winston! Continue reading

Share
Posted in Interviews | Tagged , | Comments Off on Interview with Ventriloquist/Comedian Terry Fator