Lilja's Library (18 page)

Lilja:
This fall you directed an episode of
NYPD Blue
called
It’s to Die For
, and now you’re directing
Coming In
. Is directing something you want to keep doing?

Ed Begley, Jr.:
It is even more exciting than acting, if that’s possible. I want to do it more than anything.

Lilja:
You have done a lot of voiceovers as well. How does that differ from “regular” acting, other than the fact that you don’t have to be seen? Are the preparations the same?

Ed Begley, Jr.:
It’s a great deal easier. No wardrobe or makeup.
And
, you don’t have to learn your lines. You just read them!

Lilja:
How did you get involved with
Kingdom Hospital
?

Ed Begley, Jr.:
I got a call from my agent. We started filming the next week.

Lilja:
Did you have to audition for the part or was it written directly for you?

Ed Begley, Jr.:
I didn’t audition, but it was not written for me.

Lilja:
Your character, Dr. Jesse James, is very similar to the character Professor Moesgaard (played by Holger Juul Hansen) in
The Kingdom
. Is this something you did or is it the way the script was written?

Ed Begley, Jr.:
It’s the way the script was written.

Lilja:
Had you seen the Danish version,
The Kingdom
, that Stephen King is basing
Kingdom Hospital
on, and if so, what do you think of it?

Ed Begley, Jr.:
I still haven’t seen it, but I’d love to.

Lilja:
Can you describe the character Dr. Jesse James? He seems to be quite lost and also a bit odd, if you don’t mind me saying so.

Ed Begley, Jr.:
He’s quite lost. His idea of hospital administration is to brighten up the hallways. I love him.

Lilja:
How would you feel if
Kingdom Hospital
was renewed for another season? Would you be back as Dr. Jesse James? It must be hard to get the time to do other things while doing a weekly series, right?

Ed Begley, Jr.:
I was only contracted for the first thirteen episodes.

Lilja:
But would you be interested if they asked you?

Ed Begley, Jr.:
Perhaps.

Lilja:
Speaking of that: how many of the thirteen episodes will be done when the series premiers?

Ed Begley, Jr.:
All but one month of filming. We started last August.

Lilja:
I got the chance to see the pilot the other day and I must say that this is one of the best pilots I have ever seen. How do you rank it amongst the rest of your work?

Ed Begley, Jr.:
I haven’t seen it yet, so I don’t know.

Lilja:
Are you (or were you) a fan of Stephen King’s work?

Ed Begley, Jr.:
I have been a fan for years. And now, more than ever.

Lilja:
What’s up next for you?

Ed Begley, Jr.:
I’m spending time with my family after this seven-month job.

Lilja:
Thanks, Ed, for taking the time to do this interview. It was fun and I wish you all the best in the future!

****

Marsha DeFilippo

Posted: April 12, 2004

Marsha DeFilippo is Stephen King’s personal assistant, and I’m sure all of you have seen her name in articles where she has commented on different issues regarding Stephen King. Well, I got the chance to talk to her and here is what she had to say:

Lilja:
Hi Marsha. First, let me thank you for taking the time off from what I understand is a rather hectic schedule to do this interview! I really appreciate it! You are only the second woman I have interviewed. Do you think that Stephen has more male fans than female fans, and if so, why do you think that is?

Marsha DeFilippo:
I haven’t noticed a big gender difference in his fans. What I’ve noticed more is the diversity of his fan base and that it includes such a wide range of ages, gender, ethnicity, etc.

Lilja:
Tell me a bit about yourself. How did you get what many would consider the dream job of being Stephen’s assistant?

Marsha DeFilippo:
I first worked for Stephen in 1986 on a temporary assignment to type the manuscript for
Eyes of the Dragon
. Although it had been published as a limited edition previously, he needed it on computer disks for the Viking publication. It was supposed to take me a month to do, but I was enjoying the story so much that I finished the typing in two weeks. Not very smart for someone on temporary duty! Stephen was impressed with my typing skills, though, so kept me on to type the manuscript for
The Tommyknockers
. Two years later when his assistant, Stephanie Leonard, decided to return to college, I was contacted to see if I would be interested in a part-time position. The timing was right and the job developed into a full-time position.

Lilja:
What does an assistant to Stephen King do? Is it a dream job or is it just like all other jobs? Can you describe a typical day at the office?

Marsha DeFilippo:
I do a bit of everything as Stephen’s personal assistant—answering phones, fan mail, administering and moderating the website, making travel arrangements, acting as a publicist, working with the various publishers and film/television production companies when Stephen is personally involved, interview/appearance requests, etc., etc. It can become routine, but overall it’s the best job I’ve ever had. The longest I’d ever worked at another job was three years, and I’ve been here over fifteen (not counting the temp assignment). There’s no such thing as a typical day at the office!

Lilja:
What question do you get asked most often? I guess questions about
The Dark Tower
are getting fewer and fewer now that they are all written and only the last two parts are unreleased?

Marsha DeFilippo:
You’re right, now that
The Dark Tower
books have been finished, the shift has gone to, “When will you make a movie of
The Dark Tower
series?” The next most frequently asked question probably is, “When will you finish
The Plant
?”

Lilja:
Here is what King says about those two questions in the FAQ on his official site:

Question:
Are you going to do a
Dark Tower
movie?

Answer:
I’ve always resisted that idea because movies have a way of freezing characters and places in the audience’s mind, whereas in books everybody has their own different idea of, for instance, how Roland or Susannah looks, but if you do it as a movie, immediately that kind of gets frozen in place and you say, “Oh, Billy Bob Thornton is what Roland Deschain looks like.” Or you say, “Brad Pitt, that’s what Eddie Dean looks like.” You know what I’m saying, or you can say, “Calla Bryn Sturgis from
Wolves of the Calla
looks like maybe the Universal back lot,” and I’ve always resisted that. The issue with
The Dark Tower
books is there’s so much story, so many incidents, that it couldn’t be done in one movie alone. It would have to be done at least as a trilogy, the way
The Lord of the Rings
movies were done, or it would have to be done as a TV series, probably on HBO because of the violence, the way
The Sopranos
was done. I haven’t entirely ruled that idea out, but for the next two or three years while the books have their initial run, I think that if you want the story of Roland, you’ll have to get it at your bookstore rather than the local movie theater.

Question:
Are you going to finish
The Plant
?

Answer:
Time will tell.

Lilja:
Have the things you do changed over the years? I guess Stephen has gotten more fans (or at least more fans that contact you) since the Internet became everyone’s toy?

Marsha DeFilippo:
It does seem that the majority of fan mail is now received through the website, although we do still receive quite a bit at our office. We didn’t have computers or fax machines when I first started, so the biggest change, as for most people, has been on the technological side. Because of the technology we now have, there is little impact on what we do at the office, even though Stephen and Tabitha do not spend as much time in Bangor since their children have grown up and live elsewhere.

Lilja:
I know that there are many fans who contact Stephen by regular mail or e-mail, but are there many fans that show up at the office or at his home? How do you handle these incidents?

Marsha DeFilippo:
The summer months are when this happens more frequently, as this is the most popular time of year for visitors. It’s not a problem at their home as long as fans respect their privacy and remain on the public street or sidewalk. Unfortunately, there are the ones who ignore the Private Property/No Trespassing signs and knock on their front door. They are told politely that this is not okay and asked to leave.

Lilja:
Have there ever been any “dangerous” fans showing up? What happened?

Marsha DeFilippo:
For the most part, there are no disturbances that require any further intervention, but if necessary, the Bangor Police Department can and has been called upon. In at least two instances, arrests have been made.

Lilja:
What is the strangest thing a fan has sent to Stephen?

Marsha DeFilippo:
Define strange :-)

Lilja:
I guess I mean something that Stephen (or you) never expected to get in the mail or delivered. Something that made you gasp and caused your chin to fall on the floor.

Marsha DeFilippo:
It was before I came to work for Stephen, so I didn’t experience it firsthand, but some very disturbed person sent a box with dead kittens.

Lilja:
Do you read all the books so you can answer questions from fans, or do you ask Stephen?

Marsha DeFilippo:
When I first started working for him I had not read any of them and I still have not read all of Stephen’s works. For the most part, I answer the questions either by having read the book or looking in other resources we have to see if I can first find the answer myself, and then, depending upon his schedule and the question asked, I will sometimes ask Stephen if he can answer it.

Lilja:
There has been a list for signing up to get a book signed by King. I have heard that it doesn’t exist anymore. Is that correct? I know a lot of fans are wondering about it.

Marsha DeFilippo:
Stephen recently decided that he will now only sign books at book signings.

Lilja:
How do you feel about the fact that Stephen is (I won’t use the word retiring since that seems to have been misused by quite a few people) slowing down in his publishing? Are you afraid you will lose your job?

Marsha DeFilippo:
I’m not worried about losing my job because of Stephen’s retiring/slowdown. There will still be plenty for us to do. We haven’t noticed much slowing down so far, though.

Lilja:
And last. What is Stephen working on now? Is there anything you can talk about?

Marsha DeFilippo:
Kingdom Hospital
is occupying most of his time right now, but beyond that there’s nothing I can mention yet.

****

Michael Whelan

Posted: June 23, 2004

Michael Whelan has created hundreds of paintings seen on book covers, calendars, magazines and record albums. He is a fourteen-time Hugo (World Science Fiction) Award winner and three-time (the maximum) winner of the Howard (World Fantasy) Award for Best Artist. The readers of Locus magazine, the number one professional and fan resource publication for the Fantasy and Science Fiction genres, have awarded Whelan “Best Professional Artist” twenty-one years running.