TV Tattler: Celebrity Interviews
14 Questions With: Denis Leary
June 24 -- The writers' strike left a lot of shows in need of saving, but <A HREF='http://television.aol.com/show/rescue-me/377529/main' target='_blank'>'Rescue Me'</a> is already back -- sort of. Beginning June 24, <a href='http://television.aol.com/celebrity/denis-leary/41244' target='_blank'>Denis Leary</a> and his crew return for 10 five-minute minisodes airing commercial-free Tuesdays at 10PM ET on FX, and replaying the next day on The Minisode Network at <A HREF='http://video.aol.com/video-category/the-minisode-network/110600' target='_blank'>AOL Video</a>. AOL TV talked to Leary about what's in store for season 5 next spring, co-star <A HREF='http://television.aol.com/celebrity/tatum-oneal/53569/main' target='_blank'>Tatum O'Neal</a>'s drug arrest and ... <A HREF='http://www.moviefone.com/celebrity/george-clooney/1290207/main' target='_blank'>George Clooney</a> for President? <i>-- By Maggie Furlong</i>
14 Questions With: <a href='http://television.aol.com/celebrity/denis-leary/41244' target='_blank'><FONT COLOR='#2864B4'>Denis Leary</font></a>
<b>1. How did the strike affect the schedule for 'Rescue Me'?</b> Me, <A HREF='http://television.aol.com/celebrity/peter-tolan/214598' target='_blank'>Peter Tolan</a> and Evan Reilly were on strike, so we didn't write a word of the show. So we got pushed back a good four or five months.
14 Questions With: <a href='http://television.aol.com/celebrity/denis-leary/41244' target='_blank'><FONT COLOR='#2864B4'>Denis Leary</font></a>
<b>2. Next season's order is 22 episodes. How will you think up episodes as action-packed as last season's 13?</b> We've got a bible that contains all of the stories [we've come up with]. They're always based on real firefighters. Also, the actors do stuff that you've written then do some improvisation and you go, "You know what? This is a great storyline ... let's let this go for a little bit longer."
14 Questions With: <a href='http://television.aol.com/celebrity/denis-leary/41244' target='_blank'><FONT COLOR='#2864B4'>Denis Leary</font></a>
<b>3. What can we expect from the minisodes?</b> Like the real episodes, some are strictly designed for laughs, some are very somber and some are full of action. The action ones take the longest to shoot because they involve the actors <i>and</i> stuntmen, real smoke, real fire. The comedic stuff is the most fun for everybody. We look forward to those kitchen scenes, because one of the actors will always say something that leads us off on a tangent.
14 Questions With: <a href='http://television.aol.com/celebrity/denis-leary/41244' target='_blank'><FONT COLOR='#2864B4'>Denis Leary</font></a>
<b>4. Are you introducing new story lines or resolving loose ends in the minisodes?</b> We're bridging the gap, so there are elements in there that tie in. They're meant to make people laugh, and sit back and reflect a little. They head toward where we're gonna be in season 5.
14 Questions With: <a href='http://television.aol.com/celebrity/denis-leary/41244' target='_blank'><FONT COLOR='#2864B4'>Denis Leary</font></a>
<b>5. Will season 5 pick up where we left off?</b> It's about six months after Tommy's father dies, so everyone's dealing with his passing. Everybody's having a certain kind of reaction and Tommy's having the opposite reaction, which is no reaction at all. So the family is sort of coming down on him because he's not grieving.
14 Questions With: <a href='http://television.aol.com/celebrity/denis-leary/41244' target='_blank'><FONT COLOR='#2864B4'>Denis Leary</font></a>
<b>6. Any hot love interests for Tommy to help him through these tough times?</b> Well, <A HREF='http://television.aol.com/celebrity/callie-thorne/278532' target='_blank'>Callie Thorne</a>'s character is really going through some major changes this year. We've just written an entire episode titled "Sheila." And <A HREF='http://television.aol.com/celebrity/gina-gershon/26607' target='_blank'>Gina [Gershon] </a> is back as Tommy's current girlfriend. You can throw [those actresses] anything, and they come out with stuff that makes you go, "I can't believe how good this is."
14 Questions With: <a href='http://television.aol.com/celebrity/denis-leary/41244' target='_blank'><FONT COLOR='#2864B4'>Denis Leary</font></a>
<b>7. Will Tommy ever find true love?</b> Tommy's gotta find somebody, which is part of our game plan this year finally. That's kind of what he's on the prowl for, [but] it's that age-old thing, whether you're a man or a woman, when you decide, "OK, I really want to be in a relationship," everybody can see your desperation and all of a sudden you're not meeting anybody.
14 Questions With: <a href='http://television.aol.com/celebrity/denis-leary/41244' target='_blank'><FONT COLOR='#2864B4'>Denis Leary</font></a>
<b>8. Has FX ever said no to anything you really wanted to do on the show?</b> No, but we did an episode where we got sent to sensitivity training that pushed the envelope. When the guy asked, "Is anybody here a racist?" our characters listed all the [derogatory] words they could think of. And we got a thing from television's standards and practices on FX saying, "We know the C-word is in there -- we just can't find it." But it wasn't!
14 Questions With: <a href='http://television.aol.com/celebrity/denis-leary/41244' target='_blank'><FONT COLOR='#2864B4'>Denis Leary</font></a>
<b>9. So ... what's up with <A HREF='http://television.aol.com/celebrity/tatum-oneal/53569/main' target='_blank'>Tatum O'Neal</a>? Will her character Maggie's story imitate life?</b> [Maggie] got clean at the end of last year, and we have this game plan for her that involves staying sober, so it's probably gonna work in Tatum's favor. We were in the middle of planning the next bulk of Tatum's work before [her drug bust], so she's got a place to come back to.
14 Questions With: <a href='http://television.aol.com/celebrity/denis-leary/41244' target='_blank'><FONT COLOR='#2864B4'>Denis Leary</font></a>
<b>10. Do you know how much longer the show will go on?</b> We're obviously shooting season 5, and I think everybody wants to come back for season 6. I don't want to think too much further than that because I don't want to change the chemistry that's going on onset. [But] at some point you have to pull the trigger.
14 Questions With: <a href='http://television.aol.com/celebrity/denis-leary/41244' target='_blank'><FONT COLOR='#2864B4'>Denis Leary</font></a>
<b>11. Do you have a favorite guilty pleasure show?</b> Yes! My wife [got me addicted to] <A HREF='http://television.aol.com/show/the-real-housewives-of-orange-county/288098/main' target='_blank'>'The Real Housewives of Orange County'</a>. The first couple times I saw her watching it, I was like, "What are you watching this for?" Now she'll go, "Guess what's on?" and I'll go, "OK, drop everything -- we've gotta watch this." It's amazing! You couldn't cast that show ... unbelievable.
14 Questions With: <a href='http://television.aol.com/celebrity/denis-leary/41244' target='_blank'><FONT COLOR='#2864B4'>Denis Leary</font></a>
<b>12. You've been working on a new <A HREF='http://www.moviefone.com/movie/ice-age-dawn-of-the-dinosaurs/30172/main' target='_blank'>'Ice Age'</a> movie. Will we be seeing any more of those?</b> I've said it before and I'll say it again: If we can have six <A HREF='http://www.moviefone.com/movie/rocky/4998/main' target='_blank'>'Rocky'</a>s, then I think we can have six 'Ice Age's. I think we should keep making these. It's an animated version of Al Gore['s <A HREF='http://www.moviefone.com/movie/inconvenient-truth-an/24916/main' target='_blank'>'An Inconvenient Truth'</a>]. [Laughs]
14 Questions With: <a href='http://television.aol.com/celebrity/denis-leary/41244' target='_blank'><FONT COLOR='#2864B4'>Denis Leary</font></a>
<b>13. Speaking of Al Gore, you recently starred in HBO's <A HREF='http://television.aol.com/show/recount/10231430/main' target='_blank'>'Recount'</a>. Are you politically active?</b> I am in (hopefully) the best sense of the word. My parents were immigrants, and they drummed voting into us. My son is just getting ready to vote, and we've drummed it into him. The older I get, the more I realize it ends up being about issues: firefighters and stem cell research, freedom of speech. I don't care who you vote for, just vote.
14 Questions With: <a href='http://television.aol.com/celebrity/denis-leary/41244' target='_blank'><FONT COLOR='#2864B4'>Denis Leary</font></a>
<b>14. Any chance we'll see 'Denis Leary for President' signs one day?</b> No. If I was gonna run somebody, it would be like <A HREF='http://www.moviefone.com/celebrity/george-clooney/1290207/main' target='_blank'>George Clooney</a>, you know what I mean? That guy's a lot more elegant and negotiable than I am and would make a better candidate. I'm more like the character I played in 'Recount,' the behind-the-scenes guy who's running the phones.
