Watching The Office

Sorry, I’m not a fan of Mad Men. It’s a big hit with critics and I think it’s an Emmy front runner this year. I tried getting into the show a lot of times but as a woman, I don’t feel happy watching it for its chauvinism. So, this actor, Rich Sommer, isn’t familiar to me. He will be though, once his The Office appearance airs on September 25th (the season premiere).

As scooped by Ausiello on EW, his guest appearance on the show is  “being closely guarded—an Office insider would only reveal that his character “ties in with a surprise twist”.

Wonder what that twist is about?  Jan’s new boyfriend? Michael’s new boss, the guy replacing Ryan (who we last saw was cuffed and sent to jail)? And why am I getting a Jim+Dwight vibe in this photo (to the right)?

More about this news after the cut…

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So, what is it? Video from TV Guide:

Reality shows about dangerous jobs, shows about loggers, deep sea fishers and ice truckers, carnage, anything with bears and beet farms, Lost and Battlestar Gallactica — these are Dwight’s choiced favorites for TV.

The interview was done at the Teen’s Choice awards, where Rainn Wilson was pretty excited to see ” Milo Serious” (it’s in the video!). He was co-presenter with Kristin Bell and I caught him introducing the Jonas Brothers as well.

Starring as a “rockstar” in his latest film, The Rocker, which is already running in theaters, Rainn Wilson answers what his favorite rock bands are in this interview with Spinner:

Wilson took time out to catch up with Spinner and talk about his real-life role as a music enthusiast and his own rock-star tendencies.

“There were a lot of perks,” he told us of his recent promotional tour, which had him making appearances at music festivals this past spring, including Sasquatch. “I got to interview the Who. I was terrible. But it was a dream come true,” he admits, calling Pete Townshend an “icon” and maintaining that behind Bob Dylan, “there’s no other person I wound rather meet.” But he isn’t just about the veterans. During our talk, he drops names like Cold War Kids, the National, Fleet Foxes, the Raconteurs, Kings of Leon and Wilco. “I love Wilco,” he gushes. “I just think they will be remembered like the Byrds were, as just a great American rock band. But ask him for his favorite of all time, he’s quick to answer “Radiohead.”

Unlike his characters Robert Fishman from ‘The Rocker’ and Dwight Schrute, who Wilson says “both like metal,” he himself isn’t a fan. “I like classic metal like AC/DC, Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, but as soon as they started wearing more makeup than my Aunt Mary Lou, I knew it was time to let that go.” In fact, the 42-year-old actor was more interested in “punk and New Wave in the early ’80s.” He recalls, “Someone gave me a cassette tape of the Clash’s ‘London Calling’ when I was, like, 16. It just completely changed my life.”

Rainn Wilson was on Ferguson last August 1st:

And he was also on Leno last night (viewable in the US only) last week.

With school starting in a couple of days, I thought it would be great to look at our favorite TV star’s educational background and see how they are as students. Are they geniuses in school? Slackers? Nerds? Popular guys? School bullies? Where did their interest lie and was it originally related to their jobs as actors now?

Kids look up to celebrities for many reasons, but seldom do fans like us take inspiration from these stars when it comes to school work. And why should we not? Maybe after reading this, we’d see these actors in a refreshingly different light.

Steve Carell went to an all-boys school growing up in Concord Massachusetts. He was part of the school newspaper, serving as its Editor in Chief. He was said to have aspired to be a lawyer, but ended up pursuing comedy and began teaching an improvisational class in the early 90’s.

John Krasinski, like Steve Carell, grew up in Massachusetts and was a bookworm early on. He graduated from Brown University graduating with honors as a playwright.

Rainn Wilson studied high school in Illinois and was part of the chess team, the marching band, model United Nations and debate club. He is undeniably a nerd, which makes his character, Dwight Schrute, all the more special to him. He later was in NYU’s Graduate acting program, where he honed his craft as an actor.

Jenna Fischer had also aspirations of becoming a lawyer but instead became a graduate of theater from Truman State University.

Rashida Jones is quite an accomplished academic. Aside from her strong musical background, she is a Harvard Graduate with a Degree in Religion and Philosophy and was voted “Most Likely To Succeed” in high school.

Angela Kinsey grew up in Jakarta Indonesia but studied in Baylor University for college, where she has a degree in English. She was also a sorority member. College for her was very inspired. She balanced time between libraries, her writing, theater classes and sports.

BJ Novak went to the same high school as John Krasinski and earned a degree in English and Spanish at Harvard for College. He graduated summa cum laude and was one of the youngest editors of the school paper, the Harvard Lampoon.

I’ll take your mind off The Office for a minute and bring your attention to this one contestant I’ve seen on this reality show, The Mole. Anybody watching it? Doesn’t this guy remind you of Michael Scott? He looks a bit like him and even sounds like him!

I sometimes get distracted when I’m watching this show while I hear him speak. There are times when I thought I’m watching The Office and not the reality series. I’m not saying he’s a douchebag though. It’s just the way he talks and the actual words coming out of him is uncanny. It’s too Michael Scott.

Which leads me to thinking —- what if Michael Scott had been a contestant on The Mole? Imagine how much he’ll drive the rest of the competitors crazy!

Mindy was on Letterman last Thursday and she was very engaging in this interview:

• She mentioned about being given a nickname after the character on the TV series Mork and Mindy.
• She talked about growing up Indian and having to take roles of one, which was a bit difficult for her since she was actually born in the States.
• She talked about her audition for Baby Mama where she felt she sounded like Apu from The Simpsons and proceeds to speak her lines. Her scene was cut from the movie.
• She speaks about her writing career and how Greg Daniels discovered her.
• She gushes about Jennifer Lopez.
• Much of her Kelly character seems to be cropping up and overtaking Mindy.

And here’s a bonus video from OSU, with Mindy calling BJ on the cellphone and having hundreds of people hear their conversation:

One funny lady, this one! Listen to her stand-up material.

Off to spend a long weekend. Be back Monday…

According to Knoxnews, production to Season 5 begins in Los Angeles today as the show prepares for its new season premiere in September 25th.

Episode 1 to Season 5 will be an hour long episode, which includes some flashbacks to what happened at the office during the summer.

Also, expect a weight challenge in the storyline.

Watch this video of how the writers from The Office were introduced to the crowd at the Comic Con panel. Fun! —

The Office Comic Con Panel was moderated by Rainn Wilson but this apparently was Greg Daniel’s first time at such event. Also in attendance were Michael Schur, B.J. Novak, Gene Stupinsky, Jennifer Celotta, Mindy Kaling, Lester Lewis, Lee Eisenberg, Anthony Ferrel, Justin Spitzer and Ryan Koh. These all the other writers for the series.

If anyone was looking for scoops for the next season, the panel apparently had little to give but based on these videos are courtesy of Mahalo everyone seemed to have such a great, fun time at The Office panel. Those writers are really funny and Rainn Wilson did a great job keeping the pace and moderating.

NBC also has a special section set up for this year’s Comic Con and you can check for more videos and tidbits there.

The Office’s Phyllis hints at payback for the BIG secret.

The Office’s Melora Hardin is back for the season premier.

Thanks to Lauren!

According to Variety, BBC Worldwide has given license to a Russian edition of The Office. It is set to have 24 episodes and will be aired on Russia’s Channel One, under the production company called Red Square.

Under the editorial supervision of BBC Worldwide’s executive producer Duncan Cooper, the broadcaster has the rights to develop new storylines around local characters, beyond the original 13 scripts, in order to make a longer running series.

“Russia is an important territory for us,” said Ben Donald, BBC Worldwide’s head of sales for the country. “We’ve had much success with other formats such as ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ ‘Junior Mastermind’ and most recently ‘Great Russians,’ which is causing huge debate in the media.”

The comedy series, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, is airing in more than seventy countries and has five versions —- Britain, France, US, Canada and Chile.

Speaking of the Chilean version, take a look at their website patterned after the US version. Their show will debut in Chile next month.

Angela Kinsey is scheduled to appear on Monk’s 100th episode (the show has been on that long already?).

Paul Leiberstein’s marriage to one Janine Poreba was in The New York Times.

Melora Hardin dishes on what’s ahead for the very pregnant Jan on The Office. She also talks about Holly Flax.

Phyllis’ knowledge of Dwight and Angela hooking up, will she or won’t she use it against them? And what about Stanley, is he going to call on Michael’s behavior again? Watch this video.

And what does Dwight have to say about a baby Dwangela?

Speaking of Dwight, I mean, Rainn Wilson, listen to his radio interview with Philly’s Rock Station 94WYSP while promoting The Rocker.

Ed Helms was on The Daily Show last night! I missed this one.

I also have not seen this before, but watch Steve Carell talk about his son, Jack, on Letterman.

How did The Office game with Mindy Kaling in Scranton turn out?

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