On having Mitch on set for season 4:
Jeffrey: (to Mitch) One of the more interesting moments for me was your presence on set (in season 4). When we were on the Fox show you were in your office. And I have such a respect for you, that I was actually intimidated by you a little bit. But what was so interesting was that by the time we finished, you and I were practically in the scene together. I just wanted to tell you, I have never had a director like you.
Jessica: I haven’t either. And I’m not as close, obviously, as you two lovers are. But I have always said this: Mitch created this wonderful climate for actors to feel safe and to feel like they could fail, and he always knew when to pull me back. And I just felt so comfortable.
On how Jeffrey Tambor can be a diva:
Jessica: I will say for my pal Jeffrey: he can be a bit of a diva, however, I’m always better in scenes with Jeffrey than I am with some of the other people because he raises the bar. You really have to pay attention, and you have to go with his creative abilities so that he can surprise you. And that’s my love letter.
Jeffrey: My mouth is on the floor. I’m weeping. I’m weeping openly. Let’s go back to ‘diva’…
Mitch: I don’t see you as a diva, I see you as someone, pardon the expression, who is not full of sh*t. It’s great. It’s really great. It’s maturity.
On Jessica and Jeffrey’s acting styles:
Mitch: You have very different styles. Jessica prepares, and Jeffrey likes to throw himself into the scene, so it’s much more found in the moment. And I think that’s why what you guys do together is always so magical. It’s salt and pepper; it’s just a great combination.
On the unique nature and timeline of this project:
Mitch: I got it done last week. I don’t think there’s ever in the history of entertainment been a project that has had as much expectation, has had as much money spent on it, and then has had absolutely no testing.
Jeffrey: Do you know, that as little as five days ago I looped a line on my iPhone?
Mitch: Yes, I know. I asked for it.
Jeffrey: Isn’t that amazing? Isn’t that our show?
On guest stars playing younger versions of Lucille and George Bluth:
Jessica: When I saw the episode, (Kristin Wiig) really nailed it. I thought she was wonderful.
Jeffrey: And Seth Rogen. I love how he tried to lower his voice.
Mitch: He’s got the lowest voice in the history of cinema, and he lowered it to play Jeffrey Tambor. He was a sweetheart to do it. They both were. We shot it in one day; they had very little prep time.
Jeffrey: I have to tell you how vain actors are by the way: when I read the script, I thought we were playing those roles.
Jessica: I did too! With a wig that would pull back all my wrinkles. I thought I could do it.
Mitch: We did try to cast for who was right for parts, we didn’t try to just make it Loveboat and bring all the people who were willing to be in it. They guest stars run the gamut from very well known to less well known, but everyone was a joy.
On how Jason Bateman spoiled everyone:
Mitch: Jason Bateman and I had this long talk about how it’s going to be tempting to tweet things, but let’s not. We’ll both decide right now we’re going to keep this under our hats. He said, ‘Do you mind if I just take a picture of the empty set?’ And I said, “No. Do that, that’s a great idea.” But the Workaholics were so under his radar that with these two guys in the shot, he considered it an empty set. So he sent this picture of this so-called “empty set” and immediately it was like, “Hey! The Workaholics are on Arrested Development!” and the news got everywhere.
On having Henry Winkler to do his famous Fonzie move:
Jeffrey: The audience broke into applause.
Mitch: That was a crazy moment.
Jeffrey: And it was sort of emblematic.
Mitch: I was very nervous about asking (Henry Winkler) to do that. We had talked about that in the room and I was like, how do I do it? I didn’t know him very well. And he gave me that sort of stone-faced look too, but I think he was just processing. I made it sound like I had just thought of it, when in fact the whole reason the scene was set in a bathroom was for that joke. You wouldn’t just set a scene, three guys in a men’s room, talking. So I had to say to him, “Hey, you know what might be funny? If you go to comb your hair and then you decide, no, it’s great the way it is.”
Jessica: The thing about Mitch is, whenever he says, “You know what I think might be funny?” you are a fool if you don’t go along with it because he’s always right.
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