By BetteAndTinaForever

SEE THE PHOTOS!

-- Everyone
-- Premier Members Only

 

<<PREVIOUS

While I was waiting for Jennifer Beals who was still busy with photographers, I saw that Ilene was available and I asked if I could take a few photos and ask a few questions. Ilene smiled and said that photos are okay but what could I possibly want to know because she had already told me everything. I replied that I have plenty of questions but I would only ask a few.

B&TF: Last time we talked you mentioned that you were still waiting for the news on “The Farm” but now we know that it was passed up by Showtime, so what are you planning to do now?

IC: I will tell you when I’m ready to talk about it.

B&TF: You know, I keep asking this question but I never get a definite answer. We know that there are so many deleted scenes and bloopers but why do we never see them on the DVDs? The fans are disappointed…

IC: There are many good reasons and they are not my reasons. They have nothing to do with me. It’s just a complicated business and legal proposition. I know that we would like to put them out, Showtime would like to put them out but I don’t know if that will happen. I know that fans want it. I hope that everybody can find a way to do it but it has nothing to do with wanting to disappoint people. It’s just a tricky thing to do.

B&TF: One more question. There’s been some negative reaction to the way the last season ended with open endings and Jenny’s death. What can you tell fans about it?

IC: Just stay tuned for The L Word movie.

B&TF: So we are going to have it, awesome. Thank you.

***
Ilene was already on her way out and Jennifer was still far away from me so I filled my time by interviewing two cast members from “South of Nowhere”, Mandy Musgrave (Ashley Davies) and Matt Cohen (Aiden Dennison).

B&TF: So, I heard the show was canceled.

MM: I guess, though it’s such a harsh word!

B&TF: Yes, I don’t like that word either.

MM: There were a lot of things that went into it. I feel that it gave all that it could give and not in a bad way. It went off the air at the perfect time. We said what we needed to say, and we reached the amount of people that we could and we had it out there. In and out.

MC: Yes, instead of milking it for another fifth or sixth season we did four complete seasons that were great. We sent a positive message out and change so many people’s lives. We get this mail all the time from the young, thirteen to sixteen year old girls and guys who had somewhere for them to go and feel comfortable and understand that we are all human and it doesn’t matter who we like or who we don’t like. Everybody’s a human and we enjoyed helping people to understand that better.

B&TF: Do you have any stories to share when someone came to you and told that the show changed their lives?

MM: Oh my, there’s so many. I actually went out with one of my gay friends the other night down to West Hollywood.

MC: The Abbey?

MM: I did actually go to the Abbey. Actually, Gabrielle Christian and I went there originally when we first started the show just to fall into the characters and it’s continually been a blast.

So my gay friend, who just came out, said that I’ll be safe there. I said to him, “I played a gay character, I’m not going to be a babe in the gay community,” joking that people were going to run after me. I said, “Whatever…let’s do it.” I had the most amazing time. There was this one woman who told me, “You made me come out.” And I said, “Thank you, I’m really glad I was able to help.” She was like, “Please, tell me you’re gay.” And I was like, “Um, I’m not, I’m sorry.”

I felt so, so bad. But it was great feedback in general, even if some people didn’t know how to say my name. There were people there who would come to me and say, “Are you Mandy Musgrove? I love you.” And I was like, “It’s Musgrave but it’s cool, thank you.” I loved it. I’d rather live in West Hollywood. There’s nothing better than people who say things like that, even if it’s not really me but my work. Still it’s flattering. We have great fans. People are now loving Matt. They don’t love his character because he created so much drama but they love him now.

MC: I’m like the little Nazi who just wanted to be burned for breaking up the gay girls but I’m okay with that.

MM: And we are engaged now and so everybody hates us as a couple because they think that we are Aiden and Ashley. And we’re like, “No, we are not.”

B&TF: A lot of fans get too deep into the show and can’t see reality.

MM: Yeah, yeah.

B&TF: So, what’s next for you?

MM: I just did a little indie, called “16 to Life” and we’re actually winning awards. I haven’t been there for the event but it’s doing really, really well. Theresa Russell was in it and we are getting a phenomenal response. And I also did a show, a new web series, called “Rockville CA” and it’s on WB.com and it’s incredible. I mean, it should be on television, it’s phenomenal.

B&TF: All right, thank you.

***
And finally, after waiting for almost three hours, I saw Jennifer Beals approaching me…a vision in yellow. She smiled at me and said, “I knew you were going to be here. Are you going to New York?”

B&TF: I was planning to go but I had to change my plans when I found out about Mia Kirshner’s Benefit event. I couldn’t go to all three and I chose two events in LA. And now it had been rescheduled.

JB: Yes, it’s so sad.

B&TF: Are you planning to attend it on the new date, on June 11?

JB: I don’t know, I don’t even know where I’m going to be tomorrow (laughing).

B&TF: Okay, so my first question is about your book…

JB: Bette and Tina, Bette and Tina, Bette and Tina (laughing)

B&TF: Actually, I wasn’t going to ask any questions about Bette and Tina but since you insist, now I will (both laughing)…anyway, I heard the news about your book and everyone is really excited…

JB: I know, I know. I’m waiting for a definitive answer from Rizzoli and in a meantime I’m just looking for other publishers so if there’s anybody out there who wants to help me publish this book then bring it on. You can contact my publicist David Lust from Patricola/Lust…

B&TF: Yes, we know…

JB: (laughing) I’m sure you do. I was going just to do it on-line but I think it could get pretty overwhelming. I’ve got all the pictures and so far there are over 250 photographs.

B&TF: Are there any of yours because everything we’ve seen so far are photos of other cast members?

JB: There are some of me, yes.

B&TF: You should definitely include them in the book. And are you going to do a book tour with signing?

JB: It depends. If there’s a publisher who’s willing to have me trek around the country then yes, I’ll do that. If I’m busy working on a film then I won’t be able to do that but I want to try to use the Internet as much as possible. I just want to try to raise as much money as I can for various organizations and I want to have for me, personally, selfishly, to have a document of this time.

B&TF: Well, if you go on a book signing tour, I will go to each event and buy a book at every one of them to give them as presents.

JB: (laughing) Clearly, the recession has not affected you; I’m so proud of you.

B&TF: Thank you very much…it’s savings, all my savings are going towards that. Well, Bette and Tina question now…

JB: Nooooooo (laughing).

B&TF: Well, you asked me (laughing).

JB: I feared that you would (laughing).

B&TF: Actually, it’s more about Bette.

JB: Okay.

B&TF: In one of your latest interviews you said that you were not really satisfied with the ending of the show, like you were disappointed in it…

JB: It was so not a satisfying ending, it’s so dark. You know, that a show about women who are supporting women should end up that you’re wondering who killed somebody, it’s just wrong. And I told Ilene that.

B&TF: Many people voiced the same opinion and she just said that this is what they had decided.

JB: It’s just that her dark side came out in full force and I said to her, “No, no, say this isn’t so.’ And I talked to her about a movie. I said, “If you do a movie you have to have a happy ending because there’s no way I’d do it otherwise.”

B&TF: Bette and Tina better be in that movie or nobody would watch it (laughing). I have another question…or ten. You told me a few times that you think that Bette and Tina only deserve to be together if they earned it, so do you think now at the end of season six they earned it and thus deserve to be together?

JB: Well, you have to earn it every day. Marriage is like that, you are not on automatic pilot, saying, “Well, we’ve earned it in year six so everything’s good now.” You got to keep working at it all the time.

B&TF: What do you think will happen to TiBette now? Will Tina ever find out about Kelly?

JB: I don’t think she’s going to care about Kelly, especially because nothing happened.

At this point Jennifer didn’t have much time left to talk and a reporter next to me also needed to ask her a few questions, so I just listened to what else she had to say. He asked about the recognition awards and what the show meant to her. Jennifer replied that she felt really proud that they had been honored for the show that meant so much to the community.

She said, “I was exposed to so many ideas that I had a notion about but never really fully digested in any way. One of the things that the show did for me was bring up so many women’s issues and the notion that homophobia is a form of misogyny. The women’s community and the gay community are interrelated, whether you’re straight or not. It also made me realize how connected women are everywhere. Women who are gay are repressed in similar ways as women who are straight. It is similar and it’s got to change because I’m really fed up with it.”

Right before Jennifer moved away to the exit, I asked, “If I come to New York is it okay?” And Jennifer replied, “Yeah. I would be disappointed if you weren’t there.”

***

So, now you have it. Even if it was a joke on Jennifer’s part, I didn’t want to disappoint her and that same night I rearranged my flights to come to New York. The report from that event will be coming next.

The rest of the evening went as planned. The show was exciting and at times funny and poignant. Alan Cumming presented The Special Recognition Award to the L Word ladies and Ilene did all the talking. Jennifer, Kate and Leisha looked very beautiful just standing there while Ilene was doing her speech. Every time the camera showed their faces close up on the big screen, the audience would scream and applaud and it was funny to see their reactions because none of the cast members knew why it was happening because they couldn’t see themselves on the screen.

After the show was over we went to our VIP dinner. By the time I got there I was thirsty and famished, so I ate and drunk everything they had to offer. Jennifer left right after the show but Ilene, Kate and Leisha stayed. I didn’t want to bother them so my friends and I went around the room later and took pictures with different celebrities.

It was fun, it was all for a good cause, and I had a chance to talk to Jennifer Beals again…life couldn’t be better.