*** Michael (MichaelMcManus@npfl.zpyz.ztlb.tmdq.this.chat.server) has joined #auditorium
LOTSA HI MICHAELS...
[ Moderator ] We'll be starting in 2 minutes... So I'll close the floor now
*** Moderator sets mode: +m
*** Moderator sets mode: +v Moderator
*** Moderator sets mode: +v Michael
[ Moderator ] Michael... are yoy there?
[ Michael ] tup
[ Michael ] yup
[ Moderator ] Cool
[ Michael ] very
[ Moderator ] Hi everybody I'm your Moderator Ben Trumble and I want to welcomeyou all to SCI FI's very special chat this evening with actor Michael McManus, Lexx's Kai, the last of the Brunnen-G.. Before joining Lexx Michael appeared in the critically-acclaimed film Thye Squamish Five, and his performance in Atom Egoyen's
Speaking Parts won him a Genie Award nomination for Best Actor.
[ Michael ] in toronto
[ Moderator ] Brief word about the drill - This Is A Moderated Chat -- please send your questions for our guest to me, Moderator, as private messages. (To send a private message, either double-click on my name or type "/msg Moderator" on the command line - only without the quotes.) Because of the popularity of this chat, we would like to ask that each of you send only one question. I'm sure that Michael will answer asa many as he
can in our hour.
[ Moderator ] First question...
[ Moderator ] [Indigo]: MM: Do you find it frustrating when people want you, the actor, to be like Kai; only living?
[ Michael ] no
[ Moderator ] Hmmm...long answers!
[ Moderator ] [B5Mage22]: Is there
anything you'd specifically like to see happen with Kai?
[ Michael ] oh
[ Michael ] at the end of the series....???--i
would like to drift off into a black hole and never be heard from
again.
[ Moderator ] Michael. At the end of answer could you
type GA ...for Go Ahead... Here's another
[ Moderator ] [Catarina]: Hey,
Michael. Good to see you. I was just wondering, what do you want
for Christmas? It's most creative one I could come up with. Later.
[ Michael ] ok.ga
[ Moderator ] Did you get that last question?
[ Michael ] i want...god....i want...gosh
I've been GOOD this year, so--
[ Michael ] i'll say that I want lexx to
be starting at least by then
[ Michael ] or a porsche. ga
* Bouncer uses dried komodo dragon as nail file ...
[ Moderator ] Avery politic answer :)
[ Moderator ] [WhiteTiger]: Michael... you
said once in an interview being in front of a camera was uncomfortable,
as opposed to theater. In what way is it uncomfortable?
[ Michael ] I find my comfort zone
performing in front of at least 600 people and there are rarely
that many in a film crew. ga
[ Moderator ] [Pandora]: Good
evening and thanks so much for joining us, Mr. McManus. My question
(one of many ) is "How did you first prepare for playing Kai in
Series 1? Did this preparation change any for Series 2 and 3?"
[ Michael ] Ah. well, i dressed for
three or four shooting days before I shot the scene with thodin.
* Bouncer croaks "Send flooding complaints to me."
[ Michael ] by the time i shot the scene
i was so happy to be strutting my stuff and of course I had to
hide it being kai, and that sort became the basis of something
that has continued to be more or less of a pleasure to do except
on bad wig days. ga
[ Moderator ] [Astartae]: Please,
please ask my question so I can faint away into a bliss... "How
has playing Kai changed your life? For better or worse?"
[ Michael ] playing kai gave me a chance
to catch up on many overdue bills....
[ Michael ] and the travel has been wonderful,
ie berlin shooting terms....
[ Moderator ] ready for another one?
[ Michael ] on the down side, i have
to a certain extent in the role become somewhat boring even to
my slef during the 14 or longer hour days, and that is a serious
hazzard but when I think of my bank account it helps me to overcome
that little problem
[ Michael ] ga
[ Moderator ] [lunatic]: Hello
Michael, did you have as much fun and challenge playing the "live
Kai" in Gondola as you did playing psycho Kai in WTD?
[ Michael ] "live kai" --PRINCE, was
very controversial on the set, but the kyodo skills that I learnt
rather well and quickly will be always with me.
[ Michael ] the costume tended to fall aff
every three or four minutes and that was a drag. ga
[ Moderator ] Michael several people want to know about
"Bad Wig Days?"
[ Michael ] have you ever had a bad
hair day?.....
[ Michael ] multiply by a factor of 3
[ Michael ] ga
[ Moderator ] [Joanie]: Is it
difficult to always play the "dead man" erm.... I mean the "straight
man" in the series? That being said, have you ever just cracked
up during a scene?
[ Moderator ] A reminder, we're chatting with Michael McManus,
Lexx's Kai. This Is A Moderated Chat -- please send your questions
for our guest to me, Moderator, as private messages. (To send
a private message, either double-click on my name or type "/msg
Moderator" on the command line - only without the quotes.)
[ Michael ] i think to myself when
I am feeling the strain," how hard it must be to be stanley tweedle
every day. ga
[ Moderator ] [kaisquared]: As
many of the attempts to destroy you involve spectacular special
effects,how do you keep the excellent non-emotional emotional
responses in sync with the action?
[ Michael ] well, kai to the power
of 2--my main film technique for this part is well suited to not
changing a thing under any "normal " circumstances.
[ Michael ] think john wayne in outer space.
ga
[ Moderator ] [Ariel]: hi....in
which direction would you like to go from here as an actor? comedies,
film, romance? If you had a variety of choices....
[ Michael ] WESTERNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ga
[ Moderator ] They're about due for a revival!
[ Moderator ] [Kari]: The US hasn't
seen Series 3 yet :((( but I have seen pictures on fan web sites.
Lex G. said in a recent interview that a certain Series 3 plotline
was an excuse to get you naked. (We know better than to take the
beans seriously, though.) Did you ever feel exploited?
[ Michael ] NOOOOOOOOO!
[ Michael ] FAAAAALSE!!!!
[ Michael ] He's just jealous because we're
the same age and belive me, lg naked is not something I like to
think about.
[ Michael ] it was a frankenstein reveal
that I consider to be very daring and a completion of the tease
that my character has become. ga
[ Moderator ] [MSunnynum1]: Hello,
Michael. I understand you sing a bit. Have you ever done any stage
plays w/musical content , or plan on doing any in the future,
(if you find the time from Lexx , of course)?
[ Michael ] sing a bit is exactly what
I do. and I have done a fistful of plays with music and even very
recently a light opperetta written by my friend alan cole. ga
[ Moderator ] [Joanie]: In your
opinion, what is it about your character that makes him so attractive
to female viewers?
[ Michael ] my mother has five sisters,
and they have been attracted to me since my birth. I assume it
is the same alchemical thing. ga
[ Moderator ] Many people wonder if you were a fan of
science fiction before Lexx
[ Moderator ] and if so, what?
[ Michael ] science fiction\romance
has always been attractive to me
[ Michael ] however, pure science fiction
no. ga
[ Moderator ] [gabriel]: gabriel wanted
to thank you very much for doing this chat; i wondered if you
could touch on your experience with Atom Egoyan?
[ Michael ] OH.
[ Michael ] I consider his films to be autuer
driven works, and i approached working with him as an employee.
[ Michael ] it was a fine experience but
the character is so effeminate that I have a hard time watching
it and always have. ga
[ Moderator ] [Pandora]: Pan
smiles... me again... I and many of my friends here at the SciFi/US
BB really enjoyed "Wake the Dead" and "Twilight" since these episodes
allowed Kai to be more of a dynamic character but did not compromise
the basic premise (of him being dead, unemotional, etc.). Did
you have any input into these episodes?
[ Michael ] sort of.
[ Michael ] after the eight original hours,
the writers jh and lg were bemoaning the fact that my character
wasn't "going anywhere".
[ Michael ] talking to them one night in
berlin they were very aggressively trying to turn me into spock
of whatver.
[ Michael ] but pd and I agree that the
premise of unchanging and uncomprimised lack of motivation is
more original and interesting and that the problem has to be dealt
with in another way.
[ Michael ] at the end of this night, i
suspect that they were 'forced' to resort to other means to develop
an understanding of what kai IS]
[ Michael ] and the idea that an atmosphere
or a technological mistake could turn the toasdter into a fridge
is to my mind the correct and I agreee, very interesting solution.
[ Michael ] jh wrote wake the dead, lg wrote
twilight! ga
[ Moderator ] A brief pause for station identification
here at the halfway point. We're chatting with Michael McManus
of Lexx. If you have a question send it to me Moderator as a private
message
[ Moderator ] [LexxKaiCB]: Hello
Michael, my name is Charmaine, thanks for being here tonight.
What part have you enjoyed the most in your career?
[ Michael ] tom in glass menagerie,
playing opposite martha henry as amanda. ga
[ Moderator ] It's hard to beat a Tennessee Williams
part...
[ Moderator ][Xev]: Michael, you
have a lot of fan web pages out there, for you as an actor, and
the character Kai. Dose that bother you at all? Do you find it
creepy that these people spend so much time createing something
that just about you? Or do you think it's flattering?
[ Michael ] I think it would be flattering
if offers were pouring in as a result of these pages, and the
last I checked it was a free world and I was an actor in it.
[ Michael ] what do you think we're trying
to do anyway? HIDE???? ga
[ Moderator ] [Akasha]: I would
like to ask Michael if he has ever read a book in which there
was a character he would like to play if ever it were made into
a movie? If so, what book and character?
* Bouncer drinks Jell-O from cup made of human skulls. Lime Jell-O.
[ Michael ] the guy in "IN the skin
af a lion" by ondatjii. ga
[ Moderator ] [Jennix]: hi michael,
was it a different experience for you to shave off all your hair
for K-town and Gondola??
[ Michael ] no,
I'd done it already for speaking parts. I'm a pretty hairy guy.
ga
[ Moderator ] Many people wonder what career you might
have followed had you not becom,e an actor?
[ Michael ] i considered music, math,
dance, liturature. ga
[ Moderator ] [BlackStormCloud]:
Does Michael ever intend on bringing his considerable talents
to New York theatre? For his New York fans?
[ Michael ] that's definitely easier
said than done.....
[ Michael ] i got my union card an a show
that didn't quite make it there. but as rats do, I also love NY!
ga
[ Moderator ] Michael many people want to know how you
got your start in acting? Where you studied?
[ Michael ] I consider my starting
point performing with the st michael's choir.
[ Michael ] I went to that vocational school,
then I did musicals in highschool and then when I discovered that
I really couldn't do ANYTHING, i determined at the tender age
of eighteeen to become an actor.
[ Michael ] ga
[ Moderator ] [HappyBunny]: My
question: I've read that you've worked in the UK. Did you enjoy
working here and have you any plans to work here again?
[ Michael ] I think workiong in the
UK is marvellous the audience is so sophisticated and generous.
[ Michael ] I can't imagine myself setting
in London again as I found it to be a little bit too english for
me. ga
[ Moderator ][Kais]: Welcom Lord
of th Lexxians.We've been asking each other for the past few hours
so I think it time we asked you,whats YOUR favorite episode of
Lexx, and why?
[ Michael ] I'm very attaqched to wake
the dead because it was a perfect experience, by which I mean
that me and jeff and paul fought a lot of opposition to make that
happen.
[ Michael ] but my all time favourite, and
I think it will last, is the number 4 movie because it really
emotional developed everything that has to exist between kai and
zev. ga
[ Moderator ] Many people want to know about the status
of a 4th Season? Will it happen?
[ Moderator ] A reminder, we're chatting with Michael McManus,
Lexx's Kai. This Is A Moderated Chat -- please send your questions
for our guest to me, Moderator, as private messages. (To send
a private message, either double-click on my name or type "/msg
Moderator" on the command line - only without the quotes.)
[ Michael ] WELLL, the fine people
at scifi are the determining factor, and they are dragging their
heels, and I am no longer commited on option, as my option has
expired and so if I should happen to luck into work before the
powers that be make up their mindcs, then the lexx will be happening
without ....me. ga
[ Moderator ] Another frequent question is whether you
will be attending any LEXX conventions in the near future?
[ Michael ] I have no policy yet re
lexx conventions, but if you are referring to the Un convention
that is happening in august the answer is no. ga
[ Moderator ] [MissJean]: As
a Brian Downey fan (aka StanFan) I must ask... Do you ever wish
you had a role that combined the facial/vocal expressiveness with
the chance to developp the character over such a long haul?
[ Michael ] I occasional get voice
gymnastics envy, but then along comes an episode like tunnels,
and the envy dissappears. ga
[ Moderator ] [strawberry72]:
Michael if ever given the opportunity to write for lexx would
you? What type of episode would you write?
[ Michael ] I would write three episodes,
called kai stan zev.
[ Michael ] they would overlap and not make
a stick of sense until you'd seen all three. ga
[ Moderator ] [Kari]: I want
my friends to love Lexx as much as I do, but I can't get them
to even watch it. I must be the worst Lexx ambassador ever. How
would you describe Lexx to someone who'd never seen it?
[ Michael ] "you only have to test
it for a minute and if you don't like it you probasbly never will".
I have no problem with people not liking it because the pleasure
of it is such that some and even many must hate it. like comic
books from rene tremblay"
[ Michael ] ga
[ Michael ] (sorry)
[ Moderator ] [kris]: pretty
please with cherries on top... hi micheal i was just wondering
how you think Lexx differs from any program made in the United
States?
[ Michael ] Ah, formula answer:
[ Michael ] lexx at bottom is negative about
human potential, and america doesn't often go there especially
when they have the utopic possibilities of science fiction in
there grasp. ga
[ Moderator ] Kind audience...as hour is nearly over,
please, no more questions...
[ Moderator ] [ozzie]: I know part
of LEXX is filmed in Germany, so in short, do you speak much German?
[ Michael ] I have spent two years
learning german and I give myself one more year to achieve fluency.
[ Michael ] if I can learn it in three years,
next I'll take on SWEDISH! Ga
ATTENTION SWEDES!!!!!]
[ Moderator ] [Surio]: please,
please surio what is it like working with zev?
* Bouncer thirsts for blood of flooders and pingers. And Lime
Jell-O, in cups!
[ Michael ] working with both zev and
xev, is always a fine pneumatic experience that most people will
never have. ga
[ Moderator ] [Pyrrhus]: Hopefully
at least this question will get through... Michael, how do you
feel about the differences in Censorship between the US and Europe?
Is there a lot of things we don't see that Lexxians overseas do?
[ Michael ] Well, in europe they are
naturally much more afriad of violence than they are of the female
body.
[ Michael ] in america people seem to think
a nipple is a scandal.
[ Michael ] so I would have to say that
in america things on lexx are a tiny bit more violent, and things
in europe are just a bit sexier. ga
[ Moderator ] Michael, our hour is about over. You've
been a wonderfully patient guest.
[ Moderator ] We always ask this question as a closer...
What was the best advice you ever got as an aspiring actor? Advice
you would pass on yo others?
[ Michael ] a drunk, and blousy woman
in Fran's all night diner said to me at the end of a party when
I was young,
[ Michael ] "You'll never make it!" stumbling,
she left the party, she clearly had never made it. that is to
me, wisdom of the ages. ga
[ Moderator ] Michael. Thanks for taking the time to
join us! Any final comments before we let you make your escape
and we open the floor?
[ Michael ] IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE, AND
LET'S ALL DO IT AGAIN NEXT YEAR!!
[ Michael ] bye
[ Moderator ] Thanks again for chatting Michael.
[ Moderator ] Have a great night
[ Moderator ] We hope to see you again soon
*** Michael (MichaelMcManus@npfl.zpyz.ztlb.tmdq.this.chat.server)
Quit ((signed off))
[ Moderator ] Bye
*** Moderator sets mode: -m
AND THE MAYHEM STARTS ANEW...
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