AOL Transcript
Wednesday, February 28, 1998, 22:02:35
Question: Ms. Wilson, even though your character on LFN is in very unusual, far out situations I find the way she handles them very admirable. Do you enjoy playing such a strong female role?
Peta: Absolutely, what woman in the world wouldn't.
Question: Roy, I've read in some of your previous interviews that you enjoy the Internet. Do you ever read the La Femme Nikita fan fiction stories? If yes, what do you think?
Roy: I haven't had the chance to look a lot at it. I've seen a couple things. I find it very interesting. I find the things said there very intelligent.
WB Online6: How would the Section deal with Saddam?
Joel: In fact I've heard that Saddam watches the show to find out about America's counterintelligence. I think they would send Michael and Nikita to Baghdad. They would kidnap an attaché. Have Madeline torture him until he gave up the location of Saddam. Birkoff would run a sim. And the team would go out and cancel all seven of them. All seven of "him" (his look-a-likes).
From WhipoWil: Roy, what do you enjoy most about working with Peta, and Peta about Roy?
WB Nikita: Oh my God!
WB Nikita: :-)
Roy: Her originality, her energy, her talent and her beauty.
Peta: His unpredictability, his control. His very balanced sexuality between masculine and feminine. His passion! And I like his hair : )
From Silvrshar: What form of martial arts do you practice for the show?
Roy: I learn it on the spot.
Peta: Tai kwon do is what I know. And...street-fighting
WB Nikita: $done
From Shell 060: Roy, you certainly do a good job of acting with your eyes, but do you ever get tired of maintaining such a stoic exterior? And without giving away too much, will Michael have anything to smile about this season?
Roy: Yes. There's a lot of concentration. But since there's a lot going on inside, it's never boring. And to answer the second question, as Michael would say, "Be patient."
From BethLvMoM: Will we learn more about Michael's past? Like what happened to his child?
Joel: We will learn more about Michael's past in an episode coming up on March 29th. And we will also find out some more info about the child referred to in the episode "War" will appear in an episode later this season.
From TaraLJC: Question for Joel: I am a great admirer of Luc Besson's film, and I was struck by how similar yet dissimilar the two are. How difficult was it to adapt the series, to soften Nikita's character without blunting the impact?
Joel: we made one simple adjustment which was to make her innocent of the crime she committed.
From Susanhar2: Peta. Your portrayal of Nikita is nothing other than excellent. The creators of LFN should count their lucky stars you auditioned for the roll. Have you found any scripts that you would maybe consider perfecting with your talent during your next hiatus?
Peta: I'm looking at some interesting scripts and there's one in particular that I like very much. Set in Montreal. Thanks for the gold star!!!
From Cmaiden1: What aspect if any of your character to you bring home with you when the work day is over?
Peta: Sometimes I feel frustrated when I get home. Sometimes it's hard for me to relax. It takes a few yoga poses to wind down.
Roy: Nothing : ) I leave it all in the office.
From Hollydrea: What is the mood on the set like.... any jokesters? -SMW
Roy: That depends on Peta's mood… : )
Peta: Recently we put an alarm on one of the ADs car. He's a jumpy guy. The mood on the set is a lot of fun...like one big family. I particularly like to tease my fellow players And I particularly like to touch them. I like to rough them up a little.
From Hudak14: Peta, are you staring in any upcoming movies or other t.v. shows?
Peta: No, I'm not starring in any more TV shows, that's for sure. We'll see what comes.
From Tel 93: Last season Nikita seemed headstrong and more independent, but this season...she seems more whiny. Any thoughts on this? -SMW
Joel: She is absolutely no less headstrong or independent this season, thought she did open up her heart to Michael this season which made her more vulnerable when she returned to Section. She quickly made an adjustment when she realized that this relationship was not going to continue. Starting Sunday night... from now on, you'll see a cannier, more savvy and smarter Nikita than we've ever seen before. Her survival instincts have kicked into overdrive. And this "whininess" will be seen in it's proper perspective in light of all the episodes this season.
From L01S LN: Hi! I think the show is fantastic and I love the enigmatic chemistry that the two of you bring to it. My question is who has been your favorite guest star to work with so far?
Roy: I think each of them were very interesting in different ways. For me, I had more contact with Denis Fores in the episode that Joel referred to called "Half Life" which will air on March 29th.
Peta: I like them all. Two in particular that I enjoyed were Gina Torres and Khandi Alexander. Gina's episode will air on the 12th of April. It's called "Open Heart." And Khandi's episode will be called "Soul Sacrifice." Also, Joaquin DeAlameda was quite wonderful. And his episode "Psychic Pilgrim" will air sometime in the spring. Stay tuned!!!
From SMW4523: Fans heard that there was going to be a LFN soundtrack released in March, any word on this? Is this true? -SMW
Joel: This is true. The release date has not been set yet. More information will be available on the new Warner Bros. web site which goes online March 16th. The soundtrack is going to be amazing.
From JRS4582: What is the funniest thing that ever happened to you during the filming of LFN?
Roy: I don't remember anything being funny. : )
Peta: I'm particularly clumsy, so it's a laugh a minute. Myself and Roy had to wear wetsuits in the studio pretending to be on a Zodiac boat. I took a tumble and all the camera saw were my two legs and flippers pointing up in the air. We have a lot of laughs on the set.
From LFmNikita: Was it hard making the episode, "Hard Landing?"
Joel: Yes. It was the first episode of the new season. We were very nervous because after the long lay-off and the cliffhanger from the first season. We wanted to make sure everything was done right for all the fans. We did number of re-shoots and had a long post-production on this particular episode.
Peta: It was a challenging episode since it was the first episode of the second season.
From Luciphee: Mr. Surnow, what is it about Peta and Roy that convinced you that you had your Nikita & Michael?
WB Nikita: I couldn't wait to see Roy's butt. [It didn't say who said this!!! Was it Joel or Peta?]
Joel: I had over 300 actresses come in and read for Nikita. I can honestly say that there wasn't a close second. She was undeniably everything that we wanted for this part. While we were going through the process of casting, my casting person showed me a head-shot of Roy. She said "This actor was just submitted for the part of Michael." My first impression was "This is exactly how I imagined Michael would look." But was skeptical because I hadn't seen his work or heard of him. We took a look at some of his film, including Screamers and Million Dollar Babies and flew him down. I was sitting in my office waiting for Roy with Alberta Watson. When I looked out the window and saw Roy and Alberta, I knew I had my cast.
From JiIIene: Nikita, What influenced you to become an actress?
Peta: Very entertaining Irish-Catholic family, army lifestyle, always being the odd one out. Basically, I came out of the womb saying "Ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille." Besides, what else would I do with the 16 personalities I have.
From Sk8 Gr8MD: Peta and Roy, we've all read how hectic your days are while shooting, what do you do to relax?
Peta: Yoga, I read and I paint. And I laugh a lot.
Roy: Going back to my farmhouse. I like to listen to music, read, have some friends over. And I like to cook. And I feed birds. I like to watch them. Watch over my dogs. Work on my house.
Peta: I like to go shopping,too...shopping for knickknacks and antique stuff.
WB Online6: Our last question comes from GOODGLYMM: How far in advance are scripts written? Do you have a general outline for Season 3? Thank You!
Joel: We like to be at least 6 scripts ahead of when we shoot. And we generally know where the season is going to end about mid-way through the season. We've added a mystery element to the show this season which will become apparent by the end of March. Just make sure you watch the episodes very closely. Again, keep an eye out for the upcoming web site for further information. Again, the Nikita web site will launch on March 16th. Keep checking with Warner Bros. Online for information on the new site.
WB Online6: We would like to thank La Femme Nikita co-stars Peta Wilson and Roy Dupuis and producer Joel Surnow for joining us tonight on The Virtual Lot's CyberTalk! Be sure to check out La Femme Nikita on AOL at Keyword: Nikita or La Femme Nikita. Catch Nikita on Sunday nights on TV at 10:00/11:00 PM ET/PT, on the USA Network.
Roy: Goodbye and thanks.
WB Online6: Peta, Roy & Joel, do you have any last words for your online fans?
Joel: This has been great. Your questions have been fun to answer. As always, insightful. We appreciate your input and enthusiasm for the show.
Peta: Thanks for all the support from the fans. It keeps us as a team very enthusiastic about doing the show.
WB Online6: Good Night, Everyone!