Interview: Josie Bissett on the Joy of Giving and Paper Angels

Just in time for the heartwarming holiday season is Up TV’s inspirational movie called “Paper Angels,” which stars “Melrose Place” alum Josie Bissett. In “Paper Angels,” which premieres tonight, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. EST/6 p.m. PST, abused wife Lynn (played by Josie) leaves her alcoholic husband, Darryl, and with her two kids, Thomas and Sara, she escapes to another town where she works as a waitress to make ends meet. Thomas starts a new school and becomes the target of a bully who is threatened by how well Thomas plays basketball. Unable to join the high school team midyear, Thomas goes to the community center where he meets Kevin (played by Matthew Settle of “Gossip Girl”), and the two of them become unlikely friends through pickup basketball games. Little do they know the tremendous impact they will have on each other’s families come Christmastime through the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree Program.

The movie is inspired by the hit country Christmas song featured in the movie, “Paper Angels,” by country music star Jimmy Wayne and the same-titled book by Jimmy (with Travis Thrasher). Jimmy also wrote and performed two new songs for the film. I spoke with Josie about the film, and she is thrilled to bring Jimmy’s story to life for her fans … and hopes they’ll open their hearts to those in need this holiday season.

Celebrity Extra: Tell me, what it was about this movie that made you want to be a part of it?

Josie Bissett: The first thing I ever look at in the script is the character, if it’s someone I want to play. And to me, the greatest part of making the decision was the character. That got me because I loved playing someone who was falling apart in the beginning, but then she really takes the reins of her life and her two kids, who were the same ages as my two kids in real life.

CE: So in some aspects, could you relate to her struggles?

JB: I’m a single mom, so yes, I really related to her struggles of being on her own, making a life for her and her kids, and the adjustments and changes that brings to her life. That part was really relatable. And I love the fact that she works hard. This character is not something I’ve ever played before, and I loved getting to play that. My characters are usually pretty put together. As far as the script goes, I really love playing a mom these days, and I just love working with kids. I feel like it brings so much joy to the set, because they are so happy to be there.

Also, I’m a big fan of Jimmy Wayne, and then hearing his story — what a phenomenal person! Knowing that it was loosely based on his life — he’s a country singer who had this absolutely horrific life and who is out there trying to help teenagers who are homeless, who are aging out of the foster-care system. It’s something you don’t really know about unless somebody tells you. And it’s tough. It’s sad.

CE: What’s the biggest message of the film that you’d like to impart?

JB: The biggest message that I know that I want to get out is the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree Program and all the Salvation Army does to help. (To learn more, go to salvationarmyusa.org.) When you realize how just one simple thing — like picking an angel off a tree and buying presents for a deserving child — can change that child’s life, you think: “Why aren’t these everywhere? Why aren’t we all helping?” Some of these families, they have nothing. As I get older, I really want to give back. I feel blessed to have all the wonderful experiences, health and all of that. I went through a really, really tough four years. Really tough. And I think that when you go through tough times, you truly learn compassion.

CE: “Paper Angels” is a really sweet movie that inspires people to assist those who might need a helping hand. Tell me about some of the charities you’re involved with.

JB: This month, I’m going on a Mission trip. My whole life I’ve been traveling, but I went straight from work to kids and, with kids, there’s not a lot of time for that. But now I’m older, and my kids are older. I’ve joined this incredible foundation; it’s called Starkey Hearing Foundation.

CE: I interviewed Justin Osmond a few years back, and he is very involved with Starkey. It’s such a great group.

JB: It’s a really incredible foundation. I’m going Sri Lanka right after my press for my movie, and I am just so excited. It’s the kind of the direction I want to go, to be able to do more of that, and more of these kinds of movies like “Paper Angels.” Just putting good stuff out there in the world as opposed to, you know — I watch the news every morning, and it’s just really scary.

CE: For those who can’t travel, or maybe can’t afford too much, how can we help others this holiday season?

JB: If you can’t afford to buy anything for anyone, the Salvation Army needs help packing the gifts. So that’s another option, helping with your time.

CE: What else do you have coming up?

JB: Aside from working with Starkey and my trip to Sri Lanka, I’m actually going to start my next book series. I’m going to start it while I’m in Sri Lanka, but I don’t know the name of it yet. So, let’s just say that I’m starting research on my next book series while I’m there.

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Interview: Rena Sofer Talks Daytime Drama and Amorra Collagen Candle Skincare

When Quinn Fuller blew onto the scene on “The Bold and the Beautiful” this summer, neither her portrayer, Rena Sofer, nor the audience had any idea of what they were in for. Since Quinn has been in L.A., she’s dangled someone over a railing, pushed someone off a bridge, tried to impale someone with a sword, locked someone in a steam room and interfered with and manipulated her son Wyatt’s life seven ways to Sunday. And yet, she’s still around and making life miserable for others — and the fans of “B&B” couldn’t be happier. I spoke with Rena recently about her new role, and she can’t wait for fans to see what else Quinn has planned.

Celebrity Extra: Since Quinn’s been in town, I’d say she’s been causing a wee bit of trouble.

Rena Sofer: Yes. Just a little bit though. Not TOO much (laughs).

CE: You have to be having an absolute ball portraying her.

RS: I can’t tell you how much fun it is. It’s really Brad (Bell, head writer and executive producer), though, who puts it upon himself to decide to take this woman — who nobody knew anything about and has no history of being a bad person that anyone knew of — and really slowly, behind everybody’s back, turn her into who we see now. However, I don’t think she’s crazy. I don’t think she’s mentally unsound; I think she’s just crazy in the sense of she does what she wants without the thought of how it’s going to really affect anyone else. She has this mental diarrhea.

CE: Did you have any idea where Brad was going to go with the character, or did you learn about it just before the rest of us did?

RS: I had no idea. I spent the first three months on the show wanting to keep Hope away from Wyatt. And then I really liked her because she hired us to do her jewelry line. I decided I wanted her to be with Wyatt, and Liam was in the way. I spent so much time not liking Liam, so I started doing little things, like locking him in the steam room when he was supposed to meet Hope. And turning the heat up to the point where he could have died and then letting him out. And I love the fact that she didn’t let him out and run away. She let him out, letting him see her and making it clear, “I’m the one who just locked you in there, and I’m the one who let you out.” To me, that’s gold.

CE: How was Brad able to lure you back to daytime television?

RS: There are so many great things about nighttime television and so many great things about daytime television. And then there are things that are not great about daytime and not great about nighttime. The one thing that daytime affords you is the ability to have a normal schedule, be home, and if you are a parent, like I am, it makes life incredibly easy. I got tired of the grind of not working, and then you’ve got a job that’s in Vancouver for eight days. And in those eight days, I wonder who’s going to take care of my kids. My husband is a director, and he’s out of town a lot.

Very little is shot here in L.A. now. So much is being shot in New Mexico and Atlanta and Vancouver and Toronto and Chicago. It closed the field for me. Then Brad Bell called and said: “Hey, I have this part. Will you come in and meet with me?” He told me about their schedule, which is four days a week, three weeks a month. I’m home usually before 3 or 4 o’clock in the afternoon. I can drive my daughter to school. I can drive her home. On top of all that, I got to create a character from scratch. That sealed the deal for me.

CE: What are some of your favorite things about playing Quinn and being on “The Bold and the Beautiful”?

RS: The great thing about this show, and probably my favorite thing about Brad Bell, is he didn’t have this iron hand about Quinn and who he wanted her to be and who she was. He was never like, “You’d better do this, and you’d better make it this.” None of that happened. This man basically invited me to his show because he trusted me, and then just said, “Here are the words.”

I started playing her lines a little bit off. I was just like, “I’m not a crier, so I don’t want to be crying every five seconds, so stop writing her that way.” I just had them stop writing that. I expressed to them that it’s not my cup of tea. Then they started writing it a little bit differently. And I started playing with their words. I didn’t change their words; I just took them in a different way than I think they expected. Brad saw what I was doing, took hold of those reins and said, “Hey, how about this?” Where do you get that kind of opportunity? In nighttime television, you are the lowest person on the totem pole as far as how you are going to play a character. They hire you to play what they want you to play, and pretty much everyone is replaceable. To be able to have the freedom to do what I do every single day is such a gift to me. It really is a gift.

CE: Hope and Wyatt are pretty fed up with Quinn, and Hope wants her out of their lives and nowhere near the baby she is expecting. How will Quinn deal with that?

RS: She’s definitely not going to give up. Clearly she sees Deacon (Hope’s father) as an asset. That is something that is helpful to her, even though she does kind of like him.

CE: Speaking of Deacon, Quinn used to be obsessed with getting Bill back, and now that that is fading, will she concentrate her efforts on Deacon?

RS: Yeah, she stopped caring about Bill a while ago. You know, when a story’s not going to work for whatever reason, it’s not going to work. You’ve just got to move on. You can’t keep forcing a situation that is not going to happen. So I’m really happy that Brad came up with the idea to have Deacon change his focus to Quinn. And I think it’s so funny that they’ve been living together all this time — since he’s been in town — and nobody knows. They’ve spent a lot of time together, but not romantically. So the fact that all of a sudden — boom! — something happened, it makes sense.

CE: Judging by the online feedback, the fans definitely approve of a Quinn/Deacon matchup.

RS: I definitely think we are going in the right direction. I don’t think I ever heard any feedback regarding Bill and Quinn, about anybody’s interest in that. This is something people are really interested in, and that’s exciting.

CE: Can you give me any clue as to what to expect regarding Quinn and Deacon’s burgeoning relationship in coming weeks?

RS: I can probably say that in upcoming weeks, their little secret relationship isn’t a secret anymore. But you will see how and when that happens.

CE: I’m sure Hope will love that!

RS: Well, she should love me, right? I mean, I love her father now. What’s wrong with that?

CE: Tell me how your collaboration with Dino Morra on the Amorra Collagen Body Candles came about.

RS: Dino Morra has been my facialist for 15 years, and I’ve used his products for 15 years, including his candles. These candles are his baby; he made them for his clients. I told him they should be in every store in America. I told him, “I love your product as is, and I would love to be your partner and get them out there.” And what happened is we really collaborated. We worked on them together and perfected them.

We had three scents in the first place: peony, vanilla and blood orange. And then we’ve added four scents that we created together. But he’s the chemist. I say to him, “I love this smell and this smell.” And then he goes into the lab and he comes out with Nag Champa and Arabian Spice. Or I’ll say, “I want like a really clean, citrusy one like the blood orange but lighter.” And he comes in with his lemongrass scent, which is just incredible. We also have a tobacco, vanilla and cherry-wood scent, which is such a beautiful scent for men. We have this great scent for our recovery candle: It is eucalyptus, mint, amber, menthol, arnica and MSM, which is a sulfur extract. The menthol is healing in when it’s lit, or when you place it on your chest, it will help open up your nasal passages if you’re congested. The arnica is great for bruising, and then the MSM is for inflammation.

With all the candles, there’s no wax and no paraffin. You put them directly on your skin, and they just melt into your skin. And they are so wonderful smelling too. You smell like the candle that you love to have in your house. And they’re great products.

CE: How long does the candle last, especially if you do a combination of burning it for the smell and using it on your skin?

RS: It’s a regular candle with 60 hours of burn time. If you wear it all the time, it’s going to change how long the candle will burn. But then you’re still getting the benefits of it as well. It’s $35, which is a great price for either a skincare product or a candle. The scents offered are really strong. I have my blood orange candle in my dressing area — I just have it out, not burning — and my whole area smells like it.

CE: Are the candles in stores yet, or can they be bought online?

RS: We have our own website, amorrabeauty.com, and it’s just great. You go to the site, and you just pick which candle you want. It’s really easy. And once you get the candle, it’s so fun. You’ll really love it.

(Author’s Note: I tried the lemongrass collagen candle, and I have to say, I absolutely love it. The scent is heavenly, and the actual collagen candle made my skin feel so soft and supple. I’d definitely recommend this. And what do you know — the holidays just HAPPEN to be coming up!)

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Interview: Jamie Luner Is The Perfect Boss

I know Jamie Luner best for her years on “Melrose Place” as the once-sweet but soon conniving and vicious Lexi Sterling. She got her start on the 1980s sitcom “Just the Ten of Us,” which I loved as a kid. Since then, she’s been on “Growing Pains,” “All My Children,” “The Profiler,” “CSI: Miami,” “NCIS,” “Supernatural” and a ton of other things. This weekend, she stars in the Lifetime Movie Network’s original movie “The Perfect Boss” (which premieres May 24 at 8 p.m. ET/PT and re-airs throughout the weekend). Jamie plays cutthroat pharmaceutical exec Jessica Slade, who will do anything to be a success. I spoke with Jamie about her role, and about her time on “Melrose.”

Celebrity Extra: After watching this movie, I can say that is definitely Crazytown, but in a good way — so much danger, backstabbing and intrigue. What were some things about it that appealed to you that made you want to play the role?

Jamie Luner: (Laughs) Crazytown — I love that. And it’s true! I’ve been playing lots of roles that were away from that sort of powerhouse woman, and it was really refreshing to get back to that. I have been playing moms and teachers a lot, and I think variety is good. I really appreciated Jessica’s strength — and also it’s just fun to play the bad girl. It was also a treat to get to work with Linden Ashby again. You know, he and I played husband and wife on “Melrose Place.” That was nostalgic and really nice and comfortable to be able to work with him there.

CE: Was it just like old times working with him again?

JL: It was wonderful to see him again. It had been a long time. We were quite tickled to work together again. We met a couple of days before we started shooting to go over the script, but it took us a day just to catch up and chat. There was definitely an air of familiarity there, which is wonderful, because when you do these projects, so often they happen so quickly and you have to build a backstory, but we actually had history. We do work very well together. We have a lot of trust in each other, and we know how the other works. It was a treat for both of us.

CE: We find out Jessica had a tough childhood with an alcoholic mother and abusive stepfather. How did that play a role in who she became as an adult?

JL: When you’re a child, there is so much that goes on that you subconsciously work from. And whatever she had gone through — it can either debilitate or catapult you in any direction. She used her past to catapult her into getting away from that world. She got her validation from being successful in business, since she never got it from love. I don’t think her actions come from vindictiveness. It is just pure survival.

CE: You filmed this in Canada, right? How was the filming experience?

JL: We filmed in Ottawa, the capital. It took about three and a half weeks. This was my second time shooting with the Lifetime Movie Network in Ottawa. It’s a magical town. It is so beautiful, and the cross-culture of the European and French-Canadian is so pleasant. I love listening to French, and I just love Canadians. I find them to be some of the sweetest people. Everything was blooming, and the food is wonderful.

CE: I know you best as Lexi on “Melrose Place.” Do you get recognized for that the most out of all the roles you’ve played?

JL: Yes, I do. I’m so fortunate to have been on such iconic shows that are so memorable. That time was such a chapter in all of our lives — television was so different than it is today. It was such an impactful show on so many people. I get a little nostalgic about it, and I’m definitely recognized for it by a lot of people who have enjoyed it.

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Interview: Brooke Burns Exacts Her Revenge

You might be used to seeing Brooke Burns cast as, in her words, “the apple-pie, blond-haired, blue-eyed, all-American girl.” Her various roles on TV shows and movies like “Baywatch,” “Shallow Hal,” “Miss Guided” and “Pepper Dennis” showcased her sweetness; the more recent “Melrose Place” incarnation allowed her to explore her dark side. Well, get ready for a whole lotta dark-side exploration on Saturday, April 26 at 8 pm ET/PT, when Brooke’s new movie, “A Sister’s Revenge,” premieres on Lifetime. I caught up with Brooke recently, and she told me all about her fierce new role as a woman (named Suzanne Dell) seeking revenge on the man she feels is responsible for her sister’s suicide.

Celebrity Extra: Since we are used to you as “the nice girl,” it was a shock to see you in this kind of role. Was that a big reason you wanted to do this movie?

Brooke Burns: There were a couple of things. Obviously, the longer you’re in this industry, certain roles start to recirculate through your life. And then certain ones are new and fresh, and it’s always fun to kind of sink your teeth into something a little more diverse than what you’re used to.

I love the thriller aspect of this movie, and at the same time, it’s always fun, especially in a bad-guy role, to find justification for a character. And I loved the fact that she has this deep love for her sister; I found a lot of truth in feeling sort of like her champion and being able to justify her being in a very dark place in the film. With a bad-guy role, you have to be able to find empathy for the character as well. She’s driven to madness because of the love that she has for her sister and feeling like somehow that her sister’s death will be avenged if she can pull this off.

CE: Obviously you aren’t a homicidal maniac, but in what ways can you relate to Suzanne?

BB: Her fierce loyalty to family. She lost her parents, and her sister is the only person that she has, that she feels connected to. My family is my most important thing, so I can’t even imagine if that were the last family member and she were taken from me in that kind of way. How those feelings of anger and sadness would be very potent, and could probably drive a person to some level of insanity — if you allow yourself to go there.

CE: Tell me about the filming process: Where did you film, and how was the cast to work with?

BB: We shot in Ottawa, Canada, which has some of the most beautiful architecture I’ve ever seen. And the cast was fantastic. I worked mostly with Tim (Rozon) and Ashley (Jones), and we had a ball. Tim is such a gentleman, and he actually owns a couple of restaurants in Montreal. And Ashley and I have seen each other in passing through different stuff out here, but we had never actually worked together before. And we just had a great time.

CE: You’ve done dramas, comedies, hosting duties, etc. Is there a certain genre you prefer, or are you happy to dabble in lots of things to keep it interesting?

BB: I just like to work. I think from growing up as a ballerina, I have some incredible discipline and work ethic that was deeply ingrained in me, so whether it’s acting or hosting, I’m happy. I enjoy acting because you get to dip your toe into the fantasy of a role like Suzanne in “A Sister’s Revenge.” And I enjoy the hosting because I love people, and that’s a natural kind of medium for me that I enjoy as well. I don’t really have a preference. It’s never boring; it’s not a nine-to-five job.

CE: Lately I’ve seen you in a lot of dramas, but I love you in comedies too, especially that comedy series “Miss Guided” from a few years back. Would you like to get back to comedy?

BB: Oh, yeah. Comedy’s awesome. When you get to go to work and have fun and play and laugh, there’s nothing better. It’s some of the hardest work to do, but it’s also the most rewarding. It really depends on the people you are with, and what your chemistry is with them. I would say that “Miss Guided” and “Pepper Dennis” were my two favorite comedic roles that I’ve gotten to do, for sure.

CE: What else do you have in the pipeline that you can talk about with me?

BB: I just shot a pilot for the Game Show Network. It’s a dating show called “Where Have You Been All My Life?” It’s kind of a 2013 version of “The Dating Game,” which I was obsessed with. It is super fun, and they’re using a lot of social media as research, and using it in an onscreen format. It’s been a blast, and we’re waiting to see if it gets picked up. I really hope it does, because it’s just perfect. It fits my lifestyle because it’s in LA. It’s close to home. I get to be with my family. I like that stuff.

So that’s pretty much what’s going on right now, except for I’m planning my wedding. So that’s exciting. It’s a summertime wedding. And I’m trying to get my kids out of seventh grade with honors. I love little things in life.

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Interview: Laura Leighton on Pretty Little Liars

Pretty Little Liars, a new teen suspense drama from ABC Family, premieres tonight at 8 p.m. (ET/PT). Melrose Place alum Laura Leighton is just one of the main familiar faces involved with the new show, and was my main reason for tuning in. I spoke with her yesterday about the new show, and about "the old days" at Melrose Place.

Celebrity Extra: What was it about the show and the character of Ashley that made you want to be a part of it?

Laura Leighton: The script came out when pilot season was casting, and it was definitely one of those scripts that everybody wanted to be a part of. It was talked about. The casting process was exciting. The script was a terrific read. The thing with the show, it makes you want to see what’s going to happen next. You want to have the next episode. It’s the same in the script. You just kept turning the page. It’s fun; it’s suspenseful; it’s a huge cast of characters. I feel lucky that there was a part in there for me. I think the character of Ashley, it’s always fun to play somebody who’s got a bit of, two sides. On one hand she’s trying to do her best, and on the other she’s got a little something a dark going on. It’s fun to play those characters. I’m just so lucky that it worked out.


CE: This is being called a cross between Desperate Housewives and I Know What You Did Last Summer. Would you agree? If not, how would you describe it?

LL: I do agree with that. I think it’s an apt description. I also think there’s a little bit of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in there. These four girls are sort of brought together by this common mystery they share. They’ve all got secrets, and one of them is a big secret that they all share together. Their friendship, I think, is a very important element of the show. One other description that I heard that I think is a really great is “teen noir.” It’s got a little bit of a dark quality to it. At the same time it’s every bit of a teen show with beautiful girls and the storyline is about that time in their lives. So I like the idea of calling it teen noir.

CE: That is great! I wish I had thought of that.

LL: I wish I had too, but I didn’t. I stole it from somebody. One of our directors called it that and now I’m using it.

CE: This is a pretty risky teen drama, dealing with murder, affairs with teachers, blackmail, etc. — how has the reaction been to it so far from people who’ve seen the first episode?

LL: My experience of people’s reactions is it’s unanimous. They are excited to see it and they are excited by the possibility of the next episodes as the storyline keep building. Who doesn’t like a good story with colorful drama, with mystery and suspense and all of that fun stuff? I just think it’s going to be a really fun show for ABC Family.

(Photo: ABC Family)

CE: You are working with an excellent cast — all of the teen girls are excellent (Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, Lucy Hale, Shay Mitchell), as well as the parents: you, Chad Lowe, Holly Marie Combs, Nia Peeples. How is the cast to work with, and in later episodes will we get to see Ashley interact more with the other parents?

LL: So far I think they are really establishing the girls together and their relationship, their friendship with one another and then catching a glimpse of their home life with their parents. So far we’ve mostly focused on developing those stories. But I’m sure in the community of Rosewood, every now and then the parents are going to cross paths. There’s a reason for the people in the neighborhood to interact with each other. We haven’t developed those story lines yet where the families meet and cross paths. I look forward to having scenes with Chad and Holly and Nia, and I’m sure that that will happen in the future. But right now they are just getting their relationships launched and really established.

CE: I am excited to see a Melrose Place reunion of sorts wih you and Chad together onscreen again.

LL: We are definitely excited to work together again.

CE: On a side note, I always liked Sydney (Laura’s character on Melrose) with Carter (Chad’s character) best, and was sad when it didn’t work out with them.


LL: I did too. It’s funny — I remember back then in interviews, people would ask, “Who do you think was the real love of Sydney’s life?” And I always thought that there was maybe a part of her that felt it was probably Carter. He was kind of eccentric and perfect for her. He left her on the tarmac, and that was just so romantic.

CE: Back to Pretty Little Liars, Ashley is different from the other moms in that now she is a single mom. How has her husband leaving her affected her as a wife and as a mom?


LL: I think that it’s left her pretty vulnerable and slightly desperate to make it work. I think the idea of a failed marriage, feeling like she has failed as a wife — she doesn’t want to fail as a mother. So she’s making choices to just try to make everything OK. She's not necessarily seeing clearly what the right thing to do is. But I think in her vulnerability and sort of desperation, what’s driving her is to make everything OK for her daughter. It’s definitely, I think, going to keep unfolding what’s going on in that family as a result of being a single-parent household.

(Photo: ABC Family)

CE: She has a line where she tells her daughter, “I buy you everything you need to be popular, so why do you have to steal?” And she sleeps with the detective to get her daughter off for shoplifting. Is there nothing Ashley wouldn’t do for Hanna?

LL: Well, we’ll see. I think that right now we are seeing that she’s making a pretty drastic choice to try to cover up Hanna’s misdemeanor. We’ll see what sort of repercussions that has. I think it’s going to unravel in a way that I don’t know yet. It hasn’t unfolded yet. The stories are still developing. But I definitely think that there will be some sort of either conclusion or unraveling to that choice. 

And it’s interesting, I think, with the relationship with a teenage girl and especially a single mother. I think that there’s a really interesting color: They have things in common. Sometimes the parent is just as vulnerable as the child, and sometimes the child can relate to the parent in ways that she was never able to when she was younger. I think they become a lot closer when the children are that age. You find that you have a lot more in common. You can see your parent as human. You can see your parent as flawed. And sometimes the parent can even look to the child for advice or support. So I think it’s a really interesting relationship to have a single mother and a teenage daughter just kind of going at it together. Trying to find their way and figure it out.

CE: The look on Ashley’s face when she looked back her daughter while going up to bed with the detective was just devastating. What was going through her mind at that point?

LL: Well, I think the idea is that nobody wanted it to come to this. She wants her daughter to be clear that I’m doing this for you— for us. This is because of what you did, but I’m doing this for you. It wasn’t a decision made without regret or remorse. So there is definitely anger and sort of desperate love for her daughter too.

CE: I like that this is based on a book series — anything to get kids to read! Have you read the books to prepare for the role?

LL: Well, the pilot script was the first I’d read, and after we shot the pilot I was interested. I was intrigued. I wanted to peek ahead a bit, so I did read a couple of the books. But I stopped because I decided I wanted to be surprised. As much as it was fun to see where it was going, I also wanted to be surprised. So much of the first book is in the pilot, so there is so much yet to come. Sara Shepard’s eighth book in the series, Wanted, is coming out at the same time we are premiering the television show (today). In a perfect world, the show will go for a long time and they’ll run out of books for material, and they’ll go off in their own direction. I think that’s really exciting. There’s a lot of material left to explore and then there’s a lot left for the imagination. The series is going to be appealing to people who have read the books and are dying to see it come to life. And then for people who have never read the books, it’s a brand new series that has exciting episodes.

CE: I don’t know if this a question you can answer, but this first season has 10 episodes to air throughout the summer. If it does well, is this the kind of things that can transfer to the fall, or is this meant to be a summer series?

LL: I’m not sure if I’m able to answer that; if I really know. I know that ABC Family runs their programming a little bit different than some of the other networks. I think that’s a good thing. They structure 10 episodes and then a bit of a break. It’s great for the crew and for the writers. I think that they are like any other network where they are going to wait to see how it does on the air before speculating on how to proceed.

CE: It’s great with the new trend of having original shows airing in the summertime — now we always have something new to watch and entertain us!

LL: And I think ABC Family definitely has their finger on that pulse. People don’t just want to watch television at certain times of the year. There is definitely a year-round appetite for it. I think it’s a perfect summer series, but it does take place in a school year beginning in the fall, so why shouldn’t it air in the fall as well?

CE: I was so excited when they announced the Melrose revamp, but angry that Sydney was killed off in the first episode (yet relieved that she still showed up in flashbacks). What were your thoughts when they presented this idea to you?

LL: You take a bit of a leap of faith and think, “Well, they must know what they are doing!” You do sort of wonder whether or not you entirely agree with that vision you think, “Well, somebody must know what they are doing.” You just try to go with it. I certainly knew what I was signing on for, and I thought it was an interesting way to approach it and have to tell the story in flashbacks, approaching it from the end and looking back. You never know how things are going to end up. It was just one of those things where I was excited to go back and play the character and completely willing to try it.

(Heather Locklear as Amanda, Laura Leighton as Sydney in Melrose Place on The CW. Photo: Michael Desmond/The CW ©2010 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.)

CE: Was it fun to work with and see your old Melrose Place castmates again?

LL: It was great fun. As much as I love the new cast and it was really great to get to know them and work with them and stuff, it was also particularly rewarding to get to catch up with the old cast members. That was our favorite part.

(Pictured: Daphne Zuniga as Jo Reynolds, Heather Locklear as Amanda Woodward, Thomas Calabro as Dr. Michael Mancini, Josie Bissett as Jane Andrews. Photo Credit: ©The CW/ Michael Desmond (C) 2010 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.)

CE: I absolutely loved that scene, even though Sydney didn’t get to be in it, where they were all at a party at the apartments, and there was Jane, Jo, Michael and Amanda all hanging out together, remarking on how weirdly familiar it felt. That was a great treat for us old-school Melrose fans.

LL: I do think that what’s the old Melrose audience was interested in. I think that was a great thing to do, to get them all together, and it was a bummer to not get to be there that day.

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