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 Interview
With Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars)
Article written by Craig
Byrne - NeptuneSite Webmaster
Posted January 10, 2005
Kristen
Bell is the incredibly talented lead actress in UPN's Veronica
Mars, which airs on Tuesdays at 9PM on the UPN television
network. The show is building a bit of a following, particularly
on the Internet, and Neptunesite was fortunate enough to be included
on a conference call press junket involving Ms. Bell.
So
what is it like being on a show that has started off slowly in
the ratings and is now growing and establishing itself as a cult
hit? "To be totally honest, I think that's the best way to
start out of the gate. I think that we knew what we were going
into, having it aired on UPN. But they have been phenomenally
supportive as a network, and I think they've really done right
by the show," she says. "It's kind of a cooler way to
come in like an indie film and come under the radar, and then
all of the sudden have a lot of people realize 'Oh, this is like
a great show that I haven't been watching? I'll check it out.'
You know. It's kind of like a cool indie film comes in, as opposed
to like a huge blockbuster that is advertised everywhere, and
everyone knows about."
"I
would really have to say that there's not much like it on TV right
now," Kristen says. "I would put it in the category
of teen drama, but I would say that it's much smarter and much
darker than anything I've ever seen on television. Rob Thomas
[the creator] once says it was like if Twin Peaks were
to meet The O.C. and Dawson's Creek and sort of
roll it all into one."
The
show has begun to achieve a growing cult following, which, coupled
with its female lead and appearance on one of the smaller television
networks, has brought in comparisons to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
What does Kristen think of these comparisons? "I'm really
flattered. I think that's something that Rob intended for it to
do, and it has, which is fabulous. I think that it's definitely
in that vein of that strong female heroine of both Buffy
or Alias, or, you know, I hope that we're in that category.
The great thing about Veronica is that there's much more
reality involved, so for people watching there's less to suspend.
You know, she's not fighting vampires. She's just sort of fighting
cruel kids in high school."
She
has seen how the ratings for the show are still not what they
could be, but she also sees the positive response the show has
received from the fans. "If you believe the good reviews,
you have to believe the bad, and I sort of feel the same way about
the ratings, but it is nice to go on the fan sites and see how
much effort, and the comments, and how into it people are, 'cause
that's in a way the same thing."
 The
show's growing number of fan-made websites has also caught Kristen
Bell's attention. "I'm just amazed at how much effort people
have put into the sites. I think that they are so phenomenal.
I mean, the stuff is on within hours of it airing or of me doing
a TV appearance or something. I'm really, really amazed by that."
Veronica
is a teen slueth for the 21st century, but the actress that plays
her actually didn't read the books about one of her literary predecessors.
"I didn't read all the Nancy Drew novels," Kristen reveals.
"I wish I did, now that I look back on it, 'cause this is
so like it, but when I see a mystery, like a movie of a TV show,
I'm certainly into it just 'cause I want to know the details.
And so I figured when I got cast, that I would be able to have
all the inside info and know what's going on, and I really don't.
They don't tell me anything. So it's just as frustrating as being
a viewer, being on the show, 'cause I really only know details
like two weeks ahead of everyone else. So I have no idea who killed
Lilly. It's really just as frustrating."
 Another
mystery Veronica has to tackle this season involves the possibility
of Jake Kane being her father. If Kane is her father, that may
imply that the relationship between Veronica and her ex-boyfriend
Duncan Kane was actually involving a brother and sister. "This
issue will be dealt with either way," she reveals. "So
however the outcome comes out, it will be dealt with, let me leave
it at that. It will definitely be addressed more." And will
the reveal be sooner rather than later? "Yes, they'll get
more into it soon. The whole episode doesn't revolve around it,
but there's the next few episodes that will help you out."
For
the information the fans of course would want to know, does Kristen
Bell have a favorite episode of Veronica Mars? "I
have two. I really liked the episode, I think it was 3 - the episode
where we saw the flashback of where Duncan and Lilly and Logan
and Veronica went to prom. ["The Wrath of Con"].
It was the first time that they really delved into the history
behind all of those characters, and I thought that that was really
cool and very moving to see how they all used to be so close,
and how the sort of shattered lives that they live now. And I
also - I really liked the purity test one. I thought it was so
much fun. And we all ended up printing out the purity test, among
the crew and stuff, and we all took it, and just giggled the whole
week about our scores and stuff. So we were making jokes and posting
letters on peoples' chairs and stuff."
"The
Wrath Of Con" also featured one of the most memorable scenes
in filming the series for Ms. Bell. "Memorable sounds like
a nice word, but I'm going to have to go the opposite route on
this. My most memorable moment would have to be when it was about
4 in the morning. We were on the last scene of the night. We were
all waist deep in a ice cold ocean, and I was having to dive in
for that skinny-dipping scene that happened at the end of "Wrath
of Con," because that will never be erased from my memory.
It was so cold. But the shot ended up being really, really cool,
and once I saw it, it was worth it. But, like half our crew was
in the water and, for one little snippet, it's just a gorgeous
shot at the end of the episode. Throughout the episode you hear
that Lilly keeps saying you've never gone skinny dipping, you
don't let loose, all this stuff. So at the end, sort of as a tribute,
Veronica just jumps in."
That
water and those settings actually are not in Los Angeles, where
you would find most TV series. Veronica Mars, instead,
is shot near and around San Diego, California. "San Diego
has such a different look than L.A.," she says. "It's
got such a specific aesthetic to it. It's got such a different
look. I mean, even in the pilot, you'll notice the motel scene
that we shot where I saw Jake Kane go up to the motel. Just a
lot of the street scenes. It's just a totally different look in
San Diego, and I think it creates a different tone for the show,
that they really wanted. To get a show that all the L.A. people
couldn't say 'Oh, I know where that is'. You know?"
Although
Kristen is a trained singer, don't look for a showcase on the
show, where Veronica will be participating in some karaoke in
an upcoming episode. "It's not necessarily a song that shows
off the voice, let me just say that," she says. "It's
a little more 80's rock than it is something that necessarily
shows off the fact that I trained as a singer, but it was a lot
of fun to shoot."
As
for the actress herself, what does she prefer to sing at karaoke?
"Oh, I've got a million," she says. "I can rock
out anything. I mean, I can rock out a little Time After Time.
I can do a little Greased Lightning. It depends on the mood, but
we do go karaoke, my friends and I in Los Angeles, and it's a
lot of fun."
Continued
on the next page, where Kristen talks about her co-stars, Paris
Hilton, "Reefer Madness," DVD's, and more...
Veronica
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