Starring E! movie dude Ben Lyons

The TV Set: Duchovny Fakes It, Mr. Fantastic Stays Soft

Tue., Mar. 27, 2007 4:27 PM PDT by Ben Lyons

Had a great round of interviews today with the cast of The TV Set. It's an insiders' look at the world of TV pilots and how shows are tweaked through the network system. Pretty hilarious, and not just 'cause I got my checks from the Biz. It has a great cast (Sigourney Weaver, David Duchovny, Ioan Gruffudd and Judy Greer), and my interviews should be up here next week.

ThinkFilm

But first, a little insight on what went down:

David Duchovny Loves Fake Sex: In the movies and on television, of course. He's done it a lot during his career, and gets to do it again with Halle Berry (so jealous, and not fake-jealous) in the upcoming Things We Lost in the Fire. He's never shared a screen with his wife, Téa Leoni, because he thinks it's weird when people who have real sex then have fake sex in the movies. Well said.

Mr. Fantastic Has Never Been to a Baseball Game: Learned a lot about Gruffudd, who also plays Reed Richards in the Fantastic Four movies. See, he's Welsh and loves rugby. And he digs Grey's Anatomy and would love to do a guest spot. It seems that's everyone's choice these days for their favorite show to be on.

Fantastic Four Refuses to Go Dark: We also talked about this summer's Fantastic Four sequel, Rise of the Silver Surfer, and he nails why it feels different from the X-Men or Spider-Man movies: It's softer. More of a family fantasy flick as opposed to the darker, edgier fare. At first he thought that would hurt the pic, that fanboys wouldn't respond to it. Apparently, that's not the case. The new one will continue to be for the entire family, he said, and won't take a dark turn, like many franchise films do in the sequel.

Sigourney Weaver Is a Movie Star: Obviously, but I mean she is a true entertainer and carries herself with a grace and presence of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Things you should know about her include:

She told me that Brokeback Mountain director Ang Lee, who worked with her in The Ice Storm, would be a good choice to direct another Alien movie.
Her latest endeavor, Planet Earth, is amazing. She narrates Discovery Channel's dope new docu-style show about animals and their environment. My sister, Hannah (big vegan, animal rights activist, etc.), is obsessed.
What else? She can also sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" forward and backward. No, really.

Be sure to check out The TV Set—I think you'll enjoy it—and get my interviews in their entirety when they drop on the site and on Daily 10.

I'm in Blends right now, a sneaker store in downtown L.A., so I gotta roll. I'm literally about to spend my entire paycheck. Don't tell my mother. She'll be furious!