Lemonada Media

112. The Superhero in the Alley (with Elizabeth Benjamin)

Subscribe to Lemonada Premium for Bonus Content

Brennan and Booth are here to save the day (as always) in this comic-book-themed episode about a young, nerdy “superhero” who died protecting others. Emily has plenty of cold goss, including why she was in tears while filming, and how Aaron Paul’s guest appearance as a morose comic store owner/artist with swoopy bangs might have launched his career. Plus, Carla recounts working with Aaron years later on a huge blockbuster. Later on, this episode’s writer, Elizabeth Benjamin, calls in from her writers room during lunch break to give her insights on how they created such a fully realized world for the comics-obsessed teens at the center of the story.

Please note: Emily and Carla recorded this episode before the Los Angeles wildfires began. You’ll hear them talk about a recent audition which happened a few weeks ago. Emily and Carla are safe and their hearts are with the rest of their LA community.

To stay up to date with Boneheads and send us your fan questions, follow us on Instagram @boneheadspod.

Find out more about other shows on our network @lemonadamedia on all social platforms.

Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium.

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors/.

For additional resources, information, and a transcript of the episode, visit lemonadamedia.com.

Transcript

SPEAKERS

Elizabeth Benjamin, Carla Gallo, Emily Deschanel

Emily Deschanel  00:00

Hi, I’m Emily Deschanel.

 

Carla Gallo  00:39

And I’m Carla Gallo.

 

Emily Deschanel  02:01

And this is Boneheads. Hi.

 

Carla Gallo  02:27

Hello.

 

Emily Deschanel  02:28

How you doing?

 

Carla Gallo  02:29

Good, a lot going on.

 

Emily Deschanel  02:31

Yeah, a lot going on.

 

Carla Gallo  02:33

Yeah. Well, what is really great is we both have the same thing going on.

 

Emily Deschanel  02:39

One of the things we have going on is the same thing, which is the same audition.

 

Carla Gallo  02:44

I know.

 

Emily Deschanel  02:44

Eight pages. When you were saying, “Were you gonna learn all the lines?” I was like, “Yeah, I’m gonna try”. But, I thoughtI had two scenes down and last night, I was quizzing myself and I did not know. Then the third scene has monologue’s, an actual big monologue.

 

Carla Gallo  03:03

It is incredibly well written, which is great and wonderful. But, I was looking on the drive over.

 

Emily Deschanel  03:11

How do you bring it on the drive over?

 

Carla Gallo  03:12

I drive and I look at the sheet. I print it up, and I drive. Then I look and I saw […].

 

Emily Deschanel  03:18

Watch out Los Angeles. Did you get the app that I told you about?

 

Carla Gallo  03:21

I tried it.

 

Emily Deschanel  03:21

You would do that while driving, but you can’t use navigation at the same time.

 

Carla Gallo  03:24

By the way guys, this is friendship. Is that “Emily, I was stressed out. This is so much material and I’m gonna do it. ShouldI do a teleprompt, which I have never done and people do it now that we self tape. You can put your computer up and this is friendship. She was like, “You know what? There’s this app I just tried. It’s really working for me, it helps me learn lines. You should get this app”. I tried it but I did the trial, and the one thing I found which I texted you was it didn’t correct me if I was wrong.

 

Emily Deschanel  03:53

It doesn’t do that.

 

Carla Gallo  03:54

Yeah.

 

Emily Deschanel  03:55

So it is flawed, but I don’t know if there’s anything that can do that. You need another human being to tell you. […] Apparently, my friend’s husband is an actor and he has a whole set up. He’s really into the tech stuff and he has a full set up for taping auditions. She had him do a video for me to show me what he has. I had not done any of the things because it’s just too much for me. But, there’s an app or a website where any time of day, 24/7, someone will read lines with you.

 

Carla Gallo  04:30

What?

 

Emily Deschanel  04:32

For an audition. Like, if you need a reader, there is this thing.

 

Carla Gallo  04:35

Really?

 

Emily Deschanel  04:35

Yeah.

 

Carla Gallo  04:36

Wait. I wanted to ask you that actually leads me to questions I don’t know the answer to, because I don’t think you’re trying to conceal this from me. But, I’ve been very like, “Oh, I’m taping it, so it’s due tomorrow”.

 

Emily Deschanel  04:48

It’s due tomorrow for me, too but I’m doing in the morning.

 

Carla Gallo  04:51

Okay […]. Because I was like, “Oh, I’m doing it before we do the podcast. Then I was like, “Wait, no. I’m gonna do it after so stressed out. Then I was like, “She’s not telling me what she’s doing”. Do you go to a tape place? How do you do it?

 

Emily Deschanel  05:03

No, I do it on zoom and I have someone read with me on a zoom.

 

Carla Gallo  05:07

So, you record yourself on the computer?

 

Emily Deschanel  05:10

No, on my phone.

 

Carla Gallo  05:12

Oh, on your phone. You have your phone set up and you have a computer right there?

 

Emily Deschanel  05:15

Yeah, and I have a backdrop now. I used to always just have it.

 

Carla Gallo  05:18

What about lighting?

 

Emily Deschanel  05:19

I just use natural light.

 

Carla Gallo  05:21

Okay, that’s why I go to a tape place since I’m apparently aging. I like studio lights, it makes a huge difference.

 

Emily Deschanel  05:31

I feel like you can have good natural light. It just depends on the day and I’m hoping that the tape is good, it depends. I have two curtains and one kind of can diffuse, it light in but it can kind of diffuse the light. But, I do like natural light when it’s good.

 

Carla Gallo  05:46

Yeah.

 

Emily Deschanel  05:49

One time I did press and they gave me a big ring light.

 

Carla Gallo  05:51

I know, ring lights are a bit much. I have a question.

 

Emily Deschanel  05:54

Yes?

 

Carla Gallo  05:55

Which one of us is gonna get the role?

 

Emily Deschanel  05:57

It’s gonna be one of us […]. One of us if not gonna do the other 100 other people.

 

Carla Gallo  06:02

No, you know who I decided it’s going to be?

 

Emily Deschanel  06:04

Who?

 

Carla Gallo  06:04

Nicole Kidman.

 

Emily Deschanel  06:06

Because she does every job.

 

Carla Gallo  06:07

Yeah, she’s taking every single person’s job.

 

Emily Deschanel  06:12

Guess what? She won’t have to audition.

 

Carla Gallo  06:14

She might. She managed to make a tape.

 

Emily Deschanel  06:17

Okay, the second time that we in the last year had the same audition that we know of.

 

Carla Gallo  06:25

Yes.

 

Emily Deschanel  06:26

And that was in person.

 

Carla Gallo  06:29

That was horrifying.

 

Emily Deschanel  06:31

That was the worst, we haven’t done in person auditions for years.

 

Carla Gallo  06:34

It was the first one in years […].

 

Emily Deschanel  06:37

Even the call backs are not in person, usually. Although sometimes they are, but I’ve never had that.

 

Carla Gallo  06:43

I tested on a zoom.

 

Emily Deschanel  06:44

Yeah, so we had to do in person and it was the most confusing place to go to. I was so stressed just getting there and I was so anxious about being late, even though I got there early. But, finding the place was impossible. It was impossible.

 

Carla Gallo  07:00

But then again, true friendship. You sent me pictures of how to get there, you had set it out for me.

 

Emily Deschanel  07:05

Because mine was the day before.

 

Carla Gallo  07:06

Right.

 

Emily Deschanel  07:09

So I sent you. I was like, “Don’t do this thing because the guy gave me bad directions.

 

Carla Gallo  07:13

But guess what?

 

Emily Deschanel  07:14

What?

 

Carla Gallo  07:14

Find that you give me the directions, didn’t help the fact that I was horrible in the audition.

 

Emily Deschanel  07:20

You weren’t.

 

Carla Gallo  07:20

I was out of my body.

 

Emily Deschanel  07:23

[…] I was anxious and nervous.

 

Carla Gallo  07:28

It was bad.

 

Emily Deschanel  07:28

I just started my career.

 

Carla Gallo  07:31

Yeah.  Well, this one won’t be like that because […].

 

Emily Deschanel  07:38

Yeah, I like tapes because you can just do it a few times and get the best one and send the best one in. When you go in,there’s nerves you’re in with the people that can throw you. Then being late, not finding the place or almost being late, not finding the place can throw you. Then, you don’t get the chance always to do it alone, there’s no guarantee that it’s gonna be your best version of it.

 

Carla Gallo  08:07

I have a good feeling on this one and I think that it’s gonna come down to the two of us. Then we’re really gonna have to duke it out, and it will hurt our friendship, and the podcast will have a lot of tension in it.

 

Emily Deschanel  08:21

Hi, Carla.

 

Carla Gallo  08:21

Oh, Hi, Emily.

 

Emily Deschanel  08:23

How you doing?

 

Carla Gallo  08:24

How’s filming going?

 

Emily Deschanel  08:26

I was gonna ask you the same thing.

 

Carla Gallo  08:27

Oh, interesting. Neither one of us got it. The other one got it. Yeah, we’re idiots.

 

Emily Deschanel  08:33

Must be nice, Carla.

 

Carla Gallo  08:36

[…] Oh, he’s got home?

 

Emily Deschanel  08:37

Just coming home from work. Okay, interesting.

 

Carla Gallo  08:42

How’s Nicole?

 

Emily Deschanel  08:43

I’m so happy for you.

 

Carla Gallo  08:44

Yeah, I’m so happy for you.

 

Emily Deschanel  08:49

I’m glad we don’t have that.

 

Carla Gallo  08:50

No, we role played it.

 

Emily Deschanel  08:52

You know, spoiler alert. Neither one of us got that other job.

 

Carla Gallo  08:56

Nope.

 

Emily Deschanel  08:58

The odds are against either one of us. I hope one of us gets it cause it’s good.

 

Carla Gallo  09:02

I am just going in to warm up the brain that’s why I’m doing it. I have no false hopes. […] I did, I do not think that I will begetting that role.

 

Emily Deschanel  09:18

But, it’s fun to work on when it’s good material.

 

Carla Gallo  09:22

It is.

 

Emily Deschanel  09:22

Anyway, well, let’s talk about things that already did get made.

 

Carla Gallo  09:25

Oh, let’s talk about Bones episode 1, 12; The Superhero in the Alley.

 

Emily Deschanel  09:30

Yes, this is an exciting one. We have a big star in it. Before he was a big star, that’s one thing.

 

Carla Gallo  09:37

Maybe can discovered in this role.

 

Emily Deschanel  09:39

I think that’s maybe how he got his big job, we’ll figure it out. We’re going to talk about this episode and it’s going to be a little different.

 

Carla Gallo  09:47

Yes.

 

Emily Deschanel  09:48

Because we’re going to talk about the episode, and then we’re going to call up Liz Benjamin, A.K.A Elizabeth Benjamin, who wrote this episode. We’re going to chat with her about what she remembers of this episode and maybe anything else about Bones in general.

 

Carla Gallo  10:03

I’m excited, because we have not done that before, so this is the first time. I mean, we’ve obviously talked to Hart Hanson, but to talk to one of the staff writers on the show, it’s kind of exciting.

 

Emily Deschanel  10:14

Yeah, Liz wrote a lot of episodes especially early on. She was there from the beginning and she’s gone to do a lot of other shows, and we’ll talk to her.

 

Carla Gallo  10:24

Yes.

 

Emily Deschanel  10:24

This episode was written by Liz Benjamin, Elizabeth Benjamin as we said. Directed by James Whitmore Jr, and the first air date was February 8, 2006.

 

Carla Gallo  10:38

Yes.

 

Emily Deschanel  10:38

A couple years ago.

 

Carla Gallo  10:39

Few years ago. So, the episode opens with a news caster letting us know that some kids have found the body of a teenage boy in an alleyway.

 

Emily Deschanel  10:52

He’s identified as Warren Granger.

 

Carla Gallo  10:55

A.K.A citizen 14 in his comic book.

 

Emily Deschanel  10:57

Exactly, he’s really into comic books, and he writes comic books. He also is dying of leukemia, sadly.

 

Carla Gallo  11:05

And we realize that his persona of citizen 14, the desire is to rescue a female and to be a hero and have superpowers to escape the reality of his illness.

 

Emily Deschanel  11:19

Yeah. And in real life, he decides to confront his boss who’s beating his wife, kind of emboldened by the fact that he’s dying and his character of citizen 14 who has superpowers. He confronts this guy for beating his wife and that guy, Ted Mcgruder, ends up killing him.

 

Carla Gallo  11:38

So listen, I would love to jump in to some cold goss.

 

Emily Deschanel  11:43

Okay, let’s do it.

 

Carla Gallo  11:44

Do you have any for me? I have some for you, but I would like to know if you have any for me.

 

Emily Deschanel  11:50

Okay, I have some cold goss on this episode. For me, the first piece of cold goss is that I have a memory of doing this episode crying. I feel like we’re really exploring first season. I was very sensitive and very tired, and it’s my first series that we were working forever on. I’d never done a series before, it was exhausting and I was sensitive. So, the director pulled me aside to give me a note, and that’s actually a considered thing to do as a director, so that you’re not yelling a note for an actor across a room of like 100 people who work on the show.

 

Carla Gallo  12:37

Yeah.

 

Emily Deschanel  12:38

But to me, it felt like he was taking me that I was in trouble. You know, he’s an older guy, you had done something wrong. He’s a guy’s guy older. It felt like I’d done something wrong and he was taking me aside and telling me that I wasin trouble so I cried from that.

 

Carla Gallo  12:53

Like, while he was talking to you, you cried?

 

Emily Deschanel  12:56

Right after.

 

Carla Gallo  12:57

Okay.

 

Emily Deschanel  12:59

He was talking to me, I started crying. Another piece of cold goss for me that came at the beginning of the episode is that the maggots that we use on the show throughout.

 

Carla Gallo  13:12

Yes.

 

Emily Deschanel  13:12

But they’re highlighted, for sure in this episode. I believe they’re mealworms, they’re certainly not maggots.

 

Carla Gallo  13:20

Okay.

 

Emily Deschanel  13:20

They’re much bigger than maggots.

 

Carla Gallo  13:23

I never would have known. I’m not read up on that maggot sizing.

 

Emily Deschanel  13:29

We’ve seen maggots in real life and they’re smaller.

 

Carla Gallo  13:31

Yeah, it didn’t trip for me at all.

 

Emily Deschanel  13:35

Carla Gallo never seen.

 

Carla Gallo  13:36

I’ve seen a maggot.

 

Emily Deschanel  13:37

She’s never seen a maggot. […] soil her eyes.

 

Carla Gallo  13:44

I don’t lie down with maggots. I’m too high, too highfalutin for me.

 

Emily Deschanel  13:50

Yeah.

 

Carla Gallo  13:51

I have seen maggots, but I didn’t question it. I thought those were maggots.

 

Emily Deschanel  13:55

Well, good because that’s the idea they were playing maggots. But, I think their meal worms are something similar to mealworms. We had mealworms in elementary school, we took them home.

 

Carla Gallo  14:05

That’s the most insane class pet I’ve ever heard of in my life. If I didn’t know that you grew up in Santa Monica, I would literally wonder where did you grow up. Why were you taking home a mealworm as this class pet?

 

Emily Deschanel  14:21

I don’t know, I think we were learning some science thing, but they did look familiar. I remember having a conversation whoever was putting them on the body.

 

Carla Gallo  14:32

But, they were convincing. They did a great job. Those mealworms played maggots beautifully.

 

Emily Deschanel  14:38

Beautifully. Another piece of cold goss that comes to mind that’s also the beginning of this episode is, I noticed on the third watching of this episode, Booth is wearing converse sneakers and Booth ended up from most of the whole run of the series, was wearing black vans. So, this is different than what he normally wore. I remember there being a discussion, because I think David Boreanaz wanted to wear the converse. I think there was some discussion on whether it was up to.

 

Carla Gallo  15:16

Like appropriate or something?

 

Emily Deschanel  15:17

Yeah, whether you could wear something like that, but I think they settled on the vans which didn’t stand out. They’re not gonna draw your eye like a pair of converse would, because the converse would have that white. There were black converse but I didn’t notice for the first two times I watched it but I noticed that, so savvy watchers, you can look for that. That actually reminds me, this is not cold goss but I did notice on our Instagram that our listeners pointed outbecause we had a query about how Booth could afford a $1,200 suit or whatever that was, because he refuses to dig inthe episode of “The Man on Death Row”.

 

Carla Gallo  16:01

Okay.

 

Emily Deschanel  16:02

And a lot of people suggested it was his gambling money, because he was a gambler, recovering gambler. So, I thoughtthat was very suit, very interesting and I think that’s probably right. So, that’s how he gets his money, sketchy, but interesting. One other thing that I just really like to have to mention before we move on from that first scene, is there’s anice little moment between Booth and Brennan where Brennan says, “Don’t use your charm, smile on me”.

 

Carla Gallo  16:33

Yes, I noticed that.

 

Emily Deschanel  16:34

Did you know that?

 

Carla Gallo  16:34

Yes, I did. It was initially a contender for my favorite line, but I do have a different one. It might be my favorite line. We’llhave to determine by the end but I did like it. Booth is like, “Will you pull a quick I.D?” And then you’re like, “Don’t use that charm, smile on me”. Then he says, “It’s a mark of respect”. It’s very cute between the two of you. Very cute, very flirty. Lot of chemistry.

 

Emily Deschanel  16:57

Little BNB, little heat. Then we identify the victim whose name is Warren Granger. He’s been missing for two months, and he was murdered and then dropped. He didn’t fall.

 

Carla Gallo  17:16

Yeah, because there’s a question of that if he fell or if he had jumped. But we meet his parents, once you know who he is and you get a ton of information about him that he was really. I mean, I hate to say like a social reject, but he’s a verylonely kid. Didn’t have a lot of friends. You think that’s too harsh?

 

Emily Deschanel  17:41

He’s looking at it negatively.

 

Carla Gallo  17:43

I don’t think he was happy about it. He was a lonely boy. The father is very negative about it. He’s like, “I just wanted him to have a little bit of a life, he had no life. That’s why I got him a job at bowling alley, he had no friends. He went to the bowling alley and spent all his money on all this comic book, paraphernalia and toys and whatever. But he had no real life”.

 

Emily Deschanel  18:08

Wait, cold goss about the victims room where we meet the mother and the stepfather, that is a recycled set. I remember, it was the dorm room for Nestor Olivos or the boy in the tree episode, the third episode of the season. So, that was just recycled. They painted it, they put different set dressing on. So, that’s interesting fun. Then the comic bookstore, this is not recycling, but it is featured later on, is the diner. The comic book store is the diner later on. So, thatbuilding same box lot on the New York streets they call.

 

Carla Gallo  18:54

Wow and it was just dressed as a […]. You told me that and then I watched it again this morning, and I forgot that you told me that so, I didn’t notice it, I was up there like, the outside of the door says, like karma comics and then they go in.In my head, that is a store, that is in that location of a brick building, I didn’t even question it.

 

Emily Deschanel  19:15

I love it.

 

Carla Gallo  19:15

Didn’t question it.

 

Carla Gallo  19:20

We’ll be back with more boneheads after this quick break.

 

Carla Gallo  19:33

Okay. So Emily, yesterday, I realized that when I go to pick up my kids, I usually don’t get out of the car.

 

Emily Deschanel  19:39

Yeah, neither.

 

Carla Gallo  19:41

But, Margo was crying. So I was like, “Oh no, I need to see if she’s okay”. And I realized as the teacher walked up to me that I was in head to toe cashmere because I was wearing the quince cashmere sweatpants and the quince mugling cashmere sweater. It’s okay that I was wearing all cashmere. But, I realized as I got out of the car, like, “Oh, I’m now amom who picks up her kids in full head to toe cashmere in luxury”. That’s who I am, Emily. It’s who I am.

 

Emily Deschanel  20:08

What I love about Quince is that you’re not spending a fortune to get that kind of fancy lux pickup outfit that you got.

 

Carla Gallo  20:15

It’s true. The Mongolian cashmere sweaters, it starts at $50 and then if you really want to step it up the lux factor, you can check out their Italian leather handbags, the washable silk skirts, the European linen sheet set.

 

Emily Deschanel  20:26

Whatever you’re looking for, all Quince items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical and responsible manufacturing practices.

 

Carla Gallo  20:36

I’ve been scrolling through their selection of wool coats which are kind of perfect for the chilly winter L.A weather, they’re a perfect blend of stylish, sophisticated and practical. So, I may have to go for it.

 

Emily Deschanel  20:47

Treat yourself this winter without the luxury price tag. Go to (quince.com/boneheads) for 365 day returns plus free shipping on your order. That’s (q,u,i,n,c,e.com/boneheads). To get free shipping and 365 day returns, (quince.com/boneheads).

 

Emily Deschanel  21:07

Okay Carla, let’s talk about New Year’s resolutions. How long did you stick with yours last year?

 

Carla Gallo  21:12

Okay.

 

Emily Deschanel  21:14

Be honest.

 

Carla Gallo  21:15

As per usual, my New Year’s resolution is to stop eating out and wasting money. Then by January 2nd, Mark was like, “Do you want to go out to lunch?” And I was like, “Yes”. So, there we go.

 

Emily Deschanel  21:27

You’re very strong willed.

 

Carla Gallo  21:29

Very.

 

Emily Deschanel  21:30

Well. What if your New Year’s resolution was automatic? For example, using Acorns. Today’s episode is sponsored by Acorns. Acorns makes it easier to start automatically saving and investing so your money has a chance to grow for you, your kids and your retirement.

 

Carla Gallo  21:46

You don’t need to be an expert. Acorns will recommend a diversified portfolio that fits you and your money goals. You don’t need to be rich. Acorns lets you invest with the spare money you’ve got right now. You can start with $5 or even just your spare change.

 

Emily Deschanel  22:00

It’s super easy to sign up. How many resolutions can you do in five minutes? Not many. 2025 can be the year for you to get your financial wellness on track. Acorns does the hard part so you can give your money a chance to grow. For me, taking my investments seriously was a huge step, and it’s cool there’s something like Acorns helping make it easy for people.

 

Carla Gallo  22:20

Head to acorns.com/boneheads or download the Acorns app to start saving and investing for your future today. Paid non client endorsement compensation provides incentive to positively promote Acorns, tier one compensation provided. Investing involves risk, Acorns advisors; LLC and SEC, registered investment advisor. View important disclosures at acorns.com/boneheads.

 

Carla Gallo  22:53

Okay, so after Booth realizes that there is a bag in Warren Granger’s room that says, “Karma comics, you guys head over to the comic book store and you meet Stew Ellis, who is played by the phenomenal Aaron Paul. He runs the bookstore.

 

Emily Deschanel  23:08

Pre breaking bad.

 

Carla Gallo  23:10

Pre breaking bad. You hear people upstairs and you realize there’s a group of what I like, it’s written in the notes, “Role playing nerds”.

 

Emily Deschanel  23:25

Yeah. I guess you could say that.

 

Carla Gallo  23:28

Sure. I mean, there’s a lot of commentary on the role playing, escapism, and Booths analysis of what kind of nerds theseare, that they’re not harmless nerds. They’re Columbine nerds.

 

Emily Deschanel  23:43

Yeah, talk about that cringe. It was very cringe.

 

Carla Gallo  23:48

I know.

 

Emily Deschanel  23:48

I feel inaccurate, they’ve seemed very benign and just kind of maybe geeky or nerdy but sweet. They did not seem dangerous at all.

 

Carla Gallo  23:59

I know.

 

Emily Deschanel  23:59

Maybe that bowling alley, they’re a little menace.

 

Carla Gallo  24:01

They seem a little messy, but Brennan also is like, “I don’t want to judge an entire sub group, but they gave me the creeps”.

 

Emily Deschanel  24:10

We must have filmed that scene before.

 

Carla Gallo  24:12

Before you saw them?

 

Emily Deschanel  24:14

Before we actually interacted with them, because it does not seem to add up to me the way it was cast.

 

Carla Gallo  24:21

You know, they did not seem menacing.

 

Emily Deschanel  24:23

They didn’t seem menacing at all.

 

Carla Gallo  24:26

They’re like just cosplay.

 

Emily Deschanel  24:28

Yeah, D&D or something.

 

Carla Gallo  24:30

Yeah.

 

Emily Deschanel  24:31

They seemed harmless.

 

Carla Gallo  24:33

I know. I also have cold goss about Aaron Paul. The truth is, it’s a long road. I’m gonna take you on a long road because it’s not so.

 

Emily Deschanel  24:44

It’s slight tangent?

 

Carla Gallo  24:45

Okay, it’s a cold goss tangent. It’s a cold tangent, its what it is. But, Aaron Paul and I starred in mission, impossible three.

 

Emily Deschanel  24:58

I thought it was Tom Cruise […].

 

Carla Gallo  25:01

I think he was in it. […] I think she was in it as well.

 

Emily Deschanel  25:04

Okay.

 

Carla Gallo  25:05

But it starred Aaron Paul, maybe. But essentially, there’s an engagement party scene at the beginning of the movie. Andwhen I auditioned for it, the material was like, whatever, you know, I don’t remember Michelle’s character but it was like,[…] “Mom is gonna be here”, something like that. Then when I got to set, it was like, “Your sister’s coming at three o’clock”. And I was like, “Oh, I guess I’m not”. Then that was my only line. I maybe had that line or one other. Also, I fairlycertain that Tom Cruise opens a refrigerator door and blocks my face while I’m saying that line. So if you missed me, that’s why.

 

Emily Deschanel  25:49

I have seen the movie cause I knew you, I think I’ve seen that the beginning.

 

Carla Gallo  25:54

Yeah, you didn’t notice me. But Aaron Paul and I were in that together, being good friends because it was such a big budget movie. I think we shot that scene for at least two weeks, maybe more. And this has nothing to do with the show, but it’s just funny inside information. Two things; one, the rap party for mission impossible three. Tom Cruise rented out Magic Mountain.

 

Emily Deschanel  26:21

No, he did not.

 

Carla Gallo  26:21

Yes, he did, the entire park. So all the cast and crew.

 

Emily Deschanel  26:25

I gotta do Tom Cruise movie.

 

Carla Gallo  26:27

You gotta do a Tom Cruise movie, it was incredible. Tom Cruise walked around the whole night with his kids and his kidsfriends, huge gang of kids.

 

Emily Deschanel  26:38

Yeah.

 

Carla Gallo  26:38

And he wanted to get on rides with that. Well, it was just so sweet to me that it’s a rap party. But he also was like, “Hey, Irented out Magic Mountain. Bring all of your friends and they would just get on a ride roller coaster. They would stay onit. They would get up, get back on. They were just having the time of their lives. I thought it was just the coolest thing ever and then my second time cruise anecdote is that we were filming or right in the middle of something crowded. It was like a lot of extras, it’s the engagement party scene. I remember walking in, and it’s crowded. Tom Cruise is standing there, and he’s like, “Carla, I want you to meet my kids”. And I was like, “Who, me?” Like, “You know my name?” I couldn’t believe he knew my name.

 

Emily Deschanel  27:21

Well, you’re doing a scene together […].

 

Carla Gallo  27:26

Although I’ve heard he’s very good with the names, but I just felt he was willing to meet my kids.

 

Emily Deschanel  27:30

He made you feel special.

 

Carla Gallo  27:31

You want me to meet your kids? But that was my shared experience with Aaron Paul, then I run into him from time to time but I feel like we have a very odd when you’ve had an odd work experience, you’re like bonded by it. So, I’ve seen him over the run into him.

 

Emily Deschanel  27:49

I’ve run into him too since. Once at a concert and once at an awards thing.

 

Carla Gallo  27:56

You don’t want to just realize?

 

Emily Deschanel  27:57

What?

 

Carla Gallo  27:59

Okay, you wrote down that you would run into him at the Golden Globes. I ran into you at those Golden Globes. I also ran into him and you’re with your mom and your sister?

 

Emily Deschanel  28:09

No, just my sister.

 

Carla Gallo  28:10

Just your sister.

 

Emily Deschanel  28:11

Yeah.

 

Carla Gallo  28:11

I ran into you there.

 

Emily Deschanel  28:13

I totally remember you are with Sarah.

 

Carla Gallo  28:15

Yes, because I ran into him.

 

Emily Deschanel  28:16

I don’t remember that was the Golden Globes because I remember, I ran into Aaron outside.

 

Carla Gallo  28:21

Yeah, he was sitting at a table, up here and I’m running into you down, like on a stairwell. I was standing right.

 

Emily Deschanel  28:28

Yeah.

 

Carla Gallo  28:29

Is that crazy?

 

Emily Deschanel  28:29

That’s so funny. I forgot 10 years ago.

 

Carla Gallo  28:34

Oh, easy.

 

Emily Deschanel  28:34

Maybe more. I don’t know.

 

Carla Gallo  28:39

I think we all look really good, though. I remember everybody looking real pretty.

 

Emily Deschanel  28:44

We probably spent five hours getting ready for that. Of course, the hair and makeup for a thing like that and I know we have to talk about this episode.

 

Carla Gallo  28:51

Yes.

 

Emily Deschanel  28:52

But, it takes a long time. You end up looking so crazy in the mirror and then you look at pictures on a red carpet, it just looks like you have natural make-up on. But, if you look at yourself in the mirror in your home, you’re like, “Oh, that’s a lot of makeup”.

 

Carla Gallo  29:07

I borrowed a dress for that. Sarah had a wardrobe fitting or a designer […]. Then with me, I just remember, I was her guests and they were kind of like, “Well, you can pick from anything in there”, anything that was sort of like leftover. AndI ended up nothing looked good. Then I picked this dress, it’s funny because I’ll have to look back at the picture. But in my mind, it’s the same dress that Daisy Wick is wearing in like 100th episode, where it’s pink and white and it’s like acake, looks like a lace layered cake. That is the dress that I was wearing. I just remember being like, “I look like I’m goingto prom or I’m having a quinceañera. It was a very big layer, but it was the only dress that fit me right, whatever. But, I guess, I remember everybody else looking good.

 

Emily Deschanel  29:57

I don’t remember you wearing like a crazy dress. I don’t remember, honestly, what the dress was. […] Ridiculous dress I would remember, and I would probably be like, ripping you.

 

Carla Gallo  30:07

Yeah.

 

Emily Deschanel  30:09

Since then.

 

Carla Gallo  30:10

Isn’t it funny that Aaron Paul led us to this memory of running into each other 10 years ago?

 

Emily Deschanel  30:15

We were all at the same golden glow.

 

Carla Gallo  30:16

We are.

 

Emily Deschanel  30:17

Fun thing.

 

Carla Gallo  30:18

Weird. We should get back into the episode.

 

Emily Deschanel  30:22

Back into the episode […].

 

Emily Deschanel  30:26

Okay, when we go upstairs with the doomsday group, we meet someone whose name is Abigail, but also goes by blue minnow, who’s a potential love interest.

 

Carla Gallo  30:39

She clearly has an interest in him. We will find out about whether that is reciprocated or not.

 

Emily Deschanel  30:45

Meanwhile, back at the lab, sound good.

 

Carla Gallo  30:49

Yeah, back at the lab.

 

Emily Deschanel  30:52

The group there are trying to restore the cellulose that was found with the body and it turns out it’s his graphic novel, aswe discussed. So, they’re trying to recover it from the state it was in. Goodman believes he can discern what was going on emotionally with Warren from the graphic novel that he wrote. Then it goes into a discussion about whether writers reveal truths about themselves in their writing. Brennan was convinced that her books are just truly fiction and everyoneelse is convinced that that’s not the case. She definitely reveals herself and her views on the world by how she speaks about different people.

 

Carla Gallo  31:34

Well, Goodman says to you, “You reveal much more of your world view than you realize”. Archeologists make good administrators because they enjoy tedium. Then Angela says artists are doomed to loneliness because they can’t think beyond instant gratification. Then Booth says, “FBI guys are hot and Angela wants to have sex with me”.

 

Emily Deschanel  31:55

Apparently, that’s within Brennan books.

 

Carla Gallo  31:57

Yes, so I enjoyed that. Where you like that? They’ve all deduced, what you really think about them and it’s so reduced tothe most simplistic ideas. But I did like sort of that, that question or the thing that’s sort of running throughout the episode of […]. Do we reveal our inner selves through our writing? And I think that’s something we can ask Liz Benjamin,also the theme of escapism, […] your real life is unhappy or disappointing in some way that you know. The idea that Warren took on this persona of citizen 14 as escapism, heroism, things that he wished he embodied. I just thought that that played really nicely throughout the whole episode, and especially not every character but Booth and Brennan and Zach Addy all throughout the episode, analyze if they’re similar to Warren in that way, sort of trying to escape into fantasy. You say to Booth in the scene, in the bone room, you think I like him that I escape into science. I don’t have super superpowers, I have science. But, that interaction between the two of you, I thought was so lovely.

 

Emily Deschanel  33:29

I love the idea in general, the squins and Zach gets into this too, wanting superpowers. Then, realizing that his intelligence is his superpower, he has real life superpowers and so does Brennan. All these people solving the crime, being able to solve crimes is a superpower. I love that theme.

 

Carla Gallo  33:53

Me too. I know.

 

Emily Deschanel  33:56

One piece of cold goss from the bone room scene is that I could see there’s like blurring under my eyes. That was like, rudimentary. I mean, not that rudimentary, because I didn’t notice it the first couple times I watched the episode, but there was issues with my dark circles under my eyes and covering with makeup, because I was not getting enough sleep […] non stop but they blur […].

 

Carla Gallo  34:20

It was like, CGI?

 

Emily Deschanel  34:21

Yes, it was not great CGI or not great from our standards of 2020, looking back. So, people can catch that, interesting.

 

Carla Gallo  34:34

I didn’t notice it.

 

Carla Gallo  34:37

[…] Because Booth didn’t notice that Lucy was favoring her arm and they said “You didn’t notice because you’re not an anthropologist with superpowers.

 

Emily Deschanel  34:54

Yeah, exactly. That was another favorite line.

 

Carla Gallo  34:57

I realized that I didn’t reveal my actual favorite line because we’ve discovered, the group has discovered that Stew Ellis was actually the illustrator of the comic book or graphical […]. When Booth is interviewing Stew Ellis, he’s sort of trying to figure out, “Oh, was it a love triangle with blue minnow”, Warren and Stew. Then Stew says, “Abby’s cute in a chick geek kind of way, but she’s definitely not the kind of Betty you go to the gas chamber for”. I was like, “Oh, my god”. I know, poor Abby. I’m sure somebody would like to go to the gas chamber for her. I just thought that was a really wild line.

 

Emily Deschanel  35:48

It was a wild line. Yeah, I take offense on Betty’s […].

 

Carla Gallo  35:54

On Betty’s behalf.

 

Emily Deschanel  35:55

I take offense on Abby’s behalf.

 

Carla Gallo  35:58

The other thing is a bone to pick that none of you knew that Stew Ellis was the illustrator. When it says right on the cover of the comic book that the illustrator is Stew Ellis, but it is such a discovery.

 

Emily Deschanel  36:09

No one notices that. […] they are recovering it.

 

Carla Gallo  36:14

Maybe someone’s thumb was right on that, on that part of the cover.

 

Emily Deschanel  36:18

Like recovering because it’s just cellulose then Angela is redoing it.

 

Carla Gallo  36:24

Okay.

 

Emily Deschanel  36:24

She clearly had that information.

 

Carla Gallo  36:27

Could have shared it.

 

Emily Deschanel  36:28

Yeah, could have shared it.

 

Carla Gallo  36:31

I do have one other book to pick. I have one other one, which is when you all are gathered around the angel later to discuss the different arsenal of weapons that says the 14 had. One of the weapons, is two red solo cups connected by a string.

 

Emily Deschanel  36:50

Is the string those around.

 

Carla Gallo  36:52

He listens.

 

Emily Deschanel  36:53

Oh, he has great hearing […]. Or have a phone call across the universe to someone in another dimension. Maybe there’s another dimension.

 

Carla Gallo  37:04

Simplistic, childish. I was like, “You know what? I’m here for it. I really am”. Yeah. I mean, we’re coming to the end of this episode.

 

Emily Deschanel  37:15

We didn’t even discuss whether bowling is a sport or an activity. I’m with Brennan, it’s an activity and not a sport. Personally, that’s a tough one for me. It requires skill. I mean, do with some game.

 

Carla Gallo  37:31

Do the fans want to weigh in? Is it a sport or an activity? I think it’s a sport, I think there’s skill involved. I think darts, I think that anything where you need accuracy and muscle control, I think it might be a sport. I don’t know.

 

Emily Deschanel  37:49

I’m just saying. But, people think golf’s a sport. […] I kind of am with Brennan that I don’t really see. But at the same time,I’ve talked to people who are based. I feel like I talked to someone who’s a professional athlete and they said Golf was the hardest game. So, what do I know? I’ve played, I’ve taken one golf lesson. I’ve got, like 12 years old. I mean, it wasn’t good at it. I was not good at it. So, I guess that tells. It’s a skill for sure.

 

Carla Gallo  38:17

Okay, if you guys want to weigh in on this heated debate

 

Emily Deschanel  38:22

Heated debate that we may or never make up.

 

Carla Gallo  38:25

I know this. I’m worried about the podcast, but weigh in on whether you think that bowling is a sport or an activity. We will put a poll on the Instagram at boneheads pod so, let us know.

 

Emily Deschanel  38:38

Okay, I know we have to talk to Liz, so let’s wrap up our recap.

 

Carla Gallo  38:42

Okay, but we have to talk about just very quickly, the funeral.

 

Emily Deschanel  38:46

Yes.

 

Carla Gallo  38:46

Because I loved the Angela finishing the illustration, giving it to Lucy and her seeing this artistic interpretation of herself being free from her oppressor and then it being put on the coffin. I thought it was really touching and actually kind of tear jerking and emotional for me.

 

Emily Deschanel  39:07

I tried to Shazam, the song they were playing. It didn’t work, but I feel like it was a good song.

 

Carla Gallo  39:13

Yeah, it was great.

 

Emily Deschanel  39:14

That montage. You see Angela, finishing the graphic novel and you see us at the funeral. Then Booth also puts down hissharp shooter pin, which I’m assuming he doesn’t have many of. So, I thought that was quite significant so he gave thatto Warren.

 

Carla Gallo  39:32

Yeah, because he was a hero.

 

Emily Deschanel  39:34

So, that’s what happens in the episode. I think we need to get to Liz Benjamin.

 

Carla Gallo  39:38

I know, I’m excited.

 

Emily Deschanel  39:39

We got to interview, the writer of this episode.

 

Carla Gallo  39:41

Okay, that’s coming up next.

 

Emily Deschanel  39:43

Stay tuned.

 

Carla Gallo  39:58

Our guest today is Liz Benjamin. She is a television writer and producer. She’s worked on so many incredible series, including the; Flight Attendant, Bridgerton, Dead To Me, The Man in the High Castle, 13 Reasons Why, The Blacklist,United States of Terror, Criminal Minds and of course, everyone’s favorite show, Bones.

 

Emily Deschanel  42:00

She’s a writer of bones for the first four seasons. She wrote many episodes, including; The Man in the Wall, which we already have talked about, and today’s episode, the superhero in the alley, among many others. Without further ado, here’s Liz Benjamin.

 

Emily Deschanel  42:18

Hi, Liz.

 

Elizabeth Benjamin  42:19

Hi.

 

Emily Deschanel  42:20

Thanks so much for doing this.

 

Elizabeth Benjamin  42:22

I’m glad to be here.

 

Emily Deschanel  42:23

Very happy to have you.

 

Carla Gallo  42:26

You’re our first writer. We had Hart on but you’re our first writer from the show. So, this is really exciting.

 

Elizabeth Benjamin  42:26

Oh, that is exciting.

 

Emily Deschanel  42:35

Are you cool to jump in with some questions?

 

Elizabeth Benjamin  42:38

Yeah, sure, of course.

 

Emily Deschanel  42:40

Okay, so I’m curious how you came up with this idea, if you remember, for the story and the characters? I mean, I don’t even know, was it something that you brought the idea to the writer’s room? Maybe you can even talk about how you worked. Maybe start with that, talk about how you worked in the writer’s room on Bones.

 

Elizabeth Benjamin  43:03

Well, we always would pitch come in with ideas for episodes, and that’s just pretty standard. And I really honestly can’t remember the genesis of this particular episode. I do remember that we wanted to make it twisty, so there were a lot of interesting turns and we kept turning the expectation of it, I do remember that. I can’t remember. It might have been that my son was really into comic books he was little, or there was some trigger that made me think about cosplay and comic books as a great world, because we always looked for worlds to land you guys in, and especially for Bones that she was like an alien walking into a world that she didn’t know. And it was always this new and fresh experience for her. So, we were always trying to challenge ourselves to come up with interesting worlds. Maybe it was a reading about Comic Con or something gave me that idea for tha. Then someone on the staff was like a writer’s P.A or worked for Steve Beers. Maybe it was Beers assistant was comic book person, so I started talking to them and got a lot of information out of them.

 

Emily Deschanel  44:27

Right, so you have instant research right there, when someone’s into something?

 

Elizabeth Benjamin  44:32

Well, that person, I have the original comic book that we used in the episode production.

 

Carla Gallo  44:39

Wow.

 

Emily Deschanel  44:40

No way.

 

Elizabeth Benjamin  44:42

He drew it and he wrote it.

 

Emily Deschanel  44:43

Okay.

 

Carla Gallo  44:45

Wow, that was one of our questions.

 

Elizabeth Benjamin  44:47

Well, this guy, whoever he was, I can’t remember who, maybe if I go back through the credits, got a credit for that. I don’t know.

 

Emily Deschanel  44:55

Okay.

 

Elizabeth Benjamin  44:56

But, he was an artist and production used him. They were like, “He’s really good”. He wrote it like we wrote the comic book so that you could shoot it.

 

Carla Gallo  45:07

Wow.

 

Elizabeth Benjamin  45:07

That was really fun.

 

Emily Deschanel  45:08

Really impressive.

 

Elizabeth Benjamin  45:10

I can share. I’ll send you screenshots of the cover. The Blue Angel, all the seas.

 

Emily Deschanel  45:14

That would be awesome.

 

Carla Gallo  45:15

I love that you have it […].

 

Elizabeth Benjamin  45:18

I still have it.

 

Emily Deschanel  45:22

Yeah, it didn’t stay with Warren’s casket.

 

Carla Gallo  45:27

Right. It was retrieved from the casket.

 

Emily Deschanel  45:29

It was retrieved, and I’m curious about what you were if you remember anything from filming the episode specifically, or is it just too hard? And you wrote a lot of episodes that first season, so it’s probably hard. They probably blur together.

 

Elizabeth Benjamin  45:51

I’m trying to remember, you know, it was just the beginning of my time on bones, and you know, we were all learning the show still, like every episode was a new sort of trial, right? Does this work? Does that work? And it was just like learning the sets and learning what worked and what was good and what wasn’t. And I think at that time, we still were having problems with walk and talks in the big main stage because it wasn’t, they weren’t wide enough. I just remember things like that. Like, for me, I was really impressed with the design and the production team. Like, when I got to the alley and I saw the body, I was like, whoa. This is amazing, right? And I just, you know, that kind of stuff. I just remember it was the beginning, you know, it was beginning of my career, really. I just been, I think that was my third season writing television, and I had done two seasons of Law and Order Criminal Intent,  this was so much more creative. And just looking at all the different things that they were able to do so quickly was really amazing.

 

Emily Deschanel  46:59

Yeah, I’m it must be an interesting process to write something and then see, you know, the whole production team making that happen and bringing it to life. I’m sure it can go the opposite way, where it can be very disappointing if they don’t get it right.

 

Elizabeth Benjamin  47:15

Hoing into Warren’s room, right? I thought that was so like, Yes, this is perfect. This is what I saw in my head, like I really felt like they did a really great job.

 

Carla Gallo  47:25

I’m curious about, like, the writers room on bones. Was it sort of a traditional like, are all the writers in a room all day? Sort of like bouncing ideas.

 

Elizabeth Benjamin  47:37

It was starting in season two. Season One was an anomaly for like, I had come from Law and Order Criminal Intent, where there is no writers room, it’s you and the show runner, and you’re pitching ideas to the showrunner, and you’re working directly with them, and that’s how you break your story, and that’s the process. So for me, coming out to LA, coming to a studio lot all day, you know, having an office, and we had a conference room that we worked out of, and it was a really amazing first season staff. I mean, Noah Holly was on that staff, Steve Blackman, I mean, these guys have gone on to, like, run amazing shows, yeah, do amazing things. And it was, there was a lot of talent on the staff, but because it was a first year show, and everything was being codified, like, do we do it like this, or do we do it like that? Or that work? This didn’t work. The ratings went up. The ratings went down. Like it was a constant. Everything was in flux, and so it wasn’t the room became much more traditional in season two, when we got Gary glassberg and Scott Williams came in, and they ran the room like a traditional room. Season One, Hart and Steven were so backlogged that they weren’t able to run the room that way. So we were running it within ourselves. But a lot of times it would be pitching them a lot of ideas and going off by ourselves and fleshing them out and then coming back together. But there was a lot more onus on us as writers, to do a lot of the heavy lifting on our own, rather than a room. And in a room generally, you break out the story together, you pitch, you know, the writer comes in and pitches their ideas. You land on one, and then you break out all the scenes together in a traditional, this kind of room. So I don’t know if that it did.

 

Carla Gallo  49:32

I mean, it’s interesting to hear about the inception of the or, like, yeah, the growth of the show and the transformation of it from season one to season two.

 

Elizabeth Benjamin  49:41

Well, they, I think, you know, in the beginning of any show, you’re learning the DNA of that show. And Hart had very specific ideas of the show he wanted. And it took a couple of seasons for him to be able to convince the network that that was the that more character was. Was the way to go. That’s what he always wanted. And I think he would say that our, you know, even now, but they were pushing, in the beginning, more CSI stuff. And he was like, it’s really about the characters, you know, yeah, you can see that. You can see that evolution in the show, because by the time, you know, Bones is getting married to boots, like, it’s a real character driven procedural.

 

Carla Gallo  50:22

I have a writer question for you that relates to the episode. There’s a lot of mention throughout the episode of How much, obviously, it’s it sort of starts with Warren Granger and this comic book he’s written, and his escapism, and how much he’s exposing him, you know, his inner desires or fantasies, and then they start to analyze Brennan and her book, and Goodman says to her, like you reveal more than you realize. And so I am curious, as a writer, you know, do you feel like you personally? And maybe that’s specific to bones, or maybe it’s not. I don’t know if there’s room for that within the structure of bones, but like, where you’re revealing yourself through your writing. I guess as a writer, maybe that’s a general writer question.

 

Elizabeth Benjamin  51:10

I think so. I mean, I think we always try to infuse whatever story, at least for me, whatever story I’m working on, with things that I’m curious about, or observations I’ve made, or universal truths I’m really big on that, like, you know, bringing in things that interest me, that hopefully interest other people. You know, you find ways back door, ways of sort of slipping in things that are important or move you or touch you in ways. So, you know, I was a new parent at that time, and, oh, I’m going to get emotional. The loss of a child was something that I thought about, you know, when it really in that episode, thinking about those parents was such a different like, if I had written that prior to my son, it would have been a different emotional experience for me, but having a son who was almost two years old at the time was I really was, was able to slip inside their point of view in a way that was really moving.

 

Carla Gallo  52:19

Wow, that’s amazing, I know.

 

Elizabeth Benjamin  52:21

So yeah. I mean, I think most writers hopefully do try to infuse their stories with things that mean something to them, or if, if they hadn’t thought about it before, they dig in and find ways to connect to the material.

 

Carla Gallo  52:35

Wow, yeah, that’s really amazing to hear. I mean, you know, it gives me perspective in thinking back on the scenes with the mother and, you know.

 

Elizabeth Benjamin  52:45

She had to leave the room. I mean, she couldn’t even be in there, because how do you deal with that? And then finding out that he had an illness that had come back and didn’t tell them. I mean, wow, didn’t tell them, gut wrenching. I mean that to me was like, he was protecting them. He was being his superhero guy, you know, like, like, things were coming back to me as I watched it, but I was just gonna tell you something else too. I remember they really, really were pushing me, like, what’s the name of this comic book? What’s the comic book Name character? And I was really like, I don’t know. I don’t know. And I was driving to work on Olympic Boulevard, going to the Fox studio. And I remember seeing a billboard for citizen watches, because I would look at other comic book character names, and I was trying to come up with something that felt of that world. And I was like Citizen and then I saw something else, and I saw the number 14. And I was like, my husband was driving, because at that time, we had one car. We just moved out from New York, so he was driving me to work. And I was like, what do you think is citizen 14? He goes, I buy it. I think it’s good. I went in the room, and I was like, What do you guys think of citizen 14? And I was like, Thank you Olympic Boulevard. Thank you. Citizen watches. You know, it was really, that’s the way things happen. You know?

 

Emily Deschanel  54:06

Love that. Well, this is what we call cold goth, yeah, that’s our car podcast. We have, like, we like to bring up cold Goss. It’s not hot gas. It’s cold Goss because it’s from a long, long time. So great. I mean, that’s some fun cold Goss for us, Liz.

 

Elizabeth Benjamin  54:22

Just how things happen or how they that’s how a writer, a writer never like is off the clock. I will tell you that it’s a constant state of of thinking about your stories and, you know, opening your eyes to the world around you, seeing characters in the grocery store, who are. You’re like, Oh, that would be a good character.

 

Emily Deschanel  54:43

That’s so cool. Well, you can’t you started as a dancer and then and an actor yourself too. So you can think from the perspective of the character. I when a writer I know said the writer and the actor are the two people who’ve thought in the in the mind of the character. And I was like, right like a director, might certain directors do, but like usually, the writer and the actor are the ones thinking in the mind. Like as a writer, you have to think in the mind of all of the characters, not just plot, not all that. But you have to get into the mind psychology, the psychology, all of it, it’s yeah, so fascinating.

 

Elizabeth Benjamin  55:19

And I thought of one other thing, because I do have to go. The director was James Whitmore Jr, yes. And his father was a big actor in classic Hollywood era, yes. And James himself was an actor who had done Rockford Files and all these shows. And I was like, so in awe of him. I’m not usually starstruck, but I was like, oh, my God, this guy is a thing, right? He’s a something. And he was such a macho dude, like a man, and he would like, go on breaks, he’d go pump iron in his trailer. You know, he was just a man span. He was of a different time, like super macho. But he was so it was so interesting to watch him direct this episode, because it wasn’t his world. You know, it’s just so interesting to see the way he handled the actors, and just knowing his pedigree, I was really impressed and felt really honored that he was doing our episode.

 

Emily Deschanel  56:15

It’s so funny because I mentioned about how he was kind of a guy’s guy, and how like, he did something that actually made me cry, but it wasn’t bad intended, but part of the fact, the fact that he is this macho guy, was part of what made me sensitive to the whole thing. And but it is interesting. I forgot he was an actor himself. I remember his dad was big actor. Yeah, he he probably had the best intentions of like, giving a note, not yelling it across a room in front of 100 people, but it felt like bad to me, but I now looking back, know that it wasn’t.

 

Elizabeth Benjamin  56:51

No, I feel ill intended, but as a woman, I think we both probably felt the same thing, this is a super macho guy like, yeah.

 

Emily Deschanel  57:01

Thank you so much.

 

Carla Gallo  57:03

Thank you so much.

 

Emily Deschanel  57:05

I don’t want to keep you. I know you’re working. Liz joined us in the middle of her work day from the writers room. I don’t if you want to say what show you’re working on now.

 

Elizabeth Benjamin  57:14

I’m working on a new show, a new Netflix show called Pulse, and I’m working on season two. Season One is yet to air, but it’s really fun. It’s an emergency room drama with lots of really juicy, fun soap. It’s awesome. It’s gonna be awesome.

 

Emily Deschanel  57:30

I can’t wait to watch. Yeah. Thank you so much. Thank you doing this.

 

Elizabeth Benjamin  57:35

Thank you. It was so much fun to revisit this after all these years, and it brought back a lot of really, really good memories and some scary ones, you know, from the beginning of my career and being such a new writer. But I’m really proud of how that episode turned out.

 

Emily Deschanel  57:58

That was so nice.

 

Carla Gallo  57:59

So cool. I just love the little details of things like the system 14 name because you don’t as a viewer, you’re not putting a lot of, you know, questioning, like, where did they come up with […]

 

Emily Deschanel  58:11

You totally buy that. That’s the name of this character in the comic book. And I love finding out about that somebody who worked on the show in another capacity that is so cool. May Drew and wrote that comic book, the graphic novel.

 

Carla Gallo  58:26

So cool.

 

Emily Deschanel  58:26

And that she has it well, Liz has written a lot of episodes, so we can have her back too. I wonder we only had a limited time because she was on her lunch break. But yeah, I would love to have her. I wanted to ask her what her favorite episode was, and then we can.

 

Carla Gallo  58:41

Yeah, we should definitely that episode and just the writer’s perspective, yeah, it was just very cool, because obviously, as an actor, there are similarities where you’re thinking you’re in that you’re bringing your own personal experience to something. But I was like, oh wow. When she said the thing about like, having being a mother versus having written it when she wasn’t, I was like, wow, that really shows an actor too.

 

Emily Deschanel  59:01

Like, oh yeah, you know, playing a mother when you’re not a mother has very different for me.

 

Carla Gallo  59:08

I believe it. Well, that was so cool. I’m so glad we had her on. Yeah, that was very cool. And hope you guys enjoyed it too.

 

CREDITS  59:15

There’s more Boneheads with Lemonada Premium. Subscribers get exclusive access to bonus content, like excerpts from interviews, extra fan questions and more behind the scenes convos. Subscribe now on Apple podcasts. Boneheads is a production of Lemonada Media and us. It’s produced by Keegan Zema, Claire Jones and Alex McOwen. Our engineers are Brian Castillo and Noah Smith. Our senior vice president of weekly content is Steve Nelson. Our executive producers are Stephanie Wittels Wachs, Jessica Cordova Kramer and us, Emily Deschanel and Carla Gallo. Music by Doug Paisley. To stay up to date with us and submit your […] questions, follow us on Instagram @boneheadspod and @lemonadamedia on all social channels. Follow Boneheads wherever you get your podcasts, or listen ad free on Amazon music with your Prime membership. Thanks so much for listening.

Spoil Your Inbox

Pods, news, special deals… oh my.