TimesTalks with Ilene Chaiken and Jennifer Beals – April 20, 2009

By BetteAndTinaForever from l-word.com - A special Thanks for this wonderful detailed report

Some call me “dedicated fan”, some call me “crazy lunatic” and there are some who call me all kinds of names that I can’t put in this report. I prefer to be called a dedicated fan, though I’ll admit to some craziness. Before I report about the TimesTalks event in New York, let me tell you what happened on my journey there.

Turbulence or Fear of Flying

I know some of you might not want to read this part because it’s about my journey to New York…believe me, it wasn’t fun for me to write this either because I was doing it while I was in the air.

On Saturday, April 18, I went to the GLAAD Awards in Los Angeles as a reporter for the l-word.com. Initially, I planned to fly to New York right after the GLAAD event and attend the TimesTalks. Then I found out about Mia Kirshner’s Benefit event in Los Angeles on April 22 that Jennifer Beals and Laurel Holloman were planning to attend. I wanted to go to that event as well but I wasn’t sure if I could manage three events in such a short time, especially if I had to fly back and forth across the country, and expect to be employed I got back!

I decided to cancel the New York trip and go to the LA events instead. A day before leaving for the GLAAD Awards, I found out that Mia’s benefit was canceled but I had already made all the flight changes and I didn’t want to deal with making changes again for New York. And then something happened at the GLAAD Awards that made me change my mind …and that something was Jennifer Beals.

When she approached me on the red carpet and before we got to the actual interview, Jennifer asked me if I was coming to New York and I explained that I had to cancel that trip to go to Mia’s benefit, which was also canceled. We began talking about other things and doing the interview but when it was over and Jennifer was ready to leave, I asked if it was okay for me to come to New York. Jennifer replied that she would be disappointed if I wasn’t there. Even if it was a joke I realized that I couldn’t say no to Jennifer Beals, so I decided to rearrange my flights again to go to New York.

I flew home from LA on Sunday and Monday morning I was back at the airport. As fate would have it, my plane to JFK was delayed for two hours due to bad weather on the East coast. Imagine my frustration and despair. I had to fly five hours each way just to get to a two hour event in New York and I might not even make it. I guess that’s the crazy part of me.

Luckily, there was another flight to Newark that was leaving an hour before my original flight and it had one seat available. It was in the back of the plane by the restrooms and, of course, a bunch of crying kids but at least it was getting me closer to New York. I exchanged my ticket, got on the plane and then found out that it was also delayed but now I was stuck inside the aircraft on the runaway, not knowing when we were leaving. So maybe I wasn’t as lucky as I thought.

So here I was, exhausted from the previous trip, sitting on the plane bound for Newark, waiting for our departure and hoping that I’d get to New York on time for the event.

Finally we were in the air and at that point all I wanted was just to get to New York because the flight was long and the turbulence was bad. When we reached the East coast there was another delay landing and we were stuck in the sky above Pennsylvania. For almost an hour we were making circles accompanied by turbulence…I don’t know how many because I stopped counting after the fifth circle when half of the plane became sick and searched for the motion sickness bags.

After we finally left the circles of hell, the plane began to descend in a weird pattern. After we landed, I looked at the yellow trace on a moving map on my TV screen and it looked like the pilot was trying to spell The L Word.

When we finally landed, I spent another 30 minutes waiting to get off the plane. Everyone who needed to make connections was already late so they didn’t care and I was almost jumping out of my skin because I couldn’t stand idle for another moment.

Finally, I was free, running down the terminals and stairs to get to my shuttle. Little did I know that my adventures were not over yet! Because I flew to another airport the super shuttle had a van available for me only in another 30 minutes and I had to share it with other passengers. So I was warned right away that I wouldn’t make it in time if they needed to be dropped first. My best chance was a taxi.

At that point I didn’t care that it was three times more expensive. I was in New York already and I had a little over an hour to get to Times Square or the whole thing would be for nothing. I kept running in the rain, searching for a taxi stand. It was like an episode from “Amazing Race.” There was no line, so I quickly pre-paid, jumped inside the next free taxi and yelled, “Go, go, go…here’s the address where I have to be by 8 pm.”

The driver was really nice and even listened to my explanation as to why I was in such a hurry. I looked like a mad woman, literally. I was running in the rain so I was wet, sweaty, breathing hard and speaking in short sentences because my English always gets worse when I’m nervous or tired…and I was both.

To make this long story short, the driver knew what he was doing and got me to Times Square by 7:30 pm. I made it! I went inside and nobody was in yet because they had another talk going on until 8 pm. I met a few nice fans and spent time chatting with them. When I finally got inside, all the front middle rows were taken; it looked like I’d probably sit somewhere on the edge. But, alas, a couple of very nice girls, who had one seat available in the second row right in front of the stage, offered me a seat. I was very close and right where Jennifer ended up sitting so I had a very good view.

Conversation with Ilene and Jennifer

New York Times Live is a very interesting live event which is held year round at TheTimeCenter, including TimesTalks. “Life after the L Word” with Ilene and Jennifer was a really exciting event and I don’t regret even for a moment that I had to endure the worst flight ever to get to New York so I could hear Jennifer and Ilene talk to the fans.

The moderator, Kim Severson, is a staff writer for the dining section of The New York Times and she was really great with her questions. She at least was someone who watched the show and knew what she was talking about.

Before I describe their conversation and the Q&A part, I’d like to go back to the story about Jennifer practically inviting me to go to New York. I said that even if it was a joke, I still decided to go because no one in their right mind would say no to Jennifer Beals. As it turned out, it wasn’t a joke because when Jennifer came onto the stage and saw me in the audience, she smiled and said, “I’m glad you made it.”

Later, after the event was over, I saw Kim the moderator leaving the building and I approached her to thank her for a great evening and she told me she’d heard about me from Jennifer. Jennifer told Kim about me and said she hoped I’d make it to New York. So you see, it wasn’t a joke and I’m really glad I went.

The audio for the entire talk will be posted in the podcast section of TimesTalks (http://www.nytimes.whsites.net/talk/podcasts.html) so I’ll only mention highlights of their conversation. It’s not verbatim and might be out of order but I wrote this to the best of my ability.

- At the beginning when the guests sat down, Kim said: “I think I can speak for everyone here…Ilene, what the hell?” (She was talking about season six, of course, and Ilene was laughing while Jennifer made a gesture as if she was stabbing her. It was funny). Jennifer said that she talked to Ilene about it because the Disney part of Jennifer wanted the show to be a celebration of friendship. It was very hard for her to tough through it but she had to work with what Ilene gave her. Ilene has a dark side according to Jennifer; and she did the finale to the best of her ability but then she would go back to her trailer and go, “Why? Why?” Jennifer was really upset over the ending.

- After that they talked about the movie because Ilene said it was a possibility and Jennifer mentioned that the movie would be great but she’ll only do it if it’s a celebratory, happy movie about love and friendship. Ilene replied that there’s a big amount of interest and support for the idea of the movie and they all would like to do it.

- Ilene said that she would like nothing more than to work with Jennifer again and they both mentioned that they are working on a very exciting project together that in some way is a continuation of The L Word. They wouldn’t reveal what it is but said we’ll find out soon. (I think it might be related to the coming out stories that they were going to collect on OurChart before it’s untimely demise).

- Ilene always thought that she was a solitary writer until she began doing The L Word but then she had a group of women who wouldn’t let her be solitary. They were all socially communicative and it turned out to be a great collaboration. Ilene was talking about cast members, of course. She said that they would always go to her with their ideas for stories or the characters and all the cast members at some point were asking Ilene to change things in their storylines.

Jennifer stepped in and said that she was the least demanding of them all. She also said that though Ilene was the head writer, she made it clear to the cast that the door was always open for them. Jennifer joked then that she didn’t think Ilene could have ever imagined the door would become this much of a revolving door because everyone was constantly offering their own ideas. Ilene added that there were moments when it would become a little wild but it was also a really great collaboration. She said that Jennifer collaborated with her the most and they constantly talked about the storylines and character development. Often cast members would come to Ilene with issues about their character being “out of character” or just to express ideas for a story.

- Ilene said that after Queer as Folks was produced, she brought up the subject of the lesbian show once again and this time she got a green light. She told Showtime she was grateful for their support and that they would get some interesting, significant and well-known actresses who wouldn’t be afraid to play these characters. They had a very short list for Bette because she was deemed the main character and Jennifer Beals was on that list. Ilene said that if they could get Jennifer they would be there already.

- Jennifer told her side of the story. She had just been offered a show where she was going to play a prostitute. She met with the executives from that show and then literally the same day she met with Ilene and Larry and some others to talk about The L Word. After that meeting Jennifer thought, “Hmm…do I want to be a prostitute or a lesbian?” She saw the potential for the show and Ilene had some great ideas. Then Jennifer met Rose Troche who was so passionate, intelligent and very engaging; Jennifer realized then that she would be a part of something very special and the choice was easy.

- Kim mentioned Pam Grier and Ilene and Jennifer told a short story of how Pam’s character in the original pilot was someone else. Her name was also Kit but she wasn’t Bette’s sister, she was this wacky sea captain. Jennifer was laughing really hard at that, by the way. The Showtime executives loved the Pilot and said that they would pick up the show but they were not sure if Pam’s character was working. Ilene was glad but she also really wanted to keep Pam on the show so they decided to create a character just for her. In the original Pilot Jennifer and Pam did an incredible scene together and they were so connected. Ilene looked at them and decided to make them sisters.

- Laurel Holloman was cast opposite Jennifer after they narrowed it down to two actresses who would play Tina. Both actresses had already done their auditions and now they needed to see them with Jennifer. Jennifer was working on a movie at the time and the actresses went to her trailer and their conversations were filmed to see who had more chemistry with Jennifer.

- Kim asked about the Laurel/Jennifer chemistry and their love scenes. Jennifer laughed and said that she read somewhere on the Internet that people have all these fantasies that they are lovers in real life. (Everyone cheered and she just laughed). Jennifer then said that in their love scenes they had to trust each other completely. In the love scenes that they had, they were very intense, especially the one at the end of season one and Jennifer said that she trusts Laurel implicitly. They had each other’s backs, literally. If they had a part of their body that they were not comfortable with, they would always ask the other person to cover it.

- Jennifer also said that in the Pilot she was so focused on Bette’s work that when it came time to do a love scene she was like, “Oh my God, I’m a lesbian. What am I supposed to do? I’m going to be this ugly hetero person who doesn’t have a clue…can I google something?” Laurel asked her if she wanted maybe a glass of wine and Jenifer thought it was just crazy, until she realized that it was just a scene like any other scene. It wasn’t just a love scene, it was a scene about two people who have been disconnected and it was a way for them to reunite. They choreographed everything and they actually had to re-shoot that scene. Jennifer brought in a love scene that she liked and Laurel also brought one that she liked, and they all shared ideas with Rose Troche who was directing. In the end they all came up with something more substantial and more specific that the one they had before (we call it The Pilot Sex).

- Kim asked if they could share some juicy details from the set, like arguments or fights…Jennifer said that they were like family and it’s not like people didn’t argue but she didn’t want to share because she considers them all a family. Ilene said that they had some highs and some lows, and there were moments of great collaboration and moments when someone would disagree with something. Jennifer added that it was definitely a different set from what she is used to. People always talked to one another and if they had a problem with something, whether a scene or someone else, it was addressed very quickly. Jennifer said that she felt so “heard” on the set in a way she had never been before.

- Jennifer mentioned her film “Book of Eli” that just finished filming and said it was an amazing experience. She attributed it to the fact that the Hughes brothers are biracial and were raised by a lesbian. Jennifer said that she felt lucky to have two such great experiences. Kim added that the movie industry is not really known for that kind of thing and Jennifer said that it has a very monolithic, patriarchal structure where your voice often isn’t heard as a woman.

- Kim made a comment that it was probably a challenge getting back into the real world after The L Word. Jennifer joked, “Oh yes, I talked to Kate Moennig recently and I said, ‘What would you give to have just one more scene at the Planet, talking over a cup of coffee?’”

- Kim asked Ilene if she ever started out to change the culture in America because she did, in Kim’s opinion. Ilene said, “I didn’t.” Kim, “Oh, you did.” And then Kim asked if Ilene started out by saying, “This is my life’s political work” or “I have an idea…” Ilene replied that she didn’t start out by saying that she was going to change culture or do something political, she started out by saying that she wanted to tell some great stories and entertain people and if it worked, then great. The show came out in the midst of a cultural change and it was thrilling to be part of it but she would never go on saying that that’s what she planned all along.

- Jennifer said that she herself didn’t watch a lot of television and she had no idea that The L Word was the first of its kind. When they were dealing with the press, Ilene told Jennifer that it wasn’t political but Jennifer thought that it was personal and, therefore, political. She went on to say that if there was a young girl in the middle of nowhere, with no access to a larger community and this show helped her to see herself represented, then that was a wonderful thing. Then Jennifer paused to collect herself because she was almost on the verge of tears, “And if that’s political then I felt very political.” She added that giving someone an opportunity to be authentic, to be heard and to let others hear your true voice is incredibly important.

- Kim asked Jennifer if, as a Yale graduate, she knew a lot about LGBT issues or if being on the show had opened her eyes and Jennifer said that the show had completely opened her eyes because she learned what a “twink” and “dental dam” were…after everyone stopped laughing she added that seriously, one important thing that she learned was that we are all connected. The “gay issues” are also women issues because homophobia is a form of misogyny. She is more motivated now to speak out if she sees something she doesn’t like. And Jennifer also said that she can see now how all women are connected because we are either repressed or repress ourselves and that’s codified in our culture.

- Kim asked Ilene how she developed a think skin because she was criticized a lot. Even the lesbian community expressed dislike for: the women being too pretty, too much sex, or not enough sex or Max with beard who is a girl and other issues. Ilene replied that it developed over time. In reality, if people are engaged on all levels, when they get angry, when they are debating or even hurling something at you, it means that the show was successful. If no one cared then the show wouldn’t have been on the air for six years.

- Kim made a comment that it was a remarkable run and brought up a few other shows, like Queer as Folk, Will and Grace, Ellen; and all these shows were coming out when America was more comfortable with gay characters. Ilene said that she certainly hadn’t dreamed that some day she would do a show about lesbians and Ellen DeGeneres definitely laid down some major stones, even though it wasn’t necessarily good for her at that time. Now she owns the world. In 2004 the world was also ready for a lesbian show.

- Ilene mentioned again that she first pitched it in 2001 when she had written an article for a Los Angeles magazine about the gay and lesbian baby boom. Her twins were two years old and she looked around and saw lots and lots of lesbians in Los Angeles having babies; it was a phenomena. She wanted to tell stories about it and to make a show about it. She went to Showtime because she had already worked with them on another project and she thought that maybe they would be receptive to her ideas. She presented an article and mentioned that she would like to do an ensemble drama about lesbians. She was kindly rejected.

- Six months later Showtime bought the rights for Queer as Folk and they put it on the air. And Ilene approached them and said, “You have a show about gay men, what about lesbians?” And they said, “You’re right.” The world was some how opening the doors for them to tell their stories. And now, with it finished, it will be harder to produce another show like this. Economic reasons are part of it but also it’s still harder to sell a project with a gay character.

- Kim replied that it seems weird that there are hardly any gay characters on television. Ilene said that it’s very sad. Jennifer and she actually talk about it all the time because they had believed that after The L Word ended, there would be many shows like it. She finds it very sad that we find ourselves in a cultural desert with no representation of our lives in the culture.

- The next subject that Kim brought up involved the social issues that the show tackled that were not mainly LGBT issues like substance abuse, race, adoption, breast cancer. Ilene said that they were using many issues that one could face in life because they wanted to deliver a message that our lives are just like the lives of everyone else, we are all dealing with the same things, no matter if we are gay or straight.

- Biracial issues were addressed and Jennifer said that originally Bette was written as white. During their first reading Jennifer said to Ilene that she wanted to be represented as a biracial lesbian and Ilene was very open to it.

- Next question was to name a few scenes or episodes that they were especially proud of. Ilene said that she couldn’t really do it but she confessed being a Bette fan and loving all the scenes when Bette was going on a rant. Jennifer said that one of her favorite scenes was the Bette and Tina fight/love scene at the end of season one. It was a very complicated and intense scene. Tony Goldwyn, who directed that episode, just let the cameras roll and they just kept doing that scene over and over. It was very exhausting but Jennifer felt that she had accomplished something important at the end. She was very proud of what they brought to that scene.

- Kim asked if Jennifer is a different actor now having been on The L Word and her reply was that she did change and become more vocal. She is more confident in expressing her opinions when she wants to understand the direction and development of her characters. Working on The L Word was an amazing experience, especially working with different directors, who were predominantly feature film or independent film directors. They were all very passionate about their work and involved in the re-writing process. Ilene added that it was a very unique situation because each episode was like a mini-movie.

- Kim mentioned again that it was probably hard for Ilene to give up some control and Ilene replied that she could be a control freak but she also liked the collaborative process because it was better to have people sharing their ideas about the storylines and Ilene always welcomed their input. She also admitted that often the ideas of others were much better than her original idea.

- Next subject of conversation was about things that Ilene regretted and Kim brought up one of the things that fans were always vocal about, killing Dana Fairbanks. Ilene said right away, “I’d like to rephrase it…I didn’t kill Dana Fairbanks. Dana got sick.” She then said that part of the fan’s anger was based on the fact that she killed a lesbian and Ilene’s reply always was, “I’m sorry but lesbians do die.” She also mentioned that during season one and two she was attacked for making Jenny Jewish. Ilene added that it was another thing that happened because of the actress, because Mia is Jewish and she suggested making Jenny Jewish, as well. Then Jenny turned crazy and fans were angry at Ilene for making a Jewish character crazy.

- Kim then brought up the question of Jenny being based on Ilene. Ilene replied that in the first season Jenny and Bette were two characters who were loosely based on her. Jenny presented her coming out experience, being a writer and Jewish. Bette represented her more mature experiences, being a career woman who tried to start a family, tried to keep a relationship working while having a very busy and big career. So, many of Ilene issues were reflected in these two characters. Over the seasons, the characters became so much themselves that Ilene no longer felt any kind of proprietary relationship with them. Ilene also added that at different moments she could relate to all the characters, just as the audience did.

- Kim then asked Jennifer about Bette and her development. She asked that since Jennifer is a photographer and has an aesthetic sense, was she using it when she portrayed Bette or was all of it given to her. Jennifer replied that everything was completely given to her. She knew nothing about painting and learned a lot while doing the show. Kim mentioned that she heard that the character of Bette was based on a friend of Ilene’s who has a gallery. Ilene said that she wouldn’t use word “based on” but there was a mutual friend who became an inspiration for Bette and helped them with some ideas about being an art museum director.

- The next subject was clothes for the show. Jennifer said she misses clothes from the show the most. Cynthia, their costume designer, was extraordinary and she got to know everyone’s taste and style and always listened to their input about the clothes that they wanted to wear. Jennifer added that she really misses her cufflinks. At the end of each season all the cast members were allowed to buy at a bargain price any part of their wardrobe they wanted, including clothes other characters were wearing. Sometimes there was a frenzy at the wardrobe room because everyone would be hiding things that they wanted. (Jennifer and Ilene were really funny during that sequence).

- The next subject was about the guest stars. Kim asked how they managed to get so many tremendous stars to appear and if any of the storylines were written for a specific guest. Ilene said that she attributes it to the fact that there are so few parts for women that are interesting and different, in which a woman’s character isn’t just part of the orbit of a man’s story. Another factor was that that a lot of actresses were just excited about being part of the show that talks about women in an interesting and self-determined way. Jennifer added that in the movie industry there’s often this old Victorian notion that a woman’s world is all about love and it’s just an episode in their life. She was doing a movie where her character brought up an affair in the middle of a crisis, asking her male partner if anyone knew about their affair. Her partner replied, “Oh, we have bigger issues now because we have to save the world.” And Jennifer said that she told the director that she couldn’t say that and she suggested, “Hey, why don’t you give the line to him, and I’ll say, ‘We have bigger issues’.” (This statement was met with a lot of applause and laughter.)

- They continued talking about the guest stars and Kim mentioned Cybill Shepherd. Ilene said that usually they got calls from people who wanted to be on the show. She knew that Cybill wanted to be on The L Word and when they came up with the idea of Phyllis, Cybill was the first actress that they thought of for that role. Marlee Matlin was also the one who knew a lot of people and she would come to Ilene with new names of people who wanted to be a part of the show. Often agents or casting directors would call her.

- They only had a few minutes left before the Q&A and Kim asked about webisodes as an alternative avenue for delivering the show. Ilene explained that when they first went on the air, the web was relatively new in its relationship to television. In the beginning Ilene knew about people posting things online but she thought she didn’t have to listen to the fans.

- By the time the second season was out, she realized that she was dead wrong and that she needed to pay attention. She also realized that The L Word fans were a huge global community who connected on the Internet because it was a place for them to talk about the show and their lives. There had never been content like this before for lesbians and it was very important. OurChart was a response to that need as they created an on-line community for fans to gather and connect. OurChart didn’t work out because they had to do it with CBS and the big corporate structure made it impossible for them to grow the site in the way they wanted to.

- Showtime owns the L Word characters but they are very generous in letting Ilene continue their lives on the Internet and they are also very supportive of The L Word movie. This was when Jennifer said once again that she would only do it if Ilene would abandon her dark site and make a happy movie. Ilene basically promised that she will do a movie about love, romance and friendship…and she mentioned a wedding!

- More on webisodes and specific content for the web. Jennifer said that doing stuff for the web feels like a continuation of the storytelling process because for her, the story is paramount. And what was so exciting about The L Word, was that the stories they told encouraged other people within the community and outside the community to tell their own stories to one another. Jennifer was really disappointed when OurChart folded.

- She also said that she can’t read things on the Internet because she gets really upset. She read one comment when someone didn’t like her short hair and called her a soccer mom. But there were also moments that she really liked, like when she did a triathlon in September. She did it as a way to raise money for various charities, and also as a way to make sure she wouldn't quit. She read some of the comments on OurChart where people were so encouraging and so sweet and helped her a lot when she was doing the race.

- Ilene also mentioned a series of interviews that Jennifer did with Tobias Wolff during the presidential campaign. It was before Obama got the nomination, and it was an incredible dialogue that really brought a lot of people into the conversation. Jennifer agreed and said that she was able to ask him questions that the fans asked on OurChart and it was a great way for her to facilitate their conversation.

The conversation with Ilene and Jennifer lasted almost an hour and it was time now for questions from the audience. I didn’t ask any because I just had a short interview with Jennifer and Ilene at the GLAAD Awards and I wanted to hear what other fans wanted to know about. And honestly, I wanted to just enjoy my time and watch Jennifer answering the questions.

Q&A with Jennifer and Ilene

When Kim announced that there was time now for questions and answers, two lines of people formed by the microphones that were posted on the stairs. A lot of fans made a few comments and statements before asking their questions. There was even one man and a few straight women who stood to ask questions; it was another indication that the show reached a diverse group of people and not just lesbians.

One statement I liked in particular was when one woman said that though she was already out for over twenty years before the L Word came on TV; it was like coming out the second time. Because of the show she was more comfortable with herself and more comfortable talking about herself and her wife and her kids, and the people at work were more comfortable talking to her about it. So it’s not just young girls in Iowa coming out (she referred to a letter that some girl wrote to Jennifer) but it’s also all those people who were already out, coming out again because of the show.

Here’re a few questions that were asked that night. Again, they are not verbatim and I probably missed a few but I tried to write them as I remembered and from the notes I took.

Q. Initially I heard that season five was the last one and I was happy that there was season six but is there a reason why the show ended there?

A. (Ilene) Season five was never a last one but what happened was that every year when filming was finished, it wasn’t known if they were picked up by the network. After the season ran, they’d wait to hear from the network. When Showtime picked them up for the sixth season they said to Ilene, “We want to do a final season.” They’d been doing the show for five years at that point and she felt they’d said everything they needed to say, as well as they could say it and they wanted to go out while they were at their peak rather then when they flat lining.

Q. What is the purpose behind the interrogation tapes?

A. (Ilene) The interrogation tapes served a two-fold mission. Ilene wanted to address questions that fans asked on OurChart and at the same time she knew that there were some issues that they didn’t have the time to explore during all six seasons. So they wanted to find a way of addressing some of those questions because she kept hearing things like, “What about Tina? How come we never met her parents?” So they literally used the contents of the interrogation tapes to answer those questions.

Q. Why, at the end of season one, did you cut out one of the best characters, Marina? I’m asking both of you, from a creative point of view and from another character’s point of view?

A. (Jennifer) “I don’t know why she cut Marina but, I don’t know why Dana died, why Tina’s sister raped her, why Jenny was peeing on somebody…I just go, ‘What the hell?’” She also said that it’s hard when a character disappears and it feels sometimes like it’s a friend who moved away and you try to focus on other things but you can’t get back the joy that was there.

(Ilene) There are many reasons that those things happened and these kind of questions probably shouldn’t be answered because they are complex and they don’t necessarily have to do with a storytelling decision. Sometimes they have to do with a business decision, sometimes it has to do with people’s personal lives changing, or when they go off to do something else, whether due to another job or family reasons. There are answers to those questions that just don’t belong in this type of forum and it’s the best way to answer honorably.

Q. When it was suggested to make Bette biracial, it brought up one of the most intriguing aspects of the character, especially because she had to deal with biracial issues. Usually in popular culture with every biracial character I see, the biracial issues don’t come up…could you explain as an actor how you dealt with those issues in bringing them to light and making them personal?

A. (Jennifer) She said that she primarily dealt with the materials at hand and she also used her own imagination. She wanted to explore the complexities of being biracial but being frequently identified as white. That, for Jennifer, was really specific and interesting.

Q. The interrogation tapes raised more questions so do you know how long they will go on and can they continue to be posted so we’ll get all of the questions answered?

A. (Ilene) Ilene said that she didn’t know for how long they will go on. They are on Showtime’s website and she wasn’t sure if they intended to keep them running. They were not planning to produce anymore but there’s plenty of material to work with so it might go for some time.

Q. Nobody could play Bette Porter but Jennifer Beals. Are you like her?

A. (Jennifer) She said that she’s very emotional and in her personal life she would love to take Bette Porter with her when she needs a good rant. She also said that she spends a lot of time in Vancouver. She runs a lot and there are woods in Vancouver where she loves to run. That place is her sanctuary, her home and recently there was a woman who was running there one afternoon and she was murdered. (Here’s the article about that ).

And then later that week Jennifer was helping them to organize the run. She said that mostly she was helping to make posters at Kinko’s to warn everyone about what happened there and to make a banner for the run that they organized to take back the woods and to honor the family. At one point she was talking to one woman who was the organizer of the event (at that point Jennifer turned to Kim and asked if she could swear; Kim said it was okay and Jennifer did). She basically said that she would take that “blip’s blipping blip” and do something painful with it. The woman told her that they were not allowed to say that and Jennifer thought, “Why are we not allowed to say that? Are we not allowed to say that as women or because we have to be respectful to the family?” If it’s because of the family then Jennifer would understand why but if it’s because we are women and we should keep quiet and be afraid to go to the woods, then she didn’t understand. We shouldn’t be afraid and we should take what’s ours. Then she added, “And that’s when I knew that Bette Porter was alive.”

Q. I’ve heard about you being a photographer and that you took photos behind-the-scenes from the beginning of The L Word and I was wondering what are you planning to do with that project?

A. (Jennifer) She said that she took a lot of on-the-set photos and she wanted to put them into a photography book for the cast and the crew as a memento of the six years on the show. Recently she was invited to an L Word Convention and she brought a few prints with her to auction off to raise money for various charities. People were incredibly generous at the auction. She was thinking of this global recession and the fact that a lot of different organizations are having a difficult time and she thought that it would be great if she could make this book available to the fans and take the royalties to give it to different charities. If she is forced to put it on line and make it an e-book then she’ll do it; but if she would prefer to find a publisher and publish it as a regular book.

(At that moment Kim said that she hadn’t heard about L Word conventions and Jennifer replied that they are happening in England and there’s one that’s going to be in Australia, which means that she at least knows about it and the convention’s organizers already hinted that they were talking to her publicist about inviting Jennifer to Sydney.)

Q. Can you tell us anything about you future projects and what you’ve been working on?

A. (Jennifer) She mentioned her film “Book of Eli” with Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman and Mila Kunis that is coming out in January 2010. It was a terrific experience and it’s going to be a great film, and Jennifer said that she’s very proud of it. She also mentioned her appearance in a couple of episodes of “Lie to Me” with her very good friend, Tim Roth. She had a great time playing his ex-wife.

Q. You’ve already made it clear what you think about Tina’s interrogation tape, can you tell us what you think about Bette’s?

A. (Jennifer) She hadn’t seen Bette’s interrogation tape because she doesn’t like to watch herself but she watched the other tapes. Ilene added that she was trying forever to make Jennifer watch herself but to no avail. Jennifer said that she’s probably in a minority of celebrities who don’t like to watch themselves but she likes to be in the editing room with the director and talk about various takes and the direction of the story. She feels that she has the experience of the scene and when she goes to the editing room, she learns more about the editor and the director than about herself as a character. She likes to hear their interpretation and sometimes it’s helpful and sometimes it’s incredibly frustrating because she gets disappointed easily.

Q. Did you hear Laurel Holloman’s Bravo A-List acceptance speech and what was your reaction?

A. (Jennifer) “I didn’t see it, what did she say?” (That question got a lot of applause and laughter). The fan gave a short version of what LH said, including the part about sitting on Jennifer's face. JB laughed and said that Laurel is a wicked gal (at least that’s what I think she said because it was hard to hear as everyone was laughing, including Jennifer. Someone else mentioned that Jennifer said “witty gal”). Jennifer also added that she’s always the last to know about anything and Mia is the first to know. Then Ilene said that she’s the last to know, right after Jennifer.

Q. Another question about the sex scenes.

A. (Jennifer) In the beginning of the first season they got together to watch a tape with various sex scenes (both gay and straight) that Rose Troche gave them, She wanted them to look at the scenes and see which ones worked and which ones didn’t work and why. They watched that tape as a cast and they realized that they could feel when an actor was fearful and all of a sudden the story was broken. They all vowed in that room, that day to be fully committed because they didn’t want to break the story, they didn’t want to appear fearful.

Then Jennifer told the story about filming a scene in “Lie to me” when Jennifer’s character was walking across the room in her bra, putting on her shirt and the camera was following her moves, and traveling up to her face. The camera man said to her, “Don’t worry, we’re not lingering on your…,” and Jennifer replied, “Honey, I’ve done The L Word, you can linger where you want to linger.” She also said that she doesn’t feel shy about sexuality anymore. “Sexuality is sexuality and it’s all good.”

Q. A woman, who is also a runner, talked about the story that Jennifer told previously and then asked her about future marathons and triathlons.

A. (Jennifer) She mentioned the triathlon in Vancouver and then said that she would like to do a New York City marathon and a Half Iron Man. Her family is very supportive so that’s a possibility but it also depends on her work schedule. She added that she doesn’t have to be fast, she just wants to finish.

Q. A fan wanted to know about the evolution of Bette Porter. After Bette’s interrogation tape she felt that Alpha Bette was gone, so what about the future for Bette Porter, where is she going?

A. (Ilene) It’s not that Bette had gone from a career-driven to a family-oriented person but she became someone who accommodated all the things in her life that are now important to her and have value. Bette is more rounded but at the same time she is still flawed. Ilene said, “We couldn’t just say, ‘Okay, now she’s perfect’, because then the story would be over.” Bette still has stuff to work on.

(Jennifer) She agreed with what Ilene said in terms of Bette valuing family. Bette realized that she didn’t have to be so work-driven and family and love is so incredibly important. So Bette’s more into the family now and is driven by love. It can help you to get away from fear, from anger and that’s what important.

At the end Jennifer said, “I want to thank all our fans so much. You, guys, inspire us and motivate us and have been so incredibly generous that I do want you to know that it meant a tremendous amount to everyone in the cast.”