AVC: It’s too early to ask how the dynamic has shifted on set without Steve Carrell around, but do you have a sense of whether his departure might change the balance of the show?
JF: You know James Spader’s not coming in to replace Steve, he’s not the manager?
AVC: Yes, I do.
JF: I’m mentioning it because the manager is going to be someone else. I’m just saying that because people have been confused because they think that James Spader is going to be the new manager of the office.
AVC: However it shifts, do you think it will affect how the stories are weighted?
JF: Well, I haven’t read any scripts yet. I won’t get to see them until next week. But I did call my showrunners in anticipation of doing all this press, because I knew everyone was going to ask me things about the show. So I asked them, “What are we doing with the show?” and they told me all these things. They told me all these plot lines for Pam, really great stuff, they told me stuff about James Spader, they told me stuff about all the different characters, they told me who the new manager is going to be, and then they told me I couldn’t say anything. It was very exciting, because I feel like I got the scoop two weeks before the rest of my castmates, and then I was sworn to secrecy. But I will say, on a selfish level, I’m really excited about James Spader coming to the show, because I didn’t get to have any scenes with him when he shot the finale, and I thought he was so brilliant. They’ve told me there’s this whole storyline that Pam will have with that character in the upcoming season.
I think the intention is going to be that whoever ends up taking over as manager, the show is not going to be as structured around the manager position. It is going to be more of an ensemble show where someone happens to be the manager. I think there’s going to be a little more of a balance. Usually, you would have an A story, that was Michael, and then a B story, that was some other characters, and then some other little stories. These are going to feel more like two big B stories. That idea is the general philosophy behind going into the next season. I’m sad because I would sit by Steve in the mornings in the hair and makeup trailer, and I’m going to miss my friend in the hair and makeup trailer in the mornings, and I’m going to miss coming back after our summer break and asking him what he did over the summer, because that’s what we do, you know? But creatively, I kind of like that we’re not going to be repeating the same structure that we’ve been doing all these years. The analogy that I’ve been making is like, you know when you walk into your living room and you think, “I could really use a change, but I can’t afford to change everything,” so you move all of your furniture around, and you buy like two new things, and then you’re like, “Oh my gosh, I love it, but it still feels like home, but it feels new too”? That’s my hope for the show this season.
AVC: The underlying documentary conceit of The Office has technical ramifications in terms of handheld camera and lighting and so forth, but it also carries through into who was cast and how they look onscreen. On most shows, everyone tends to look like a supermodel.
JF: Yeah, we don’t look very polished. We use fluorescent lights for our lighting as well, so it’s the most unflattering light imaginable.
Source: Full Article @ AV Club
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