The Weekend Tally
Sunday, June 1st, 2008Fan report: Rich meets Kate Flannery
On Memorial Day, I was flying from Baltimore to the city I currently call home (Portland, OR), and I was excited that my flight was through Philly because it had been a very long time since I had eaten an authentic cheese steak. After killing half of my four hour layover reading, I was finally hungry enough for the cheese steak that I figured would be the highlight of my day of traveling.
While I was waiting for my order number to be called at the cheese steak place, I noticed a familiar looking red head standing next to me in line. I did double and triple takes, and then when I was 99% sure who the person I was standing next to was, I called my dad and whispered, “Dad, I’m standing next to Kate Flannery — the actress that plays Meredith on THE OFFICE” into the phone.
Since my dad isn’t as big of an office nerd as I am, he had to ask which character Meredith was, and once I said “she’s the office drunk,” he immediately knew the person I was talking about. He encouraged me to go up to her and say something, so about a minute after hanging up the phone, I approached the person next to me in line and said, “Are you Kate Flannery from THE OFFICE?” Her reply was, of course, “Yes.” I told her I was a fan and that I read her blog on tvguide.com to which she responded, “Okay, now I’m impressed.”
She asked my name and we chatted for a bit about airports, pointless 30 minute flights from Baltimore to Philly, and her hometown of Philly. I also asked her if most fans she runs into address her as Meredith or as Kate (the answer is the former which made me feel special for actually knowing her real name) and then she told me about some award show that she just finished doing (the Genesis Awards maybe?). I’m a little fuzzy on the details of that last one because at the time when she told me about it, I was still not over the fact that I was talking to a television star. I’m not sure if I ever was ‘over it’ the entire time that we talked.
Eventually, she said that I could take a picture with her if that was what I wanted. I didn’t want to be the one to ask, but that was obviously what I wanted to do. The guy she was traveling with — who I’m assuming was her boyfriend, the NBC staff photographer Chris Haston — took the photo of us.
They both told me to Photoshop a beer into Kate’s hand for a more realistic representation of Meredith. While I’m at it, I may as well give her cast on her pelvis and a football sized bruise on her face!
After the photo, both of our orders numbers were called — I decided not to be an annoying fan, so I didn’t ask if I could eat with her and her boyfriend. Instead, I said goodbye (she remembered my name when she said goodbye!) and told her to tell the rest of the cast that I said hi even though they have no idea who I am. I then proceeded to eat my cheese steak alone while I text messaged and/or called every fan of THE OFFICE that I know!
The whole encounter probably took less time that it will take someone to read this blurb, but even in that short amount of time I was able to tell that Kate was very down-to-earth, very cool, and extremely nice. I felt comfortable talking to her the whole time. This encounter made my five-and-a-half hour flight from Philly to Portland seem to go by much quicker.
It turned out that the cheese steak that I had planned on being the highlight of my day was a catalyst for something much more exciting! So, Kate, if you read this, thanks for making my day, and thanks for being part of the great work of art that is THE OFFICE.
i love bj in that interview, haha poor thing being turned down by denise richards. i hate her now
31 | angela Fri. Jun. 6, 2008 at 6:02pmI particularly enjoyed Jenna’s answer to the dude who asked her if she wanted one of his pet bunnies…hysterical.
“Thank you for offering me your first born bunny…”
30 | God Wed. Jun. 4, 2008 at 9:30pmwow, that jim vs dwight vid was AWESOME! great job to whoever made it, it was edited really well and to me it was hilarious even though it had that spooky narration :P thanks for sharing!
29 | Janie Tue. Jun. 3, 2008 at 12:47pmYea I think it’s just that Jenna Fischer is taping her part tonight, and the actual guest tonight is Adam Sandler.
Speaking of those two, I’d like to see them in a movie together.
28 | Andy the Ringblocker Mon. Jun. 2, 2008 at 5:03pmyesss!!! 40 minute blooper reel!!! jenna is so nice for answering those. the thing about angela was hilarious, too.
27 | jkrasislove Mon. Jun. 2, 2008 at 1:12pmHow funny is it that JKras is filming in Stamford!
26 | Thirsty Schrute Baby Mon. Jun. 2, 2008 at 12:47pmThe Prince’s Gates Production is really well written. I watched the entire thing. Very Office-like. Good job.
25 | Kell Mon. Jun. 2, 2008 at 12:19pmI just checked Letterman’s site and it says that Jenna is on Friday.
I don’t think anyone’s mentioned it, but 40 minutes of bloopers? That should be a good day. :)
That MTV interview was funny.
24 | Zac Mon. Jun. 2, 2008 at 9:36amis anyone going to see BJ Novak at Caroline’s on Friday night? i’m going to the early show
23 | KATIE Mon. Jun. 2, 2008 at 7:31amAHH! 40 MINUTE BLOOPERS!!!! That totally makes up for the lack of finale commentary. WOO!
22 | Pam Scherbatsky Mon. Jun. 2, 2008 at 7:06amAww, BJ’s so cute! I really wish I could have seen him in Seattle. Maybe next time…
21 | kris Mon. Jun. 2, 2008 at 12:22amThat video with Jenna and the interviews about The Promotion was great! I laughed out loud.
20 | That's What She Said Sun. Jun. 1, 2008 at 9:10pmSteve Carell is such a hot dad.
19 | LL Sun. Jun. 1, 2008 at 8:20pmMe and my friends met Kate at In-N-Out Burger in Los Angeles last November during the writer’s strike and she was every bit as nice as he says. She talked to us for a good five minutes and took pictures as well. Great to hear she’s still as nice to her fans as ever! Great story!
18 | Bidder 12 Sun. Jun. 1, 2008 at 7:56pmOMG!! Jenna’s blog just made my whole week!! She is soo sweet by answering fan questions and a 40 MINUTE BLOOPER REEL is AMAZING!!
17 | Joe Sixpack Sun. Jun. 1, 2008 at 7:56pmThat fan video was funny!!! I wish i was good at making movies like that!
16 | I like beets Sun. Jun. 1, 2008 at 7:47pmGreat weekend tally, a special thanks to Jenna for answering her blog questions. I’m also very excited about the brownie recipe.
15 | Amie Sun. Jun. 1, 2008 at 7:47pmLike everybody else: 40 MINUTE BLOOPER REEL!!!!! WOO HOOO!
14 | I like beets Sun. Jun. 1, 2008 at 7:44pmI am pretty sure the 40 minute blooper reel is actually 4 minutes long. I really doubt they would put 40 minutes of bloopers. But we can hope right?
13 | The Office B*tch Sun. Jun. 1, 2008 at 7:42pm#10 - I’m thinking Ashleigh is right. I had a few friends that interned at the Late Show and they do indeed tape two shows on Monday… Monday’s show and Friday’s show. Plus, this website lists her as a guest on Friday:
12 | Lauren Sun. Jun. 1, 2008 at 7:39pm