OfficeTally

From Jenna Fischer’s MySpace blog, dated November 23, 2005:

Sorry this blog is past due. I’m enjoying my Thanksgiving holiday in Hawaii. I’m in the “Business Center” of my hotel typing my little blog about this week’s episode of The Office – “Email Surveillance.” I am doing this, in part, because it is raining and also because I loved this episode so much. (I guess I say that every week.) This week I thought we had a very cringy but also VERY romantic episode. Did everyone like the secret office romance!? I’ve been DYING to tell people about it. I’m so glad the secret is out. I love that none of the characters on the show know about the romance. It is a secret between the documentary crew and the audience. Look for little hints of the continued romance in upcoming episodes. Here are some fun facts about this episode:

1. At the beginning of this work week it rained for 3 days. Heavy ran. Our one A.D., Richard, had to stand out in the rain the whole 3 days. He’s in charge of base camp which is where our dressing room trailers and makeup trailers are. This is usually a pretty cool place to hang – nice LA weather, sunny. But not this week. We were each given an umbrella with our names on it so we wouldn’t get too wet walking back and forth. Richard wore a parka but still got drenched.
2. John and I had a MAJOR laughing fit during the lunch scene. Steve comes into the kitchen to try and show us that he’s just one of the gang and thus worthy of coming to Jim’s BBQ. John and I could not control ourselves. At one point I snorted yogurt into my nose and John was crying. It was a mess. We could barely hold it together. I don’t think we ever got through an entire take without laughing. I can’t believe they were able to cut this scene together.
3. John’s birthday fell during this week of filming. He turned 26! The internet says he’s 27 but he’s not. He’s 26. We were shooting last year during his birthday too so I know for sure.
4. We went on location and shot in a real neighborhood. It was an adorable gated community in northern California.
5. Our usual work hours are 6am-6pm. We had to shoot some outdoor stuff at night so our hours were a little screwy. Most of us go to bed around 9-10pm so after shooting until about midnight one night, Steve ordered pizza for all the cast and crew. Nice guy huh?
6. We meet some new characters this week! Jim’s roommate and his roommate’s girlfriend. We also meet the Tech guy in the office. These guys were all really awesome.
7. By far and away the greatest moment of this episode is when Phyllis does karaoke. We were all laughing really hard when she had to do this.

I am being charged by the minute to use this computer $.85 per minute to be exact so I don’t have time to answer Frequently Asked Questions this week. I’m also behind on my Friend Requests so please forgive me. Now, I have to go to the pool and gawk at Mischa Barton. She’s staying here too. And, she is seriously crazy beautiful. It’s depressing.

Look for Rainn Wilson on tonight’s episode of Conan O’Brien… Wednesday the 23rd that is.

From Jenna Fischer’s MySpace blog, dated November 14, 2005:

Hello from Dunder-Mifflin!

In this week’s episode, Jan comes to the office to oversee our Performance Reviews. It will be the first time she and Michael have seen each other since they kissed in the Chili’s parking lot.

This week’s episode is directed by Paul Feig. Last week he invited the cast to his house for an advanced screening. It was written by Larry Wilmore (who played Mr. Brown in last year’s Diversity Day episode.) This episode might be my favorite so far this season. I have been quoting it like crazy. (Yes, I am that big of a nerd…I quote my own show.) Rainn Wilson has a scene where he pumps himself up in the stairwell before his performance review. Amazing. Paul Feig said that the scene that takes place in the conference room is one of his favorites of his career.

This is the episode we shot when I was sick. (See previous post for details) I am doped up on Sudafed most of the time. Sorry for that.

If you have a free second and want to really geek out on The Office, check out www.northernattack.com. It’s an awesome website by one of our fans.

Here are a few more of my Frequently Asked Questions:

1. How much do you improvise on the show?

Our show is completely scripted. They even write our non-verbals like, “uh”, “um”, “ah”. They often write very specific reaction moments like “Pam looks disgusted.” Our writers are amazing. Sometimes we goof around and improvise on set – mostly Steve and Rainn – and sometimes that stuff will end up in an episode. Or, they will write something like “The camera catches Jim and Pam flirting at reception.” John and I will make up some dialogue and try to be as cute as possible.

2. When will LolliLove be released on DVD?

LolliLove is a movie that I wrote and directed a couple of years ago. It is a mock-documentary starring me and my real-life husband as a wealthy couple who start a charity to help the homeless. It is being released by Troma Films in March 2006.

That’s about all I know.

From Jenna Fischer’s MySpace blog, dated October 31, 2005:

In this episode, Michael leaves the office with Jan to try and close a big sale. While he’s gone, I find a screenplay that Michael wrote – starring himself. Jim and I organize a reading of it with the rest of the office staff.

There is some pretty romantic stuff this week. Jim and Pam end up on the roof of the building. That was an AMAZING night of shooting. John and I had to wear a harness and ride up to the roof in a lift. It was a little freaky. (The other people got to use this old fire escape ladder but in order to protect the “stars” of the show; we had to ride up in this incredibly complicated machine.) There were just a few of us up there. The camera guys, our executive producer, the writer of the episode, the A.D. and me and John. The weather was perfect and there was a little breeze and we just sat up there, this small group of us, looking at the city. It was really awesome. It is definitely one of my favorite off camera moments so far this season.

Tim Meadows guest stars as the client Michael and Jan are trying to impress. I didn’t have to work the day they shot Tim’s scenes but I went up to the set just to meet him and have lunch. He is VERY cool. And, hilarious. I don’t want to ruin anything but if you’ve seen the promos for this episode you know that something shocking happens at the meeting.

I posted a few new photos from my vacation week. Mindy hosted a Diwali party. That was pretty awesome. I ran into my old friend Jason Segel. He’s currently starring in How I Met Your Mother and he’s really adorable and funny on the show. It’s great. Check it out.

You can also see a photo from our “Ladies Lunch” at The Ivy on Robertson. That’s Kim our hairdresser and Lisa our makeup artist! The paparazzi swarmed the streets around the restaurant to not take our picture. (Tara Reid was shopping nearby.) After lunch we bought the recent issue of Stuff Magazine and ran into Melora Hardin (who plays Jan on the show.) Small world. The girls from The Office and Tara Reid.

We are currently hard at work shooting our Christmas episode and it’s past my bedtime so I should wrap up. Thanks again for watching!