Jane Kaczmarek in Winter Gala and Interview

Jane Kaczmarek starred in the Ojai Playwrights Conference’s annual winter gala performance on January 19. Entitled An Intimate Pique, It was said to be an evening of dramatic material by America’s leading playwrights. Pique means arousal or excitation. They had scenes that look behind the curtain to the intimate world of backstage affairs both literal and figurative. Scenes where penned by Bill Cain, Jon Robin Baitz, Julia Cho and Charlayne Woodard.

Click ‘more’ to read an interview with Jane by Mommy Track’d about work and family life.

You are a working mom and you played one on TV during the 7 year run of MALCOLM in the Middle. That must have been a weird vortex of life imitating art imitating life. Did you and Lois approach working motherhood in a similar way?

THE SEVEN YEARS MALCOLM WAS ON THE AIR WERE EXTREMLY HECTIC. I WAS PREGNANT WITH MY SON THE FIRST SEASON AND WITH ANOTHER DAUGHTER A FEW YEARS LATER. I WAS GRATEFUL THAT THE CHILDREN ON THE SHOW WERE OLDER THAN MINE BECAUSE IT WAS EASIER TO KEEP TRACK OF WHO WAS WHO. I DID HAVE TO REMEMBER TO TURN THE VOLUME DOWN WHEN I CAME HOME. AND THE DAY MY SON REFERRED TO ME AS MOM SIR, I KNEW I HAD TO TONE IT DOWN EVEN MORE. COMPOUNDING THE CHAOS WAS THE FACT THAT MY HUSBAND’S SHOW (THE WEST WING) COINCIDED WITH MALCOLM’S RUN. WE HAD NANNIES STANDING BY AT ALL HOURS OF THE DAY BECAUSE WE RARELY KNEW WHAT OUR SHOOTING SCHEDULES WERE. HAVING PEOPLE AROUND TO HELP WAS A REAL DIFFERENCE FROM THE WAY LOIS RAN HER HOUSEHOLD ON MALCOLM.

You and your husband are high profile, celebrated examples of the hectic working parent lives our readers live. Describe a day in the life during the years that you were doing Malcolm in the Middle and your husband was doing The West Wing. Who picked up the kids from school? Did they visit the set on a regular basis?

YES, LIFE WAS VERY COMPLICATED. I DIDN’T WORK AS LONG HOURS AS BRAD. USUALLY NOT MORE THAN A 12 HOUR DAY WHEREAS BRAD OFTEN WORKED 15 HOURS A DAY. AS MUCH AS I ENJOYED MALCOLM, I JUST WANTED TO COME HOME AS SOON AS I COULD, SO I RARELY HAD THE KIDS VISIT. BRAD, ON THE OTHER HAND WOULD, HAVE A NANNY DRIVE THEM TO THE SET FOR A VISIT. HE OFTEN LEFT BEFORE THEY WOKE UP AND CAME HOME AFTER THEY WERE ASLEEP, SO IT WAS OFTEN THE ONLY WAY HE COULD SEE THEM.

What have you done with your time since the show ended in May 2006? How did your kids feel about the fact that the show is over?

MY DAUGHTER FRANCES ONCE TOLD ME THAT THE BEST NEWS I COULD GIVE HER WAS THAT MALCOLM HAD BEEN CANCELLED. SHE SCREAMED WITH JOY THE DAY THEY PULLED THE PLUG. I NOW MAKE SURE I’M HOME TO GET THEM DRESSED AND FED IN THE MORNING AND TO BRUSH THEIR HAIR AND GET THEM TO SCHOOL. AND I’M HOME AFTER SCHOOL TO TAKE THEM TO LESSONS AND PRACTICE AND HAVE SUPPER WITH THEM AND PUT THEM TO BED. JUST LIKE A REAL MOM! I ACTIVELY TURN ALL JOB OFFERS DOWN IF I CAN’T MAKE THEM WORK WITH MY SCHEDULE. I WAITED REALLY LONG TO HAVE CHILDREN, ALL THREE WERE BORN IN MY 40′S AND I WANT TO SPEND AS MUCH TIME WITH THEM AS I CAN.

What projects are you working on now?

I’M ABOUT TO START A LEGAL DRAMA FOR STEVEN BOCHCO ON TNT. STEVEN AND I WORKED TOGETHER ON HILL STREET BLUES 25 YEARS AGO AND HE REALLY UNDERSTOOD MY DESIRE TO MAKE MY HOME LIFE MY PRIORITY. I WAS OFFERED A VERY ACCOMODATING WORK SCHEDULE AND AM LOOKING FORWARD TO PLAYING WITH GROWN UPS ON A LIMITED BASIS.

What inspired you to start Clothes Off Our Back? How do you have time to launch a non-profit in addition to your consuming work schedule and family life?

I WAS OVERWHELMED WITH THE AMOUNT OF WASTE IN HOLLYWOOD. WHEN YOU ARE A CELEBRITY, YOU ARE SHOWERED WITH SO MANY CLOTHES AND ACCESSORIES AND PUBLICITY THAT YOU DON’T NEED. CLOTHES OFF OUR BACK SEEMED A GOOD WAY TO RAISE MONEY FOR CHILDREN’S CHARITIES WITHOUT BOTHERING CELEBRITIES TO SPEND MORE OF THEIR PRECIOUS TIME. WE LIKE TO SAY THERE ARE SO MANY CHILDREN IN NEED AND SO MANY CLOTHES THAT YOU’LL NEVER WEAR AGAIN. WE’RE NOT ASKING FOR YOUR TIME OR YOUR MONEY, BUT TO JOIN US AS WE GIVE THE CLOTHES OFF OUR BACK. I HIRED A BRILLANT YOUNG WOMAN NAMED MICHEL SCHNEIDER TO RUN OPERATIONS FOR ME AND TOGETHER WE’VE RAISED OVER $2 MILLION SINCE WE STARTED IN 2002.

There are only so many hours in a day — but when you do have time for a guilty pleasure, what is on the top of your indulge list?

I’M AFRAID I’M REALLY BORING. I LOVE DOING JIGSAW PUZZELS AND HAVE A MYRIAD OF ART PROJECTS I’M WORKING ON, USUALLY WITH JON STEWART OR HBO’S IN TREATMENT ON THE TV IN THE BACKGROUND.

What is your best advice to our readers who are struggling to manage the daily tug of war between work and family?

I CAN’T STRESS HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO TURN OFF THE TELEVISION! WE HAVE ONE TV IN OUR HOUSE AND IT’S NEVER ON UNTIL THE KIDS GO TO BED. MY KIDS STAY FOCUSED AND ACTUALLY ENJOY PLAYING GAMES AND WITH EACH OTHER. THEY ARE STILL SMALL, SO I CAN GET AWAY WITH THIS. ALSO, THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS HAVING IT ALL. I HAVE FOUND I’M SO MUCH HAPPIER SAYING NO AND KEEPING MY LIFE AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE. JUST BECAUSE YOU’RE FREE DOESN’T MEAN THAT YOU’RE AVAILABLE.

What do you think are the best and worst things about being a working mom? Do you have a worst working mom moment? A best?

THE WORST THING ABOUT BEING A WORKING MOM WAS SCRATCHING MY CHILDREN’S BACKS AT NIGHT AND HAVING THEM ASK WHETHER THEY’D SEE ME AT BREAKFAST. NO. WHETHER THEY’D SEE ME THE NEXT NIGHT AT BEDTIME. NO. BEING AT HOME WITH MY CHILDREN MAKES ALL OF THE TINSEL OF THIS TOWN PALE BY COMPARISON.

MY BEST MOMENT IS WHEN I’M IN MY GIANT BATHTUB WITH ALL THREE KIDS. WE CALL THIS PLAYING HIPPOS IN THE RIVER AND WE SING OUR THEME SONG.

Source: Playbill & mommytrackd.com | Discuss in FORUM

Add comment February 27th, 2008

Jane Kaczmarek Clothes Off Our Back Update [Photos]

Jane Kaczmarek’s charity Clothes Off Our Back had problems in January due to the cancellation of the Golden Globe Awards and other events as they auction off evening wear from the red carpet.

“The one thing you could always rely on in Hollywood, besides fires and mudslides, is awards shows. And they seem to be disappointing us this year….So we have had to think of other ways to raise money, because the children’s charities are so dependent on us…It’s a good time to clean out your closets, Hollywood…I always say I won’t be happy until everyone is Hollywood is naked.” said Kaczmarek.

The above photos of Jane and husband Brad are from the Davante Rodeo Drive Boutique opening earlier this month. See more in our GALLERY.

Jane also attended the 10th annual Costume Designers Guild Awards at Beverly Wilshire Hotel on 19 February. See more in our GALLERY.

Source: ABC & criminalmindstvtidbits.blogspot.com & mavrixonline.com & eddyandmoo.com

Discuss in FORUM

Add comment February 27th, 2008

Jane Kaczmarek’s ‘Raising the Bar’ Picked up by TNT

Variety is reporting that TNT has picked up the Jane Kaczmarek starring, Stephen Bochco (NYPD Blue) produced pilot, Raising the Bar, for a 10 episode order.

TNT has given a 10-episode go-ahead to a legal drama from Steven Bochco called “Raising the Bar” for scheduling later this year.

Produced by ABC Studios and Bochco Media, the series stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar as a public defender with a mission to help the down-and-out and Gloria Reuben as his protective boss. Jane Kaczmarek plays a forceful but erratic judge.

Also in the cast are Currie Graham, Melissa Sagemiller and J. August Richards.

The writer-executive producers are Bochco and David Feige; Jesse Bochco directed the pilot.

Michael Wright, senior VP and head of TNT’s content-creation group, calls the series a “smart, highly charged legal drama.”

The series fits in with TNT’s focus on criminal justice with the current scripted original dramas “The Closer” and “Saving Grace” and the rerun hours “Law & Order,” “Without a Trace” and “Cold Case.”

Jane will play Judge Trudy Kessler. TheFutonCritic gives more details.

TNT has given the greenlight to RAISING THE BAR (working title), the latest series from the mastermind of legal dramas, Emmy-winner Steven Bochco. The series, which stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar (NYPD Blue), Gloria Reuben (ER) and Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle), follows the lives and cases of young lawyers who have been friends since law school, but who now work on opposing sides.

In RAISING THE BAR, Gosselaar stars as Jerry Kellerman, an idealistic public defender who will stop at nothing to help those who cannot help themselves. Reuben plays Rosalind Whitman, his passionate and protective boss. Teddy Sears (Ugly Betty) is Richard Patrick Woolsley, who foregoes a cushy job in his father’s firm to work for the public defender’s office. On the opposite side, Melissa Sagemiller (Sleeper Cell) plays Michelle Ernhardt, an attorney in the DA’s office with an unassailable morality and a burning desire to see justice done. She works for assistant DA Nick Balco, played by Currie Graham (Boston Legal), a bit of a lecher who, nevertheless, has a razor-sharp knowledge of the law. They are joined by J. August Richards (Conviction) as Marcus McGrath, who will stop at nothing to put criminals behind bars. The courtroom arena in which they face off belongs to Judge Trudy Kessler, played by Kaczmarek. She is imperious and known throughout legal circles to be a little crazy, treating the courtroom as her own private fiefdom. Working for her is law clerk Charlie Sagansky, played by Jonathan Scarfe (Into the West), a man with a wealth of secrets.

Source: Variety & TheFutonCritic | Thanks Rye | Discuss in FORUM

2 comments February 27th, 2008

Justin Berfield to Establish Film Commission in Cayman Islands

Justin Berfield and his production company, J2 Pictures, are working with the Cayman Islands Government and local investors to establish an official film commission in that country.

Former “Malcolm in the Middle” star Justin Berfield, and frequent visitor to Cayman, has confirmed his company’s discussions with the Cayman Islands Government and local investors to establish an official film commission to service all of the Cayman Islands, a press release said.

Recognizing that tourism and banking are the primary industries that the island benefits from, Berfield’s goal was to formally introduce a whole other industry to the government and people of Cayman.

“The island is so conducive to many different types of filming and can double as many different locations,” Berfield said. “There is so much local talent in Cayman in terms of not only on camera, but trade, electricians, sound engineers, and transportation. The Cayman Islands have done a very good job of servicing tourists. Through this, there is an infrastructure in Cayman that is conducive to television and film production. The infrastructure needs direction and a clear presence. My partners and I hope to work closely with the government and the creative community of Cayman to establish a commission that will truly benefit the country.” said Berfield

Cayman is no stranger to film production, having played host to several productions over the last few decades including Paramount Pictures The Firm in 1993 starring Tom Cruise, and most recently the independent feature film Haven in 2004 starring Orlando Bloom and directed by local Caymanian Frank E. Flowers.

It is the intention of Berfield and his proposed advisory board to act as a liaison between Hollywood and the Caymans and as a result bring productions to the island. Further, the proposed film commission would aide local business owners and residents with their existing filming and television commercial production.

Actor/producer Justin Berfield is a partner in highly regarded Los Angeles based boutique production company J2 Pictures. Berfield and his producing partner Jason Felts got their start in film when they served as producers and investors on the feature film Romance & Cigarettes, starring James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Mandy Moore and Christopher Walken. The film was written and directed by actor John Turturro.

Berfield and Felts themselves are currently in pre–production on ESCOBAR, a full–length motion picture that will chronicle the life of Pablo Escobar, the infamous Colombian drug cartel leader.

J2 also has a strong interest in comedy, and produced Blonde Ambition, a comedy feature starring Luke Wilson, Jessica Simpson and Rachel Leigh Cook.

Source: Caymanian Compass | Thanks Rye | Discuss in FORUM

6 comments February 27th, 2008