Chelsea: Welcome back everyone for
another episode of Chatting With Chelsea. I’m your host, Chelsea Graham. You
guys have no idea how excited I am about today’s guests…well if you watch my
show regularly, all you all should be, then I guess you do know. I’ve been
talking about this for weeks, how another one of my favorite shows was ending.
I mean at the rate shows are dropping off, I won’t have anything left to
entertain me, or guests to interview. But I’m rambling. Anyway, like I said I’m
excited because today we have none other than the cast from the hit drama
series Kiss of A Vampire!
So please
give a huge round of applause for the woman you all know and love as Amari
Smith, Vanessa Hale! **applauding**
The man we all loved to hate to love in his role as Mulo Drakul, Thomas Palmer!
**applauding** Mr. Licensed to impregnate,
seriously his character knew how to make some babies! The one, the only Lamar
Harrison! **applauding** Last, but
certainly not least, the mastermind behind it all, Ms. Jazen Self!
Chelsea: Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen.
Thank you so much for making time to come on my show and Jazen, thank you for
coming back.
Jazen: Thank you for having me again.
Vanessa: I’m happy to be here.
Thomas: It’s my pleasure.
Lamar: Been looking forward to it.
Chelsea: Okay, well let’s get right
into things shall we? Jazen, we wouldn’t be here if not for you, so we’ll start
with you. I love the spin you have with your story. How did you think up the
"Cursed love" angle for Kiss?
Jazen:
Is that what this was? *laughing* seriously I
didn’t think things through when I first started this script and the plot
changed so many times that I really questioned who was in charge, me or the
characters. Turns out they were. Honestly going in all I knew was I wanted to
have a reason why Amari had to have the babies and things all morphed from
there. Characters changed, grew, and somehow it all worked out into the show
you got to enjoy.
Chelsea: It all came together so seamlessly, you would never know. But that does bring me to my next question along the same lines. How far off the mark did you land from your original ideas for the story?
Jazen: Mark? What mark? I’m so far off I don’t think I could
find it again ever! It was supposed to be short, quick, and simple. Amari was
supposed to have a hundred babies.
Vanessa: Thank
you for changing that.
Jazen: You’re welcome. But yeah, what everyone got as the final
product was not what I had intended when I first started this project.
Chelsea: I for one am not complaining
about the final product. Vanessa, I’m going to pop over to you. Taking on the
role to be a woman that had one hundred babies is a little different.
Considering your character’s role and personality before this life was forced
on her, how many children would she have had if the choice had been completely
up to her?
Vanessa: Um, single digits for sure. But we’ll go with somewhere
between two and four. She and Marcus had a whole life planned before and
children were in her that plan. Although, with the way Marcus seemed to produce
multiples, who knows, she could have ended up with just as many thanks his
super sperm.
Lamar: I aim to please. Although, as much as I like the idea of
having super sperm, I wasn’t the only one to give Amari multiples.
Thomas: This is true. So the only one to blame is really your
rabbit like eggs. They just loved to multiply.
Vanessa: Hey…why are you two ganging up on me? Blame the writer!
Yeah, that’s it, over eager Jaz over there and her lofty goals.
Jazen: **laughing** Hey, it seemed like a good idea at the
time.
Chelsea: Okay, okay. Let’s change
topics before things really get out of hand. Since we are talking about Amari’s
pregnancies, Thomas this one is for you? Did your character ever think about
having more children with Amari after the loss of the twins? If they could have
the opportunity again that is.
Thomas: Oh absolutely. Mulo lived for years never having any
children until Aric. He lived for years without being in love until Amari,
nothing would have made him happier than to have more children with the woman
he loved. He didn’t show it, not really, but he took the loss of the twins very
hard. It was probably one of the most trying and emotional times he’d ever
experienced and he totally screwed it up. Amari needed him more then than ever
and he was a total asshole. That
could have been a turning point for them and he just f’ed it up royally.
Chelsea: That scene after she lost the
babies and you’d taken her home was the first time I cried. It was just so much
going on and it was the first time, Mulo admitted he loved Amari. I bawled like
a baby. Very emotional stuff there Ms. Creator.
Jazen: I do what I can.
Chelsea: Another question on kids for
you Thomas. Did your character want Aric to be the kind of man Mulo was or was
he proud of the man became despite him?
Thomas: We touched on this some during the show. Mulo is fully
aware that Aric is the man he is because of Amari mostly, I say mostly because
he would like to think he had a little bit to do with how Aric turned out, but
he’s very proud of the man Aric became. Mulo knows his faults, he knows he’s a
bastard, and he wouldn’t want that for his son.
Chelsea: One more on this topic before
moving over to hear from Lamar. Did your character even want a family of his
own?
Thomas: Of course. Mulo was a bastard, but he also was an
undercover family man. He did things to help out Amari’s children, all of them,
because he genuinely wanted to. He liked being around her and them. If any of
them ever needed him, he’d help, no questions asked.
Chelsea: Seeing you with the kids was always an
interesting view into your character. A side people didn’t expect.
Thomas: It’s good to keep people on their toes.
Chelsea: You certainly did that. Okay Lamar
your turn. If he could turn back the
clock well before he and Amari started dating, knowing then what he knows now,
would Marcus still pursue Amari?
Lamra: Unequivocally
yes.
Chelsea: Really? After everything she
put you through?
Lamar: Of
course. It wasn’t like his life was all bad with Amari. They had plenty of good
times together, more good than bad really. The bad just took the forefront
especially in the later episodes; it was all that they had. I’m not going to
lie, it was tough, but without pursuing Amari, he wouldn’t have his children.
All thirteen of them. Like Mulo’s character, Marcus saw all of her kids as his
regardless of biology. Was the journey bumpy? You bet your ass it was, but for
him, it was well worth it.
Chelsea: I can understand that. Love is
love right? It has no real rhyme or reason. While on the topic of love, Vanessa
your character claimed to love both men, but there is no way that love is
equal. In your heart of hearts, who did she love more, Mulo or Marcus?
Vanessa: Well, I guess that answer is obvious now with how the
show ended. Amari did love both men in very different ways. Mulo was both her
tormentor and savior at times if that makes sense. Sometimes at the same time.
I don’t want to say it was a stolkhomish thing because it wasn’t. At first she
was in love with the idea of him because of who he was, but then she fell in
love with the man behind the image. Over the course of their time together,
things morphed and changed constantly with them. No matter the state of their
relationship at any given time, he was always a constant in her life. If she
needed him, he was there. She liked and needed the comfort and security in
knowing he would always be there.
Marcus…well he was everything Mulo wasn’t. He loved her,
he accepted her and that made her feel better about who she was. That someone
took value in her, as a person, that was a big deal considering the state of
her life. He was just good to her, always, well at least in the best of times.
Marcus represented happiness. He represented everything she’d ever wanted in
her life, and after everything she put him through he still loved her. That
right there was the biggest difference. When Amari didn’t feel she was
deserving of his love, Marcus gave it anyway. Even in their worst of times, he
still loved her. Amari grew, matured, and realized the importance of the
difference that she had for both men which in turn made one stand out more than
the other.
Thomas: **playfully shoves** Whoa Nessie, look at you getting
all philosophical and shit. Who knew?
Vanessa: **shoves back** Like you said, gotta keep you on your
toes.
Chelsea: Alright you two. Hands to
yourself or I’ll separate you. Okay Thomas your chance for a deep answer. After
the countless unforgivable acts your character committed, do you really feel
that he was deserving of love?
Thomas: What? I have to follow up the answer she just gave? I
feel like you’re setting me up here Chelsea.
Chelsea: I would never.
Thomas: If you say so. Was Mulo deserving of love? Isn’t everyone
deserving of love? Yes my character was horrible at times to Amari, and he
finally got around to recognizing that, and apologizing for it. He changed for
her, not because she asked him to, but because he knew she deserved better than
what he’d been giving her. So yeah, I completely think he was deserving.
Chelsea: Aww, I thought so too. Jazen,
we’ve hit on the relationship dynamic for the show. When the show started thing
were very carefree and simple, well as simple and carefree as the basic plot
allowed that is. Was it difficult writing/thinking up angles the deeper in you
got?
Jazen: Hell yeah it was. Like seriously, I think I enjoy making
things harder on myself. The whole love triangle thing that happened, not in
the plan! But it did and so I just had to go with it, it’s how I handled a lot
of the storylines.
Chelsea: The
love triangle, after a while the show became more about that and less about
Amari’s mission to have the hundred babies. We all know who she picked, but who
did you want Amari to ultimately end up with?
Jazen: **looks at both Mulo and Marcus** guys don’t kill me,
but…both.
Thomas: He would have been okay with that. **Gives wink**
Jazen: I’m sure he would have. I really had a soft spot in my
heart for both guys which showed in the writing. I loved them both which made
it harder to decide, poor Amari got the heat from my indecision. **looks at
Vanessa** Sorry about that.
Vanessa: You’re forgiven.
Jazen: I thought about doing a what if thing at one point on if
they had found a way to live in a polyamorous relationship, but I think that
would have been way too weird for everyone, including the kids so that will
stay in my head. Sorry fans.
Chelsea: OMG! That would have been
awesome. I for one would love for them to somehow work as a unit. Man…Amari
would have been one lucky woman.
Vanessa: What? That was an option? The life…one to fan me one to
feed me strawberries. Why wasn’t I told this information???
Jazen: um…next question please Chelsea.
Chelsea: Huh? Oh right sorry. Got lost
in my head on what that would have been like to be in Amari’s position and have
both of them for myself. My fantasy come true! Whew **fans self** Let’s move on
to a safer question. What type of plot and setting were you gonna have before?
There is so much drama and suspense in this story. I can't possibly see this as
being a simple or regular baby challenge.
Jazen: **hysterical
laughing** Well sure I could have done
simple, although some people who shall remain nameless say I’m delusional when
I say that. But before I had planned on it being a less complicated story. I
needed a reason for her to have the babies, so Marisol being that threat to
keep things going was always going to be there, but Amari was going to keep
struggling through life, having babies until the goal was met. Clearly that
didn’t happen, but yeah, that’s really as far as I got on the plot. Amari equals
a hundred babies.
Chelsea: At what point did you realize
this hundred Baby Challenge was going to be too much work?
Jazen: It was a cold winter night. I was walking in snow, knee
deep…no wait, wrong thing. Um, can I pinpoint the exact moment, probably not. When
I set out to let Amari and the kids have lives outside of her just popping out
babies. I wanted the kids to be more than just a number and that was probably
where things really started to change in terms of tone of story and work load
involved.
Chelsea: Was it hard to think up the
different storylines and tie them all together so well?
Jazen: Yes! Yes it was. Especially since I don’t preplan out
things. I always had to be mindful and try, let me stress the TRY there, and
remember what I had before to make sure something didn’t come from left field.
The concept of this story was strange enough without me adding to it with crazy
or unnecessary aspects. I would try to leave myself a loophole with things,
just in case, so crap didn’t blow up in my face and I was painted into a corner
there was no chance in hell I could get out of.
Chelsea: Well things came together flawlessly.
No one would have ever known this wasn’t your master plan from the beginning.
Jazen: Well
thank you.
Chelsea: Jazen brought up Marisol, so
let’s talk about her for a moment. Thomas,
your character claimed to love Amari, and even in its crudest sense I'm
sure he must know what the word means. If this is the case, why did it take him
so long to stop Marisol's scheme against "the woman you loved?"
Thomas: Well, two reasons. One…if he’d stopped it too soon there would have been less story and we all would have been out of a job. You wouldn’t want me unemployed would you?
Chelsea: On no, of course not!
Thomas: That’s good to know. The other reason…well he had to
figure out how. He knew he couldn’t kill Marisol, but trying to find the right
way to get rid of her, and keep Amari and the children safe took some effort.
Chelsea: Did your character ever wish
that he had told Amari about Marisol's plan from the very beginning and helped
Amari instead of using her?
Thomas: Yes and no. No because a lot of the times he and Amari
had together were due to Marisol’s plan so if he’d told her, they wouldn’t have
had that time. Yes because, let’s face it, her life was hell. He basically sat
back and watched her get knocked down over and over and did nothing to stop it
initially. Not his finest hour.
Chelsea: Vanessa, one for you. If Marisol had not been part of the
reason Mulo approached you, would you have made a life with him and had a
hundred babies?
Vanessa: Probably not. Not only was the hundred babies thing nuts.
No offense Jaz, you know I love you for giving me a job, but without Marisol’s
involvement it’s likely that Mulo and Amari’s paths would have never crossed.
Not only that, Marisol was the reason for the babies, so if by some chance she
and Mulo had met some other way, they would have had a normal amount of children
if any at all.
Chelsea: That makes sense. Well with
all this talk about Marisol, why don’t we hear from the villainess herself. Guys,
please join me in welcoming none other than Lorraine Nunez!
Chelsea: Thank you for joining us
today.
Lorraine: Thank you for having me.
Chelsea: So Lorraine were your ears
burning back there?
Lorraine: A little.
Chelsea: Well, let’s get your
perspective on your character. I understand how Amari's father hurt your
character, but couldn't she have found a way of getting revenge that didn't
involve destroying the life of his innocent daughter?
Lorraine: Could she have? Sure, but where’s the fun in that? Honestly though, in her head it made perfect sense. She was out to destroy the family he’d created and going after his children instead of him directly she thought would hurt him more.
Chelsea: Did your character ever really
come to care about any of Amari's children?
Lorraine: Yes actually. She grew very close with Bynni. She’d always
wanted a daughter and she and Bynni had more in common than Bynni probably
would want to admit. Is it strange to say that losing Bynni to her mother was
hard on ‘Marisol’? I mean yes, technically Bynni wasn’t hers to lose, but Marisol
helped Bynni through her change, she felt like a second mother to her in a way
so when she cut off contact ‘Marisol’ felt like she’d lost her child all over
again.
Chelsea: Vanessa back to you. Amari had
to toughen up and carve out happiness in the best way she could despite
Marisol's efforts to sabotage you. What do her think your life would have been
like had she never met Mulo?
Vanessa: A hell of a lot less complicated! Seriously, Mulo’s face
should be beside the word complicated in the dictionary. Just when Amari would
think she knew what to expect from him, BAM, he up and changes things. It was
nuts. Without the whole crazy scheme, she would have had that normal life ya
know? Graduated school, gotten some sort of job in the art world, married
Marcus most likely and had a kid or two.
Chelsea: I agree with the complicated
thing. Mulo couldn’t get it together when you need it. Lamar I feel like I’ve
been neglecting you.
Lamar: I’m feeling that way too.
Chelsea: I can’t have my guests feeling
neglected. Did Marcus ever resent Amari for the way his life has turned out?
Lamar: Really?
Maybe I was happier being neglected. **laughs** To answer you though, I would
have to say no. He resented how she behaved at times, and the choices she made
that made a hard situation harder, but he never resented her directly. I know
what you’re thinking, how could he resent her choices, but not her? Easy. Amari
was reactionary. She was put in a situation that was out of her control for a
long time and she would simply react to what happened instead of finding ways
to take control. Because of that, she would make poor choices at time when
faced with hard decisions, and those choices just led her and Marcus at time
farther down the rabbit hole.
Chelsea: Even with the knowledge that
his wife, Amari, had feelings for another man, why did he still think there is
a chance to make things work?
Lamar: As
everyone saw, Marcus had an extremely hard time with the fact Amari had feeling
for another man, especially that guy over there. After all Mulo put her
through, Marcus couldn’t wrap his head around how she loved him and that made
him angry. The reason he still thought things would work out was because he
loved her and she loved him. He didn’t always want to acknowledge that fact,
especially in his worst moments, but that’s what kept him hanging on.
Chelsea: Marcus
ever consider divorcing Amari and just co-parenting?
Lamar: Yes.
During their separation, the legal one, he thought about it. They were already
living apart and had figured out a way to co-parent without it affecting the
babies. On a deeper note thought, Marcus thought Amari might need to be free of
him. They’d both hurt each other and Marcus was ashamed of the man he’d become
in relation to how he treated her. With so much that transpired between them,
he wondered if going their separate ways wasn’t best for both of them. In the
end he’s glad he didn’t.
Chelsea: We certainly saw the many
affects love can have on a person over the course of the show. It changed both
you and Mulo in very different ways which to me was a real insight to how deep
love can affect a person and alter who they are at times. Vanessa, this is for
you. When you saw how your feelings for Mulo affected your relationship with
Marcus, why didn't you let Mulo go before things got as bad as they did?
Vanessa: It’s not like you can just shut off feelings like that.
She loved Mulo, she didn’t do it because she wanted to or to hurt Marcus, she
just did. She truly believed because she didn’t act on her feelings and because
she chose to be with Marcus that it would be enough. Amari did everything she
could think of to prove to Marcus that she loved and wanted him despite her
feelings for Mulo.
Chelsea: I have a two part question for
you. First, while Marcus was missing, why did Amari and Mulo never explore a
relationship then? Secondly, Marcus was living what one would consider a dream
life, with his second chance, albeit unaware of his previous existence, do you
regret going after him and pulling him back into such a traumatic life?
Vanessa: Damn, who comes up with these things? Answering the
second part first; eh, yes and no I suppose. When she set out to find him, it
was for selfish reasons sure. She wanted her husband back, she wanted back the
life, the happy life that she was trying to have with him. It’s a normal human
reaction to try and get back what was stolen from you. At the time she didn’t
take into account what his life might have been without her in that moment. But
you have to remember they also have kids together. How could she be expected to
look her children in the eye, knowing their father was out there, and she did
nothing to find him? It’s a tough call either way.
As for the first part of your question; timing. Marcus
was missing and Amari strongly believed that Mulo had something to do with his disappearance
and naturally that was an issue for her. When he came back to help her with the
triplets, he was starting to change at that point and as strange as it sounds,
had he not grown a conscience where she was concerned and told her where Marcus
was, they probably would have explored things in time. It always came down to
timing with them. He was never ready to make that commitment when she was and
by the time Mulo figured things out, Marcus was in the picture. He was the king
of missed opportunities.
Thomas: Tell me about it!
Chelsea: Yeah, I would have to agree
there. So for you then Thomas, Why did your character continue pursuing Amari
seeing how hard she was trying to make a life with Marcus? I mean your
character felt for Amari is really love, then why didn't he leave her alone when
he saw she was happy?
Thomas: Short answer, he’s a bastard. In all honesty though, he
loved Amari even if he had a crap ass way of showing it. They never got their
chance, like Vanessa said, king of missed opportunities, and he wanted that.
Knowing that she did have feelings for him was the motivation he needed to try
and win her over to the dark side so to speak. Also he was also jealous. He wanted Amari and knowing she was
happy with someone that wasn’t him, well that didn’t sit well with him.
Chelsea: I can understand that, no one
wants to be on the losing end, but sadly someone always is. Lamar, was there
ever a time Marcus wished Amari hadn’t found him, and that he had not regained
his memory?
Lamar: Man,
I’m with Vanessa, who comes up with these questions? Why can’t I get something
easy like my favorite color? **laughs**
Chelsea: Hey, my viewers like getting
into the nitty-gritty. No fluff questions here.
Lamar:
Fair enough. I’d have to say sadly yes. At his lowest point, when he made the
decision to move out of the house after everything, for a brief moment he
wished he could have been spared the pain he was feeling. It sounds terrible
because he would have missed out on knowing his children and have the four they
had afterwards, but the truth isn’t always pretty.
Chelsea: The truth isn’t always pretty,
that’s for sure. Okay, since you asked, an easy one for you. Which lifestate
did your character prefer; human or vampire?
Lamar: Thanks.
Well considering he’d be dead if he were human, I’m gonna say vampire. It
certainly had its perks. **winks at Vanessa*
Chelsea: What was that?
Lamar: What
was what?
Chelsea: I’ll get back to that later.
Over to you Jazen, what character
did you find easiest to write?
Jazen: Hmmm…I’d have to say any of the kids. Their storylines
weren’t as detailed as their mother’s so they were always somewhat easier to
work with. Well other than Ceula’s storyline. Not sure why I gave her such a
hard one.
Chelsea: Speaking of the children, did
any of the 'children' surprise you with how they turned out looks wise?
Jazen: Yes. Aric being as dark as he is with his father being as
pale as he is was a huge surprise. On the flip side same could be said for
Ceula and Finley. Without knowing their parents, one wouldn’t think they were
mixed children based off their skin tone.
Chelsea: Were there any characters that
you were going to use originally but decided not to use or decided to suddenly
create and use?
Jazen: Well, this goes back to my lack of planning for this
story. The only main characters I knew I would have were Amari, Mulo, and
Marisol. Since this was supposed to be a 100 baby challenge I knew I’d have
plenty of extras brought in to act in the role of baby daddies. Like the other fathers before him, Marcus’
role was supposed to be only temporary. Adrian, you know Kathy’s new man, he
was a last minute addition. I just thought she needed to have some happiness
after everything as well.
Chelsea: Who was your favorite
character/s to work with through-out the story?
Jazen: Um…that’s a tough one. I love all of my characters so
working on each of their parts brought me joy. Most of the story was about
Amari, so I spent a lot of time with her character. It’s going to sound bad,
but I liked my time with Marisol, although it wasn’t often. She just didn’t
give a damn and there’s something freeing about characters like that which are
fun to work with.
Lorraine: Aww, sometimes it pays to be bad.
Jazen: Yes it does.
Chelsea: Speaking of being bad.
Lorrain, did your character ever feel any guilt for what you did to Amari or
her family?
Lorraine: Only when it affected her negatively, like the situation with
Bynni. It started out as a way to get back at George, but when the plan
backfired on her, and she lost another man to someone else, well the revenge
goal changed. Marisol loved Mulo, but he didn’t want her any more than George
did. When something better came along, she was tossed aside. She took that
personally and her reason for
revenge shifted to her wanting to hurt Amari and Mulo at any cost.
Chelsea: Did your character feel any
guilt for using Mulo to help you in your plan for Amari?
Lorraine: Only in the fact that she lost him to Amari because of it.
Chelsea: So when it boils down to it,
Marisol only wanted to be loved.
Lorraine: Yes, sad isn’t it. Nobody wanted her.
Jazen: Aww, now you’re making me feel bad.
Chelsea: Yeah, me too since I really
didn’t like Marisol’s character.
Lorraine: The story of my life.
Chelsea: Thomas, knowing how Marisol
felt about you, if it wasn't for Amari, would you have eventually killed
Marisol yourself? I only ask because you didn't seem happy with her, even at
the start of the series.
Thomas: Again Chelsea? I really am starting to think you are
setting me up. Poor Lorraine just talked about no one liking her and you come
at me with would I have killed her?
Chelsea: I swear I’m not. **laughs** It
just felt like a good segway into the next question.
Thomas: It wasn’t **laughs**I’m watching you from now on Ms.
Graham. Anyway, probably not.
Marisol was a bitch, but he really didn’t have a lot to do with her at times.
She’d come around when she was bored or in need of a great shagging. He could
deal with her for the most part, but she wasn’t his favorite person. She was
however his maker which presented its own sets of challenges.
Chelsea: I promise to be on my best
behavior. Sorta. Does your character ever
wish he could have helped raise Aric and be there for him a bit more? Cause I
think he kinda hates you.
Thomas: This is your best behavior? I think you’re angling to get
put over my knee. **laughter**
Chelsea: Oh, is that a real option
because I can keep being bad if that’s the case.
Thomas: It’s become a real option now.
Chelsea: Dreams do come true!
Thomas: You did say something about fantasies earlier…
Lamar: Hey…what is this turning into?
Thomas: You got the girl; I’m all alone over here.
Lamar: Very true. **smiles at Vanessa** Carry on.
Thomas: I guess I should at least answer your question. I don’t
think Aric hated Mulo. They weren’t always close, but they had their moments.
But to answer the question, yes. Mulo doesn’t have many regrets in his life,
but not being there more for his only child when he was younger was one of
them. I think it’s one of the driving reasons he tried to be around more for
Amari’s other children, to fill that role as father and to try and get back in
a way what he missed out on.
Chelsea: I have to finish up this show, but we’ll get back to the knee thing. **Thomas blows kiss** Okay…moving on, while I still can. Vanessa, I've always been curious - Amari, do you still listen to Mulo's music after all you've been through?
Vanessa: Yeah, she still had some of his older music she’d listen
to. He didn’t make as much music later because he switch roles and did more
behind the scenes things, but still she loves his music. It was the first
connection she had with him.
Chelsea: If things hadn’t happened the
way they did, with the medical issues, would Amari have wanted more children?
Vanessa: I don’t think so. Over the course of the series her
pregnancies came with higher risks. At some point she had to choose and she had
more than enough kids to fill her heart. And since the grandbabies were
starting she was in a good place to be done having children of her own.
Chelsea: Which of Amari’s children do
you feel is the most like her?
Vanessa: Oh, that’s a tough one. Maybe Ceula. Sadly they both were
known for not always making the best decisions, but more than that, we both
always seemed to be looking for acceptance and love.
Chelsea: On the topic of bad decisions.
What decision do you think Amari regrets the most?
Vanessa: Damn…good one. Amari made a shit ton of bad choices. If I
had to pick one, it would be walking out after that singing telegram. With her
having been gone and making no contact with him after her change, which would
probably rank as number two on her list of fuck ups. Knowing that the night
before Marcus was so upset that he went out and got wasted, walking out and
going to Mulo was that final nail in the coffin. Marcus had said he understood
Mulo needed to help when it came to getting Ceula back, but he still wasn’t
happy with it. He never knew what the plan was, he wasn’t involved in any of
the decision making, he was once again left on the sidelines. I think Lamar
would agree here, that her walking out in a way solidified Marcus’ belief that
he would always be second best in
her life and that was the catalyst to him deciding to just give up on her and
them.
Chelsea: That moment did seem to be the
last straw for Marcus. Lamar after everything they went through, do you think
Marcus will ever completely trust Amari again?
Lamar: He
has too. For their relationship to work, he has to, plain and simple. When they
made the decision to stay married and start over, that’s exactly what they did.
Married but dating as you saw in the final episode. They both had changed so
much that they needed to get to know each other again and that’s what they did.
Marriage counselling helped too, but it was mostly the boatload of make-up sex
they had. You remember those perks I talked about when being a vampire…stamina
baby! Although I’m pretty damn sure that human me does just fine. I’ve never
gotten any complaints. **looks at Vanessa**
Vanessa: Oh my God Lamar! You did not just say that!
Lamar: What?
Chelsea said her viewers liked to get the real deal, I’m just giving them what
they want.
Vanessa: **laughing** Do you see what I had to work with? On set
with horny teenage boys disguised as grown men.
Thomas and Lamar: You loved it!
Vanessa: Yeah, I kinda did. And you’re right, no complaints here.
**smiles at Lamar**
Chelsea: Okay you two, I have a few
more questions for Jazen, but I’m coming back to these looks you keep giving. Which child do you like the most?
Which child do you dislike the most?
Jazen: I don’t dislike any of the kids. As for my favorite, well
has to say it would be Aric. He just turned out to be a great kid, not to say
the others aren’t as well, but with the dynamic with his parents he was always
just the good son. So lax and even tempered, most of the time, that it was hard
not to love him.
Chelsea: How do you make each
character so unique and interesting to the point that they seem real to us?
Jazen: Huh, well I guess the easy answer is by keeping it
simple. I’m really a basic person, I know that probably sounds strange but it’s
true. I don’t ever try to do too much if that makes sense. I’m overly logical
at times and it will come through in situations and things as I write
characters. Are they fictional? Yes, but that doesn’t mean they can’t react or relate
to real world at times. It’s finding that balance. I think things through and
based on the personalities I’ve molded for them is how I try to base their
actions and reactions to things. I don’t set out to base them off any one in
particular, but at the same time, as you are watching them, in the back of your
mind I hope you go ‘hey, I know someone kinda like that’. I never want them to be too anything. Not too
perfect, not too bad, not too…fill in the blank there. I aim for a little bit
of everything to make them a whole.
Chelsea: Did you know that you are a
great writer and an awesome person?
Jazen: aww really? Thanks. I truly appreciate that! The support
and interaction I’ve had with the fans of this drama over the course of the
last 4 years have been truly amazing. It just makes me feel good and even when
I didn’t know where things were going, I knew I had to keep pushing through to
bring closure to the story. There were plenty of times where I thought it was
stupid or drawn out, but then an episode would come out, and people would leave
comments and I could see that they enjoyed it and it would make it all better.
I’ve had a blast and I’m sad to see it ending.
Chelsea: Speaking of ending, a little
birdie told me what we got wasn’t your original plan. Is that true?
Jazen: **nervously laughs** well, see about that…I had a hard,
super hard time deciding between the guys. So…at one point I considered not
choosing, as in leaving it as one sort of crazy cliffhanger where Amari would
go to answer the door, but we never saw who was on the other side. However, a
close friend of mine told me she’d personally organize an angry mob to come
after me so I nixed that idea.
Chelsea: Thank goodness for that or I’d
be joining that angry mob! So, Vanessa, Lamar, what’s going on here? And don’t
try to deny it, we have all seen the looks you two have been exchanging.
Lamar: She’s a great woman I’ve had the pleasure of working
with for four years and dating for the last two.
Chelsea: What!!! How did you two manage to keep that secret for so long?
Vanessa: I like my private life private. Plus we didn’t want people thinking our personal relationship had any bearing on the outcome of the series. It didn’t, but we wanted to be careful all the same.
Chelsea: That’s great, you do make a
cute couple. Alright one final question for all of you. if you could tell your past
self, like at the beginning of this series for example, one piece of advice for
the future, what would it be? Let’s go down the line starting with Lamar.
Lamar: Be less of an asshole. He was good for the most part,
but when his ego was bruised he acted like a dick at times which didn’t help
the situation.
Vanessa: Guess it’s me next. Um…get your priorities straight.
Talk to your husband and don’t take him for granted like she did. It almost
cost her, her happiness.
Thomas: Seize the day. There were plenty of times when Mulo
could have done what Amari needed, been the man she wanted him to be and he
could have had the girl. Don’t miss those opportunities.
Lorraine: Well, shit because my advice would mean there wasn’t going
to be a series to begin with. **laughs** It would either be just kill both
sisters and call it done. By going after revenge like she did, Marisol lost everything
including her life.
Chelsea: Those are some words of wisdom
from you all. Alright, thank you all for tuning in to another episode of
Chatting With Chelsea. I’m your host Chelsea Graham, until next time. **looks
at Thomas** you mentioned something about a spanking.
.
I'm glad the questions were answered this way. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy knowing they are all great friends in "real life" despite everything that happens in the "show." Marcus/Lamar has a good point about easier question. We had so many hard, emotional questions. I'm actually kind of curious what their favorite colors are. Is that how you based their speech colors? Is Lamar's favorite color blue?
ReplyDeleteI would have definitely joined that angry mob! Front and center, demanding to know who was chosen!! And Mulo is right. He ended up kinda alone at the end. Were there any other relations that started during the show?
Thanks for answering all of our questions! I like their "real" names. It fits them.
yay!! Happy to know you enjoyed this format. You guys asked some tough questions. It really had them (me) thinking. LOL Um sure we can go with that on the favorite color thing. I'm sure it sounds better than me needing an easy way to see the answers because there were a lot and I wanted to make sure I had a good rotation of the characters. Jazen's color though is her (my) favorite ;)
DeleteYeah, I'm sure I would have had to go into witness protection if I'd left that ending. It just was so hard for me to choose for a while, but in the end, the guy that fit her best is who she ended up with. I tried to explain that in her answer about who she loved more. Well if you want to know the craziness that Story Progression did in game it's as followed:
Mulo/Florence
Edson/Jenelle
George/random townie
Kathy/Adrian (and they have a baby on the way LOL)
Other babies. Aric and Nina did actually have another baby in game. A girl named Renae. Trey and Ceula had a son named Robbie. Bynni and TK had a boy I named Van (the game name was terrible!!!) That's really all I can remember on the pop ups as I was doing shots.
Thank you for taking the time to read through it all. It was a lot, you guys were really curious. :) Glad you liked the names.
Oh I really loved this idea of a talk show and how you set it up like a series that just ended. You really did a great job with the story and I have to say that this last update was the icing on the cake. :) This really gave some more insight on these wonderful characters that you created. It was nice to see Amari, Mulo, and Marcus along with yourself to reflect on the characters in the story. I was also glad that you also included Marisol who was a villain you can truly hate was also very important to the story. Great job I really enjoyed this last update.
ReplyDeletebtw I would have joined that angry mob too.
glad you liked it. :) Aww thank you! This story needed to end, but I'm still sad to see it finished. You guys all asked good questions and it's good to know you enjoyed getting the insight and answers that you wanted. I was surprised Marisol got questions, but she did. She sure looked less scary in the Q&A. She is human after all. LOL
DeleteI figured a few of you would have joined that mob, so I knew I had to find a solution to the triangle.
thanks again for your support