CLOKE AND DAGGER - EXCLUSIVE BTFB CAST INTERVIEW

To those who know me it is no secret that I am a particular admirer of the second season character, Lara Means and the actress who portrayed her, Kristen Cloke. During the course of the campaign I have spoke to her a number of times and she, like so many of the cast and crew, has given freely of their time to us and responded to all campaigners for the return of the franchise with warmth and encouragement. It gives me great pleasure to bring to your attention an interview we conducted with her recently and I am sure that you will all enjoy the result as much as I do.

BACKTOFRANKBLACK.COM: Kristen, thank you for taking the time to speak to us. May I begin by saying that one of the most notable features of the second season of Millennium is the often experimental and creative way in which the stories unfolded. Was it a conscious move to abandon more traditional techniques in order to explore the boundaries of serial television?

KRISTEN CLOKE: I know that Fox wanted to take the show into a different area in the second season. Glen, Jim and Darin are really creative story tellers. I think they approach stories in a unique way. That is who they are as writers and it is reflected in the show.

BTFB: Lara is a unique character in the sense that she is one of few televisual creations to not reveal very much of her history or back-story. Was this a conscious decision to maintain the character's enigmatic nature?

KC: It has been such a long time since I have even watched the show. Some of this is a little hard to remember... I believe Lara talked a little bit about her story in the Christmas episode?? I guess I felt that I knew what her story was, so I never really thought about whether it was talked about. Glen often creates a character for me in his scripts that serve as a story telling device for him. We have a lot of trust and he knows I really want to serve his purpose as a story teller.

BTFB: One, of many, fan preoccupations regarding Lara Means is the debate regarding her feelings for Frank. Fans maintain that there are moments that provide evidence to suggest the character developed romantic feelings for Frank during the course of their relationship. Was such a thing ever intended or is it merely a matter of perception?

KC: I don't think Frank and Lara had romantic feelings for each other, but I do think they shared something that was completely unique to only them. To really feel really understood by someone is very powerful. Lara was a mirror for Frank. I think her purpose was to help Frank and the audience better understand Frank's "gift."

BTFB: I believe, and ask to be corrected, that it was only ever intended that the character would feature in a single season. After spending a considerable amount of your time developing her was it hard to say goodbye when the season was completed?

KC: I have yet to work with Glen where I did not die or simply go insane never to be heard from again!! But I liked Lara Means a lot.

BTFB: The musical montage that depicts Lara's descent into psychosis is an intense and disturbing experience for the viewers. Is it as physically and emotionally draining to film scenes such as those as it appears to be?

KC: That montage was hard because there was no scene. There were just little cuts. Tom Wright knew exactly what he wanted to do. ( He always does.) He would show me the small piece we were going to shoot and I had to fill in all of the blanks to make it work emotionally for that cut. It was really a challenge and fairly painful. It was the kind of thing that took a lot of trust on everyone's part.

BTFB: A number of requests have been voiced to members of the campaign that fans would like to see Lara return should the movie ever be made. Would you be in interested in revisiting her again in a new format?

KC: I don't think Lara Means was thought of again after that season.

BTFB: We spoke to Lance Henriksen recently who discussed the comparative merits of television and movie roles. As you have experience of working in both formats do you have a preference and how difficult is it to do either when raising young children?

KC: I really loved acting. I did not care if it was in television or film. It is most important to me to feel helpful and useful as an actress and as a human. I really pour my whole self into acting when I do it, so I don't do it much anymore. My children need me now and I truly love being a mother to them.

BTFB: Thank you for taking the time to speak to us, Kristen and for all your support and well wishes. We wish you every continued success for the future.

Confirmation on Lance Henriksen's guest spot on FANGORIA RADIO TONIGHT 1/30 10-1am EST

Fangoria interview with LANCE HENRIKSEN regarding the campaign to bring back FRANK BLACK has been officially confirmed by FANGORIA for tonight between 10pm and 1am EST.

"Legendary genre veteran and Fango fave Lance Henriksen will fill us in on what he’s been up to, and tells us how to get involved in the campaign to bring his cancelled-too-soon show MILLENNIUM to the big screen!"

Fangoria Radio: 1/30 10pm-1am EST Sirius Channel 102/XM Channel 165. For more information on this service, click here.

LANCE HENRIKSEN SPEAKS EXCLUSIVELY TO FANGORIA RADIO

Dear Supporters,

In the last few days Frank Black himself, Lance Henriksen has been arranging to speak to the team at Fangoria Radio about all things Millennium, his support for our campaign and, no doubt, much more besides. Lance has informed us that, to the best of his knowledge, this conversation will be broadcast live tomorrow evening on Fangoria Radio.

Fangoria Radio is the first national horror-themed entertainment radio show. Hosted by renowned Twisted Sister frontman and horror film producer/actor Dee Snider, Fangoria Radio is a live, three-hour weekly radio show from the creators of the world’s most popular and longest running horror publication, Fangoria Magazine. The show will feature interviews with celebrities and key people in the horror world, listener call-ins, updates on horror movies, and even on-location visits to the biggest horror films in production. In addition, Fangoria Radio will highlight the latest horror gossip as well as reviews of movies, television shows and video games.

Be sure to listen to this exclusive interview on Sirius XM Stars satellite radio, Sirius channel 102/XM channel 155, from 10 p.m.-1 a.m. UST, with a repeat immediately after.

In addition, sign up to our Twitter service and we will inform you should we hear of any information to the contrary.

MILLENNIUM FANS GET CRAFTY

Never let it be said that Millennium fans are devoid of a sense of humor and an eye for the unusual. Imagine my delight when I received this quirky little project in my inbox. One of the campaign's supporters has immortalized Millennium icon, Lucy Butler, as a cubee, a craze sweeping the internet which sees characters from the world of entertainment reproduced as a three dimensional paper project. Not only that, but we were given permission to share this with you, after all, who doesn't want their very own Lucy Butler to love and cherish?

(click on either image, opens in a new window)

Needless to say I wasted no time in gathering my scissors and you can see the results of my efforts below. As we have said on many occasions we value all the communication we receive from fans and we encourage you to send us photographs of any Millennium projects, whatever they may be, that you have created. It all goes to show what a passionate, and at times, crazy bunch we all are.

By the way, once you've finished her I wouldn't leave the scissors lying around, just to be on the safe side.

THE TIME IS NEAR - A DATE FOR YOUR DIARY

Dear Supporters,

Some updates on some upcoming events!

LANCE HENRIKSEN INTERVIEW PART TWO:
We know you have been waiting patiently for the second installment of our exclusive interview with cult icon, Lance Henriksen, so please allow us to reassure you that that wait is gradually drawing to a close. We have been working hard to bring this to your attention and are in the process of finalizing the publication date and we thank you for the patience you have afforded us.

In addition, please make you sure you visit us often as we are working on a number of exclusives with Lance that we know you will find as exciting as we do.

We thank Lance for his continual support, energy and enthusiasm and for the regard he holds for both the series and its fans.

KRISTEN CLOKE INTERVIEW:
That said, we are pleased to announce that our latest exclusive interview will be online from Saturday 1st February. Second Season regular, Kristen Cloke has granted us an interview that we will are pleased to bring to your attention. I have spoken to Kristen a number of times since the campaign began and she, like so many of the cast and crew, have espoused such warmth and friendship to the franchise's fans that we extend our gratitude and warmth to her also.

In addition to the above we have a number of things to bring to your attention so continue to make BackToFrankBlack.com a regular stop on your daily internet visits. You can do so much to support the cast, crew and ourselves in our efforts to make this campaign a success so allow me to offer a reminder of how you can help BacktoFrankBlack.com bring Frank Black and Millennium back!

Send some flyers!

* Our website has added flyers to its campaign tactics - print out some ink friendly a4 or a5 flyers to send!

Write a letter!

* Use our letter template to help start a letter to FOX!

* To add spice to your letter, print out our polaroid template to send your picture in the campaign's name to FOX.

* We even have stationary for you to use and a simple letter template to start with!

* And of course, the best address to send stuff to:

MICHAEL BROIDY
20th Century Fox 10201
W. Pico Blvd. Bldg. 88,
Room 344
Los Angeles,
CA 90035
USA

KIM MANNERS

Dear friends,

On behalf of myself and all the team at BackToFrankBlack.com may I express our profound sadness upon learning of the passing of Kim Manners. All of us here have a shared love of the X-Files and admire the considerable talent he brought to that and many other acclaimed productions. It is clear he had so much talent still to give but his work will be enjoyed by us and others for a long time to come. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this most trying of times.

'THE B-MOVIE CAST' TEAM SUPPORT OUR CAMPAIGN!

From the warm response we have received to our efforts it seems that a great many aficionados of Millennium come from the same 'Horror' appreciative gene pool. One such response comes from the team at the popular, and very enjoyable, 'The B-Movie Cast'. 'The B-Movie Cast' is a website, podcast and forum devoted all things B-movie and cult move related.

If you pay them a visit you will have the opportunity to enjoy discussion about B-Movies, Cult Movies, Art house, Independent, Drive-In, Horror, Biker Euro Trash, DVD, Magazines, Music, Tradeshows, Expos, Italian thrillers, Exploitation, Vintage TV, Pop Culture and more besides.

The team have very kindly promoted us in the latest edition of their podcast, Episode 44, and we urge you to check it out, it is a very enjoyable listen. To visit the site, download the podcast or to show your support for their championing of us, click here!

DRESSED TO KILL - BEHIND THE SCENES WITH THE COSTUME DEPARTMENT

As fans of Millennium we are always searching for information about the show that we previously didn't know. During one such search we happened up the designs of Thyrza Segal, a designer who worked with Diane Widas, providing assistance and her considerable talents to the Costume Department on the three season's of the show. We asked Thyrza's permission to share her designs with you and if she would answer a few questions in the process. We are sure you will agree it's always nice to take a look behind the scenes and meet the people who made 'Millennium' the show it was.

BACKTOFRANKBLACK.COM: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us and for allowing us to share your designs with our supporters. Could I ask what guidelines were you given regarding the clothing choices for 'Millennium'? Did the producers have an idea for how they wanted the characters to look? How much creative license was offered to you in designing the costumes?

THYRZA SEGAL: I am not sure, I was not on set or in the dressing room. I just altered the clothes but usually the designer gives the actor several choices that they pick from the day before they shoot if the actor is a guest or "day player."

BTFB: How much input, if any, do the actors themselves have into the look of their characters? For instance, did Lance Henriksen, or others, ever wear any of their own clothing?

TS: Not on 'Millennium' as I recall but Lance wore his own hat on a movie I designed unbeknown to me and it caused major problems because we did not have multiples of it. They are not supposed to wear their own clothing but sometimes it happens.

BTFB: A lot of the clothing in 'Millennium' was off-the-rack items. How much of the clothing was custom made? Were pieces often altered, dyed or otherwise tailored to fit the individual actor or to achieve the desired look?

TS: We made most of Emma's coats and numerous other pieces that were too hard to locate in stores. The amount of alteration on that show was major. It employed three people full time which is quite high for a tv show.

BTFB: Despite being a decade old now there is nothing particularly dating about the costumes that were selected. Is it a conscious decision when working on a series to try and avoid current trends that may date the show later?

TS: Yes. It is common to try to keep things "N.D." (non-descript) so that nothing stands out to take attention away from the story or actor.

BTFB: On a weekly television show, how do time restraints, location changes and budget affect the choices the costume department makes? Working in cold, wet conditions in Canada, how did the weather affect the costuming?

TS: During the winter, in the rain, up in the forest, the actors need extensive underwear to keep them warm and dry over long shooting days and the underwear has to be invisible from the outside. We made polar fleece long johns and tops in a nude colour . Also it is common to have goretex nude long underwear for dryness to go on even over the top of the polar flleece. The time constraints are also major. A day player will not get fitted until the day before they play so we were often up all night sewing and altering garments which we would have to drive to set at 5 am.

BTFB: I noticed you have worked on another genre franchise, namely, 'Stargate: Atlantis'. Is it creatively more engaging to work on a show where the task of designing costumes is not so dependent on the mundane and the real.

TS: Yes. I also worked on Stargate SG1 building costumes. I very much enjoyed my time on Atlantis and SG1. The costumers mostly came from theatre like me and were all very skilled and it was a pleasure to work there, Christina McQuarrie was also a very good designer and I learned a lot from her.

BTFB: As your job is very creative do you enjoy creative pursuits in your time between projects?

TS: I am doing my own art now from my studio at home. I have been making lamps and terrariums and making costumes for my friends' children for Halloween. I have also done some costume sketches for other designers - you can see pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/thyrza

BTFB: In your career as a costume designer, what film or television project are you most proud of? What can we expect to see from you in the future?

TS: The show I was most proud of was a Midsummer Night's Dream which was a theatrical production at Red Deer College. You can see some of the pictures of the costumes on my website www.thyrza.ca but I also did the set design. I am going to put together a master website with all of my stuff on it sometime soon too (within the year anyway). I do not think I will necessarily return to costuming but progress to the next phase of my design career - Industrial Design.

BTFB: On behalf of all of us at BackToFrankBlack.com, thank you for taking the time to talk to us and allowing us to use your Millennium design sketches on our blog.