The best POI SDCC 2015 panel live-blog - by Marisa Roffman
http://www.givememyremote.com/remote/2015/07/11/person-of-interest-at-comic-con-live-blog-2/
PERSON OF INTEREST is back at Comic-Con. Follow along for live updates from its 2015 panel.
5:22 PM: We just saw an absolutely incredible sizzle reel, showcasing the entire run of the show so far…and a haunting tease about where the show could go.
5:24 PM: “The coolest thing about the trailer is we didn’t have anything to do with it…the show belongs to you guys as much as us,” creator Jonah Nolan says of the fan-made trailer. The very end — which is a tease for what’s to come — is what they added to us.
5:25 PM: “Losing Carter, and really discovering her too late – at this point, it’s survival,” Jim Caviezel says of Reese’s season 4. He says season 5 will be quality over quantity. Right now, it’s all about survival. “Team Machine has to stick together.”
5:28 PM: “We’re going to make 13 kickass episodes, and drop the microphone,” Nolan says. He notes they don’t know if it’s the end, “but we’re very proud of the show…if it’s the last season, no one is going to be disappointed with the story we tell.”
5:30 PM: “It’s pretty clear Harold Finch is going to have to figure out a way to constitute the Machine…and how to figure out how to not repeat the mistakes of before,” POI showrunner Greg Plageman says.
5:31 PM: “I thought it was interesting he resisted personifying for so long…[and in that moment] he kind of behaved as if it was his child talking to him,” Michael Emerson says of the beautiful Machine goodbye. As he seeks to rebuild it, he’ll have to figure what he needs to do to it — and whether Root’s wishes will impact the ultimate results.
5:33 PM: “He’s been getting his butt kicked since episode one, season 1,” Kevin Chapman says of Fusco. He says Fusco is going to start asking some questions this season.
5:35 PM: “Denise The’s contract allows her to kill off a cast member every season,” Nolan jokes, of “If-Then-Else” when so many people died in that hour. Caviezel points to his scenes with Taraji P. Henson as his favorite hour of the season. “these guys are extra “The tragic part of this is this is a gal he could have truly loved,” he says. “The sad part is the heart-head didn’t hook up until it was too late. It just never felt completed.” He notes he really misses Henson and Carter, and he teared up while watching it.
5:40 PM: “We would do scenes four takes in a row,” Amy Acker says of shooting “If-Then-Else.” She joke they got confused who was alive during what takes. “When Shaw kissed me and then was shot, I don’t think I realized at that point it was such a turning point for my character,” Acker says. She didn’t realize it would allow them to go so far with her character, and that it solidified the feelings Root had for Shaw were more than just fun flirtation. Will Shaw return? “We have not seen the last of Shaw,” The teases.
5:41 PM: “It’s a better life to be on the [good] side of the street,” Chapman says of Fusco doing so much without question. But that may change.
5:44 PM: On rebuilding the Machine: “Not on the same page,” Emerson says. “Haven’t you learned to listen to me by now?” Acker jokes. “People who keep saving your life, you tend to warm to them,” Emerson says. But he notes that Root’s mindset has always been different — but will she get her way? “I think I might have to tie him up again,” Acker jokes. “He keeps trying to keep those things out of his mind,” Emerson retorts. The kidnapping, the torturing, the cutting with razor blades.”
5:45 PM: What does Reese need the most in his life? “I think he needs hope; I think he’s in bad shape,” Caviezel says. They need to find Samaritan and “hit [it] in its Achilles heel.” He thinks Carter became “the genesis for the start of something different.”
5:48 PM: “Picking the song is often more fun than writing [scenes],” Nolan says of the great music on the show. (And he applauds their musical supervisor as well.) “The one tell Jonah and I have with a song is if we have goosebumps — if you get a chill, it’s in,” Plageman says.
5:52 PM: When did they decide to have Acker be a full member of the how? “We worked with Amy first in the first season finale, and we all had such a great time working with her,” Nolan says. He says his wife suggested Acker for the role, and they “haven’t looked back.”
5:55 PM: “We’re hoping to bring back as many as possible,” Nolan says of the guest cast. Plageman points out they killed off so many of their recurring players, and The jokingly interjects that Plageman was the one who wrote that script.
5:58 PM: “I think it’s really great to work on this show because the casting is smart,” Emerson says. He notes it makes it more fun for them to go to work. “We’re basically a group of nerds, just like you,” Caviezel says.
6:00 PM: “He might find a strategic use for a firearm,” Emerson says of whether Finch will use a gun. “Not to bring down another human, but to make things happen.”
6:01 PM: “I don’t write the show, you know,” Caviezel says when a fan asks about Reese and Iris. He throws it to Nolan, who says, “We know, but we’re not going to tell you.” “I hope so, because I find that actress so attractive,” Emerson says when asked whether Finch will reunite with his true love, Grace. (AKA Emerson’s real-life wife.)
6:03 PM: “Sure he would,” Emerson says of whether Finch would save LOST’s Ben Linus if his number came up. “No one deserves to have their life ended by violence.”
6:06 PM: “I quote Taraji: ‘I’m Jesus, and this is my last supper,'” Caviezel says when a fan says the show is all about him. (She says she sees Batman parallels, too.)
6:08 PM: What will Root say to Shaw when they reunite? “I think there was an interesting point where Root had to make a decision about the Machine or Shaw, in a sense…I imagine that will haunt her and become a priority this season,” Acker says. She notes they need to go get her.
6:10 PM: When a fan says Caviezel might be slowing down, and he cracks the fan could be a stuntman. Acker says she lives in the same building as him, and he’s always in the gym and it makes her feel guilt.
6:12 PM: “The greatest trick you can pull off…is duality and the complexity of the characters,” Plageman says. He points to their talented actors, and the writers’ “ability to want to surprise.”
6:14 PM: And we’re ending the panel with a first look at Nolan’s new show WESTWORLD.
