#walker set appreciation

[laf-outloud]

Link, Panel

I wish we had more of Jake on Walker! But I love hearing about his experience and the way the Walker set was run. Just imagine if more sets made such a simple change as the number of cameras.

[laf-outloud]

@vanderjames I’d like to thank all my fun, ridiculous friends who helped me pull this off @jaredpadalecki @genpadalecki @petekowalski @awfricke and honorable mention to @odetteannable ❤️

@thecwwalker (PS - Season 4 premieres April 3 y’all!)

OMG! This is so awesome! James is having a great time! Jared looks fantastic! And it appears, Gen is on set.

Also, absolutely love to hear James talk about Walker being a great set, and that it comes from the top! That's our boy!

[laf-outloud]

I'm realizing now how much pressure Jared had on spn and it really pisses me off that it seems he had more of it than he needed to. I now see Jensen didn't really pull his weight in a lot of areas. This led to a lot of his problems and now Jared is the one that was seen as having mental health problems while Jensen got to look like the more stable worker but I think Jensen just didn't do much. That's not really fair to Jared and I'm not suggesting that's the reason for some of his issues but you know that likely fed into it. Plus Jensen got to be more of a darling in execs minds because he always made Jared be the bad guy when HE was the one with the problem.

Jensen did say he'd let Jared take the brunt of the issues to the higher-ups because he was first on the call sheet. Of course, that kind of responsibility can help build character, and while it might have weighed on Jared and wasn't necessarily healthy for him, it did provide some impetus to create a much better working environment on Walker. And we can see with TW that Jensen's tendency to skate by, it didn't do him any favors when it came time for him to produce a show. So, while I feel for Jared's experience on SPN, I appreciate the life lessons he took from it.

[laf-outloud]

There's a difference between being a "boss" and being a "leader" in the business world. It might apply here. A boss gives you the assignment, then doesn't offer much support or feedback unless shit happens, sometimes not even then. A leader facilitates and makes sure things don't get to the boiling point and that good people feel valued. They protect human assets, while still turning a profit. JARED IS A LEADER.

Absolutely! Jared really understands what his role is as a leader. This is just an example:

He stays on set, he makes sure he's working with the showrunner to get things done, and has helped create one of the best sets in the industry. I think Mitch said it best in one of the convention panels when he talked about how Walker is a set where when the director yells cut, no one wants to leave because they're having such a great time!

[laf-outloud]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5GrZs9JakH/

Awww love this! So sweet! And I love how at the end he even talks about how great the set is - even visitors see it and feel it!

I just posted it! (Or am posting it... videos take forever on this site, lol!)

I love the video, all around! I love seeing James surprise Anna (her laugh is awesome!)

It's a great set from the top down! And we know our tall boy, Jared, has a lot to do with that. What a fun video!

[laf-outloud]

Let's say CW turns off the lights on all scripted tomorrow, what do we see as the next step? Yes, Jared is still young and is "owed" a year off that the others had. But if you had your pick, what's something you'd like to see him cast in that's also comfortable and will do no harm?

Interesting question... I'm afraid I'm a bit boring when considering new roles, but practically thinking, Jared works best on network television. I believe that's where his current talent lies. And since network television tends to air familiar tropes, I would go with a brilliant, but troubled scientist/leader who struggles to connect with humanity and works to overcome his internal demons/tragic past (with or without a partner). The setting is inconsequential, but I'd really just want to see him play someone incredibly smart and somewhat morally questionable.

But, if we're just talking next steps, I think Jared, with his CBS connections, is in a prime position to use the processes they've employed on the sets of Walker and WIndy and help streamline/improve set life for other productions while decreasing the budget and increasing revenue for the studios/networks. Therefore, I think the next step for Jared is likely as a full-time producer.

[laf-outloud]

It's interesting that Jared talked about losing his love for acting after spn... then finding it again with Walker. Tells you a lot about spn and how he was treated. Everyone always talks about how "great the spn set was" but I think it was great for people like Jensen who let (and publicly admits to it) Jared have to take on all the burdens of talking to tptb when there were issues etc. The weight of it all was on him (again, Jensen has admitted MULTIPLE times that when something was wrong he would try and rile up Jared to go talk to people while he sat back and reaped the benefits). Now the weight is still on him with Walker but he now has more power as an EP and also has a very supportive cast and crew, something I'm not sure he had at spn, at least not towards the end.

I think the problems at SPN were partly due to the weight on Jared's shoulders, but there were other reasons as well.

He talks about not being able to be a husband or a father and living apart from the ones who can support you most can really take a toll.

In addition, he mentioned having a voice as a producer, and later on his role as a producer in storylines, casting, etc. I think SPN really burned him out when he didn't have the ability to influence the storyline.

That last sentence is especially telling. Jared's mentioned before about his issues with the beginning of Season 8 and the Amelia storyline so it's no surprise that's the season he'd mention first. It must have been frustrating to have all this SPN knowledge and have writers who either didn't know, or more likely, didn't care.

I'll be really surprised if Jared ends up somewhere after Walker where he doesn't have EP credits.

[laf-outloud]

I heard a story about how Drake saw someone in a Walker shirt and he commented that he really wanted to be on Walker. It reminded me of another comment on a post about the TW cast talking to Jared saying that they wish Jared was their boss instead. Being honest, this seems highly likely.

I guess it's possible, but without any links or video, I can't really comment on Drake specifically.

Speaking in generalities, though, the Walker set is known in the industry as the Disneyland of productions so it would make sense for actors to want to be a part of the show where people are treated humanely (cast and crew), and the can enjoy a better work/life balance than the majority of productions out there.