Recap of Van's BlazinRy Radio interview on 10-17-2011
www.blogtalkradio.com/blazinryThe following list covers in chronologic order almost all of the topics Van discussed during the interview.
INTRO:
- Someone named Jonathan appeared as Ryan's announcer for the show.
- Ryan had trouble getting pre-recorded tapes to play near the start of the show.
- Ryan announced that a couple of people named Erica and Harrison were panel members for the show. Erica was present, but they could not find Harrison.
- Ryan talked to Erica about Occupy Wall Street and two other non-Van topics.
- Ryan did not start talking to Van until 13 minutes into the show.
OCCUPANT:
- Van said only a handful of people have seen OCCUPANT so far so he can't really say what people are saying about the movie. Van said his parents went to the premier and gave him a four-star rating for the movie. Van said he likes the movie and is excited that people can finally see it.
- Van said his character's original apartment for the movie was in Queens and was such a horrible apartment he did not know how the movie makers found it.
- Van said that Danny (the character he plays in OCCUPANT) starts out a happy-go-lucky, average Joe character at the start of OCCUPANT and ends up a totally different character at the end of a dark path when the movie ends.
- Van said he spent about 30 days shooting the movie, with most scenes shot in the tenth-floor apartment that Danny acquired after his grandmother's death.
- Van said OCCUPANT was shot sequentially (with scenes shot in chronologic order) and that really helped him depict Danny's evolution through the changes to his character.
- Van said that in real life he's had some really great landlords and one really bad landlord.
- Van said that when he first got his job on ATWT, his first gift to himself was to move into his own apartment so he could get away from his roommate.
PSYCH:
- Van said he's "incredibly psyched" for his upcoming role on PSYCH. He said if you're on a show called PSYCH, you have to be psyched. He said it airs 10-26-2011. The episode is entitled "This Episode Sucks." Ryan asked if that's because of vampires at Halloween, and Van said, "Ah! You said it; not me!"
- Van said he has not started to write his sexy gargoyle movie. He said he's heard Steven Soderbergh has started work on a sexy gargoyle movie staring Angelina Jolie so he (Van) might as well give up on the idea.
- Van said it was a lot of fun to shoot his role on PSYCH, that he met a lot of cool people, that it was his first time in Vancouver, and he felt "very important" because of all the "Van City" T-shirts he saw in Vancouver.
- In reference to Halloween, Van said he is not a holiday person. He said Christmas is hard for him because everyone is supposed to be happy. He said he has the same problem with Halloween because it's the day people are supposed to be crazy, and what if he doesn't feel like being crazy. He also said he doesn't like to dress up for Halloween, but he likes to see other people in their costumes. He especially mentioned people dressed up as sexy koalas. He mentioned killing Kenny.
- Van said the one holiday he likes is Thanksgiving.
SOAPS:
- Van said he has not been watching DAYS OF OUR LIVES. He said he hopes that at least the soaps that are now on the air survive and their stories continue to be told. He said he knows how important soaps are to the people who watch them and to the people who work on them. He said it's always sad when somebody loses a job.
- Ryan asked if Van started using body wash instead of soap when ATWT went off the air. Van said he's always used body wash, whichever's cheapest.
GAME:
- Who founded Carnegie University? Van knew it's Andrew Carnegie.
- Can you put Van Halen singers in order chronologically? Van got the answer partially right, but claimed full credit because he thought he didn't know any Van Halen songs.
- Van said when he was eight, he used to think that any drink that was clear but that had a flavor was very classy and was something that rich people would drink.
- Who played Van Helsing? Van got the answer right.
- Who won the Emmy for outstanding ingenue in 1988? Van got the answer right.
- Which artistic movement does Van Gogh fit into? Van said he was in the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam this winter and then he got the answer right (post impressionism). Van said he took a year and a half of art history.
- Who did Van take the role of Luke over from? Van got the answer right.
BREAKING NEWS:
- Van said he has a guest-star spot on NIKITA that airs in about three weeks. He said he can't say anything about his character yet except that it's really fun and it's a type of character he never expected to play. Ryan asked if he played a different race? Van said, "I threw you a bone."
- Van said he shot WEDDING DAY but its release date is unknown. Van said it's about a guy played by him who goes to his ex's wedding party the day before she's married and he realizes he's made some mistakes. Van said it's a dark comedy and a relationship piece. Van said he had an "awesome time shooting it."
QUESTIONS FROM TWITTER:
- In answer to Tirpse, Van said the next country in Europe he'd like to visit is Spain because he was there as a child, but actually he'd like to tour all of Europe but especially Sweden and Spain.
- In answer to someone else, Van said he still has a rubber horse from his childhood. It was a toy his dad had as a child and Van's name is scratched into the horse because he used to take it to preschool a lot. He also has photographs and a teddy bear from childhood. He named the teddy bear Van not because he was egotistical, but just because he was named Van so the bear was too.
- In answer to someone else, Van said there are too many directors and actors he would like to work with for him to name just one.
- In answer to someone else, Van said he watched Polanski's THE TENANT, ROSEMARY'S BABY, REPULSION, and THE SERVANT to acquire ideas about how to play OCCUPANT. Van said that by the way, speaking of Polanski, he can't wait to see CARNAGE the movie. Van said he'd like to work with the actor named Christoph Waltz who is one of the stars of CARNAGE.
QUESTIONS VIA TELEPHONE:
- To Jan, Van said he really, really wanted to be part of OCCUPANT from the first time he saw the script.
- Van said happy birthday to Stephanie.
- Van said someone famous and/or meaningful and/or fun he's met since he's been in LA is the teacher of the acting class he is now taking in LA because the teacher has really helped the way Van approaches auditions. Van said the acting class in LA is the first acting class he's been in for a long time and he thinks it was a mistake for him not to stay in acting classes continuously.
- To Tanya, Van said he would last longer than anyone else in a zombie attack. He said he thinks a lot about zombies these days and has dreams about them.
- In response to a statement of sympathy about the loss of Van's cat Hobbes, Van said it's really hard to deal with such a loss. He said that when anyone you love dies, you just need to focus on the good time you had with them.
- Van said the reason he did not attend the premier of OCCUPANT in NYC, was just because he's in LA and he's recently been traveling lots and wanted to stay near home.
- In response to Jammi, Van said one of the things he likes about OCCUPANT is the way it sparks discussion in people who have seen it because it's not clear cut what happens in the movie. Van also said he did not shoot scenes for ATWT at the same time he was shooting scenes for OCCUPANT. He said Luke would have changed into something very different if Van had shot ATWT and OCCUPANT at the same time
In repsonse to Mary, Van said he is inspired to do what he does in acting and in everything else by feelings more than by anything concrete.
- Van said if he was in NYC right now, the thing he would want to see is what's going on with Occupy Wall Street. Other than that, he recommends that a tourist see Central Park, because it's beautiful right now.
VAN'S SEXY GARGOYLE AND/OR SEXY KOALA MOVIE:
- In response to a question from Ryan, Van said something more about Angelina Jolie who he said would probably not be in his show even though he'd like her to be. Also in response to a question from Ryan, Van said one detective of his show would be a gargoyle and the other a koala, the sexy koala would be addicted to Red Bull, the characters would deal only with architecture crimes, and a non-sexy potted cactus behind a desk would probably be the captain of the detectives. The cactus would wear glasses and would be talked to by other characters, but would just sit there and would not talk or move
ANOTHER QUESTION VIA TELEPHONE:
- Van said hi to Gloria.
CLOSING:
- Van thanked all his fans for the good wishes and support they show to him.
