So much has changed in the year since I first talked to Leslie Grossman, who plays Mary Cherry on Popular. Her publicist takes my calls now, for one thing. And although I don�t have her home phone number (a very wise move on her part, by the way), she has actually started to write me emails from her husband�s email account. She has also adopted a Chihuahua who is named Oscar. �Originally I named him 'Gorgeous,' but my husband put his foot down. He was like, �Look, I already agreed to own a Chihuahua, don�t make me run down the street shouting, �Gorgeous! Come to daddy!"��
Leslie told me I could ask her anything. Her only stipulation was that I wouldn�t let her swear. Last time I interviewed her, Leslie�s father found the interview while surfing the web and was shocked at the profanity.
Okay, you know those Vanity Fair puff pieces where a writer like Kevin Sessums or Michael Schnayerson just gushes about how Gwyneth Paltrow arrives at his door with take-out from Dean and Deluca -- because she�s so sweet and down to earth -- and they walk around Manhattan and shop and she smokes a lot of Marlboro Lights?
Oh, of course. Have you ever read that article in Brill�s Content about all those celebrity articles? Every single one of them is the same. The women are described as �down to earth� and �disarming� and the men are all �boyishly charming.�
Exactly. So what would you and I be doing if I were writing a cover article about you for Vanity Fair?
You�d come visit me in my trailer in Burbank which smells like a Porta-John. You�d go, �This isn�t glamourous!� And I�d go, �I know! It�s like living in a Porta-John.� And you�d go, �God, I never imagined it would be like this with this orange carpeting.� It would be really loud because there was this construction site nearby, and we�d eat Lay�s BBQ Potato Chips because that�s as fancy as Craft Services gets. And there�d be nobody bringing me a latte. I�d have to go and make it myself in the half-broken machine.
And then I�d write about how disarming and down to earth you are.
And how youthful I look in person despite the fact that I�m 29.
No way! I thought you were a precocious twelve-year-old.
Exactly.
“ 'Because that's what it's all about. It's not about the girls hating each other, it's about me being crazy and Nicole being the biggest bitch in the world.' ”
What would you be wearing?
I'd be wearing sweats and a tank top. I dress terribly to work. Everybody does. You have to practically wear pajamas all the time because you're always changing in and out of your costume. I'm just destroying every ounce of mystery about the set. I should be telling you I'm wearing a Bob Mackie gown.
While you just sit around.
Exactly. [pause] Well, actually, if you caught me between scenes I probably would be wearing a Bob Mackie gown.
That's true.
I know this sounds petty but those gowns were such a pain. The costume department -- they always saw the scripts before we did -- they'd be like, "I'm sorry, you're not going to like this, but we have to do another gown fitting." And I'd be like, "Oh no! Not again!" That's why I was so happy about that Teen Tartz thing. We just reused the light-up dress.
Oh, that was so great that the light-up dress came back. And that scene was so friggin' brilliant.
Well, filming that scene was such an out-of-body experience. I had a 101-degree fever at the time and that dress gets really hot when you light it up.
Wow, I didn't even think about that.
And it was so hard for me to remember all the words to Rock Me, Amadeus!. I mean, because at least if it's a song and there's a melody you can get into it.
Yeah, but Rock Me, Amadeus has all these spoken historical facts and stuff. It was on the radio all the time when I was growing up but I couldn't tell you a thing about the lyrics.
It took me two days to learn all that and I kept messing it up during the taping and I was sweating profusely. And you know what? My husband actually came that day. He was like, "I have to see this," and he brought a friend. But it was so much fun to do because it was pure Popular. I mean, when am I going to get to do this in my entire life ever again? I had such a good time doing it and the crew was so much fun and everyone was laughing and Jm J Bullock was there. It was really really fun. I had a good time.
It was such a good parody of Popstars. They nailed that whole aesthetic. All the details were there.
That was the highlight of the season. At the end of the second season, with that and Nicole doing "Coup," we were like, dude, it's on again. Because that's what it's all about. It's not about the girls hating each other, it's about me being crazy and Nicole being the biggest bitch in the world. I mean, we couldn't have done that forever but a third season would have been fun.
Excuse me?
Yeah. That was her.
That blows my mind! I had no idea!
I saw it when I was lurking on the boards and I called her up and I was like, Is this you? and she was like, Yeah, and they totally booted me off!
Oh my God. I mean, I desperately wanted to believe it was her -- we all did -- but something just didnt sound right. I even showed the threads to a bunch of the MBTV writers and I was like, What do you think? and they were like, Theres no way thats her!
You are all so cynical. [laughs]
Comes with the territory, I guess. Oh my God, I am so embarrassed. You have got to tell her Im so sorry. ["Me too, since I think I'm the one that was like, 'Please, it's not her, and she's booted.' Sorry, Tammy Lynn!" -- Sars]
You should call her up yourself. Shed give a great interview.
Anyway, Tammys very happy. I mean, obviously I cant give you details of their relationship but its a very positive relationship.
When did you find out about it?
When it happened. She told me the night she met her.
And when was that?
Im not supposed to talk about that.
Oops. Sorry.
But it was weird for me. I would get all these emails in my MBTV email account from all these people I didnt know whod insist that Tammy was dating Melissa. I got nine of these emails. I thought -- because Im so cynical -- that it was another hoax. I mean, Im just some internet writer. Im not a gossip columnist. Im not even Matt Drudge. Why would people be leaking stories to me?
But it was true!
I guess so.
I think its great. They are having so much fun together. I went to Melissas fortieth birthday party. Tammy invited me, and you can just see that they are having so much fun. Theyre still in that early stage where theyre happy and its fun to be around. They have this really great energy.
Was Brad Pitt there?
Yes he was.
Who else was there?
Oh, there was a slew of celebs. Jenny Ann was there.
Who is Jenny Ann?
Jennifer Aniston? Hello? Brad Pitts wife?
Leslie Grossman Post-Second-Season Interview
“ 'They totally refused to see that it was an ensemble show. They told us we had to make it all about the two girls. They told us wed pulled too far away from that. And that the girls had to hate each other again.' ”
Oh! Jenny Ann! Duh! Got it.
Meg Ryan. Kelly Preston. There were a lot of people. Yeah, but you know, Brad Pitt just doesnt do it for me. Everyone else was freaking out but I was like, Im sorry. I dont get it.
Ive heard hes unremarkable in person. Its one of those deals where the camera loves him but theres nothing amazing going on in real life.
He looks exactly the same. We didnt speak or anything but I was like, Oh, whatever.
Did he smell bad?
I didnt get close enough to tell. I have no idea.
Ive heard rumors that his body odor is deafening.
Really? Well, I didnt get close enough, but if I had known I would have gotten closer and gotten a whiff so I could tell you.
I should have given you one of those sample bottles. You could have collected the air from the party in it and we could have had a lab test it.
Could you imagine me trying to get that? I would have been kicked out of that party on my ass!
But the party was fun and Melissa and Tammy are great together.
I just felt that it was about time that someone from that cast became tabloid fodder. You know?
I totally agree! Look at her! Shes being written about in People Magazine!
Yeah, and why couldnt that have happened earlier in the year?
Thank you! I totally agree.
You know that Ryan still prints the recaps out and brings them to the set.
You told me that once. But you know I didnt have any idea that they were still reading them. I thought I was so down on the second season that thered be no point in distributing them.
We would laugh. Look, heres the truth. Half the shit we did was so lame that we were like, Oh good, he gets that its lame.
Well, thered be these brilliant moments, and then thered be all this Sam and Brooke stuff where youd just hit the fast-forward button. Only I couldnt, because I had to watch the show and write a detailed recap. So I started feeling angry -- maybe more so than I should have been. I mean, Im sure the WB was breathing down your necks.
Oh, they totally were. They totally refused to see that it was an ensemble show. They told us we had to make it all about the two girls. They told us wed pulled too far away from that. And that the girls had to hate each other again.