Seinfeld Cast Reunites On The Cover Of Entert...

Seinfeld Cast Reunites On The Cover Of Entertainment Weekly

Category: General
Posted 4 months ago by Queenoftab
Credit: http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2009/08/27/s
NEW YORK - This week`s Entertainment Weekly goes on the set for a Seinfeld reunion with Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld), George (Jason Alexander), Elaine (Julia Louis Dreyfus), and Kramer (Michael Richards) as they join old pal Larry David for the new season of HBO`s cult hit Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Over the last six seasons, viewers have come to expect the outrageous from Curb, Larry David`s exploration of a man named Larry David whose self-conscious series about curmudgeonry and comeuppance is about to take a turn for the surreal by reuniting the cast of his old, pathologically revered NBC sitcom, who had always resisted the urge to re-emerge. "It`s the anti-reunion reunion," says Louis-Dreyfus, "and I`d like to copyright that." Sums up David: "This is such a perfect way for us to get together again, because it never would have happened otherwise. Never, ever, ever."

"I gave people no hope whatsoever," David says of the inevitable reunion question he has been hearing for a decade. "If we had done a real show, it wouldn`t have been as much fun," he says. "It would`ve been too intense, really, because that particular episode would have to be so good."

When David approached Seinfeld about a reunion plot on Curb in spring 2008, Seinfeld wasn`t terribly worried about mucking around with the legacy of his beloved nine-season show. "The idea of working with Larry was just too overwhelmingly appealing to me, and [Curb] is such a great show," he says. "There was a little part of me that said, `Do we really want to tamper?`...But to hell with it. How much damage can you really do?"

Alexander and Louis-Dreyfus were quick to sign on as well. Then there was Richards, who had been keeping a low profile following his racial-slur-filled confrontation with several audience members during a 2006 stand-up set at L.A.`s Laugh Factory. The actor, who quickly apologized for his actions, says he`s spent the last two and a half years doing "a lot of deep work" on himself. "It`s like I had open-heart surgery," he says. "I`m kind of grateful that I blew it because it let me step into another place with myself and the world around me." He`d been steering clear of Hollywood, but Richards was up for rejoining his old castmates one last time. "I just knew we`d get the job done," he says. "If we`re all in place, it`s going to happen."

The story line, which starts in episode 3, is sprinkled over five of the season`s 10 episodes as Larry recruits the cast, then plans and tapes the big Seinfeld reunion (the actors play a version of themselves preparing to stage a reunion show, rather than the actors playing the old characters). David will only hint that "Larry attempts to get Cheryl back, and the Seinfeld reunion figures prominently in that."
As the reunion plans get going on the show, the cast rag on Larry for Seinfeld`s polarizing finale. The real Larry says, "I realize that many people had problems with [the finale], but I thought it was good. I thought I made one mistake: I wouldn`t have them being so cavalier when they saw the initial mugging. I would have them be more cowardly than cavalier."

The first scene that the Seinfeld gang shot required them to immediately slip into their old characters. "Just before we shot that scene, I said to Jerry and Julia, `I don`t know if I can be George. I haven`t tried him on in a while,`" recalls Alexander. "And it was freaky how it just came right back out." Richards, meanwhile, dove in feet first. "I`d always kept Kramer`s shoes," he notes. "And that`s very important to the character. Once I got those shoes on, and I`m standing behind the door of Jerry`s apartment, I was ready. That`s it."

Being surrounded by the original sets also helped them get back in the mood: The Curb producers tracked down Jerry`s apartment and Monk`s coffee shop in a nearby warehouse. They weren`t in great shape and the sets received a spruce-up and update, as well as amenities like a new fridge - the old one was missing, as was Jerry`s apartment door, which Seinfeld had taken as a souvenir. The reunion proved surprisingly meaningful to the group. "We completely forgot about the 11 years that occurred in between," says Seinfeld. "If I didn`t have these kids and a family - empirical evidence of time - I could just float away and go, `Did we leave?`...I kept running back to the set when I would see Julia or Jason sitting around. [It felt like] `Let me just sit with you one more time because I know we`re never going to do this again. Let me just have this flavor one more time. One more little taste."

Although there was some tension over contracts towards the end of Seinfeld`s run and again during the DVD releases, all of that was forgotten, says Alexander. "It`s been profoundly touching to come back with none of the gunk and see that 10 years down the road it wasn`t that we were just putting on smiles to be together," he observes. "The fact that we don`t call each other once a week is inconsequential to the feeling and the bond. That was a cool discovery." For Richards, revisiting that bond was particularly therapeutic. "I did feel I was in the company of good friends," he affirms. "It`s like, Larry and Jerry are in the front seat, and Julia and Jason are in the backseat, and I`m back there in the corner and I`m like a big dog. The window`s open, and my head`s hanging out the window and I`m feeling all that good air on my face. And I`m just so happy that we`re all together, going someplace."

Says Seinfeld, "It was kind of nice to soothe him a bit, and bring him back to the place that he always felt so good in."

While this strange trip may not be the reunion scenario that fans expected, it appears to be the only one they`ll ever get. "As far as I`m concerned, we did do it, and in a better way than I ever imagined," says Seinfeld. "This exceeded my expectations, so there`s no chance I would revisit it now...You really haven`t seen the whole series until you`ve seen this, because it does add a coda. I think [the show] needed that ending parenthesis."

So after all this, where does David go from here? "There`s a good possibility I could do another season," he says. "And if not, I`ll find something else to do."
Related Links: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David, Michael Richards
Seinfeld Cast Reunites On The Cover Of Entertainment Weekly
Flag as Inappropriate
See Also: Julia Louis-Dreyfus News :: Jerry Seinfeld News :: Larry David News :: Michael Richards News
  • Seinfeld Cast Reunites On The Cover Of Entertainment Weekly
Tags: No tags found
+3
Rate this story
Yes No
  • Add Comment
  • Add to Favorites
 

Comments
Post a Comment | View All Comments (0)

Be the first person to post a comment!