Melissa McCarthy Reveals a ‘Hostile, Volatile’ Set Left Her ‘Physically Ill’ and the Crew ‘Weeping’
Halle Bailey recently praised her “The Little Mermaid” co-star Melissa McCarthy for teaching her how to speak up and say what works for her on set, but there was a time when McCarthy herself wasn’t always so vocal. In a recent interview with The Observer, McCarthy revealed she once became sick due to working on a toxic set that left many of the cast and crew “weeping.” The experience led McCarthy to realize she can’t remain quiet amid inappropriate working conditions.
“I did work for someone once who ran such a volatile, hostile set that it made me physically ill,” McCarthy said. “My eyes were swelling up, I was absorbing all of this nuttiness.”
“There were people weeping, visibly so upset by this one person,” she added. “And I think that’s why the manipulation worked, because to get to me this person would fire people I loved, which kept me quiet. It was very effective. Then one day, I was like, ‘It stops today!’ I just kept saying to them, it stops, it stops. And I know now I’ll never keep quiet again.”
McCarthy plays the sea witch Ursula in Disney’s live-action “The Little Mermaid.” It’s the Oscar nominee’s first big Hollywood musical. She’ll next return to comedy in a Christmas-themed movie for Peacock.
“It’s a fist fight to try to get comedies made right now. And I don’t know why, because we’ve never needed to laugh more,” McCarthy told The Observer. “Comedy allows you to sit next to somebody whose ideas don’t match up. And maybe you come out a little closer. I think that’s what I’m supposed to be doing in this world.”
“I can’t do a lot of useful things. I don’t know how to clean up the oceans or stop our violent tendencies. But I can hopefully give someone who’s had a bad day an hour and a half to go into a different world where bills or illness isn’t the top thing on their brain,” she added. “That’s the only skill set I really have. So I have to keep trying.”
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 101 | May 25, 2023 11:08 AM
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And so begins the Disney PR people work!
by Anonymous | reply 1 | May 22, 2023 6:51 PM
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How come these things never come out while the movie is being made?
by Anonymous | reply 2 | May 22, 2023 6:52 PM
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What set was she talking about? Gilmore Girls?
by Anonymous | reply 3 | May 22, 2023 6:57 PM
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I have a new movie coming out, I was a victim almost 20 years ago!
by Anonymous | reply 4 | May 22, 2023 7:02 PM
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[quote] My eyes were swelling up
Just your eyes then?
by Anonymous | reply 5 | May 22, 2023 7:04 PM
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Is she talking about the Pumpkin set?
by Anonymous | reply 6 | May 22, 2023 7:15 PM
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[quote]“I did work for someone once who ran such a volatile, hostile set that it made me physically ill,” McCarthy said. “My eyes were swelling up, I was absorbing all of this nuttiness. There were people weeping, visibly so upset by this one person,” she added. “And I think that’s why the manipulation worked, because to get to me this person would fire people I loved, which kept me quiet. It was very effective. Then one day, I was like, ‘It stops today!’ I just kept saying to them, it stops, it stops. And I know now I’ll never keep quiet again.”
I'm not sure what the point is of making a statement like this without naming names.
by Anonymous | reply 7 | May 22, 2023 7:45 PM
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The point is, r7, to speak up and not be afraid. Doesn't matter that she didn't name names.
by Anonymous | reply 8 | May 22, 2023 7:48 PM
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She’s clearly talking about Lauren Graham.
by Anonymous | reply 9 | May 22, 2023 7:49 PM
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[quote]The point is, [R7], to speak up and not be afraid. Doesn't matter that she didn't name names.
So, almost 2 decades later (When she is promoting a new movie) she is offended?
by Anonymous | reply 10 | May 22, 2023 8:00 PM
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I thought she was background!
by Anonymous | reply 11 | May 22, 2023 8:02 PM
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[quote]So, almost 2 decades later (When she is promoting a new movie) she is offended?
Was it not germane to her interview, r10? Did she pull it out as a non sequitur?
by Anonymous | reply 12 | May 22, 2023 8:10 PM
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Is that behaviour the reason Graham's post-GG career looks the way it does? 👀
by Anonymous | reply 13 | May 22, 2023 8:11 PM
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Another vote for Lauren Graham.
by Anonymous | reply 14 | May 22, 2023 8:16 PM
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Were there many fired from Gilmore Girls? And was McCarthy a big enough part of the show that people could concievably fired to upset her...?!
by Anonymous | reply 15 | May 22, 2023 8:45 PM
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Showrunner or director, is what it sounds like, to me. And they were trying to hurt Melissa? Huh.
by Anonymous | reply 17 | May 22, 2023 8:49 PM
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When was the last time she was funny?
by Anonymous | reply 18 | May 22, 2023 8:51 PM
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I was molested but you don't hear me complaining.
by Anonymous | reply 19 | May 22, 2023 8:51 PM
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"Person", "this one person," "someone": must be a woman.
by Anonymous | reply 20 | May 22, 2023 8:53 PM
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Does she still work with Paul Feig?
by Anonymous | reply 21 | May 22, 2023 9:00 PM
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That doesn’t sound like GG. She wasn’t that important. And Lauren wasn’t firing people.
by Anonymous | reply 22 | May 22, 2023 9:01 PM
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Why do so many DL’ers hate Melisa McCarthy? She seems nice enough, she can be quite funny, and I don’t think she’s really offended anyone. I don’t get the dislike.
As for the set she’s referring to, wouldn’t it be funny if we found out it was that superhero movie she did and that Octavia Spencer was the monster firing everybody? LOL
by Anonymous | reply 23 | May 22, 2023 9:02 PM
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Was Disney so afraid of DeSantus that they didn’t cast a drag queen as Ursula as the role really requires?
by Anonymous | reply 24 | May 22, 2023 9:05 PM
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Yeah, I don’t know that she could be described as working for Lauren or that Lauren ran the set (even if first on the call sheet does set the tone for a set).
I would guess maybe the show runner on Mike & Molly. She was important enough on that show that she couldn’t be fired but others could be to get to her.
by Anonymous | reply 25 | May 22, 2023 9:06 PM
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[quote]The point is, [R7], to speak up and not be afraid. Doesn't matter that she didn't name names.
I guess speaking up without naming names is better than not speaking up at all, but if no names are named, the offending person is not hell accountable at all.
by Anonymous | reply 26 | May 22, 2023 9:59 PM
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Yeah. It just becomes a tactic to bring publicity to their latest project.
by Anonymous | reply 27 | May 22, 2023 10:08 PM
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It's funny, in the image @OP, she looks just like a fat Princess Kate. Cute upturned nose, dimples, etc.
by Anonymous | reply 28 | May 22, 2023 10:20 PM
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My first thought was, "oh, come on. Doug Liman's just insane, he's not a tyrant"
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 29 | May 22, 2023 10:22 PM
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[quote] Speaking up without naming names is better than not speaking up at all, but if no names are named, the offending person is not hell accountable at all.
Call that Feldogging
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 30 | May 22, 2023 10:23 PM
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[quote] So, almost 2 decades later (When she is promoting a new movie) she is offended?
There's never a wrong time to be "concerned."
There is no statute of limitations on being offended.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 31 | May 22, 2023 10:33 PM
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Her and Feig should play Michelle McNamara and Patton Oswalt in a movie about her obsession with the Golden State Killer.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 32 | May 22, 2023 10:44 PM
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I think it has to be a sitcom. Firing people she is getting close to to me sounds like it has to be a longer term project that she can get close to people, as well as a show that has more expendable people.
I still think it is GG. By the time Mike and Molly came along she was a big star. Plus, she was notably absent from the GG reboot. While she may have been too busy to commit to a season, if she had left with enough good will, I am sure she could have at least agreed to a cameo.
by Anonymous | reply 33 | May 22, 2023 10:51 PM
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A friend knew her in school and said she was a mega bitch. I believe it.
by Anonymous | reply 34 | May 22, 2023 10:52 PM
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I worked with her at a big event in San Diego a few years ago - she was amazing, really - very funny, super sweet.
by Anonymous | reply 35 | May 22, 2023 10:55 PM
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R34 You said the exact same thing about Mindy Cohn in the Facts of Life thread.
by Anonymous | reply 36 | May 22, 2023 10:56 PM
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Yeah, I'm betting it was Gilmore Girls. None of her roles prior to that were long enough, except maybe Samantha Who (the Christina Applegate sitcom). After Bridesmaids, she was big enough not to have to put up with bullshit.
I wish she'd do a sequel to Spy - that movie was hysterical. Jude Law and Jason Statham were a riot, especially Statham. That's the type of spy spoof movie they could have made into a franchise and gotten at least 3-4 movies out of it before it got old.
She comes across as very appealing in her movies.
by Anonymous | reply 37 | May 22, 2023 10:58 PM
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[quote]if she had left with enough good will, I am sure she could have at least agreed to a cameo.
She did a one scene cameo in which Lorelei finds her in the kitchen of their inn having made dozens of wedding cakes.
by Anonymous | reply 38 | May 22, 2023 11:00 PM
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It’s easy to speak out if you’re Melissa McCarthy, not so much if you’re Newbie McNewb. You take the abuse because you want the job, the paycheck, and the next job after. What the Melissas of the industry need to do is speak up for the Newbs.
by Anonymous | reply 39 | May 22, 2023 11:00 PM
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It's nice to know someone is complaining about anyone other than Phillip Schofield today.
by Anonymous | reply 40 | May 22, 2023 11:05 PM
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R32 Patton is such a beanie-baby incel. He definitely did Wifey 1 in.
by Anonymous | reply 41 | May 22, 2023 11:30 PM
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There were rumours that Mike & Molly was cancelled because of her behaviour behind the scenes.
by Anonymous | reply 42 | May 22, 2023 11:47 PM
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Was it Craft Services related?
by Anonymous | reply 43 | May 22, 2023 11:49 PM
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R42 Never heard those rumors at all, heard it was strictly finances. She was a huge (no pun intended) star at that point. Billy Gardell spoke very positively about her even after the show ended.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 44 | May 23, 2023 12:02 AM
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I loved that Spy movie too.
by Anonymous | reply 45 | May 23, 2023 12:24 AM
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[quote] The experience led McCarthy to realize she can’t remain quiet amid inappropriate working conditions.
Yeah...I get that.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 46 | May 23, 2023 12:31 AM
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But HOW is “speaking up without naming names better than not speaking up at all”? It just invites speculation, implicating people who may be completely innocent. I like MCarthy (loved SPY) but this is just asking for sympathy and attention.
by Anonymous | reply 47 | May 23, 2023 12:49 AM
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Chiming in to say I would love a Spy sequel. That movie was very satisfying. Feig said he wrote it hoping for it to become a franchise but it doesn't look like the studio wants in. I think he was talking about it on WWHL.
Jason Statham was brilliant and hot hot hot.
I like Melissa. She seems to work hard and has made me laugh countless times.
by Anonymous | reply 48 | May 23, 2023 12:51 AM
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If Melissa keeps her weight down and her acting quality high then one day she'll convert those 2 Oscar, 2 BAFTA, and 2 GG noms into wins. 2 Emmy wins isn't too shabby.
Everyone knows she's talking about Lauren Graham on Gilmore Girls. I'll never understand these B and C-list actors who are major divas behind the scenes. At least earn you diva behavior with a massive pay day and some major gold trophies. Don't become a bitch until you're squarely A-list.
I've heard Melissa is nice enough. She really needs to stop making brainless comedies with her untalented husband. Just because he needs a paycheck doesn't mean it has to be from you.
by Anonymous | reply 49 | May 23, 2023 1:04 AM
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How do you know she's talking about Lauren and not Amy Sherman-Palladino, who can match anyone cunt for cunt?
by Anonymous | reply 50 | May 23, 2023 1:07 AM
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Lauren Graham wasn’t running the set. Maybe she was bitchy to people on the set (no maybe there) but she didn’t have the power to fire people.
by Anonymous | reply 51 | May 23, 2023 1:10 AM
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Same difference. ASP, LG, and AB were all cunts making GG hell.
by Anonymous | reply 52 | May 23, 2023 1:13 AM
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Melissa was in the reboot of GG, no need to lie. There is someone here who is very invested in making that set, and LG especially, sound horrible. No, it was not.
by Anonymous | reply 53 | May 23, 2023 1:14 AM
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We don’t know what Melissa was asked that brought this up.
Seems like an honest reflection on her evolution from working actress to powerful lead.
by Anonymous | reply 54 | May 23, 2023 1:15 AM
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I’ve not heard anything bad about ASP and how she runs Mrs Maisel.
by Anonymous | reply 55 | May 23, 2023 1:18 AM
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R34 is a fat, lying whore.
by Anonymous | reply 57 | May 23, 2023 1:23 AM
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I like Melissa but don't uniformly love her over the top comedies.
But she was SO. FUCKING. GOOD in Can You Ever Forgive Me? I wish she'd do more things like that every once in a while. She has it in her, for sure.
by Anonymous | reply 58 | May 23, 2023 1:26 AM
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R58 I was waiting for someone to bring up Can You Ever Forgive Me.....
really satisfying movie.
by Anonymous | reply 59 | May 23, 2023 1:51 AM
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Jennifer Lopez - The Back-Up Plan
by Anonymous | reply 60 | May 23, 2023 2:08 AM
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Maybe it was DL fave Sandra Bullock on the set of the Heat that did our MM wrong.
by Anonymous | reply 61 | May 23, 2023 2:13 AM
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Well, I thought she was very funny in “Bridesmaids”. She was the best part of it. And Jill Clayburgh.
by Anonymous | reply 62 | May 23, 2023 2:34 AM
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It's not Jason Bateman in Identity Theft, is it?
by Anonymous | reply 63 | May 23, 2023 2:43 AM
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It could be, R63.
Jason Bateman is a major douchebag asshole.
by Anonymous | reply 64 | May 23, 2023 2:45 AM
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While Bateman is a known asshole, Identity Thief is after Bridesmaids and the same year as The Heat with Sandra Bullock. By that point, you'd think she would have enough clout not to have to deal with the described level of on set bullshit.
by Anonymous | reply 65 | May 23, 2023 2:50 AM
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How comes she never throws her nephew Jesse a bone and puts him into her movies? She does it enough with her talentless husband.
by Anonymous | reply 66 | May 23, 2023 2:51 AM
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I thought it was well known that Lauren Graham was a mega cunt?
by Anonymous | reply 67 | May 23, 2023 2:52 AM
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[quote]Melissa was in the reboot of GG, no need to lie. There is someone here who is very invested in making that set, and LG especially, sound horrible. No, it was not.
Someone may not like Lauren Graham on here, but no one is making anything up regarding the Gilmore Girls set being a dumpster fire.
by Anonymous | reply 68 | May 23, 2023 2:52 AM
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[quote]but no one is making anything up regarding the Gilmore Girls set being a dumpster fire.
Agreed. There are countless stories of how badly both Graham and Bledel treated people on set. Even the main co-stars are very circumspect in what they say.
I sort of changed my opinion of both Milo and Jared and assume they must be assholes also since both describe in glowing detail how wonderful the set of GG was. Kelly Bishop doesn't say anything negative and seems to stay silent on the matter for the most part, so I'll chalk it up to being an old pro and knowing when to keep her mouth shut.
by Anonymous | reply 70 | May 23, 2023 3:00 AM
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DL fave Miles Heizer is very fond of Lauren Graham.
by Anonymous | reply 71 | May 23, 2023 3:01 AM
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R71 He’s also surgical attached to Mae.
by Anonymous | reply 72 | May 23, 2023 3:02 AM
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Spy was so funny, unlike her other comedies that have fallen flat. She had great chemistry with Jason. Didn’t she have sweaters with cats or something like that? I need to rewatch.
by Anonymous | reply 73 | May 23, 2023 3:05 AM
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Why the hell are people mad at her for not naming names?
by Anonymous | reply 74 | May 23, 2023 3:11 AM
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No one is "mad" that she's not naming names. We're simply conjecturing on what those names may be.
by Anonymous | reply 75 | May 23, 2023 3:16 AM
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Never mind Lauren Graham and Whiny Blah-del, we all know Amy Sherman-Cuntadino is a huge cunt, and so is her manipulative husband, so those are the ones I suspect.
by Anonymous | reply 76 | May 23, 2023 3:59 AM
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R58 She would have been good in a film like Nomadland.
by Anonymous | reply 77 | May 23, 2023 4:02 AM
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Won't somebody please shit in her mouth?
by Anonymous | reply 78 | May 23, 2023 4:03 AM
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Bateman actually seems pretty well liked in Hollywood.
by Anonymous | reply 79 | May 23, 2023 9:28 AM
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She's clearly talking about the girl who played Lane Kim on GG, Keiko Agena.
by Anonymous | reply 80 | May 23, 2023 11:53 AM
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[Quote] I sort of changed my opinion of both Milo and Jared and assume they must be assholes also since both describe in glowing detail how wonderful the set of GG was.
There were rumours about Milo being abusive to Alexis during GG. He also dated Hayden Panettierre when she was underage (who has a penchant for violent men). Meanwhile Jared is an alcoholic with anger issues. It's baffling he still has fans on here who have nothing better to do than talk shit about his former co-stars on Supernatural.
by Anonymous | reply 81 | May 23, 2023 12:20 PM
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When something shows up only on DL, I will raise an eyebrow that it's just DL talk. But when it shows up in multiple places and not just on DL, especially in mainstream places, then you know people are talking. Gilmore Girls was a mean and angry set seems to be the general consensus.
by Anonymous | reply 82 | May 23, 2023 1:14 PM
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It really hurts how I was treated, specially know that I have new movie coming out!
by Anonymous | reply 83 | May 23, 2023 1:42 PM
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[quote] I sort of changed my opinion of both Milo and Jared and assume they must be assholes also since both describe in glowing detail how wonderful the set of GG was.
Jared and Jensen did Supernatural for 15 years, they had a parade of well known guest stars appear on the show, and NOT ONE has said a bad thing about either actor.
In fact, they both got rave reviews for how welcoming they always were to newbies on the set. Even the ones who weren't famous.
So don't drag Jared Padalecki into this shitfest, because professionally, no one has a bad thing to say about him.
Which is also why he has had steady acting jobs for over 20 years, from age 18 to 40.
by Anonymous | reply 85 | May 23, 2023 3:00 PM
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When did Jared and Melissa work together, was she an alien entity on the show?
by Anonymous | reply 86 | May 23, 2023 6:47 PM
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She couldn't say listen you! I'm going to tell my cousin Jenny and her husband Jim Carrey on you!
by Anonymous | reply 87 | May 23, 2023 6:59 PM
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"If Senator Joe was alive!?"
by Anonymous | reply 88 | May 23, 2023 7:04 PM
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[quote] When did Jared and Melissa work together, was she an alien entity on the show?
Jared played a character named "Dean" on Gilmore Girls.
by Anonymous | reply 89 | May 23, 2023 8:20 PM
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Funny that his next character (Sam Winchester) had a brother named Dean.
by Anonymous | reply 90 | May 24, 2023 3:53 AM
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I lovvvvvvvvvve her in The Heat.
by Anonymous | reply 91 | May 24, 2023 4:39 AM
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Supernatural did a funny little scene with Jared Padalecki, referencing his time on Gilmore Girls.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 92 | May 25, 2023 2:12 AM
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Jared also appeared in a 2016 Gilmore Girls special.
Was the pacing of the dialog on this show, always this frantic?
Why are they talking so fast?
And who is the annoying woman talking to Jared?
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 93 | May 25, 2023 3:09 AM
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Why did Gilmore Girls end so abruptly?
Was it because of all the drama caused by Lauren Graham?
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 94 | May 25, 2023 3:12 AM
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[quote]Why did Gilmore Girls end so abruptly?
So abruptly? It went seven seasons and ended when Rory graduated from Yale.
However, the final nail was probably because the network couldn't come to an agreement with Amy Sherman Palladino and her husband, so they were no longer running the show in the final season. However, ASP always claimed she knew what the final three words of the series would be and apparently used them in the reboot special - "Mom, I'm pregnant."
Frankly, I thought that making Rory a single mother was not empowering since she basically was wasting her life and was probably living off the HUGE inheritance that Christopher got from his grandfather with which he paid for Yale for her during her last year to spite Richard and Emily who had been paying.
by Anonymous | reply 95 | May 25, 2023 3:21 AM
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Yes, the pace was always super fast. In fairness to the leads, memorizing all that dialogue was a real challenge. Scripts were a lot longer than normal.
by Anonymous | reply 96 | May 25, 2023 8:59 AM
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Lauren Graham seems nice...
Is she such a bitch?
by Anonymous | reply 97 | May 25, 2023 10:58 AM
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She was apparently a bitch on GG.
But she’s done other ensemble stuff since, and there hasn’t been a peep.
And when you’re part of an ensemble, you can’t get away with nonsense or they write you out.
by Anonymous | reply 98 | May 25, 2023 11:00 AM
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I thought Gilmore girls had been produced from like 2003 - 2009, but it originally aired from 2000 through 2007.
I didn't know it was that old, anyways, why shows like that aren't produced anymore?
by Anonymous | reply 99 | May 25, 2023 11:05 AM
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A redditor speculates it’s Mike and Molly, whose Shoprunner Mark Roberts left the show after three seasons and hasn’t run a show since.
That makes more sense than GG.
She is talking about how a set is run. Actors don’t run a set.
by Anonymous | reply 100 | May 25, 2023 11:05 AM
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Another vote for a SPY sequel. I love that movie. And for the love of God, no more movies with the husband.
by Anonymous | reply 101 | May 25, 2023 11:08 AM
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