'Parks and Rec's' Jim O'Heir on Playing Jerry and Pilot Season

Round the NBC sitcom "Parks and Entertainment," which just completed production on its fourth season the other day, longtime Pawnee Parks Department worker Jerry Gergich can be a loving husband and father who also is undoubtedly a gifted painter and pianist. But audiences rarely look at this side of him because the other figures inside the show berate, humiliate, and abuse Jerry every week.InchWithin the writers' room, they have reached prevent approaching with terrible things for Jerry, since they can begin all day long lengthy," actor Jim O'Heir, who plays Jerry, states happily. "It's their preferred factor. But a few things i love about our showand you do not notice oftenis there's love between these figures. I don't take credit with this. I'm not scripting this brilliant stuff. We just have the prettiest authors."Back Stage: How will you maintain separation between yourself as well as the character you play? Jim O'Heir: You obtain fan mail from people, which is heartbreaking from many of them that are the "Jerrys" from the office. The primary distinction between people people and myself is always that after they yell "cut," I've got people adopting me and laughing together and becoming an enjoyable experience. Which individuals, they don't. They're that each from the office, which is heartbreaking. But we're stars. When you are getting an element, just purchase it. Jim O'Heir is not Jerry.Back Stage: At your job some gifted improvisers inside the cast, like Amy Poehler, Aziz Ansari, and Aubrey Plaza. Just how much the show is improvised? O'Heir: I visited improv school with people like Matt Walsh, who started the UCB with Amy. We did The Players Workshop in Chicago, and second City. He'd an improv group, I'd an improv group. However I have arrived at inform you, Amy Poehler is at another league. She's enchanting, plus it just seems super easy.Perform that which you call a "fun run" after every scene, meaning we're gonna repeat the process, and anything goes. But ninety percent within our show is what was designed in writing, because the authors are writing it so funny and fantastically they do not require us.Every every occasionally, something is important-add for your show. There's an instalment referred to as "Flu Season," and everybody was getting sick, and Leslie (Amy Poehler) was sick. Chris Pratt, from nowhere, states, "Oh, Leslie, I looked it using the pc, plus it states you may have 'network connectivity problems.'" That was just brilliant.Back Stage: Even though the show is well-loved by experts and youthful audiences, the ratings weren't sufficiently strong enough to make sure your renewal for just about any fifth season yet. How will you deal with the uncertainty? O'Heir: Becoming an actor, this can be pilot season at this time around. Therefore if you're in the show and consists of not been made a decision [be it being restored for the next season], they really don't have to inform you until May, plenty of aircraft aircraft pilots will not consider you. It puts an actress in the tough place, because we don't know. Essentially make an effort to get another pilot this season most of the places go, "No, we're not seeing him. Why would we shoot an plane pilot with him that individuals will have to reshoot if his show returns which we obtain acquired?" A year ago, in the start of March, we heard [that "Parks and Entertainment" happen to be restored]. So that it was like, "Okay, I'm good! I obtained a show! I'm able to savor the summer season, carry out some other work, and understand that within the finish of the summer time we're altogether again.Inch And Hopefully happens this year. I am unable to imagine not receiving them forever during my world. But it's the smoothness of television. No show continues forever.Back Stage: Many people might be watching "Parks and Entertainment" online, or by themselves phone, or on Digital video recorder, but people amounts still don't get counted much the same way as TV audiences at this time around. O'Heir: I have got a number of rental characteristics with youthful people dwelling inside them. They don't have Televisions. I walked right away to correct something, and i'm like, "Where's your television?" They don't acquire one. Everything they're doing is online.Back Stage: Wait, you handle the upkeep of people rental characteristics yourself? O'Heir: If something will need completed, someone's got to make it happen. As well as, things fail. There've been many Jerry moments when there's a hammer throughout my hands, believe me. (Laughs.)"Parks and Entertainment" airs on Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. on NBC.

Dwayne Johnson To Star In Ciudad, First Russo Brothers Feature Since 2006

EXCLUSIVE: Dwayne Johnson has signed on to star in Ciudad, an intense action thriller to be directed by Joe and Anthony Russo. The pic is being produced by Eric Gitter and Peter Schwerin of Closed on Mondays Entertainment (Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World), as well as Emmett/Furla Films partners Randall Emmett & George Furla. Emmett/Furla Films will finance the movie. Envision Entertainments Stepan Martirosyan and Remington Chase, who have a film fund with Emmett/Furla Films, will executive produce. The Russo Brothers will direct from a script written by Joe Russo. Ciudad is based on the upcoming Oni Press graphic novel that the Russo Brothers co-wrote with Ande Parks. Set in one of the most dangerous and corrupt cities in the world, the thriller will star Johnson as a black market mercenary hired by a Brazilian drug lord to rescue his kidnapped daughter. Since joining Fast Five, Johnson has been on fire. He’s become the face for two other pre-existing franchises; Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, which has grossed $270 million worldwide, and G.I. Joe: Retaliation, which opens in the summer. Johnson is also in early talks to play the title role in MGM’s Hercules: The Thracian Wars, which Brett Ratner will direct. Ciudad is Johnson’s second recent collaboration with Emmett/Furla Films as he’s also attached to star in the crime thriller Empire State, which Dito Montiel is directing. For the Russos — who have been working on the TV series Community, Happy Endings, and Arrested Development–Ciudad is their first feature since 2006′s You, Me And Dupree. Ciudad is their first foray into hard-core action. “Exploring genre has always been a driving motivation for us as filmmakers,” the Russos said in a statement. “This movie is the culmination of a long time ambition to bring our sensibilities to an action thriller.” Closed on Mondays Entertainment’s Joe Nozemack will executive produce and Steven V. Scavelli and Lisa Gitter will co-produce. David Guillod of Intellectual Artists Management will also executive produce. Johnson and the Russo Brothers are repped by WME and 3 Arts, as is Closed On Mondays and Oni Press.

Ralph McQuarrie dies at 82

Conceptual designer Ralph McQuarrie, who designed the look of "Star Wars" characters including Darth Vader and Chewbacca, died Saturday, March 3, in Berkeley, Calif. He was 82 and had been suffering from Parkinson's. McQuarrie, part of the team that won an Oscar in 1986 for the visual effects in "Cocoon," worked on all three of the original "Star Wars" films and designed the spaceships in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial." He was also credited on "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and worked on the original "Battlestar Galactica" series. McQuarrie was born in Gary, Ind., but moved to California. He was a technical illustrator for Boeing at first, but also designed film posters and provided animation for CBS' coverage of NASA's Apollo missions. George Lucas hired him to illustrate scenes from his "Star Wars" script, and McQuarrie not only created the look of characters Darth Vader, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and C-3PO but also of some of the sets, including of the desert world Tatooine. His conceptual drawings helped convince 20th Century Fox execs to finance the film. The artist even appeared in "The Empire Strikes Back," playing General McQuarrie, who was among the characters made into action figures. In a statement, Lucas said: "His genial contribution, in the form of unequalled production paintings, propelled and inspired all of the cast and crew of the original 'Star Wars' trilogy. When words could not convey my ideas, I could always point to one of Ralph's fabulous illustrations and say, 'Do it like this.'" McQuarrie later worked on the films "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home," "Batteries Not Included" and "Nightbreed" and was the conceptual designer of Back to the Future: The Ride at Universal Studios in Hollywood and Florida. He was later asked to work on the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy but declined. Contact Variety Staff at news@variety.com

Justin Hartley Can get Male Lead In CW Pilot First Cut

EXCLUSIVE: The CW‘s Grey’s Anatomy-esque medical drama pilot First Cut required its McDreamy in former Smallville co-star and CW heartthrob Justin Hartley. Put together by Jennie Snyder Urman and produced by CBS TV Art galleries, First Cut involves a lately minted female physician your hospital. Hartley may have Will, a handsome and sexy surgical intern, a golden boy that ladies want so far and many types of males desire to spend some time with. Hartley features a strong following from his role since the Eco-friendly Arrow on Smallville, which he will be a fans’ choice to reprise his role inside the CW’s pilot Arrow, a modern day retelling in the story of Electricity Comics character Eco-friendly Arrow. The part ultimately visited Stephen Amell, now Hartley will get a CW pilot lead that belongs to them.