By BetteAndTinaForever

Disclaimer: I tried to write questions and answers as fast as I could but of course I’m only a human. Everything I wrote is not verbatim but the way I remembered it. I had to write so fast that sometimes I couldn’t even understand my own handwriting so I’m trying to do as best as I can here.

WARNING: Contains some spoilers for season 5

Day 3 began in the same way as the previous day. We had more pictures taken first thing in the morning. This time Erin was gone but Anne Ramsey (Robin from seasons 1 and 2) took her place. Anne was lovely and very friendly, just like she was during the first convention. She was also the first one to participate in Q&A. I wasn’t present during most of her talk because I had a one-on-two interview with Leisha Hailey and Kate Moennig at the same time. Check Part 2 for the complete interview.

After a little rest, Kate and Leisha came out for another Q&A session and here’s the recount of it with the help of my imperfect memory and ineligible handwriting. I apologize in advance if the answers seem a little abrupt but I’m not that young anymore and my memory knows it.

You talked before about practical jokes, are any of them ever backfired?
Mia played one on us and Rose but we knew about it before it happened so we decided to pay her back. We got those things that make boobs look bigger, like gelatin, put them on Mia’s car for two weeks…we put fake boobs over on her bumper so we could take a picture and send it to her, but we decided to see if she notices it first. Slowly, crew began realizing that something was there. It was really funny.

(To Leisha) How did you come up with the name for your new band?
It’s actually a title of PJ Harvey’s album, because in the beginning it was three of us and the song is about three girls.

(To Leisha) Would you be offended if someone gave you a lesbian sex book?
No.

(To Leisha) Did you actually ride the Zipline in season 4 finale?
No, I didn’t ride it when we filmed it because of insurance policy but after the filming I went back to do it.

How is it different this year comparing to other seasons? Are they still unhappy that Erin is gone?
It was more about the change than just being unhappy. We all like to go out, to do group things, but a year before Erin left and Sarah, the show was overloaded with new personalities all at once. This year there it is much more balanced, more mellow, or maybe we just used to it by now.

Is Olivia back playing Angelica?
Yes, Olivia is back and she’s got really big, older.

Do the family members visit the cast on set?
Family members do visit but for them it’s a fun part, the kids have their nursery but in reality we need a dog park more than a nursery.

What happened with Kristanna Loken and why is she leaving the show?
(Kate) There was some animosity and she simply didn’t fit but everyone was so shocked when they read what she said. The things she said about the cast was uneducated and to read that in LA Times was a shock and unfair. It wasn’t true because she was saying first how great was her work and it’s unclassy to talk about the cast that way and distasteful, especially because she didn’t even work with all the cast a lot.

Have you thought about having kids?
(Leisha) Well, I stopped saying Never but at this point I don’t want kids; (Kate) I need to grow up myself first.

What was your celebrity crush?
(Leisha) Molly Ringwald. I’m begging Ilene to bring her to the show and I would freak out if that happens; (Kate) when I was in 7th grade it was New Kids on the Block, Facts of Life, Different Strokes, Beverly Hills 91210, especially Dylan; (Leisha) I think Shane’s based on Dylan; (Kate) Yes, and I liked Brenda, she was a real bitch.

In season 4 when Alice confronted Jenny about the book, how much of it was improvised?
Most of it was improvised. We asked if we can embellish it and then we came up with Monet thing and Ilene let us do almost the whole thing improvised.

When you were filming the basketball scene, who among the cast was more sporty?
(Both) Jennifer Beals is good at everything, she’s superwoman; (Leisha) I’m a little bit sporty; (Kate) I’m good at surfing, good at certain things but everyone pretty much sucked at basketball.

(To Leisha) Why did you slap Helena in the ass during that scene?
I have a thing for spanking (laughing), even Cybill complained that I did it too hard with her…so maybe I did it a little harder than I should but that’s what you do in sports, right?

From all the cast members, who surprised you the most after your initial reaction and what was your first impression after meeting them?
(Kate) Seems like I just answered that question just recently but my impressions were exact opposite about them all; (Leisha) I saw people a lot more differently than they are, I thought Mia was really, really shy; (Kate) I thought Laurel was a republican housewife from Connecticut but she’s exact opposite, she’s still a very mature woman but she’s also a lot of fun and has a great sense of humor.

Is Peggy back in season 5?
Yes, she’s back.

(To Leisha) You played a werewolf once…
Yes, it was so much fun to play but it was crazy itchy. Dustin Hoffman once said that every actor has to play a monster at least once, so this was my monster.

Can you tell us about any emotionally heated debate or argument you had on the set?
(Kate) We are people, we get moods and guilty of taking things the wrong way; (Leisha) I had it more with directors than with actors, especially guest directors, who come with their own ideas but sometimes they have just seen one episode and they got ideas but don’t even know who Dana is. There was nothing dramatic among the cast members because we’re like a family. The best part is that the cast members are all super beautiful, supportive group. It’s a best job ever, especially considering how well we get along.

If you had a choice to play another character on the show, who would it be?
(Kate) Jenny, because she was conceived with a least amount of caricature qualities, she’s an open book with that, she has so many colors to that role, she’s interesting; (Leisha) Ironically, Jenny is the most talked about character and it’s not easy to do. You need a character like that on TV, people liked to be freaked out by her; (Kate) she’s the one that fans love to hate; (Leisha) I’d liked to play Tina.

Is Jenny still in the sea?
We can’t really say anything, let’s just say that she fell on dry land.

(To Kate) you were compared a lot to Patty Smith, would you like to portray her in the movie?
She’s great and I don’t know if it will be easy to do. She’s very protective of her life. There was one book written about her and it was all wrong. She got upset and now she’s writing her own book but the movie would be hard to do.

(To Kate) What was your most comfortable and uncomfortable love scene partner?
Most comfortable was with Rosanna, she’s really giving, free spirit and I loved working with her. Most difficult is with people that I don’t know. They all blended in together, like one-night stands extras. You don’t know them and feel like you violating them but they signed up for it (laughter). It’s all very technical, awkward and hard to do.

Tell us favorite thing about your character.
(Leisha) Alice says whatever’s on her mind, loud and obnoxious, making people laugh; (Kate) drug abuse…just kidding. I like how she’s quiet, settled, I like her clothes.

(To Leisha) How was it working with Cybill Shephard?
I love her. First I was scared, I watched her TV shows and she’s so great. I loved the storyline as Alice went for an older lady. Cybill is eccentric, open and you never know what to expect from her. This year we didn’t work together as much and I missed working with her.

(To Leisha) Season 3 after Dana’s death, how did it make you feel, dealing with that?
It was torture, especially everything that was leading up to that. It was really like losing best friend because she was leaving us. When we were reading the death scene script I had to leave the room because I couldn’t handle it, because it felt like I was experiencing this in real life, it was horrible and emotional. We tried to separate ourselves from that but it takes awhile to shake it off, it lingered there. We know it wasn’t real but it still affected us.

(To Leisha) So, did losing Erin as a cast member blended with your personal life?
Exactly, it was all too similar, it was easier to play because it felt real but it sucked.

(To Kate) Where do you get your tattoos?
There’s a tattoo place on Sunset, called Shamrock, there’s one in Venice, in New York, different places; (Leisha) where did you put my name again? (everyone’s laughing)

What is your favorite food?
(Leisha) Ice cream, muffins; (Kate) cheeseburgers and French fries, I’m actually craving it right now.

Did you ever get a laughter attack during sex scenes?
(Leisha) yes, with Erin and Rose; (Kate) with Sarah. We just stop acting and start laughing, saying to each other, “This is so fake”; (Leisha) This year I was laughing so hard about something with Rose but my face was hidden, if you know what I mean.

What is your family origin?
(Leisha) I’m half Italian; (Kate) Irish and some German.

What is your favorite thing to do in spare time?
(Leisha) I like to see my friends, go to dinner, paint, I’m trying to fill my time laughing with people, and lately riding my scooter with Kate; (Kate) Dinner parties at my house, I love to cook; (Leisha) It’s been six years and you still haven’t cook for me, I’m hungry; (Kate) I like to cook on Sunday when we watch the show, I have a great kitchen and like to make dinners for people.

What do you didn’t like about your characters?
(Leisha) I didn’t want Alice go all crazy in season 3. I know it was funny and I understand how you can get nutty in those circumstances but I wanted to play it differently; (Kate) I didn’t like Wax, so I’m glad something is going to happen to it this year. I didn’t like the episode where Dana dies. It was so farfetched, they wanted Shane to go to masseuse and have sex there and I said, “No, let’s not bastardize this episode with this ridiculous thing.” They changed it because I found it insulting.

What’s your favorite storylines?
(Kate) I love storyline with Cherrie Jaffe. It was dysfunctional fun. I liked relationship with Carmen to but when it was a triangle thing with Jenny before the domestic part; (Leisha) I’m happy with most stuff, even the vampire, it was so crazy and I like that Alice has so many different experiences, crazy situations. And I like what they did to Alice at the end of this season.

Are you still involved with OurChart?
(Leisha) We were involved a lot more in the beginning but we don’t run it, just supply the ideas and participate in podcasts, or tell them what we like or don’t like; (Kate) I think they will continue to make it better, especially when the new season starts.

What is your favorite Broadway musical?
(Leisha) Wicked; (Kate) I liked Cats as a kid, now it’s hard to say. I don’t live in New York anymore so don’t see so many.

Would you like to work in UK?
(Kate) Yes, I’d love to be in London. My favorite way to travel is for work because I don’t want to go and be just a tourist for 3 days.

What is your favorite movie?
(Kate) Cool Hand Luke; (Leisha) the original Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

What is your favorite color?
(Kate) Dark blue; (Leisha) I like many colors but for a long time not it has been deep dark purple.

What’s your favorite memory growing up?
(Kate) I grew up in the building with a doormen and I even wanted to be one, because I hang out with them all the time. It seemed to be like the best job in the world because it wasn’t hard, you just open the door. Those guys became my best friends and my mom still lives there with the same guys still working there as doormen.

Favorite quality in a woman?
(Leisha) sense of humor, nice lips, power; (Kate) assertiveness, sensuality, pretty eyes.

Who would you invite to a dinner party?
(Kate) Madonna, Oprah, lead singer of Metallica, Marilyn Manson, Anderson Cooper, Cher; (Leisha) Liza Minnelli, Axl Rose, each other.

And that was the end of the Q&A session with Leisha and Kate. Later in the evening the remaining few fans gathered at the Club “Element” for the final party and Anne Ramsey and Adrienne Wilkinson showed up. The organizers asked Leisha and Kate to attend but it was Sunday night and they had to get up early for Monday morning filming, so they couldn’t make it.

Honestly, the music at the club wasn’t particularly great for dancing, so we spent our time chatting with Anne and Adrienne. They both were really nice and Anne talked a little more about her experience on the show. She said that she asked Kate about Jenny’s storyline in season 5 to find out who was her current lover but Kate wouldn’t tell it even to her.

If you noticed, not much of the season 5 information was revealed, only people who follow every little spoiler could put all the pieces together but majority of the storylines still remain incomplete.

The LA convention was over but my trips are not. Come back for the interview with Leisha and Kate and stay tuned for the reports from the L4 Convention in Blackpool.