Interviewer: First off people eat crap.
It's been awhile of suspense in waiting for [inaudible 0:00:05] fans.
What was your reaction when they finally announced Kristen as the mother?
Josh Radnor: Well, some kind of relief.
I mean I don't feel exactly like I'm Ted going through this journey.
I'm clear I'm an actor doing a job and those words are written for me beautifully.
There was a feeling because I'm kind of walking side-by-side with him that
I have some fun that's for him and some affection, and I care about him.
I want him to be okay.
There's this feeling of like, 'Man, he's taking a
lot of knocks along the way.
I want him to be okay.'
So there was feeling of like, 'You did it!
There she is she's adorable.'
Pam: She really is the one.
Josh: Yeah.
Pam: I mean she's everything that we wanted her to be.
Josh: I think it's nice, I said this at the panel that the show's kind of
rigged around Ted winning at the end or getting what he wants.
It's just along the way he gets really knocked around.
I was happy that he was close and the way they set this up structurally
which is really cool as he's kind of at the end of his rope, and says he's moving
to Chicago, and he just wants to be done with all this and wash his
hands of this kind of search he's been on.
It's kind of a ...There's a Buddhist thing that when you
release the desire is when it comes to you.
I feel like Ted is kind of ...he let go of it and there she is.
Interviewer: As director then what was your reaction when you found out
the entire final season was going to be just focused on one weekend?
Pam: I'm excited but it's still our show.
I mean there are a lot of flashbacks, a lot of great stories.
We're going to have some great new sets and we're going to throw a great wedding.
You're going to recognize her right away.
I'm just grateful that there is a season 9.
I'm just happy to be doing it.
Interviewer: Certainly, but you guys have some of the most creative
storytelling elements.
Has that been a challenge as a director or more fun
...
Pam: Yes it's challenging in the best way.
Josh: Sometimes you have to stop and say, 'Where is this happening in the
grand scheme?'
I remember this one ...This won't give anything away.
We finished this one bit.
Sometimes we shoot things out of order and then that
gets really confusing.
If someone's not available or something and so you
go shoot an episode that you shot last week where you'll have a scene
leftover.
I remember we shot something that I knew was picking up in
Episode 2 and I said, 'So right after this she puts the gum in her mouth?'
It was like I had this track where the gum was going.
It's very complicated.
Pam: It's fantastic.
Josh: Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's right.
Pam: Carter and Craig like the things that are insane and at this point
you just expect everyone to know how to do them.
I mean it just doesn't matter whether everybody sings, everybody
dances, everybody laughs, everybody cries, it's just sort of ...
Josh: The other great thing is like a lot of it they have to get to know us
over the years.
They know like, 'Oh, so-and-so can sing' or, 'So-and-so has
some cool dance moves' or, 'So-and-so does this funny thing'.
They pick up on these little idiosyncrasies and write in
a way that is both delightful for the actor to play but also even challenging
or kind of expands your definition of what you think you can do.
They throw Pam a lot of challenges, and the set designers and the
costume designers.
They'll throw them something that is so off the charts;
difficult that to shoot in three days, they go, 'By the way, shoot 63 scenes
in ...Do it.
Just do it.'
Pam: I say, 'Okay.'
Josh: 'Okay.'
Interviewer: What is the most challenging thing they've done to you
guys?
Josh: The 'Chris Harris' episodes are insane.
We had one ...
Pam: Subway wars ...
Josh: We have a writer who's so great.
All his episodes, for some reason, are like really challenging logistically and
amazing, really structurally amazing.
Pam: We have the best crew and the best departments.
It turns out we can sort of do anything.
It's just great fun.
It's a team sport.
It's sort of been like this incredible education, like
we're all going to graduate from this where we sort of learned to how to do
everything.
Josh: Then you'll leave feeling ...I directed two movies.
I didn't know how to direct a movie.
I watched Pam for... how many years?
It gave me a level of confidence in just in terms of how quickly
you could work and how you could create something really great, very
fast if everyone was kind of on the same page and how to set the tone of how
to work.
It's been like a really fantastic training ground on so many
levels.