Tom Selleck and Robert B. Parker Chat About TV Movie 'Jesse Stone'
For one generation Tom Selleck will always be Magnum. Images of his robust mustache, a red Ferrari and tacky Hawaiian shirts instantly leap to mind. But for another generation he is Monica's boyfriend on 'Friends' and now thanks to tough-guy character Jesse Stone, Selleck is forging a new image for a new generation of TV viewers.
'Jesse Stone: Night Passage' is the prequel to last year's ratings success 'Stone Cold' and in it we learn about Jesse's past as a LAPD cop and how he came to be police chief in a small town in Massachusetts.
Tom Selleck and Robert B. Parker, the author of the Jesse Stone novels, recently chatted with AOL Television editor Sean Doorly about what makes Jesse Stone tick, Selleck's famous mustache and 'Spring Break Shark Attack.'
Why do you think
the first movie was a big ratings success?
Selleck: I'm not sure. (Laughs). I do know we were up against 'Desperate
Housewives' and they can do no wrong. I know we are not curing cancer
and I thought if I talked about 'Desperate Housewives' and that how I
had friends on the show, then maybe people would sample us for a change.
It at least let people know what night we were on and what time.
What did you learn
from the first movie?
Selleck: We got a real positive response from Bob [Parker] and to me,
that meant we were on the right track. While we cannot follow his book
letter for letter, my obligation as the executive producer and actor was
to capture the spirit of these books and the voice of the character. That
he was happy in those aspects gave me more confidence that we could really
undertake a series of these books and probably be on the right track.
Were you happy
with the movie?
Parker: 'Stone Cold' got the characters as good as I have ever seen in
30 years of this business. Tom nailed that character and I'm thrilled.
I actually cried during 'Stone Cold.'
What makes this
series of movies different?
Selleck: I praise CBS for taking a risk, which is always the price you
pay for opportunity. This is not standard movie of the week storytelling.
I think movies of the week have fallen into a niche and that isn't my
niche. I said that I wanted to make something that looks like a feature
film and used those storytelling techniques. I don't feel the obligation
to have a big explosion in the first 20 seconds so the audience doesn't
turn on another channel. We are trying to make something that looks like
a feature film that was bought for television and I think we are succeeding.
Parker: The big explosion at the beginning of the film is Tom. You tune into to see Tom Selleck. This is not just some standard boom boom.
What were some
of the challenges?
Selleck: It is scary for an actor when you get hired as a lead. No matter
what the plot is, it is your job to do something interesting enough to
make them want to get inside the lead character's head. It is so different
that it appears new. We didn't invent this, but we have a really good
director Robert Harmon who has established a visual style. We have the
rare privilege of having him directing the first three movies.
What makes Jesse
Stone tick?
Parker: Jesse Stone is a guy for whom life has not gone well except for
police work and the police work is all he has. He pursues it grimly, with
integrity, with skill and with an ironic sense that he knows that this
is all he has and he better damn well do it because otherwise he will
have nothing but the bottle. He can sit quietly and you know there is
a struggle. There is always tension and strain between the wreckage of
his personal life and his near-impeccable performance as a cop, which
he has to have in order to survive.
Selleck: You've got a guy who has a tendency to brood but the audience has to watch him. That is a big challenge to show the humanity of the guy -- to earn the moments when he is sitting alone thinking. We have the arrogance to think the audience will want to watch that. I'm not knocking other movies of the week, but we were preceded by 'Spring Break Shark Attack' the week before and we are not that.
It's great to see
mustaches on TV again. Have you seen 'My Name is Earl' and what do you
think of his mustache?
Selleck: Earl's mustache is coming along well and when he reaches puberty,
it will really fill in. (Laughs) That's a joke. I have my mustache now
when people want it or when it is OK for that character. I have thrown
plenty of spoofs at my mustache on 'Conan O'Brien.' Every time I go on
'Conan,' we make fun of my mustache.