Law & Order: SVU executive producer Neal Baer spills his show's secrets

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By BOB ANDELMAN

The Law & Order television franchise has passed through numerous stages over its two decades on the air at NBC. There was innovation, as in the split show format of the original; shock, as in the horrible nature of some of the crimes depicted; expansion, as in the addition of series such as “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”; ubiquity, as in, “isn’t there anything on besides these doggone crime shows”; and, finally, respect, as in Mariska Hargitay winning the 2006 Emmy Award for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

That’s all the stuff that you and my wife see when you watch hour after hour of “Law & Order.” But what goes on behind the scenes?

That’s what I hope to discover from today’s guest, Dr. Neal Baer, the executive producer of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” Dr. Baer is a real medical doctor with a degree from Harvard; he interned at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles and, more germane to a discussion of TV, he was on the original writing staff of “ER,” eventually rising to the position of executive producer.

AUDIO EXCERPT: "The secret of the show's success? I think it's the teaming of Mariska Hargitay and Chris Meloni. I think they're the longest running team in drama; Ozzie & Harriet beat them in comedy—they ran for 14 years. They've got great chemistry. Chris represents the rage we feel about the crimes and Mariska represents the empathy we feel toward the victims." 

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Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

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Deborah Calla, A BEAUTIFUL LIFE co-screenwriter and producer: Mr. Media Radio Interview

By BOB ANDELMAN

I haven’t spoken with her yet, but my sense is that Deborah Calla, who produced and co-wrote the new indie film A Beautiful Life, feels a strong connection to the lead character of Maggie.

It’s just a sense, but the character of Maggie, a teenage girl running away from the sexual abuse of her father, doesn’t seem like an emotional story you would want to participate in telling unless it really spoke to your soul.

Of course, I could be completely mistaken.

Calla, a Brazilian native, first discovered Wendy Hammond’s play, Jersey City, back in 1996. It took a long time to translate Jersey City into A Beautiful Life, but I’m sure there is an audience out there for this alternately harsh and yet tender slice of modern life.

AUDIO EXCERPT: "I think this is the best work Bai has ever done. This is a woman who looks amazing with makeup on, amazing without any makeup on. She just has so many different colors and goes through such a journey. I hope this movie will show other producers and directors what she can really do."

And Calla found some strong women to fill the lead and featured roles, starting with Angela Sarafyan as Maggie, the lead character, and continuing with Bai Ling as Maggie’s protector, Dana Delaney as her mother and Debi Mazar as a librarian who takes an interest in Maggie.



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LISTEN TO THIS, TOO! Mr. Media Radio interview with BAI LING, star of A Beautiful Life


Copyright 2009 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

Bai Ling, A BEAUTIFUL LIFE actress: Mr. Media Radio Interview

By BOB ANDELMAN

Bai Ling stands out among American actresses for so many reasons: she’s Chinese, for one thing, but it’s not just that. She reads lines differently than her counterparts, a little softer here, a little louder there. And you don’t get the sense that she hesitates to say or do much of anything on camera, making her an exotic form of clay for most directors.

Of course, there is her beauty. The eyes are a little farther apart than Western audiences are accustomed to seeing onscreen. Her figure—which she shows without embarrassment or hesitation, is hers. Don’t go looking for scalpel marks.

And then there is the hair. Thick, black and cut with a sharp edge across the front—she just doesn’t look like anyone you’ve ever seen before.

And judging from her international success, it’s not just Americans who can’t get enough of Bai Ling.

AUDIO EXCERPT: “I got cast for Love Ranch, for which they originally wanted someone with big boobs, blonde hair, 20 years old—and totally a white girl. But I got it. And I’m pretty happy to play a white woman’s part. That gives me much more range as an actress.”

Her latest film, A Beautiful Life, casts Bai in the role of den mother to a young Latino man who is in the U.S. illegally and a teenage girl, played by Angela Sarafyan, who has run away from a physically abusive father. But this is still Bai Ling, so the producers found a way for her character, Esther, to frequently wear little or nothing: she’s a stripper.

A Beautiful Life opens around the United States on October 2. In addition to Bai Ling, it also stars Dana Delaney of “Desperate Housewives,” Debi Mazar of “Entourage,” and Guillermo Diaz of “Weeds.”

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Copyright 2009 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!