"I know it's often hard to watch," says creator-producer Tom Fontana with a wicked grin, as he discusses HBO's "OZ," his latest hit series, beginning its third successful season this June. The show features murderers, drug dealers and addicts, racists, child-molesters, and just about every twisted type of human behavior known to man or woman. Season one ended with a full-scale riot as frustration, sexuality, hate, revenge, and racism escalated into violence. Not only is "OZ" the darkest of his creations; the show also bears the dubious distinction of being the raunchiest, most violent, foul mouthed cable series regularly on air-a fact which tickles the mild-mannered Fontana.
"Oh, this show definitely speaks to the darker recesses of the viewer's psyche," he admits. "But all my shows essentially pose the same question: "Who is this person, what is their journey, and what would I do if I were in this situation?' Whenever I write a story, I write the characters first and then I place them in an environment-whether a Boston hospital ["St. Elsewhere'], a Baltimore police station ["Homicide'], or a maximum security prison ["OZ'].
"On "Homicide' we sent a lot of characters to prison and I always wondered what happened to them. So you could say "OZ' is really a continuation of "Homicide' "-ironically just cancelled at the end of its critically acclaimed seven-year NBC run.
The "OZ" offices are tucked away six floors above Ninth Avenue, in New York's trendy Chelsea Market. The bustling soundstage houses the full-scale city-block-long set of the glassed-in model prison, nicknamed the Emerald City. In addition to a full complement of individual cells-each large enough to accommodate a camera as well as the requisite bunks, sink, and toilet-there are a day-room area, upper deck, laundry, communal showers, dining hall, kitchen, fully equipped indoor exercise room, and assorted swing sets for various prison officials' offices. This is definitely not Dorothy's Oz!
Chazz Directs
This season, such indie film and television directors as Matthew Penn and Adam Bernstein join previous helmers Darnell Martin, Nick Gomez, and Mary Harron. The show has also attracted noted actor-directors Kathy Bates, Bob Balaban, Matt Dillon, and Steve Buscemi. Back Stage is on hand as actor Chazz Palminteri makes his directorial debut with a particularly nasty episode, involving the slashing of a prisoner's throat in the shower.
Casually dressed in jeans and backwards-style Kangol cap, Ã la Samuel L. Jackson, Palminteri works on a pick-up shot to match the previously taped slashing scene. Gazing through the viewfinder, he speaks quietly with his director of photography, Craig DiBona, before saying, "I need to see more blood on the blade." After reshooting, Palminteri says, "I like it, let's move on, I want to get the next scene before lunch." They get the tracking shot easily by the fourth take, and cast and crew break for lunch.
Palminteri begins his lunch hour by greeting visiting hard-rocker Joan Jett-an inmate's fantasy in tight leather pants and midriff-baring T-shirt-before sitting down to talk. He remembers, "I used to read Back Stage to find showcase work, back in my early acting days." Then he recalls how this chance to direct came about. "I didn't know Tom before, but I met him at a memorial for a mutual friend. When I told him how much I loved the show, he said, "Would you like to direct an episode?' It was that simple. I'd been wanting to direct for a long time-I've written feature films ["Bronx Tale,' "Faithful'] without directing them. But I'll be directing my script of "The Wanderer,' the story of Dion and the Belmonts, and this is a great way to "dip my toes.' All the "OZ' directors get just one week's prep, one week to shoot, and about two weeks of post. You really have to move fast-we're shooting nine pages a day-so you've got to have a great crew and incredible actors. It's the only way you can do it."
Among the featured and continuing players are such stage, screen, and televison veterans as Ernie Hudson (the prison warden-his son, Ernie Hudson, Jr., plays a drug dealer), Terry McKinney (Security Chief McManus), Rita Moreno (Sister Pete, a nun), Harold Perrineau (Augustus, a prisoner who serves as surrealistic Greek chorus), Eamonn Walker (a charismatic Muslim prisoner), brothers Dean and Scott Winters (the inmate O'Reilly brothers), Adewale (a brutal Nigerian inmate), Zeljko Ivanek (the two-faced Governor), George Morforgen and Tom Mardirosian (two older, sexually ambiguous cellmates), and Luis Guzman (head of the Latino prisoners).
Moonlighting from Broadway, B.D. Wong ("You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown") and Edie Falco ("Sideman") play, respectively, the prison chaplain and a female guard in love with McManus. Special guests have included Zakes Mokae (an African voodoo priest), Uta Hagen (George Morforgen's aged mother), Charles Dutton (a law-school dean), and Anne Meara (the O'Reilly's aunt).
Cast with Courage
Various principals, continuing characters, and day-players lounge off camera in hallways or dressing rooms-actor Kirk Acevedo, who plays Miguel, is in the dining hall with several of the other younger actors, playing Scrabble. "I didn't even know they could read," jokes Fontana, and Acevedo laughs. "Everybody assumes I really am a thug and I talk like Miguel [a troubled teenaged Puerto Rican prisoner, who blinds a fellow inmate]," says the personable young actor, who already has one Drama Desk and one Cable Ace nomination to his credit. Acevedo mentions a continuing dialogue with castmate Harold Perrineau and Fontana about the misperceptions, arising from skin color and/or ethnic names, that resulted in the creation of an "OZ" episode dealing with that very subject.
Perrineau, whose credits range from the last season of TV's "Fame" to the films "Smoke" (for which he won the IFP Spirit Award) and Malcom Lee's about-to-be released "The Best Man," began his career as a dancer. He remembers picking up his first copy of Back Stage at the tender age of 16 and laughs, saying, "I only stopped claiming it on my taxes two years ago." As for "OZ," although his character is confined to a wheelchair, Perrineau feels the fantasy element allows him an incredible range. "I can't believe the exposure I've gotten on this show-Tom's so smart and his writing's so poignant."
Fontana returns the compliment. "This is the most courageous cast I've ever worked with. Most actors are concerned with being liked. I've asked this entire cast to do horrible, horrible things and no one has ever said no. About a third are people I've worked with before-Lee Tergeson, Dean, Terry, and Edie [on "Homicide']-a third are people I always wanted to work with, like Rita and B.D., and a third are people I'd never seen before our phenomenal casting director Alexa Fogel brought them in."
"Here's a great casting story," he continues. "I was having real trouble finding the right actor to play Kareem Said, who's got to be charismatic and still have huge flaws. So I'm on the phone with my friend Lynda LaPlante ["Prime Suspect']. She's in England, and we're chatting away and she asks, "What's going on with "OZ"?' and I tell her about the trouble I'm having casting Kareem, and she says, "Oh Darling, I'll send him right over-and I say, "You can't send him over-it's not like you're on 56th Street and he can take a bus down here; what if I don't like him?' And she says, "It's already done, he'll be there tomorrow!' That's Lynda; she's very "take no prisoners!' Well, Eamonn Walker comes in the next day and he reads maybe three lines and I say, "Thank you, that's great' and he says, "...But...,' and I say. "You've got the part!' She was right, he's perfect!"
Rita Moreno sums up the "OZ" experience: "I didn't even have to audition. Tom asked me to play Sister Pete, this nun who speaks her mind, has opinions, and doesn't wear a uniform-Tom actually has a sister who is a nun like this! I just love her. She's so different from anything I've ever played, if Tom wanted her to smoke a cigar, I'd do it! Ironically-given the show's subject matter-the whole cast and crew have become this big supportive family."
Dean and Scott Winters who play "OZ"'s inmate O'Reilly Brothers, Ryan and Cyril, actually consider Fontana, "another brother." "We've known him since our days as 'twin bartenders' - Irish twins that is, 12 and half months apar t," quips the older Dean. "When we first met Tom," he continues, "we were so poor, we used to have to split one copy of Back Stage." So it'sonly fitting that on May 25th, Winters will present the 30th Anniversary Film/Video Arts Award to Fontana, in recognition not only of his own incredible success - it joins several Emmy, Peabody and CableAce Awards -but for the opporunitunities he has provided to others within New York's indie film and television worlds. You can bet other members of his "OZ" family will be there to cheer him on!