After years of ready for Pam to dump Roy, subtly and not-so-subtly flirting within the workplace, and a collection of lovely romantic gestures, did Jim actually suggest to Pam in a fuel station car parking zone within the rain?
Completely he did.
Within the newest episode of the Workplace Girls podcast, The Workplace stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey chatted all in regards to the second a part of the Season 5 premiere, “Weight Loss,” which options the proposal followers had been ready for for…effectively…5 seasons.
When discussing the primary half of “Weight Loss,” Fischer and Kinsey talked all about hilarious deleted scenes. Now, it is time to unpack Jim’s impromptu relaxation cease proposal and listen to the unexpectedly candy inspiration behind the very costly scene.
Since Fischer was a part of the scene she was capable of share some firsthand filming experiences, and Kinsey peppered some useful DVD commentary from the crew into the dialog.
This is a take a look at six key behind-the-scenes proposal revelations from the episode:
1. The proposal was a shock to everybody, even the solid
Like followers, Pam was clearly thrown for a loop when Jim popped the large query mere steps away from a bunch of gasoline — however the solid members had been shocked by the timing of the proposal, too.
“So to begin with, I simply need you guys to know that Greg [Daniels, showrunner] spoke with us about this. He mentioned that he actually wished Jim’s proposal to Pam to be within the season premiere. He thought that will be surprising. You normally finish seasons with proposals,” Fischer defined. “So he thought this might be an actual shock.”
“And it was,” Kinsey replied. “Jenna, I even keep in mind on the desk learn, you understand, we had a lot happening with this weight reduction story and Pam at artwork faculty. I did not see it coming.”
“No,” Fischer confirmed. “And we would been teasing all of it final season. [Daniels] mentioned he additionally wished to throw folks off by having it in a really strange location. So he wished it to really feel particular, however he additionally wished it to really feel like Jim made the choice with out a entire lot of planning.”
2. Location, location, location
That brings us to the considerably controversial location of the proposal: a fuel station.
Fischer defined that Daniels felt the perfect location for the scene was a fuel station alongside the freeway between Scranton and New York within the rain.
As I first realized from studying Andy Greene’s The Workplace (The Untold Story of the Biggest Sitcom of the 2000s: An Oral Historical past), the fuel station was based mostly off of an actual relaxation cease that Daniels usually visited when driving on the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut.
“…They used Google Road View to seize pictures of an actual fuel station alongside the Merritt Parkway…”
“We didn’t really fly to this location. That is the insane half,” Fischer defined. “They constructed this within the car parking zone of a Greatest Purchase that I’ve been to many instances, really. What they did was they used Google Road View to seize pictures of an actual fuel station alongside the Merritt Parkway, after which utilizing these pictures, they constructed it to match this car parking zone.”
The set reportedly took round 9 days to construct, and Fischer mentioned that to be able to create the phantasm of freeway site visitors, they constructed a four-lane racetrack loop across the fuel station.
“They arrange cameras on the opposite facet of this raceway and so they had vehicles drive round it at 55 miles an hour. Then they added rain pouring down on us [with] these big rain machines,” Fischer defined. “Our manufacturing supervisor, Randy Cordray, mentioned that they had about 35 precision drivers. They had been driving not simply vehicles, however like semi vehicles. Once we had been standing there on that set you might really feel the wind like of those vehicles rushing previous you. It was so, so bonkers.”
Fischer mentioned that after they shot the scene a particular results firm was employed to interchange the background — which was initially some California mountains — with timber that regarded like they may very well be present in Connecticut.
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3. The most costly scene in Workplace historical past
Followers know The Workplace dished out some huge bucks to for jokes and music over time — keep in mind that Michael Scott joke that value the staff $60,000? — however Jim’s proposal to Pam was the costliest scene of the collection.
“It lasts 52 seconds and it value $250,000.”
“Ultimately, this was the one costliest scene ever shot throughout the complete run of the present. It lasts 52 seconds and it value $250,000,” Fischer mentioned, a lot to Kinsey’s shock.
“Oh my lord. Oh my lord. Wow,” Kinsey replied.
“Yeah, so 1 / 4 of one million {dollars} for lower than one minute of display time,” Fischer concluded.
4. Jim really proposed on…a poisonous waste web site
After listening to the “Weight Loss” DVD commentary, Kinsey realized a number of different attention-grabbing location tidbits.
“So after months and months of scouting and conferences, it was our location supervisor, Kyle Alexander, who discovered this monumental paved car parking zone,” Kinsey shared. “…Acres and acres of paved floor, which is what they wanted in the event that they had been going to construct a racetrack, mainly, proper? So these vehicles may loop round. Now, in keeping with Randy Cordray, the explanation why it was such an enormous, huge, huge car parking zone is as a result of it was a paved over poisonous waste web site.”
Oh. No biggie!
“Apparently years, and years, and years in the past, there was an previous ceramics plant or one thing that had buried lead paint waste into the bottom, in order that they needed to seal it and canopy it,” Kinsey defined.
“So, Angela, I simply wish to ensure that we acknowledge that the data you’ve got simply given us implies that Jim and Pam, our beloved Jam, acquired engaged at a former poisonous waste dump,” Fischer mentioned, to which Kinsey replied, “Fluorescent Jam.”
5. Giving props for faux props
The set regarded nice, however do you know the fuel station behind Jim and Pam wasn’t really stocked?
“[Production designer] Michael Gallenberg shares on the DVD commentary considered one of his favourite issues that he constructed of this entire set was the drinks behind the glass doorways — it is the truth is one humongous big photograph,” Kinsey defined. “It was an inkjet print on foam core paper.”
“It seems superb. And there is a nice shot at 38:32 proper behind Jim and Pam. I’d have by no means identified that these drinks had been a photograph,” she continued.
6. The nice sound debate
One of many huge debates when filming and enhancing was whether or not or not the scene ought to embrace audible dialogue.
Ultimately, the collection opted for sound, however Daniels actually mulled over the choice.
“This was an enormous, large debate. Greg couldn’t make up his thoughts. They’d two variations able to go.”
“This was an enormous, large debate. Greg couldn’t make up his thoughts. They’d two variations able to go. One with sound throughout the proposal and one with out. And actually, I imply, Jake [Aust, producer] shared on the DVD commentary that up till the day of airing Greg was nonetheless making an attempt to resolve.
“It is so humorous as a result of I vaguely keep in mind that. However we spoke dialogue each time,” Fischer mentioned. “So the controversy was simply merely whether or not Jim and Pam had been nonetheless carrying their microphones and you might hear our dialogue, or Jim and Pam weren’t carrying their microphones and also you could not. So we mentioned dialogue each time. It wasn’t like there have been two totally different scenes that had been written with or with out dialogue. It was simply whether or not or not you might hear it.”
“I do not suppose John and I knew about this huge debate as a result of we had been simply saying our strains each time,” she continued.
Ultimately, each Kinsey and Fischer appreciated having the ability to hear the proposal. And though Jim acquired some fan pushback for proposing at a fuel station, Fischer assures everybody the set felt very romantic.
“It was really, to be there, actually romantic. You understand, it was humorous. The fuel station was only a entrance. When you went in, it was a like a fakey-fake. You undergo the door and also you’re simply timber that did not have a again or something. But it surely felt magical,” she mentioned. “And it was a lot enjoyable to shoot that scene. I imply, I really feel like we acquired it on the primary take and possibly we did a number of. However my reminiscence is that we weren’t there lengthy, that we acquired it fairly early and it was a cool second.”
Make sure you hearken to the total podcast episode for extra behind-the-scenes tales from filming “Weight Loss,” and take a look at our listing of 15 tales all superfans of The Workplace must learn.
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Originally posted 2021-05-26 16:06:18.