The Playboy Interview with James Spader
May 2005 issue
A candid
conversation with Boston Legal's press-shy star about pushing sexual
boundaries, his bizarre characters and why journalists annoy him. By
Lawrence Grobel.
The entire interview is now available here as of May 21, 2005.
Previously, we only made available page 1-2 of a 7 page interview in order to
respect the copyright holder and give you a chance to buy it. As the next issue is released, we're
providing the full interview until we hear otherwise or the guilt
becomes overbearing.
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James Spader in Entertainment Weekly, June 26, 2004
The cover story is "137 People & Things We Love This Summer: The Must List".
James is # 44. Not only in the top third, as he should be, but 44 is his
magic number this year. In this picture, James reflects on "...what
the hell we're gonna be up to.." on Fleet Street.
Click to
enlarge
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NEWS
ARCHIVE
[December 1, 2005]
ODD MEN IN: Johnny Depp vs. James Spader
by Steve Ryfle
They're a couple of modern-day Peter Lorres, minus the creepy looks and
creepier voice, beloved actors who've staked their livelihoods on playing
weirdos.
>> read more
>> Spader image gallery
[November
27, 2005]
Ace of Spader
He's a TV star now, ut it was the surprises in his 36-film career that
turned audiences on to his talent. And his penchant for roles that ooze
sexuality.
>> read more
Delayed Gratification
The Boston Globe By Nelson Handel
'I don't want to share anything," begins James Spader, as we sit down to
talk. "I think there probably are performers who want to share their
private stuff with the world, and therefore they don't mind letting it
play out in public. I don't want to heal. I don't want to share."
Suddenly, he reaches down to the coffee table between us and says,
"That's funny. I use these same pens." He picks one up, studies it a
moment, places it carefully where he found it, and keeps talking, as if
that bizarre pause had never happened.
>> read more
TV Guide's Matt Roush Predicts the winner for Best Actor, Drama
WILL WIN: Spader SHOULD WIN: Laurie WHY: The perversely amusing
Spader could very well repeat last year's upset win-Emmy loves those
bizarre David E. Kelley characters.
Live from LA: Countdown to Emmys
... Other front-row stars to look for include Jennifer Garner (two
seats down from James Spader) ... [USA Today]
[November 9, 2005]
Spader is the new voice of the Acura
Several 30 second commercials for the ACURA automobile have his
voiceovers, including "Of all its abilities, listening might be its most
impressive."
From Yahoo News: The brand's new voiceover artist, Boston Legal
actor James Spader, suggests the confident, master-of-the-universe driver.
The new tagline in two spots is, "Always advancing."
[Thank you to poetic_filmmaker who recorded some of the commercials]
[August 11, 2005]
Ted Casablanca's The Awful Truth
E!Online
From Aug. 4 column:
[At the TCA ABC party] "James Spader, growing in waist
circumference and quickly losing his humpability, is looking
more and more like William Shatner. Did these Boston Legal
jokers plan this? Bill-babe wore a dark suit, unbuttoned, while
James S. donned an buttoned gray jacket and purple shirt with
his hairy chest peeking out. And shades, natch."
[This comment from Ted sparked
a fair amount of discussion among Spader fans about Ted's
penchant for Alec Baldwin and his skewed assessment of Spader.
Good friend 'Moss', email to Ted was printed]
From Aug. 11 column:
Dear Ted:
You say James Spader is losing his humpability because he's
gained a few pounds, yet you think (and I agree with you) Alec
Baldwin is sexy? Well! A.B. is certainly not skinny! Come on,
Ted.
Iris Rivera / Puerto Rico
Dear Stud-Scale:
Oh, girl, get real. True, Baldwin may be pudgy, but Spader's
getting downright Delta Burke (during her blond years).
[July 27, 2005]
James Spader arrives at the ABC TCA party at the
Abby
on July 27, 2005 in West Hollywood [source:
Getty Images/Mark Mainz]
{July 26, 2005]
It's official: ABC announced today Boston Legal premieres
September 27. [ABC
press release]
"Entertainment Tonight"
segment on Boston Legal
>>
Read the article >> Watch
the VIDEO now
Spader: "I like the way Alan can weave his way and make trouble
in any quarter because he really doesn't seem to have an age.
Just when he seems the most aged and wizened, he all of a sudden
is the most immature person in the room."
Ausiello's Press Tour Diary Day 7 (ABC)
TVGuide.com
by Michael Ausiello
[excerpt] When a reporter asks the cast if they’re having as
much fun working on the show as it would seem, they all defer to
producer Bill D'Elia, who responds with a rather unconvincing,
“We are having fun.” Once more with feeling?
>> read more
Images
from the TCA Summer Press Tour Boston Legal panel. [©
ABC/Adam Larkey]
>> more images
[© Getty Images Entertainment by Frederick M. Brown]
[July 14, 2005]
James Spader and William Shatner nominated for Emmys!
Larger images
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Watch the 4 min. video of announcement
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series
Boston Legal • ABC • David E. Kelley Productions in
association with 20th Century Fox Television Studios
James Spader as Alan Shore
Deadwood • Ian McShane as Al Swearengen
House • Hugh Laurie as Dr. Gregory House
Huff • Hank Azaria as Dr. Craig “Huff” Huffstodt
24 • Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series
William Shatner as Denny Crane
[June 12, 2005]
James Spader attended the Egyptian Tourism Authority Private
Reception and Viewing of the King Tut Exhibit at the Los Angeles
County Museum of Art June 18. [images]
[June 6,
2005]
This week, nominating ballots are mailed to Academy
members. The deadline for returning the ballots is June 22.
Visit our 2005 page for Boston Legal and relive the wins of
James Spader, William Shatner and Sharon Stone through video,
words and images.
Boston-Legal.org Emmy page
2004
Emmy wins for The Practice
57th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards 2004-2005
Rules and Procedures (88 pages; pdf)
Attorney equally crazy in private, to say the least
Aftonbladet
[excerpt] You have said that there is only one reason to work.
Do you still have that attitude?
Spader’s gaze is as the one Alan Shore uses when he is forced to
express thoughts that he thinks are well beneath his dignity.
Lives well.
“No… Well… Yes… I mean… “
(Deep sigh)
“I get sucked into my own life so easily.”
[Thanks to Mariposa from Stockholm for translating and sending
it in]
Read more pdf >>
[May 27,
2005]
Sex, Lies and Videotape script
EXT. HIGHWAY -- DAY
GRAHAM DALTON, twenty-nine, drives his '69 Cutlass while smoking
a cigarette. One could describe his appearance as punk/arty, but
neither would do him justice. He is a man of obvious
intelligence, and his face is amiable. There is only one key on
his keyring, and it is in the ignition.
|
read the full script |
[May 19, 2005]
Spader,
Shatner,
Valley,
Bergen and
Julie Bowen
from Boston Legal attend the ABC Upfront Presentation Party held
at
Damrosch Park Lincoln Center in New York City on May 18.
More of James and Leslie.
1
2
large
[filmmagic;
gettyimages, rexfeatures, splashnews]
[July 13, 2005]
Endless amusement at search engine keywords used to find
JamesSpader.org:
video clips of sex [Yahoo]
boston sexual offenders [AOL image search delivered our
Boston Legal website images of Denny Crane. Paul Lewiston and
Shirley Schmidt!]
boston sexual offenders [same for Google]
lesbian tara wilson and lori colson [yes, thank you, surfer
from Malta!]
elevator sex movie [Google]
2005 emmys [Google; 5th result is our Boston Legla site]
57th emmy nominations [Google; 4th result]
57th emmy award [Google; 4th result]
Best Drama Emmy Nominations 2005 [2nd result]
[May 27,
2005]
Side Dish
NY Daily News
James Spader hung with Dr. John at
New York
City's Au Bar for for an hour backstage. The Big Easy legend
plays there through Sunday.
[May 17,
2005]
Boston Legal, Tuesdays, 10pm in 2005-06
Technically, ABC will make the announcement at 4pm EST at their
Upfront in New York, but "sources" say that Boston Legal's new
home is Tuesdays at 10 p.m. This puts it opposite NBC's Law &
Order: SVU. CBS's Upfront is Wednesday at 3pm EST, although
Judging Amy is currently in the 10 p.m. slot. Boston Legal will
follow drama "Commander-in-Chief" at 9 p.m. starring Geena Davis
as the female president.
TV Guide's 2005 Schedule Grid
Hollywood Reporter
Zap2It
[May 3, 2005]
TV Gal Indulges in Character Swapping
Zap2it.com
TV Gal gives James Spader her highest marks by rating him 5
Smits ("...since Jimmy Smits replacing David Caruso was probably
one of the best cast swaps ever.")
[April 24,
2005]
Boston Legal crosses the pond, begins broadcasting in the UK.
Mondays 10pm, April 25th.
See Living TV's very nice website
[April 23,
2005]
Killers Tapped For Lollapalooza, Want James Spader In Movie
MTV.com
"Whenever I see it in my head, I see James Spader killing this
girl. ..." The band would like to see "Boston Legal" actor James
Spader cast in the movie.
[April 21,
2005]
Top five young, rich and angst ridden films
The Sydney Morning Herald
# 2 - Less Than Zero (1987)
Synopsis: Youth, money, drugs, convertibles and more neon than
Vegas. Viva the 80s!
Clay (Andrew McCarthy) is both cold and earnest, Julian (Robert
Downey Jr) is drug-addled and edgy. Blair (Jamie Gertz) is stiff
and martyred and Rip (James Spader) circles like a well-brilled
sharka perfectly cast 80s flick. [ed. note: #1 spot is held by
"My Own Private idaho"] [read
more]
SpoilerFX.com
Read summaries for the next four episodes, all of which will air
in the Fall.
[April 8]
No new episodes of Boston Legal until Fall; Boston Legal” Will Return for the 2005-06 Season with 27
Original Episodes
The ABC Television Network announced today that “Grey’s Anatomy”
will continue airing
Sundays at 10:00 p.m., ET, through the end of the season, with
“Boston Legal” scheduled to return for 2005-06 with 27 original
episodes, which will include the episodes not aired this season.
“We’re in the enviable position of having two shows that have
each performed extremely well for us Sundays at 10:00 – ‘Boston
Legal and ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’ We had already picked up ‘Boston
Legal’ for next year based on its stellar run thus far this
season. Now, with the strong debut of ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ we are
very optimistic about having an additional asset of tremendous
value heading into Fall,” said Stephen McPherson, president, ABC
Entertainment. “However, with this embarrassment of riches comes
a tough decision. Ultimately we decided that, without having
adequate lead time or marketing dollars to devote to moving
either show so late in the season, we’d continue to let ‘Grey’s’
build on its tremendous momentum through May. We’re extremely
excited that this will give us the amazing luxury of bringing
‘Boston Legal’ back next season with an unheard-of 27 original
episodes.” Season to date, since its March 27 premiere, “Grey’s
Anatomy” is a dominant No. 1 in its time period, overshadowing
its closest competition by 6.7 million viewers (17.0 million vs.
10.3 million - NBC) and beating the combined delivery of CBS and
NBC in the time slot by 32% among Adults 18-49 (7.4/18 vs.
5.6/14=CBS and NBC combined). “Grey’s Anatomy” is delivering
ABC’s best retention yet in he time period coming out “Desperate
Housewives.” The show qualifies as the highest ranking midseason
TV program and also has the distinction as the only drama this
television season (returning and new) to build its audience from
Week 1 to Week 2. In addition, “Grey’s” is producing ABC’s
strongest series ratings among young adults in the hour since
“The Practice” during the 2000-01 TV Season
[April 13]
James Spader: The Playboy Interview
{April 5,
2005]
ABC PUTS IN EARLY 2005-06 SEASON ORDER FOR BOSTON LEGAL
The ABC
Television Network has given "Boston Legal" an early pick-up for
the 2005-06 season, the network announced today. "Boston Legal"
ranks No. 1 in its hour among Total Viewers and across each of
the key adult demos, ahead of NBC's "Crossing Jordan": Total
Viewers (12.5 million), Adults 18-34 (3.6/10), Adults 18-49
(4.9/12) and Adults 25-54 (5.7/13). Compared to the same point
last season, "Boston Legal" has improved the hour for ABC by 39%
in Total Viewers and by 48% in Adults 18-49. The freshman drama
stars James Spader as Alan Shore and is produced by David E.
Kelley Productions in association with Twentieth Century Fox
Television.
[Source:
ABCMedianet.com]
[April 4,
2005]
Listen to the cast and creatives from Boston Legal share
their thoughts on production and storylines during the
William S. Paley Television Festival held March 15 in
Hollywood at the
Directors Guild Theater.
[Go
to Event page]
[March 31, 2005]
Cuss & Effect
National Review Online
Boston Legal's Scott Kaufer said that a boilerplate warning from
ABC's Standards and Practices is to refrain from showing
characters smoking, even though "we end pretty much every
episode with James Spader and William Shatner smoking on the
balcony... Never once this season have I paid any attention to
that note or heard any follow-up."
[March 30, 2005]
Killers' To-Do List: Lawsuit, Long-Form Video With James Spader.
MTV.com
"... And he's also got his eye on a leading man for the whole
thing. "I'd love to get James Spader to be in it, and we're trying
to pin him down now."
Boston Legal, Meet Terri Schiavo
TAEmag.com
"... Alan Shore , sarcastic lawyer extraordinaire played by James
Spader, flies to Texas from the more humane State of Massachusetts
to save the day." |