Two In The Shirt is one of the hottest t-shirt brands out there. SHOPTITS!
Interview Date: 12/12/2010
Run Date: 12/28/2010
Interviews Home / Movies Home / Bullz-Eye Home
On CBS’s “The Big Bang Theory,” Howard Wolowitz lives at home and is forever trying to figure out a way to score without disturbing his mother. Thankfully, the actor who plays Howard – Simon Helberg – has done a bit better with the ladies: not only is he happily married to Jocelyn Towne, but, indeed, the two of them will be working together on an upcoming project. “I Am I” is the story of Rachael, a young woman who finally meets the father who abandoned her as a child, only to find that he suffers from mental illness and believes that she’s her mother, Sarah. Towne wrote the screenplay and will also serve as director and producer on the film, Helberg is part of the cast, and the financing…well, that’s where you come in, dear reader, as “I Am I” is being done with the assistance of an awesome new site called Kickstarter.com.
Never heard of it? Here’s a quick synopsis from their website:
Kickstarter is the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world. Every month, tens of thousands of amazing people pledge millions of dollars to projects from the worlds of music, film, art, technology, design, food, publishing and other creative fields. This is not about investment or lending. Project creators keep 100% ownership and control over their work. Instead, they offer products and experiences that are unique to each project. On Kickstarter, a project must reach its funding goal before time runs out or no money changes hands. Why? It protects everyone involved. Creators aren’t expected to develop their project without necessary funds, and it allows anyone to test concepts without risk. Each and every project is the independent creation of someone like you. Projects are big and small, serious and whimsical, traditional and experimental. They’re inspiring, entertaining and unbelievably diverse. We hope you agree.
Pretty cool, huh?
Bullz-Eye had the chance to chat with Helberg about “I Am I” and his experiences with Kickstarter thus far, but, of course, when you’ve got the guy who plays Howard Wolowitz on the phone, you can’t miss a chance to ask him about “The Big Bang Theory.” Similarly, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get an update from Helberg on the “Dr. Horrible” sequel, and we also got his thoughts on the late, great “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” and had him reflect on his work with Derek Waters on “Derek & Simon: The Show.”
Simon Helberg: Hey, Will, I’m so sorry it took me so long to call! I was on another interview before this, and it went long, so…
Bullz-Eye: Not a problem. I’ve been the person who’s caused someone to go long, so I completely understand.
SH: Oh, okay. Well, I’m still sorry. (Laughs) So how’s it going?
BE: Pretty good. Now, I know you probably don’t remember me, but you and I have met a couple of times before. I’m in the TCA, so, y’know, I’ve been to a couple of those packed-to-the-gills CBS parties, and I was there when the TCA did the “Big Bang Theory” set visit.
SH: Oh, okay, yeah! Cool!
BE: I have to tell you that I’m really interested in the whole Kickstarter phenomenon. I know of several artists who are financing their albums through the site, so when I got this pitch about you and your wife using Kickstarter to do “I Am I,” it caught my eye immediately.
"We’ve gone full force into Kickstarter (with 'I Am I'), and it’s been incredible. In basically the first week, we raised about 40% of the funds. We’re trying to raise $100K by January 8, and we have over $40K now. We had donations…people we didn’t know, a couple of donations came in for $10K each. It’s just really inspiring."
SH: Oh, cool! Yeah, it’s incredible what they’re doing over there. My wife and I are both producing “I Am I,” she actually wrote the movie, is directing it, and is starring in it, and I will be in it as well. As of now, Jason Ritter is also in it, and there’s a bunch of other parts that we’re casting. But, yeah, we’ve gone full force into Kickstarter, and it’s been incredible. In basically the first week, we raised about 40% of the funds. We’re trying to raise $100K by January 8, and we have over $40K now. We had donations…people we didn’t know, a couple of donations came in for $10K each. It’s just really inspiring. And, you know, the way that it all works is that you have to raise the full amount that you’re trying to raise or it all goes back to everybody, so it’s kind of scam-proof in the sense that people aren’t just going to take a little bit of this money and make a crappy movie with $10K. (Laughs) So you’ve got that built in. And once we’ve reached that $100K, we’ve got an angel donor who’s going to match that, so then we’ll have $200K, and we’ll be well on our way. I mean, it’s a smaller movie, so it’s great. We made the video, put it up there, and, y’know, it’s really tough to take it on yourself, but with this crowd funding…it’s great, because the people become the studio.
BE: Yeah, I think the interactivity of it is really cool.
SH: Yeah, you can bypass that sort of Socratic thing. It’s, like, “Well, these are the people that are going to movies or listening to music or buying jewelry,” or whatever, “and this is what they want.” So it really has that independent community feel, of allowing everyone to have a part in it, so to speak. Yeah, it’s been great. I don’t know if you’ve gotten a chance to see the video…
BE: I have. I’ve been exploring the blog for the film. Well, actually, the whole website.
SH: Oh, okay, cool! Yeah, it’s pretty great. I think Kickstarter is at that stage where…I think it’ll explode at a certain point, but right now people are just starting to hear about it, and they’re just starting to realize, “Wow, this is actually…” (Hesitates) It’s not like infomercials, where sometimes you’re, like, “What the hell is going on here? It’s three in the morning, and I’m being hit over the head with a spoon that doesn’t fog up.” This is more, like, “Oh, cool, I can be a part of something!” And we’ve put incentives on there. For $10, you get a ringtone that’s me saying something to get you to pick up the phone. For $100, you actually become an associate producer and get a credit at the end of the movie. For $1,000, you get a walk-on part in the movie. For $10K, we fly out when the movie’s done and screen it for you, go out to lunch, or whatever. And there’s all sorts of stuff in between. So it’s a way to really put the power in people’s hands, too. And they really seem to enjoy that. Plus, it’s supporting the arts, too. So, yeah, I think it’s pretty groundbreaking in a lot of ways.
BE: This particular film, of course, has a bit of an advantage. I mean, for one thing, it’s got you in it, and, c’mon, you’re a big-time TV star. (Laughs) And then you’ve got Jason Ritter, who’s on “The Event.”
SH: Yeah, and that’s definitely been…it’s obviously worked to our advantage.
BE: And I should just clarify that I’m not trying not to downplay your film by saying that. If anything, your profile helps it lead the way, in a sense, and brings attention to Kickstarter.
SH: Well, yeah, exactly. And it’s a way for people to see behind the scenes. Like, Jason and I both love the script, obviously. I mean, my wife wrote it… (Laughs) …but we love it in an unbiased way. With this, you get to see what’s going on. You see this with big studio movies all the time: people are attached, they’re trying to get something made, and sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t. With this, you’re watching, you can see where we are, and that we’re saying, “Hey, we need to raise this money!” Twitter has been a really huge part of it, too, which has been great, because I’m newer to that. Aside from the self-indulgence of it... (Laughs) …and me just spewing out nonsense 80% of the time, I’ve really found that it’s a great way to get support and funding for something like this, to raise money for charity, and to reach out to fans and thank them. And, of course, for them to reach out to us as well. I don’t know. I’m swept up in the technology of all this stuff right now.
BE: Well, it’s very easy to get swept up in it. I mean, even though I’m a lowly writer with very little money… (Laughs) …I find myself searching the Kickstarter website, thinking, “Man, I’d love to see this project happen. And that one and that one and that one…”
"People can get connected to something and feel so passionate about something (on Kickstarter) that they’re willing to give even a little bit of money if they can…or a lot if they can! It’s not charity, it’s for art, and it’s great and reassuring to see how much people do care about that. Being a part of that can affect people lives in good ways. They’re, like, 'Oh, here’s a movie that I’d want to see, and I can help get it made.' That’s really inspiring to see."
SH: Yeah, I know! It’s weird! But, you know, it’s reassuring to see the $10 donations or, really, any amount. I mean, not that you’re a bad person if you don’t donate… (Laughs) …but you’re seeing that people can get connected to something and feel so passionate about something that they’re willing to give even a little bit of money if they can…or a lot if they can! And, again, it’s not charity, it’s for art, and it’s great and reassuring to see how much people do care about that. Being a part of that can affect people lives in good ways. They’re, like, “Oh, here’s a movie that I’d want to see, and I can help get it made.” So that’s really inspiring to see.
BE: Now, obviously, I’ve read up on the film, but for the sake of the interview, how did your wife come up with the idea for “I Am I”?
SH: Um, let’s see… (Pauses) Well, part of it had to do with an Oliver Sacks story, but I’m trying to remember if that came first or after. It’s based on the story of Don Quixote in a loose way. In terms of the elements that the protagonist, the older man, has, which is a form of retrograde amnesia where he thinks he’s still 30 years old, even though he’s well into his sixties, that’s a legitimate disorder. And in Oliver Sacks’ book, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, he talks about…there are actually a lot of disorders that are similar to that. So she had come up with this idea independently of that, and then she read that and was, like, “Oh, my gosh, there’s actually a way to legitimize this entire thing!” So it sort of came from those things…and, really, from her imagination. (Laughs) But, yeah, it’s a pretty incredible take on a love story, and it’s not anything that I’ve ever really seen. It’s just really beautifully constructed and written.
BE: Speaking of love stories, I actually meant to ask you when we first got on the phone: how did you and your wife first meet? Was it on “Derek and Simon,” or did you know each other before that?
SH: No, we met before that.
BE: Okay, I just knew that she’d worked on that show with you.
SH: Yeah. We weren’t married then, but we were together. We went to the same high school, but at different times, so we actually ended up meeting afterward, at her housewarming party. I had come with some friends, and I knew her brother, so that was how I ended up going there. But we started hanging out, and…I was doing this stand-up comedy show out here and invited her, and she started coming to my show. Well, more than once, anyway. (Laughs)
BE: I noticed on Kickstarter that Melissa Rauch (who plays Bernadette on “The Big Bang Theory”) has put some money into “I Am I.” Nice of her to be a good girlfriend off-screen as well as on.
SH: (Laughs) Yes, our friends – as well as strangers! – have really been amazing. Yes, she doesn’t just play a good girlfriend!
BE: On that note, I wanted to ask a few “Big Bang” questions, the first specifically about Melissa’s character. When Howard and Bernadette broke up, did the producers give you any indication that she’d be back? Were they just trying not to overdo the character?
SH: To be totally honest, it actually…they loved her and loved having her, it’s just that she ended up getting another job! (Laughs) So she had to pull out, and that’s why it was brushed under the rug and wasn’t talked about that much. But I think they always loved having her here, and I think they still do…and we all do. She’s such a great fit for it. My feeling was, “It’s another show, and if that show ends up going, then we may have lost her, but if it doesn’t…” I think we always thought, “Oh, she’ll be back.” And, lucky for us, that show did not go…and she’s back! (Laughs) Yeah, she’s a great addition to the cast.
(Writer’s note: For the record, the pilot in question was Debra Messing’s “Wright vs. Wrong.”)
BE: I talked to Mayim (Bialik) a few weeks ago and told her how much I enjoy the dynamic that she and Melissa and Kaley (Cuoco) have going on the show.
SH: Yeah! It’s been a really great way to show the female side of it, too, which you haven’t gotten to see. I mean, Kaley does such a great job, but you only get to see her, generally, as representing women, so to watch those three get together, the dynamic of the different points of view, where they’re coming from, is pretty amazing. Their acting and the writing really works well, because they’re all such odd characters in their own way. It’s hilarious, and some of my favorite new stuff I’ve seen.
BE: You and Kunal shared a tender moment a few episodes back…
SH: (Laughs) That’s true.
BE: What was that experience like for you?
SH: Well, it was, uh, challenging. (Starts to laugh) No, it was one of those things where we didn’t really rehearse it that much, and then we just shot it, like, a hundred times. It was, like, we just kept having to shoot it from different angles and in slow motion and all this different stuff. By the end of it, we were kissing even when the cameras weren’t rolling. (Laughs) But, no, we’re all close enough now that…well, you know, not that I would necessarily kiss him were I not being paid to do it, but we are close enough that we could just kind of wipe our feet at the door at the end of the day and move on. And it turned out pretty hilarious, so it was well worth it.
BE: I interviewed Oscar Nunez awhile back, and when I asked him about Steve Carell kissing him on the show, he said that it was improvised, and he just kind of rolled with it and hoped they’d be able to use the take.
SH: Yeah, ours was…luckily, it was in slow motion, so it didn’t have to last quite as long. Plus, it was a mistaken kiss, so it was not as passionate as it might’ve been. (Laughs) But, you know, this is only Season 4. Who knows where the future will lead us?
BE: Who does the voice of your mother on the show?
"I don’t think we’ll ever show (Howard's mother). I mean, I don’t know if you’d want to see a face put to the voice of that character. I think they like that dynamic of having her just existing in this ominous, overbearing way. They like that gag. But who knows? Maybe someday. Maybe that’ll be the last episode ever. She’ll turn around and she’ll be…Angelina Jolie or something."
SH: This woman named Carol Anne Susi. She’s an actress, and…I think she’s worked a bunch as a character actress. She’s from Brooklyn. And she’s…a small woman. (Laughs) And she’s the nicest lady, but she just yells at me all night long. She’s great. She does such a wonderful job creating that character. It’s just…oh, boy. (Laughs)
BE: Are you anticipating that she’s going to be the equivalent of Carlton the Doorman for “Big Bang,” where we never see her?
SH: Yeah, I don’t think we’ll ever show her. I mean, I don’t know if you’d want to see a face put to the voice of that character. I think they like that dynamic of having her just existing in this ominous, overbearing way. They like that gag. But who knows? Maybe someday. Maybe that’ll be the last episode ever. She’ll turn around and she’ll be…Angelina Jolie or something. (Laughs)
BE: Friends of mine on Facebook said that you must be bravest actor in the world to have been willing to do the episode with the robotic arm.
SH: Well, that was pretend, but it did get awfully close. (Laughs) Yeah, that was a fun way to come back for Season 4. It was, like, “Oh, that…okay, so then it gets stuck and…really? Well, all right…” Yeah, they definitely went for it. It was, like, “Welcome to 8 PM!” (Laughs) But it turned out really funny, I thought, and somehow we…they know how send up stuff so that, even though it’s over the top, we try to make it as believable as we can. It’s really fun.
BE: You guys survived the transition to Thursday at 8 PM remarkably well, as far as ratings go.
SH: Yeah, thank God! It’s really cool to have…I mean, it was a lot of pressure, and we knew it was out of our hands, but you still feel like…you can’t quite get the numbers at 8 PM that we would get at 9:30. We were spoiled by having these unbelievable numbers at 9:30, so it was, like, “Okay, we’re probably already going to go down a little because we’re at 8 PM.” But, luckily, it’s been strong and winning the night every week, and people have followed us. Nerds will travel. (Laughs) Yeah, I think it’s an honor to be on at such a coveted night and timeslot, and to start the night. People have really been supportive.
BE: Beyond “I Am I,” do you have any more dramatic roles in your future, a la “A Serious Man”? I was surprised to see you in that, but you more than held your own.
SH: Oh, thank you! I don’t have anything else lined up as of yet. I’m just basically trying to continue on with the show and, as we get closer to the big hiatus in the summer, hopefully try to line some stuff up. And hopefully “I Am I” will be going. But, yeah, I’m open to…I certainly love to play things that are different from…well, from something I’ve played, but also from the show. So hopefully we’ll find something.
BE: How did you end up in “A Serious Man,” anyway?
SH: That was just a dream come true, basically. Just an audition. I got a call to audition and read for them, and it took a long time to hear from them because they made two other movies. (Laughs) They finished “No Country for Old Men” and shot “Burn After Reading,” and then they came back nine months later and said I got it. And that was it. I rehearsed and shot it, and it was really an honor.
BE: Whenever the “Dr. Horrible” sequel gets made, will we see Moist in it?
SH: Yes. As far as I know. I’ve heard some fragments about storylines, and I know that everyone’s down to do it, and when it can happen, it’ll happen. And as far as I know, it looks like it’s all of us. But, you know, who knows where that’ll end up or how it’ll end up? But I know that everyone is excited to try to do it, so that’ll be really cool.
BE: I interviewed Nate Torrence earlier this year, and he likened “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” to Shakespeare, in that you had to get every word just so.
SH: That is true, yeah.
BE: What was that experience like for you? Because he said it was a bit of a transition for him, coming from an improv background.
SH: Yeah, I mean, for me, I…studied theater and that was how I learned, was word perfect. And even when I did sketches at Second City and stuff, I would always keep it fairly word perfect. I mean, obviously, you had the freedom to improvise if you wanted to, but…I’m used to doing plays where the playwrights are dead and you can’t call for notes. You feel like, “Well, I have to honor their words. I assume they put them here for a reason in this order.” So for me, it wasn’t that crazy. It definitely was to the extreme, though. I mean, it was to every single syllable. You know, if it says “cannot” and you say “can’t,” you may have to shoot the 12-page walk-and-talk again. So that was definitely extreme, in the sense that, you know, as much as you honor the writer’s word, I mean, you’re in television, you’re dealing with different things, and time and money and such. And “Big Bang” is actually pretty much that way, too. Not in the sense that they won’t…I mean, if it works, it works, but when you have to say the jargon and science stuff like that, there’s not much room to shift it around. But, yeah, “Studio 60” definitely had a militant way about it, that’s for sure, in that respect. But it was quite an experience to work on.
BE: And, lastly, what’s your favorite project that you’ve worked on that didn’t get the love you thought it deserved?
SH: Um…probably “Derek and Simon,” I think.
BE: Which is funny, because I was going to ask you if you were ever going to turn up on an episode of “Drunk History” with Derek.
SH: (Laughs) Probably, ‘cause those are all my friends. At some point, I probably will. But, yeah, we did some great ones when we started working with Superdeluxe.com. But the pilot we shot for HBO, I thought, was pretty fantastic. It at least had a lot of potential. And a lot of people didn’t get to see it, and the people who did see it didn’t love it, I guess. The right ones didn’t, anyway. But it would’ve been nice if the love that we did get transmitted into allowing it to be on HBO for some time. I think it would have…I mean, it’s all timing, and there are a lot of weird factors. But we went to Sundance with it and got a lot of people who really enjoyed it. It just would’ve been nice to get a run on TV, I guess.
BE: Well, Simon, I know I’ve run over… see, I told you I’m sometimes that guy… (Laughs) …but it’s been great talking to you.
SH: Yeah, you, too!ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
You can follow us on Twitter and Facebook for content updates. Also, sign up for our email list for weekly updates and check us out on Google+ as well.
WATCH THIS!