FX has created some of television's most gripping drama. As a basic cable network, it can show the real violence and language of street cops on The Shield, the real sex and gore of plastic surgery on nip/tuck, and the real trauma of fighting fires on Rescue Me, all without resorting to the overt F-word like HBO.
Their newest series, Sons of Anarchy, portrays the world of outlaw motorcycle clubs. A family of bikers tries to get by in the town of Charming, CA with all the weekly drama surrounding their illegal activities, interpersonal conflicts and secret backstories.
"I imposed the sort of Hamlet archetype on top of that," said series creator Kurt Sutter. "The Gertrude character in that archetype is Gemma. In my mind, Jax Teller, who Charlie Hunnam plays, is essentially, not to keep nailing the pretentious Shakespearean analogy but I will, the Hamlet character. In my mind, [what] he discovers in the pilot is essentially the ghost of his father, the discovery of that 'Perhaps everything I've known, everything that means something to me is perhaps wrong,' and the drama spins out of that."
Sutter comes to Sons of Anarchy after co-producing The Shield. He cast his wife, Katey Sagal, as the main biker chick, Gemma. SuicideGirls joined the producer and actor at the Santa Monica pier at Fox's annual summer press tour party. With roller coasters whizzing by overhead and midway games beeping and buzzing all around, the duo focused on the series which premieres Wed., Sept. 3.
Question: Tell us about the show.
Katey Sagal: Sons of Anarchy is a family drama. It takes place in the world of outlaw motorcycle clubs. I play the matriarch of the club. My husband, played by Ron Perlman, is the president of the club. My son, played by Charlie Hunnam, who is the star of the show, is the vice president of the club and the drama revolves around some of his conflict about being in a club, a lot of different things. My husband, Kurt Sutter, wrote, produced and created and he's my boss.
Question: That's a lot of titles. Who's the treasurer?
Kurt Sutter: It's more secretary. That would be Bobby, Mark Boone Junior's character.
Question: What cool biker chick outfits does Katey get to wear?
Katey: I have cool clothes. You know, black, white, tight, leather, spikes. I've got tattoos. I'm badass.
Question: Sounds like something Peggy Bundy might have worn.
Katey: Never.
Question: What was the initial concept of doing a show in this world?
Kurt: I just feel like it's really a world that's never been explored before on series TV. I think people have tried in the past and nothing has ever really stuck. I think it's a fascinating world. I think people are going to be really curious about it.
Question: What was your entre into this secret outlaw society?
Kurt: For me, one of my fellow executive producers had some contacts in the outlaw community. He was the guy who really hooked me up and I started spending time with these guys and learned a lot about the world. I came up from that with the idea for the series. I had lunch with John Linson and Art Linson two years ago, which seems about 30 years ago now. John had this notion about doing a family drama set in the world of outlaw motorcycle clubs. John was completely immersed in the culture, well-versed in that area. He had friends and associates who were living the life and what he offered me was a front-row seat. I didn't want to get involved with anything that I felt I couldn't do authentically. I can't mention any organizations, but one of these organizations sort of opened their doors to me and I got to see it firsthand. It's a fascinating culture.
Question: What will surprise people about this world?
Katey: Probably how normal their family lives are, and then juxtaposed with how outlaw their day jobs are.
Question: Day jobs does it pay?
Kurt: They all have legitimate day jobs but they're essentially gunrunners. That's their outlaw business that they earn, which is a fairly dangerous and really, sometimes, deadly line of work. The thing that attracted me to the world and these guys, I had no doubt that they were dangerous cats but there was this amazing camaraderie. There was this amazing sort of familial "I'd kill for my brother" bond that all of them had that was somewhat endearing. That juxtaposed against the lifestyle was really fascinating material. From that, I began to do some academic research on the world and some of these clubs. The notion that most of these clubs really began as something else. They began as fraternities, of brotherhoods of guys, most of them war veterans getting together to blow off steam. In a very short period of time, a lot of these clubs morphed into essentially organized crime syndicates. I thought that was such an epic arc that happened. The core of the idea for the drama was I thought, "How does that guy, that first guy who designed the patch, put on the cut and said, 'Hey, let's go out and ride motorcycles, have a few beers and kick some ass.' How does that guy feel about eventually what the club became?" Does he have regret? Does he have remorse? Would he feel the need to change it? At that point, the idea and the club and the world is much bigger than the individual.
Question: What new boundaries does the show push on FX?
Kurt: Ultimately, it all comes out, I'd like to think even with The Shield, it all sort of came out of character and it really came out of circumstance organic to that world. So I don't think any of it is ever really gratuitous. I think it's probably a lot more violence in this world than you would normally see in any other line of work. There is definitely some sexual boundary.
Katey: I mean, it's a dark world but they also have normal lives and it's a really interesting bond that they all have. It's its own little community. It comes out of a whole anarchist attitude actually. That's the title, Sons of Anarchy. They have rules. They have bylaws. There are standards. It's really fascinating. People feel safe in structure no matter what community they're in so they have their own structure that they follow. They have very rigid rules and regulations. They're kind of their own little deal. It's a really fascinating world actually.
Kurt: The drama that happens is that you have this organization that believes that and commits to that, yet they have to exist within the social boundaries that we all know. How do you navigate that philosophy in a world where there are laws and there are rules and your kids have to go to the same schools as every other kid and you have to buy groceries at the same place everybody else buys groceries? For me, the cool hook of the world was imposing that philosophy on what we all understand to be the boundaries of society.
Question: Katey, what drew you back to TV?
Katey: Well, I never really left television. I wanted to do something different. I wanted to do a more dramatic role. I wanted to do an ensemble drama and my husband wrote me a fantastic part. Luckily, FX said, "Yes, we'd love her to come do it." You didn't have to twist my arm. It's a great part.
Question: How do you find the work day to day on a dramatic series?
Katey: It's great. These cable network kind of shows, because we do get to do so much different stuff than you do on a network show, it's very creative. It's like making a little independent movie every week. We don't have the same budgets and it's not all the same bells and whistles as a major network but the work is really, really good.
Question: Can you ride?
Katey: I can ride on the back and I hope I don't have to, but I might. Actually, Gemma, my character, she drives a Cadillac. She's the queen bee.
Question: So it hasn't come up yet.
Katey: Not yet. Can I just say that these guys made a real commitment when they signed on? They all ride now. I mean, everybody took classes and studied. I don't ride a bike but eventually I might. I think they're all doing great.
Question: What weekly incidents come up for the series to explore?
Kurt: Well, I don't want to give anything away. I think it'll really deal with family life so there's a lot of stuff that comes up in terms of Jax becomes a new father in the pilot. So it's dealing with a new baby. It's dealing with relationships from his past showing up.
Question: Did you look at people or model yourself after any real bikers?
Katey: It was very well written to begin with. Gemma is a ferocious mother. She will do anything for her son and for her family, her family being this motorcycle world that she's so a part of. So a lot of that's role modeled on me. I think I'm a little bit of a ferocious mother when it comes to my children. So there's that but at the same time, she's very different than I am in that she'd go to any lengths. When you see the show, you'll realize how far all of them will go in the name of loyalty to their unit. It's actually a lovely bond. They just have a very deep way of expressing it. She's a little bit of a rock chick. She's a hard ass with a heart of gold.
Question: And you still do Futurama. How great is it to revisit Leela?
Katey: Oh, it's always fun to be Leela. In fact, the one that just came out is a lot about Leela. Leela's great.
Question: When they first came back to do those movies, did you have a big reunion with Leela or was there an adjustment period?
Katey: No, not really. We kind of get together. We did them a little while ago now, so I haven't actually seen them since the premiere of the first one.
Question: What's coming up in the next Futurama movies?
Katey: I would be the last person to be able to explain to you what goes on.
Question: Do you get all the geek references?
Katey: No. I'm the geek that does not get the references.
Question: Have there been any roadblocks to filming, literally or figuratively?
Kurt: No. We film up in Sunland as Charming and it's sort of a smaller town. A lot of it is within the town of Charming, which is a small town. We don't do a lot of open road stuff because, quite frankly, that could kill an entire episode budget. We use some of these little digital cameras and we have a bike camera that we use but it's been pretty smooth. We've had a few bumps with people getting used to riding the bikes but for the most part, we've not had any big roadblocks within any of that.
Sons of Anarchy premieres on FX Wednesday September 3rd. For more information go to the official site.
Their newest series, Sons of Anarchy, portrays the world of outlaw motorcycle clubs. A family of bikers tries to get by in the town of Charming, CA with all the weekly drama surrounding their illegal activities, interpersonal conflicts and secret backstories.
"I imposed the sort of Hamlet archetype on top of that," said series creator Kurt Sutter. "The Gertrude character in that archetype is Gemma. In my mind, Jax Teller, who Charlie Hunnam plays, is essentially, not to keep nailing the pretentious Shakespearean analogy but I will, the Hamlet character. In my mind, [what] he discovers in the pilot is essentially the ghost of his father, the discovery of that 'Perhaps everything I've known, everything that means something to me is perhaps wrong,' and the drama spins out of that."
Sutter comes to Sons of Anarchy after co-producing The Shield. He cast his wife, Katey Sagal, as the main biker chick, Gemma. SuicideGirls joined the producer and actor at the Santa Monica pier at Fox's annual summer press tour party. With roller coasters whizzing by overhead and midway games beeping and buzzing all around, the duo focused on the series which premieres Wed., Sept. 3.
Question: Tell us about the show.
Katey Sagal: Sons of Anarchy is a family drama. It takes place in the world of outlaw motorcycle clubs. I play the matriarch of the club. My husband, played by Ron Perlman, is the president of the club. My son, played by Charlie Hunnam, who is the star of the show, is the vice president of the club and the drama revolves around some of his conflict about being in a club, a lot of different things. My husband, Kurt Sutter, wrote, produced and created and he's my boss.
Question: That's a lot of titles. Who's the treasurer?
Kurt Sutter: It's more secretary. That would be Bobby, Mark Boone Junior's character.
Question: What cool biker chick outfits does Katey get to wear?
Katey: I have cool clothes. You know, black, white, tight, leather, spikes. I've got tattoos. I'm badass.
Question: Sounds like something Peggy Bundy might have worn.
Katey: Never.
Question: What was the initial concept of doing a show in this world?
Kurt: I just feel like it's really a world that's never been explored before on series TV. I think people have tried in the past and nothing has ever really stuck. I think it's a fascinating world. I think people are going to be really curious about it.
Question: What was your entre into this secret outlaw society?
Kurt: For me, one of my fellow executive producers had some contacts in the outlaw community. He was the guy who really hooked me up and I started spending time with these guys and learned a lot about the world. I came up from that with the idea for the series. I had lunch with John Linson and Art Linson two years ago, which seems about 30 years ago now. John had this notion about doing a family drama set in the world of outlaw motorcycle clubs. John was completely immersed in the culture, well-versed in that area. He had friends and associates who were living the life and what he offered me was a front-row seat. I didn't want to get involved with anything that I felt I couldn't do authentically. I can't mention any organizations, but one of these organizations sort of opened their doors to me and I got to see it firsthand. It's a fascinating culture.
Question: What will surprise people about this world?
Katey: Probably how normal their family lives are, and then juxtaposed with how outlaw their day jobs are.
Question: Day jobs does it pay?
Kurt: They all have legitimate day jobs but they're essentially gunrunners. That's their outlaw business that they earn, which is a fairly dangerous and really, sometimes, deadly line of work. The thing that attracted me to the world and these guys, I had no doubt that they were dangerous cats but there was this amazing camaraderie. There was this amazing sort of familial "I'd kill for my brother" bond that all of them had that was somewhat endearing. That juxtaposed against the lifestyle was really fascinating material. From that, I began to do some academic research on the world and some of these clubs. The notion that most of these clubs really began as something else. They began as fraternities, of brotherhoods of guys, most of them war veterans getting together to blow off steam. In a very short period of time, a lot of these clubs morphed into essentially organized crime syndicates. I thought that was such an epic arc that happened. The core of the idea for the drama was I thought, "How does that guy, that first guy who designed the patch, put on the cut and said, 'Hey, let's go out and ride motorcycles, have a few beers and kick some ass.' How does that guy feel about eventually what the club became?" Does he have regret? Does he have remorse? Would he feel the need to change it? At that point, the idea and the club and the world is much bigger than the individual.
Question: What new boundaries does the show push on FX?
Kurt: Ultimately, it all comes out, I'd like to think even with The Shield, it all sort of came out of character and it really came out of circumstance organic to that world. So I don't think any of it is ever really gratuitous. I think it's probably a lot more violence in this world than you would normally see in any other line of work. There is definitely some sexual boundary.
Katey: I mean, it's a dark world but they also have normal lives and it's a really interesting bond that they all have. It's its own little community. It comes out of a whole anarchist attitude actually. That's the title, Sons of Anarchy. They have rules. They have bylaws. There are standards. It's really fascinating. People feel safe in structure no matter what community they're in so they have their own structure that they follow. They have very rigid rules and regulations. They're kind of their own little deal. It's a really fascinating world actually.
Kurt: The drama that happens is that you have this organization that believes that and commits to that, yet they have to exist within the social boundaries that we all know. How do you navigate that philosophy in a world where there are laws and there are rules and your kids have to go to the same schools as every other kid and you have to buy groceries at the same place everybody else buys groceries? For me, the cool hook of the world was imposing that philosophy on what we all understand to be the boundaries of society.
Question: Katey, what drew you back to TV?
Katey: Well, I never really left television. I wanted to do something different. I wanted to do a more dramatic role. I wanted to do an ensemble drama and my husband wrote me a fantastic part. Luckily, FX said, "Yes, we'd love her to come do it." You didn't have to twist my arm. It's a great part.
Question: How do you find the work day to day on a dramatic series?
Katey: It's great. These cable network kind of shows, because we do get to do so much different stuff than you do on a network show, it's very creative. It's like making a little independent movie every week. We don't have the same budgets and it's not all the same bells and whistles as a major network but the work is really, really good.
Question: Can you ride?
Katey: I can ride on the back and I hope I don't have to, but I might. Actually, Gemma, my character, she drives a Cadillac. She's the queen bee.
Question: So it hasn't come up yet.
Katey: Not yet. Can I just say that these guys made a real commitment when they signed on? They all ride now. I mean, everybody took classes and studied. I don't ride a bike but eventually I might. I think they're all doing great.
Question: What weekly incidents come up for the series to explore?
Kurt: Well, I don't want to give anything away. I think it'll really deal with family life so there's a lot of stuff that comes up in terms of Jax becomes a new father in the pilot. So it's dealing with a new baby. It's dealing with relationships from his past showing up.
Question: Did you look at people or model yourself after any real bikers?
Katey: It was very well written to begin with. Gemma is a ferocious mother. She will do anything for her son and for her family, her family being this motorcycle world that she's so a part of. So a lot of that's role modeled on me. I think I'm a little bit of a ferocious mother when it comes to my children. So there's that but at the same time, she's very different than I am in that she'd go to any lengths. When you see the show, you'll realize how far all of them will go in the name of loyalty to their unit. It's actually a lovely bond. They just have a very deep way of expressing it. She's a little bit of a rock chick. She's a hard ass with a heart of gold.
Question: And you still do Futurama. How great is it to revisit Leela?
Katey: Oh, it's always fun to be Leela. In fact, the one that just came out is a lot about Leela. Leela's great.
Question: When they first came back to do those movies, did you have a big reunion with Leela or was there an adjustment period?
Katey: No, not really. We kind of get together. We did them a little while ago now, so I haven't actually seen them since the premiere of the first one.
Question: What's coming up in the next Futurama movies?
Katey: I would be the last person to be able to explain to you what goes on.
Question: Do you get all the geek references?
Katey: No. I'm the geek that does not get the references.
Question: Have there been any roadblocks to filming, literally or figuratively?
Kurt: No. We film up in Sunland as Charming and it's sort of a smaller town. A lot of it is within the town of Charming, which is a small town. We don't do a lot of open road stuff because, quite frankly, that could kill an entire episode budget. We use some of these little digital cameras and we have a bike camera that we use but it's been pretty smooth. We've had a few bumps with people getting used to riding the bikes but for the most part, we've not had any big roadblocks within any of that.
Sons of Anarchy premieres on FX Wednesday September 3rd. For more information go to the official site.
VIEW 6 of 6 COMMENTS
infrareddeer:
i love this show!
sri:
This show is awesome and Katy Segal is one of my most fav actresses....