FOX.com Host: R.J. Cutler has made himself available to you, so take the opportunity to ask him about American High!
FOX.com Host: For those of you who have seen the show, which of the kids could you really relate to?

Bamfer: Morgan

LittleChipper: Brad

ChadOz: Kiwi

Backwards: the guy with blonde hair

GirlyGirl1600: anna

digs: robby

DeadAlready: Brad

sweet74angel: Morgan and Anna - totally

NorwichRadio: i really relate to Brad, cuse I am a gay male teenager too

STuDBoT: Morgan and Kiwi

choralstud: brad

Greeneminem: ANNA

msweetz: Sarah and Morgan

braindeadjon: Morgan and the girl who made the demo tape

Tsar: I personally relate to Brad although I am not gay I am sometimes outcast and made fun of due to my intelligence

CrazyCreed: I don't want to admit but possibly the gay guy.

GuerraR123: anna

sausage: morgan

stacy: sarah

HoneyJD: Anna

sublime2468: kiwi

cory: kiwi

Lucky: The guy who had the dream about sarah, even though im a girl

almiteff: Robby

babyaddie: brad robby and anna

FOX.com Host: We have here with us now, the creator of American High, R.J. Cutler!
FOX.com Host: Welcome!

RJ Cutler: Hey everybody, this is RJ Cutler, executive producer of American High.

GUESSBOY: How did u come up with the idea of american high??

RJ Cutler: We just wanted to find a place, a way to tell stories about how it is to really be a good right now.
RJ Cutler: And we decided the best way to do it was to spend a year with real American teenagers, and give them each a video camera and making a TV show.

gmoney:Why did you pick Highland Park? Is this show just another 90120?

RJ Cutler: We decided that for the first year we wanted to do a show in a suburb, and the good people of Highland park realized the potential of doing a show like this. But in future years we definitely want to go into different communities:
RJ Cutler: An inner city school, a rural school, etc. Does anybody have a suggestion about where we should go next year?

sinobabe: How did you cast this show?

ChadOz: R.J.-How did you pick the kids for the show?

RJ Cutler: We met with all the kids who were interested in participating for about an hour, and just got to know them, and then started filming with a lot of them.
RJ Cutler: And then put together a group of 25 to be in our video diary class. And from those 25, we ended up focusing in on about 14.
RJ Cutler: And those 14 represented as well as we could a cross-section of the student body of Highland Park high school. Also we were looking for kids who really wanted to tell their stories, and who really wanted to do this project.
RJ Cutler: And we came up in the group of 25 with a really remarkable bunch of people.

Schooner: What about the other 11? Did they just get cut?

RJ Cutler: No their video diaries are included in almost every episode. Not every one in every episode, but we use their diaries as a kind of chorus throughout the show.
RJ Cutler: And the hard thing is that we just didn't have the time or the resources to film every single one of the students, and include their stories.
RJ Cutler: But we did want to get as many people as possible involved in the project, so all 25 took part in the video diary class all year long.

BOOTYSHAKALAKA: How do you film these teens in school? Wouldn't it distract many people?

RJ Cutler: Our film crews are so good at being unobtrusive in a fly-on-the-wall kind of way that they really don't disturb any of the goings-on at the school.
RJ Cutler: That's their expertise. The crews are tiny, never more than 2 or 3 people at a time are filming, we never use lights, and we really make it our business to be as low impact as possible. That's what we do.

luckybert: How long did it take before the kids stopped posing for the camera and just acted real?

RJ Cutler: About two days.
RJ Cutler: The truth is it's really hard to be anything but yourself, especially the way we work. We really just hang.
RJ Cutler: We spend time with people getting to know them for who they really are, and it's days before we start filming after we get to know somebody. So by the time we've started filming, people have long since stopped posing.
RJ Cutler: It's a really fun process.

MelloGirl: Do the students operate the cameras or do you have a special film crew?

RJ Cutler: We had two film crews and each film crew focused on seven students or more.
RJ Cutler: But each of the 25 kids in the video diary class had their own video camera.
RJ Cutler: And we helped them learn how to use the cameras as well as possible, and you see their work in the show.

Icefire03: Did you have to get permission from all the minor characters who appear in the show to use them on TV? I'm especially considering the kids in the gay support group.

RJ Cutler: Absolutely.
RJ Cutler: No one you see on television has not signed a release, and if they're under 18 their parents had to sign a release too. That's the law.

cawarlick: Did you ever have trouble with ppl not wanting to be filmed?

RJ Cutler: If anybody ever told us they didn't want to be filmed, we just didn't film them. And the truth is there were some days when even people like Robbie or Sarah or Anna or Kiwi or anybody else you saw on the show tonight just didn't want to be filmed that day.
RJ Cutler: So we didn't film them.
RJ Cutler: Again, that's the way we work. The whole idea is that we're working with the subjects. Our job is to tell their story. And our goal is for them to be as comfortable as possible throughout the process.

PhilPark: RJ, Did Fox want to have a show (real life doc) to combat shows like survivor? Did they approach you with this or was it your original idea?

RJ Cutler: Actually I brought the idea to FOX long before I had heard of Survivor or Big Brother.
RJ Cutler: We didn't hear about those shows until January of this year, but we started working on this show well over a year and a half ago.

cooknupfun:What do you think of shows like Taxicab Confessions or Big Brother? Do they capture reality in your opinion?

RJ Cutler: Well they're not real the way our show is.
RJ Cutler: But they have certain things that I like about them. Taxicab Confessions always cracks me up. And if you are in the mood for a good game show, I like Survivor because it's well made.
RJ Cutler: It's just that those shows are very different than our show.
RJ Cutler: It's just that those shows are very different than our show. RJ Cutler: Our show is a drama series with real characters and real stories that continue over the course of the year.
RJ Cutler: I will say this: I think Big Brother is the biggest snooze known to mankind.

gmoney: What a great idea for a reality-based show. What was the biggest challenge?

RJ Cutler: Time.
RJ Cutler: We had to shoot this show and edit 13 episodes all in one year.
RJ Cutler: None of my collaborators has ever had to work this quickly and this intensely to finish so much "product".

i_love_lemonade: how realistic do you think this program really is?

RJ Cutler: I'm tellin' ya, it's the real thing. This is what we saw. These are the stories as these kids lived them this year.
RJ Cutler: I'm not saying that these are everybody's stories but they are the stories of the kids we worked with. And I do think there is a tremendous amount that anyone can relate to, no matter when they went to high school.

Crowdsurfer: did you pick any kids for the show whose parent's wanted absolutely no part in it and didn't want their kids to do it either?

RJ Cutler: If parents didn't want their kids to do it, and they wanted to stop their kids, all they had to do was not sign a release.
RJ Cutler: If parents didn't care whether or not their kids did it and left it up to their kids and signed the releases anyway, then the kids could do it, so maybe that happened a few times but I'm not really sure.
RJ Cutler: By the way, I'm not choosing the questions to answer; they are being fed to me over the telephone. And so many are coming in, that it wouldn't be possible to answer them all.
RJ Cutler: If your questions don't get answered, please feel free to email me at an address I'll give you at the end of the chat.

PittsburghPunk: did any parents ever want to pull their kid's out of the show? How was that handled?

RJ Cutler: No parent ever wanted to pull their kid out of the show. But if a kid had wanted to pull out, we would have said that's fine by us.
RJ Cutler: Once again, we wanted to tell the stories of people who wanted to tell them. If they had changed their minds, we would have stopped.

ChadOz: Do you feel some of the kids being filmed are "holding back" a little since they are being taped and it is real life? I get the impression that Anna has something for Kiwi, but doesn't want to say. Do you get that impression?

RJ Cutler: I thought Anna's feelings for Kiwi were pretty darned clear. But it's true some people were more forthcoming than others.
RJ Cutler: I think Anna let us all know in her own way how she felt at that time.
RJ Cutler: And the way she let us know is the way that Anna lets people know things.
RJ Cutler: By the way, if your questions don't get answered, feel free to email me at rcutler@actualrealityinc.com and I'll do my best to answer everybody's questions as quickly as possible.

TNPBrian: How do you fend off criticism that you have simply filled in the H.S. stereotypes, a la football player, rebellious kid, arty girl, gay guy? The show is excellent but it seems to focus on the stereotypes.

RJ Cutler: The thing about stereotypes is that they're so limiting. Look at Morgan for instance. Here's a kid who fits the stereotype of hell raiser, but he turns out to have so much more to him than that.
RJ Cutler: Does he fit the stereotype of physically disabled volunteer? I think not. The whole point of our show is that kids are much more complicated and interesting, and have so much more to say than people normally give them credit for.
RJ Cutler: So maybe we start off seeing the cliche, but by the end, we've seen so much more.

RabidPanda: Was it Hard for Brad to come out on the show like that? I am bisexual and 15year old girl and its definitely hard for me, but were there a lot of complications for him?

RJ Cutler: Well the truth is Brad didn't come out while we were filming. RJ Cutler: That happened some time last year before we met him.
RJ Cutler: I think the best thing would be to talk to Brad about his experiences coming out, rather than have me speak on his behalf about it.
RJ Cutler: So I think I'll ask him if he'd be willing to do a chat in the next week or two, cause I think you'll find he has amazing things to say. He's a really extraordinary person.

Corky83: Did the fact that teens have been getting a lot of (often negative) press of late, such as Columbine, play a part in your decision to make a documentary about how teenagers really act?

RJ Cutler: Actually we started working on this project long before Columbine. But I was motivated in large part by a sense that people had a lot of questions about this generation of kids.
RJ Cutler: And I wondered for myself as well if I would recognize my own experiences in their's. (which is frequently the kind of thing that motivates a filmmaker or any other artist for that matter).
RJ Cutler:My e-mail address is rcutler@actualrealityinc.com
RJ Cutler:Once again, that's rcutler@actualrealityinc.com

Gules: Do U think your show will help people (a.ka ADULTS) understand where Teens come from and not categorize us?

RJ Cutler: Boy I hope so, what do you think?

fashionpl8: I keep hearing that there are not many minorities on your show, my I ask if this is true and if so why?

RJ Cutler: There aren't nearly as many people of color as we would have hoped. But there are a couple of African-Americans and a few Latino kids in the group.
RJ Cutler: We worked very hard to put together as representative a cross-section of the student body at Highland Park as we could, given the people who wanted to participate and who wanted to tell their stories.
RJ Cutler: We came up with a very strong group of kids, but certainly in future seasons I think the group of kids we choose will represent an even more diverse group.

WetNeck99: Did any one specific story that you filmed touch you personally?

RJ Cutler: They all really touched me personally. That's essentially how we decide which ones to include. Remember we filmed over 2,000 hours and the kids shot another 800 hours.
RJ Cutler: So we had many, many stories to choose from.

pj02: How do you think the lives of these teens will be affected after this series airs?

RJ Cutler: Well it's like everything in American popular culture.
RJ Cutler: They'll probably be a little more attention paid to them in the coming weeks and months than there would have been if they hadn't done the show. But after a very short time I think everybody's life is going to get back to normal. Unless, of course, Morgan gets to meet Britney Spears, persuades her to break off her engagement and elopes with her. Then I think his life will be different for a really long time.
RJ Cutler: Hey folks, you know what? There are so many people asking so many questions I think we're going to have to schedule another chat within the next week. So we'll announce it on the website and we'll put together a chat that lasts a good couple of hours sometime very soon.
RJ Cutler: Unfortunately, I'm going to have to go soon cause after all, tonight is the premiere of the show and all the people who have worked like dogs all year long are getting together to celebrate.

ChadOz: I'm impressed with the people selected...I didn't like Morgan at first, but I've grown to like him after watching both episodes tonight!

DJ182: the show kicks ass man

NorwichRadio: Rj: I think the show is great...really focusing on real life in high school which I think is hard to do today. Excellent job on the show. I really relate to Brad, they gay teenager because I am one too. Being a gay male teenager is hard.

jawsome: i think you should come to my town

april: i think you should come to philly

jawsome: i think they should come to fort lauderdale

eliz0013: I think you should try showing like a private school. Like an all girls school and an all guys school. You can go to St. Louis Missouri (st. Elizabeth Academy, a city all girls school) ask for Elizabeth Dougherty

Nickster: the show was already on AND IT ROCKED good job to you and your team

tvloveratheart: I LOVED THE SHOW IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

queenbee: I LOVEEEMMMMORGAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

wonderwoman: bye !!!

RJ Cutler: I'm glad everybody is having such a good time with the show and with the website. Please tell your friends about this show.
RJ Cutler: We are, after all, on network television, and the only way we'll get to stay on the air and do the show next year as well is if people tune in.
RJ Cutler: So please spread the word in any way you can (emails, etc.) and I can't wait to come back on line and have another chat.

Happy:thanx rj.

Nickster: thanks man

RJ Cutler: Also, the website bulletin board is a great way to keep these conversations going, cause it's clear to me that the show has spawned a lot of really interesting things to think and talk about.
RJ Cutler: You guys rule!

FOX.com Host: Good night!

RJ Cutler: Good night everybody, this has been great!

Kablamo: YOU RULE CUTLER!!!!!!

CitrusPunkGrrl: I already told everyone I know!

CitrusPunkGrrl: The show is wonderful! I like seeing REAL people on TV

layzie: GO OVERSEAS RJ!

PrometheusA1: Bye Mr. Cutler. Bravo to you and the cast for a job very well done!

MelloGirl: good show! definitely one of my favorites!

ChadOz: Tell the kids they did wonderful tonight...I'll keep watching!

cexxy: thanks for the time you've taken to talk to us.

rachel_mara: Okay, See ya RJ!!

layzie: thank you so much

FOX.com Host: Don't forget you can e-mail R.J. Cutler at rcutler@actualrealityinc.com
FOX.com Host: Keep checking in at the American High site at FOX.com, and you can find the transcript the chat tomorrow!
FOX.com Host: West Coast folks, don't forget to watch the show tonight at 9pm on FOX!
FOX.com Host: Thanks for being here - Good night!