FOXcom_Host: Welcome to the FOX.com chat with two of the stars of Boston Public!

FOXcom_Host: Joey Slotnick and Fyvush Finkel star as two teachers at a public school in Boston (duh)!

FOXcom_Host: Be sure to ask Joey and Fyvush all about their experience working with David E. Kelley, who created The Practice and - of course - Ally McBeal (by the way, have you checked out the new Ally site? Awesome)>

FOXcom_Host: You can send questions to today's FOX.com guests by typing them in the bar below and clicking on "Ask Boston Public".

FOXcom_Host: Fyvush Finkel and Joey Slotnick will be here in about 25 minutes, so go ahead and send your questions now!

FOXcom_Host: Fyvush and Joey will be here in about 20 minutes - Keep sending your questions to them by typing them in the bar below and clicking on "Ask Boston Public"!

FOXcom_Host: Keep sending your questions for Fyvush Finkel and Joey Slotnick by typing them in the bar below and clicking on "Ask Boston Public"!

FOXcom_Host: There are already some great questions coming in, so keep them coming - you're getting original, i love it!

FOXcom_Host: Be sure to send your questions to our guests by typing them in the bar below and clicking on "Ask Boston Public"! (if you just hit enter, your question just goes into the chat room).

FOXcom_Host: Our Boston Public guests should be here in about 5 minutes!

FOXcom_Host: It's Fyvush (yeah, Fyvush) Finkel and Joey Slotnick, who play teachers on the soon to be hit series Boston Public!!!

FOXcom_Host: Send your questions to our Boston Public guests by typing them in the bar below and then click on "Ask Boston Public".

FOXcom_Host: Keep sending those great questions to our guests... You can send them to each individually, or you can ask them both the same questions. Go crazy!

FOXcom_Host: You probably remember Joey Slotnick best from The Single Guy... He was the nerdy best friend!

FOXcom_Host: And you probably remember Fyvush Finkel, if you're a David E. Kelley fan, from his long-running role as Douglas Wambaugh on Picket Fences!

FOXcom_Host: Joey Slotnick is running late, so we'll get started with Fyvush Finkel!!!

FOXcom_Host: Welcome, Fyvush!!!

Fyvush_Finkel: Hello!

Foxtrot: How does this new show present the educational system?

Fyvush_Finkel: It presents it in a way that shows that many schools have great teachers that are being abused by disattention from the students.

Fyvush_Finkel: It's only a small percentage of students that are abusive, but the teachers are taking the abuse and that hurts.!

Fyvush_Finkel: But David Kelley is bringing out the problems of the teachers in conjunction with the problems of the students.

chattygalore: Do you feel a lot of pressure to perform well in this show, since most of David E. Kelley's shows are so successful??

Fyvush_Finkel: I did Picket Fences for four seasons. Pressure is always there, you want to excel in every episode that you do. You want to be good and successful. Everything that's in your artistic power, you want to inject into the role. But with David Kelley it's easy because he writes so well that it lays beautifully on the tongue and is something sensational.

Questor: which of the david e kelley shows is your favorite?

Fyvush_Finkel: Picket Fences! And now my new favorite is Boston Public.

Fyvush_Finkel: When I wasn't working for him, The Practice was one of my favorites.

Fyvush_Finkel: But we're on the 8th episode of Boston Public, and to me, Boston Public is my favorite. It's like a new child is born, and when you're my age you always welcome a new child.

easterbunny: Do you think that Boston Public is a true representation of high school?

Fyvush_Finkel: It's true!

Fyvush_Finkel: All these things are true!

Fyvush_Finkel: My wife is an ex-teacher and when she came home she'd tell me incidents. It's true enough! This show will be very controversial. The talk of the nation and later the talk of the world!

Fyvush_Finkel: I'm not exaggerating a bit. The public will love it and the youngsters will get a charge out of it. My 12-year-old granddaughter loved it!

FOXcom_Host: Joey Slotnick is just joining us now!!!

Joey_Slotnick: Hello!

Joey_Slotnick: I was coming from my house and got stuck in traffic.

homegirl: Fyvush what is it like dealing with such controversial topics?

Fyvush_Finkel: Picket Fences was also very controversial.

Fyvush_Finkel: You must have a conversation after each show that people see. If people look at a show and then go to another show and don't discuss it, that's not a good show. But when you watch a show and then talk about it, whether it was true or not, that's a good show. And this show will be talked about all over the world.

amethyst: Hi--I am so looking forward to this show. I love david kelly. What was it like to work with him?

chattygalore: What is David E. Kelley like to work with? What have you learned from him so far?

Fyvush_Finkel: When David Kelley hired me years ago, I didn't know the gentleman. I did a film called Q&A for Sidney Lumet and he hired me because he felt I'd play a good lawyer in Picket Fences.

Fyvush_Finkel: Then I met him and he's a real gentleman and genius. He is the man that changed my life and gave me a career, gave me a life. David Kelley, I owe him everything!

Joey_Slotnick: I don't know how to live up to that answer..he's a brilliant guy. The best part is...if you're lucky enough to work with him and play with him he will give you everything you need for what it takes to be on a show..great words to speak,great ideas..everything you bring, he'll match it and that's really a great thing.

Fyvush_Finkel: That's exactly what I said five minutes ago, Joey!

mspriss: how long did it take to cast for Boston Public?

Joey_Slotnick: I think Jessalyn Gilsig was cast a while back...he really wanted her to be on the show.

Fyvush_Finkel: I was cast pretty early. In March.

Joey_Slotnick: I wasn't cast until April or May, something like that.

trey: Joey, how did you get this role?

Joey_Slotnick: I was doing a play in NY and got an audition,....I auditioned on videotape, felt pretty good about it...

Joey_Slotnick: But then didn't hear anything more and so the play I did was over..I came back to LA and the part was still uncast so I got to go in again for the producers...

Joey_Slotnick: so I went in twice and got cast.

Joey_Slotnick: Which was great because as actors when one job finishes we need to know what's next..we get very nervous. So I was very lucky.

marilyn: can you tell joey that this is his cousin marilyn? from chicago.

Joey_Slotnick: Hello!

ilovedavidkelley: what's your memory of high school? how do you think things have changed since you guys graduated?

Joey_Slotnick: My memory of high school is I would find it very difficult to be a student today..there are a lot more pressures...

Joey_Slotnick: I guess they're the same..you want to do well, get good grades to go to college...but I think it's tougher to be a teenager today than when I went to school, in 1982.

Joey_Slotnick: but I had a great time in high school. I remember my English teacher telling me I'd have an even better time in college. I didn't think it was true, but it was.

Joey_Slotnick: maybe it's tougher today.

Fyvush_Finkel: When I went to high school, in the late thirties, it was much different. We had a different look at a teacher...more respect! We knew if we did anything wrong and went to the principal we were doomed. I went to a high school in New York City, a vocational high school to learn a trade, but you still had to call teachers by Miss or Mister. WE had to get a certain grade point average.

Fyvush_Finkel: But even if you got out of line, it was never as violent as today. Some kids today hit teachers! We'd get out of line with each other, but not with teachers. And today, unfortunately, it's not like that.

Fyvush_Finkel: Not all students are bad, but that small percentage cause all the damage!

Joey_Slotnick: that was a good answer. Ricky: does this show deal with issues like violence in school?

Fyvush_Finkel: Oh yes! The show deals with it and gives you the answers, which not many shows do. Many shows show the problem, but not the answer. That's what counts. I want to know what to do about something and this show will tell you.

Joey_Slotnick: I'll jump on Fyvush's bandwagon there.

homegirl: Will you be dealing with many of the controversial topics that have been making headlines lately (ie. school shootings, pregnancy, teacher's lover affairs with students...etc.)

Fyvush_Finkel: Right! You got it!

Joey_Slotnick: yes. in fact we had a plotline a number of weeks ago, at least 4 or 5..it's actually in the pilot episode that talks about this underground student website..I think we did that in June and maybe a month ago in a high school in LA there was a huge story where the teacher was suing the school district because she had been humiliated by this underground newspaper. that was very interesting.

Questor: what is it like juggling both a tv series role and roles in films such as the Hollow Man?

Joey_Slotnick: Well, it's a great juggle.

Joey_Slotnick: I did "Hollow Man" last year so that took all my time for six months..since I've been working on this it's been my main focus. I haven't done a film since.

Joey_Slotnick: Hopefully if I get a chance to do a film, we can work it out...but I love that.

schoolgrrl: Mr. Finkel - Was it hard to adjust to television after doing theater for so long?

Fyvush_Finkel: Yes.

Fyvush_Finkel: It's a different principle you know, theatre, film and television are all quite different. One director gave me the secret and saved my career: On the stage you act. In front of the camera you think. And that's the principle behind the entire scope of working on camera. You've got to have the pulse and a little talent, but the camera does all the acting. You don't have to project like you do in theatre. I like it all, theatre, film, television. At my age, if you're able to move you like everything

teacherspet: You've both worked with ensemble TV casts before, how does the Boston Public cast compare?

Fyvush_Finkel: Oh, they're very excellent. Every one of them. We've been working for 3 or 4 months already. You can see by how they're doing that they are fine artists and they fit perfectly with their roles.

Joey_Slotnick: I would say also it's a great cast and we all bonded pretty quickly..sometimes when you get cast in a part and there's 9 or 10 other people you don't know who will get along...

Fyvush_Finkel: You can never tell, and we do. You always here "family, schamily" it's a lot of bologna. But here, it's genuine. We all get along.

Joey_Slotnick: yeah, I think everyone has a real mutual respect for one another and that's really important, and respect for themselves as people and respect for themselves as actors, too. that's exciting.

chattygalore: Joey, I thought you were the funniest thing on The Single Guy... What was that experience like, and are you anything like that character in real life?

Joey_Slotnick: Thank you for your kudos. I think part of the character I played, part of me was that character, but I don't think I'm as...crazy, I think, as Sam was. he's a little crazier or kookier than I am.

Joey_Slotnick: But I had a great time playing the part. Anytime you play a part there will be a huge part of yourself in the character. That's why you're playing the part.

Joey_Slotnick: But I think this part I'm playing, Milton Buttle, is really challenging. And I look forward to playing him for a long time.

teacherspet: Fyvush, how sweet has it been to find such success later in your career? Do you ever plan to stop? : )

Fyvush_Finkel: My success is a miracle! I always worked my whole life in the theatre, from 9 to 43 in Yiddish Theatre. Then, Fiddler on the Roof came and it was my first play in English.

Fyvush_Finkel: At the age of 43 to get a director like Jermoe Robbins...that's a miracle.

Fyvush_Finkel: Thank God I was always working! I never leave a hit. I stayed with Fiddler for 12 years and then I did Little Shop of Horrors for five years.

Fyvush_Finkel: I do a lot of single engagements. Now, at my age now, I'm busier than ever. I do the show, so I cut down. I want to make sure that I do the show right! The show deserves all my attention. But now on hiatus, I'm booked at various places for single appearances. And I love it! I don't want to rest. I love activity!

FOXcom_Host: Keep sending your questions to our guests by typing them in the bar below and clicking on "Ask Boston Public" - and be original!

chicago: Joey are you basing your character on someone you know or had as a teacher?

Joey_Slotnick: No.

Joey_Slotnick: No, it's a character that comes from me..I'm sure it's influenced by experiences I've had, but it's a character I'm inventing.

Joey_Slotnick: Me along with Mr. Kelley.

foxxy: Fyvush, what benefits do you think your characters have for Jewish Americans?

Fyvush_Finkel: Very big benefits because he's a very dedicated teacher. He might be eccentric or funny-looking, or old-fashioned, but he teaches well and they learn a lot from him. Once they pay attention, they learn their history well. I'm proud to do the role because of that. He's an excellent type of Jewish man.

mspriss: Has previous personal classroom experience helped you portray your character?

Joey_Slotnick: I did a lot of research, a lot of reading the Boston Public High School English curriculum..what goes on there, what a teacher is obligated to teach, and where they can stray..reading lists they have to stick with, but things you can throw in, that the teacher wants...

Joey_Slotnick: Also my mom is a teacher so i get inspired by her..not necessarily what she did in a classroom, though I would watch her sometimes,but definitely her as a teacher is very inspirational

Fyvush_Finkel: In my experience, I did a play called Cafe Crown about a restaurant and I impersonated a waiter that waited on me...he never gave me what I wanted but I always went to his table! But I imitated him in my show, walked like a penguin, was mean etc. But everyone loved him.

Fyvush_Finkel: When I was in school, I had a teacher whose idol was Woodrow Wilson! He even wore the celluloid collar that people wore in those days. Mr. James Burke, that was his name! I'll never forget him. I bring a little bit of him inside me to the character of Lipshultz. That's all the experience I need. I bring somebody else from my experience, but bring it out in my own style. ilovedavidkelley: Who are your role models?

Fyvush_Finkel: I have three sections: Paul Muney, for acting in film and stage.

Fyvush_Finkel: Then, they used to have reviews on Broadway, so Willie Howard was my idol. Funniest man who ever lived.

Fyvush_Finkel: Then, Milton Berle. Those are my idols.

Joey_Slotnick: For me I don't know if I can pinpoint..I have so many idols I love and revere...

Fyvush_Finkel: Name a few!

Joey_Slotnick: as far as comedy goes, Steve Martin is just one of my favorites, his stand up stuff, his acting..he's just very very funny.

Joey_Slotnick: I listened to a lot of old comedy albums when I was younger like Nichols and May, Shelley Berman, Jonathan Winters..I listened to those records all the time and when i started to become an actor, I looked to those comedians...also Sid Ceasar, he's right up there...his "Show of Shows" is one of my favorites.

Fyvush_Finkel: There you see...you can name a lot of names when you think of it. We could be on for hours mentioning names of geniuses.

Joey_Slotnick: Then you get the bigwigs like DeNiro, Robert Duvall, Marlon Brando.

Fyvush_Finkel: When I play the old Paul Muney films...I used to go almost ever Wednesday watching the old films. I couldn't get enough of him. One of the greatest actors I've ever seen in my life.

mspriss: What was your career prior to acting?

Fyvush_Finkel: My career? I never did anything else! That's all I do!

Fyvush_Finkel: I did musicals. Film. TV. Single appearances. And to me they all seem the same. I just go up and I do it, that's all. My career, thank God, has been wonderful. My two sons when through Julliard, very successful musicians. Through my career I gave them the step to go ahead. I feel very proud of them. But I never did anything else besides acting. I don't even audition! I wouldn't know how!

Joey_Slotnick: you lucky....!

Fyvush_Finkel: I tell them, "sorry wrong number" if they want an audition!

Joey_Slotnick:

Fyvush_Finkel: In life, I'm not conceited, but when it comes to my profession, that's a different story!

Joey_Slotnick: My career before I started acting was..I was a ten year old kid! wasn't really a career before that.

blue: If not acting, what else would you be interested in doing as a career?

Joey_Slotnick: The other thing I wanted to do was become an architect...architecture and design, I love all that stuff.

easterbunny: what is your favorite thing about acting?

Fyvush_Finkel: The fringe benefits!

Fyvush_Finkel: I'm not talking monetary value. I'm talking people who greet you in personal appearances, the respect from the audience. That to me is something terrific!

Fyvush_Finkel: You get that as you get older, and you keep going. That's the greatest thing in the world. Whenever I go into a restaurant, they recognize me and I get the best tables. And that's going to happen, after this season, to Mr. Slotnick.

Joey_Slotnick: I would have to agree with Fyvush..but I would also have to say just the challenge of finding the truth in your own work, the character, the situation...making it as believable as possible. That's always a challenge.

>homegirl: Hey Joey...What is the best part of your character? Do you have similar characteristics?

Joey_Slotnick: It's...yes, there are parts, I can't tell you which..sometimes they run into each other.

Joey_Slotnick: But as far as similar characteristics, probably..I'm sure there are one or two. my favorite part of the character is that I've never played anyone like this, a teacher fully committed to the work but who's human, who's trying to do good. There are a lot of teachers trying to do good out there and a lot of them have difficulty finding respect. It's hard to be a teacher but I think it's one of the most important things a person can do.

foxxy: Joey, can you tell us about some of your other movie work besides Hollow Man?

Joey_Slotnick: I did a movie for TNT a couple years ago called "Pirates of Silicone Valley"...I did a film called "Dinner and Driving" a sort of independent film that's been on HBO recently.

Joey_Slotnick: I did "Blast from the Past," "Soda Jerk" where I became a crazed preacher, "Twister"

Joey_Slotnick: I did an independent film last year called "Tuna"....I did a film called "Judas Kiss" with Emma Thompson, I think that's on video.

homegirl: Do you think that Boston Public will give an accurate view of the inside of a High School? Who will it appeal to?

Fyvush_Finkel: Everybody!

Fyvush_Finkel: It will appeal to all ages. Sincerely. Through my experience I can see that it will appeal to all ages.

Joey_Slotnick: I hope that adults and especially teachers will dig it. and i think students will dig it because young people will see a different side of school they don't see, from the teachers view..there are so many shows on about kids, and this is from a different side.

amethyst: Hi---is the show really fantasy like Ally McBeal or is it more true to real life?

Joey_Slotnick: definitely more true to life. It's more along the lines tonally of "The Practice" but a little funnier, but it definitely stays in reality.

Fyvush_Finkel: This show is more real than Ally McBeal, which is wonderful for what it is. This show has a lot of comedy and beautiful drama. It really hits home. THe last thing I did, talk about fantasy, was the revival of Fantasy Island. It wasn't really successful. I played a travel agent...just the timing of the thing. A show has to be timed right. We're lucky that our competition can't keep up with Boston Public. I don't think they will!

Fyvush_Finkel: The show is unique. It's different. It will hit home. Once you see it, you'll become addicted!

Joey_Slotnick: I hope so!

mspriss: Mr. Finkel are you always this positive about a project? : -)

Fyvush_Finkel: No, no. But this time I feel very positive.

Fyvush_Finkel: You can't be too positive...you could become a millionaire if you knew for sure about things. But technically, the way this is written and directed this means a great deal. We have the best! They are the conductors for the orchestra so to speak. We've got the best of the best. First class.

Fyvush_Finkel: The set! The set is worth millions. FOX is very happy. They got on top of David Kelley to do this and they're very happy.

Fyvush_Finkel: Nah, they'll like it, don't worry!

FOXcom_Host: Goodnight, Fyvush and Joey!!! Thank you for being here to chat with FOX.com!

Fyvush_Finkel: It's on next Monday, you know!

Joey_Slotnick: Thank you all for chatting! and Watch the show.....

FOXcom_Host: Check out FOX.com tomorrow for the transcript of tonight's event!

FOXcom_Host: And thanks to all the chatters for their great questions!

FOXcom_Host: Bye!

homegirl: You guys are Great!