FOXcom_Host: Welcome to the chat with the cast of How To Marry A Billionaire!

FOXcom_Host: Josh Malina is best known for his role of Jeremy Goodwin of Sports Night - an awesome show that went away far too soon -

FOXcom_Host: You may remember him from Bulworth, too - he was the geeky political aide! (The guy's versatile ya know)

FOXcom_Host: Keep up sending your questions to Joshua Malina - He'll be joining us from Santa Monica in just a minute or two!

FOXcom_Host: Hey, Josh has arrived! He's the star of How to Marry a Billionaire - Welcome!

Joshua_Malina: Hello, good to be here!

itsrainingmen: Joshua, I thought Sports Night was the best show on TV when it was on. How did you feel when it was cancelled?

Joshua_Malina: Not good!

Joshua_Malina: I was disappointed as well.

Joshua_Malina: And surprised, because the ratings seemed to have improved from the second season compared to the first. But the possibility of getting cancelled is always in the air when you do a TV series.

FOXcom_Host: John Stamos will be joining us late - in case you missed that message earlier.

moneyhoney: Josh, how does this show compare to other Christm****pecials?

Joshua_Malina: I think what drew me to this script is tha****'s unapologetic comedy. And while it has romantic elements as well, it is essentially a no holds barred comedy.

johnstheman: Josh - you're doing a movie about getting married - How did you meet your wife?

Joshua_Malina: Good question. I did a play that Aaron Sorkin who created Sports Night wrote.

Joshua_Malina: A Few Good Men, the play on which the movie is based. I was in the play in 1989 on Broadway, and the star of the show at that point was Timothy Busfield.

Joshua_Malina: Who won an Emmy for 30 Something.

Joshua_Malina: I got to be good friends with him and his wife Jenny. And she told me at the time that if I were ever to meet her sister I would marry her.

Joshua_Malina: I had a girlfriend at the time so I didn't pay much attention, but a few years later after moving to Los Angeles, I did meet her and I did marry her. And now Tim is my brother in law.

Joshua_Malina: Sounds like a made up story, but it's true.

itsrainingmen: Josh - I hear you're married in real life... What would you consider your most romantic date with your wife?

Joshua_Malina: There have been many, it would be a toss up between our honeymoon in Italy, our first night in Venice. Neither of us had ever been before, and we went into a restaurant and had a great dinner and then when we left all of the Piazza San Marco was flooded. And it was an incredibly romantic and sort of other worldly environment. with classical musicians playing and playing going around on duck boards trying to keep from getting wet.

Joshua_Malina: So it's between that and the very first time I met my wife, it wasn't really a date but we talked for hours and I fell in love right then, right there.

itsrainingmen: If you met the guys you're playing in real life, would you like them? Obviously, I haven't seen the show, but they're looking for money over love, right?

Joshua_Malina: Good question. I would say that I'm hopeful that when you see the show that although these guys have questionable motives, it's pretty clear from the get-go that none of them is really capable of committing to their shallow plan.

moneyhoney: are you afraid people will confuse this show with a game show or the notorious "who wants to marry a millionaire?"

Joshua_Malina: LOL! Well the movie is two hours long so if at any point past say the 10 minute mark anyone is confusing it with the game show, we've got major problems.

Joshua_Malina: Though I cannot say for certain that they weren't trying to create that asociation with a successful show.

dzen: what else have you done beside s.n. and this movie?

Joshua_Malina: Well I've been a professional actor for over a decade now so I've done all sorts of things, from tiny little parts in movies...

Joshua_Malina: To other TV shows and many plays.

Joshua_Malina: I'd say my favorite jobs, aside from this and Sports Night, would be the Warren Beatty film Bulworth, and a recurring role I played on the Larry Sanders Show.

foxxywatcher: Bulworth is brilliant! would you like to see more political satire?

Joshua_Malina: Absolutely. And when I saw Bulworth for the first time I was convinced that it would be an enormou*****.

Joshua_Malina: Sadly I was wrong about that.

Joshua_Malina: So while I'd love to see more edgy, politcal scripts I wonder whether there is really a large enough audience to support them.

ritzy: Josh was the filming of Bullworth fun

Joshua_Malina: Yes. One of the best experiences I've had, and not a normal film making experience.

Joshua_Malina: To give you some idea of how long we shot, I was single when the shoot began and I brought my wife and baby to the premiere. That's actually true!

Joshua_Malina: Warren Beatty was a lot of fun to work for. We would shoot and shoot and shoot, trying scenes in any number of ways.

notabillionaire: What is Warren Beatty like as a director..he's known for his many many re-takes!

Joshua_Malina: Yes, there were times when we would shoot an incredible number of takes.

FOXcom_Host: Would you ever direct, Josh? Or are you in front of the camera only?

Joshua_Malina: One night I was called to the set at 12: 00 noon and at one in the morning I called my then girlfriend, now wife, to tell her we were on the 50th take of the first set up of the day and I hadn't worked yet.

Hadoudi: How long did this movie take to shoot?

Joshua_Malina: We shot Bulworth for about five months. And then we took a break for 3 weeks or a month, and then we shot for a couple of more weeks, and then Warren took about a year to edit it.

Joshua_Malina: Another way to track the length of the shoot is this. We shot the movie in chronological order and Warren was nice enough to hire professional cooks to feed us when we weren't working.

Joshua_Malina: So I gained 15 pounds over the five months, and Oliver Platt gained 25 pounds. And since we shot in chronological order, you can see us gaining weight scene by scene.

FOXcom_Host: How often do things shoot in chronological order?

Joshua_Malina: Incredibly infrequently, it's only a giant like Warren Beatty that can insist on shooting in order. It's a very expensive and efficient way to shoot a movie, but it's great for the actors.

hermione: what is it like working with warren beatty?

johnstheman: I've heard Beatty is tough to work with - Is he as difficult as they say - or just brilliant?

Joshua_Malina: He's not at all difficult to work with if you're an actor.

Joshua_Malina: Even when he is directing you can tell he has the heart of an actor and he loves actors. So whereas it might be difficult to be on the crew of a Warren Beatty movie, I found it heaven to work for him as an actor.

Mack: Do you shoot that way to make yourself more a part of the story..to feel more connected to it?

Joshua_Malina: One of the difficult things on a normal film or TV shoot is to keep track of where your character's head is scene by scene. So you might be shooting a love story, and the first day you have to shoot an intense scene where you know your partner really well, and then five weeks later you shoot the scene where you first meet.

Joshua_Malina: And it's just a lot easier if you do it the other way around.

Hadoudi: What would you do on your time off when you get breaks for the movie?

Joshua_Malina: I have a three year old daughter.

Joshua_Malina: So virtually all my down time is daddy time.

Joshua_Malina: It makes unemployment a lot more fun.

hermione: now we know what its is like to make a movie... what are some of your favorite movies?

Joshua_Malina: Hmm. I would say the include Brazil, the Great Dictator, The Producers, and virtually any Marx Bros. movie.

Joshua_Malina: And actually now that I think of it Kenneth Mars, who plays the Nazi playright in the Producers is in How to Marry a Billionaire.

MikeDaddy: Josh, do you like doing films or television better?

Joshua_Malina: Tought question.

Joshua_Malina: Because they each have their own attraction.

Joshua_Malina: It was a lot of fun to do a series.

Joshua_Malina: I got to play the same character for 45 episodes, which is a little like playing the same character for 11 movies.

Joshua_Malina: it's nice to be able to develop a character over that length of time.

Joshua_Malina: At the same time, there is also something very exciting about working on a major movie set where a giant budget generally creates an incredibly realistic atmosphere.

johnstheman: Josh - You seem really versatile - Do you feel that helps you out a lot as an actor? And what types of roles do you like to play best?

Joshua_Malina: That's a good question. It's nice of you to say...

Joshua_Malina: But the truth is in a way I feel like there tend to be more similarities among the characters I play than I wish there were.

Joshua_Malina: I tend to play sort of smart, neurotic, East coast - which is code for Jewish, which I am - and I'd like to have the opportunity to play somebody really different, though I'm not complaining.

McCabe: You picked "How to Marry a Billionaire" because it's a comedy...do you prefer comedy over drama?

Joshua_Malina: It certainly comes more naturally to me.

Joshua_Malina: Although as I was just saying, I'd like to do a lot of different project and I hope I'll have the opportunity to do some straight dramas as well. My feeling is that when it comes to TV movies you're much better off with a romantic comedy than with a disease of the week.

hermione: where will be be able to see you next? any projects coming up?

Joshua_Malina: I just completed a film called Without Charlie.

Joshua_Malina: Which is written and directed by Adam Rifkin, who wrote and directed Detroit Rock City.

Joshua_Malina: It's a romantic comedy, believe it or not, about a couple that has been dating for 4 1/2 years.

Joshua_Malina: At the start of the movie we break up and I tell my ex-girlfriend five days later that I've met somebody else and I'm going to marry her.

Joshua_Malina: That sends her into an obsessive tailspin.

thespian: why do you think TV does romantic comedies better?

Joshua_Malina: I guess what I really meant to say was that TV movies are far more likely to be of the disease of the week variety than a romantic comedy.

Joshua_Malina: And so it was refreshing to see a script that aimed mainly to be funny.

moneyhoney: Why do you think Sports Night was cancelled,given the critical acclaim it received?

Joshua_Malina: Well in the end the bottom line as always is the ratings.

Joshua_Malina: And we just never had the viewership to equal the critical praise.

Joshua_Malina: At the same time, our ratings were not all that bad.

Joshua_Malina: And I think part of the problem was that we were a very expensive show to produce, and whereas a cheaper show might have been able to survive with our ratings, we really needed to hit it big to stay on the air.

herschel: Did you feel that Aaron Sorkin's battles with the network doomed Sports Night?

Joshua_Malina: I do not. Although it may have been one of the elements in the final decision.

hermione: hey josh - what was your favorite sports night episode?

Joshua_Malina: There were quite a few of them.

Joshua_Malina: One of my favorites would have to be the 3rd or 4th episode of the first season where I had a four page monologue about deer hunting.

Joshua_Malina: When I first saw that script I thought there is no way this makes it on the air - sitcoms don't have 2 1/2 minute monologues. BUt I was pleased to discover that Aaron was trying to do something different. And that he would succeed in doing so.

Joshua_Malina: I also loved the poker episode from the first season.

FOXcom_Host: John Stamos has arrived with us!

dzen: what was it like working with john stamos?did you like it?

dzen: did you like working with john stamos?did you feel maybe somewhat in awe of him?

Joshua_Malina: I'm glad you asked. I had never before worked with someone with a drinking problem!

Joshua_Malina: It was interesting to see whether and when he'd show up each day!

Joshua_Malina: I carried the movie for him.

John_Stamos: I have never worked with such a sweaty actor in all my life! I carried the movie for him! Had to work overtime when he was in scenes.

Joshua_Malina: If he says anything funny head for the hills because it's the sign of the apocolypse.

FOXcom_Host: John, where are chatting from?

John_Stamos: I am in New York and Josh is on the street... santa Monica Blvd trying to get picked up as a male hooker.

MikeDaddy: Were you guys worried about your credability, doing a FOX special after all the "Millionairre" scandal?

John_Stamos: Well I thought I was supposed to be playing Rick Rockwell and Rebecca was going to Darva Conger... that is actually the reason why I did it.

aj1000101: josh, did john walk around murmurring "i was a Beach boy" over and over??? ;-)

Joshua_Malina: LOL! No, he talked a lot more about his days on Full House.

John_Stamos: That is not true!

MikeDaddy: John is there going to be a Full House reunion?

Joshua_Malina: I don't think they'll be able to get the twins to do it, but I'm guessing John's available!

John_Stamos: As much as I would love to see everybody I don;t think that would ever happen. Full house was an exciting experience that should just be left alone.

THRUST: do you keep in touch with the cast from full house

dzen: John..do you miss everyone from full house...do you ever see each other?

John_Stamos: We actually do get together quite a bit... dinners once a month. We don't see the twins as much but everyone else. if i need money I call the twins.

thespian: what actors do you look up to? who do you look for, for their "skills?"

John_Stamos: I am a fan of the older guys... Cary Grant... Spencer Tracy. I am a huge fan of Tony Curits, Jack Lemmon. The older guys.

John_Stamos: Jonathan Lipnicki is underrated. I loved him in Stuart Little.

Joshua_Malina: He was very good in Stuart Little which I've seen over 700 times. It should also be noted that John and I are major Jerry Lewis fans.

Hadoudi: Do you get nervous when you act in a movie?

Joshua_Malina: Not really, it's one of the nice things about shooting a movie or a TV show, you can always ask for another take.

John_Stamos: as Josh did... every single time...

John_Stamos: I am nervous now. But not normally when I am working.

idababy: Speaking of signs : ) --John, I went to see you play with the Beach Boys in Houston this 4th of July. I was the one with the "John Stamos is giving me Good Vibrations" sign. I just wanted to personally thank you again for getting us backstage and being so kind and generous to us. I'll never forget that day! Laura

John_Stamos: Thank you Laura!

wheres2ndgear: john..do you still find time to play in a band?

Anna: Do you still sing?

John_Stamos: I don;t get as much time anymore but I really miss it. I only did about 15-20 dates with the Beach Boys but hopefully I will get some more time to do that.

STAMFAN1: Hey John, What is your favorite Christmas memory and what are you looking forward to this year?

John_Stamos: I am excited about having my family at my house but my sister has been stealing my stuff and selling it on ebay! But i am looking forward to having the family over. my wife bought a 30 ft tree... it was a little dangerous.

John_Stamos: Happy Hanukkah to everyone!

itsrainingmen: Josh - What character are you most like of all the roles you've played - What about which one is the most different from you?

Joshua_Malina: Hmm. Well I'd like to say I'm most like Jeremy in Sports Night...Though I admit to being less kind and far less intelligent.

John_Stamos: I'll vouch for that!

Joshua_Malina: And I'm probably least like - I hope - Kenny Mitchell in the Larry Sanders show, who is kind of hyper smarmy.

John_Stamos: I am most like Kenny G when I did the Kenny G Story.

idababy: John, I just saw you and Rebecca on ET. Her movie looks cool. Did you have fun at the Playboy Mansion? hehe : )

John_Stamos: Yes we had a lot of fun. I actually brought my mother and by around midnight she was topless in the grotto.

Cindy: Is Rebecca going to do more movies now that she's been in X-Men? do you compete?

John_Stamos: She has a new movie called Rollerball coming out this summer and we don't compete... we are very supportive of each other.

itsrainingmen: John Stamos - I have been a fan for almost 20 years! When you were on General Hospital, how did you envision your career evolving - What surprises have you come across?

John_Stamos: Better than it is for sure!

John_Stamos: I never thought I would end up on a Full House type of show. My career has always just been different than I thougth it would be.

tveye: Is that a re-make of the James Caan movie "Rollerball?"

John_Stamos: Yes

Joshua_Malina: No, it's an $80 million about a pen.

dzen: how many kids do you have?

Joshua_Malina: Between the two of us we have one kid. Let's leave it at that.

Cindy: Do you think Sports Night will have an influence on future sitcoms?

Joshua_Malina: NOt if future sitcom creators are smart. I think it would have had greater influence had it been a bit more successful, though it's possible someone will try to crack the dramedy curse which keeps comedy shows with occasionally serious themes from succeeding.

iggy: John, what do you mean by that "kind of show" (full house)?

John_Stamos: I mean... It turned out to be a different show than what I thougth it would be. I thought it was going to be more of a Buddy show and it turned to be more about family. Just different than what I thought it was going to be.

dzen: John...have you and your wife talked about doing a project together?

John_Stamos: Yeah... I kinda think it is a little cheesy. We really try to kind of separate our careers. She is too big of a star to work with me now anyway.

Anna: John what is your next project?

John_Stamos: I am doing a new show for ABc called Theives... loosely based on the Cary Grant movie To Catch a Theif

Joshua_Malina: Can I be on it?

FOXcom_Host: Since the chatters are about to see your special tonight, can you tell us about the story and what we'll expect to see?

Joshua_Malina: It's a romantic comedy about three buddies.

Joshua_Malina: Who decide to marry money.

Joshua_Malina: And it follows their desperate and largely unsuccessful attempts to do so.

FOXcom_Host: What are the characters like?

Joshua_Malina: John, Shemar and I play best friends. John's an unsuccessful scupltor, Shemar's an unsuccessful actor and I'm an obsessive compulsive substitute teacher.

Joshua_Malina: None of us has been particularly successful in love and we make a pact to pursue rich women by posing as wealthy film producers.

FOXcom_Host: Okay - so everyone on the East Coast, go watch it! It's starting!

FOXcom_Host: Thanks so much for being with us!!!

FOXcom_Host: John went away - cell phone issues...

Joshua_Malina: All East Coasters go watch the movie! Thank you -- since we lost John, on behalf of both John and myself thanks for coming to chat, it's a lot of fun to do these things! We hope we enjoy the movie!

FOXcom_Host: Oh, he's back to say good-bye!!!

John_Stamos: I am back! Bye everyone! Thank you!

BIG_backer: yo john u rule!!!!

idababy: Bye John!

FOXcom_Host: Thanks to all the chatters who stopped by FOX.com to chat with the hotties from How to Marry a Billionaire! Don't forget to watch the show on FOX tonight!

FOXcom_Host: Check back tomorrow for the transcript of today's chat on FOX.com! Bye!

wheres2ndgear: Merry christmas John. And thankyou.

dzen: happy hannukkuh!

dzen: bye john you rule!