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 (l to r) Damian Ganczewski, Walter Hill, Stanley M. Brooks
INSTINCT: What made you think Sordid Lives could become a TV show?
DAMIAN GANCZEWSKI: I had seen the movie and the play and knew what a huge cult following both had. I knew that people would tune in to see more of their favorite characters.
STAN BROOKS: I already knew how passionate the gay community was about the film from Damian. He knew the movie well and loved it. It was on a drive with my mother-in-law that I became a true believer. I mentioned to her that I was working on a Sordid Lives series and she nearly jumped through the roof of my car. She started reciting lines from the film! She told me that she and her friends memorized the movie, had parties where they wore the wardrobe and made the recipes. She even had emailed Del Shores! It's true that the most passionate fans of the film are the "gays and the grays." I can thank my mother-in-law, Nancy Lopez, for getting me to drink the Kool-Aid.
Why was it important to bring back as many original cast members as possible for the TV version?
DG: Sordid Lives is about these characters!
SB: Del's been working with the same rep company of actors for years. They implicitly understand his timing, his humor and the inner strengths and vulnerabilities of his characters. On a series, where we never have the luxury of time, it really made it all work having actors who already knew their characters and motivations. So much more humor was created and improv'd having his Rep Company thespians.
Briefly, what are your professional backgrounds like?
DG: I have been producing with Stanley M. Brooks and Once Upon A Time Films for the last seven years. Before that, I worked at Disney Channel for two years overseeing all of their original movies, and before that I worked in feature films for many years.
SB: I started Once Upon A Time Films in 1989 and we've made 52 film productions. We've done every imaginable genre and shot in six countries and eight different states. We just love making movies. We won the Emmy last year for our miniseries Broken Trail. This was our first original series and very exciting. Prior to starting Once Upon A Time, I ran the Guber-Peters Entertainment Company and developed TV movies and a couple of features (including Rain Man and Gorillas In The Mist). In 1994, Once Upon A Time gave Arnold Schwarzenegger his directorial debut with Christmas In Connecticut. He appointed me to The California Film Commission in 2007, where I was named the chairman several months later.
As executive producers, what's been your favorite aspect of the Sordid Lives experience?
DG: Comedies are extremely difficult to make and to get right. When everything works--the writing, the directing and the acting--it's the most amazing and satisfying experience to me.
SB: Being able to laugh at every step of the experience. The great thing about working with Del and his traveling troupe of actors is that they love to make each other laugh on every take, at every turn. From prep to post, we were always giggling and guffawing. That's the best part.
Why should we check out the show?
DG:
This show is hysterical, but more importantly it has heart, the characters are funny but real and you will fall in love with all of them! Oh, and the boys are hot, hot, hot!
SB: Do you like to laugh? Do you want to watch this summer's funniest series? Don't miss a minute of it.
What's the funniest story you have about this whole process?
SB: As the one straight guy in the mix, I must say that one of my favorite moments was attending my first Gay Pride in West Hollywood. LOGO had outfitted this Airstream to promote the series launch and took it to all the Pride events around the country. Olivia Newton-John had agreed to sing at the LA Pride, so I decided to take my wife and go. I knew I wasn't in Kansas anymore when we walked in and two shirtless guys yelled to my wife, "Hey babe, how do we get one of those Sugar Daddies for ourselves??" It was really fun, and we got to hang out with Beth Grant and her husband. Did you know they serve alcohol at Gay Pride?
No way! [Giggle] Fill in the blank: down South, everything's ___________.
DG: So sweet. Why? It's the boys and the tea.
SB: Fried! Holy mackerel, you can't find a salad bar within the area code. Even the steaks are fried. It's a culture shock to your digestive system, coming from the Whole Foods culture of LA and all the exercise and healthy food pressure. Let's just say the median waistline is a tad bigger in Louisiana. When they talk about "double wides" they aren't just referring to their homes
Anything else, fellows?
DG: I hope everyone likes what we've done, especially the Sordid Lives fans who have been loyal to the play and movie from the beginning. We've really tried to stay as true to the characters and the look so that they--and, we hope, many new fans--will love it!
SB: If you liked Ab Fab or can imagine an "R" rated version of Golden Girls, you won't wanna miss Sordid Lives: The Series. Del Shores's Winters, Texas puts the FUN back in dysFUNctional!!
Sordid Lives: The Series debuts on Logo July 23. The NYC premiere is on July 15, benefiting The Trevor Project. The West Coast premiere is on July 19, benefiting Outfest.
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Instinct Online 
written by Bill F. on April 15, 2009 at 03:46 PM
Came across this article while searching the web about the producers of "Sordid Lives" since the news broke this week about how they are defaulting on residual payments to Shores and the series cast members. Wonder how much money they made on the backs of those cast members?