Marisa Coughlan Talks about Her "Side Order of Life" - By: Tony Bray

We all know someone who is too busy to hear the sound of children's laughter in a park or to notice how beautiful the flowers look in bloom. Many people are so busy chasing the American dream that they forget why they wanted to be successful to begin with, forget what really is important ... like family and friends and personal health. Photographer Jenny McIntyre (Marisa Coughlan) was like that. The pictures she took of people were as one dimensional as her career. Even her upcoming wedding to her fiancé Ian (Jason Priestley) was only something she wanted to do in order to make it easier for her to be with her lover and take less time away from her career. Now for the good news -- Jenny's friend Vivy (Diana-Maria Riva) has brain cancer. Okay, not great news for Vivy, but for Jenny, knowing how fragile life is finally causes her to see the world with different eyes, to see the souls of the people she photographs, to understand how precious time is and how important it is to never waste the hours and minutes on trivial matters ... like a marriage that hasn't been blessed by the gods of love yet. The information above relates to Lifetime's wonderful new series "Side Order of Life," which airs on Sunday nights in the 8-9pm time period. It's part comedy, part drama, and gloriously colorful. Reds, blues, yellows, greens ... the colors in certain scenes would even make artists like Henri Matisse and Vincent van Gogh break from their work long enough to appreciate the cinematography. I had a chance to talk with Marisa about her new series and a few other matters, like the work she did with James Spader on "Boston Legal." She not only is a beautiful woman, she's extremely talented too. As long as her Lifetime series continues to feature great writing, solid acting and interesting characters, it will be a permanent part of the popular cable network's schedule for a long time. That's good news for me and you. The interview session with Tony Bray: Tony: I am extremely impressed with the cinematography and rich colors in your series. Marisa: It is a beautifully lit show, isn't it? Tony: Are there conscious choices on locale and wardrobe and even in the office colors to take advantage of the lighting? Marisa: Yes, certainly the location, the combination of the color, and to kind of bring L.A. to life in a lot of ways. We saw such an opportunity. It's such a beautiful place ... or can be. They definitely wanted to capitalize on that. There aren't too many shows that really are able to show the city. They chose real bright, great colors and interesting kinds of lines in the magazine office. It does make the world look a little prettier. Really, the cinematographer does an amazing job. I think he could create anything beautifully. Tony: Your character, Jenny, has a friend, Vivy, with brain cancer. She doesn't sit in a closet crying over her illness. She's out there living life to the fullest. Marisa: Yes. Yes. Tony: I think that's an extremely important message. Marisa: Definitely. Not only is she living her life to the fullest, but she brings about a change in all the people around her, so that we go: "God ... if she in the face of this can live this large, then what am I doing?" It brings a vitality out of all of us. Tony: It sure changes Jenny in about ten minutes. Pictures she used to take only captured the images. After Vivy's news, Jenny's pictures captures the souls of the people. Marisa: You're right. And it is a question of me digging deeper into myself, into others, into the things around them. Prior to that, I would just skim the surface of everything in life just like being on auto pilot. Vivy shakes me out of auto pilot and into my own life. Tony: Definitely. Is that phone stranger actually a stranger or will we find out three years from now, on the third season, that it's you that you're talking to? Marisa: (laughter) You will definitely find out who it is someday. I can't say when. I hope we're living large three seasons later, but I don't know when exactly they are going to reveal it. I will tell you that by episode five, the relationship is definitely progressing ... albeit, over the phone. Tony: It is a good hook. I liked the fact that Vivy ordered dessert first. You don't forget that in your ceremony for her. Marisa: Yes, exactly. It's not a bad way to live life. Tony: Jeff Perry was a great choice to play Gina's real love. He has such character in his face. Marisa: Isn't he amazing? Tony: Especially in that window scene. Marisa: Wasn't that beautiful He's really a beautiful actor. He made such a tremendous moment out of one line in a script. Then you see it in real life, living and breathing with an actor like that and it just comes to life. Tony: Do you have real dark room skills or did you have to train for that? Marisa: I'm learning as I go. Thankfully we have lots of photographers in our midst. Our director on the pilot knew a lot about dark rooms. They've kind of been teaching me as I go. Tony: Well, you do a good job. I once dated a girl who was a photographer. I spent a lot of innocent time in her dark room with her. Marisa: I bet you did. Tony: Well, I just watched, really. It's fascinating to see a picture come to life. Marisa: It is. Our writers have really capitalized on that aspect of my life. A lot of things are revealed to me through photos. Tony: Especially the way Clarence's picture developed. Roscoe Lee Browne's voice and eyes brought Clarence to life. Marisa: He passed away. Tony: Oh, I did not know that. Marisa: Yes. Roscoe passed away since we shot the pilot. It was just so devastating because he was so powerful in those few scenes he had. He was going to come back and be part of our little world. You know, it was a huge loss. Such a great actor .... Tony: The director actually used photos of him from his youth Marisa: We originally had people pose for photos, and then they realized it wasn't as great as having Roscoe. They were able to dig up some old photos of him. Tony: Do you like this series as much as "Boston Legal?" Marisa: Oh, boy, they're so different. I definitely do. There's a very fine line and a delicate balance needed to do comedy and drama and tug at your heartstrings. That's one of the things that I think our writers are really skilled at, certainly something that David E. Kelley can do in his sleep. It's a very different kind of show. It's obviously a lot more fun for me because I have a lot more to do. It's certainly not the same schedule I had on "Boston Legal." I guess I love them both in very different ways, yet they're very different experiences. Tony: David handles social issues in his shows. "Side Order of Life" is more about the people issues. Marisa: That's a very nice way of putting it even though "Boston Legal" certainly deals with a fair share of people issues as well. But, you're right, it ends up going into a much more political kind of social play and ours is really about a more intimate, interpersonal aspect of human relations. Tony: The writers are delivering some great lines in "Side Order of Life." My favorite of yours is at Vivy's party when you say: "It's OK to mess up the order of things every now and then." That's the wisdom Jenny got from one brief lunch with Vivy. Marisa: And that's the way life is. When we went up to New York for the upfront sessions, I had so many people come up to me and talk to me about how their lives have changed due to some kind of life threatening illness or someone in their life they lost. It's just amazing how many things you take for granted. On the one hand, it's something we've heard a million times. On the other hand, you can't hear it enough times. You live through it or see it in a show like this and you go: "Oh, you know what, that's true. Why have I been so worried about all this minutiae when, at the drop of a hat, my whole life could change?" It's a show about celebrating everything good and bad about life. Tony: I also like the fact that Jason's character Ian is written with brains. When Jenny delays the wedding, he doesn't go to pieces. He adjusts. Marisa: Yes, he talks about we wouldn't get our money back. Tony: And you kiss him and still tell him you love him. It was a nice way to do that ... no hostility, no bickering back and forth. Marisa: Yes, yes. I do love him and as the show has evolved, we have a real genuine friendship. One of the neat things about rallying around Vivy is that despite whatever ups or downs we're going through in our relationship, we are genuinely friends and passionately devoted to Vivy. To me, that's what ultimately love should be about anyway. Tony: That's the way life is. Marisa: Yes. Tony: People who don't have friends end up lonely and without purpose. Marisa: That's very much what Jenny starts to learn and starts to really value about the people around her as the show evolves. We all sort of learn that about each other and stop taking the other stuff for granted. Tony: I read somewhere that you like to bake something called Bars. Marisa: I do the baking. Tony: Then how do you keep your weight? Marisa: (laughter) Well, I don't bake every day. Right now I have sixteen hour workdays. There's no time for baking now. Tony: What's the bars treat? Marisa: It's a seven layer bar that my family makes, that I make every time we have a barbecue or a dinner or anything like that. People tend to like them, so we do bake them often. Tony: Well, it's not bothering your figure. I have another "Boston Legal" question or statement. I interviewed Mark Valley for the show. He and I both are James Spader fans. I don't see how Spader delivers so much dialogue in one take. Marisa: He's amazing. He normally does the whole thing in one take. I'm sure that doesn't surprise you because his work never seems like a choppy performance. It's just exactly what you see ... and so amazing. Tony: Mark said he'd hang around the set on days he didn't have a scene just to watch James work. Marisa: Well, we're so used to doing little bits and pieces and it's all so chopped up. It's just incredible to see someone do a two page monologue that is so nuanced, so many different beats, that is so well thought out and every little moment bridges perfectly into the next. I'd like to see him doing some theater because he would hit it out of the park. Tony: Your new series hits it out of the park too. It's a winner. Marisa: I'm really, really, glad you like the show. Tony: Thank you, Marissa, for your time. I know you are on the set and in between scenes. Marisa: Thank you very much. Tony: Have a great day. Marisa: You too. Bye bye.