WarnerBrosHost1: Welcome, chatters! We are thrilled to have two of "ER's" nurses here with us today. :-) Not only are they actors, but they both have recently directed their own short films. We welcome Yvette Freeman and Lily Mariye. Welcome, and thank you for being here with us.

 

ERNurses: Lily: Great! Hi!

 

Buttah: How did you get your start in acting?

 

ERNurses: Yvette: My family is a musical family, and I started singing when I was 7 years old. I was trying to impress my father and mother. It didn't work.

 

ERNurses: Lily: I started dancing at 9. My family was pushovers. I made them sit in the living room and watch me dance. I was very impressive if I say so myself.

 

WarnerBrosHost2: Do you still dance?

 

ERNurses: Lily: My first job was the movie, "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas." That's how I got my SAG card. I continued dancing for the next eight years. It's too hard on the knees.

 

barbiedoll: Could you tell me which characters you each play so I know who's who?

 

ERNurses: Yvette: I play Haleh Adams, R.N.

 

ERNurses: Lily: I play, coincidentally enough, Lily Jarvik.

 

ERNurses: Yvette: If you want to know what I look like, I am the large, black female nurse.

 

ERNurses: Lily: I'm the female Asian nurse, as opposed to the male Asian nurse played by Gedde Watanabe.

 

Inky: A question for Lily. Is it a coincidence that your character’s name is Lily, or was the character created for you to play?

 

ERNurses: Lily: The producers named my character after they cast me.

 

TonyToneToni: What is an average day on the "ER" set like?

 

ERNurses: Yvette: If you're counting a few average days I had this past week or two, they were 12-hour days on your feet.

 

ERNurses: Lily: Except for the saving lives part.

 

kellyblue: Do you wear real nurse's shoes? Do they work?

 

ERNurses: Lily: Yes we do. And they do work.

 

ERNurses: Yvette: In fact, everything is real, but doesn't work, except for the saving lives part.

 

FreakDawg: Do either of you have any medical training?

 

ERNurses: Yvette: LOL

 

ERNurses: Lily: No way.

 

Heeker: Are either of you squeamish?

 

ERNurses: Yvette: Not any more.

 

ERNurses: Lily: I am, although blood on our show is so fake looking. I love looking at it. "Look, there's a bullet hole!"

 

ERNurses: Yvette: I think whatever they're doing now with the new prosthesis is going beyond.

 

Flavia: Is it difficult to take a meal break while you are filming a scene that involves lots of blood and gore?

 

ERNurses: Lily: Are you kidding? We eat continuously.

 

ERNurses: Yvette: They feed us constantly, and we eat standing over the blood.

 

delly: How do you spout out those prescriptions so fast? Do you memorize them?

 

ERNurses: Lily: Yes.

 

ERNurses: Yvette: We do all the memory tricks--phonetically, tie them to the people we know, etc.

 

ERNurses: Lily: The first year it was difficult, but now we're pretty familiar with it. It is not so hard.

 

ProudGramma: To each of you individually - Which was your favorite episode to film? To watch?

 

ERNurses: Yvette: Of course, blizzard was fabulous to me. That is the one where I was holding the baby and singing to it. That was a wonderful show. Mimi Leder directed it. The most recent one was Lucy dying. She was fantastic during the whole show and the process of her dying. She touched me.

 

ERNurses: Lily: My favorite one to film was a few years ago where the paramedic dies; he gets burned and he dies. You got to see us dealing with the death of one of our own, and I liked that. The one I liked to watch was called, "A Peace of Wild Things." That was Alan Alda's last show.

 

ERNurses: Yvette: He was fabulous. I want him back.

 

FishermanDave: Did you (the cast) know in advance about George Clooney’s return?

 

ERNurses: Yvette: Nope. That was a total surprise. We did not know until it aired.

 

ERNurses: Lily: It was a really good secret.

 

TheGambler: Some incredible actors have guest starred on ER. What was it like working with people as diverse and talented as Red Buttons, Kirsten Dunst, Glen Headly and Chad Lowe?

 

ERNurses: Lily: It was great. One of the greatest things about "ER" is getting to work with our regular actors as well as the best actors in the business.

 

ERNurses: Lily: We're looking forward to working with Sally Field.

 

JudiTC-guest: In what ways would you like to see your characters develop more on the show?

 

ERNurses: Yvette: I would like to know more about the home lives, or how we feel about things. I know we are supporting characters, so maybe they'll write us a spin off.

 

ERNurses: Lily: I don't know any actor who thinks he gets enough, except Tony Edwards.

 

UncleWally: Are there any pranksters on the set? If so, fill us in on some of the pranks that they pulled?

 

ERNurses: Yvette: Since Clooney left, we are missing some jokes. Buy you know who is really delightful is Noah Wyle. It was very cool.

 

JudiTC-guest: Who are your role models, and why?

 

ERNurses: Yvette: It depends upon what I'm doing. I've got role models for acting--Cicley Tyson. Alfrie Woodard paved the way too, and Ethel Waters. Now ask me about singing. ;-)

 

ERNurses: Lily: I think my biggest role model was my mother. My father died when I was 9, and she got me through college. She was an incredible woman.

 

marshmallowpeep: What's each of your most embarrassing moments on the show?

 

ERNurses: Yvette: In fact, it was on the gag reel last season. I ran into a door. The door wouldn't open, and then they added a sound in the gag reel. And the thing is that I didn't even know I did it.

 

ERNurses: Lily: I was in a scene with Gloria Reuben and Michael Michele, and we were trying to save a little baby. The two of them had long medical speeches, and all I was supposed to say was, "I'll get the portable," and I said instead I said, "I'll get the $%!#@." The crew burst into laughter.

 

ERNurses: Yvette: There was a word, 'type specific', and I could not say the word. I kept saying something else; I could not say it. I ended up writing it on a sticky 'ala Clooney' and put it on the head of a patient.

 

Trichybaby-guest: Who is the funniest Co Star?

 

ERNurses: Lily: Gedde Watanabe.

 

ERNurses: Yvette: You know he is.

 

ERNurses: Lily: He was singing a song the other day, "It's Gedde with a 'd' not Liza with a 'z'."

 

paulysdream: How well do you all get along on ER? Big happy family?

 

ERNurses: Yvette: Basically, yes. We work together and have some truly great people.

 

ERNurses: Yvette: For a dysfunctional family, we work really well.

 

LivingDeadGirIl: Do either of you like the "Rocky Horror Picture Show?"

 

ERNurses: Yvette: I've seen it four times.

 

ERNurses: Lily: I used to bring hangers and newspapers and toast.

 

WarnerBrosHost2: We're dancing thru the time warp now! LOL

 

ERNurses: Lily: And now you have to say, "Dammit Janet."

 

marcus_the_man: I'd like to know what your favorite meals are? I'm a cook, and I'm going to open a restaurant soon and invite you down!

 

ERNurses: Yvette: I like anything with fish.

 

ERNurses: Lily: I like everything.

 

WarnerBrosHost2: Dessert?

 

ERNurses: Yvette: I like crème brulee and baked potato pie.

 

FranklinDelano: Is it true that you both write and direct, as well as act?

 

ERNurses: Lily: Yes. Unbeknownst to each other, we both were accepted into the directing workshop for women at the American Film Institute.

 

CreepyCarrie: I understand that you both participated in the Directing Workshop for Women at the American Film Institute. What was that experience like?

 

ERNurses: Lily: I thought it was great. It gave me the opportunity to write and direct a project that I was very passionate about. It gave me the opportunity to see if I liked being on the other side of the camera. I found out that I loved it.

 

queenkelly: Do either of you plan on directing features at some point? ERNurses: Lily: Yes, yes, yes!

 

ERNurses: Yvette: Oh, yes. That's the dream; that's the goal.

 

bombadeer: What do you like better, acting, directing or writing?

 

ERNurses: Yvette: Why should I make a choice when I've been given all talents.

 

jerrysez: Will either of you be directing any "ER" episodes this season? Will you be writing any?

 

ERNurses: Yvette: There's a long line.

 

WarnerBrosHost2: To write also?

 

ERNurses: Lily: I'm not as interested in writing for television, in general. It's not because I don't like TV, but it's a different process than feature writing.

 

ERNurses: Yvette: I like to do movies of the week, series', and I think it's needed. There is some change that needs to happen on TV.

 

KookieMnst: Yvette, where do you find the energy, honey? Weren’t you on "ER" and "Working" at the same time, and doing "Diana?" Was that all at once? Do you eat Wheaties? What’s your secret?

 

ERNurses: Yvette: I move when the opportunity happens. I sleep when it doesn't.

 

BradFitz-guest: Where do you get your ideas to write?

 

ERNurses: Yvette: They say start from what you know, and there are so many stories that I know that I haven't seen. I have a bag of them--my mother's stories, my father's stories, my neighbor's stories, my great-great grandmother's stories.

 

ERNurses: Lily: Sometimes I get inspiration from people sitting in a restaurant. Sometimes you get inspiration from the oddest places.

 

debbiekins: Who are the directors you both most admire?

 

ERNurses: Yvette: Jonathan Kaplan, Paris Barkley, Leslie Glatter, Mimi Leder, and John Wells. He's great too.

 

ERNurses: Lily: I'll say ditto for me, and Francois Truffaut and Gordon Parks. I like Penny Marshall and Spike Lee.

 

FunkyCoolJ: Have you ladies met Michael Crichton or Steven Spielberg? If so, how was it?

 

ERNurses: Yvette: Oh great, yes.

 

ERNurses: Lily: Michael Crichton is very tall, and very nice.

 

ERNurses: Yvette: Steven Spielberg is very approachable, and very nice.

 

WarnerBrosHost1: Where did you get the premises for your films?

 

ERNurses: Yvette: Mine came from my family. I have an afro-centric sister, and I have a corporate sister too, and I stretched it and made it dramatic.

 

ERNurses: Lily: My family owned a Chinese restaurant in Las Vegas in the 1950s. They were Japanese-American. The irony in the 1950s is that they were not allowed to serve black people. My family sold the restaurant before I was born. It is 95% from my imagination and 5% from stories I was told.

realtor: What are the stories of your films, and can I see them?

 

ERNurses: Lily: Mine was called "The Shangri-la Café," and Yvette's was called "The Blessing Way." Probably within a year, they will be on Entertainer.com as well as broadcast television.

crashcourse: I hear you guys both recently directed short films. Will these be released, like in a film fest at some point?

 

ERNurses: Lily: I've been in 10 film festivals--Seattle, New York, second place in Nashville, Palm Springs, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and I'm going to London tonight for the BBC short film festival. I'm also going to the Hamptons in New York and Big Bear in California.

 

ERNurses: Yvette: I've just jumped into film festivals. I'm in the North Hampton First Glance, and I won first place in the Black and Brown Festival. I plan to do a few more this year.

 

ERNurses: Lily: I was named Filmmaker of the Year 2000 by NOW.

 

WarnerBrosHost2: Congratulations! That is fantastic!

 

llama: How did you get hooked up with AFI?

 

ERNurses: Yvette: Applied. We had to apply like anyone else. We had to send in a script, and we had to have five years experience in film, television, or theater. So we had editors, writers, script supervisors, and actors.

 

gooly: Did you guys do all the casting for your films?

 

ERNurses: Lily: We had casting directors who brought us talent, but we did the casting ourselves. Two of my actors are from ER. I had Sam Anderson and Monte Russell in mine.

 

welk: Have either of you directed before?

 

ERNurses: Yvette: College.

 

ERNurses: Lily: Me too.

 

ERNurses: Yvette: But I've directed in my head a lot.

 

WarnerBrosHost2: Where did you both go to college?

 

ERNurses: Lily: UCLA.

 

ERNurses: Yvette: University of Delaware.

 

saksfifth: What was the most gratifying part about making your movies, and what was the hardest?

 

ERNurses: Lily: The most gratifying part was seeing what I had written on screen.

 

ERNurses: Yvette: My most gratifying part is putting it together with the help of all the people. The hardest part, you know, was that I had so much fun and I was so tired at the same time. I think that as a director, because of all the hard work, you better like it.

 

ERNurses: Lily: The hardest part was having to stop. I loved it a lot.

 

ERNurses: Yvette: I'm looking for my next film to direct.

 

WarnerBrosHost2: Yvette, tell us about your singing career, too.

 

dandylion: Yvette, you're a singer! Do you have any plans for singing on the show? What types of music do you like best?

 

ERNurses: Yvette: I have a CD out, "Yvette Freeman, A Tribute to Dinah Washington." It's o line. I'm stretching myself. I'm going to R&B, and to get major advertising, I'm going to be at Spaghettini's in Seal Beach, CA at the end of October. Check my web site, www.YvetteFreeman.com.

 

ERNurses: Lily: Tune in soon for www.LilyMariye.com.

 

dillio: How long did it take to make your films from start to finish?

 

ERNurses: Lily: I had six months pre-production, five days to shoot, and three months post-production.

 

WarnerBrosHost2: Where did you shoot the films?

 

ERNurses: Lily: One of the rules from the AFI was that we had to shoot from a 30-mile radius from Los Angeles.

 

ERNurses: Yvette: I shot in Glendale. Lily shot in Santa Clarita. Lily shot in a Mexican restaurant.

 

BallerinaBarbie: What advice would you give to a young person who is interested in having a career as an actor on television?

 

ERNurses: Lily: Persevere and stick with it.

 

ERNurses: Yvette: Have a side job for money so you can search for your big break. Have a love for the craft or don't start. Some people stick and don't realize that they have to stop. That's painful.

 

HandleWhatHandle: What other projects are you working on besides "ER?"

 

ERNurses: Lily: I'm shooting an independent film in October called "Sunday on the Rocks," and I'm the star. It's directed by Joe Morton.

 

ERNurses: Yvette: I'm editing a four-camera documentary on African dance that I shot a couple of months back. I'm finishing the CD, and I'm pending on a "Judging Amy" spot. I'm looking for more projects, and I just finished a feature-length script.

 

ERNurses: Lily: I'm developing a project for my favorite comedian, Eddie Izzard.

 

surfboy: Where do you both see yourselves in 10 years? How about in 20?

 

ERNurses: Lily: With successful production companies, developing, writing, and producing features. In ten years, I will have been married for 25 years. I'm celebrating my 15th anniversary. My husband's name is Boney James, and he is a jazz saxophonist on WB records.

 

ERNurses: Yvette: In 10 years, I will be finishing a TV series in which I'm one of the leads, and I'll be working with my husband singing. He's my musical director--husband Lenny Hartley. We'll be married five years in January. I look forward to creating projects for others, and never retiring

 

WarnerBrosHost1: Thank you both for chatting with us. We really appreciate you being here.

 

ERNurses: Thank you. It was great. It was lots of fun.