carter covington q&a

Check out this interview with the "10 Things I Hate About You" Executive Producer.

Q: What kind of problems will the characters deal with?

Carter Covington: I'm someone who believes life is high school -- it's the same problems and issues over and over again. Our characters struggle to be popular, obsess over crushes, scheme to get money, and try to play it cool. Who hasn't wanted their parents to treat them as adults, or really wanted that certain boy/girl to notice them? And who hasn't, at one time or another, felt like they were above it all? That's what I want this show to be about.

Q: What inspired you to make this TV show? Was it in honor of the movie and its popularity?

CC:I am a HUGE fan of the movie. And I was able to work with the director, Gil Junger, on past projects with ABC Family and was always asking him questions about "10 Things." The idea for the series grew out of that. The writers of the movie were too busy to write the show, since they've got huge movie careers. I was dying to do it -- mostly because of the relationship between Kat and Bianca. I told the network, the series will be about two sisters with totally different views of the world. To me, that is the heart of the movie.

Q: What is one thing you would like the audience to know before the show airs?

CC: I want everyone to know that I am not trying to re-create the movie. I am reimagining the movie as a television show. Gil is directing it with the same visual flair, the composer Richard Gibbs is giving our show the same musical feel, and Larry Miller will be playing the same iconic character he played in the film. But beyond that, we're trying something new. We've got a new cast of characters and some new character dynamics that will make our TV show unique. I think TV shows that stay too true to the movies they're based on are doomed to failure. I'm trying to avoid that!

Q: Was Larry Miller excited to return to his role?

CC:At first, he was very wary. He told me that people still stop him at the airport and want to talk about "10 Things." He feels more recognized by his role as Walter Stratford than any other. So revisiting that in a TV series, that's a risky proposition. But he read the script, and talked to me on the phone, and he truly felt like we're doing something he feels is worthy of the film (and his character's) legacy. One of the reasons I loved the movie is because usually the parents of the main characters in teen movies are strict and mean. Walter was strict and yet clearly a loving and doting father. Not to mention, he's a single father. Those are really interesting places to explore with his character.

Q: How did you cast all the characters?

CC: We had casting sessions for six week. I probably saw every teen actor in town who's not currently in a movie or TV series. We knew we had to find actors who could not only play their roles, but they have to hold up to comparisons with Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, etc. We narrowed it down to four actors for each role, and then took them to audition for the network. Based on that audition, we chose the cast, and I love them all. These actors are talented enough to hold their own with any actor in town, and they also each bring new and different facets to their character.

Q: Where is this series filmed?

CC: We film in Los Angeles. But the series takes place in the San Diego area. We changed it because our exteriors will look nothing like Seattle, where the film was shot.

Q: Will it still be the same plot that Bianca can't date until Kat does? Will it still use references to "The Taming of the Shrew" itself?

CC: That will still be a dynamic of the characters in the show, but we won't follow the same plotline. For example, Cameron will no longer pay Patrick to date Kat. Because once you start that plotline, it becomes predictable. And we're not using many Shakespeare allegories. Since we're an adaptation of an adaptation of Shakespeare -- we're pretty far removed. But we like to sneak some in from time to time to see if people notice.

Q: Will the series talk about what happened to the mom more? Because in the original, all we know is that she died, but we never got details on how or when she died.

CC: We will delve into this more. I think the lack of a mother is such a defining element of both Kat and Bianca's characters. It's present in everything they do. But this is a comedy, so we try to keep telling emotional stories without it feeling too heavy.

Q: Is the older sister still going to be the bitchy one?

CC: I think they're both bitchy to each other. But neither of them are [filtered word]. Kat thinks high school and the people in it are stupid, but she's not a mean person. And Bianca wants to be popular, but she still has a conscience. In reality, everyone is a complex person like that.

Q: How are you going to extend the storyline to be able to make a series out of this movie?

CC: We are using the movie as a starting point for the series. One change from the film is that the family is new to town. In the film, Patrick Verona was new in town because in the play Petruchio arrived in Padua. I've stepped away from that, so that the sisters will be starting at a new school, and we get to see the beginning of all their relationships with the other characters. The romantic relationships will build over time. We plan on having fun with the way we bring Kat and Patrick and Cameron and Bianca together.