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Over the past couple of weeks, many fans submitted questions for the FOOTSTEPS cast and crew. Below are the selected questions and answers. Thank you for your participation!
Kim
Who was standing on the staircase at the end of the movie?
Ken Raskoff, Executive Producer: The man from the movie theatre is in the house. When did he get there? Sometime between being escorted out of the theatre and the arrival of the police. From the day we started the film, we kept thinking about how to offer up an ending that wasn't just Daisy walking out of the house. We wanted something different. John Badham brought up the idea fairly early in our discussion of the ending and I didn't like it at all. While we were on the set we were getting closer and closer to shooting the last scene and we were still coming up with ideas. Perhaps out of despair, I responded positively when John reintroduced the "guy from the theatre," beat, and since then, I've totally embraced it. We went for the shock hoping the viewers would remember "Crazy Guy." The glasses, which I like to take full credit for suggesting during the first costume fitting, helped a lot in my opinion. Gary Levert, the wonderful actor credited as "Male Heckler," couldn't see a thing in them, and it's a miracle he didn't roll down the stairs at the end. I loved how John shot it with the camera rising upward with hope as Daisy leaves the house and pulling back until the shadow starts to emerge and then we see: FOOTSTEPS before the final reveal -- our title character. Personally, I think it's an elegant but eerie grace note on the whole film. We knew people might disagree about it (there was much dissent within cast and crew, and there still is over this ending.) While I was doing press, everyone discussed "Crazy Guy," as we began to call the whole thing. John says that everyone he's talked to since the film aired has responded to Crazy Guy. Candice said that when she was doing press everyone had a take on Crazy Guy as well. I've grown very fond of him.
Shelley Evans, screenwriter: The man, affectionately known as "Crazy Guy," was part of a long discussion between the director, the executive producer and the writer, about the "moral argument" of the film. There's an ongoing debate between Daisy and Bruno about whether it's possible to be safe in the world, and what's the best way to live in the world. Daisy's position: it is possible, and we should trust each other. Bruno's position: Daisy is nuts. We wanted the film to end with neither one of them "winning." Daisy becomes a little more cynical, and Bruno becomes a little more trusting. The feeling was, if the movie ended with Bruno getting taken off to jail, and Daisy and Spencer "friends," we were sending things too much in Daisy's direction--as long as you're nice to people, everything will be fine. So we had Crazy Guy return from the first scene (where he was ranting about Daisy causing trouble with her violent books.) He's as much a message as a real plot point: it might be better to be "nice," but that doesn't mean your troubles are over.
Lilly, Boston, MA
Who played the "nut" with the thick glasses from the press conference who was in the house all along? Was it James Whitmore, Jr.?
John Badham, director: It wasn't James Whitmore Jr., though he does look a lot like him. He is Gary Levert, an actor from Halifax. When he's not acting, he is a deep sea diver for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Viewer, Middletown, NY
I recorded the movie on my VCR, but unfortunately the tape cut out 2 minutes before the movie ended. The last scene I saw had Candice asking her husband to tell the truth, with the alleged hit man on the floor and the teenager in the room as well. What happened? Was it a set up? Tell me!
John Badham, director: The husband was taken off to jail. He had plotted the murder of Candice Bergen and hired Bryan Brown to kill her. The kid was just a fan who happened to be there. However, at the very end when everyone has left, a man walks down the stairs. He is the Crazy Guy we saw at the theatre where Candice Bergen was talking to the audience. You remember he was very angry that she had killed off his favorite character, Boss, in her last novel. He had to be taken out by security.
Diana, Margate, FL
Was there any particular scene that was harder to get done?
Ken Raskoff, Executive Producer: We had one day to do all of the scenes that took place either inside or under the boathouse (as well as the very last shot of the Jordan Steele movie.) In addition to being a lot of work, it's a lot of action. It was a very, very hard schedule to make, and it was a very small stage built in a marine biology tank and in which cast and crew had to squeeze very tightly. The boathouse interior was built to match the actual location boathouse (really a storage shed) and was only about 15 by 20 feet. Inside, because of the heated water and the small space, it was very humid and the air was filled with the water tank's chlorination. Outside we were having a particularly virulent freezing rain storm, which made the floor of the stage slick and the day, which was already very tough, much tougher.
Jean
When will FOOTSTEPS be rebroadcast?
Network: It most likely will not be repeated for at least a year.
Toby, USA
This was such a good movie; will it be released on DVD of VHS?
Network: Currently, there are no plans to release the movie on DVD or VHS.
Jennifer, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Was Candice Bergen as beautiful in person as she is on screen?
Elizabeth Scherberger, 1st Assistant Director: Not only was Candice more beautiful in person but she was also very gracious, a real woman with the kind of substance that often comes with life's lessons.
Ken Raskoff, Executive Producer: Personally, I have a big crush on Candice Bergen and I suppose this forum is as good as any in which to reveal it. Candice's essential beauty is complemented by her external beauty (and what a complement!), but it is actually the beauty of a beautiful soul--she is articulate, graceful, funny, indescribably knowledgeable (and constantly informed) and a total pleasure to work with. We should all be so lucky as to spend a month of Halifax winter with Candice Bergen; it cuts right through the ice.
Kelowna, British Columbia
Is Elizabeth Scherberger as mean as she looks?
Ken Raskoff, Executive Producer: She is much meaner, especially without either coffee or chocolate.
David, Brooklyn, NY
Is a TV screenwriter more or less important to a TV movie than a screenwriter is to a feature film?
Shelley Evans, screenwriter: I don't really know how to be funny and brief. I could answer quite literally, that writers are hugely important to both TV movies and features, which never guarantees that they (or the script) will be treated that way. That depends on the director, and the producer...
Ken Raskoff, Executive Producer: A screenwriter is a very important part of any kind of film. Without a writer, people on a set would have a tendency to only eat donuts.
Kat, Los Angeles, CA
Is Bug Hall in the film a lot?
Ken Raskoff, Executive Producer: Yes, Bug is in it a whole bunch. You can make a sandwich at any point during the movie, and chances are unless it's a really, really big one, Bug will still be there when you get back.
Auriel, Richmond, VA
Do you have any pictures of Max, the dog?
 Producers: Here you go. Max was played by the working actor Telmo, who likes a good game of bridge and drooling on sofas.
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