TWICE THE FUN OR.
Twice the Fun-or Double Trouble?
One reporter's harrowing account of a 日 with TV's most 流行的 munchkins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen 由 Les Wiseman
They haunt me, those hours I spent with them. I still wake up screaming. For it was a black 日 in a reporter's notebook when I interviewed the Olsen twins. On the surface everything seemed peachy; spend a 日 with North America's most beloved double-zygote munchkins. Mary Kate and Ashley, who turned 6 in June, have the sixth-highest TVQ (likability rating), slightly behind Cos and Michael Jordan and above Robin Williams, Kevin Costner and Ted Danson. At three-foot-zip, they stand tall in the industry. Their show, Full House (ABC,CTV), is a perennial top-rater beginning its sixth season. And in the summer hiatus they came to vancouver to shoot a 圣诞节 TV-movie, "To Grandmother's House We Go." Backing them up: Cheer's Rhea Perlman, Coach's Jerry 面包车, 范 Dyke and Northern Exposure's Cynthia Geary. Full House pals Lori Loughlin and Bob Saget made quest appearances. The project was written specifically for the Olsens. The plot concerns a harried single mother (Geary) who in a tizzy whishes out loud that she could have some time to herself, inspiring her twin daughters, to innocently head out on their own to their grandmother´s home. Enterprising little duffers, the kids solve their transportation problem 由 stowing away in a courier truck. As fate would have it, that particular truck is hijacked 由 crooks (Perlman and 面包车, 范 Dyke), who learning of the stowaways, exploit their windfall for ransom. To add to that Yuletide feel, the kidnappers scam the kids 由 claiming to be Santa's helpers. Despite their stellar cohorts, there is no doubt that the Olsens are the drawing card here. In North Vancouver's Cleveland Dam Park, it was a beautiful sunny day, and the Olsens were being trundled around 由 their entourage of coach, nanny and mother, Entertainment Tonight was on the set, and snuggled in a big chair, the twins turned on the charm 由 performing a duet of "I'm a little Teapot" for the ET camera. I watched, thinking how easy the electronic media have it; the clipwill charm millions of viewers, but it doesn't translate well to the page -and I figure 你 already know the words.
But it has been a half-hour procedure, and 由 the time the Olsens are shuffled over to me they are getting antsy -6-year-old-antsy. Now 你 should know that the local stringer for ET is a lovely young woman, while when people describe me the adjective devil-like is common. Thus the Olsens have gone from a singsong with someone as amiable as Betty Crocker to an encounter with someone 更多 resembling Axl Rose. Introduced to me, their blue eyes widen and their little brows furl with concern. I try to be as reassuring as Mr. Rogers. What follows are highlights from the conversation.
This is a 圣诞节 story. What do 你 two do at Christmas?
MK & A: (Silence)
Do 你 get a lot of toys?
MK & A: Yeah!
How do 你 like working together?
A: It's fun.
How do 你 like being TV stars?
MK: It's good.
Do 你 know any other kids who have their own TV show?
MK: (Prolonged silence) No.
(Flailing, perspiring): How do 你 like working with John Stamos on Full House?
MK & A: (Silence)
Is he a good buddy to you?
MK & A: (Eyes downcast) Yeah.
(Losing it): Is he as funny as (Full House costar) Dave Coulier?
A: No (Silence). He's not that funny!
Dave is definitely funnier?
MK & A: Uh-huh.
The twins' coach (taking pity on reporter): What do 你 do with John?
A: He picks us up and throws us in the air and then catches us.
Coach: What else?
MK: He takes us to Disneyland and Magic Mountain. Can we go ride on the 小马 now?
Lori (Loughlin) took 你 to the Vancouver Aquarium. What did 你 see there?
MK & A: (Mystified silence)
Did 你 see whales?
A: Ngh.
Did 你 see belugas?
MK: Aawangh
(frantic): Do 你 watch America's Funniest 首页 Videos?
MK & A: Sometimes
Bob Saget is a funny guy; is he always joking around on set?
MK & A: Yeah (looking over at the 小马 ring).
Coach: Does he get in trouble? Who yells at him?
MK & A: Joel! (the director)
On the Emmy's last 年 你 came out and 说 你 have very high TVQ's. Do 你 know what that means?
MK & A: No
Coach: Bob told them to say that.
That means a lot of people like you. Do a lot of people come up to 你 on the 街, 街道 and say hi?
MK & A: Yeah.
What do they usually ask you?
A: To write autographs and if they can take pictures.
Can 你 do an autograph?
A: Yeah, but we say we don't know how to...
Coach: Otherwise they'd be spending their afternoons signing autographs.
What's this movie about?
A: It's about we wanna go to Grandma's to give Mom a vacation.
What's Cynthia Geary like as a mom?
MK & A: Unh.
At this point - before the twins ran for the ponies- we decided to take a break. After a 小马 ride, we recommenced the grilling.
What are 你 going to do for your birthday's?
A: We're going to Magic Mountain.
With John Stamos?
A: No, with Mommy and Daddy.
MK: Can we go on the ponies again now?
Are 你 ready for school?
A: I'm not, becuase I don't like getting shots.
Coach (Explaining): 你 have to get a booster shot for school.
Do 你 want to be 女演员 when 你 grow up?
MK: I want to be a cowgirl.
A: I want to be a makeup artist. What would happen if I pushed this button? (She grins mischievously and points to my tape recorder)
This interview would be over. Go ahead and push it.
Reporter: 0, Off the meter, scoring heavily on cuteness quotient. Thus, for coherency, I checked in with some adults. Their Mom, Jarnie, declined to be interviewed but was 更多 than happy to "chat". She is a petite lady in a blonde 最佳, 返回页首 knot like her kids. She was "21 when Charlie's 天使 was on". And she's been married to Dave, a mortgage banker, for 15 years. The Olsens have two other kids: Trent, 8, and Elizabeth, 3. So, I ask why did 你 get the twins into 显示 biz? College fund? "No," she replies, "I never thought of a college fund. It would just provide us with some play money and it would get me out of the house. I saw a friend of mine's daugther in L.A. Times print ads all the time and thought my kids could do that. I saw an ad for this 显示 and knew they needed twins." She sent in their 照片 and was called to an audition. And what was it about those 7-month-old aspirants that locked the gig? "They were chosen for their coloring. They matched [already cast] siblings Jodie [Sweetin] and Candace [Cameron]." And a mega-buck empire was born.
Mary-Kate, three 分钟 the younger, immediately took to the camera and became the star, with Ashley on the bench. "When the camera was on her, she seemed to enjoy it, she just smiled and made this face that everybody loved," says Jarnie. Ashley came into her own after a couple of seasons, though, and today is just as sharp as her sister. Curently they pretty much equally share the Full House role of Michelle Tanner. Together of course, they blow the minds of 粉丝 who thought Michelle was a single performer and the adorableness factor goes off the meter. Twins titans of prime time, and what renumeration do they realize from their 最佳, 返回页首 10 efforts? Two big ones, that is two dollar, payable on Sundays. "If they make their 床, 床上 three to four times that week," says Jarnie. To be exchanged for what creature comforts? Real estate? T-bills? "Toy store," says Mary-Kate. A chain, 或者 individual shops? No, "stuffed animals" within a toy store. "They don't play with Barbies yet," explains their coach. "They play horsie and kitty and 小狗 with their stuffed 动物 and put leashes on them and build houses for them." As a veteran entertainment reporter whose story thermometer rises at mentions of drug problems, romantic involvements and rehab stays that make good copy, I scribble these 评论 down studiously. Jeff Franklin, creator/executive producer of Full House and "To Grandmother's House We Go," discovered the Olsens. "Mary Kate and Ashley were seven months old when I cast them. I brought in 10 sets of twins and played with them, and it was very apparent that these kids were special. They were very open to strangers and had these amazing big blue eyes. They smiled, laughed and didn't throw up on me, so they got the job." No dope, Franklin knew an Olsens 圣诞节 movie would slay. "Hanging out on the set of Full House every 日 was so much fun, playing with both of them, seeing them work together, and there was so much going on between them behind the scenes that was so very special. So I wrote this movie for them so that people would be able to see both the children working together instead of just playing one character." But 嘿 with these new TV-movie roles, are they expanding their repertoire, their process, their craft, their art? "Absolutely. They're 展示 更多 range. We've been forcing them to learn 更多 dialogue than they ever learned on Full House and to put 更多 action together and to really start playing scenes. They've become much better little actresses." C'mon, give me some dirt. "Sure, they get crabby once in a while, like all actors. But they are really little troopers." But what egos, eh? Finally Franklin nods. "These kids are learning. All of a sudden I'm getting 问题 like, 'Why do we have to do this six times? Didn't 你 get it the 秒 time?' In the old days I'd say the cameraman missed the shot, but now if I do they'll walk up to the cameraman and say, 'I nailed it! What's your problem, mister?"
Les Wiseman is TV Guide's West Coast conributing editor. He really does 爱情 children.
TV Guide, September 5, 1992
Twice the Fun-or Double Trouble?
One reporter's harrowing account of a 日 with TV's most 流行的 munchkins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen 由 Les Wiseman
They haunt me, those hours I spent with them. I still wake up screaming. For it was a black 日 in a reporter's notebook when I interviewed the Olsen twins. On the surface everything seemed peachy; spend a 日 with North America's most beloved double-zygote munchkins. Mary Kate and Ashley, who turned 6 in June, have the sixth-highest TVQ (likability rating), slightly behind Cos and Michael Jordan and above Robin Williams, Kevin Costner and Ted Danson. At three-foot-zip, they stand tall in the industry. Their show, Full House (ABC,CTV), is a perennial top-rater beginning its sixth season. And in the summer hiatus they came to vancouver to shoot a 圣诞节 TV-movie, "To Grandmother's House We Go." Backing them up: Cheer's Rhea Perlman, Coach's Jerry 面包车, 范 Dyke and Northern Exposure's Cynthia Geary. Full House pals Lori Loughlin and Bob Saget made quest appearances. The project was written specifically for the Olsens. The plot concerns a harried single mother (Geary) who in a tizzy whishes out loud that she could have some time to herself, inspiring her twin daughters, to innocently head out on their own to their grandmother´s home. Enterprising little duffers, the kids solve their transportation problem 由 stowing away in a courier truck. As fate would have it, that particular truck is hijacked 由 crooks (Perlman and 面包车, 范 Dyke), who learning of the stowaways, exploit their windfall for ransom. To add to that Yuletide feel, the kidnappers scam the kids 由 claiming to be Santa's helpers. Despite their stellar cohorts, there is no doubt that the Olsens are the drawing card here. In North Vancouver's Cleveland Dam Park, it was a beautiful sunny day, and the Olsens were being trundled around 由 their entourage of coach, nanny and mother, Entertainment Tonight was on the set, and snuggled in a big chair, the twins turned on the charm 由 performing a duet of "I'm a little Teapot" for the ET camera. I watched, thinking how easy the electronic media have it; the clipwill charm millions of viewers, but it doesn't translate well to the page -and I figure 你 already know the words.
But it has been a half-hour procedure, and 由 the time the Olsens are shuffled over to me they are getting antsy -6-year-old-antsy. Now 你 should know that the local stringer for ET is a lovely young woman, while when people describe me the adjective devil-like is common. Thus the Olsens have gone from a singsong with someone as amiable as Betty Crocker to an encounter with someone 更多 resembling Axl Rose. Introduced to me, their blue eyes widen and their little brows furl with concern. I try to be as reassuring as Mr. Rogers. What follows are highlights from the conversation.
This is a 圣诞节 story. What do 你 two do at Christmas?
MK & A: (Silence)
Do 你 get a lot of toys?
MK & A: Yeah!
How do 你 like working together?
A: It's fun.
How do 你 like being TV stars?
MK: It's good.
Do 你 know any other kids who have their own TV show?
MK: (Prolonged silence) No.
(Flailing, perspiring): How do 你 like working with John Stamos on Full House?
MK & A: (Silence)
Is he a good buddy to you?
MK & A: (Eyes downcast) Yeah.
(Losing it): Is he as funny as (Full House costar) Dave Coulier?
A: No (Silence). He's not that funny!
Dave is definitely funnier?
MK & A: Uh-huh.
The twins' coach (taking pity on reporter): What do 你 do with John?
A: He picks us up and throws us in the air and then catches us.
Coach: What else?
MK: He takes us to Disneyland and Magic Mountain. Can we go ride on the 小马 now?
Lori (Loughlin) took 你 to the Vancouver Aquarium. What did 你 see there?
MK & A: (Mystified silence)
Did 你 see whales?
A: Ngh.
Did 你 see belugas?
MK: Aawangh
(frantic): Do 你 watch America's Funniest 首页 Videos?
MK & A: Sometimes
Bob Saget is a funny guy; is he always joking around on set?
MK & A: Yeah (looking over at the 小马 ring).
Coach: Does he get in trouble? Who yells at him?
MK & A: Joel! (the director)
On the Emmy's last 年 你 came out and 说 你 have very high TVQ's. Do 你 know what that means?
MK & A: No
Coach: Bob told them to say that.
That means a lot of people like you. Do a lot of people come up to 你 on the 街, 街道 and say hi?
MK & A: Yeah.
What do they usually ask you?
A: To write autographs and if they can take pictures.
Can 你 do an autograph?
A: Yeah, but we say we don't know how to...
Coach: Otherwise they'd be spending their afternoons signing autographs.
What's this movie about?
A: It's about we wanna go to Grandma's to give Mom a vacation.
What's Cynthia Geary like as a mom?
MK & A: Unh.
At this point - before the twins ran for the ponies- we decided to take a break. After a 小马 ride, we recommenced the grilling.
What are 你 going to do for your birthday's?
A: We're going to Magic Mountain.
With John Stamos?
A: No, with Mommy and Daddy.
MK: Can we go on the ponies again now?
Are 你 ready for school?
A: I'm not, becuase I don't like getting shots.
Coach (Explaining): 你 have to get a booster shot for school.
Do 你 want to be 女演员 when 你 grow up?
MK: I want to be a cowgirl.
A: I want to be a makeup artist. What would happen if I pushed this button? (She grins mischievously and points to my tape recorder)
This interview would be over. Go ahead and push it.
Reporter: 0, Off the meter, scoring heavily on cuteness quotient. Thus, for coherency, I checked in with some adults. Their Mom, Jarnie, declined to be interviewed but was 更多 than happy to "chat". She is a petite lady in a blonde 最佳, 返回页首 knot like her kids. She was "21 when Charlie's 天使 was on". And she's been married to Dave, a mortgage banker, for 15 years. The Olsens have two other kids: Trent, 8, and Elizabeth, 3. So, I ask why did 你 get the twins into 显示 biz? College fund? "No," she replies, "I never thought of a college fund. It would just provide us with some play money and it would get me out of the house. I saw a friend of mine's daugther in L.A. Times print ads all the time and thought my kids could do that. I saw an ad for this 显示 and knew they needed twins." She sent in their 照片 and was called to an audition. And what was it about those 7-month-old aspirants that locked the gig? "They were chosen for their coloring. They matched [already cast] siblings Jodie [Sweetin] and Candace [Cameron]." And a mega-buck empire was born.
Mary-Kate, three 分钟 the younger, immediately took to the camera and became the star, with Ashley on the bench. "When the camera was on her, she seemed to enjoy it, she just smiled and made this face that everybody loved," says Jarnie. Ashley came into her own after a couple of seasons, though, and today is just as sharp as her sister. Curently they pretty much equally share the Full House role of Michelle Tanner. Together of course, they blow the minds of 粉丝 who thought Michelle was a single performer and the adorableness factor goes off the meter. Twins titans of prime time, and what renumeration do they realize from their 最佳, 返回页首 10 efforts? Two big ones, that is two dollar, payable on Sundays. "If they make their 床, 床上 three to four times that week," says Jarnie. To be exchanged for what creature comforts? Real estate? T-bills? "Toy store," says Mary-Kate. A chain, 或者 individual shops? No, "stuffed animals" within a toy store. "They don't play with Barbies yet," explains their coach. "They play horsie and kitty and 小狗 with their stuffed 动物 and put leashes on them and build houses for them." As a veteran entertainment reporter whose story thermometer rises at mentions of drug problems, romantic involvements and rehab stays that make good copy, I scribble these 评论 down studiously. Jeff Franklin, creator/executive producer of Full House and "To Grandmother's House We Go," discovered the Olsens. "Mary Kate and Ashley were seven months old when I cast them. I brought in 10 sets of twins and played with them, and it was very apparent that these kids were special. They were very open to strangers and had these amazing big blue eyes. They smiled, laughed and didn't throw up on me, so they got the job." No dope, Franklin knew an Olsens 圣诞节 movie would slay. "Hanging out on the set of Full House every 日 was so much fun, playing with both of them, seeing them work together, and there was so much going on between them behind the scenes that was so very special. So I wrote this movie for them so that people would be able to see both the children working together instead of just playing one character." But 嘿 with these new TV-movie roles, are they expanding their repertoire, their process, their craft, their art? "Absolutely. They're 展示 更多 range. We've been forcing them to learn 更多 dialogue than they ever learned on Full House and to put 更多 action together and to really start playing scenes. They've become much better little actresses." C'mon, give me some dirt. "Sure, they get crabby once in a while, like all actors. But they are really little troopers." But what egos, eh? Finally Franklin nods. "These kids are learning. All of a sudden I'm getting 问题 like, 'Why do we have to do this six times? Didn't 你 get it the 秒 time?' In the old days I'd say the cameraman missed the shot, but now if I do they'll walk up to the cameraman and say, 'I nailed it! What's your problem, mister?"
Les Wiseman is TV Guide's West Coast conributing editor. He really does 爱情 children.
TV Guide, September 5, 1992