Behind the Scenes of "This Charming Man" - A Mockumentary

A

André DiMera

Guest
Hello, everybody!

This is André DiMera of the Salem Spectator Forums. And, as you can appreciate by now, the story "This Charming Man" is now, sadly, over. However, there is one more project that I've been working on. And, this project is rather different from my other projects.

This project is a mockumentary. It is similar to a documentary, but quite different. A mockumentary is a fake documentary. I wish to stress at this point that the interviews with the cast that are shown in this mockumentary are complete works of fiction. This should not be treated as real or as a documentary, but should be treated as an added bonus to my previous story.

None-the-less, I hope you all enjoy the following mockumentary. Look for it to be starting this coming Tuesday.

Sincerely,
André

P.S.: The author of this mockumentary greatly thanks his fellow writing and good friend, kpatch, for her help in the preparation of this mockumentary! Thanks! :)
 
The Beginning

How did you get started with the story “This Charming Man”?
ANDRÉ DiMERA (Writer): For a long time, I had wanted to do a collaboration story with my good friend and fellow writer, kpatch. However, our schedules were really messed up and we always seemed to have trouble getting together. It is quite understandable, though, seeing as kpatch works and I go to college. That keeps both of us quite busy. However, in the end, we were able to work things out.
KPATCH (Co-Writer): André DiMera is a true pioneer in the industry. He's the first author to create stories for the Writer's Bench and I have been wanting to work with him for years. Well...months anyway. But I live on the east coast and André (I call him André) lives on the mid-west coast, and with our outrageously busy schedules, it's been really hard to get together up to now. We ended up collaborating via Twitter.
ANDRÉ: So, once we got things set up over Twitter, we got to writing. It took a few months, because of our busy schedules, but we finally got it down on paper. Then, the big thing was to get the cast together.
MOLLY BURNETT (Melanie Layton): I had read some of the stories on the Writer's Bench on the Salem Spectator Forums, and a lot of the stories I read were really good. I was surprised when my agent called up and said that André DiMera from the Salem Spectator wanted me to actually film his next story. So, after working out my schedule, I said yes. And, we just went from there.
VICTOR WEBSTER (Nicholas Alamain): I got a call from my agent one afternoon and they told me that they wanted me to film some scenes for a Days of Our Lives-related program. Now, I had been hoping for this for a while. I had played Nicholas Alamain in the early part of the new millennium, and it was a joy to come back. I had a great time.
CRYSTAL CHAPPELL (Carly Manning): Peter (Reckell), Kristian (Alfonso), Louise (Sorel), Molly (Burnett), Shawn (Christiansen), and I were already working on Days when we got the call to tape the story. Like Molly, I had read some of the stories, and I thought they were pretty good. So, I said yes, and so did several of the other cast of Days. When we showed up for filming, we were also joined by Victor (Webster), Jason (Cook), Kirsten (Storms), Lisa (Rinna), Michael (Sabatino), Ivan (G'Vera), Darin (Brooks) and Rachel (Melvin).
KRISTIAN ALFONSO (Hope Brady): As with a lot of the cast, I was filming Days when I got a call from a member of the Salem Spectator fan-site. A team of two people, André DiMera and kpatch had written a collaboration story based on Days and wanted us to film it for them. So, we did.
MICHAEL SABATINO (Lawrence Alamain): When they asked me to come back to film some scenes for Days, I initially refused. However, I eventually came around and told them “I'll come back under one condition, I don't want to see that tape of Crystal (Chappell) stabbing me in the chest ever again”! So, they promised me that I had nothing to worry about. And, sure enough, they were right. So, all together, I'm very glad that I decided to accept André's request.
 
Even though I did a little of the writing, I didn't know how you got the cast together. Very interesting. Thanks for the behind-the-scenes info, Andre.
 
Favorites

To the actors: Who was your favorite character in this story? To the writers, who was your favorite character to write for?
ANDRÉ DIMERA (Writer): Although I do enjoy writing for all of these characters, I'd have to say that Nicholas, Vivian, and Nighttime Hope are among my favorites to write for. It's always very fun writing for the “bad guys”, in my opinion.
KPATCH (Co-Writer): Definitely Melanie. You never know what she's going to say.
MOLLY BURNETT (Melanie): Favorite character? Well, I don't know, really. I think it might have been Nicholas. Mainly because I was in a lot of the scenes that Victor (Webster) was in and he was a lot of fun to work with!
VICTOR WEBSTER (Nicholas): It was Nicholas, of course.
Victor laughs.
VICTOR: No, I'm just kidding. Actually, my favorite character was probably Vivian. Louise (Sorel) is a joy to work with. She really makes Vivian wacky. And, I think that's why I love to hate Vivian. If it weren't for the wackiness and the general absurdity of some of what she says, I think I would hate Vivian rather than love to hate her. I only wish I had more scenes with Louise. Ah, well. Maybe in the next story.
KRISTIAN ALFONSO: (Hope): I think my favorite character this time was Melanie. I haven't worked with Molly (Burnett) much, and I didn't at all in this story. However, I did watch filming for some of her scenes, and she's just great! There's just something about Melanie.
LISA RINNA (Billie Reed): Hope. She was definitely my favorite character this time around. I had two scenes with Kristian (Alfonso) in this story, and I watched her other scenes as they were being filmed, and she is just awesome! I do prefer Nighttime Hope to regular Hope, though. If I'm ever called back for another Days story, I really hope that I get more scenes with Nighttime Hope!

Several characters returned for this story: Nicholas, Ivan, Billie, Chelsea, Max, Shawn, Belle, Claire, and Lawrence. How was it coming back to Days? For the writers: who was your favorite returning character?
ANDRÉ DIMERA (Writer): We were very glad to have them back! I was very glad I was able to get all of them to agree to return for this story! As for my favorite returnee, it was Nicholas. I loved writing for him!
KPATCH (Co-Writer): Ivan. I think of all the returning characters, he is the most unique.
VICTOR WEBSTER (Nicholas): Well, as I've said numerous times in this mockumentary, it was great to be back! I had missed the sets of Days quite a bit. Everyone seemed pleased to see me, so it was almost like I'd never left.
IVAN G'VERA (Ivan): It was great to be back, and great to work with Louise (Sorel) again. She's a very fun lady to work with. So, it was a real pleasure to be back, and I hope to be back again sometime in the future, if they need me for another storyline.
LISA RINNA (Billie): Coming back to Days was...wonderful! This was my third stint on Days. I had been on there the first time from 1992 to 1995. And then I came back in 2002 and stayed around until 2003. And, coming back again, even for just the few days that I was there, was just great! And, I don't really know if I'm supposed to say this, but I think I might be coming back to do another story for André (DiMera of the Salem Spectator) sometime in the future.
RACHEL MELVIN (Chelsea): I loved coming back to days! It was a lot of fun! I was only there or a little bit, but now that André has written me back into Salem, I hope that I'll appear more if and when André writes another story.
JASON COOK (Shawn): I had a great time back on the set of Days! It was a blast! And, I got to work with the two people I think I've worked with the most on that show: Kristian (Alfonso) and Kirsten (Storms). Also, for the first time, I got to work with Alina (Foley), the little girl who plays Claire. It was a lot of fun! My only regret is that I didn't get to work with Peter (Reckell), which is a same, really, because he's a great guy to work with.
KIRSTEN STORMS (Belle): Jason (Cook) and I returned to Days at the same time. We seem to get cast together a lot. We played Belle and Shawn during the late '90s/early new millennium. And, then in 2008, Jason joined me on the set of General Hospital. I always love working with Jason. And, it was great working with the rest of the cast, too.
MICHAEL SABATINO (Lawrence): I'm glad that André was able to convince me to return. I had, at first, been reluctant to come back, but now I'm very glad that I did. It was very fun to work with Victor (Webster) and Crystal (Chappell). They're both so much fun to work with.
 
Ohhh boy thanks Andre for the behind the scenes. They are so fun to read. I hope that the actors are right and that they will be back for another story.
 
Location Filming

The majority of the first four or five episodes of “This Charming Man” was shot on location in Ladysmith, Wisconsin. To the writers: Were you able to join the cast on location filming, and if so, how was it? To the cast: How was location filming?
ANDRÉ DIMERA (Writer): I was, and it was excellent! Most of the scenes were filmed at the AmericInn. However, there was a scene shot in a Wal-Mart. But, that scene was only half-shot. There was...a bit of an incident which I'll go into more detail about later. The important thing is that many of the scenes were taped and shown. The only scenes that were taped but not shown were an extension of the hot tub scene, a scene at the Ladysmith Family Restaurant, and half of the Wal-Mart scene.
KPATCH (Co-writer): No. Unfortunately, I had a prior obligation. I was on the Fancy Face V.
ANDRÉ: As for how the filming went, it was great! I started seriously writing this story while I was on a trip in Ladysmith. I was staying in the AmericInn and while I was in the hot tub, I looked around and thought about how beautiful it looked. I thought it would be a great place to film a few episodes of “Days”. And, I was right. I'm very pleased with the way filming went!
VICTOR WEBSTER (Nicholas): The location filming was great! The AmericInn was a beautiful place to film! I'm just a bit disappointed that some of the scenes ended up being cut because of time restrictions.
MOLLY BURNETT (Melanie): Filming at the AmericInn in Ladysmith was fantastic! It is so pretty there! I really wish that all of the material we filmed there had gotten into the final product!

Earlier in this mockumentary, we heard about an adventure in Ladysmith that has been dubbed the “Wal-Mart Incident”. To the writers: Have you heard about the Wal-Mart Incident and, if so, can you tell us about it? To the actors: What was the Wal-Mart Incident?
ANDRÉ DIMERA (Writer): Oh, of course I could tell you about the Wal-Mart Incident. However, I'd rather that the cast tell you their side of the story before I tell you mine.
KPATCH (Co-writer): I did. I did, but I'm not at liberty to say.
VICTOR WEBSTER (Nicholas): Ooh, the Wal-Mart Incident! I remember that!
MOLLY BURNETT (Melanie): Who told you about that?
VICTOR: It was all Molly (Burnett)'s fault, really. She's the one who suggested we do shopping cart races down the isles.
MOLLY: He told you that?! Whoa! Whoa! Let's set the record straight, here! I, jokingly, said that it would be fun to do shopping cart races! Victor (Webster) actually took me seriously and started the race.
ANDRÉ: That's all they told you? Well, here's the real truth: I walked away from filming for a moment. I was distracted by a cute girl. She looked like Taylor Sprietler from the back, and everybody knows about my crush on Taylor. Well, a few minutes later, I was called to the front of the store. The manager told me that Molly and Victor had been very loud and had taken shopping carts and started racing with them down the isles. They had damaged some of the shelves. There were different sorts of things you can buy lying all over the place. It was an absolute mess! The manager was going to press charges, but I convinced him not to. I told him that Molly and Victor would never come into that Wal-Mart again. Plus, it doesn't hurt that I slipped a $50 into his pocket when nobody was looking.
 
Deleted/Extended Scenes

André, you say that some of the scenes were cut out. Are there any cut scenes that you are willing to show us?
ANDRÉ DIMERA (Writer): There is one scene that I will show you. However, there is something you should know about this scene before I show it to you. This is an extension of the hot tub scene and it also includes a scene at the Ladysmith Family Restaraunt. However, most of this scene was done without the script. When we first got to the AmericInn, Victor (Webster) and Molly (Burnett) wanted to go in the pool right away. So, I allowed them to, but I gave them an acting exercise. I told them to act in character while they were in both the hot tub and the pool. They had already read through that portion of the script. But, once they finished running through the script, they continued acting in character and just did some improvisation. Most of the scene that you will see here is improv. And, I'm rather disappointed that it wasn't shown in the final cut. As there was some good improv. However, now, you will be able to see the full scene as the actors did it.
***
Melanie is sitting in the hot tub in the pool room of the AmericInn. Adam walks up and gets in the hot tub.
ADAM: So, we meet again, Melanie.
MELANIE: Hi, Adam.
ADAM: Mind if I join you?
MELANIE: Please do. So, I was wondering, you said you had family in Illinois? Whereabouts in Illinois?
ADAM: Oh, just this tiny little town called Salem. You've probably never heard of it, though. It's not even on the map.
MELANIE: Get out!
ADAM: What?
MELANIE: Salem? You're from Salem?
ADAM: Well, no. Originally, I'm from Europe, but my mother is currently living in Salem.
MELANIE: Cool!
ADAM: Yeah. So, would you like to go swimming?
MELANIE: I'd like to...but there's a little problem with that.
ADAM: What's that?
MELANIE: Well...I...I can't swim.
ADAM: Really?
MELANIE: Yeah. I never exactly learned how to.
Adam gets out of the hot tub.
ADAM: Come on.
Melanie gets out of the hot tub.
MELANIE: Where are we going?
ADAM: We're going in the pool.
MELANIE: The pool? Adam! I just told you, I can't swim!
ADAM: I know. But you won't have to.
MELANIE: What do you mean I won't have to?
ADAM: You'll see.
Adam jumps into the pool. He then swims over to where the steps to get in are.
ADAM: Come on in.
Adam hold out his hand. Melanie takes it. She then, carefully, gets into the pool.
ADAM: See? You can stand at this part. Put your arms around me.
Melanie puts her arms on Adam's shoulders. Adam lifts Melanie up a little bit and puts his arms around her waist. Then, holding Melanie, Adam slowly swims over into the deep end. Adam continues to hold Melanie once he gets there.
ADAM: Here we are.
MELANIE: Don't let go of me!
ADAM: I won't. Trust me.
Adam, holding Melanie, slowly begins to walk across the deep end of the pool.
MELANIE: This is kinda nice. Just, please, don't let go of me.
ADAM: Oh, you don't have to worry about that, Melanie Layton. I'll never let you go.
Adam continued to hold Melanie and swim around the pool for a while. They both had a great time. After a while, they got in the hot tub again.
ADAM: So, I've already told you where I'm from. But, what about you, where are you from?
MELANIE: Well, I spent most of my childhood in France, but a year or two ago, I moved to Salem with my brother. I also learned, shortly after arriving there, that the man I thought was my father really wasn't, and that my real parents were living in Salem.
ADAM: Well, since we're both going to Salem, would you like a ride back?
MELANIE: Sure. When will we be leaving?
ADAM: Any day you want. We can go back any day at any time you want.
MELANIE: How about tomorrow?
ADAM: Tomorrow sounds good.
MELANIE: Okay, thanks.
ADAM: No problem.
The two of them started getting closer and closer to each other. Finally, they looked right into each other eyes...and they kissed each other for the first time. Melanie and Adam spent the rest of the day together. It was clear to see that, even though they had just met each other a day or two ago, they were both falling in love. After they had finished swimming, the two of them went to the Ladysmith Family restaurant and had a nice dinner together.
ADAM: The food is really good.
MELANIE: Yeah, it is. Thanks for taking me here. I'm having a great time.
ADAM: You're more than welcome, my sweet Melanie.
MELANIE: So, either tonight or tomorrow, before we go, can we stop at Wal-Mart? I need to pick up a few things.
ADAM: Of course we can. We can do whatever you want to do. It's up to you.
MELANIE: Why are you being so nice to me? I mean, you barely know me. Why do you go along with everything that I say?
ADAM: Because you seem like a nice girl. I'm usually a good judge of character, and you seem to have a pretty good one. You're nice, smart, funny, caring, and very pretty, might I add.
Adam takes Melanie's hand.
ADAM: Oh, Melanie Layton, where have you been all my life?
Adam kisses Melanie's hand and then lets go of it.
ADAM: That, and I like you. A lot.
MELANIE: Aw, that's so sweet! I like you a lot, too. But, I don't think I'm ready for another relationship just yet. Not after what happened with my ex-husband.
ADAM: Oh, yes. Him. Any man who would hurt you like that is a fool! When I think about what he did to you...I could kill him!
Melanie gets a shocked look on her face. Adam chuckles slightly.
ADAM: It's a joke, Melanie. I could never kill anybody.
MELANIE: Oh, well, that's good.
Melanie and Adam continued there dinner. They had a wonderful time. Melanie enjoyed spending time with Adam. Maybe, sometime in the near future, she would be ready to tell him how she felt about him.
 
Set Filming

After filming at Ladysmith wrapped up, the crew returned to the normal sets for Days of Our Lives. Tell us about shooting on-set.
ANDRÉ DIMERA (Writer): Once we returned to the set, that's when things really started heating up!
MOLLY BURNETT (Melanie): We finished filming in Ladysmith, and then we returned to the regular sets. So, of course, once we got back to the sets, we were joined by the rest of the cast.
LOUISE SOREL (Vivian): It was great fun doing my scenes. Vivian is a character that is just so unbelievable. A lot of her dialogue is so over-the-top. And, I always love working with Crystal (Chappell), Victor (Webster), and Ivan (G'Vera), so it was great to work with them again.
CRYSTAL CHAPPELL (Carly): A lot of my scenes, actually all of my scenes, were filmed at either the hospital or inside of the coffin. Those are the only two places I had scenes. Actually, no, I did have a scene in “hell”, but I mostly just stuck to the coffin and the hospital. Which...neither are great places to work, but it was made a lot better to work there because of the actors I worked with.
VICTOR WEBSTER (Nicholas): It was great to be back at the sets. I hadn't been on-set at Days since 2000, and it was great to be back.
 
The End...And After

So, what's the final say on “This Charming Man”?
VICTOR WEBSTER (Nicholas): Brilliant!
MOLLY BURNETT (Melanie): Great!
MICHAEL SABATINO (Lawrence): Fantastic!
LISA RINNA (Billie): A whole lotta fun!
CRYSTAL CHAPPELL (Carly): Really fun to work on!
ANDRÉ DIMERA (Writer): I really enjoyed writing it. And I'm very glad that it got finished and was sent out, and that kpatch worked with me on it. It was great fun! I had a wonderful time working on it.
KPATCH (Co-Writer): It was a different kind of story because the title led you to believe it would be one kind of story, but then it turned out completely different. The charming man wasn’t charming at all. He was a bloodthirsty villain. He murdered his own mother in a very sadistic way. Yet I found myself rooting for him. The story was layered with ironies and veiled in mystery. It has the makings of a true classic.


And can we expect anything from André DiMera of the Salem Spectator Forums in the future?
LISA RINNA (Billie): I've heard rumors. Nothing definite, but there's been a rumor or two floating around.
VICTOR WEBSTER (Nicholas): I hope so! And, if there is, I really hope I get called back to do it, because it was just wonderful to work with him1
ANDRÉ DIMERA (Writer): Will there be anything else from me? Well...I'm not going to say no. Actually, I'm not really sure. There is a story or two that I'm working on that I hope I'll have time to get finished. Whether or not either of them will actually get posted is as-of-yet undetermined. But, hopefully there will be another story from me at some point in the future.

And what might those stories be about?
ANDRÉ DIMERA (Writer): Well, there is a particularly interesting one that I'm writing right now, which...actually, I'm not going to tell you. You wouldn't want me to spoil the surprise, now would you? But, like I said, hopefully, there will be another story from me. What might that story be about, you ask? I'll keep you posted.

SPECIAL THANKS TO KPATCH AND THE CAST OF DAYS OF OUR LIVES FOR THEIR HELP IN THIS MOCKUMENTARY.
 
This was great. I enjoyed reading it all. Loved the interactions of the cast members. So excited that Andre said there maybe another story in the future. Thanks Andre this was so much fun.
 
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