OMG. THIS IS MY 50TH POST EVER ON GLEE FAN SITE. SO TO CELEBRAIT HERE IS AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW ON GLEE. (NOTE- THESE ARE NOT MY OWN QUESTIONS. THE INTERVIEW COMES FROM OTHER WEBSITES). ENJOY......Q: How did you come up with this idea? Was it inspired at all by the success of American Idol or High School Musical?
A: No, it wasn't because of that. I have never seen High School Musical. I know the conceit of it, and I kind of know what it's about. I admire it, and I think that what they've done is fantastic, but we were never trying to do anything like that. I was trying to do something that was much more like a musical version of movies that I loved where high school is a metaphor. High school is not actually what it's about, if that makes any sense.
Q: How did you feel about doing a musical show on TV? It's a genre that has had mixed success.
A: I wanted to do a postmodern musical. Fox was not interested in, and neither was I, doing a show where people suddenly burst into song. I said, "Look, if they're going to sing, there are going to be three rules: It will be done where they're on stage rehearsing or performing, in the rehearsal room, or it will be a fantasy that is rooted on the stage." I think that's one of the reasons why Chicago, for instance, was such a brilliant movie: It had rules. I was very inspired by American Idol because I think the key is to do songs that people know and interpret them in a different and unusual way.
Q: In the pilot, you used the Journey song Don't Stop Believin'. Was there was ever any hesitation since it is so closely associated with the series finale of The Sopranos?
A: To me, [that song] transcends everything. It's always been an anthem. I think it's the No. 1 most popular song in the history of iTunes or something like that. And I just liked the idea of 16-year-old kids interpreting that song.
Q: How are you picking the songs for the show? Is there a magic formula at all?
A: My goal is to really try and give the audience something for everybody. We have hip-hop; we have R&B; we have a top 40; we have country...
Q: Were you ever involved in musical theater in high school?
A: Yes, I was. I grew up in Indiana, but what I remember about that time is that when you get the lead in something or you're performing, you feel like the world is suddenly available to you. You have so much optimism about what you can become, and it doesn't even have to be about being a performer. It's just about a belief in yourself. I remember that feeling, and it was very important to me.
Q: As for wuestions refering to new episodes of Glee in Spring 2010, There is a rumour of Puck and Rachel getting back together. Is it all True?
A: Yes. It was my idea. In the 8th Episode when they first hooked up I thought people whould not like it and prefer Rachel and Finn together. But after the raitings and comments on fan sites about it I realized they loved it. So there will be something going on between them. Rachel will also go out with inn and new comer Jonathan Groff.
Q: Is Quinn (Dianna Agron) having the baby something you'd wrap up before the end of the season, or would that go on longer?
It'll happen before the end of the season.
Q: Does she go into labor as New Directions goes onstage to sing at regionals?
A: Everyone keeps asking me that, [but] probably not, because you've seen that before. We have to get rid of that baby and have her give birth some other way.
Q: We all know that Sue Sulvester (Jane Lynch) was the main Villain of the first 13 episodes. But do you have any other People coming in who stand in the Glee Clubs way at Regionals?
A: Sue will never take a backseat on the show, ever, because Jane [Lynch] is so fantastic, and we write so heavily toward her. I think Sue will probably get in cahoots with Vocal Adrenaline. She has a Pinky and the Brain kind of thing going on. No, Jane has really broken out on the show and people love her, and we're writing to that. If you thought she was bad in the first 13, she'll be doubly wicked and funny and vulnerable in the back nine.
Q: What are you most excited for fans to see about the back half of the season?
A: I think what I'm most excited about—and we're prepping it right now—is the Madonna episode, which is huge.
Q: What about Guest Stars. Will Madonna Be in the Back Nine?
A: No. I would ask her but It wouldn't make sense if she went to Ohio. But we do have Kristen Conwelth coming back. We also have Oliver Newton John, Idina Mazel, and So many more but I can't tell you all of them and I can't tell you who they will b playing.
Q: For my last Question- Did you expect the fan response that you've gotten to Glee?
A: I thought Glee was good, and I thought Glee was original, but when you do those things on TV, half the time it doesn't work, so I was always startled by how much Fox got behind it. They really put the muscle to it and launched it correctly and creatively, so people found it and loved it. That's Why Glee had so many Promo's and it had a Special preview in May 2009.
I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THOSE 12 QUESTIONS (ANSWERED BY RYAN MURPHY (GLEE CREATOR)). GLEE RETURNS APRIL 13 ON FOX!
