TV
THE REAL WEDDING
KALING It was Greg’s idea that Jim
and Pam secretly get married on
the Niagara boat because the
wedding itself was no longer their
private moment. Greg told me to fly
out to shoot that and I remember
thinking, “Oh, great, upstate New
York, this is not going to be the
sexiest work trip.” [Laughs]
FISCHER When I got to the hotel,
the staff had these champagne
flutes with hearts carved into
the stem, chocolates, and a note
congratulating me on my wedding.
It was very posh and fancy, which
was the opposite to a regular day
of shooting. I mean, we got excited
to film in the parking lot.
KALING Going on the actual boat
was so special. It was just me,
Jenna, John, Paul, the script
supervisor, and the cameraman.
I was in my 20s and sitting in a
parka, sweatpants, a hat, and
sneakers, and getting splashed on
as I watched Jenna getting doused
with water and mist from the
actual falls, but I just remember
how beautiful she looked.
FISCHER We didn’t have trailers,
so I wore my wedding dress out
of the hotel, all the way to the
ship, and then I was walking back
in a wet wedding dress.
FEIG We weren’t allowed to take
over the boat, we just had to be on
there with the public. We went in
the morning and it was completely
dry. It worked fine, but we thought
we’d take another crack at it in the
afternoon. That’s the one we used
because suddenly it was soaking
wet. It just felt real and pure.
KRASINSKI We had to hide the fact
that it was us and try not to let
people see the actual wedding in
case it got spoiled. On top of it all,
I had the flu. So one of the most
romantic kisses in the show...is
actually just me giving her a huge
kiss on the cheek because I didn’t
want to get her sick.THE LASTING LOVE
FISCHER I’m proud that we created
this healthy version of a relation-
ship and didn’t wait until the last
episode to see them get together.
DANIELS The way the show was
shot, you were able to think of it
like you were spying on real peo-
ple. It was a little bit of a romantic
fairy tale. They were soul mates
kept apart by circumstantial
obstacles, but you could see they
were meant to be with each other.
FISCHER In our second episode,
Jim goes after a big sale and Dwight
ends up stealing it from him. But,
in his final talking head, Jim says
it was a pretty good day, and he’s
saying that because Pam fell
asleep on his shoulder. That look
on Jim’s face, every woman out
there wanted a man to look like
that when they talked about her.
KALING Their relationship was the
best example of what could hap-
pen when you go to work. Even if
it’s a job you don’t like, you could
find the love of your life there.↖ Krasinski and
Fischer were
afforded only
two boat rides
to get this shot
→ Stars gazing:
Jessie Mueller
as Loretta Lynn
and Megan Hilty
as Patsy ClineCountryQueensWhat they did to prepare
to play the famous singers
Megan Hilty visited the Patsy Cline
Museum and examined artifacts
like handwritten letters. “She was
so funny and self-deprecating, but
with that Southern charm,” the
Smash star says. “It was funny how
many times she wrote ‘ha!’ with an
exclamation point.” Jessie Mueller
did a similar deep dive on the coal
miner’s daughter. “It was so fun to
do the research, read her book, and
find out who she was listening to
growing up,” says the Tony winner.What they learned about
the icons’ strong friendship
“My relationships with the impor-
tant women in my life have been
so impactful and challenging and
rewarding,” says Mueller. “And
that’s what I got from the script:
‘These are real women. They’re
going through it together.’ They
love each other and get pissed off
by each other and work through it.
They have each other’s backs.”What it was like filming at
the historic Ryman Auditorium
Says Hilty: “Every five minutes we
looked at each other, saying, ‘We’re
going to call each other once in a
while and say, “Hey, remember that
time we got to sing and dance at
the Ryman as Patsy and Loretta?”
We should never, ever forget.’ ”