CSI INTERVIEWS: IS HAWAII UP NEXT FOR CBS HIT? IS THERE A PERFECT CRIME?
Robin Leach interviewed Anthony Zuiker and Marg Helgenberger at this past weekend’s event and has posted transcripts of the interviews on his vegasdeluxe.com blog.
Here is Marg’s portion of the interview:
Stunning redhead Marg Helgenberger remembers starting on CSI back in spring 2000 — nearly 10 seasons ago. I’d met her nine years earlier in Mexico. I asked why she thought CSI works so well when other shows on television die so quickly.
She told me: ‘I think it is a combination, the sum of its parts. Everything begins with a great story, but then it?s the execution of that story, which includes the cast, which we all had great chemistry from the get go. And there was a new way of telling mystery with the use of all the special effects and all the technology. We still have the best group of writers. – It is the mystery that comes first.’
‘I am always in awe of those who do this for a real living. It can’t be an easy job, and every time I ride with them or talk with them, they are always incredibly curious, they stay interested, and they love their jobs even though it is gruesome. I marvel at their ability to solve real-life crime because it is far more tedious than how we present it on TV. It is very painstaking and you have to have enormous patience, so I do marvel at their skills and abilities.’
‘I don’t know how long I will continue to stay with it. We are in Season 10. I am contracted through this season, and I take it one season at a time. I still enjoy what I do, and I love everybody I work with. I have a lot of fun. The show still has great quality.’
Marg is a fan of the city where her CSI started out: ‘I really love Vegas. I am not a gambler. I like to shop here, and it is fantastic. Over the years, I’ve come to know the places I like, so I return to those places.’
She told me that she’d been through the exhibit when it first began two years ago but was never able to go through the three crime scenes as a regular visitor. ‘I started to but got distracted,’ she said. ‘I’m going to try it again here and see how far I get. I think I am a pretty good crime solver on and off screen, so it will be interesting and fascinating. I think the exhibit is an absolutely wonderful addition to Vegas attractions.’
I told Marg that I’d asked Anthony if there was a perfect crime that one could get away with. She commented: ‘There are people who get away with it. That doesn’t happen automatically. I think some people are master criminals who know how to cover their tracks, but I wouldn’t propose to say what the perfect crime would be even though I think I know!’