THE VIEW, TRANSCRIPT OF MARG’S INTERVIEW
June 7, 2007
ABC
Lorraine Bracco from The Sopranos serves as a guest host in this interview.
Lorraine: In the new movie Mr. Brooks, being married to a serial killer isnāt Marg Kellenā¦(completely butchers Margās name)
Barbara: Helgenberger
Lorraine: I knew I was going to do that.
Barbara: Thatās okay. Thatās why Iām here, darling.
Lorraine: Thank you, darling. Hellenbergerā¦
Barbara: Helgenberger
Lorraine: Helgenberger
Barbara: Try Sopranoā¦just keep goingā¦
Lorraine: Marg Helā¦(butchers it again; audience laughter and whistles)
Barbara: Tell them to go to the clip!
Gail: Say āTake a look.ā
Lorraine: Okay, go to the clip. Oh my God!
(clip from Mr. Brooks is shown)
Barbara: Okay, since you canāt say it, I willā¦
Barbara & Lorraine: Please welcome, Marg Helgenberger!
(Marg walks out and greets each host by name).
Lorraine: Iām so sorry!
Marg: Hel-gen-ber-ger. Hel-gen-ber-ger.
Lorraine: Helgenberger.
Marg: Thatās okay! Thatās okay. Iām used to that. They usually mess up the first name. They say Marge.
Barbara: How many timesā¦Iāve said Marge before.
Marg: Donāt Call Me Marge is the name of my production company, by the way.
Barbara: How many times have people suggested you change your name?
Marg: Notā¦no! Not very often.
Barbara: Really?
Marg: No.
Barbara: Theyāre okay saying Helgenberger.
Marg: They were okay with it. Yes.
Elizabeth: Didnāt you change it forā¦when you did weather? It is true you changed your name?
Marg: (laughs) How did you know that?
Elizabeth: I justā¦
Gail: What did you change it to?
Marg: I did the weather one summer when I was 19 years old for this tiny station in rural Nebraska. And I was asked to change my name because there wasā¦the anchor team was Harvey Knocklinger, Joyce Eisenminger, andā¦
(Everyone laughs)
Gail: I know them. Oh, I know them. Theyāre a riot.
Marg: So yeah, they didnāt want it to be the Knocklinger, Eisenminger, Helgenberger Report so I was the low manā¦personā¦
Barbara: Below them
Gail: So what did you change it to?
Marg: I took my grandmotherās maiden name.
Gail: Which was?
Marg: McCarty. Margi McCarty.
Gail: Margi McCarty.
Marg: Had a nice little ring to it.
Elizabeth: Thatās cute!
Marg: Thank you.
Lorraine: Sounds like a stripper! (Everyone laughs)
Gail: She is a grunt, this one. Didnāt youā¦didnāt they ask you to pose for Playboy once because youāre so cute? Didnāt they?
Marg: Yeah. I was asked, yeah.
Gail: Why did you say no? Because I wasā¦
Marg: Oh, you know, I was flattered, terribly flattered, but Iā¦
Elizabeth: Was it a quick no or did you think about it?
Marg: No! I didnāt think about it at all! But my husband, when I told my husband, he wasā¦immediately called all of his buddies, āGuess what? Myā¦Margiās going to be on the cover ofā¦she was asked to be on the cover, rather. But umm, anywayā¦
Gail: What about your son?
Marg: Oh, well, he would have been mortified. Yeah.
Elizabeth: Yeah.
Barbara: We should get to your movie.
Elizabeth: Yes.
Marg: Okay, sure. Itās Mr. Brooks.
Barbara: (talking to Lorraine): You saw it?
Lorraine: Of course, I saw it. I thought it was spectacular.
Marg: Thank you.
Lorraine: Well, Iām a big fan ever since I saw you in Erin Brockovich.
Marg: Oh thanks, Lorraine. Thanks you.
Barbara: Letās talk about this movie.
Lorraine: Letās talk about this movie.
Barbara: Okay!
Lorraine: Letās talk about CSI. No, okay. You know, Mr. Brooksā¦I watched it last night. I thought you were absolutely fantastic. I was riveted, and the first thing I did wasā¦after the movie was over, was make sure all my doors were locked. (laughs)
Barbara (to Marg): Well, why donāt you tell us a little bit about it because Kevin Costner is in it and heās this wonderful Mr. Brooks and you play his wifeā¦
Marg: Yeah, isnāt he great?
Barbara: And you donāt knowā¦you donāt know what a terrible man he is.
Marg: He leads a double life, thatās right. To me, heāsā¦
Elizabeth: Heās a serial killer.
Marg: Yeah, to me, heās the perfect husband, the perfect man ā great husband, father, providerā¦
Barbara: How do youā¦?
Marg: You know what? That was the first thing I asked Kevin when I met him.
Lorraine: Thatās what most peopleā¦
Marg: I said, how is she completely unaware that thereās somethingā¦and I know that the character, Emma Brooks, was aware of a dark side, just I donāt think she would have ever thought in a million years that it led to murder.
Gail: Sheās kind of a Carmella Soprano in a way, who also doesnāt realizeā¦
Marg: Well, exactly. Exactly.
Gail: Who was in some sort of denial.
Elizabeth: Well, spouses do that sometimes.
Marg: Like the BTK Killer. You remember that case?
Elizabeth: Yeah.
Marg: You know because theyā¦he led this, I mean, it does happen. There people who live these completelyā¦are able to compartmentalize, andā¦
Elizabeth: Thereās talk of a sequel. Because there are someā¦after seeing it, there are a lot of, kind of, thingsā¦potentialā¦
Marg: Right.
Elizabeth: That could happen
Marg: Thatās a good way of putting it.
Elizabeth: So, is that true? Do you think there might be a sequel?
Marg: Well, you know, the writers, Bruce Evans and Ray Gideon, had initially thought of it as a trilogy so who knows? I mean, Kevinās up for it. I mean, obviously the scriptās gotta come in and meet his approval, blah blah blahā¦
Barbara: I like Kevin Costner. Heās a nice man.
Elizabeth: I do too.
Marg: He is a good, good guy. I loved working with him.
Barbara: You did?
Marg: Yeah. He was really cool. (laughs)
Lorraine: Also, I liked that Lindsey Kraus was in it.
Marg: Yes, she was! Thatās right!
Lorraine: She was great. It was really great to see her again.
Marg: Thatās right. Sheās a wonderful actress.
Lorraine: Absolutely. I thought it was incredibly well cast, and also if you like the psychological thriller thing, this is the movie for you.
Marg: Oh, thanks.
Gail: Whatās the creepiest scene you ever did on CSI, you think? Thatās another show thatās creepy in a different way.
Marg: Well, I donāt know if it was creepy, but it was definitely the most intense, kind of raw scene Iāve ever done. My character was ummmā¦date rapedā¦was given a date rape drug.
Lorraine: Yes, that was a fantastic episode.
Marg: Oh!
Lorraine: And you were absolutely magnificent.
Marg: Thank you. Oh, thank you.
Gail: But what was disturbing to you as an actress?
Marg: Because, you know, the character wakes up in this skanky hotelā¦motel room and realizes āOh my God, what the hell happened here?ā and she just makes the decision to process herself, you know, so what was in my bag was like a tampon, so I gave myself my own vaginal swabā¦
Gail: You gave yourself a test because youāre a proā¦Oh.
Marg: And I collected evidence. I collected it all and processed it and because I was mortified. I didnāt want to tell my coworkersā¦
Barbara: What a nice, raunchy segment (cut off by Gail and Elizabethās chatter)
Marg: Pardon meā¦
Barbara: I said, what a nice, raunchy segment.
(Elizabeth says something but canāt make it out)
Marg: The coolest thing was that it was no dialogueā¦It was just allā¦it was internal and it was amazing.
Lorraine: I think itās fantastic, that women should know what to do when a situation like that happens.
Marg: My teen, my young niece, actually said that to me. She emailed me and said, you know, āWow, I really learned a lot.ā Because, you know, these 20 year old girlsā¦(cut off by the others)
Lorraine: Donāt shower, because thatās where all of the evidence comes from.
Marg: Yes, exactly.
Elizabeth: Marg, I donāt know how you sleep at night between CSI, this film. I mean, honestly, it is so chilling and gripping. I think everyone should see it. Just grab on to your seats.
Marg: Thank you.
Elizabeth: You are excellent, Marg. You really are. And thereās also a CSI exhibit in Chicago if you guys happen to be in the area.
Marg: Oh, thatās right. The CSI Experience.
Elizabeth: Yes! And Mr. Brooks is in theaters right now. Catch it! Thank you, Marg!