Shakefire was invited to the on-location shooting of the new original USA TV series "White Collar," premiering Friday, October 23, 2009. 4 of the main stars (Matt Bomer, Tim DeKay, Tiffani Thiessen, and Willie Garson) and 1 crew member (Stephanie Maslansky, the costume designer) were available throughout the day to participate in a roundtable Q&A session with other bloggers.

"White Collar" is a TV action/drama that pairs an FBI agent (Peter Burke, played by Tim DeKay) with his old nemesis (Neal Caffrey, played by Matt Bomer of Chuck fame) in an attempt to catch white collar criminals by using the criminal mind of Caffrey. Neal is aided by his old friend Mozzie (played by Willie Garson), who uses his ties to the criminal underworld to provide valuable information. Of course, Agent Burke's occupation puts a strain on his marriage to the beautiful Elizabeth Burke (played by Tiffani Thiessen), however the series chooses to not pursue the typical plotline that such a situation lends itself to in so many other TV series.

The group of bloggers was picked up early in the morning around 7am and we took a bus to the location where the crew would be filming in the Upper West Side of NYC. We stood outside of what appeared to be a Catholic primary school for a few minutes in the cold NYC weather before moving inside to wait for the talent to arrive. We waited for a couple hours before Matt Bomer arrived, who we interviewed shortly until he was joined by costar Tim DeKay. Matt looked quite different from his character, wearing glasses and a humble sweatshirt, while Tim was wearing a suit. Many of my questions were asked by the other participants, so here's a quick summary of some of the hot points of the more than hour-long Q&A session.

Any New York readers/visitors may recognize Matt from the plethora of White Collar posters all over the subways, with the striking blue eyes.

Is it exciting to be able to film in New York, so you’re actually filming in the locations that you’re pretending to be at? 

Matt Bomer:  New York can’t be replicated. The energy of it, the architecture, the cabs honking and cursing you out right before they call “action.” It just can’t be replicated anywhere else and I think it’s so inherently a character in any film or TV show that takes place there. So, it’s just an unbelievable blessing to get to work here and feed off that energy.

Now as far as your role, you know, as a criminal mastermind, what type of real life research did you do?

Matt:  Well, I don’t want to give away all of the secrets of the research I did, but what I can tell you is I read a lot of books.  Everything from, you know, obviously Frank Avengale’s memoir, Catch Me If You Can, to a lot of just books about social engineering.  Most of them written by people who were in the same circumstances.  A guy named Kevin Mitnick, who wrote a book called The Art of Deception that was very informative to me and he was a social engineer who them became—he, you know, does some kind of high tech computer software engineering.  Because from a very early age, he had to fend for himself and he learned how to break into all the computers before they had any kind of security that could defend against it.  So now he develops that kind of software.  But I read a lot of books, and then I also tried to get some inspiration from films of the same ilk and the same genre.  Everything from, you know, Danny Ocean in Oceans 11, to Cary Grant’s character in To Catch a Thief, with even a little bit of Ferris Bueller thrown in there. 

What are some elements of White Collar that help it stand apart from other crime dramas that we see on TV? 

Matt:  It’s really intelligently written.  I’m no fool, I know this is a writer’s medium.  You can put the biggest stars on the TV screen, but if the writing’s not there, the shows aren’t going to last and we’re so blessed to have Jeff Easton at the helm.  Because these scripts are really smart and fun and unique.  The White Collar world is unique, hasn’t really been completely explored yet and so you’re going to get all the fun procedural stuff, but at the same time, there’s going to be a lot of character elements that come into play as well.  That keeps it light and fun and sometimes serious. So, you do get more back story elements and a lot of fun interplay between characters that you might not get on a show that’s strictly procedural. 

(At this point Tim has joined the panel) 

Neal and Pete have almost a married personality and they almost have a little romance.  How will that play out as the series progresses? 

Tim DeKay:  I think that’s a big part of the show and it continues on, you know.  I’ve said that we both respect each other.  There’s an odd respect that we both enjoy and we know that each other enjoys solving something.  Peter looks at it different, solving something than Neal does.  He can have Neal go do something that shouldn’t really be done, but he does it.  And, I think that deep, deep, deep down inside, they like each other.  They do, they like each other. 

Matt:  I envy and find fascinating his family—his domestic family life.  I’m fascinated by what’s it like to have a real family and a life where you can just settle down and you have breakfast together in the morning and all this.  Because I don’t think I ever understood those kind of things. 

Do you have a favorite scene or stand out moment from the coming season of White Collar? 

Matt:  We have a stake-out scene in one of the first episodes, it’s really, really fun.  A lot of this stuff, when we go undercover together and I, of course, get us into trouble and Peter has to bail us out or we have to use any of that stuff where we’re just kind of given free rein to be silly and fun and playful and we just understand the dynamics inherently, all that stuff is just criminally fun to film.  No pun intended. 

Tim:  I’d have to agree, I was going to say that one.  I think what’s really fun are the—between Matt and myself, I feel it’s just little moments here and there, and not necessarily in one particular scene. 

Matt, once Neal is done doing what he needs to do, do you think that he’ll try to change his life and be a good guy?  Or do you think that he’ll just revert back to being a criminal? 

Matt:  You know, I would hope he’d always maintain, like I said, I hope he always maintains some of his mystery—he’ll always be a little slippery.  But, I would love, as the series progresses down the road, for him to really understand the rewards of doing what he’s doing and helping out and how he can use certain skills that he taught himself for a better purpose.  I think that’s the better moral story to tell, but I’m excited.  You know, I trust Jeff Easton a hundred and fifty percent and wherever he wants to take the character, I’m happy to go.

 (Matt leaves) 

Which one of Peter's character traits you were best able to personally relate to? 

Tim:  Loves to solve a good case.  I love that.  I used to watch Columbo with my dad and used to try to be ahead of it.  I love any espionage movie, any spy movie.  Like, oh, no, why did they cut to that guy?  Oh, he shouldn’t have told her that.  I think there’s a joy that Peter has in solving the crimes.  That’s why he works late, because he loves it. 

You have really good chemistry with Tiffani.  What’s it like working with her and was that chemistry pretty much inherent from the first time you met her? 

Tim:  The second we met, it was there.  The casting director we both knew very well, so I think the casting director said nice things about ourselves to the other person and it was just there.  It was there and she’s a pro.  She knows her work and does it well and she’s married, I’m married, there’s a comfort there.  I mean, in my past show, it was intense, the relationship stuff that I had to do in Tell Me You Love Me.  I really enjoy doing this, it’s not nearly as intense as that. 

You’re about halfway through filming the season. How does violence come into play or not come into play as the season goes on?

 Tim:  Just like in the pilot, you’ll see the violence after the fact.  You will not have seen it happen and you’ll never flashback to have seen it happen.  If there is blood, somebody on the show will not like to see the blood. You’ll also see a gorgeous part of New York.  You will not see somebody killed on a stoop and then two guys in raincoats coming up and talking about it and then going and investigating.

You’re originally from New York, right? Is it good to be back in the area?

 Tim:  It’s fantastic.  Look, I love California, I love my family and friends that I have out there, but I miss the seasons that the east offers.  Because no matter how your life is going, no matter what is going on, who knows what the wind and leaves changing will bring you?  I mean, I always feel that way, it’s like something else is going to happen and you don’t get that in LA.  It’s just nice.

After that session, we waited for a little while and Tiffani Thiessen sat down with us, looking beautiful and radiating confidence.

 How would you say you’re best able to relate to your character? 

Tiffani Thiessen:  Well, I think just being married. I’ve been married almost four and a half years now and it’s a relationship that a lot of times on TV, and even movies, you see these relationships that don’t work. It’s always about the ones that don’t work and the drama behind it. It’s nice to see a relationship on TV that does work, and they’ve been together for a long time. And they really do have each other’s best interest at heart.  I feel like my husband and I have that. My husband is my best friend. I tell him everything.  Our characters, Elizabeth and Peter, I feel, are kind of the same way.  We come from very different worlds on the show.  He’s an FBI agent and here I am doing high profile events, doing Vanity Fair parties, we couldn’t be more different. You see the dynamics of how we really just care about each other.  It’s not about what we do for a living, it’s about what we do at home and about each other and the priorities that we put for it. 

Would you be interested in directing an episode for White Collar?

Tiffani:  Oh, absolutely! I wouldn’t say no, absolutely not. I mean I would love to. First seasons are always the hardest to kind of get your feet wet with everybody that’s on the show and stuff like that. So, I would love to. They know my interest. I would absolutely love to. 

How has it been working here in New York versus L.A.?

Tiffani:  It’s very, very different. I’ve been coming to New York since I was young and I love New York City. I love that you guys have seasons, just to be able to put a coat on and a scarf. We don’t get to do that in L.A… But on the ‘but’ side of it, my family is in L.A. All of our families are in L.A. We didn’t make the big, big move just yet. I think for the first season, you just never know. But I have a sneaky suspicion this show’s going to go for a while. I usually am not wrong. So, we’ll see.

Any interest on making an appearance on the new 90210? Did they approach you?

Tiffani:  Not at all. No. I watched the pilot, and it’s very different. It’s not even 90210 or the people who have gone back to the show. I’ve always been someone to never look back. I always like to move forward. To me, it’s like I played that character for a long time. I don’t need to play that character again. It’s retired and I’m so glad. I couldn’t be more blessed and feel blessed to be on the show that I am now. I love the people that I’m working with. I couldn’t be more ecstatic about it. So, everything happens for a reason.

Willie Garson, perhaps best known for his character Stanford in "Sex and the City" joined us next after a quick lunch break.

Where does your character's name come from? Mozzie

Willie Garson:  I have no idea.  I don't even know if that's his first name or his last name.  That hasn't really been established yet.  We're just kind of going with the gods of Jeff Eastin and what's coming out of his brain.  What's pouring out of his brain right now.

What did you think of the character when you first initially read about it on paper?  Did you think you'd like this kind of person?

Willie:  Yeah, I did because it's very different from anything else I've ever played.  Although—how do I make this not sound the way it's going to sound?  I guess because it's me, he's somehow becoming more stylish.  All of a sudden, he's wearing pretty cool clothes.  And I don't know how that happens to me, but I am blessed with always wearing cool clothes.  I was really drawn to kind of an under-the-radar kind of guy rather than an out-there kind of guy.  And it also gives a lot of opportunities to play with, you know, me pretending to be other people and working scams behind the scenes rather than in front of the scenes.  So that's pretty cool.  I'm also a big fan of all those shows that I grew up on, and this is Huggy Bear, it's Angel from Rockford Files.  It's that subversive guy in the background, the brains behind the brain.  And that was interesting to me.

How did Mozzie hook up with Neal?  How did they get together?  Do you go into that in future episodes, or is that something that you just sat down with the writers and talked about?

Willie:  No idea.  I mean, we're getting clues because we talk.  It's like, "Oh, remember that scam in Morocco."  We do know that it's been a long time.  And because I'm so rakish and wonderful, I like to think of it as like a Butch Cassidy and Sundance thing, that we've been together forever.  And it never really comes out how—what was the first scam?  How did we hook up?

So how was it as an actor to delve into a role like this, especially now that you've been in such a recognizable role?  Does it change your process at all to make sure that you're like, "There is no Stanford in this character."

Willie:  Well, it's interesting.  I truly do try to make everything exactly different.  As different as possible.  I went straight from Stanford back to David Milch to play a nerdy, Jewish lawyer...  badly dressed, you know, living in San Diego.  I mean, it couldn't have been more opposite.  Obviously there's an issue with me on the street in New York but everyone is totally different.  They're all always different.  A big question that always comes up is always, "Dude, are you careful about typecasting," or whatever.  But typecasting for actors is kind of like what you do to yourself.  I mean, I can tell you, my desk for many years had every flamboyant, high-fashion character on the planet and I could have made a fortune.  But what's the point?  God bless Kelsey Grammer, but I didn't want to play Frasier Crane for 25 years or however long he played him.  It's a choice.  It's kind of why I like to make TV.  I'm one of the few actors who enjoys doing TV more than I like making movies.  I like that it's a new script every week.  I like that it's totally different.  And for as long as that goes, great.  But how long is it really going to go?  I mean, I don't work in the world of a soap opera where I'm going to be on a show for 35 years, playing Dr. Wilbur Heffington. 

Finally, we were able to ask a few quick questions to Stephanie Maslansky, who worked on the wardrobe in the show.

In this show, Matt has to go undercover in terms that he really has to change his persona in outfits based on that?

Stephanie Maslansky:  Generally speaking, when he goes undercover, whoever he’s playing, that character does require a really strong terrific look. Initially, the look was based on, and continues to be based on, the silhouette that was popular during the Rat Pack era, during the late fifties, early sixties, which is a very slim silhouette with very fitted jackets, slim trousers, and slim ties. What we’ve done is we’ve also made it a little bit more contemporary, because if you go back and look at the true silhouette of the Rat Pack era, you’ll notice that the jackets are shorter, but they’re a bit boxier. You can actually see that in Mad Men, which is really true to the era. And the clothes are terrific, but the colors are different. The silhouette is slightly different. What we’ve done is we’ve taken that style and made it a bit more contemporary. Peter, who’s the FBI agent, and always wears the same Brooks Brothers suit, he has a very specific look that—also, he has a very slim silhouette and a very sort of elegant silhouette. But he, actually, confesses to the fact that he isn’t interested in clothes and always his character has been wearing the same suit forever.

Do you ever find that you start dressing a character based on the actor I mean, at all? Because Willie had said that his clothes have changed kind of a little bit, they’ve become more stylish.

Stephanie:  Oh, absolutely, particularly in something dramatic like this. Even when I used to do television commercial work, I’d always like to get the actor involved, because I think that they can bring a lot to the role. All people have their own opinions about how they dress, and how they like to dress and certainly they have ideas about their character, where it’s going and how they want to shape it. I think in Willie’s case, it was interesting because before I met him, I only had Sarah Jessica Parker’s best gay friend in Sex in the City in my mind. And he turned out to be an eccentric guy no doubt, but very different from that character, or different enough so that I could finally take that image out of my head when I started to think about the role.

Did you custom design any of the outfits that Neal will be wearing in the show?

Stephanie:  So far, I haven’t had anything made from the ground up. However, I am starting to have a few shirts made because I’m sort of running out of. We use some pretty specific designers for Neal in particular.

After the interviews, we were given the opportunity to take a look at the shooting of what looked to be the intro to a scene (basically some extras walking into a Laundromat). Unfortunately, we didn't get to see any better taping with any of the stars we'd talked to.

As far as the show is concerned, it premieres Friday, October 23 at 10pm on USA. The first episode sets the mood for the show pretty well, and I'd say it's definitely worth taking a look if you have some time. The show is decently written and manages not to follow any of the stereotypes of similar shows.