FX and Kurt Sutter came to the 2012 Comic-Con in full force. They expanded the Sons of Anarchy press conference and brought a record high of ten cast members for their Sunday press day. For those who wonder what actually happens at Comic-Con press events beyond what the media photos reveal, here is my personal take on what happened in this busy, witty, and entertaining session.

The arrival of fan favorites Charlie Hunnam and Maggie Siff signaled the official start of the event. A photo session immediately broke out. Hunnam and Siff patiently and graciously accommodated the press requests of posing, first together and then individually. It wasn’t too long before they were directed to the on-camera interviews line.

Charlie Hunnam and Maggie Siff.

Tommy Flanagan, Mark Boone Jr. and Dayton Callie joined us and a second photo session got started. It was amusing to see them cracking jokes at each other’s expense (more on this later). Sutter, Katey Sagal and Ron Perlman stepped into the room next and the energy level kicked up a notch. Most media eyes were on Sutter, who seemed to be in great spirits. I couldn’t help but think that for someone who’s publicly stated he dislikes crowds, Sutter seemed to be enjoying the Con. Around that same time, I also noticed FX’s Head of PR John Solberg was completely immersed in directing the event—an effort that continued throughout the day, including both the FOX Booth Signing session and Hall H panel presentation.

Just like with most successful tasks and projects, effective time management and communication are key elements to a solidly run press event. The depth of Solberg’s hands-on approach impressed me; Solberg didn’t need to be engaged at that level as he had his team on the ground too. However, his involvement sent a clear message: he understands and values the product and talent he has with Sons. Kudos to him for rolling up his sleeves alongside his team!  Speaking of which, I appreciated what a fantastic job Kristy Silvernail did in keeping us informed about logistics in anticipation of the event in a timely manner, and how Dominic Pagone, FX Media Relations VP,  ensured we all got to speak to the talents.

Now, I want to clarify only a few minutes had passed since the press conference started.  As I was taking these mental notes, I was busy taking pictures. Experience has taught me to secure plenty of photos early on. Although this wasn’t the case here as the press conference was well organized, it’s not uncommon for the talent to be rushed out to another event, especially when schedules are running behind.

Kurt Sutter answers media questions as FX’s Head of PR, John Solberg, monitors the event.

There was so much going on that when I finally spotted Kim Coates, Ryan Hurst and Theo Rossi, they were already busy answering questions. From an organizational perspective, the actors had been efficiently split into groups, except for Sutter, Hunnam and Siff who made individual rounds. The FX media staff made sure the actors rotated among on-camera and roundtable interviews.

Ron Perlman and Katey Sagal

When I noticed that Perlman and Sagal were being directed to my table, I made a dash back to it. I interviewed Perlman at a previous Comic-Con and couldn’t wait to interact with him again due to his sharp sense of humor. That day, he seemed more subdued than usual—almost as if he were in an introspective mood—but I told myself that this is also his second full day of interviews. He had a busy day on Saturday doing press rounds for Legendary Pictures’ Pacific Rim, along with Charlie Hunnam. Sagal was in great spirits too and looked fantastic. They soon started dishing about their characters in season five.

“We opened this season in particular with us on the outs. Jax is the new president of the club; that’s a whole new dynamic,” Sagal said. “Gemma doesn’t know what to do having to stand aside, her daughter-in-law is the queen. She’s not responding well.”

Since Sutter had been commenting on multiple interviews regarding the mother/daughter dynamic and the tense feelings between Gemma and Tara, I asked Sagal what her take on it was. She volunteered how Sutter relates a lot of their situation to Katey’s own relationship with her 17-year-old daughter.

Katey Sagal says Gemma will not be seen knitting on the show.

“He sees how we absolutely adore each other and then were going at each other. It’s kind of that dynamic, that kind of mother/daughter dynamic where I love her more than anything,” Sagal explained. “I think Gemma feels that way about Tara. She’s grown to know Tara over the years and certainly being the mother of her grandchildren, she feels very close to her. But at the same time she feels incredibly threatened. And to see Tara take a new position which she becomes much more assertive and much stronger…you’ll see that we flow back and forth. Love/hate, love/hate.”

Can’t say I’m shocked by the dynamics but I’m dying to see them play out on screen. Sounds like great drama. Before they moved on to the next roundtable, I had to ask Katey one silly question: “Is Gemma going to knit for the show or is that just you?”

“That’s just me,” she responded, explaining she’s knitting something for her daughter who will be off to college soon.

Kurt Sutter

Sutter graced us with his presence and although I could be wrong, I felt confident in thinking he was having a good time at the Con.  He appeared to be in a chatty mood so I asked if he’s done the SDCC WTFSutter he had announced on Twitter a couple of days earlier. He made it obvious there hadn’t been an opportunity for it.  Darn! I was really hoping he would tape it while I was around but I quickly put myself in check because the conversation we were having was way better than any WTFSutter – this was a live session!  I hit him again with a question but this time it was related to his music supervisor, Bob Thiele, who requested I ask Sutter this when I interviewed him earlier that week. (Article to come soon here on YEC!) In a joking manner, Thiele wanted me to ask Sutter why there wasn’t any music during the Comic-Con events. Sutter informed us he was trying to get the band to play but couldn’t for some logistical issue. I think it would be amazing if he could bring the band at some point.

Sutter dished out some really good scoop on Sons but the one thing that stayed with me from the conversation was how much of a good pulse he has on the fans of his shows, and I could tell most of the information he shared was the result of the details he anticipated his audience would want to know. (See my full interview with Sutter here.)

Tommy Flanagan, Mark Boone Jr. and Dayton Callie

Tommy Flanagan, Mark Boone Jr. and Dayton Callie were an entertaining trio during the press conference.

The FX staff kept things moving and from the moment Flanagan, Boone Jr. and Callie sat down, I could tell they were on a roll. It’s like they had a comedy routine going on in which they put each other on the spot just for the press. They weren’t only being funny but their interaction was a testament to their chemistry and camaraderie.

After some initial pleasantries, they became intrigued by my recorder (a Zoom), which dwarfed the other reporters’ recording devices. Flanagan grabbed it and pretended to use it as a taser on Boone!

This exchange not only set the tone for the remainder of the interview but began what I consider the funniest exchange of the entire press conference.  For instance, these were the responses I got when I asked Callie to tell us more about that special relationship between Gemma and Unser. Right away, Flanagan started whistling.

Callie (talking to Flanagan): “Why don’t you tell her? Ask him (looks at me), they’ll tell you everything you want to know!”

Flanagan: “I’m not telling you…..( something unintelligible which included the word ‘spoiling’)…. I’m not reading your bit; I’m just reading my part that I just got.”

Callie: “They have a relationship. We’re only on episode five so I don’t have any idea of where it’s going or anything but it’s always been a friendship.”

Boone: “How about your personal feelings about Gemma? I think that’s what she was asking…”

Me:  “Yeah, exactly!”

Boone: “Unser, how does he personally feel….?”

Callie: “I can’t say because right now I’m Dayton and I’m not Unser but I can’t answer that.”

Boone: “I don’t understand…”

Callie: “Why?”

Boone: “I don’t understand. Here is a scene between Unser and Gemma and it’s like he’s really got it bad for her.”

Me: “It does seem that way…” (I barely got a comment in as I was laughing so hard watching Boone take up the role of facilitator of my questions. It was truly awesome!)

Boone: “Yeah!”

Callie: “It depends on what Kurt writes; it’s what I feel.”

So, that didn’t go very far but it was hilarious. One of my reporter colleagues diplomatically inquired about Unser’s health, referring to season one in which there was a certain level of uncertainty about whether Unser was going to make it.

Boone: “What happened to the cancer, man?”

Flanagan: “If you look at the storyline, it’s like year five. It’s only been five or six months…You don’t have to die really only after a couple of weeks. Counting chemo here, he’s doing well!”

Boone (looking at Callie): “Have you been doing chemo? I don’t know.”

Callie: “Yeah, I lost some hair. Kurt and I talked about it in the very beginning. Not everybody dies of cancer; I mean, more people live than die…”

As Flanagan breaks into singing ‘I Will Survive,’ Callie said: “I don’t fucking believe it. You have no idea what it’s like working with these people!”

Everyone at my roundtable busted out laughing and at that point, I was thinking this was the best interview ever (even though I didn’t have much concrete information to share). I was willing to try again and I looked at Flanagan to see if I could get more specific answers the second time around.

The round table session with Flanagan, Boone Jr. and Callie was my favorite one and the most entertaining of all.

Me: “Tommy, I’d like to know where….”

Callie: “his brain is?”

Me (giggling): “I thought he was so compassionate to Theo’s character. Where was that coming from?”

Boone: “She’s asking how can you love Juice?  (laughs) I really understand that question quite well!”

Flanagan: “Juice is my prospect; I brought him into the club.”

Me: “I didn’t know that.”

Flanagan: “And neither did I! It’s unspoken….”

Boone: “…knowledge!”

Flanagan: “He’s my prospect…that little rat bastard….”

Boone: “And we resent you for having brought him in.”

Flanagan: “One day we’ll have to deal with that storyline.”

Boone: “It’s not over.”

Flanagan: “It’s not over, meaning that it has to be played out. I don’t know how Kurt is going to do it but it’s gotta be played out.”

I was amazed at their talent in being able to finish one another’s sentences while continuously picking on each other. As they left, I felt like a laughter tornado had hit our table. I wanted to take the opportunity to thank Boone for his fabulous role in facilitating the interviews, because not only was he extremely funny, he was good at it.

The investment of fans in Tara pleasantly surprises Siff.

Maggie Siff

My roundtable reporter group had to wait for the next cast member(s) to join us and I took advantage of the time we had to take more photos.  As I scanned the room, I saw Hunnam hadn’t made much progress down the video interview line but it looked like Maggie Siff was done. Dom Pagone, FX Media Vice-president, confirmed she was coming our way.  Deep down, I was ecstatic!  Since season one, I’ve appreciated how Siff has injected the reserved and particular Dr. Tara Knowles with a significant amount of emotional intelligence and depth unlike typical girlfriend clichés. Tara isn’t the perfect goody-goody or some fragile helpless flower that can’t stand on her own feet; Siff has characterized Tara as a strong, resourceful woman in spite of her rough past and the challenges life has thrown at her. We need more female characters like that in hit shows and I’m grateful to Sutter and Siff for giving us a complex character that female viewers can both respect and relate to on an emotional level – like with the whole motherhood vs. career dilemma – yet she is imperfect like most women are.

Our time window was limited and we soon got busy discussing Siff’s character. A colleague and good friend of mine asked her a great question: “Which was the most difficult scene she has had to do in the series?”

“There’s been a couple. In the very first season, it’s probably the scene where there was an attempted rape. It was very twisted. The whole scene that I did with Jay Carnes, it was a complicated psycho-drama between them that was probably the most difficult scene to execute and execute well,” she said. “A lot of the stuff with the hands this past season was really challenging. It was kind of brutalizing. You get very attached to your character; you’re inside of their minds for years on end and then something like that happens; it’s kind of devastating. I was really excited as an actor but as a character, it was very upsetting.

As I listened to Siff’s replies and thought about her demeanor during the earlier mini-photo session, I could see how soft-spoken and kind she was in her exchanges. She did seem a bit reserved but was welcoming of conversation and I wondered if perhaps this was a trait she and her character shared.

In the midst of jokes and pleasantries, Rossi, Hurst and Coates shared some insightful comments about what fans can expect from their characters during season five.

Theo Rossi, Ryan Hurst and Kim Coates

It’s time to talk to Rossi, Hurst and Coates and as they joined the roundtable, I swear there was a temperature shift. It’s like another energy tornado was about to hit.

To give you an idea of the dynamics that ensued, the conversation started humorously when Rossi mentioned something being nine inches and some centimeters long. “Oh wait, nobody has any questions?” he kidded. “I thought that was the first question.”

One second later, we were having the classic boxer vs. briefs debate and in the middle of it, I think I heard Coates mention the word “commando.”

Although they are clearly jokesters, I couldn’t help but study the actors’ demeanors. By the end of our interviews, my observations led me to believe Coates was soft-spoken and gentle with his words, while Hurst was blunt and raw. I loved Theo’s passion for life and his work. I think this is also the first time in a while I noticed his East Coast accent surfacing.

But in the midst of a jovial and entertaining interview, Rossi, Hurst, and Coates didn’t shy away from talking about the bonds of friendship among cast members.

“These guys….Maggie and Katie, they’re amazing actors and we all work so perfectly together. It’s been a blessing,” Coates said.

Those friendship bonds were put into a deeper context for Rossi as a result of attending Comic-Con media parties. “I won’t say anything specific but just being at these parties in the last few days has really shown me that there are a lot of ensemble shows out there, and these people don’t even talk to each other when they’re out,” he explained. “We go everywhere together; we were in the gym this morning (looks at Coates). Him and I spend most of our lives together.”

“We went jogging yesterday,” Coates added, as if to confirm it.

Rossi was the most vocal and passionate in describing the strong friendship bonds that have developed among the Sons of Anarchy cast.

Of the three men, Rossi was clearly the most vocal on this subject. His strong sense of conviction didn’t only come across through his words but was also evident in his body language. He adamantly thinks one of the reasons the fans respond so strongly to the show is due to the ‘family-ness’ of it and the genuine nature of the cast’s relationships. “We’re together all the time and that is off-season and on-season. They know this is who we are. We love each other and I think it really penetrates through the screen to everybody.”

Charlie Hunnam

This year, instead of his usual day trip to San Diego, Charlie Hunnam got to spend quite a bit of time at Comic-Con.  Wherever he went, all eyes and ears were on Hunnam, who was busy promoting two projects. On Saturday, he did press for the highly anticipated Pacific Rim, which was enthusiastically received in the Legendary Pictures panel. On Sunday, he was promoting Sons. During these two days, I witnessed how hard he worked at supporting these projects, plus pushing his other film, the indie 3,2,1…Frankie Go Boom, whenever he could.

I’ve seen Charlie during press events before and he gets in what I call the zone; he is completely focused and attentive to both the press and fans without showing a sign of tediousness or tiredness. During this year’s Comic-Con, I thought there was something slightly different about him. Not only does Hunnam look comfortable knowing he’s the leading man carrying a project (even if it’s a gigantic blockbuster!), but there was a heightened level of excitement and energy in his demeanor – which often translated into hilarious exchanges. This was most obvious when he described how he got Ron Perlman involved in 3,2,1…Frankie Go Boom but it was also evident throughout the press conference.

Charlie Hunnam was the consummate professional as he spoke with countless reporters and fans during two busy press days at Comic-Con.

Another of my favorite Hunnam moments was when he was wrapping up his interview and Boone jumped in to facetiously ask him a question. “Would you continue the show if, let’s say, Bobby were to become president?”

Hunnam laughed and responded boisterously in that signature voice and accent of his, “Well now we are just talking about a ridiculous fantasy scenario that would never and could never happen.”

I loved it when Boone disagreed, starting the following exchange:

Boone:  “I don’t think that is such a ridiculous fantasy.”

Hunnam: “Yes, in chance of Mark ruining this question, I would still want to be in the show if Bobby Elvis was president.”

Boone:  “You might have to go and start your own club if you were suddenly eliminated as president.”

Hunnam: “Like the Laughing Devils?”

As I laughed at their pretend back and forth, I thought back about something Hurst said earlier: “There’s a huge amount of life imitating art with regards to this…”

This is not just a case of the portrayal of brotherhood on TV but about the bonds these men have established. I’ve heard empty flattery and seen fake camaraderie before and I assure you this is not the case with this ensemble. Not only do these guys finish each other sentences but their interactions reveal they’ve become a family of sorts. This was a discussion point the entire cast continuously brought up during the press conference and it showed throughout all of Sunday’s media events.

Season five of Sons of Anarchy premieres Tuesday, September 11, 2012. For more on the show visit: http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/soa/ and http://www.sutterink.com/.  To check out Kurt Sutter’s Sons of Anarchy videos, go to http://www.youtube.com/user/sutterinksoa. On Twitter, follow @SonsofAnarchy, @sutterink, @FXNetworks and tweet using the hashtag #SOAFX.