[important]Fri. Aug 22, 2014 – ADDED VIDEO INTERVIEW with KURT SUTTER[/important]

As Sons of Anarchy heads into its seventh and final season, the anticipation for the show among fans and critics is rising. Creator Kurt Sutter joined our press roundtable ready to discuss what lies ahead for his show.

Since I know the writing for each season happens concurrently with filming the show, I had to ask: “How is the writing going?”

Sutter, Katey Sagal and Paris Barclay at the Comic Con Press Conference.

Right away, I got an expletive for an answer and several head nods from him. But this is exactly why I love interviewing Sutter; you can always count on him to give you an honest reaction! Our entire press table laughed but I’m positive we all couldn’t stop thinking about how we understand his pain; the pressure has to be immense. Next, I quickly recalled seeing a tweet where Sutter commented on the release of the Fifty Shades of Grey trailer, whose main role had been offered to Sons’ leading man Charlie Hunnam (who later dropped out of the film). I asked Sutter if he had seen it.

“I did. It’s going to be fantastic. I can’t wait until the part where Will Ferrell shows up,” Sutter replied grinning, to only quickly add, “I kid!”

It’s time now to start talking Sons, and here are the main highlights Sutter shared regarding season seven.

Don’t Expect a Thinking Jax 

“I think it will be the most proactive that he’s ever been. Jax in previous seasons, just by the nature of the character— he’s sort of too deep a thinker. He spends a great time reacting to the chaos around him or cleaning up the mess of previous leadership but this season, he comes in with blinders on. It’s been so much fun to write that Jax because it’s new. I think Charlie is having a blast because he’s crushing it.”

On Guest Stars 

“We have Manson who plays a white supremacist, which makes complete sense, and Courtney Love who plays a school teacher, which makes complete sense. And Malcolm Jamal Warner, he plays one of the Grimm Bastards; he’s sort of Michael Beach’s character’s second hand guy.”

Sutter says .Sons leading man, Charlie Hunnam, is “crushing it” this season playing Jax Teller.

On John Teller’s Letters or Jax’s Journals Resurfacing 

“Jax is not in a journaling mood right now. I thought about that and I was trying to figure out if I could infuse it, and every time I sat down to break that scene or look at that scene, it just didn’t make sense. I think maybe, towards the end of the season, I may try to bring it back or echo back to that, but not in the beginning.”

On the Show Being a Family Drama 

“At its core, I don’t say that flippantly, this is a family drama. It’s just that our circumstances are heightened; the show is pulp fiction. There is sort of an epic and almost absurd quality to the show and it takes place in a very dangerous world. To me, it’s the same family dynamics that perhaps play out with other families but under these conditions, you see the results of that happening. What may end up being an argument in another family becomes a fork in the head.”

On Relationships on the Show Being Sacred or Unbreakable 

“I really feel like as we break these stories, and as we try to stay organic and as realistic as we can to those relationships, if it feels right and the circumstances make sense—under the circumstances, or in that particular situation X happens—then it will happen. So I don’t think of it in terms of ‘Oh, that’s an unbreakable one,’ or ‘I can’t do that.’  I just really try to follow the logic and the organic nature of it rather than I’ll do that or won’t do that.”

On Less Distractions on Set Due to Charlie Dropping Out of Fifty Shades 

“No, because Charlie doesn’t live in hoopla. Charlie is an incredibly private guy and he doesn’t bring that to work. That was all happening outside the bubble for us. These guys, they plug in, man. When they’re on set, they’re doing their deal; there’s not a lot else going on. I think to the outside world, it seemed like a lot of hoopla. Inside, it was business as usual.”

On choosing One Word to Describe Sons’ Final Season 

“Vanilla ice cream,” Sutter joked. “Here’s what I would say—it’s a love story.”

Sons of Anarchy’s final season premieres September 9, 2014 at 10pm ET/PT, only on FX.

For more on the show, go to http://www.fxnetworks.com/soa and http://www.sutterink.com/.

To check out Kurt Sutter’s Sons of Anarchy video channel on YouTube, go to http://www.youtube.com/sutterinksoa.

Like Sons of Anarchy on Facebook. Follow the show on Twitter @sonsofanarchy, @sutterink, and @FXNetworks, and tweet using the hashtag #SOAFX.

Photos ©2014 Elle Lutz for Your Entertainment Corner. All Rights Reserved.