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Oct. 5, 2007
Just another day at the office
Writer Paul Lieberstein shares his perspective at the VIFF.
KYLE BERGER
From the volleyball court to The Office. That pretty much
sums up the brisk journey taken by comic writer Paul Lieberstein,
one of the head writers of the hit show, who also plays the part
of human resources guru Toby, nemesis to the main character, Michael
Scott.
Lieberstein, in Vancouver last week to speak about comic writing
at the Vancouver International Film Festival, actually spent a few
months writing for a small Nickelodeon show in the early 1990s before
career opportunities seemed to stop knocking. Then, while playing
a casual game of volleyball, he met a producer who found him funny.
That led to a job on the show Weird Science – which
is about two men who create their dream girl on their computer –
and then the sitcom The Naked Truth.
His real break came when he got a job as one of a large team of
writers for the popular cartoon sitcom King of the Hill,
on which Lieberstein worked for three seasons. When the pitch for
the American version of The Office (based on the original
British series) came around, Lieberstein was hired to be part of
the original writing crew and destiny took over. Today, The Office
is regarded by many as the funniest show on TV.
One of his biggest thrills working on The Office, Lieberstein
explained, is having the chance to work with star Steve Carell.
"It's scary how good of an improviser he is," Lieberstein
said. "We'll work on a joke for an hour and then he'll beat
it in a second. Or he'll sometimes get an idea in his head and ask
to film a series of takes – each time with different lines."
Lieberstein explained that his character of Toby, who was originally
only supposed to have a cameo, became part of the ensemble cast
because of Carell.
"He said that as an actor, he felt a tremendous amount of hate
toward Toby and he had no idea why," Lieberstein observed.
"And that's where Toby came from."
One of the keys to the success of The Office, Lieberstein
suggested, is the creative freedom the writing team is given by
NBC network executives. Unlike with most television shows, the network
does not insist on reviewing each script and making its own contributions.
Lieberstein noted that the writing team also uses a simpler process
of scripting an episode and getting it to production by avoiding
multiple table reads (where the actors read through a script out
loud to test the material).
"For many shows, they'll write the script, do a table read
on Monday, rework the script, do a table read on Tuesday, rework
it again and do the same thing on Wednesday," he explained.
"Sometimes, something that was funny the first time gets adjusted
so many times that it loses its purpose. We do one table read and
trust everyone's sense of humor."
Another unique attribute to the sitcom's success is the character
work done by the actors. So many of the jokes, Lieberstein suggested,
are based on reactions and expressions on the actors' faces. Filming
of The Office is always done with two cameras running at
the same time, to ensure that none of those moments are missed.
"Even when the camera is not on [the actors], they all stay
in character, just in case the camera pans by them sitting at their
desk," he said.
Already credited as an actor, writer and producer of the show, Lieberstein
has recently added director to his credits with The Office.
He directed this week's hour-long episode, which featured a hilarious
visit to an employee's family farm.
Before showing a few sneak clips of the episode to his film festival
audience, Lieberstein admitted that he still gets nervous about
whether or not people will find him funny each week.
Judging by the audience's hysterics, Lieberstein need not worry.
At least, not until next week.
Kyle Berger is a freelance writer and graphic designer
living in Richmond.
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