Tim Minear

TimMinear.net Staffer: (dials) Hey. Tim. What are you doing RIGHT NOW?

Tim Minear: Um. Nothing?

You’re not doing anything?

TM: Not at this VERY MOMENT, no.

Cool. So you can give me like, 15 moments to answer this short Q&A?

TM: Sure!

What was it about DRIVE that you found intriguing?

TM: It’s the largest possible canvas to do anything I want. I can tell multiple stories about multiple characters.

You’ve got about 14 regular characters appearing in the series, double what you had in Firefly. Have you gone mad? How do you go about servicing all these characters?

TM: Well, Firefly had nine. And if you look at an episode like Out of Gas, all nine of the series regulars were in the episode, as well as gang of pirates who shot Mal, the two banditos with Jayne, the mechanic before Kaylee...is it really 14 characters on Drive? [Ed. Note: TM.net staff counts, consults Caltech mathematician, confirms it is in fact 14.] Huh. I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?

The pilot is shooting in June, why so late in the season?

TM: It was picked up pretty late, and we could have shot earlier, but we loved [director] Greg Yaitanes so much that we decided to wait for him to become available after he shoots Southern Comfort.

Some fans are asking why on earth you’re working for the Fox network again, questioning your sanity and wondering if you’ve got a masochistic streak. Please explain how you ended up back on the Fox network.

TM: Because the studio has a vested interest in taking the shows they like best to their sister network. Besides, I was already at the studio, and if they wanted to take it to another studio, I’d have to drive to Burbank. I mean, I was already parked at the studio, and only had to walk across the lot. So you see, it was really just a parking issue.

When will we know if FOX decides to buy it as a series?

TM: July. No, August. Probably August.

You’re working with Zoic Studios (Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Serenity) on special effects, again. What sort of effects are needed on a show like DRIVE?

TM: A lot of actual car work can happen on the stage. We’re designing technology that looks like the camera is moving fluidly from one car to the next, it will look like they’re actually zooming down the freeway at 70 miles per hour. We couldn’t shoot the show like that on a weekly basis if we had to do all that rigging in such a painstaking way.

Whatcha watching on television right now?

TM: Nothing. I don’t have time. I watch DVDs.

Okay. What are you watching on DVD?

TM: Arrested Development.

Okay, you can go now.

TM: Bye!