Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Welcome to our second drink of Business Ethics. I loved this episode, and we finally got to have Amy Ryan on the podcast. What a fun interview. Yes. Oh, my gosh. She is just the best. She gave us such great behind-the-scenes details about her time playing Holly Flax, a.k.a. Hollis Flax. But that's not all.
Listen, we put the word out, and we asked you all, what were your favorite moments from the episode Business Ethics? And I just want to say thank you to everyone who responded. It was really fun to read your answers. And there was one particular scene that got a fan mail flurry.
Tanish C. from India said, so I basically love the opening scene where Michael and Holly are dancing with the headbands on and the binder book, and they are singing, let's get ethical, ethical, ethical.
Chapter 2: What behind-the-scenes details does Amy Ryan share about her role as Holly Flax?
I actually laughed so hard. And Karen Y. from Ecuador said, it is also her favorite moment, and she has a background catch. Karen says, at 3 minutes, 24 seconds, you can see two red marks on Michael's forehead from the headband he was wearing for the dance. But at 3 minutes, 31 seconds, the red marks are completely gone. Mmm, we must have shot on two different days. I guess.
Well, I love this fan mail flurry, and we thought this moment was adorable. We talk about it, but we didn't play it, and I think we should hear it. Let's hear it.
Chapter 3: What memorable moments did fans highlight from the Business Ethics episode?
Let's get ethical. Ethical. I want to get ethical. Let's get into ethics, yeah. Let me hear the Dunder Mifflin talk. Your body talk. Let me hear your body talk. Woo!
All right.
Can we just say their idea of inserting like new lyrics and trying to make it fit is, let me hear your Dunder Mifflin talk. Your Dunder Mifflin talk. It cracked me up. I also just love how Amy Ryan as an actress was just so up for this bit and just matched Steve Carell in his silliness. It was so fun to be on set and watch that. I mean, we got to be in the audience.
And the thing when you rewatch it is, there's a good, I don't know, it feels like a few minutes where they're only dancing and they're not even singing yet. It's pretty great. All right. Another fan favorite moment comes from Chantelle E. She says, my husband has asked me every week since I started listening to the podcast if it was time for this episode. His answer
favorite moment of the entire series is when Michael finds out that Jim and Pam are engaged. The question is, does Steve improvise tackling Jim or was that scripted? I'm so excited that I'm finally able to ask this question for my husband! There was also lots of all caps in there. Yes, it's true. So Chantel, we did talk about this moment when we first broke down the episode.
And it was scripted, but we never described how it's read in the script. Which is very funny. So tell your hubby, I went to our shooting draft, and here is the original scripted scene. And the over-the-top commotion actually originally started with Kelly. Kelly comes into the bullpen and she says, what's everyone talking about? And Creed says, the tall guy got engaged.
And then here's the scene description. Kelly screams and falls to the ground uncontrollably. Michael comes in for the day and sees Kelly on the floor. He says, what's going on? Pam quickly with a voiceover jumping in says, nothing, nothing, Michael, just saying hi. Kelly, barely able to get it out, says, Jim and Pam are engaged. And Michael goes, to be married?
Three question marks, three exclamation points. Michael tackles Jim. Yeah. So funny. Well, another fan favorite moment was Meredith's confession. You know, when she shares that she's been sleeping with a hammer mill paper rep for the last six years for lower prices on paper and Outback Steakhouse gift certificates.
Sean C. from Maryland said, I like when corporate just doesn't give a shit about what Meredith is doing. And Lindsay S. from Canada also loved that storyline and said, I loved it when corporate said that as long as Dunder Mifflin was getting a discount, they were fine with it. Also, when Meredith shares her barbecue with The Office is peak.
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Chapter 4: How does the Cookie Monster's parody of Chocolate Rain relate to the episode?
Here's the thing. I hit a wall with sweatpants. What? I know. Guys, one of the reasons we started this podcast was because I wanted a job I could do in sweatpants. You know, we talked about that a lot early on. Yeah. Well, I counted after 409 days of wearing sweatpants. I mean, not every single day, but for the most part, for the last 409 days, I would get out of bed and put on sweatpants. Right.
I actually had several pairs of pants that were made of the same material as my sheets. Like a Jersey. They're a bamboo. Okay. Made by the same company that makes my sheets. Listen, if I can have pants made by people that make bedding. That's what I thought. It's like, I'm just wearing my bed around all day. I thought I'd hit the jackpot. Okay.
So after 409 days of this, I hit a wall and I was like, I need to wear pants, actual pants. So I went out and I bought a pair of pants, Angela. I'm going to stand up. I'm going to show you. I'm going to describe them to you. I'm going to take a picture. They kind of look like camouflage, but like very sassy cargo kind of pants. Yeah, that's what I was going for. Sassy cargo?
Yeah, I love a sassy cargo. All right, so here's the thing. I think I'm so used to wearing sweatpants. I'm in the dressing room, and I don't know which size of pants to buy. Because you've been wearing the baggy britches. That's right. I went back and forth and back and forth and I went with the bigger size. And now I've been wearing them for what? I don't know, an hour.
Now they're all stretched out. They're too big. And look what happens now. They're falling down and I've got long crotch. Long crotch, lady. Oh, I see it. You have long crotch. Gals, you know what we're talking about. What do I do? When like the seam of your pants is like halfway between your thigh and your knees, that's long crotch. So what do I do? I've worn them.
I can't take them back and get the smaller size. I think I could get someone to alter it in the back. You know, I like the sassy cargo minus the long crotch. What are we doing today? All right, let me tell you. For those of you guys wanting to know what we're doing today. It is Business Ethics, Season 5, Episode 3. Oh, yeah. It is written by Ryan Coe and directed by Jeffrey Blitz. Love it.
Here is a summary. Jim reluctantly reveals him and Pam's engagement to the office. We'll discuss. Following Ryan's recent actions, corporate has required Holly to conduct a seminar on business ethics. Michael offers immunity to anyone willing to confess to dishonesty at work. What? to be like an episode of Survivor. I know, you get immunity. Everything you say.
And then we're going to light the torch for you. Well, some things are revealed. Again, we will discuss. And it's going to cause a rift between Michael and Holly. Yeah. Meanwhile, Jim makes Dwight observe the company's time theft policy, and Meredith provides outback steakhouse takeout to the entire office. So that's our summary. Would you like Fast Fact number one? I really would. All right.
New writer alert. Oh. Writer Ryan Coe has joined the staff for season five. Hello, Ryan. Welcome. Hello, Ryan. He was only with us for one season as he left to work on Cougar Town. Oh, we knew lots of folks on Cougar Town. We sure did, Busy Phillips. Oh, yeah. He is also a writer and co-executive producer of The Simpsons. Welcome, Ryan. Welcome. Fast Fact number two. No Pam.
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Chapter 5: What confessions are made during the ethics meeting?
So that was just me kind of, you know, Yeah, literally following his choreography.
Well, I wasn't there because my character was at art school. So I am super bummed that I did not get to see that done live. Did you guys do like tons of takes of it? You were there, Anne. Do you guys remember? It was so hard not to laugh. Like from the minute it started... And when I was rewatching it, Oscar's face says it all. He's in the front. And I was like, I don't want to be in the front.
Please don't put me in the front. Because I knew I was going to get so tickled. And Oscar does this thing when he's trying not to break. You know, we know each other's tales after all those years where he kind of does this mouth open thing. And that's him trying not to laugh. So you go back and watch. Oscar's like, I'm going to laugh.
It was so funny. First of all, being in that conference, you know, that's kind of the most famous part of the set, right? Here we go. And someone gets to present something. And it's better when, again, you're paired with someone next to you. But those scenes where I'm alone giving the conference, my hands are like white knuckled. I'm like trying to be like, you know, very casual holding my hands.
But if you look closely, my hands are just like two iron fists of nerves. That's the other thing, like the, everyone always asks me, is The Office, was that a lot of improv? And I said, no, it was, I remember scripty coming up to me, you know, correcting me for like of instead of at, like something really tiny. And I tell people, and tell me if I'm wrong, I was like, it was heavily scripted.
And then maybe by the third take, Steve would go off script first and then everyone would follow suit. That's my recollection of it. Would you say that's right?
Absolutely.
Yeah. And in that, I just think it was, again, like, you guys are so in tune with each other and no one trying to... beat anyone to the punchline. It was just a constant setup. And I thought it was just so perfect. And I think that's why people can't really tell between the scripted and when it goes to improv. It was just so perfectly done.
I wanted to ask you about those restaurant scenes. Oh, yeah. Coopers? Coopers. There's that whole runner about the chastity belt where he's trying to explain what a chastity belt is. Oh, my God. And you're like, a chastity belt?
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Chapter 6: What was the significance of Michael's and Holly's lunch scene?
I kind of pulled it all along, if that makes sense. Yeah.
Did you know Steve before?
Yeah. I had this minuscule part in Dan in Real Life that Steve starred in. It was this big extended family comedy. There was a whole group of us there on location in Rhode Island, and so we all became friends. And then I think it was about six months after that film is when The Office came up, and I believe they ran the idea by Steve of casting me, and I guess it helped.
I knew him from Rhode Island for that little bit.
Well, we always ask everyone if they have any, like, favorite memories from their time on the show, like any kind of behind-the-scenes moment or just something that you remember that stood out to you during your time on The Office.
Oh, my gosh. There's so much. I mean, just... Just in a general note, I would honestly, no exaggeration, I would go home feeling like I worked out a series of sit-ups because my stomach muscles were always in play for laughing so hard. And I'd just go home exhausted but happy. And that was a nice feeling. And speaking of that kind of uncontrollable laughter, there's the episode where Daryl helps
me move and he comes in the the car ride the truck ride yes yeah me steve and craig like hold up in that truck all day kind of probably we had a little bit of lack of oxygen but we we couldn't we we just we were in hysterics and could barely get through the scenes
Um, and it was that, that was like one of the highlights of, of my time there was just spending the day with those two guys, um, just laughing. I mean, I say that, but I'd also be on set and laughing all the time too. It was just very new to me. Usually I end up in these dramas where I'm crying all day. So this is a much better way to... End your day.
I remember that, too. And I remember my agents asking me if I wanted to do dramas in my downtime. You mentioned you were like, I've done a lot of dramas. I want to do a comedy.
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Chapter 7: How does the episode address the theme of workplace ethics?
But anyway, that's my Cooper story. It's pretty cool inside, though. I think our set decoration did a pretty great job. The real Cooper's is pretty cool. Yeah.
Well, when people hear this podcast and they realize they might have been at Cooper's with Holly Flax and didn't know it, they're going to be like, what day? What day? Oh, my God. It's part of like a whole Scranton The Office fan tour now. You know, they have like a whole tour and you can go around Scranton and go to all the spots.
So maybe don't go back because maybe it will be the Beatles experience. Amy, before you were going to come on the podcast, I admit I Googled you, which is a weird thing to do. It's weird to Google someone you know. It is so weird.
Chapter 8: What insights do Jenna and Angela provide about the production of The Office?
It's so weird. And I, you know, had never done that before, Googled you. But I did. And I saw all of your stage work and stage experience, which I... I knew that you did theater, but I didn't know that you got your first touring job right out of school that you toured with Biloxi Blues. Right out of high school. Yeah. So did you ever have like that day job?
Did you ever have or were you able to work pretty consistently as an actress right out of school?
Yeah. So I went to a performing arts high school in New York. And then a month or so after graduation, I was cast and the touring company of Biloxi Blues. And I toured for nine months and thought, well, that's easy. I'll work all the time, I guess. I didn't work for a long time afterwards, but, but I, after the tour, you know, I was still only like 18, 19.
So, you know, I went back home, so I didn't have rent. I was still, you know, my family, we lived in New York. So I was able to afford a, uh, a life in New York by just being an actor and doing, um, acting jobs. Um, until I moved out of the house in my mid thirties. I know, but I, um, no, yeah, I'm, I'm very, I'm very lucky.
I had, uh, I've only ever been an actor save before high school graduation. I worked at my aunt and uncle's ice cream shop in Vermont. when I was 16. But yeah, acting's been my only job. That's amazing. It's kind of weird.
But I, you know, I do think of how any young actor, artist moves to LA, moves to New York from other places or, you know, to Chicago with, I always think of that person like suitcase in hand and, you know, room share list. Like my hat just goes off to them because it's so Hard. It's so hard. I don't know how people do it.
You know, I was lucky that I already lived in New York and could go home for home cooked meals and all that kind of stuff. But I'm glad they're doing it somehow.
Are you working on anything now, Amy?
I just finished this new first season of this Hulu series called Only Murders in the Building with Steve Martin and Martin Short and Selena Gomez. And it was, again, like, it was a throwback to, like, again, Jenna, like you say, like, doing the comedy. Like, oh, this feels fun. I'm in a good mood. And certainly shooting through a pandemic, you know, it was...
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