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Tue, Jul 18 5pm ET

"Anne of Green Gables" Producer Kevin Sullivan In 1985, writer/director/producer Kevin Sullivan brought L.M. Montgomery's beloved Anne of Green Gables to television. Viewers and critics took the novel's adaptation into their hearts prompting Sullivan to develop and create The Sequel and this year's The Continuing Story. The exec was also responsible for the series Road to Avonlea, which aired on in the US on The Disney Channel. He recently completed production of the fifth season of CBC's Wind At My Back and is developing Anne of Green Gables: The Animated Series, a half-hour series for kids 5 to 10, that is slated to air on PBS in the spring of 2001. Kevin Sullivan joins Yahoo! Chat on Tuesday, July 18 at 5pET/2pPT to talk with you about Anne 3!

webbgirl_20659 asks: The Sullivan Entertainment Anne3 web site is fantastic! My question is do you visit the site often to read the comments from fans, and will the web site remain after movie is shown in the US?
kevin_sullivan_live: Yes. The website will remain.
kevin_sullivan_live: And I do visit occasionally. I went there a lot when the show first aired in Canada, and I've been intrigued that fans still use the site as a means to communicate about Anne.
kevin_sullivan_live: A lot of what they felt about her character in the past 10 years has been very insightful.
kevin_sullivan_live: To se what Anne's fans did and did not like about the films.

lulynde asks: Kevin - Thank you for giving us the opportunity to speak to you. In Anne 3 Jack says to Anne 'You changed everything that was genuine, all the innocence' What are your comments on this in relation to Anne 3.
kevin_sullivan_live: I guess that is one of the points of the film. That Anne 1 , when she was a child, represents a period in time that was timeless. Or it seemed that time would go on forever in this perfect fairy tale world.
kevin_sullivan_live: I think it's one of the reasons why people like to escape to her world. A black and white world, beautiful to enter. Highly moralistic and very sentimental.
kevin_sullivan_live: It's very antithesis of our century.
kevin_sullivan_live: Anne 3 is the bookend to Anne 1. And Anne 2 shows her maturity as it grows. Whereas 3 shows how she deals with the loss of innocence, dealing with the social changes of the century.
kevin_sullivan_live: But it's also a kind of bellwether as to the social changes we've all experienced.

dkcchayek asks: What is the thought behind the transformation of an authors work into a motion picture?
kevin_sullivan_live: When one translates any author's work into a motion picture, the work is reinvented, whether it's a classic like the Wizard of Oz, the English Patient....they're all superb films based on literary materials and in each case, the story is completely reinvented to create for the audience the visual essence of the book.
kevin_sullivan_live: When it's translated, from novel to film, you walk a fine line between being faithful to the character and story ,and creating a compelling story that will work in a film.

annekind_2000 asks: The cast that was chosen to play the primary characters was brilliant!! What qualities do you look for in finding...for example, the perfect Anne?rt
kevin_sullivan_live: When you cast the right performer, 50% is the director's job. Thru the means of the actor and their ability to concentrate and create the character, the director works with the performer to create the visual image. What did I look for as the perfect anne?
kevin_sullivan_live: First of all, technical ability from the performer. Megan Follows was Anne, and was very accomplished as a young performer. But beyond that, she had an innate ability to concentrate as an artist and create her own personae in Anne as a character.
kevin_sullivan_live: She based her partly on the character from the book, and partly on her own qualities she wanted to project.
kevin_sullivan_live: I looked for artistic ability, and the ability to concentrate, a strong sense of humor, a strong ability to project her personality onto the screen.

duskshadow3 asks: What has been your favorite producing experience?
kevin_sullivan_live: That's a really hard question.
kevin_sullivan_live: I produce generally because I like to write and direct. :)
kevin_sullivan_live: My best Producing experience...has probably has been our series, "Wind At My Back", which we did 65 episodes of .
kevin_sullivan_live: But for writing and directing, I'd say that in addition to Anne...the Piano Man's Daughter... a feature film I just finished with Whoopi Goldberg, Christian Campbell and Stockard Channing.

violet_anne asks: Did you anticipate that some fans would be upset that Anne 3 is so different from the books?
kevin_sullivan_live: In fairness.... Anne 3 is the extension of the films.
kevin_sullivan_live: After Anne 1 was complete, Anne 2 was an original story loosely based on certain characters from the later books.
kevin_sullivan_live: Montgomery's Writings about the 1st world war had Anne's children going off to world. Our series took place 20 years later than his world.
kevin_sullivan_live: We played our characters against the background of WWI
kevin_sullivan_live: People who advocate the world of Montgomery ONLY thru her books, would have a difficult time. But you have to stand back and look at the film in it's own right. A film is a film and a book is a book.
kevin_sullivan_live: Here's a situation where we produce 100 hours of television based on the world of Anne and Avonlea. Once it began, it took on it's own set of logistics, LOOSELY based on their world.
kevin_sullivan_live: You have to maintain a faithfulness to the books, but hope the audience can adapt and accept the film version.
kevin_sullivan_live: You want everyone to like it, but sometimes people hold on.

cecily_king_1912 asks: Hello, Mr. Sullivan. This is almost surreal. I first want to say a big THANK YOU for bringing Anne to life so beautifully and creating Road to Avonlea, which is, in my opinion, the greatest TV show ever. I was sort of disappointed that in Anne 3, Muriel Stacey Pettibone (Marilyn Lightsone) wasn't in the movie. I realise you don't want to put a lot of RtA people in the movie because that gives things away and takes away from Anne, but Muriel was such an influence in Anne's life. Was she ever in the script?
kevin_sullivan_live: She wasn't.
kevin_sullivan_live: She's one of my favorite characters and the actor who played her is a friend of mine and one of my favorites.
kevin_sullivan_live: When Anne 3 was being developed, it wasn't with an eye to recreate the Avonlea community. It was more of an internal story requiring Anne's character development.
kevin_sullivan_live: I agree with you.
kevin_sullivan_live: You can see that the scale of the mini series just didn't allow us to recreate the entire community. But..
kevin_sullivan_live: I'm thrilled you're so devoted to the program! Thank you.
kevin_sullivan_live: :)

skweakx asks: who is your inspiration?
kevin_sullivan_live: Who? As a filmmaker...I'd say David Lean. Probably one of the greatest cinematic artists of the 20th century, for his ability to tell stories on al arger than life scale, but always being able to boil the story to an analysis of the human condition.
kevin_sullivan_live: A stellar filmmaker and an icon for 20th century cinema.

webbgirl_20659 asks: Hi Mr Sullivan, my name is Linda thank you for talking to us today! I Have enjoyed all of the AOGG series. It has become a tradition with my daughter to view them every year. Are you surprised at the huge interest from the fans wanting a fourth miniseries on Anne of Green Gables so soon after the release of Anne 3, and will you make another one soon?
kevin_sullivan_live: I always appreciate when people are able to share the films with their kids and family... so thank you for mentioning that!
kevin_sullivan_live: I am floored (!) that people are interested in seeing another Anne film so soon after this one. This one took so long to develop and bring to fruition that it seems almost amusing that audiences feel we can just dialup a film from Anne.
kevin_sullivan_live: It doesn't happen that way! :)
kevin_sullivan_live: But I feel this story has been told in a trilogy, uniform in it's construction.
kevin_sullivan_live: This chapter kind of buttons the whole world for her timeless world. You can never really return to a world like this and I see a certain kind of unison.
kevin_sullivan_live: To examine yet another Anne film... at this point...would seem daunting as I don't have a single idea what will happen to her next!

jasperon asks: I love most of your adaptations of LMM's work, as well as your other movies and TV series. I wanted to know if you own the production rights to "Rilla of Ingleside", if you read it, and how that novel influenced Anne 3?
kevin_sullivan_live: No, we didn't look seriously at bringing it to the screen. It's out of time periods with the Anne character as we developed her. It didn't influence this project at all. Rilla is about Anne's children and what happened to them in the war, and her view of WWI.
kevin_sullivan_live: But in it... Anne is a matron in her 40's, and her experiences and the changes during her life, really happen more off-novel than in. It was an example of not being able to use Montgomery's work to adapt to film.
kevin_sullivan_live: I had experienced that on Anne 2, and her books are delightful...in terms of the character and setting....but there just wasn't a compelling way to create the story.
kevin_sullivan_live: We developed original stories to do it.

rufina104 asks: how's itlike to be working with Jonathan and Megan after more than 15 years ?
kevin_sullivan_live: Well, seeing them come back to the set and meeting them again, was a kind of striking experience.
kevin_sullivan_live: Professionally, their lives had moved on and into all kinds of directions.
kevin_sullivan_live: Megan has 2 children, and has done an extensive body of theater work. It was interesting to catch up and learn about their exploits in the meantime...but they were still unchanged as performers in some ways.
kevin_sullivan_live: Seeing them come back to fit into their roles was a tremendous experience.
kevin_sullivan_live: All the reasons why I had cast them in the beginning was even more perfected as adults.
kevin_sullivan_live: Everyone marveled as their characters fit so well.
kevin_sullivan_live: All the elements made their situations work so well.

Wilson__Lau asks: Can you tell us more of the upcoming Anne cartoon?
kevin_sullivan_live: The animated series is broadcasting in Spring of 2000 and here in Canada in the fall of 2000.
kevin_sullivan_live: It's an animated series that essentially plays or portrays anne as a child before ever growing up. It's a series that is designed for 6
kevin_sullivan_live: to 10 years old.
kevin_sullivan_live: It's part of PBS's outreach program with a strong educational slant.
kevin_sullivan_live: It's aimed for Anne to deal with relationship and maturity problems, and is about her vivid imagination.
kevin_sullivan_live: We've very delighted with the dramatics developed, and the comedy, and the education component.
kevin_sullivan_live: It will be of tremendous value in the classroom.
kevin_sullivan_live: There will be previews of Anne: The Animated Series...you can find it at sullivan-ent.com
kevin_sullivan_live: And I believe they will be posted in the next couple of weeks, clips to download and then later on....a very interactive website with games and all kinds of ... challenging experiences for the audience.
kevin_sullivan_live: If fans are coming to the Anne 3 website, they will find another site very shortly. :)

gizmond90 asks: When will the Sullivan Boutique be opening online? what type of things will you have? stacie, IL
kevin_sullivan_live: I cant give away what will be one it, but it should be open in the next several weeks.
kevin_sullivan_live: There will be all of our library available thru the website (video) as well as some Anne-related souvenirs...
kevin_sullivan_live: A long list of many different things will be mentioned.

skweakx asks: what is your favorite movie?
kevin_sullivan_live: that's a hard question!
kevin_sullivan_live: I have sooo many.
kevin_sullivan_live: one is .... Lawrence of Arabia, and Doctor Zhivago...both by David Lean.
y_chat_diva: An audience member asked about an Avonlea reunion movie.
kevin_sullivan_live: Well, we produced the Christmas movie two years ago and it was a kind of wrap up to the series.
kevin_sullivan_live: But there has been some discussion, but there is nothing in development at this stage.

Wilson__Lau asks: I'd first like to say that YOU ARE GOD! How can I as a young student defend Canada's cultural soverignty as you have done?
kevin_sullivan_live: No I'm not!
kevin_sullivan_live: Believe me, I'm not god! I'm simply another human being trying to make sense of the world we live in... thru filmmaking.
kevin_sullivan_live: As a filmmaker...I'd say... your life's experiences, as a Canadian, is the unique one.
kevin_sullivan_live: I would assume that whatever stories you will want to communicate as a filmmaker, will be a result of the unique Canadian experience, to articulate our point off view and culture.
kevin_sullivan_live: I wish you luck! :)

izlandgirl asks: Firstly, thank you for the wonderful productions to date! I'm wondering whether you've considered making a documentary such as "The Making Of Anne of Green Gables" which can be used as a complementing teaching resource to the books and films?
kevin_sullivan_live: There has been a documentary produced by CBC, called the Making of Anne of Green Gables.
kevin_sullivan_live: It was an interesting backdrop to the film, and it may still be available thru the CBC.
kevin_sullivan_live: Also, on an upcoming DVD release we're about to do, will have a director's commentary as well as behind the scenes stories, and a few takes that were not included in the released print. There will be a small documentary as well.

dak3_3 asks: What are the chances for the complete "Road to Avonlea" series being released on DVD or video?
kevin_sullivan_live: I think about....30 episodes of Avonlea, maybe more. Available on video. They'll be on the Sullivan boutique in the next few weeks, but I don't know if we can release them ALL on video, but probably a third will be enough for fans to have.

sinofinnocencefan1986 asks: Mr Sullivan in the 80s and 90s you worked with Colleen Dewhurst on the first two Anne films then on Avonlea what was it like to work with ?she was such a fantastic actress
kevin_sullivan_live: Colleen I would have to say is unequivocally one of the most inspirational actresses I've worked with. I have such high regard for her work, her sense of humor, her professionalism, her zest for life.
kevin_sullivan_live: She was magnetic to be around, and to experience any situation thru...I would say she's one of the people I've met that knew how to live life to it's fullest.
kevin_sullivan_live: What I find remarkable about her character she played was how close it was to who she was an individual.
kevin_sullivan_live: Her essence on screen really was Colleen Dewhurst.
kevin_sullivan_live: In every time I've worked with her, I've never had more fun with another performer than with her.
kevin_sullivan_live: She was an incredible actress and one of the most incredible in the 20th century.

echo_dell asks: Without spoling it for the others, I must say that I loved the scene at the end of part 3 at Carmody Station. It reminded me of Matthew, was this intentional?
kevin_sullivan_live: Anne does come full circle in being able to sacrifice something of herself for a child. Another orphan. It was very intentional and the director carefully mimicked the original scene. Stefan Scaini was the director.
kevin_sullivan_live: The scene really had to do with the fact that in order to have Anne mature, she has to be able to give up something and make the sacrifice. To a certain extent...she steps into the shoes of Matthew.

twirl_jan asks: Will we ever know what happened with Gus, Eliza and Captain Crane in Bermuda? Jan, Franklin, Virginia
kevin_sullivan_live: That's bringing me back to a story conference years ago!
kevin_sullivan_live: Will you ever know? Probably not. :)
kevin_sullivan_live: I think Captain Crane was killed, and ended up disappearing in the behind the scenes context.
kevin_sullivan_live: But whatever you saw on screen was the end of what we developed with him.
kevin_sullivan_live: Michael York was fabulous as the Captain.

dkcchayek asks: Is there some kind of contractual agreement with Disney that prohibits the broadcasting of Tale of Avonlea / Avonlea on any network but the Disney channel?
kevin_sullivan_live: Well...
kevin_sullivan_live: right now...
kevin_sullivan_live: It's being broadcast on the Odyssey Network, and they are currently showing all 91 episodes of Avonlea and 65 of Wind At My Back.
kevin_sullivan_live: So for fans who enjoy Avonlea, I hope they will watch Wind on CBC or Odyssey in the US.
kevin_sullivan_live: Wind at my Back was created for the family hour here in canada and fell into the same timeslot of Avonlea. That's 10 years of entertainment !

amaymcdougald asks: Did you have any funny obstacles arise when you were shooting Anne 3?
kevin_sullivan_live: I cant think of anything specific, as far as comic incidents. I know Megan was very intent on bringing comedy back, especially with Diana running thru fields, being pursued by Jack Garrison and getting into hot water with him, but the movie was shot under fairly tight time schedules.
kevin_sullivan_live: Nothing really outrageous happened, but alot of the film happened because of the ability to create a lot of backgrounds digitally.'
kevin_sullivan_live: Many of the scenes in London or France during the war can be seen on the Anne3.com website.
kevin_sullivan_live: Look under Special Effects as to the behind the scenes effects.

magnolia7a asks: What did you see in Jonthan Crombie performance that made you decide that he is the perfect Gibert?
kevin_sullivan_live: I can remember auditioning thousands of people for that part.
kevin_sullivan_live: The casting director who cast him was Diane Polly. She was the mother of Sarah Polly, and passed away several years ago.
kevin_sullivan_live: Diane had seen Jonathan in a high school play in Toronto, and she somehow only had a picture of him from Disneyland that had been sent by his agent or drama teacher. I remember her walking into my office, saying "Forget every other Gilbert. This is the one!"
kevin_sullivan_live: She told me not to audition anyone else.
kevin_sullivan_live: He projected the archetypal boy next door, and when he did the first film, he was quite new. He could concentrate and project his personality into the role.
kevin_sullivan_live: It was just completely gut instinct, and we could never have found a more perfect actor for Gilbert.

callie_94306 asks: Mr. Sullivan: How much of the Green Gables and Avonlea Series was shot on location, and how much in the studio?
kevin_sullivan_live: all of the interiors were shot in studio. All the exteriors were on location, but we used 2 different buildings.
kevin_sullivan_live: we edited them together as one spot. The fields in the back was one location, and the front was a different one!
kevin_sullivan_live: both are in the NE section of Toronto, just outside the city limits. They're now renowned as the Film Version of Anne of Green Gables!

misstidwell asks: I wanted to thank you for taking a chance with children's literature to make these films! Were you concerned about their appeal to the general public? That people of todays modern world could relate to Anne's world?
kevin_sullivan_live: I have to admit that when I first sat down and read it as an adult... I thought "oh gosh, this is a juvenile novel for young women."
kevin_sullivan_live: It was only on several more reads that I could immerse myself and project the author's world and passion. Then, I was able to adapt it for a wider audience.
kevin_sullivan_live: All of the elements that are in the first Anne film are adaptations of ideas from Montgomery's plan.
kevin_sullivan_live: They were projections of her own inner loneliness.
kevin_sullivan_live: To turn it into a viable film was a great challenge, and it took me several readings to be able to project it as she envisioned it.

maria_cs_1975 asks: Why was the scene of Anne and Gil's wedding night cut from the film?
kevin_sullivan_live: The scene was cut for time.
kevin_sullivan_live: The films were originally cut for commercial TV lenght, and there were so many more story ideas.
kevin_sullivan_live: Look at the website and you'll see the other scene that came out.
kevin_sullivan_live: It just didn't move the story alone and it was more poignant to show them laughing and then move it to the train station for the separation.

magnolia7a asks: If you recieve a huge response for an Anne 4 would you at least reconsider?
kevin_sullivan_live: Well. . . I never said we would NOT make it. Just that...as far as I was concerned...that these 3 mini-series form a complete unit.
kevin_sullivan_live: I just don't have any ideas on what anne 4 would be about.
kevin_sullivan_live: I'd be interested to see what the audience feels should/would happen with Anne and Gilbert...

y_chat_diva: Thank you Kevin for chatting with us today! This was wonderful and I hope we can have you back again to answer all the other questions we didn't get to :) Thanks again
kevin_sullivan_live: It would be my pleasure to come back. Thanks for your time!
y_chat_diva: Remember, Anne3 airs on PBS starting July 23
kevin_sullivan_live: watch for the Anne animated website, and if you liked Road to Avonlea, look for the interactive website for Wind at my Back!
y_chat_diva: Check out www.anne3.com for more information :)

hanisreg asks: Just thought I'd say. I love your films. (How cheasy is that)
izlandgirl asks: (As I'm in Australia I have not yet seen Anne3) You have an amazing talent - rarely do I find a movie that I enjoy more than the book! Thank you for that!
Fairytale3 asks: Mr. Sullivan, I just wanted to say thank you for having brought Anne to the screen in the first place. L.M. Montgomery is my all time favorite author. I love the way you adapted her novels for the screen. The Anne miniseries are my absolute all time favorites. I had no idea that there was another Anne movie coming out. This is fantastic!
cusee asks: I would just like to add my thanks for your wonderful work. It is encouraging to see such high quality entertainment that is concerned with content. Please be encouraged to continue, you are doing a great job!
jo_march_16 asks: Hi Mr.Sullivan and only want to say that I really like Anne and every show that you have done like Avonlea :) Thanks for all the great show! :)
anneaveril asks: THanks!
lulynde asks: Thank you Kevin
reneekrulich asks: Come back please!!!! :)
fan_of_anne asks: Good Bye, Kevin!
reneekrulich asks: You gave us all a great gift!!
i_go_pogo asks: Thank you Kevin Sullivan!
annekind_2000 asks: WE love you Kevin!!
izzy_king asks: thank you ver much :)
laurens1231983 asks: Your movie has been inspirational in my life and I want to thank you for giving me joy on television over the years as I have grown up!! Lauren FL
forever_anne_fan asks: Thanks!!

y_chat_diva: Thank you for your thousands of questions
y_chat_diva: ciao