Comm-Link:Something Every Tuesday - Finding Fiona

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Announcer: The other days of the week will make you blue, but that’s why we bring you Something Every Tuesday with your host, Esen Landari!

[ Applause ]

Hello everyone! Thank you … enough, you’re embarrassing me. What a great audience we’ve got tonight. We’ve got an amazing show for you. We’re almost as loaded as Ellroy Cass at the Crimson Tower premiere last week.

[ Laughter ]

If you’re a Cass-fanatic, like me, it doesn’t get much better than this. If you haven’t seen this yet, you are in for a treat. Cass stumbles out of the theater right in the middle of the Crimson Tower premiere, and as you can see, he might be a little high. Maybe that’s not the right word. He’s stratospherically high. At first, he tries to play it all cool. You know, not wanting to draw any attention from the few paparazzi still there. But they start calling his name, asking if he’s all right, until he stops dead in his tracks …

After a moment, he looks directly into the nearest camera and smiles before suddenly tackling one of these prop “Crimson Towers” they had lining the red carpet. Everyone nearby was just stunned. Mainly because that was easily the biggest hit Cass has been a part of in years.

[ Laughter ]

I adore you, Cass. Would love to have you on the show. Just have your people comm mine. I’m sure we could fit you in anytime after we finish bolting everything to the floor.

[ Laughter ]

Now, Cass wasn’t the only one who had a rough week. Diners at a brand new Xi’an restaurant in Prime flooded a nearby medical facility, claiming that they had contracted severe cases of food poisoning. Food inspectors investigated and guess what they found? Xi’an food.

Apparently no one told these people that’s what it was supposed to taste like. How ridiculous is that? That’d be like getting angry at Herschel Foods because one of their “Too Much Soup” vending machines literally gave you too much soup.

[ Polite Laughter ]

Speaking of feeling sick to your stomach, how about that leaked report showing that the Senate committee on Economic Development was actually considering a proposal to rent prisoners to companies in a ‘work-exchange program’?

[ Boos ]

Just when you think our elected officials can’t get any worse. Of course Senators have been falling all over themselves to state that it was just a staffer’s draft proposal and there’s no way it would’ve been approved, but I am making a pledge here and now that if such a heinous act ever gets passed then I will be extremely nice to our new heavily tattooed writing staff.

[ Laughter ]

We’ve got a great show for you tonight. The Dardanelles are warming up backstage to play their latest single, Empress of Sol, and will be making a very special announcement a little later on in the show. Trust me, you won’t want to miss it.

But my first guest has achieved Empire-wide fame thanks to her performance as Commander Salana in Lost Squad. Tonight, she’s here to talk about her portrayal of Fiona Messer in the controversial new vid Sparrow. Let’s welcome the accomplished and enchanting Jasmine Dupree to the show.

[ Applause ]

Jasmine Dupree: Thanks for having me!

Well, we’re excited to have you here. You’ve been on quite the ride recently. The first season of Lost Squad was a huge hit and your portrayal of Commander Salana is one of the main reasons why.

[ Applause ]

''Jasmine Dupree: Thank you. Being on Lost Squad has been such an amazing experience, but to be honest, I just showed up every day and did what Jenna and Hadrian told me to do. I have such faith in their vision, and I’m just lucky to be along for the ride.''

And the second season of Lost Squad starts soon, right?

''Jasmine Dupree: Yeah, we’re almost done shooting it. Luckily, there was enough downtime between the seasons for me to sneak away and shoot Sparrow.''

Since you already know what goes down in the second season of Lost Squad, maybe you can settle a bet for me here. Is your Lost Squad character, Captain Salana, going to be show’s lone survivor?

Jasmine Dupree: You know I can’t answer that.

Why not? I promise I won’t tell anyone.

''Jasmine Dupree: The less I say about it, the better. The entire series hinges on this secret so I’d hate to be the one to spoil all the fun. Plus, Jenna and Hadrian would send me to Vanduul space if I gave anything away.''

Well, I respect your discretion, but just so you know, I’m not above bribing you so I can win the office pool. How about this, you tell me who it is, and I’ll split the winnings with you? Just saying.

[ Laughter ]

Now, let’s get back to the business at hand. You have a new vid coming out called Sparrow, which has drawn criticism for its portrayal of Fiona Messer. How hard was it to go from playing such an honorable character in Lost Squad to such an odious one in Sparrow?

''Jasmine Dupree: That’s part of the reason why I found the role so intriguing. Fiona Messer is completely different than Commander Salana. It’s been fun playing powerful women who use very different tactics to accomplish their goals.''

Among many other ghastly allegations, Fiona Messer was accused of orchestrating the Khanos Stadium bombing that killed thousands in Angeli. At any point were you worried about painting Fiona in too sympathetic of a light?

''Jasmine Dupree: Actually, I enjoyed the challenge of trying to make someone who’s inherently unlikable, likable. There’s the cunning, ruthless and duplicitous Fiona Messer that dominates the textbooks, but like anybody, there was more to her than that. It’s just that these other nuances of her personality get overshadowed by all the terrible things she did.''

So is your portrayal of her based on any real evidence or is it purely speculative?

''Jasmine Dupree: I actually spent almost a week at The Ark with experts and historians reviewing old comm messages and vids related to Fiona. I must say, despite her many, many shortcomings, people liked her. Fiona was known to be extremely charming and personable, so I wanted to show that side of her to people. It was necessary, actually, to help lend credence to the vid because she uses her connections and charms to escape the UEE following the revolution that overthrew her family.''

Yeah, for those who don’t know, most of the vid takes place after the revolution, and imagines Fiona Messer’s life as she tries to stay one step ahead of a UEE government that’s willing to do anything to bring her to justice. Was any of that drawn from the research you did?

''Jasmine Dupree: No, all of that was fictionalized. Even the experts at The Ark have no idea what really happened to Fiona Messer. That’s why it’s one of the great mysteries of the past few centuries. Considering all the crazy conspiracy theories out there, it was fun to explore what might have happened.''

''What if she became just another person trying to get by with a new identity while hiding a dark secret? That’s what Sparrow explores. Is it possible for someone like Fiona Messer to reinvent themselves, or even find redemption for all the terrible things she did?''

So, I gotta ask, did you grow to like Fiona Messer while playing her?

''Jasmine Dupree: It’s hard to ‘like’ someone who did all the terrible things she did, but for most of the vid, I’m playing a fictionalized version of Fiona. One that’s seen the error of her actions and is trying, in some small way, to right the wrongs both she and her family did. I grew to like that version of Fiona Messer.''

Well, even with all the controversy the vid is generating, your performance is still receiving rave reviews. So congratulations on the accomplishment.

Do you have a few minutes to stick around and play a few rounds of “Spin Cycle”?

''Jasmine Dupree: Spin Cycle? Is this my punishment for not saying who the survivor is?''

I’m not gonna say. SET has its secrets too … But yes, it absolutely is.

Now, we need to take a quick break, but don’t go anywhere. There’s more with Jasmine Dupree followed by an exclusive performance and special announcement from The Dardanelles when Something Every Tuesday returns.

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