Jessica Alba:
What is your background?

"My father's family ... like, two generations ago, were
all in Mexico. And then my mom, her dad's from Denmark,
her mother is from Montreal," Alba attempts to explain.

"So I'm just American, you know. Like, we're all mixed
up."

Alba also credits her family with giving her necessary
attitude to perform.

"They're just all dramatic and loud," she says. For those who have asked the [DL] in "411 on the DL" stands for "Down Low" meaning keep it a secret.

Update: 11/18/00

Just a bit of info for those who are interested , Dark Angel has become so popular that a 30 second spot commercial cost on fox DArk Angel is $137,000 and more. That's a nice chunck of change for our show! They must know what loyal fans we all are. I'll try to get more.

Update: 11/19/00

The National Post(Canadian) newspaper, which has a Jessica alba interview.

'Bio-Babe'
freezing her butt
in Vancouver
By John Hiscock, Dark Angel is filmed on location
in Vancouver, where James Cameron's technicians have
created a vision of a bleak and unsavoury society amid
the postapocalytic streets of 2020.
For Jessica Alba, the 19-year old actress who has
been thrust to instant television stardom, as
Max a motorcycle-riding "bio babe," every day is
exciting but also something of an ordeal.
"It's so cold I'm freezing my butt of the whole time,"
she says. "I look tough when I'm riding the
motorcycle but as soon as they say 'cut'
I start shivering."

"I'm afraid of crazy people an in Vancouver there's alot of crack heads," she says. "There's a huge skidrow and we always shoot there and they have to clean up all the junkies needles. There's always a stray person who comes along and They're tweaking and shaking and they can freak out on you at any second.

"Once I was riding the motorcycle around the neighborhood and these crackheads were jacked up and trying to jump on the trailer and that freaked me out.

"People think that because they've seen me in something on television they know me and I'm part of them. One guy sneaked up in a hotel where we were shooting and came on set really close to me and started saying, 'Hey Jessica. Jessica Alba. How are you Jessica Alba? Right in my face. I guess he could have done anything."

There are some good things about Vancouver, she concedes. "I love the people-they're so down to earth and they all like where they are. In los angeles everyone wants to have a bigger this or a bigger that and wants to live in hollywood thing but in vancouver everyone's just so happy."

Update: 11/19/00

Some of you have wanted to learn about the Nielsen Ratings that are mentioned here. So here it is.

Nielsen ratings are a measurement of the number of people watching a particular channel at a particular time. This information is divided into total viewers, rating and share. Total viewers is essentially the number of people watching the show. The rating is equivalent to 1 point per 1,008,000 sets watching the show (notice that this isn't viewers, just television sets, meaning there can be more than one viewer on each set yet the rating doesn't change). And the share is the total percentage of sets watching the show. This information is used to determine who are the audiences and what they are watching. From this advertising rates are determined (that's how they make TV free you know) and guarantee levels are set. Basically FOX and the other networks say that for "X" amount of money, show "Y" will get at least rating "Z." For example, FOX might say for $100,000 a 30-second-spot during "Dark Angel" will have a 25.8 rating. If they meet that they break even; if they go above, they get a bonus; and if they don't meet it at all they pay back the difference to the advertiser. Starting to see how important Nielsen data is.

Update: 11/20/00

This is a Article from the Vancouver Sun.

MACKENZIE IS HAPPY TO BE NORMAL

At Jam Pony, the graffiti-sprayed bike courier headquarters set of Fox's Dark Angel, Normal, boss-man of the bikers, is, in his usual style, verbally abusing and harassing his scruffy young employees as they drop by to pick up their deliveries.

J.C. MacKenzie, who plays Normal on the new James Cameron sci-fi hit, is a real handful -- a major tease, who, with his off-the-wall sense of humour, seems to enjoy trying to keep the show's publicist slightly off-balance when press appear on set.

Today, the wardrobe department has the 40-year-old Ottawa native decked out in his character's usual vintage Value Village attire: harvest-gold 1970s cardigan, slim polyester pants, square-toed leather loafers decorated with little gold-coloured, diamond-shaped inserts, and Buddy Holly horn rims and telephone headset.

At 17, after spending a couple of years as a ski bum at Lake Louise, MacKenzie returned to Ottawa to attend Carleton University. Then, on a trip to New York, inspiration hit when he saw his first stage play, a Broadway production of The Tribute, starring Jack Lemmon. "I was flabbergasted," he says.

Inspired, and thinking he might want to teach drama, "I applied to the only school that would take me, given my marks" -- he admits to having been a juvenile delinquent and D student -- "Concordia University."

After two years there and another two at London's Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, he launched an acting career. After working in a series of small films, episodic TV and theatre, he landed a breakthrough recurring role as Arnold Spivak, on 20th Century Fox's Murder One.

That he got the role seems miraculous. "They were calling for a short, dark, 41-year-old Hasidic man. I was 35, tall and blond."

He had a similar experience when he read for the Dark Angel role, he read with three other actors. "One was short and bald," he recalls, "one was tall and bald. The other guy was about 50 years old, and about 300 pounds -- very different types.

"I didn't think I'd get it, so I walked in there -- I was pretty relaxed -- and just did my bit, left, and was shocked to find out that I got cast."

He enjoys being Normal. "There's an ironic sense of freedom playing a reprehensibly horrible person, because you spend the majority of your life kind of trying to get people to like you. Well, this guy's the antithesis of that. I'm so co-dependent that it's just nice to let loose when you get on set, yell at people, slap them and hit them and verbally and physically abuse them," he jokes.

Update: 11/20/00

Spoiler Info from tvzap2it

Lydecker Learns Max's
Indentity On "DARK
ANGEL" (11/28/00)
Fri, Nov 17, 2000 06:48 PM PDT

Lydecker finally learns Max's
identity as she and Zack risk
exposure and kidnap him to rescue
their Manticore "sister" Bryn. When
they discover Lydecker is not the
culprit, they are forced to team up
with him to prevent Bryn from being
sold to the highest bidder in the
"Cold Comfort" episode of DARK ANGEL Tuesday, Nov. 28
(9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (ANG-108) (TV-PG;L,V)

This is the interview with Jessica Alba on Access Hollywood in case you missed it last night.

Reporter:
We've been following mad max, eyed by jessica alba, since day on and at just 19, she is heading toward superstardom, but don't tell her.

Jessica Alba:
I just try and think about the work, and not about celebrity, fame or magazines or anything like that. It's part of what I do, but not why I do it.

Reporter:
Well, "tv guide" has noticed, putting her on the cover of the current issue. And although she says she doesn't believe in the hype machine surrounding her, she does admit she was taken back after being recognized on the street by a group of fans.

Jessica Alba:
All of a sudden, all these people are arod me, and started to hug me, and I felt like such an idiot. I didn't know what to do.

ET: Your show has become quite a hit very quickly, like within three or four episodes which is extremely rare. How do you feel about being on one of the few shows that is doing really well?
JESSICA: It's great. That's why we're doing it. You know, we're all working really hard, the crew up here in Vancouver. Everyone has his heart into it and it's just nice to see that your work pays off. The best sort of reward for all this hard work is the fact that people are watching.
ET: But in between all the work, you're doing sexy photo spreads. You're a busy girl. Is it a bit daunting?
JESSICA: I don't really look at it. I don't pay attention to it, really I'm just working and I don't think about that kind of stuff.
ET: If that wasn't enough, the gossip columnists are talking about you now.
JESSICA: That happens. People like to make stuff up.
ET: Is it all made up?
JESSICA: You know -- there is lots and lots. Journalists like to ask you questions and then they like to take a bit of your answer and apply it to their agenda -- what their article is about. So, whatever they take from that, they take from that. I can only honestly do my work and answer the questions as best as possible.
ET: Would you have time for a romance? I mean, you're a young woman.
JESSICA: I work really hard, and I barely get to talk to my family on the phone. That's all I have time for really.
ET: Can you tell us about reports that you and MICHAEL WEATHERLY are getting to know each other a little more .
JESSICA: We work together everyday so all of our scenes are with each other. The same as my scenes with Original Cindy (VALARIE RAE MILLER) and Sketchy (RICHARD GUNN) and we all watch each other everyday. We're all like family.
ET: So you deny that the two of you are dating?
JESSICA: I am pleading the fifth.
ET: Do you think it's gonna be hard to keep your private life private?
JESSICA: The media knows what you tell it and if you think that your private life is entertainment, then it will be entertainment and it will be in all the magazines. If you don't think your private life is entertainment then it won't be. My private life is secret and it's wonderful and I respect it, and it's not for anybody's entertainment.
ET: You say you've been acting for seven years, but six months ago nobody was asking you who you were dating.
JESSICA: I just think it's all a bit silly, honestly. I think it's really silly and artificial and we're doing a really silly, artificial job here -- entertainment. It's all really crazy and wacky. Half the time you see me flying through the air on this. I'm playing this action hero. It's all silly and crazy, so I just take it for what it is.
ET: People are so interested in your private life they're going to want you and Michael to be together -- fans will want the characters to get together. Do you think Max and Logan have that kind of chemistry?
JESSICA: I think there is definitely a "Moonlighting" kind of chemistry going on. They can't help but be attracted to each other and so the writers like to play with all that stuff. Just like Original Cindy and me. We have a lot of fun together.
ET: Do you think it's better to not play out the relationship between Max and Logan, but just hint at it?
JESSICA: I think it's just really interesting when there's the whole tragic romance story where you can never really be together. I think that's what people want to watch because everyone goes through that stuff.
ET: Do you have time for a private life?
JESSICA: I have an 80-hour work week so, what do you want to do in that week? I work and I sleep. I'm lucky if I go see a movie. But it's good, what I do everyday is I play. I literally play and it's good.
ET: You will admit, you are good friends with Mike?
JESSICA: I'm good friends and I love everyone on the show. We have no one else here but each other because we all come from L.A. or New York, so we all stick together.
ET: When do you meet anyone?
JESSICA: My dad was a tennis trainer and my mom was going to UCLA and they met in an elevator. So, you can meet someone anywhere.
ET: One day, would you like to settle down and have kids?
JESSICA: I really want to wait until I'm in my late 20s to have kids. I want to be able to fulfill myself creatively, but if something happens along the way, then that's what's in my plan, that's what I want to do. I want to really focus on producing after I finish "Dark Angel," and never feel like I cheated myself by denying what I want to do.
ET: You're a terrific role model because of your multiethnic heritage.
JESSICA: Thank you to my parents.
ET: Is it important to you? You're a role model for young women who aren't blonde-haired and blue-eyed.
JESSICA: It's great to know that I'm honestly representing America in a real way. There's no real generalization and stereotype that the media or entertainment even put on being American. You know, blonde hair, blue eyes -- whatever -- that's not American. America is all mixed up. I guess I just feel that I'm a product of good American blood.
ET: Max is a fantastic character.
JESSICA: Yeah, she rocks. She doesn't apologize for herself. She is confident, cocky, funny, very guarded. She doesn't allow herself to get too close to people because she doesn't want to get hurt, and I think that's her biggest fault but her biggest asset at the same time, because it keeps her smart and protected and she doesn't give herself over too easily. Most people in this world that have been through stuff, they don't. They're not all wishy-washy and mushy and fall in love. They hold back and they live their life and questions their situation.
ET: Can you relate to her?
JESSICA: I'm very stubborn like Max and I don't give my heart away to anyone. Even to people as friends, so, a little bit.

Sundays Parade Article

It is unlikely that the glorious young actress Jessica Alba of Fox's series Dark Angel will ever forget the shows's prmire on Tuseday, October 3. The baseball playoff's began that evening on NBC, the first presidential debate aired on CBS, PBS and ABC and Ms. Alba Climbed aboard her motorcycle as the leather-clad heroine Max-messnger by day, cat burglar by night-and roared off into TV ratings triunph. Afterward, in thestaid New York imes the acerbic columinst Maureen Dowd exulted, "Dark Angel has everything the debate did not. Snappy dialogue, Cpativating style, Gripping fight scenes. A compelling star, 19-year-old Jessica Alba...I wanted the Dark Angel to hang both these weenies [the candidates] out a window by their ankles." When I talked with Jessica, I asked if she'd watched her network debut. "honestly," she saud, "that night I was in freezing cold water here in British Columbia [they shoot in Vancouver]". And not in a sound stage pool, either. "iIt was the ocean at night. And when she saw the Dowd column? "I was so thrilled, so flattered."

Jessica began acing lessons at 12 and was in the hit movie Never been Kissed. How did she get to star in Dark Angel, co-created by Titanic's director, James Cameron? "they wanted not a movie star." Jessica said. "So I auditioned and got it." And was she worried about the stunts involved? "No," she said. "that was the deal, I knew from the beginning. I do a lot of crazy things, but if it put's my life in danger, they use a stunt woman. I do all the motorcycle riding myself, even though I'd never ridden a bike previously. I trained a few months first." Does she contribute to the charater's development? Jessica said the staff does listen to her. "After all, we have a different director each week, and I know Max better than they do." Next year, Jessica will be appearing in a period romance film called "The Sleeping Dictonary", shot in Malaysia. She plays a native translator in love with a young Englishman in the 1920's. What was that like? "Tricky." Jessica said. "They don't have the food we have, so for three months you ate oranges and apples in the jungle. Day after day, the same meal. "Then jessica added delictely: "Everyone had trouble digesting their food."

Update: 12/01/00

Entertainment tonight reports on the Awards:
The cast of fox tv's "boston public" aced the favorite new dramatic series category, along with "dark angel" and "gideon's crossing."

Max Saves Logan's Life On "DARK ANGEL" (12/12/00)
Fri, Dec 1, 2000 01:18 PM PDT
With their identities now known to Lydecker, Max and Zack decide to leave Seattle with the intention of disappearing forever. However, when Max learns that Logan is close to death, she risks her freedom and returns to save him in a truly selfless act. Also, with Max on the lam and her face on posters all over the city, Normal sees his opportunity to share information he has on Max with the police in the "Blah Blah Woof Woof" episode of DARK ANGEL Tuesday, Dec. 12 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

Update 12/02/00

Actresses Are Beginning to Get a Bigger Cut of the Action
By CRAIG TOMASHOFF, Special to The LA Times

"Gone are the days when the girl twists her ankle and Tarzan has to come and carry her off to safety," says Charles Eglee, co-creator and executive producer of "Dark Angel," the futuristic tale of a scientifically enhanced warrior who saves the world while trying to discover her past. "Traditionally, the kind of Grail quests like the one our character is on are done from the male point of view, but we've seen that for 1,000 years. That's 'Beowulf.' "

Update: 12/05 /00

''Dark Angel'' Entertainment Weekly Reports.

Vital Signs Cover girl Jessica Alba is kicking butt in the ratings. Granted, the futuristic sci fi action series has aired opposite the bland and blander presidential debates, but ''Dark Angel'' still delivered an average of 15.4 million viewers these past three weeks; that's 90 percent more than last year's average for ''Party of Five.'' And so far, ''Dark Angel'' is the highest rated new series among adults 18 to 49.

Diagnosis: ''It's got an expensive production budget and great special effects, not to mention a fantastic lead, '' says Cella. ''So its no wonder the show attracts so many young sci fi fans.''

Prognosis: Could be the miracle Fox needed for its Tuesday night schedule.

Please vote for Jessica Alba in TV Guide Online Sexy Thing Poll. She is losing by 1000 votes when I last checked.

Access Holloywood reports tonight: Over at fox, the money market drama "the street" remains a shaky investment, but newcomers "boston public" and "dark angel" are soaring. 17.5 Million viewers flocked to "dark angel's" debut, and the show is still flying high with an average audience of 13.4 Million fans. >> "Boston public," "dark angel," those ve been important new shows. They show signs of potentially breaking out and being hits.

Spoiler for Blah, Blah, Woof, Woof: Lydecker's manhunt for Vogelsang's killer puts Max on too many “most wanted” lists. Meanwhile, a stray bullet lodged in Logan's spine leaves him near death, forcing his protègeè to make a decision that could save his life, but end her own.

Dark Angel repeats begin December 19th.

Update 12/07/00

Spoken on HDLN during Headline News

Fox has created a new star in "dark angel's" jessica alba, and "boston public" has boosted monday night viewership on fox by 97% over last year.

As Reported by Cinescape

Word has it that rapper Mack 10 will be making his TV debut on James Cameron's Dark Angel TV series on Fox. According to USA Today, the rapper is scheduled to turn up on the program's January 9th episode titled "Out." The paper reports that Mack 10 will play the part of Tacoma Bleed, a member of a gang.

I'll try to see if I can get you anymore show news as the day progresses. Remember to vote below for me. Thanks.

Update 12/08/00

Episodes to be aired on Fox:

Heat -- December 19, 2000
CREAM - December 26, 2000