David Schwimmer's Friends, Producers Are No Fools

Friends star David Schwimmer has yet to make his mark on the big screen, but it's not for want of trying.  His latest effort is a romantic comedy called Kissing A Fool which opens this weekend, co-starring Jason Lee and Mili Avital.

The Friends cast has become a prime source of big screen talent, despite their production schedule on the hit sitcom.  In the past, many TV stars have had problems squeezing in movies when they are committed to shooting two dozen new episodes every year, but not Schwimmer and company.

"The producers on Friends are really, really accommodating," Schwimmer explains.  "Courteney's going to London for a whole week to shoot some movie there.  They let me go for a week in the fall when Six Days, Seven Nights ran over and I had to go back to Hawaii for two weeks.  So we pre-shot some of my scenes the week before and then made up some of my scenes afterwards.  They're super accommodating."

No doubt the Friends producers are doing everything they can to keep the cast happy, because the show is a gold mine, especially with the end of Seinfeld creating a vacuum on NBC's long-dominant Thursday night schedule.  The popularity of Friends has opened up a world of opportunity for the attractive cast and there is much speculation about who will be the first to try and leave the show.

"I thought about it this year, because it was a very difficult year," admits Schwimmer.  "I realized in retrospect that I had done the series, two plays, and four movies.  I was like, 'What am I crazy?' But, at the same time, they made that possible, the producers.  As long as everyone's happy and I have the energy, then I'll be glad to do it."

Making movies has provided one major fringe benefit that Schwimmer has not found doing Friends.  Making Kissing A Fool, he fell in love with his leading lady, Mili Avital.

"I guess it happens a lot of film sets," admits Schwimmer sheepishly.  "It's never happened to me before, that I've been involved with anyone that I've worked with."

Schwimmer is the most outspoken Friend when it comes to demanding his privacy, so it's not a surprise that he has little more to say about his level of commitment to Avital.  But he is glad to go on record in regard to his commitment to Friends.  The bottom line is he is not considering leaving the show.

"I think that would be stupid," he insists.  "I think first, before I act, and I just think that it would be really dumb.  For one reason, I love going to work on Friends.  We make a good living.  It's an easy job, in terms of hours.  Making a movie's hard.  Doing a TV show you only shoot one day a week, at most it's maybe 12 hours on that day.  The rest of the week is pretty fun.  You're not in makeup.  You're not in wardrobe.  Every three weeks you get a week off.  It's a great schedule, not to mention that you have a great time."

"You always take the chance when you enter a new project that you may have to deal with ego.  You may have to deal with a crazy director or a crazy actor or it not being fulfilling and dreading going to work.  But I know that on Friends that's not the case.  It's a great time.  I'm in it for another forty years -- and in ten years nobody's going to remember.  Honestly, I won't have to worry about it in ten years.  I'm in it for the long haul."