EXCLUSIVE Interview with Brad Meltzer of History's BRAD MELTZER'S DECODED
Mike Vicic - October 5, 2011
After unraveling the mysteries behind the Statue of Liberty, the Lincoln assassination, and America's secret societies, Brad Meltzer and his team are returning for a second season of sleuthing. Brad took some time out of his busy schedule to speak with TV Tango, decoding secrets about the new season, discussing his favorite historical mysteries, reliving how he got the team together, and expressing his devotion to BREAKING BAD.
History presents the season 2 premiere of BRAD MELTZER'S DECODED on Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at 10pm ET/PT.
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Photo credit: History |
TV TANGO: Besides Ft. Knox and the Declaration of Independence [the topics of the first two episodes of Season 2], what mysteries can we expect to see decoded in Season 2? BRAD MELTZER: We do Mt. Rushmore, which is one of my favorites that we do. Everybody knows Mt. Rushmore and the big giant heads, but when you see what is supposedly hidden inside there and what we actually find inside there, you will never look at Mt. Rushmore the same way again. |
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TV TANGO: Will you be talking about the fact/myth that Mt. Rushmore was supposed to be full-length bodies instead of just heads? BRAD MELTZER: I actually didn't know that they were full physical bodies. I actually didn't know that one. If it's true, it's just rumor because we didn't find it. If it is, let me know and we'll do a quick edit. Let me know the source of it. I wish we had that one just to shut it up. |
| We do talk about the original design and how it was built. The fact that the sculptor of it was supposedly a member of the KKK, and we actually have the KKK on the episode. You can't take your eyes off it. It is one of those moments where I'm happy that we have a prosecutor on our team -- just to watch this back and forth is incredible. What he revealed and what he says. He just doesn't come on there and spout nonsense. It's amazing what this guy is willing to say to us. To me, what the show is there for....history is this giant game of telephone, and our job is to find the first whisperer. The same way last season, if you put in the words Statue of Liberty and the word Satan [into an internet search engine], you find a million pages come up. Where did that story start? It came from this translation of the word Lucifer as a light bringer. That's what the Statue of Liberty is. She's a light bringer. She's holding a giant light over her head. That's what she is doing, and that's where the story started. I love being able to dismiss what's nonsense and I love being able to show what's true. That's the fun of the show, to keep the trust with the audience. We're going to tell you the scariest story of all, and that's the true one. |
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Photo credit: History |
TV TANGO: This season you took the series overseas for the first time. Where did you travel and for which mystery? BRAD MELTZER: I love this part of TV -- sometimes how much reality will dictate the creative. |
| But this year we had the success of it so they said "We'll give you almost a month in Europe." We do the Vatican; we do Adolf Hitler. We do some amazing stories, I don't want to ruin them all. It turns the show into a globe-spanning adventure, not just what we can do here in the States. |
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TV TANGO: Is there a mystery you have on your wish list but will likely cost too much to be an episode of DECODED? BRAD MELTZER: The moon. That's the only one, of course. |
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Photo credit: History |
TV TANGO: Have you considered using a team member who is a leader of the doubters or conspiracy theorists? BRAD MELTZER: We did talk about it. We said should we get someone who is just a total crazy believer. |
| If we had none of that, I'd be like "Absolutely. We gotta get someone to show that point of view." I don't ever want to be dismissive, and say there are no conspiracies out there. You know what, sometimes the government is up to something bad, but it doesn't mean every time. If we didn't have that, I'd say yes, but every episode I feel like one of us -- including myself -- is like "I'm telling you this one. I know this story. This one is real." You see myself do it this season. There's one where the whole team concludes that this isn't a big deal, and I'm like "No way. They're wrong, I disagree and I'll tell you why." |
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Photo credit: Eric McNatt / History |
TV TANGO: What are some of the most outrageous mysteries that viewers have suggested you investigate? BRAD MELTZER: When you have this show, you get the best crazy mail of all. |
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TV TANGO: What's the scariest thing you've done for the TV show? BRAD MELTZER: The Bohemian grove episode we did last season, when the team got arrestedm was the scariest. That was one of those ones where you go "This is not a joke. This is not just turn on the cameras and have some fun." |
| But what I'm scared about...there is responsibility that comes when you deal with history by rewriting it incorrectly. And I'm scared of that. I always want to make sure when we give someone that microphone that they're not coming on without any proof. It's our responsibility. I'm scared to put something out there that people are going to take as fact but is just myth. I think the reason the show has succeeded is because of the trust we established with the audience. I'm very protective of that trust. If someone comes on and they seem crazy, I'm like "Listen, that guy seems a little crazy to me." When we have someone come on who's like "I'm a 92-year-old woman and I'm about to die and I just want to tell the truth. I don't want to make any money off it, I just want people to know before I die." That's a great source. Let's hear what she has to say. Those are very convincing to me. As an armchair historian, I'm always nervous that we put out the best information we have. When I'm filming my part at the end -- you can ask the crew -- I will stop filming and double check facts before we let them go on the air. I'm sure if we get them wrong, we'll get all the email on it. We work really hard to get it right as best we can. |
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Photo credit: Eric Ogden / History |
TV TANGO: How did you get this series on History? BRAD MELTZER: I wrote a book a couple of years ago called "The Book of Fate." That was a good title for fate for anything. It was about the Free Masons and the secret codes that Thomas Jefferson used to use when he was a President. |
| I pitched them my best mysteries. They were like "We like these. These work for us" in a way that wasn't just yelling out the word Free Mason and saying that they're trying to eat your babies and hope for good ratings. They were real mysteries. They were real stories that people didn't know the answer to. When we started they said "On shows like this, the less facts you have, the more scary music you play." I said "I never want to do that show. Let's tell them the truth, and let's have a far better show." To History's credit, they absolutely went with it. We don't have to do the fear-mongering; let's show them the truth. |
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Photo credit: Eric McNatt / History |
TV TANGO: How did you put together your team of Scott, Christine & Buddy? BRAD MELTZER: They loved Buddy, always. They told me "Oh Brad, you're picking them." Secretly, the truth is that I think they always wanted Buddy. I loved Buddy; so we picked him quickly. |
| The truth is we watched a lot of film. We watched a lot of film and tryouts and videotapes. We tried to pick people who had different perspectives than me because we don't need three of me. That serves nobody any good. We obviously really wanted to have a scientist on the show, and McKinley was perfect for that as an engineer. We wanted somebody with military background because so many of these things go into different parts of the military and we need to navigate them in smart ways; so Scott as a JAG guy perfectly fit that billing. He's a prosecutor so he knows how to investigate. They fit roles that were going to be helpful as we were looking at things. There's nothing more humiliating than feeling like you're in third grade again than watching videotape and judging people in ten seconds, but that's what you're forced to do when you put a show together. You're watching hundreds of people going "I want to be on your show because of this..." And then you go "No. That person's not good enough." Really, in ten seconds I figured that out? It was humbling to me. |
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Photo credit: Eric McNatt / History |
TV TANGO: What nicknames have you been given? BRAD MELTZER: I know when I was little, when SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT was the big thing, my parents got me a CB. I was the only Jew in the whole world who had a CB. My handle was Little Brad. My dad was Big Brad, but my dad's name to be clear was not Brad; it was Stu. I just liked calling him Big Brad and me be Little Brad. |
| I would sit there in Brooklyn on top of the building with my CB. We were on the fifth floor and I'd point the antenna out window and I'd go "Breaker one. Breaker one. Little Brad here." And then there would be nothing but crackles because in the city of New York nobody had a CB. I would turn the dial a tiny bit and I'd go "Breaker one. Breaker one. Little Brad here. Anybody there." [Crackle] And I'd turn the dial "Breaker one. Breaker one. Little Brad." This would be like 17 hours of my life, going through that dial everyday. The only thing more '70s than my handle was SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT ITSELF. I just watched it again recently, and it's like the most sexist/racist movie of all time. Every women on the show is like "Hey Bandit, it's Little Beaver here." or "Hey Bandit, it's Hot Pants." They're all these horrible nicknames. They're so '70s. He's basically sleeping with everybody that he talks to. I watched it with my son, and there's that part where he says "I only take my hat off for one thing." My son, who's nine-years-old, looks at me and goes "When he drives, right?" I'm like "No, not when he drives." Then he says "When he goes to sleep?" I'm like "No, not when he goes to sleep." |
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Photo credit: Ben Leuner / AMC |
TV TANGO: What TV shows are on your DVR? BRAD MELTZER: BREAKING BAD is my #1, no question. What else am I watching? DEXTER. GAME OF THRONES I'm just about to start. I waited for the first season. BORED TO DEATH I really like. I really think they brought it out in the second season -- far better than the first. |
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Photo credit: Ursula Coyote / AMC |
TV TANGO: If you could have a guest role on any current, scripted TV series, which sitcom or drama would you choose? Why? BRAD MELTZER: I want to go on CASTLE, play poker and be the jerk guy that everyone hates because he thinks he's so important because he's got his own TV show. That's totally different than my real-life persona. |
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