Julia Louis-Dreyfus Rocks On!
How did Seinfeld alum Julia Louis-Dreyfus react upon hearing that Elaine's infamous kick-dance managed to two-step its way onto TV Guide and VH1's recent list of the 100 Music Moments that Rocked TV? "It's extraordinary," she tells TV Guide Online. "It's a little bit humiliating, but it's extraordinary."
The funky slide — which Elaine debuted to Jerry and Co. during a classic 1996 episode — ranked No. 54 on the TV Guide-VH1 list. As Louis-Dreyfus recalls, a lot of hard work went into creating the indelible routine. Well, not really. "I stood in front of the mirror and tried to look like the biggest ass---- in town," she laughs.
The 42-year-old former Saturday Night Livewire looks forward to poking more fun at herself when Watching Ellie returns to NBC's schedule in April. The single-camera comedy debuted last spring to mixed reviews and less-than spectacular ratings. In an attempt to broaden its appeal in its second season, producers — among them Louis-Dreyfus and hubby Brad Hall — repackaged Ellie as a more traditional three-camera sitcom.
"We're doing a little of both: We're doing some single camera, and we're also shooting in front of an audience," she explains. "I'm kind of psyched about it because I get the best of both worlds. You get that single-camera look, and then you also get the audience reacting to the show. That makes me feel happy."
Another welcome change: "The little clock in the corner is gone," she notes, referring to the onscreen timepiece that annoyed critics and viewers alike. "I didn't like the clock." Um, then why was it there to begin with? Taking care to be diplomatic, she says: "Because... certain people did like it."
The more things change, however, the more they stay the same. "You can expect an enormous amount of humiliation of Ellie," she previews. "There's just one bad thing after another happening to her." And what about one of Louis-Dreyfus's famous pals dropping in for a visit? Like, say, Jerry himself? "Possibly, but I can't say at this moment," she winks. "I really can't. I can't say a thing." Oops, too late!
