We're pinching ourselves to make sure we're actually here. We're all so nervous we won't even touch that pretty bread arrangement in the middle.

Here we are "doing lunch" with the Big Town guys (that would be the men we have cornered like helpless animals in the middle). From the back, starting on the left, we have Paula, Fritters (aka Misty), Bret and the mysterious Diana S, aka listmom. From the front are yours truly (Liz), Brad and Juanita. I should have worked out my arms more :(

Fritters & Paula listening to every word B&B say.

The LA Story

Ladies who were there, please feel free to give me additions,etc...

Here goes for my recollections on our lunch with Big Town. First of all, both guys were adorable and very open about answering our questions and even offering up observations of their own. Juanita even managed to pinch one of them on the cheeks (on his face I think…). They apologized that Bill was unavailable for the lunch as he left for a family vacation to Montana the previous Friday. Darn! Darn! Darn! However, they were both very gracious.

Upcoming Big Town productions include "Screenland". It's about an eccentric silent movie theater owner and is based on a true story. There actually was such a theater on La Brea in LA. Anyway, the owner is murdered by his gay lover. Another production is called "Streamliners" and is about a community of people who lead a nomadic life by hopping trains. It's described as a gritty, dark movie. Bill is attached to produce both movies and may take a smaller supporting role in "Screenland". Although Big Town produced "The Virginian" and starred Bill, they're trying to get more projects that star other people. They don't want Big Town to be labeled as vehicle for Bill only.

Bill will be in Vancouver filming "Ignition" starting in July. And contrary to Internet rumor, Bill will NOT be, nor was ever offered a role, in "Resident Evil". Thank God as I was going to force myself to sit through the bloodshed just to catch a glimpse.

Bill recently got 2 puppies -- Australian Shepherds.

When asked how Bill was to work for, they both described him as intelligent, very funny and a master at impersonations.

Bill comes off as being very thoughtful during interviews. He wants to make sure he answers questions thoroughly.

Both of the guys attended the Titan AE premiere at Staples Center the Tuesday (darn missed that too) before the movie opening. They told us how much Bill enjoyed doing animation.

We had sent Big Town the outrageously high winning bid for "The Virginian" press kit, poster and video. They forwarded it to Bill who got a kick out of it. We suggested that perhaps Bill should consider auctioning off something for charity. They said he supports different charities. For example, a charity contacted them and wanted to dress up a teddy bear as the Virginian. They happily complied. They mentioned he's got a set of bongos from "Serpent and the Rainbow" that could be auctioned off. However, they didn't have time to handle the auction.

For press kits and publicity information, contact Walsh & Associates. Most of the time, the Big Town folks don't know of his interviews and public appearances. For example, they found out about his appearance on "Cowboy" magazine when a fan told them about it.

His co-hosting stint on "Golden Mummies" was a last minute decision. He was contacted only a couple of weeks before taping, but he was intrigued and went on the adventure. That's why we didn't see much advance notice about his appearance.

When asked what he does in his off-time, they said he recently attended a Tracy Chapman concert. However, that was more for his daughter, who is a fan. In fact, he leads a normal life on the weekend, preferring to spend much of his time with his family.

His wife is very nice, although they don't get to see her much. She's busy raising 3 kids, and has to contend with Bill being away a lot.

Paula asked about us nominating Bill for a Hollywood star. They were unsure how one receives a "Star" on the Walk of Fame and were uncertain of the criteria for receiving one. They didn't know why Bill doesn't have one, but were sure that he would eventually get one. (Note: I've since seen an article that says that they must be sponsored. The cost is also $15,000.)

Ok, Fritters asked him the taboo question on religion. I don't think they know, so they said he was a family man. I just think he's a private man who prefers to keep that information to himself.

Yeah for us, he wants to concentrate on acting. Although I enjoyed his directorial work on "The Virginian", I'm glad to hear we'll still be seeing him in front of the camera. Apparently, it was a grueling 6 month shoot.

Well, we choked when they asked us which leading lady (that he had never starred with before) would we want to see him star with. I said Sigourney Weaver, and they said .. hmmmmmm? Oh well. Maybe you can all think of someone else. Julianne Moore comes to mind (sure after the fact).

How long does it take him to prepare for a role? It depends. They visited him on the set of "Numbers" and were surprised when, an hour before shooting a scene, he calmly read over the dialogue once, then proceeded to hang out with them. However, once shooting started, he was fine.

Paula presented the greyhound pictures and a copy of the greyhound newsletter featuring the picture to Big Town. She also recounted her pitiful story to them. Poor, poor Paula!

The Big Town folks have visited the billpullman.org website and had fun with the Shoes page. They don't think Bill has, though. Juanita told them about the many Hornell well-wishers who sign the guestbook and they said they would let Bill know about that. They haven't been on the list-serves, but are aware of it from our gifts and letters to them. They said Bill really appreciates the support.

OK, it doesn't look like Bill is on the AOL chat, at least they're unaware of it. It also doesn't sound like he's a member of the list-serve. We can still dream, though.

When asked what was their favorite Bill movie, one of them answered Zero Effect. We asked if there was a sequel, but they didn't really answer. One of them especially favors darker films, and since they're his script readers, I wouldn't look for too many comedies.

Lake Placid was a movie in which Bill's character was changed during production, and not necessarily to his advantage.

When asked if they would want us to do a Big Town website , they responded that it would only have 1 thing on it -- Bill in a cowboy outfit. Perhaps when Big Town's produced more movies!

How do they pick scripts? There's not really a specific thing they're looking for. However, they will tend to stay away from films that are too similar to ones he's recently done.

We asked how come he did "Numbers" with Nora Ephron, considering he was unhappy with his character's treatment in "Sleepless in Seattle"? They said he really respects Nora, and enjoys working with her, even if it is a small role. "Numbers" was originally supposed to be filmed in New York, so Bill could visit Hornell during filming. However, higher powers prevailed and the production was moved to Sacramento. It sounds like the film crew had a lot of problems trying to recreate the New York winters in sunny California, though.

Finally, they requested that all letters, gifts, etc.. be forwarded to his publicist, Walsh & Associates (address on the home page). They send over a batch of fan mail every couple of months to Big Town. Although Bill loves all his fans, Big Town has a small staff (maybe 3-4 people) and can not respond to all requests. Fortunately for us, he gets lots of fan mail, so he should continue to appear in many more films.

Juanita firing away questions.

We presented them with gifts for Bill. Where do you put the batteries? Ahem, minds out of gutter please, it's actually an Egyptian obelisk to commemorate his Golden Mummies hosting job.

Some authentic Joe T Garcia's Salsa sauce from Texas for the Big Town crew to snack on.

Some presents for his kids - bolo ties for the boys (exactly the same so no fighting) and a western necklace for Maesa.