Parks and Recreation: Lucy Lawless Talks About Romancing Ron Swanson

Here at IGN TV, we were psyched to hear that Lucy Lawless would be appearing on Parks and Recreation this season, in a recurring role as a new love interest for none other than Ron Swanson, played by Nick Offerman. And when I spoke to Lawless on the set of the series recently, where she was filming her second episode, she quickly made it clear she shared that excitement. Even before we began our interview, she was telling me just how great a set it was and how happy she was to be working on such a funny show.

Sitting on the recently built Washington, D.C. sets (for Ben and April's new jobs this season), we went on to discuss what makes her character, Diane -- who makes her debut this week -- the kind of woman Ron would be interested in, why Parks and Rec is so great and a bit about the end of Spartacus.

IGN TV: So you’d seen a lot of the show beforehand?

Lucy Lawless: Oh yeah, I’ve seen everything. I think they thought I was kidding, but I’ve really seen everything. I’m an enormous fan.

IGN: So that was an easy yes.

Lawless: I’m a P-and-R aficionado, actually.

IGN: Nice, so you can share factoids with the best of them?

Lawless: I think so. Actually, Nick said something yesterday, and I knew it wasn’t right -- I had to think about it for a minute. He was saying who knew about Duke Silver, his secret identity, but he forgot that Mark knew, because Mark was the one who told Tom.

IGN: So what is it like playing a love interest to Duke Silver himself?

Lawless: Very exciting -- well, I don’t know he’s Duke Silver yet. I’m not sure if and when that’s going to come up… But it is! This is a very rare thing in television, especially in half-hour where you’re not accustomed to seeing the characters grow and change. But Leslie’s gone off to Washington -- this is so shocking to me, I’ve never actually seen this set!

IGN: Yeah, I guess no one had, except for the people shooting here. Aziz came over here today and said he hadn’t seen it either.

Lawless: Yeah, and Ben is off doing his thing, and yet the show remains intact in terms of its storylines and everything. It’s as rewarding as ever. I’m just so lucky to have been invited to join. Oh my God, and I met Rob Lowe today! Now there’s somebody with a bloody magnificent oeuvre, you know, and charming with that. Accomplished guy, seen a lot of Hollywood, and he’s still as delightful as anybody else on this set.

IGN: How would you describe your character? Because it takes a special kind of woman to be a love interest to Ron Swanson, I’d say.

Lawless: Yeah, well she is, in Ron’s words, a sharp, capable woman. At some point, he runs afoul of her, and basically she threatens to feed him his own mustache. I’m not sure how that’s done, but I love the sound of it! So we’ll see if that scares him off.

IGN: Well, he certainly likes strong women, so I’m guessing it might not scare him off. I’m guessing he might be very intrigued.

Lawless: Yeah, but I don’t think she’s another Tammy, which was extremely exciting to me. They have something different in mind. Again, it’s that evolution. They’re allowing him to have something he’s never had before, which is a real grownup relationship. I’m dying to see whether he ever gets to wear the red shirt! I don’t know if we’ve slept together or not, and the sexual tension’s palpable.

IGN: As a fan -- especially since Ron Swanson is such an iconic character at this point -- what’s it like playing off Nick?

Lawless: I had the giggles at first because it’s Ron Swanson, you know? There was one point in the first episode where I had to laugh derisively at him, out of nowhere, and I was having real trouble getting to that point. I’m not used to faking emotions anymore. It’s a different kind of acting that’s required in comedy. You’ve got to keep it light. Anyway, so I would get Nick to do that little dance - Amy Poehler actually wrote that episode, where she gave them all little bits, and they were all wasted. I’d get him to do that dance, like a monkey for me. He just dazzles me. He’s too funny.

Continue to Page 2 to see what Lawless had to say about how Andy is involved in her storyline, the opportunity to do comedy and her thoughts on the upcoming end of Spartacus.

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Washington State wants park system to think like the private sector

Washington State is considering being the first in the nation to make its Parks Department self-sustaining. As recently as 2009 the legislature appropriated $94 million toward the operating budget of the state’s 117 parks. But now, facing a $3 billion budget deficit, Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire is proposing cutting funding to zero.

“We were broke,” said Marty Brown, director of the state Office of Financial Management. “Of all the entities in state government, it (the Parks Dept.) was one we thought actually had possibilities of income generation.”

State parks attract 40 million visits a year. Getting off the public dole will require competing for entertainment dollars, improving services while being cost-effective. In short, lifelong bureaucrats like Don Hoch are required to think like the private sector.

“We just started a new partnership division,” says Hoch, director of Washington State Parks. “We’ve started marketing. We have to develop a new skill set that we’ve never had to develop before. We were never in the competition business.”

Change is taking root. Up until 2011 it was free to enter state parks for the day. Now there’s a $10 a day use fee, which can be avoided if visitors buy a Discover Pass for $30 -- good for all parks for a calendar year. Sales for the Discover Pass have so far been disappointing.

In an effort to boost revenue, vending machines and concession buildings are starting to pop up. Also, small cabins are being built at campgrounds attracting visitors who are willing to pay more than the price for a camp site.

Things under consideration: variable pricing, charging more during peak season and less during the winter months. The staff of 123 park rangers was deemed expendable, prompting anger from some park advocate groups.

“We see all kinds of bad things happen,” says Jonathan Guzzo of the Washington Trails Association. “We see not only deterioration of trails and other facilities, we see vandalism, illegal activity and dumping.”

Guzzo says volunteer groups like his have picked up some of the slack by doing some trail maintenance and giving educational talks typically done by rangers.

While some decry privatization, it’s already happening on a limited basis. American Land and Leisure Co. based in Utah manages campgrounds in National Forests and three state parks in California. They collect gate fees, sell firewood and other concessions and clean the bathrooms. Steve Werner of American Land and Leisure says he’s able to save state’s money by paying a lot less for labor.

In the Washington State Parks Department, labor accounts for 85 percent of the budget. It’s less than half that much for private companies. Retirees are frequently tapped to live and work at the parks.

Some believe private companies can actually improve the experience people have at state parks. Lower salaries allow for more money to go into maintenance and marketing.

“State government is pretty bad at advertising the experience you can have at public parks,” says Paul Guppy of the Washington State Policy Center, “but a private company would have much more incentive to broaden their appeal to a wider public to encourage more people to come.”

The key is attracting visitors without turning these public parks into theme parks.

Hoch doesn’t think he can do it without help from the taxpayers. He’s asking the state legislature for $18 million.

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Wreck-It Ralph Headed to Disney Theme Parks

The video game-inspired characters from the upcoming animated movie Wreck-It Ralph will soon appear in Disney theme parks.

The Disney Parks Blog at the company's official site has details on Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope Von Schweetz coming to Disney parks this November: "At The Magic of Disney Animation attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, you’ll step through Game Central Station, catching glimpses of the various game worlds from the film on your way to Sugar Rush, where Vanellope and Ralph are waiting to meet you at the finish line. At Disneyland park, the arcade world of Wreck-It Ralph comes to life within the Tomorrowland Starcade. When Ralph and Vanellope are there, you’ll have an opportunity to meet them at the portal to Sugar Rush and can even play a round on the classic arcade game Fix-It Felix, Jr.”

Wreck-It Ralph hits theaters November 2.

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