mitch leery
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EviL-DoeR — 20 years ago(March 10, 2006 02:52 AM)
From what I have read he was written off the show because there were to many rumors that he, and his onscreen son were having more then a friendly relationship off camera.
James was starting to do movies, and the studio were pushing him hard on the public due to the success of the show, and his first movie, and were scared that these rumores could hurt him in the long run so they wrote off the father
If you hear what James said about his memories of when he was doing the show it's pretty clear that he was close to someone on the set, and it ended badly, and he was hurt by it.
Could it be true? Who knows
Doesn't matter in the long run the show was great regardless of what happened behind the scenes -
Broken_Dreams — 19 years ago(July 04, 2006 12:53 AM)
The person that James was close to was Josh Jackson (Pacey) in the first season. They were roomates and close friends. And the whole Katie thing got in the way. James and her dated early first season, then she dated Josh later that season. All this relationship swaping cause a rift between James and Josh. Thats what he meant.
It's been stated numerous times, by a few of the cast members (James, Josh, & Michelle) in interviews.
"He's not OD-ing. He's a freshman. Freshman don't OD." -
littleprettyone — 18 years ago(May 09, 2007 08:46 AM)
I think I heard pretty much what other people have heard. That Mitch left the show because of an apparent 'crush' John had on James Van Der Beek. Although I didn't think it was to do with publicity, but that James became a diva and orchestrated the 'sacking' of John.
nd as for the James/Katie/Josh triangle (how ironic), I think what actually happened was that James and Katie went out a couple of times, but that she ended up with Josh and James couldn't handle it. Josh Jackson actually said something about he and James being 'like oil and water' and that Katie had to diffuse the situation because it got so bad between them.
Whatever the truth, I'm inclined to think that James would've been at the centre of it. There have been rumours about him being arrogant and up his own backside for years, throughout the Dawson's Creek time. Nothing would surprise me with him. It does make me laugh that's he been the least successful post-DC out of the four main characters, yet he's the one that's rumoured to have the attitude problem!
The Bride: You and I have unfinished business.
Bill: Baby, you ain't kidding. -
johnwesleyshipp — 18 years ago(May 20, 2007 02:32 PM)
Excuse me butthe endless speculation about my reasons for leaving Dawson's Creek in its fifth season is flattering but highly innacurate. Even 6 years after I left the Creek, the "explanations" are fantastic. I will tell you exactly what happened; after that, you're on your own to create and fantasize to your heart's content.
First of all, let me say that I am proud to have been apart of this pop-cultural phenomenon, working with a gifted cast saying the words of gifted writers under skilled direction and the watchful eyes of enthusiastic producers. We had the feeling we were creating something special far from "Hollywoodland" on the charming Southeastern-USA coastal waterways of Wilmington, NC. At the outset, playing a parent on this show was a joy, crafted as it was for the parents to enjoy independent (though subsidiary) and intersecting storylines with the kids: witness the HURRICANE episode. In seasons 3 and 4, however, the parent's storylines were progressively de-emphazised. By season 5, the kids were going off to college and leaving the Creek which would have left the parents exactly where? (clue: not "ahead")
At the end of season 4, all of the adults' contracts were permitted to lapse, to allow for restructuring deals in order to reflect the importance of storylines once the kids left for college; we all sensed the sea-change ahead. As it turned out, the producers only wanted 6 episodes from "Mom and Dad." Not wishing to stick around to see my contribution to the show shrink to more disappointing levels, I set my price high during negotiations. The 5th season began shooting and no deal. The WB SHUT DOWN PRODUCTION the first week of the 5th season due to lack of a storyline and no major motivating event. Paul Stupin contacted me in LA for coffee and askedif they gave me the $$$ I was asking and 2 great scriptswould I come back to kill the character. In lieu of limping along to a disappointing end, I agreed.
Et voila: DAWSON'S CREEK HAD ITS MAJOR MOTIVATING INCIDENT FOR SEASON FIVE; ONE OF THE PARENTS COULD ASSUME ALL OF THE DIMINISHING PARENTAL DUTIES INSTEAD OF SPLITTING THEM; DAWSON GOT AN AWESOME STORYLINE TO EXPLORE WITH THE DEATH OF5b4 HIS DAD; AND MITCH GOT TO "JUMP THE SHARK" IN A WAY THAT HONORED THE CHARACTER AND MADE ME FEEL THAT THE PREVIOUS 4 YEARS HAD BEEN ABOUT SOMETHING.
And so, people, those are all of the facts that I knowrumors of "affairs" and "crushes" notwithstanding. If there was anything else, I to this day am unaware of it. It may not be so dramatic, but it happens to be the truth. -
danielhenares — 13 years ago(November 20, 2012 06:49 PM)
I'm a great fan of Dawson's Creek and I already knew this story was the real one about you leaving of the show.
Anyway it's really nice to read you telling us about it, John.
Thank you, and be sure that you did a great work on the Creek.
I was a kid at that time and the show has a sentimental meaning for me.
Season 1 and 2 are remarkable, and Mitch it's definitely one of the reasons!
Cheers and success!
(Sorry about my english mistakes, but it's not my native language)