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L i b r a i r i e . . . E n t e r t a i n m e n t W e e k l y . . . F a l l T V P r e v i e w . . . TRU CALLING FOX. 8-9 PM DEBUTS OCT. 30 It's closing in on noon and Eliza Dushku is still in bed. The sultry brunette is in the midst of reshooting parts of the pilot of her new series, Tru Calling, and today's schedule finds her wearing next to nothing as she rehearses an intimate wake-up scene with actor Kristoffer Polaha, who plays her boyfriend (not to mention former college professor). But even though Dushku sports a cutoff top, supershort shorts, and the occasionally visible thong while engaging in good-morning smooches and pillow talk about being an "ethics violation," it's not quite good enough for director Phillip Noycea man who honed his craft of capturing sexy scenes on film with features such as Sliver and The Quiet American (well, not so much with The Quiet American). "Try it again with your hand rubbing his thigh," he instructs Dushku, who complies. "Oh, that's beautiful. Why don't we make it more intimate then." As 12 sweaty males (gaffers, grips, cameramen, sound techs, a reporter, and who knows, maybe even a best boy) look on, the actress can't help but laugh. "What is this, a porn set? This place became X-rated in the past 24 hours." Counters Polaha, "No, I think you just became aware of it." Chuckles all around. A few minutes later, when Dushku accidentally breaks a prop alarm clock, a cameraman arches his eyebrows and admonishes, "Bad Eliza. Nauuuuuuughty girl." Wait, is this a porn set? Not quite, but you can't blame the Fox network for wanting to show off as much of Dushku as possible. Ever since it clipped the wings of Dark Angel's Jessica Alba, the net has been searching for a new signature sexpot, and with smoldering good looks and attitude to spare, Dushku appears to be that sexpot. After building up quite a resume playing supporting characters in critical successes (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and commercial hits (Bring It On), the 22-year-old is ready for her close-up (actually about 80 of them, judging by Noyce's painstaking shooting schedule of inserts, reverse angles, and alternate takes). You see, the Tru fact remains that not only is this Dushku's first bona fide starring TV role, but it's also the role she and so many others are counting on to make her a bona fide star. To accomplish that, all she has to do is work at a morgue, chat up corpses, go back in time 24 hours, save people from dying, and try to get her bad-news brother and sister to clean up their acts. Oh, and show a little skin while doing it. Even as a small girl, Eliza Dushku saw dead people. The father of her best buddy owned a funeral home, and sometimes little Eliza would sneak a peek at the corpses. "My friend dared me to touch one," she recalls. "And it got really creepy, and when I went to turn to my friend, she was gone. I was absolutely terrified." Apparently not too terrified to do it all over again. When creator Jon Harmon Feldman (American Dreams) came up with the concept about a recent college grad named Tru Davies who listens to pleas for help from corpses and then relives the day they died to prevent their untimely demises, they had but one actress in mind. "Eliza was always the prototype for this role," says Feldman. But they weren't the only ones hoping a little Dushku would go a long way. Other producers were trying to line her up for their new shows as well. "She was possibly gonna do the Buffy spin-off, and Jerry Bruckheimer was asking her to do Fearless [a role that ultimately went to Rachael Leigh Cook], so we kept auditioning people," says executive producer Dawn Parouse. "But we couldn't get Eliza out of our heads." Luckily, the attraction was mutual. "When I read the script, I was like, Boom! It was the whole package," says Dushku, and by whole package, she may be referring to the multiple influences the show not-so-subtly employs. "It's kind of like Run Lola Run with a CSI feel," says A.J. Cook (Final Destination 2), who plays Tru's friend Lindsay. "But also kind of like Groundhog Day and Early Edition. Probably with a little bit of Alias, too." That's what happens when you throw together dead bodies, time displacement, and random sprinting down city streets. The mix was enough to land Dushku, but the big question is, will anyone else besides those 11 sweaty crewmen and one perspiring reporter enjoy the fruits of her labor? The network decided to schedule the program for Thursday night at 8, otherwise known as the time-slot-from-hell. Will Tru be able to register its own pulse against stiff (pardon the pun) competition that includes Friends and Survivor? Well, for now, all the actors are saying the right things. Or are they? "Yeah, I'll be watching Friends," jokes Shawn Reaves, who plays Tru's brother, Harrison. "When I first heard it, my ears were ringing a little bit, because my buddies and I used to have Friends parties," adds Dushku. And then there is Zach Galifianakis, who plays Tru's boss, Davis. "You know, it's bad for morale," says the stand-up comedian. "It's like, 'Okay, you've been working on a farm basketball team for a few years now. Your new opponent is the Harlem Globetrotters. And they're going to be using a ladder.' " The producers have a slightly more positive outlook. "Obviously, it's a tough time slot," concedes Feldman, "but we have a young star and I think we will appeal to a younger audience." Feldman and Fox, which says it promises to be patient with the show, are counting on the equal parts spunky and sexy Dushku--tough enough to demand a pet python while growing up, yet girly enough to call her dog Max Factor--to deliver that younger audience. "She's drop-dead gorgeous, but she's not just eye candy," says Cook. "She's feisty, and that's what she brings to this character." Adds Jessica Collins, who plays Tru's older sister Meredith: "She's not just the pretty girl waiting for somebody to save her in the tower. She's out there kicking butt." But while Tru the character may be kicking butt, if Tru the show doesn't, Dushku may suffer. "It's all on her shoulders," says Collins. "If the show fails, nobody's gonna come screaming at me. She's definitely the one taking the credit or the blame." For her part, Dushku appears calm. Having survived the bedroom reshoots, the actress has moved on to film scenes in the makeshift morgue. The pressure to succeed (not to mention having to work in a room filled with livor mortis diagrams and bottles marked Dimethylformamide) could unnerve just about anyone, yet the actress seems to relish her position. "Some people say you've got more to lose when you're the title character," she says. "I feel more like, what have I got to lose, my reputation? I believe in this, and if I'm wrong then I'm wrong." With that she struts back in front of the camera, adjusting her workplace ensemble--a miniskirt, high heels, and form-fitting white lab coat. Nauuuuuuughty, indeed.
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