Basche

The third wheel is David Alan Basche, a familiar TV face still waiting for a hit, as the newbie roomie, weepy and needy and described by Faison as being "like my ex-wife but without the expensive breasts."

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The Exes, a working title, stars Faison, Wayne Knight, David Alan Basche and Kristen Johnston and follows three divorced men who live together in an apartment across the hall from their divorce attorney.

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Basche answered that Universal's promise to donate 10 percent of its opening weekend gross to the Flight 93 National Memorial Fund could encourage filmgoers (note that that figure leaves out 90% of the opening weekend gross plus all the proceeds thereafter).

Melissa Lafsky: Tribeca Panel Series: Actor, Producer, Family Member on "United 93" 2008

Levin and Basche worked hard to stress the film's importance as an accurate historical documentation, but seemed reluctant to admit that much of the dialogue was potentially fictional.

Melissa Lafsky: Tribeca Panel Series: Actor, Producer, Family Member on "United 93" 2008

Levin and Basche remained guardedly optimistic about the film's appeal to viewers.

Melissa Lafsky: Tribeca Panel Series: Actor, Producer, Family Member on "United 93" 2008

Basche shared a wealth of details about the production and filming, revealing that Greengrass had prepared meticulously for the project: rather than a formal script, he instead used a 20-page treatment containing the timeline of events and personal information about each passenger including their nationality, hometown, final destination, purpose for travel and exact seat location.

Melissa Lafsky: Tribeca Panel Series: Actor, Producer, Family Member on "United 93" 2008

Basche also said that he and the other cast members playing the passengers and crew were kept separate from the four actors portraying the hijackers.

Melissa Lafsky: Tribeca Panel Series: Actor, Producer, Family Member on "United 93" 2008

Basche cited recently-released black box recordings from Flight 93 as evidence that the film "got it right" (warning: the linked article has a lot of very upsetting details); but he later said that certain interactions between passengers were entirely the "actor's choice."

Melissa Lafsky: Tribeca Panel Series: Actor, Producer, Family Member on "United 93" 2008

Basche, who plays passenger Todd Beamer, admitted feeling "reticence" and "trepidation" upon being cast, though he said his worries dissipated after spending "about 16 seconds with [director] Paul Greengrass," whom Basche recounted as being "so passionate" about the film's importance.

Melissa Lafsky: Tribeca Panel Series: Actor, Producer, Family Member on "United 93" 2008

Basche, who said that the actors were "wonderfully supported by family members," did not speak with Beamer's family to prepare for his role, instead trading e-mails with Beamer's father and reading wife Lisa Beamer's book "Let's Roll: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage."

Melissa Lafsky: Tribeca Panel Series: Actor, Producer, Family Member on "United 93" 2008