An Interview with Raymond S. Persi & Scott Barry Kaufman from ‘Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie’

Marcie in "Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie," now streaming on Apple TV+.

Raymond S. Persi is an accomplished television director that has worked on some iconic franchises, such as The Simpsons, and Scott Barry Kaufman is a remarkable Cognitive Scientist and both of these professionals worked to assemble the Apple TV+ Peanuts Special, Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie. And we at NTG had the distinct honor of sitting down with both Raymond and Scott to discuss their roles in this special and its importance.
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John Betancourt: What attracted each of you to this project?

Raymond S. Persi: Well, I think what attracted me to this project is first, it was just fun to dive deeper into a character that doesn't, you know, we don't really focus on a lot, Marcie. It just was fun to really explore her personality and her character. She's a very interesting character. It's like, you know, she may be happy being seen in the background, but she's still a little bit feisty, and she'll jab you back if you poke at her. The other reason I thought it was really a fun episode or a special to work on, was, I think a lot of artists can relate to Marcie, you know, a lot of our crew related to her. The fact that she is happy to let her work speak for itself. She's not looking for the limelight, but she's still looking to do things that she can put out into the world.

Scott Barry Kaufman: Yeah, I'm just gonna, echo Raymond there. Everything he said, and just the opportunity to be able to dispel some misconceptions about introversion. And to even celebrate it, was a really exciting opportunity for me to be a part of that in any way.

John Betancourt: Why is this the right time to have this discussion through this show?

Scott Barry Kaufman: I think there's just becoming such a greater awareness of different forms of diversity and, and neurodiversity, in particular. I think that, you know, with the publication of my friend and colleague, Susan Kane's book, Quiet, showing -- I don't know if either you two read that book, but that response to that -- but showing the superpowers that introverts can have, really resonated with, like, half of the world's population, you know, so there’s a pretty large…  not everyone… you know, there's a sizable number of people that do not love being in the spotlight at all times, and do not get super turbocharged whenever they have to go to a networking event. And for those people, it's nice to show that they also can contribute to society in many, many, many valuable ways.

Raymond S. Persi: I think I agree with Scott on that. It's the sort of thing that… it's been kind of discussed a bit, you know, out in the zeitgeist. And I think that it’s great to kind of contribute to that conversation.

John Betancourt: How is this the right story to explore introversion?

Raymond S. Persi: So, Craig Schultz, and Bryan (Schulz) and “Neil” (Corneilus Uliano) wrote this, or came up with this story, focusing on Marcie, and you know, one of the things that Craig thought was a really great way to show someone who's happy not taking the limelight, is a caddy. So, in the special, you see that Peppermint Patty is a great golfer, but she is partially great, because she's got a really great caddy, who is happy to give the advice and, and help guide her and, you know, even calm her down when Peppermint Patty’s nervous. So, I think that that was a great way to show that part of it to show her strengths. The other thing was the fact that her being such a good person, and a person who loves to help a lot of times that good can be recognized with people saying “You should be our leader. You should be president.” And so, we got to show that, yes, she's awarded with that, and she doesn't want that. So, you know, which is kind of opposite of what you'd expect. So, I think having those two things in the story really helped tell her story.

Scotty Barry Kaufman: It really is because it highlights the multifaceted nature of a human as well, not just introversion. Marcie is a number of things. And we don't want to reduce anyone to just one trait. Marcie is Marcie. Marcie is quirky. She is… she's a bit socially anxious, which -- that's not the same thing as introversion, necessarily, but she's also compassionate. She's also a bit of a wiseass! (Laughs) You know? Which is which we love about her. So, it shows that, you know, introverts come in many different shapes and forms. And what is the unique -- this was a discussion we had quite a bit as the writers working on the script as well, what kind of introvert is Marcie? You know, and, and I think that this show really, really drew out a lot of her strengths as an introvert as well draw as a fuller picture of who she is, as a human.

Raymond S. Persi: What I thought was really cool, Scott, is you helped us kind of focus on the fact that introversion is a trait that a person can have, it's not a trait that a person is, you know, you're not defined by it.

Scott Barry Kaufman: That's right! You listened to me! (Laughter from all)

Raymond S. Persi: Oh yeah, highlighting things, everything.

Scott Barry Kaufman: That's, that's so beautifully put.

John Betancourt: Thank you for the education there, you are indeed correct, it’s not a definition. I do apologize. Now, this is a very Bold Peanuts project, what kinds of challenges went into putting together this story?

Scott Barry Kaufman: I think there was a challenge of… there's such a rich history with Peanuts. And I wanted to come at this with full, full humility, you know, and not like, “Who am I to make some suggestions that change…” but there were some earlier drafts that were more focused on the social anxiety aspect of it. So, something that was challenging, was trying to stay within the context of the rich history, not change Marcie fundamentally, right, obviously, for her longtime fans, but also just make some notes here and there that kind of shifted things to highlight more of her superpower as being reflective, her superpower, in being able to deal with things behind the scenes. And you can do these sorts of things and not focus so much on the social anxiety aspect of it.

Raymond S. Persi: You know, I think it was coming up with the right ways to visualize her different states. One of the first things we did, working with our production designer, Pascal Campion was talking about how to show where she's comfortable. So, if you watch the special, you will see that oftentimes we will show her sitting in shadow. And it's not that she's hiding. That's kind of showing where she feels comfortable, you know, maybe set aside from people, not in the middle of the action, as an observer, you know, because that’s who she is, she is a person who observes a lot. We looked to films like Miyazaki films, where there's a lot of moments where you're just looking at landscapes, quiet moments, the moments in between the actions, and we tried to put a lot of that into this, to bring you into her state of mind. And then the other thing was, partly because of the fact that she isn't as eager to express her feelings. And the other is the fact that as a character, she doesn't really have a lot to emote with, you know, she's got those glasses on where you can't see her eyes. So, we really pushed to kind of visualize and show through her, like her rich imagination, what she was feeling so that you could you know. The whole thing in animation you want is to show don't tell, so it was our way to show what she's going through.

John Betancourt: What does it mean to each of you to be telling this important story in the Peanuts Universe?

Raymond S. Persi: I'm really proud. I mean, I've had a chance to direct… well, so far, three, and then I think a fourth one coming up next year. And it was so important to hold on to the legacy of what Charles Schultz had drawn and written, you know, in every instance, we would always go back to the strips to try to capture the character and keep it as authentic as possible. And the more we did that, the more we realized what you could tell with these characters. So, I'm in general proud of these specials. We really wanted to with these specials, tap into some of the, especially the older specials, that really had something to say, that were really trying to go a little deeper, because I think that's what Peanuts does best.

Scott Barry Kaufman: Well, man, well, what an honor to play any role in such an iconic show, as well as any opportunity that I can get, and I've been working with some writers from some other shows on Apple children's programming, to talk about the real science of neurodiversity. And, you know, to be this specific on introversion, there's so many myths, so many misconceptions of what it means to be an introvert. And to be able to contribute that I mean, I felt like I was in heaven, to work with this team.

John Betancourt: What ultimately, do you each hope audiences take away from this story?

Scott Barry Kaufman: You know, I want them to walk away feeling, for a lot of them, a greater sense of appreciation for their own introversion and for the superpowers and to feel a great sense of relief that you don't have to change who you are, you can accept who you are, and contribute wildly to others in the world, in your own style, and in your own way. To leave this feeling that kind of inspiration, I think would be a great thing.

Raymond S. Persi: You know, to add to that, for me, I think what's great is perhaps people watching it that maybe don't feel as introverted, that they can look to the people in their lives, and, you know, see, maybe see those traits as you know, not a weakness, but as something that makes that person special, and gives them specific strengths so that they can work together. That's kind of the other thing, I hope that people get out of this.

John Betancourt: Last question I have for you gentlemen toady, what are you each most proud of when it comes to this special?

Raymond S. Persi: I think I'm just proud of the fact that it all kind of comes together. You know, as a director, you're dealing with, you know, acting, you're dealing with the look of it, the animation, you know, working with composers to get the music, right. And I feel like working together, we made something authentic. So, I'm very proud of that.

Scott Barry Kaufman: Yeah, I… I completely echo that. Am I allowed to say “ditto?”

John Betancourt: Oh, yeah!

Scott Barry Kaufman: I've never done that in an interview before, but ditto. It rings… truly authentic. I think that was really well put, Raymond.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity. This interview was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the television special being covered here wouldn’t exist.

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