PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: PALEYFEST NY 2014: LAW & ORDER: SVU {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented as part of The Paley Center for Media's PaleyFest New York 2014. This evening celebrates "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," the long-running series of police dramas—a spin-off of "Law & Order"—about the sexual crimes investigated by the elite Special Victims Unit of the New York Police Department. Host Maureen Reidy (president and CEO, The Paley Center for Media) offers opening remarks and introduces executive producer and showrunner Warren Leight. Leight provides background on the episode "Holden's Manifesto," which is then screened in its entirety. (For synopsis and credits, see ACCNUM 116729.)
After the screening, Reidy welcomes moderator Frazier Moore (television critic, The Associated Press) to the stage. Moore moderates the following panelists: Leight; executive producer Julie Martin; executive producer and creator Dick Wolf; and cast members Peter Scanavino (Detective Dominick Carisi), Raúl Esparza (A.D.A. Rafael Barba), Danny Pino (Detective Nick Amaro), Ice-T (Detective Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola), and Mariska Hargitay (Sergeant Olivia Benson).
The panelists touch on such topics as: the show as "not really a spin-off" of the original "Law & Order" due to its new characters and unique construction; the show's origins in the 1998 television film "Exiled: A Law & Order Movie," starring Ice-T and Chris Noth, who also appeared on the mothership series; Hargitay's immediate sense of connection with the "very dark" pilot script and her audition alongside Chris Meloni, who played her partner Detective Elliot Stabler from 1999 to 2011; Ice-T's previous work on Wolf's other shows, including "New York Undercover" and "Players"; his eventual role on "SVU," starting in season two and originally intended for four episodes only; Pino's assertion that he was not "replacing" Meloni, who departed the series after season twelve; Ice-T's unusual "welcoming" speech to the new actors; Esparza's first role on Wolf's "South Beach" and later appearance on "Law & Order: Criminal Intent"; his role in the financially disastrous 2012 Broadway musical "Leap of Faith," written by Leight, and feeling that Leight "saved his life" by then offering him the role of Barba; his "magic" first day on the show and strong sense of teamwork amongst the cast; Scanavino's many roles on the other "Law & Order" series and nervousness in joining "SVU" long-term; Martin and Leight's decision to "reinvent" the series after Meloni's exit; the show's unique nature due to the victims' need to "prove" their claims of sexual violence; their attempts to combine everyday personal stories with "heightened drama," including Benson's hostage plotline in season fifteen; and praise for the writing staff from Wolf.
Questions from the audience and from the PaleyFest app then lead to a discussion of the following topics, among others: how shooting out of sequence helps to lessen the emotional impact on the actors of some of the more harrowing plotlines; Hargitay's decision to become a rape crisis counselor after hearing from many real-life survivors over the years, and her creation of the Joyful Heart Foundation; the importance of handling the show's themes with "authenticity and grace"; how the show has "revolutionized" victims' decisions to come forward about their assaults, according to the statistics; the cast and crew's surprise in learning that real cops often study the show to learn techniques; the plot issues that resonated most with the cast members, including rape kit backlog statistics, the world of child sex trafficking, victim-blaming and the stigma against male survivors; the upcoming 350th episode, a three-way crossover with "Chicago Fire" and "Chicago P.D."; plans to continue the show for "as long as physically possible"; and praise for Hargitay's meaningful impact on long-term fans.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: November 30, 1999 7:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:34:01
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 116715
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Maureen Reidy … Host
- Frazier Moore … Moderator
- Warren Leight … Panelist
- Peter Scanavino … Panelist
- Raúl Esparza … Panelist
- Danny Pino … Panelist
- Ice T … Panelist
- Julie Martin … Panelist
- Mariska Hargitay … Panelist
- Dick Wolf … Panelist
- Chris Meloni
- Chris Noth