PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: PALEYFEST NY 2018: DOCUMENTARY NOW! {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 2018. This evening celebrates "Documentary Now!", the comedy series parodying famous documentary films and filmmakers.
Host Ron Simon (curator, The Paley Center for Media) offers opening remarks and introduces Academy Award-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville. Neville moderates the following panelists: executive producer/director/creator/cinematographer Alexander Buono; executive producer/director/writer Rhys Thomas; writer John Mulaney; and cast member Natasha Lyonne.
The panelists touch on such topics as: changes to the show's format for season three, including the use of new guests and lead actors apart from series creators Bill Hader and Fred Armisen; Lyonne's longtime association with the series and appreciation for its "radical" attention to detail; their sense of responsibility in accurately mimicking and representing documentarians' work; how Mulaney builds the scripts' comedic sensibilities around the timing and structure unique to each episode; the challenging of finding more obscure and interesting documentaries to parody, after "running out" of the obvious "low-hanging fruit" options in seasons one and two; working with actress Cate Blanchett, who was "game for anything" and performed her own stunts, in a season three episode parodying Marina Abramovic's "The Artist is Present"; an upcoming episode parodying "Let's Get Lost" (1988), in which Lyonne was asked to sing; inspiration from Lou Reed and a never-used "Saturday Night Live" character created by Mulaney and Armisen; exploring the "manipulative" nature of "Lost" director Bruce Weber, who took advantage of subject Chet Baker's drug addiction during filming; tracking down a period-accurate antique camera for an episode parodying the Netflix series "Wild Wild Country" (2018); international crew members' occasional confusion about the strange show and its sense of humor; an upcoming episode parodying D.A. Pennebaker's "Original Cast Album: Company" (1971) (see T:57441 or 115236), featuring original songs with lyrics by Mulaney and co-creator Seth Meyers, with music by Eli Bolin; further inspiration from "Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened" (2016), the documentary exploring the troubled production and rapid close of the 1981 Broadway musical "Merrily We Roll Along"; the episode's portrayal of a "grueling recording session," for which Mulaney, Buono and Thomas pulled from their experiences of difficult late-night writing sessions on "Saturday Night Live"; the complex challenge of finding real Broadway singers and top-notch musicians within the episode's small budget and speedy filming period; and further hints about season three episodes, including a "30 For 30" sports-related installment, and a "rental car and GoPro"-style episode in which Armisen portrays a man determined to meet "Far Side" cartoonist Gary Larson.
Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics, among others: why Mulaney's idea for an episode centered on Princess Diana's 1997 death is unlikely to be produced; praise for the season two episode parodying "Swimming to Cambodia" (1987), and why the simplistic, single-location episode was financially necessary; how the writers collaborate and share comedic sensibilities, with further comparisons to "SNL"; the episodes as "loving homages" rather than mean-spirited mockery, and why many filmmakers, such as Pennebaker and Albert Maysles, enjoy working with the writers in creating funny spoofs of their works; Mulaney's enjoyment of "tonal parodies," with references to his memorable 2011 "SNL" sketch "Don' You Go Rounin' Roun To Re Ro," which was written with Hader and parodies excessively gritty British crime films; and why Armisen's suggestions for documentaries to satirize tends to skew toward the obscure.
Clips from several season-three episodes are interspersed throughout the program, including "Waiting For the Artist," "Long Gone" and "Co-Op." For synopsis and credits, see ACCNUM 134514.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: November 30, 1999 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: N/A
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 134500
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Ron Simon … Host
- Morgan Neville … Moderator
- Alexander Buono … Panelist
- Rhys Thomas … Panelist
- John Mulaney … Panelist
- Natasha Lyonne … Panelist
- Marina Abramovic
- Fred Armisen
- Chet Baker
- Diana, Princess of Wales (see also: Diana Spencer)
- Bill Hader
- Albert Maysles
- Gary Larson
- D.A. Pennebaker
- Bruce Weber