PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: PALEYFEST 2011: 28TH ANNUAL WILLIAM S. PALEY TELEVISION FESTIVAL: EASTBOUND & DOWN (LONG VERSION ANAMORPHIC)
Summary
One in a series of seminars presented as part of The Paley Center for Media’s 28th William S. Paley Television Festival in Los Angeles. Held this year at the Saban Theatre in Los Angeles, the festival celebrates the excellence and diversity of American television and is dedicated to television's creative community. This PALEYFEST 2011 seminar honors “Eastbound & Down,” a comedy about a vulgar, egotistical former baseball pitcher who returns to his home town to become a substitute physical education teacher.
Betsy Scolnik (vice president, The Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles) offers opening remarks before introducing moderator Lynette Rice (senior writer, Entertainment Weekly). Rice sets up a clip package showcasing highlights from the show.
Rice moderates the following panelists: executive producer/director/writer Jody Hill; executive producer Chris Henchy; executive producer/writer/cast member Danny McBride (Kenny Powers); and cast members Ana de la Reguera (Vida), Katy Mixon (April Buchanon), Steve Little (Stevie Janowski), and Michael Peña (Sebastian Cisneros).
The panelists touch on such topics as: how McBride’s stint as a substitute teacher served as inspiration for “Eastbound & Down”; Hill and McBride's 2006 film “The Foot Fist Way” having attracted executive producer Will Ferrell to the show; the long development process; de la Reguera’s role as an “arch-nemesis” to Mixon’s character; why McBride writes each season as a “long movie”; HBO’s trepidation over the show’s vulgar content; McBride's attraction to playing “anti-hero” characters; Mixon's secret for perfecting her character’s blank stare; how producers handled some explicit moments for de la Reguera's character; the “three-act” season structure and the challenges of changing the show’s setting; McBride's feelings about guest star Don Johnson (Eduardo Sanchez Powers); how McBride and Hill come up with jokes; and McBride’s intention to end the story at season three’s conclusion.
Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics among others: the return of Aaron, a character played by Deep Roy; the show's depiction of the American South; whether real people served as the inspiration for “Eastbound & Down’s” characters; the commercial McBride shot with NFL football player Jeremy Shockey; the show’s lack of outtakes; working with the middle-school students featured on the show; the differences between shooting in Los Angeles and North Carolina; balancing characters' various story arcs; if cast members contribute ideas for their characters; how British comedy serves as an inspiration for “Eastbound & Down”; why producers decide on specific guest stars to be prominently featured; the show’s creative freedom; de la Reguera's thoughts on her character's musical numbers; a commercial the cast shot for K-Swiss athletic shoes; the panelists’ early comedic influences; and a memorable scene that McBride shot with Ferrell.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: March 10, 2011 7:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:28:40
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 104748
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Betsy Scolnik … Host
- Lynette Rice … Moderator
- Ana de la Reguera … Panelist
- Katy Mixon … Panelist
- Steve Little … Panelist
- Chris Henchy … Panelist
- Jody Hill … Panelist
- Danny McBride … Panelist
- Michael Peña … Panelist
- Will Ferrell
- Don Johnson
- Deep Roy
- Jeremy Shockey