PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: PALEYFEST 2012: 29TH ANNUAL WILLIAM S. PALEY TELEVISION FESTIVAL: MODERN FAMILY {LONG VERSION ANAMORPHIC}
Summary
One in a series of seminars presented as part of The Paley Center for Media's 29th William S. Paley Television Festival in Los Angeles. Held this year at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, the festival celebrates the excellence and diversity of American television and is dedicated to television’s creative community. This seminar honors "Modern Family," the "mockumentary" comedy series about the eccentric individuals comprising three inter-related families in Los Angeles.
Host Becky Levikow (assistant director of development, The Paley Center for Media/Los Angeles) offers opening remarks before introducing moderator Cynthia Littleton (deputy editor, Daily Variety).
Littleton brings series executive producer/creator/writer Steven Levitan to the stage, and he introduces the as-yet unfinished episode "Election Day," which is screened in its entirety. (For synopsis and credits, see ACCNUM 107448.)
After the screening, Littleton introduces the panelists: Levitan; and cast members Rico Rodriguez (Manny Delgado), Nolan Gould (Luke Dunphy), Ariel Winter (Alex Dunphy), Sarah Hyland (Haley Dunphy), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Mitchell Pritchett), Eric Stonestreet (Cameron Tucker), Julie Bowen (Claire Dunphy), Ty Burrell (Phil Dunphy), Sofia Vergara (Gloria Delgado-Pritchett) and Ed O'Neill (Jay Pritchett).
The panelists discuss topics which include: Bryan Cranston's direction of the screened episode; the cast's "terrified" reaction to working with Walter White, his fearsome "Breaking Bad" character; Stonestreet's positive experience working on Cranston's previous show, "Malcolm in the Middle"; the differences in the show's third season from the first two, including the actors' ever-growing knowledge of their characters; their gratitude for constantly-surprising scripts; Bowen's former sense of stress at table reads and eventual growth in confidence; Hyland's experience of graduating from high school while working on the show; the young actors' sense of the cast as a second family; Bowen's motherly relationship with the kids; Rodriguez's sense of his improvement as an actor; Ferguson's sense of humor and what "tickles" him on set; praise for the writers and casting director Jeff Greenberg; the "math"-like challenge of writing multiple stories for many characters in every episode; whether the actors' ideas influence the stories; the writers' efforts to incorporate the actors' habits and tics into their characters; the fast, "screwball" pace of the comedy; Bowen and Ferguson's nervousness during an ice-dancing scene; Burrell's experience walking on a tightrope; O'Neill and Stonestreet's anxiety about scenes on horseback; the good and bad elements of comedic pratfalls; the storyline in which Jay receives a disastrous Botox injection; the kids being "more than props" with their own stories and development; the young actors' talents at naturalizing conversational dialogue; the deep father-son relationships and the parallels between Luke and his youthful father Phil; the relative lack of ad-libbing; O'Neill's surprise at his character's similarity to himself; the May-December romance between Jay and Gloria and their genuine love for one another; Vergara's dislike of working with the French bulldog Brigitte, mirrored in Gloria's aversion to her husband's beloved pet; the "interview" moments in which the characters address the camera and their usefulness in avoiding clunky expositional dialogue; the actors' interest in "informing the psychology" of their characters through the one-on-one moments; the writers' desire to avoid being overly sentimental in emotional family scenes; the recent episode in which Phil learns that Haley has lost her virginity and the metaphorical "doll hospital" subplot; Burrell's sense of being a better parent on TV than in real life; ideas for future episodes on Cameron's family's Missouri farm and Gloria's native Colombia; an upcoming appearance by Cameron's gruff father, played by Barry Corbin; the decision not to elongate the seasons because of the kids' rapid growth; recasting Cameron and Mitchell's daughter Lily when the twin actors playing her grew to dislike the role; Cameron and Mitchell as a "pop culture touchstone" for gay rights and issues; Stonestreet's amusement at positive reaction for the characters from unexpected viewers; and moving responses from young viewers that declared their sexual preference after watching Cameron and Mitchell's characters.
Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics: the cast's other favorite TV shows; memorable guest stars and moments; practical jokes amongst the cast members; Winter and Hyland's real-life sisterly friendship; the kids' picks for ideal new guest stars; the busy filming schedule and the writers' lack of break time; the episode "Little Bo Bleep" in which the young Lily utters a profanity, and the negative response before the episode's airing; hopes for the show to run "as long as it's good"; Bowen and Burrell's struggles with a scene in which the malaproping Phil mispronounces "mnemonic device"; the crew's annoyance when the actors ruin multiple takes with laughter; an improvised scene involving a uncooperative hammock; and attempts to pair the characters in many different ways in different stories.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: March 14, 2012 7:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:46:57
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 107126
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Becky Levikow … Host
- Cynthia Littleton … Moderator
- Steven Levitan … Panelist
- Rico Rodriguez … Panelist
- Nolan Gould … Panelist
- Ariel Winter … Panelist
- Sarah Hyland … Panelist
- Jesse Tyler Ferguson … Panelist
- Eric Stonestreet … Panelist
- Julie Bowen … Panelist
- Ty Burrell … Panelist
- Sofia Vergara … Panelist
- Ed O'Neill … Panelist
- Barry Corbin
- Bryan Cranston
- Jeff Greenberg