PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: PALEYFEST 2013: PALEYFEST ICON AWARD: RYAN MURPHY {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented as part of The Paley Center for Media's 30th 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 PALEYFEST 2013 seminar honors the first-ever recipient of the PaleyFest Icon Award, Ryan Murphy. Host Pat Mitchell (president and CEO, The Paley Center for Media) offers opening remarks and discusses Murphy's impact on television and pop culture, acknowledging the many actors and writers from his many television series present in the audience.
Mitchell then introduces one of Murphy's "personal heroes," renowned television pioneer Norman Lear. Lear briefly jokes about the audience's friendly nature as well as his own "icon" status and induction into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1984, and then attempts to describe Murphy's cultural impact with the aid of a few choice Yiddish phrases.
After a clip package featuring scenes from "The New Normal," "American Horror Story," "Glee," "Nip/Tuck" and "Popular," Murphy takes the stage with Lacey Rose (TV editor, The Hollywood Reporter). The conversation touches on such topics as: his early dreams of becoming a pediatrician, dashed by his lack of skill in science and math; his fascination with USA Today's entertainment "purple section" and eventual Washington Post internship; his sense that he "asks questions" both in his current career and his former job as a reporter; his "obsession with celebrities" and early interviews with Meryl Streep; meaningful advice from "Thelma and Louise" (1991) director Callie Khouri and experience being "tapped" by Steven Spielberg after selling his first script; his equal interest in writing both drama and comedy; his sense that "the world has changed" for the better in terms of social acceptance and the depiction of diversity on television; how his interest in "shocking" content has waned since marrying and becoming a father; the "invigorating" experience of working on multiple shows of different genres simultaneously; his shows as "weird therapy" through which he explores his own personal issues, particular through the character of Kurt (Chris Colfer) on "Glee" and Bryan Collins (Andrew Rannells) on "The New Normal"; his hopes to "make someone's path easier than his own was" through writing; his interest in directing the "scary and personal" film adaptation of "The Normal Heart"; his sense of television as a career and film as a hobby; his aggressive style of convincing his favorite actors, particular Best Actress Oscar winners, to appear in his projects; his plans to explore his newfound parental fears in an upcoming work; sage advice from Steven Bochco, also a creator of many famous shows; and his love of Petula Clark's "Downtown."
Murphy then gives a brief acceptance speech for the Icon Award in which he thanks his many collaborators and associates as well as his husband David Miller.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: February 27, 2013 7:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:54:13
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 110467
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Pat Mitchell … Host
- Lacey Rose … Moderator
- Norman Lear … Guest
- Ryan Murphy … Guest
- Steven Bochco
- Petula Clark
- Chris Colfer
- Callie Khouri
- David Miller
- Andrew Rannells
- Steven Spielberg
- Meryl Streep