PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: PALEYFEST 2015: GIRLS {PUBLIC SHORT VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented as part of The Paley Center for Media's 32nd William S. Paley Television Festival in Los Angeles. Held this year at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, the festival celebrates the excellence and diversity of American television and is dedicated to television's creative community. This PALEYFEST 2015 seminar honors "Girls," the comedic drama series about a circle of friends living in New York City.
Judd Apatow (film director and "Girls" executive producer/writer) moderates the following panelists: executive producer/creator/director/writer/cast member Lena Dunham (Hannah Horvath); executive producers/writers Bruce Eric Kaplan and Jennifer Konner; executive producer Ilene S. Landress; and cast members Andrew Rannells (Elijah Krantz), Alex Karpovsky (Ray Ploshansky) and Allison Williams (Marnie Michaels).
The panelists touch on such topics as: the cast and crew as a "stable, delightful family"; Dunham's decision to assign a separate person to manage her Twitter feed after receiving too many negative comments; Kaplan's past work on multi-camera series and a funny "Seinfeld" line of his that was cut; his views of the "effort to be truthful" on "Girls"; Karpovsky's role in Dunham's 2010 independent film "Tiny Furniture"; his and Dunham's debatable one-time date night; Ray as the "voice of reason and disdain" towards the main characters; Dunham and Konner's great excitement at Rannells' audition, having just attended his Broadway show "The Book of Mormon"; Rannells' interesting alterations to the character as written, including Elijah's blunt statement to Hannah about her father's sexuality; Landress' past experience on "The Sopranos" and the surprising similarities between the two shows; Dunham's adjustment to the larger budget on "Girls" compared to "Furniture"; her amusing experiences simultaneously acting and directing, including in sex scenes; many cast members' avoidance of "the nightmare Hollywood experience" due to joining the series early in their careers; Apatow's daughter Maude's appearance as Cleo in several episodes; comparisons between the "Girls" set and that of "Scandal," on which Dunham recently appeared; her disastrous experience acting in the 2011 HBO miniseries "Mildred Pierce" and a funny memory of working alongside Kate Winslet; Ray's dissimilar relationships with Marnie and Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet); Williams' views of Marnie's personal journey over the course of the series so far; how the much-discussed sex scenes contribute to the plots and the characters' development; Kaplan's skill at writing for many female characters, including the memorable Hannah/Marnie fight scene in season one; Karpovsky's growing fame and a funny story about being one of People magazine's "Sexiest Men Alive"; Rannells' "unsolicited advice" from viewers and sense of anonymity in New York City; Dunham's dislike of the subway system; her sense of the show as having political aspects without being didactic; and the importance of personal growth and expanding one's mind about important social topics, particularly for public figures.
Questions from the audience and from Twitter and the PaleyFest app then lead to a discussion of the following topics, among others: an unusual slang term borrowed from Tim Meadows' "Ladies' Man" character; Konner and Dunham's longtime friendship and professional partnership; the importance of creating female characters who are "complex, annoying and multi-faceted"; their use of improvisation and "fun-run" takes; Rannells' "dream role" on Broadway and his and Williams' funny ideas for appearances on other series; whether the "Girls" would be friends with the "Broad City" characters and the lack of competition between the two similar shows; Marnie's heavy drinking habit but avoidance of drug use; how the Ray/Marnie relationship idea was originally conceived as a "prank" on Dunham; the cast and crew's use of transcendental meditation and work with the David Lynch Foundation; and Dunham's interest in taking the show's characters to "the next phase of their lives."
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: November 30, 1999 1:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:01:31
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 121516
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Judd Apatow … Moderator
- Bruce Eric Kaplan … Panelist
- Ilene S. Landress … Panelist
- Andrew Rannells … Panelist
- Alex Karpovsky … Panelist
- Allison Williams … Panelist
- Lena Dunham … Panelist
- Jennifer Konner … Panelist
- Maude Apatow
- Zosia Mamet
- Tim Meadows
- Kate Winslet