PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: PRIVATE EYES: PREVIEW SCREENING AND DISCUSSION {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented at The Paley Center for Media in New York. This evening celebrates the American premiere of "Private Eyes," the comedy-drama series, inspired by the series of novels by G.B. Joyce. about ex-hockey star Matt Shade and his partnership with no-nonsense private investigator Angie Everett in Toronto.
Host Maureen Reidy (President and CEO, The Paley Center for Media) offers opening remarks and introduces Brandon Burgess (chairman and CEO, ION Media), who briefly details the history of ION, "the last word in television." The series premiere, "The Code," is then screened in its entirety. (For synopsis and credits, see ACCNUM 131793.)After the screening, Cynthia Littleton (managing TV editor, Variety) moderates the following panelists: executive producers Lloyd Segan and Alan McCullough; executive producer/director/cast member Jason Priestley (Matt Shade); and cast member Cindy Sampson (Angie Everett).
The panelists touch on such topics as: creating the character of Angie, not present in the books, as a foil to Matt; the extensive audition process and Priestley's immediate chemistry with Sampson; Sampson's enjoyment of playing "the girl boss," rather than a sidekick, and the fun of the "case of the week" stories; Segan's past collaborations with Priestley on "The Dead Zone" and "Haven"; the show as a mystery-based "light procedural" underscored by vivid personalty conflicts; the "will they, won't they" aspect of Matt and Angie's relationship; early disagreements about the show's tone and style, eventually established as light and comedic; exploring different types of visual storytelling via different directors; how experienced television director Priestley assists the show's other directors; the hectic seven-day shooting schedule; adding the character of Jules (Jordyn Negri) and creating an accurate portrayal of a person with a visual impairment via research; their use of green screen and rear projection to avoid shooting outdoors in Toronto's infamous winters; the unusually high number of different locations used in the show, owing to the detectives' work; the "bold creative choice" of Toronto as the series' main setting, rather than using it as a stand-in for another city, as on many shows; how Matt's celebrity status as a former hockey pro informs the story; and the narrative theme of "finding your second act."
Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics, among others: crafting a wide variety of different mysteries for the episodes; Matt's paternal bond with the young hockey players he scouts, as seen in the episode; an upcoming plot featuring a love interest for Jules; hints about Becca Dorasay (Nicole de Boer), Matt's "complicated" ex-wife; inspiration from "The Rockford Files"; creating a gender-balanced writers room to ensure a diversity of voices in the scripts; praise from author Joyce, present in the audience, for the pilot episode's writing; Priestley's thoughts on a potential reboot of his popular '90s series "Beverly Hills, 90210"; Sampson's interest in a potential return to "Supernatural," on which she played Lisa Braeden; Segan's work as a producer on the cult hit "The Boondock Saints" (1999) and hints about a potential second sequel; and McCullough's early work on "Stargate SG-1."
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: November 30, 1999 6:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: N/A
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 131779
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Maureen Reidy … Host
- Cynthia Littleton … Moderator
- Jason Priestley … Panelist
- Cindy Sampson … Panelist
- Alan McCullough … Panelist
- Lloyd Segan … Panelist
- Brandon Burgess … Guest
- G.B. Joyce … Guest
- Nicole de Boer
- Jordyn Negri