PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: PALEYFEST 2019: THE WALKING DEAD {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented as part of The Paley Center for Media's 36th 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 2019 seminar honors "The Walking Dead," the drama/horror series based on the graphic novels of the same name about a group of survivors fighting for their lives after the undead begin to walk the earth.
Host Maureen Reidy (president and CEO, The Paley Center for Media) offers opening remarks and thanks the festival's various sponsors. She then welcomes the evening's moderator, Chris Hardwick (host, "Talking Dead"), to the stage. He introduces a 15-minute segment from "The Calm Before" episode.
After the screening, Hardwick moderates the following panelists: executive producer/showrunner Angela Kang; and cast members Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon), Christian Serratos (Rosita Espinosa), Ryan Hurst (Beta), Eleanor Matsuura (Yumiko), and Lauren Ridloff (Connie).
The panelists touch on such topics as: what it was like for Kang to assume showrunner duties as lead actor Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) was preparing to leave the show; Kang's balancing act of knowing future plot twists but not being able to discuss them; the thinking that went into the ninth season time jump; the process of writing out the character of Rick Grimes; the relationship between the show and Robert Kirkman's comic book series; Reedus having "had a chip on his shoulder" when starting the show, and how that attitude translated to his character; Daryl's maturation, after growing up in the shadow of his villainous brother Merle (Michael Rooker); Reedus's heartfelt reaction to Lincoln's departure; the choreography involved in an elaborate season nine battle between Daryl and Beta; Hurst's feelings of intimidation upon recently joining the cast; how Serratos became independent from fellow actors Michael Cudlitz (Abraham Ford) and Josh McDermitt (Eugene Porter) after the three started out by sharing most of their screen time; Matsuura being overwhelmed after binging eight seasons of the show upon hearing that she would be added to the main cast; the responsibility Matsuura feels to the LGBTQ community from playing a lesbian character; Ridloff's challenges from being a deaf actress on the set; the feedback from the deaf community given to Ridloff on her role; Kang's challenge in balancing the show's large cast; the attempt to deliver a message of resilience and triumphing over daily horrors; and the legacy of the late Scott Wilson (Hershel Greene).
Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics, among others: if Lauren Cohan (Maggie Rhee) might return to the show; how the show has affected the lives of its cast members; Serratos's inability to "turn off" the drama of witnessing the brutal executions of Glen Rhee (Steven Yuen) and Abraham Ford after the day's shoot ended; why Daryl will never stop searching for Rick; and if characters from the spin-off "Fear the Walking Dead" will cross over into the original.
Following the showing of two clips from season nine episodes during the seminar, the evening concludes with another clip from the "The Calm Before" episode.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: November 30, 1999 7:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:26:02
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 135987
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: Asian American Pacific Islanders Collection
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Maureen Reidy … Host
- Chris Hardwick … Moderator
- Angela Kang … Panelist
- Norman Reedus … Panelist
- Christian Serratos … Panelist
- Ryan Hurst … Panelist
- Eleanor Matsuura … Panelist
- Lauren Ridloff … Panelist
- Lauren Cohan
- Michael Cudlitz
- Robert Kirkman
- Andrew Lincoln
- Josh McDermitt
- Michael Rooker
- Scott Wilson
- Steven Yuen