PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: PALEYFEST 2008: 25TH ANNUAL WILLIAM S. PALEY TELEVISION FESTIVAL: GOSSIP GIRL {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented as part of The Paley Center for Media's William S. Paley Television Festival in Los Angeles. Held this year at the Cinerama Dome at the Arclight, the festival celebrates the excellence and diversity of American television and is dedicated to television's creative community. This evening honors "Gossip Girl," a drama series, based on Cecily von Ziegesar's novels, which focuses on a group of rich, young students attending a prep school for privileged teens on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Tim Stack (Entertainment Weekly staff writer) moderates. Barbara Dixon (director of The Paley Center for Media, Los Angeles) offers opening remarks. Dixon then acknowledges William C. Paley, son of the festival's namesake, in the audience.
Next, Stack introduces executive producers/writers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage. The pair introduce a clip package of highlights from the show, which is subsequently screened. Clips include: Gossip Girl blogging about Serena's return to Manhattan; Serena trying to reconcile with Blair after settling back into her clique; Nate telling Blair about his past with Serena; Blair seducing Chuck in a cab for revenge on Nate; Serena stopping Blair from running away to France after Chuck reveals her pregnancy scare to Gossip Girl; Dan romancing Serena; Jenny being manhandled by a drunken Chuck; Lily and Rufus rekindling their past; Vanessa realizing that she still loves Dan; Blair's enslavement of Jenny; Lily's romance with Bart, despite Serena's objections; and Dan and Blair making love for the first time. A blooper reel concludes the montage.
Stack then introduces the panelists: von Ziegesar; Schwartz and Savage; producer Amy Kaufman; executive producer Bob Levy; Jessica Szhor (Vanessa Abrams); Taylor Momsen (Jenny Humphrey); Matthew Settle (Rufus Humphrey); Kelly Rutherford (Lily van der Woodsen); Ed Westwick (Chuck Bass); Chace Crawford (Nate Archibald); Penn Badgley (Dan Humphrey); Leighton Meester (Blair Waldorf); and Blake Lively (Serena van der Woodsen).
The panelists discuss topics which include: von Ziegesar's inspiration for writing the "Gossip Girl" novels; how The CW became interested in turning the books into a TV show; research conducted on Upper East Side students' habits; Lively's unique conditions for accepting the role of Serena; if the network made demands about casting choices; whether the scripts follow the novels' plots; cast members' problems in relocating to New York City; why "Gossip Girl" failed to be picked up by a network in earlier incarnations; controversy caused by the ongoing use of sex and drugs on the show; problems initiated by gawkers while shooting in NYC; if plot developments get leaked; efforts to extend parental roles in storylines; what it was like for Szhor to join the already established cast; fans' reactions to Chuck's "polarizing" nature; attempts to make the characters three-dimensional; if von Ziegesar is happy with The CW's version of her books; why a show so dependent on its Manhattan setting has a paucity of gay and Jewish characters; the program not getting blockbuster ratings; the effects of the recent writers' strike on storylines; future plot developments; and how Kristen Bell was chosen to be the voice of the anonymous Gossip Girl.
Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics: if any of the actors resemble their characters; whether a conscious pitch is made to attract an adult audience; how some songs from Westwick's real-life band have been incorporated into the show; the series of movie homages that are filtered into plots; if any of the cast members get to keep their wardrobe; the show's long-term story arcs; and why Schwartz and Savage have a history of writing brunette characters as bitchier than their blonde counterparts.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: March 22, 2008 7:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:37:59
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:92177
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Barbara Dixon … Host
- Tim Stack … Moderator
- Josh Schwartz … Panelist
- Stephanie Savage … Panelist
- Amy Kaufman … Panelist
- Bob Levy … Panelist
- Cecily von Ziegesar … Panelist
- Jessica Szhor … Panelist
- Taylor Momsen … Panelist
- Matthew Settle … Panelist
- Kelly Rutherford … Panelist
- Ed Westwick … Panelist
- Chace Crawford … Panelist
- Penn Badgley … Panelist
- Leighton Meester … Panelist
- Blake Lively … Panelist
- William C. Paley … Guest
- Kristen Bell