PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: NYC PREP {LONG VERSION}

Summary

One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented as part of The Paley Center for Media’s Inside Media series. This evening hosts the premiere of “NYC Prep,” a Bravo Channel reality program about the lives of six Manhattan prep school teenagers. Ron Simon (curator, The Paley Center for Media) offers opening remarks before introducing Frances Berwick (general manager, executive vice president, Bravo). Berwick offers a sneak preview of Bravo’s new look before screening the premiere episode of “NYC Prep,” “Top Half of One Percent,” in its entirety. (For synopsis and credits, see ACCNUM 100238). After the screening, Simon introduces the moderator, Tim Stack (staff writer, Entertainment Weekly). Stack introduces the panelists: executive producer Lenid Rolov; executive producer Andrew Cohen; and cast members Taylor DeGiovanni; Sebastian Oppenheim; Camille Isabel Hughes; Kelli Brooke Tomashoff; and Peter Cary Peterson. Topics of discussion include: Rolov on how the show was developed; Bravo’s approach to creating a show with younger subjects than their usual reality programming; how the cast members became involved with the show; comparisons between “NYC Prep” and the similarly-themed show “Gossip Girl”; the casts’ feelings about being filmed while dating; Tomshoff’s family situation and how she deals with living on her own; and how the show has affected the cast members’ social lives. Questions from the audience lead to a discussion of the following topics: the cast members’ reactions upon watching the episode; how the cast members’ friends reacted to being filmed; whether the show could be viewed as exploitative; the question of whether appearing on a reality television show might interfere with the casts’ future careers and college prospects; the casts’ relationship with the production crew; how Bravo reconciles its portrayal of people with a rich lifestyle in light of the United States’ economic troubles; the shows’ schedule and flow of information among its cast; the “shallow” portrayal of its cast members; how well the cast gets along with each other; and the shows’ casting process.

Details

• NETWORK: N/A
• DATE: June 1, 2009 6:30 PM
• RUNNING TIME: 1:19:09
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: 100073
• GENRE: Seminars
• SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
• SERIES RUN: N/A
• COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

• Ron Simon … Host
• Tim Stack … Moderator
• Lenid Rolov … Panelist
• Taylor DeGiovanni … Panelist
• Sebastian Oppenheim … Panelist
• Camille Isabel Hughes … Panelist
• Kelli Brooke Tomashoff … Panelist
• Andrew Cohen … Panelist
• Peter Cary Peterson … Panelist
• Frances Berwick … Guest