PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: PALEYFEST 2017: THIS IS US {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented as part of The Paley Center for Media's 34th 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 2017 public program honors "This Is Us," the dramatic series about the lives of the intergenerational Pearson family, told in multiple intersecting timelines.
Host Rene Reyes (director of public programs and festivals, The Paley Center for Media) offers opening remarks and welcomes Kristin Dos Santos (television correspondent, E! News) to the stage. Dos Santos introduces the pilot episode, which is then screened in its entirety. (For synopsis and credits, see ACCNUM 127459.)
After the screening, Dos Santos moderates the following panelists: executive producers / directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra; and cast members Milo Ventimiglia (Jack Pearson), Susan Kelechi Watson (Beth Pearson), Sterling K. Brown (Randall Pearson), Mandy Moore (Rebecca Pearson) Chris Sullivan (Toby Damon), Chrissy Metz (Kate Pearson), Ron Cephas Jones (William Hill) and Justin Hartley (Kevin Pearson). Additional cast members Gerald McRaney (Nathan 'Dr. K' Katowski) and Jon Huertas (Miguel) join the panel later in the program.
The panelists touch on such topics as: the strong fan response to the show's first season; the "painful and intense" argument scene between Rebecca and Jack in the season finale, originally conceived as a single-take shot; a "marriage counseling" session in which Ventimiglia and Moore perform a scene from the "Friday Night Lights" first-season episode "Best Laid Plans," in which Eric and Tami Taylor, played by Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton, have a difficult conversation; McRaney's powerful scene in the series premiere and his views on acting awards; hints about season two, including new perspectives of Jack's character and Randall's interest in adopting a child; Watson's sense that Beth is not ready for a third child; Hartley's hopes that Kevin can maintain his renewed relationship with ex-wife Sophie (Alexandra Breckenridge) and also succeed in his career; Kate's interest in a singing career and Metz's desire to perform with Moore; funny memories of Randall's original song about his career in commodity futures; fans' mixed feelings about Miguel, who married his best friend's widow after Jack's death; Huertas' belief in Miguel's "honorable" courting of the grieving Rebecca; emotional fan feedback about William's arc and eventual death in season one; Brown's wife Ryan Michelle Bathe's supporting role as Pearson family friend Yvette; Sullivan's brief role on the mystery series "Stranger Things"; his enjoyment in socializing with the cast members with whom he does not work onscreen; praise for the six young actors who play Kevin, Kate and Randall as children and as teenagers; Metz's surprising past connection with child actor Hannah Zeile, who now plays younger Kate; theories about Jack's as-yet explained death, including the hopes that he somehow faked his demise; surprising behind-the-scenes facts about the cast members, including Watson's connection to Phylicia Rashad and Denzel Washington, Jones' "Hamilton" hook-up and Hartley's great love of "Friends"; and tear-jerking moments from the actors' personal lives, including Hartley's and Brown's roles as real-life dads.
Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics, among others: the meaning behind "Moonshadow," Jack and Rebecca's personal song; the audition process and the strength of the pilot script; praise for Brown's recent Emmy win for "American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson" and whether he will appear in future seasons of the anthology series; Randall's emotional dream sequence featuring his two fathers, who never met one another; what the actors have learned from their characters' strengths and flaws; and Ventimiglia's inspiration from his own loving father.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: 7:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:57:08
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 128937
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Rene Reyes … Host
- Kristin Dos Santos … Moderator
- John Requa … Panelist
- Glenn Ficarra … Panelist
- Ron Cephas Jones … Panelist
- Susan Kelechi Watson … Panelist
- Sterling K. Brown … Panelist
- Milo Ventimiglia … Panelist
- Mandy Moore … Panelist
- Justin Hartley … Panelist
- Chrissy Metz … Panelist
- Chris Sullivan … Panelist
- Gerald McRaney … Panelist
- Jon Huertas … Panelist
- Ryan Michelle Bathe
- Alexandra Breckenridge
- Connie Britton
- Kyle Chandler
- Phylicia Rashad
- Denzel Washington
- Hannah Zeile