PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: PALEYFEST FALL TV PREVIEWS 2019: NETFLIX: MINDHUNTER {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of seminars presented as part of The Paley Center for Media's 2019 Fall Preview PALEYFEST events in Los Angeles. This evening celebrates "Mindhunter," the dramatic suspense series, set in the late 1970s and early 1980s and based on the book "Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit" by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker, about the government's quest to understand, profile and capture a newly defined breed of criminals: serial killers.
Host Rene Reyes (vice-president of programming, The Paley Center for Media) offers opening remarks and introduces the third episode of season two, which is then screened in its entirety. (For synopsis and credits, see ACCNUM 138123.) After the screening, Josh Horowitz (news correspondent, MTV) moderates the following panelists: executive producer/director David Fincher; and cast members Holt McCallany (Special Agent Bill Tench) and Anna Torv (Dr. Wendy Carr). Cast member Jonathan Groff (Special Agent Holden Ford), headlining "Little Shop of Horrors" on Broadway, also joins the panel via Skype.
The panelists touch on such topics as: Fincher's last-second tweaks and additions to season two before its release on Aug. 16; positive reactions from fans, including funny gifs of no-nonsense Dr. Carr and McCallany's shock at Tench's new status as a "sex symbol"; how Groff's long-ago meeting with Fincher for "The Social Network" (2010) unexpectedly led to his lead role on the series; Fincher's interest in portraying realistic, often unexciting detective work, as described by his "Se7en" (1995) consultants, rather than exaggerated dramatics; finding actors who actively listen and engage in the scene when not delivering dialogue; Fincher's direction of season two's first three episodes; McCallany's positive thoughts on Fincher's filming style, unlike that of rushed network TV productions; why television is typically not a director's or actor's medium; the "luxury" of Fincher's infamously large number of takes; the casting process to portray famous real-life serial killers, including Edmund Kemper (Emmy nominee Cameron Britton), Charles Manson (Damon Herriman) and David Berkowitz (Oliver Cooper); the use of Roxy Music's eerie "In Every Dream Home a Heartache" in episode one; how the generally low-key performances create a sense of "intelligent people arguing"; Fincher's interest in removing the characters' "earnestness" through repetition and many takes; how Groff's musical theater background aids him in understanding Fincher's extremely subtle performance notes; Ford's long conversation with serial killer Jerry Brudos (Happy Anderson); Fincher's belief that "actors want to act," not rush through scenes with disinterest; exploring a different side of Tench through the season-two subplot in which his adopted son Brian (Zachary Scott Ross) is involved in a ghastly murder; praise for actor Stacey Roca, who plays Tench's quietly suffering wife Nancy; the decision to focus on the Atlanta child murders in season two; the actors' surprise at the strong fan reaction to the show; Netflix's vehement support of the unusual series; and hints about Fincher's upcoming film "Mank" (2020), which tells the story of "Citizen Kane" (1941) screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: 7:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: N/A
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 137853
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Rene Reyes … Host
- Josh Horowitz … Moderator
- Holt McCallany … Panelist
- Anna Torv … Panelist
- David Fincher … Panelist
- Jonathan Groff … Guest
- Happy Anderson
- David Berkowitz
- Cameron Britton
- Jerry Brudos
- Oliver Cooper
- John E. Douglas
- Damon Herriman
- Edmund Kemper
- Herman Mankiewicz
- Charles Manson
- Mark Olshaker
- Roxy Music
- Stacey Roca
- Zachary Scott Ross