2 Reports From The Ed Seminar Held April 17, 2001 At The Museum of Television & Radio in New York City. |
The evening began just after 7PM with clips from the show, including the opening sequence from the pilot, Ed's various romantic overtures to Carol, Phil's antics, etc. They provided some very nice memories from some of the episodes. Most of the cast was in attendance, except Michael Ian Black, who was busy with a newborn baby. (Congratulations!!!) Marvin Chatinover (Dr.Jerome), Rachel Cronin (Shirley) and Mike Starr (Kenny) were among the guests, but unfortunately, due to a lack of stage space, could not participate in the panel discussions. The panel consisted of Josh Randall (Mike Burton), Jana Marie Hupp (Nancy Burton), Tom Cavanagh (Ed Stevens), Julie Bowen (Carol Vessey), Lesley Boone (Molly Hudson), director Marc Buckland, and co-creators Jon Beckerman and Rob Burnett. The panel was first introduced individually by the seminar moderator, who read each name and then a short background. Josh (Randall) and Tom (Cavanagh) both sat down immediately after their names were mentioned, instead of waiting for their backgrounds to be completed. Apparently, Burnett & Beckerman have been working on the show since 1996. They stopped for about a year to work on the "Late Night With David Letterman" show. It was originally created for CBS and was to be a half-hour program. They wanted to shoot the show using one camera, as opposed to the usual multi-camera sitcom format, to make it look more like a film (no laugh track, limited sets, no real exteriors), but CBS preferred a sitcom. Burnett & Beckerman then took the show idea to NBC, who liked the one hour format. They also suggested that the main character, Ed Stevens, have a career to increase plot line possibilities. It was decided to go with the lawyer angle, although originally done jokingly. This is interesting, as the many courtroom scenes have proven to be very well done. When it came to the casting, the decision was to go with relative 'unknowns'. Almost every actor around Tom Cavanagh's age in Hollywood was tested for the role of Ed. Tom became the first cast member. A question was asked where the idea for the '$10 bets' came from. Burnett & Beckerman said that it all began with them. Once while on a flight, Beckerman told Burnett that he would give him $10 if he meowed loud enough so that a man 3 rows away would turn around. Burnett took him up on it, with everybody but the intended target turning around. Tom Cavanagh also participates in the bets. Julie Bowen mentioned that on a dare he once ate a certain number of hot dogs and Burnett once bet Tom $70 to eat 5 pounds of prime rib at one sitting, which he succeeded in doing. The cast members all said that they enjoy hanging out with each other off the set, so that working is more like play. Julie Bowen said that when she first auditioned for the show with Tom, she had an intense feeling for him, wanting to be flirty and to touch him. This may have been for the benefit of the show, or just her fun-loving personality. An audience member asked the cast if the show's message about hometown values has affected any of them, to which Tom replied that since they do film in many small towns where everyone says "hello" to one another, it is reflected in his own performances and on the show. Mention was made of the fact that the show has been renewed for a second season. David Letterman was mentioned for his crucial role in the show, being a true executive producer - watching the dailies, suggesting cuts, words, etc., playing an active role. Burnett and Beckerman also said that there are a lot of 'inside' jokes. For instance, the name Godfrey pops up in many episodes. This all started while they were recasting the role of Phil Stubbs. One aspiring actor who applied for the role went by the name of Godfrey without a last name, which they found hilarious. When they were writing two scripts for different episodes and then switched for the other to read, they realized that they had both used the name "Godfrey" to make the other laugh, eventually using this several times through the early episodes. They also said that the Letterman show is used for ideas, such as Phil's famous "Shave my poodle" slogan. Mr.Letterman often repeats a line over and over during his show and the poodle line came from there. The recasting of Phil Stubbs was required as the original actor, Donal Logue ("Grounded For Life"), who did the original CBS pilot, was unavailable. While testing many hopefuls, they found that many simply tried copying Logue's performance of a sweet, likeable Phil. When it came time for Michael Ian Black to audition, he came up with a different, shrewd and sneaky Phil, which they really liked and decided to go with. Amusingly, when the cast was asked in which direction they would like to see their characters move toward, they basically all said that their characters should have more sex. Unfortunately, the museum staff were quite strict in disallowing photos during the proceedings, but after the seminar ended, official photos were allowed. There were a lot of people milling around and it was difficult getting the opportunity to speak with the cast and creators. (Thanks to staff member Nicole for this report. The following is a report from Fran T.) |
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(Thanks to Fran T. for this report.) |
