Featured Blogs:

 

Cannes Film Festival 2013

'Freaks and Geeks' highlights from PaleyFest2011's 'Undeclared'/ 'Freaks & Geeks' reunion

What did the castmates say about the absent James Franco?

By Daniel Fienberg Sunday, Mar 13, 2011 8:03 AM

<p>'Freaks and Geeks'</p>

'Freaks and Geeks'

After the "Undeclared" half of Saturday (March 12) night's "Undeclared"/"Freaks & Geeks" reunion at the William S. Paley Television Festival, there was a brief intermission, followed by the triumphant return of Iris Apatow.
 
"Is everybody having a good time?" she asked. "Would you like to watch the last 'Freaks and Geeks' or the 'Real Housewives of New Jersey'?"
 
The crowd voted for "Discos and Dragons," which was probably a relief to Iris, who may not actually have had access to any entry from the "Real Housewives" family.
 
"We're so proud of the show and so depressed that none of us will ever do anything as good again," Judd Apatow said, leading things off.
 
As a contrasting perspective, series creator Paul Feig said, "I'm in awe and shocked that we were able to make 18 episodes."
 
Highlights of the "Freaks and Greeks" PaleyFest Panel after the break... As many as I can remember, since it's 3:30 a.m. now...
 
Joining Apatow, Feig and pilot director Jake Kasdan on the panel were Linda Cardellini, John Francis Daley, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Martin Starr, Samm Levine, Busy Philipps and a random assortment of supporting favorites including Natasha Melnick (Cindy Sanders!), Sarah Hagan (Millie!), Stephen Lea Sheppard and Steve Bannos. At one point during the panel, Apatow stopped and listed a slew of directors, writers, composers, cinematographers and other talent responsible for various aspects of the show. 
 
Naturally, the figure who dominated the first half of the panel was the guy who wasn't there, James Franco. 
 
Franco appeared via a very funny taped message on which he shared the screen with Anne Hathaway, or at least a picture of Anne Hathaway. He sent his regrets, but said that he and Anne were already in rehearsals to host the Emmys and the NAACP Image Awards. On Anne's behalf, he also reminded the crowd that "Love and Other Drugs" is now available on DVD. 
 
It was a funny moment, but a darker side of James Franco was revealed.
 
"I remember right before the show started saying you Judd, 'Are we about to ruin these kids' lives?' And Judd was great. He was a parent already and he said, 'Let's just treat them like they were our kids,'" Feig recalled. There was no messing around. The feeling was to make it the same behind the camera as in front... There were no drama queens. There was no yelling. Except Franco."
 
He was partially joking about the Franco thing, but then somebody mentioned that Franco once pushed Philipps.
 
"Oh, seriously? Really? He threw me to the ground!" Philipps exclaimed.
 
It turns out that footage of the incident exists and Apatow promised, "I have it for the day I need to destroy James."
 
The incident took place during the shooting of "We've Got Spirit."
 
Philipps recalls, "It was when we get hit by water balloons and we're running after the car and Danny [Leiner] had directed me to turn around and give him a smack on the arm and say 'Damnit Daniel, do something,' which is the line I'll never forget, because it got me thrown to the grown. So I turn around and I say, 'Damnit Daniel, do something,' and he goes, 'Don't you f***ing ever touch me' and then he grabbed my arms threw me to the ground. And I feel back... and everybody rushed over."
 
There's always a context for such things and Philipps said that she and Franco had discussed the incident five years ago and he said that he'd had discussion about his character's intimacy issues stemming from childhood abuse and that Leiner's direction and the direction Franco had previously been given came into conflict.
 
At the end of a lengthy discussion of somebody not in attendance, Segel cracked, "That story took 127 hours."
 
A long critique of Segel's punchline ensued, with Apatow pointing out, "He's the only person of all of you to be nominated for an Academy Award," to which Segel added "In fairness, he's way more attractive than all of us."
 
There was some actual discussion of "Freaks and Geeks," though a lot of that discussion hinged on the events that led to the show's demise.
 
"There was no head of NBC at the time. I think he'd just stepped down or was fired. And Scott Sassa was the high guy and he liked the script, he liked the cast, he even liked Jason Segel," Apatow flashed back. "We were allowed to do the pilot the way we liked it. And then the new guy came in and he let us know that he went to private school and didn't understand this world. And then we thought, 'Oh. We're gonna get cancelled really fast.' So we thought, 'Well, let's just use all the good ideas we have for six yeas and compress them into this one season' and that, I think, is why the show worked so well. We're not saving anything. Our head was in the guillotine."
 
Added Segel, "We shot the finale half-way through the season."
 
Apatow's quick [decidedly un-PC] rejoinder, "That's such a Jew thing to do, assuming the Gestapo's at the door." 
 
Cardellini recalled Apatow calling her to let her know the eventual bad news seconds before an appearance with David Letterman.
 
"You said, 'The show's cancelled.' I said, 'David Letterman is cancelled?'"
 
There were serious moments of praise, particularly coming from Segel towards Apatow.
 
Jason Segel didn't offer one of those series moments when he observed, "I've always assumed that's why you took care of us. Judd has taken amazing care of our entire group and I think part of it has to do with that we were kids. A lot of us have no higher education because of you."
 
Martin Starr was more genuine, and got the last word from the cast, when he said, "I don't think that that process, until I worked on a show called 'Party Down,' I don't think I could ever hope, besides those two experiences, to be around people who really care about what they were doing so much and gave so much, day in and day out, to what they were doing, 100 percent of the people, not just the people on the stage. It was just an experience that I feel so thankful to have had."
 
 
Some other "Freaks & Geeks" PaleyFest2011 Hightlights:
 
*** As I said in my "Undeclared" post, it was a long evening for everybody. How long? Seth Rogen stopped in the middle of the "Freaks and Geeks" panel and left to use the bathroom, returning several minutes later drying his hands. That doesn't happen very often.
 
*** On the show, we pretty much realize that Cindy Sanders is evil when she doesn't find "The Jerk" funny. But don't worry. Melnick said, "I had such a problem doing that, because we were literally watching 'The Jerk' and it was so hard not to laugh." Whew.
 
*** Both panels featured shout-outs to casting director Allison Jones. I want you to look at the casts of "Freaks and Geeks" and "Undeclared" and then look at all of the supporting players and guest stars who came through. It's hard to give Allison Jones enough credit for how great the two shows turned out, so it was nice to see that recognition.
 
*** Samm Levine was a good-natured whipping boy all evening, for his ever-youthful visage, but when somebody in the audience requested he do his William Shatner impression, he put his foot down. "I'm a serious actor now. I was on 'That's So Raven.'"
 
*** Ideas for Season Two would have included Neil joining show choir, Kim getting pregnant and doing a school play and Lindsay returning from her time following the Grateful Dead with a newfound love for acid. "All these ideas suck," Rogen cracked.
 
*** Another person from the crowd asked Segel why he has yet to host "Saturday Night Live." He replied, "It's my last unaccomplished dream." This this, Rogen interjected, "Well, he *did* f*** Megan Fox on Mt. Kilimanjaro." Apatow had to shut down inquiries to Jason, who was getting to many queries from the crowd. He also responded to a question about musical clearances with, "A legal affairs question? Sit down!"
 
*** One of the questions for Segel that went unanswered was a request to sing "Lady L" (written by Segel and Rogen, though Rogen downplayed his involvement). Instead, Sarah Hagan sang "Jesus Is Just Alright." Which was awesome.
 
*** Want more negative things associated with the absent Franco? Well, after reading an interview in which Edward Norton said he didn't talk to the press, Franco led a revolt that nearly marred the show's first press day. And, to make matters worse, Franco encouraged Starr to join him at the set gym, which led to Bill Haverchuck becoming too darned muscular. 
 
*** How young were they when they started doing this show? "I will sat this: John Daley still believed in Santa Claus when we were shooting." Daley added, "I also didn't have pubic hair." "I can confirm that," Rogen added.
 
And now, it's 5 in the morning... Apologies for any typos in my tired haste.. Lousy springing forward...
 
ALSO:
 

 
 

 

Dan-feinberg-sm
Daniel Fienberg
Executive Editor
A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.
Related Searches: PaleyFest2011, William S. Paley Television Festival, Undeclared, Freaks and Geeks

Comments

  • Option 1

    Comment instantly as a guest Guest

  • Option 2

    Connect

  • Option 3

    Login or create a HitFix account Login Signup



  • Thank you fora great summary! I wanna watch it all again now!

    March 13, 2011 at 8:24AM EST Reply to Comment
  • Dd04_talkback_profile

    jukeofurl

    Where to start? I phoned the local NBC affiliate when they'd kept jerking around the scheduling of F&G. I was able to get a woman in programming on th eline & she'd couldn't have been nicer or more sincere in her agreement about the quality of the show.
    While I know show biz brats are all about the spotlite - I like those Apatow girls whenever their dad "nudges" them out there. AND for Jason Segel - Franco is NOT better looking than Linda Cardellini. Freaks & Geeks one of the best TV shows ever. Forever.

    March 13, 2011 at 8:35AM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    Lucas

    Any chance there 'll be some videos online?

    March 13, 2011 at 10:32AM EST Reply to Comment
    • Gizmo_bigger_talkback_profile

      dan Lucas - Keep checking PaleyCenter.org. They've been posting video snippets from the various panels fairly reliably this year. And this one seems like a good bet to pop up in clip form...

      -Daniel

      March 13, 2011 at 12:37PM EST
  • Default-avatar

    ZacharyTF

    Anyone ask about Shia LeBeouf's appearance as the Viking mascot?

    Reading this and the Undeclared recap makes me want to break out my DVD sets. 2 of the best one season shows ever IMHO.

    March 13, 2011 at 11:40AM EST Reply to Comment
    • Gizmo_bigger_talkback_profile

      dan ZacharyTF - No discussion of *any* of the "way before they were stars" cameos on either show... Minor disappointment... But only minor...

      The good thing about doing "Undeclared" on the podcast last year and rewatching "F&G" for my Best of the Decade list is that as much as I love both shows, they're pretty fresh in my happy memory, so I don't need to feel sad about not having time to rewatch 'em now...

      -Daniel

      March 13, 2011 at 12:40PM EST
  • Default-avatar

    rosengje

    Can we agree that Linda Cardellini is still incredibly beautiful and that it is a blight on the television industry that she's not currently headlining her own show?

    Also: I wholeheartedly approve of drunk Busy Phillips.

    March 13, 2011 at 2:26PM EST Reply to Comment
    • Default-avatar

      rosengje It also pleased to me to no end that Martin Starr decisively received the most applause when he was introduced.

      March 13, 2011 at 2:30PM EST
    • Gizmo_bigger_talkback_profile

      dan Completely agree on Cardellini and completely agree on the cheers for Starr, plus the long applause when he mentioned "Party Down."

      -Daniel

      March 13, 2011 at 7:10PM EST
  • Default-avatar

    Tom3345

    I really hope the whole thing gets posted online somewhere. I actually laughed out loud reading your recap.

    I rewatched F+G over the Christmas break and I already want to watch it again.

    March 13, 2011 at 11:39PM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    rachelmed

    Great recap! You definitely hit all the major points. I had never been to PaleyFest before this so I wasn't sure what to expect but it exceeded anything I could have imagined. Many of them were also very nice to stay back and sign autographs for a very long time.

    Oh and don't forget the guys who dressed in the Halloween costumes and the really awkward question from the guy who made a comment about his wife and Judd's kids I think? Jason respond with something like "it got really dark there for a moment".

    I was also very pleased with the response Martin and Party Down got. I knew I loved F&G (as Samm says) fans for a reason!

    March 14, 2011 at 2:22AM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    eberbach

    Why are the males from these 2 shows finding way more success or higher levels of stardom than the females (on average)?

    March 14, 2011 at 9:18AM EST Reply to Comment

News From Our Partners

Get Instant Alerts on Breaking News

Latest Posts
More Posts
Recent Activity on Facebook
Most Popular on Facebook
Top Stories From Around the Web
About HitFix

HitFix delivers the Movie, Music, TV and Awards and general entertainment news that fans care about most, without the gossip or celebrity scandal. Our nationally-recognized, tastemaker journalists provide the latest breaking news, analysis, reviews, recaps, interviews and exclusives 24 hours a day while our proprietary localized Event Calendar and mobile apps allow consumers to stay up to the minute while managing their entertainment lives. Find out What’s Next In Entertainment with HitFix.

Advertise on HitFix
Subscribe to HitFix

Get the latest headlines & updates in your inbox

Popular Topics

© Copyright HitFix.com. All rights reserved. Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy