The TV Set (2006)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Jake Kasdan

Writer (WGA):

Jake Kasdan (written by)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

A place where dreams are canceled

Plot:

The story of a TV pilot as it goes through the Network TV process of casting, production and finally airing.

Plot Keywords:

Assistant | Husband Wife Relationship | Producer | Beard | Funeral

Cast

David Duchovny	...	Mike Klein
Sigourney Weaver	...	Lenny
Ioan Gruffudd	...	Richard McCallister
Judy Greer	...	Alice
Fran Kranz	...	Zach Harper
Lindsay Sloane	...	Laurel Simon
Justine Bateman	...	Natalie Klein
Lucy Davis	...	Chloe McCallister
Willie Garson	...	Brian
M.C. Gainey	...	Hutch
Wendle Josepher	...	A.D.
Philip Rosenthal	...	Exec. #1 / Cooper (as Phil Rosenthal)
David Doty	...	Exec. #2 / Rose
Matt Price	...	Exec. #3 / Berg
Simon Helberg	...	TJ Goldman

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Beverly Center - 8500 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

TV Set Holding Company, The

Trivia:

Sigourney Weaver's character was written as a man. It wasn't until late in pre-production that it was decided that the role of could actually be a woman instead. Still, no line was re-written for the gender change. Even the name Lenny was kept.

Quotes:

Mike: If I don't worry about the content in my show, then I'm part of the problem. I'm making the world more mediocre!
Alice: I think that you're overstating the situation just a little bit.
Mike: But you've never seen "Taxi Driver"!
Alice: I am going to rent "The Taxi Driver", okay?

Movie Connections:

References "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999)

Soundtrack:

Dreams

Sad But True

I can see how this film might not be for everybody, but I make my living writing for television and this movie is actually pretty dead on. The satire works because I felt they keep it real. Stuff that might seem absurd I have seen happen (actually real stuff that happens in the development of a pilot would make people shout at the screen and say "come on - that couldn't happen!!). The film is very well cast - everyone from Lindsay Sloane to Ion Gruffudd give strong performances. Many of my fellow writers begged me to see it, so I finally went and I thought Kasdan does an excellent job. But the film could pretty much play like a documentary - without fail, the nets will almost instantly try and change the ONE thing about a project that makes it unique - they want it to be like everything else (Weaver's character has the great line - "it seems original and original scares me!"). It is a real marathon filled with danger to get a pilot sold, then possibly get it filmed, then edited, then tested and then through literally winning a lottery - getting it on the air!! But at the end of the day - it is the viewers who decide what stays on - if something gets numbers, it stays - if it doesn't - it goes. And every now and then a unique and smart show will get on the air and more times than not - no one will watch it. Viewers SAY they want something different, but most of the time when you try to do that - they go "what the hell is this?? This is too different" and then they go back to watching Jim Belushi.