Links For April 4, 2015
Pilots 2015: The Year Of Ethnic Castings - About Time Or Too Much Of Good Thing?
But, as is the case with any sea change, some suggest that the pendulum might have swung a bit too far in the opposite direction. Instead of opening the field for actors of any race to compete for any role in a color-blind manner, there has been a significant number of parts designated as ethnic this year, making them off-limits for Caucasian actors, some agents signal.
… Really? Really?
Diverse TV Shows in 2015: Is This Real Progress?
The existence of this cycle is what makes it difficult to muster unreserved enthusiasm for TV’s new gestures towards diversity. The abundance of African-American comedies in the ‘90s had less to do with networks actively pursuing representation out of good faith than with networks in a slump desperately seeking shows that were cheap and guaranteed an audience. But, as Coleman explains, “Once [networks] get back on sure grounds, they abandon that kind of programming. That’s exactly what Fox, UPN, and WB did…”
Tina Fey Turns the Tables on John Hughes in ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
For us, Dong’s appearance in “Unbreakable” is an unpleasant shock. That is, until his character takes a quintessentially Feysian turn — going from kooky foreigner figure of fun to Kimmy’s love interest in the blink of an episode. It’s only then that the amazing easter egg that Fey and Carlock have engineered becomes clear.
Why It’s So Hard For Us To Agree About Dong From ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’
But in Unbreakable, Dong is the one who’s constantly thrown by Kimmy’s antics. In one scene, she unwittingly makes a bunch of hand gestures that mean a parade of vulgarities in Vietnam. “What’s wrong with you?” he asks, shaking his head. Dong is flipping the script, as Yang puts it, something his predecessor never got to do.
Norman Lear on an All in the Family Reboot
So the invitation went out that this was a Betty Ford and Norman Lear and Bea Arthur invitation. It was … a dinner party out on the lawn in front of my house, and my wife and my daughter were hosts, along with Betty Ford. The guys danced with her [until] close to 1:00 in the morning. That’s when I said to the Secret Service people, “Get her out of here! She served, she doesn’t have to do any more!” But she was so happy to have been there. So the next morning, we had a meeting with the same guys who were there that night — and we sold the show.