neosapien
Well-Known Member
Probably a better way I could say that.
Jan 9 2013 09:14 PM ET
Arrested Development cast and creator talk new episodes, unspool deleted scene at TCA panel
by Dan Snierson
Tags: Arrested Development, TCA Press Tour, Will Arnett
Image Credit: Art Streiber/Fox
The cast of Arrested Development enjoyed another reunion today, this time in front of a room of critics and reporters at the TCA press tour in Pasadena. The Q&A session which featured creator/executive producer Mitchell Hurwitz along with series stars Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Michael Cera, Jessica Walter, Alia Shawkat, and Jeffrey Tambor (David Cross and Tony Hale couldnt make it) was rather light on plot detail for the resurrected show, but there were revelations, laughs, and even a peek at a delightful deleted moment. Among the highlights:
There are 14 new episodes, and theyre all coming your way at once in May.
This anthology, as Hurwitz refers to it, will have a different structure than the previous version of the show. Each episode will be dedicated to a particular characters point of view, with other characters weaving in and out of that episode. (Dont expect lots of big group scenes.) So, over the course of these episodes, viewers will revisit a scene from a previous one but in a different context. Youll see a scene again, and from the other perspective, youll get all this new information, said Hurwitz. So its kind of an evolution of the storytelling that was necessary. He discussed the challenge of working around shifting actor availability, as his thesps were in second position (meaning that their first obligation is to the other shows and movies to which they were already committed). We couldnt afford to do the show with what these people are worth now, he added.
These episodes should not be considered season 4 of the show, according to Bateman. Think of them as simply just the first act of what we hope to continue and complete in a movie, which would be Act 2 and 3, he said. And eventually a theme park, quipped Arnett.
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(Yes, a film is still in the works. No, there isnt a deal in place yet.)
Asked if there were fears about tarnishing the shows sterling legacy, Hurwitz cracked: I could vomit right this moment.
Hurwitz and the cast tipped their hats to the passion of the fans (and support of the critics), noting that when the writers first started fleshing out ideas for the the movie, they had to toss out some good ideas because theyd already been covered in fan fiction. (New saying: Fan fiction already did it!)
Hurwitzs goal with the new version of the show was to catch fans off-guard. The spirit of this was to surprise fans with something that they didnt see coming, he said. There was so much talk about the movie that we thought, Wouldnt it be great to still do the movie but to give everybody this thing they didnt see coming. Even the initial 10-episode announcement was intentionally misleading, according to Hurwitz: The idea was, Lets say theres 10, and then the fans will be so happy when theres even more.
Cera has been pulling double duty by working as a writer on the show as well, noting that he had some wild ideas that didnt make it. Hurwitz praised Cera, explaining that he wanted to help him learn a new craft, but suddenly we were very dependent on Michael Cera being in the writers room. He completely understood this complex story, he added to it, he pitched new characters. It became clear that Wow, this is like his first language.
A tease from Walter: I have finally gotten to play Joan Crawford with laughs, she declared. She had high praise for the new incarnation of the show (Its different than the original Arrested Development and beyond anything I could have hoped) and marveled at the reconstruction of Lucilles penthouse down to the nails and wall Really surreal.
The cast had small dressing rooms, but one large trailer that would be used by the actor who was at the center of that particular weeks episode.
Before the session began, Netflix showed a teaser trailer for its shows that included a few fleeting images of the new Arrested (including GOB on a cross). But at the very end of the panel, those in the room were treated to a deleted scene from the upcoming episodes. And based on the reaction in the room, it really should be undeleted. Under house arrest in her penthouse, Lucille (Walter) blows smoke into the mouth of mamas boy Buster (Hale), who has to hustle out to the patio to release her puff of smoke. The process that is repeated multiple times, each time taking an increasing toll on poor Buster.
After the session, Hurwitz revealed that even though it will no longer be subject to broadcast network restrictions, the show still will feature its trademark bleeps. Also, one of our main characters will wind up naked.
