ATX: A Television eXperience
“So what are you watching?” Heard all around the panel rooms and in every line, this phrase was music to every TV fans’ ears! A self-proclaimed TV camp for grown-ups, ATX television festival launched season 7 of their ode to TV past, present and future. The brain child of Emily Gipson and Caitlin McFarland, the festival found its home in Austin, TX. The festival brings together TV fans and the entertainment Industry to discuss and celebrate the role of TV in our ever-changing world.
Daley Review has been attending since before there even was a Daley Review! Initially drawn in by the Gilmore Girls reunion four fests ago, we realized the event offered so much more. Talking to TV lovers became a way to connect with each other and disconnect from our complicated real lives. 167 podcasts later we look forward to ATX each year! It gives us that fresh injection of enthusiasm for all things on the small screen.
Waco: A New Favorite
Jittery with excitement, we rolled into Austin ready to get an eyefull of new programming and of course the eclectic mix of people Austin attracts. Our first panel, Waco on the Paramount Network, caught up with an old favorite, Taylor Kitsch. Best known for playing Tim Riggins on Friday Night Lights, Kitsch has taken on the massive role of playing Branch Davidian leader, David Koresh.
He accepted the mission make Koresh into a three-dimensional person instead of the crazed cult leader the news reported. The screening of the series’ third episode started out with a bang, then another bang and just kept on banging. We instantly engaged with the people scrambling in the compound and the desperate law enforcement officers. The entire panel expressed their dedication to capturing the whole story as accurately as possible. Their efforts included having David Thibodeau, one of nine survivors from the siege, as a consultant on set. We recommend you check it out.
Kitsch charmed us in person as much as he does on screen. He quipped that though he’s a Canadian transplant to Austin, he said, “I have no choice with these. They wear me now,” about his well-worn cowboy boots. (Lots of “woo-ing” from the crowd ensued.) Always happy to interact with fans, Kitsch signed our Friday Night Lights Blu-rays, putting us on cloud nine.
Sharp Objects: Did We Really See That?
Following a unique conversation between Indiewire’s Ben Travers and the amazing Ray Liotta, we attended the world premiere of HBO’s Sharp Objects. Adapted from Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn, Sharp Objects freaked us out a little bit. The imagery and storytelling wove what’s sure to become a complicated plot revolving around some very difficult subject matter. Whatever. We’re Leftovers fans, so bring it on!
The panel for this show featured some of the biggest names to grace an ATX stage yet. Amy Adams stars as the protagonist Camille Preaker, a reporter sent to an un-loved hometown to cover a murder. She’s not alone though. Marti Noxon, a producer from shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Glee, Dietland, UnReal, Mad Men, Grey’s Anatomy…. get the picture? She’s good and she’s the scriptwriter and producer. Jason Blum, the prolific producer of movies like Get Out, Paranormal Activity, and the Purge acts as executive producer. HBO superstar director from Big Little Lies, Jean-Marc Vallee directed every episode of the eight-episode limited series. And of course, Flynn, the author of the novel, consulted on the script as Moxon adapted it for TV. Wow. If this one isn’t a winner, it’s not for lack of pedigree.
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