This may or may not mark the first time Whedon and Gellar have been in the same room together since “Buffy” wrapped production five years ago.
Others scheduled for the reunion include Amber Benson, Nicolas Brendan, Emma Caulfield, Eliza Dushku, Seth Green, James Marsters and Michelle Trachtenberg.
Additional panelists will be announced at a later date, so we needn’t yet write off Alyson Hannigan, Anthony Stewart Head or David Boreanaz.
The complete Paley line-up, released today, does not list Gellar, but Paley organizers have just written to assure me she is now aboard:
The Paley Center for Media Announces
Twenty-Fifth Annual William S. Paley Television Festival
March 14 to 27, 2008, at the ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood
Festival to Include: Buffy The Vampire Slayer Reunion , 40th Anniversary Celebration of Elvis’ ’68 Comeback Special, and an Evening with Judd Apatow & Friends
First Ever PaleyFest New Series Premiere: Tracey Ullman’s State of the Union with Tracey Ullman in person
The Casts and Creators of Chuck, Damages, Dancing with the Stars, Dirty Sexy Money, Friday Night Lights, Gossip Girl, Mad Men, and Pushing Daisies
Los Angeles, CA— The Paley Center for Media (formerly The Museum of Television & Radio) will present the twenty-fifth annual William S. Paley Television Festival (PaleyFest08) from March 14 to 27, 2008 at its new festival location at the historic Cinerama Dome at the ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood . Named for William S. Paley, founder of both the Paley Center and CBS, the annual television festival has celebrated television’s rich and diverse programming and the creative process behind the medium for the last twenty-five years. During each evening, the audience views episodes or highlights of the featured work and has the opportunity to ask questions of the cast and creative team or the individual involved in its production. For the first time in its twenty-five year history, PaleyFest08 will present the world premiere of a new television series – Tracey Ullman’s State of the Union, with special guest Tracey Ullman, on March 26 just days before its broadcast premiere on March 30, 2008.
“The Paley Festival has become a pop culture phenomenon in Los Angeles, offering TV fans a unique way to connect with the casts and crews of their favorite series as well as the opportunity to celebrate media icons and innovators,” said Pat Mitchell, the president and chief executive officer of The Paley Center for Media. “For twenty-five years, we have celebrated the best of television with the creative teams who make the breakthrough programs, and this interaction between creative community and media enthusiasts has made this annual festival a 'Must Be There' event.”
Since the first Festival in 1984, the Paley Center has honored nearly three hundred programs, including 24, Alias, American Idol, Battlestar Galactica, Cheers, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Desperate Housewives, Entourage, The Family Guy, Friends, Grey’s Anatomy, The Golden Girls, Gunsmoke, House, The Honeymooners, Laugh-In, Lost, M*A*S*H, My Name Is Earl, The O.C., The Office, Roots, Route 66, Sábado Gigante, Seinfeld, The Simpsons, Six Feet Under, South Park, thirtysomething, Ugly Betty, The Untouchables, The West Wing, and The X-Files, along with such personalities as Lucille Ball, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Sally Field, Jane Fonda, John Frank enheimer, Jim Henson, Bob Hope, Angela Lansbury, Jack Lemmon, Mary Martin, Carl Reiner, Gene Roddenberry, Garry Shandling, Flip Wilson, Jonathan Winters, and many others. PaleyFest panels are recorded and are available for viewing at the Paley Center in New York and Los Angeles .
The PaleyFest08 schedule is as follows—please note that events/participants are subject to change:
Elvis ’68
Comeback Special 40th Anniversary Celebration
Friday, March 14 at 7:00 p.m.
In Person: Priscilla Presley, Steve Binder (Producer/Director), and Bones Howe (Producer). Additional panelists to be announced.
Pushing Daisies
Saturday, March 15 at 7:00 p.m.
In Person: Kristin Chenoweth (“Olive Snook”), Bruce Cohen (Executive Producer), Bryan Fuller (Creator/ Executive Producer), Dan Jinks (Executive Producer), Swoosie Kurtz (“Lily Charles”), Peter Ocko (CoExecutive Producer), Lee Pace (“Ned”), and Barry Sonnenfeld (Director/ Executive Producer). Additional panelists to be announced.
The Comedy World of Judd Apatow and Friends
Monday, March 17 at 7:00 p.m.
In Person: Judd Apatow with special guests, personally selected by Mr. Apatow, from his television and feature film projects.
Chuck
Tuesday, March 18 at 7:00 p.m.
In Person: Adam Baldwin (“John Casey”), Chris Fedak (Executive Producer), Joshua Gomez (“Morgan Grimes”), Scott Krinsky (“Jeff”), Sarah Lancaster (“Ellie Bartowski”), Mark Christopher Lawrence (“Big Mike”), Zachary Levi (“Chuck Bartowski”), Julie Ling (“Anna”), McG (Executive Producer), Ryan McPartlin (“Captain Awesome”), Vik Sahay (“Lester”), Josh Schwartz (Executive Producer), and Yvonne Strahovski (“Sarah Walker”).
Friday Night Lights
Wednesday, March 15 at 7:00 p.m.
In Person: Zach Gilford (“Matt Saracen”), Jason Katims (Executive Producer), Jesse Plemons ("Landry Clarke"), Jeffrey Reiner (Executive Producer), and Aimee Teegarden ("Julie Taylor"). Additional panelists to be announced.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Reunion
Thursday, March 20 at 7:00 p.m.
In Person: Amber Benson (“Tara Maclay”), Nicolas Brendan (“Xander Harris”), Emma Caulfield (“Anya”), Eliza Dushku (“Faith”), Seth Green (“Oz”), James Marsters (“Spike”), Michelle Trachtenberg (“Dawn Summers”), Joss Whedon (Creator). Additional panelists to be announced.
Dancing with the Stars
Friday, March 21 at 7:00 p.m.
In Person: Tom Bergeron (CoHost) and Samantha Harris (CoHost). Additional panelists to be announced.
Gossip Girl
Saturday, March 22 at 7:00 p.m.
In Person: Penn Badgley (“Dan Humphrey”), Chace Crawford (“Nate Archibald”), Amy Kaufman (Producer), Bob Levy (Executive Producer), Blake Lively (“Serena van der Woodsen”), Leighton Meester (“Blair Waldorf”), Taylor Momsen (“Jenny Humphrey”), Kelly Rutherford (“Lily van der Woodsen”), Stephanie Savage (Executive Producer), Josh Schwartz (Executive Producer), Matthew Settle (“Rufus Humphrey”), Jessica Szhor (“Vanessa Abrams”), Ed Westwick (“Chuck Bass”), and Cecily von Ziegesar (Author). Additional panelists to be announced.
Damages
Monday, March 24 at 7:00 p.m.
In Person: Noah Bean (“David Connor”), Rose Byrne (“Ellen Parsons”), Glenn Close (“Patty Hewes”), Ted Danson (“Arthur Frobisher”), Tate Donovan (“Tom Shayes”), Anastasia Griffith (“Katie Connor”), Željko Ivanek (“Ray Fiske”), Glenn Kessler (CoCreator/Executive Producer/Writer), Todd A. Kessler (CoCreator/Executive Producer/Writer), and Daniel Zelman (CoCreator/Executive Producer/Writer).
Dirty Sexy Money
Tuesday, March 25 at 7:00 p.m.
In Person: Greg Berlanti (Executive Producer) and Craig Wright (Executive Producer) with the cast and the creative team of Dirty Sexy Money.
PaleyFest08 Series Premiere:
Tracey Ullman’s State of the Union
Wednesday, March 26 at 7:00 p.m.
In Person: Troy Miller (Executive Producer/Director), Gail Parent (Executive Producer), Tracey Ullman (Creator), and Bruce Wagner (Executive Producer).
Mad Men
Thursday, March 27 at 7:00 p.m.
In Person: Matthew Weiner (Creator/Executive Producer) and the cast of Mad Men.
TICKETS
PaleyFest08 Premium ticket packages will go on presale Monday, February 4 through Wednesday, February 6, 2008. Individual tickets will go on sale to Paley Center Members on Thursday, February 7, 2008. Individual tickets will become available to the general public beginning the following Sunday, February 10, 2008. For Paley Center Members, ticket prices are $50 and $35 per event. For the general public, tickets are $60 and $45 per event.
PaleyFest08 Premium ticket packages presale window from Monday, February 4 at 9:00 a.m. PT through Wednesday, February 6 at 5:00 p.m. PT via TicketWeb at www.ticketweb.com or call TicketWeb toll-free at (866) 468-3399 (service charges apply).
Individual tickets can be purchased by Internet or telephone (service charges apply) via TicketWeb at www.ticketweb.com or call TicketWeb toll-free at (866) 468-3399 beginning at 9:00 a.m. PT on February 7 for Paley Center Members and at 9:00 a.m. PT on February 10 for the general public.
Tickets for all events are also available on Festival evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Cinerama Dome at the ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood at 6360 Sunset Boulevard (near the corner of Vine Street ).
If you are not already an Paley Center Member and would like to qualify for the Member discount, you may purchase Memberships when buying PaleyFest08 tickets via TicketWeb (service charges apply to phone and Internet sales) only from January 25 through the end of Festival.
Please note: There is a four-ticket limit per person, per event. For sold-out evenings, tickets may become available at the Cinerama Dome box office at show time. There are no refunds or exchanges. There are no on-site tickets sales at the Paley Center . Events and participants are subject to change.
FESTIVAL HOTLINE
Information about PaleyFest08 is available through the recorded Festival hotline: 310.786.1010 as well as at www.paleycenter.org.
SPECIAL THANKS
Bank of America is a Signature Sponsor of the twenty-fifth annual William S. Paley Television Festival. The Paley Center also thanks its Platinum Media Partner, the Los Angeles Times, and its Travel Partner, American Airlines, for their generous support of this year’s PaleyFest08.
