Themes: Nothing Goes Right, Hotshots, Actor's Life
Main Cast: David Duchovny, Sigourney Weaver, Ioan Gruffudd, Judy Greer, Fran Kranz
Release Year: 2006
Country: US
Run Time: 89 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Writer/director Jake Kasdan's showbiz comedy The TV Set stars David Duchovny as Mike Klein, a television producer who in the beginning of the film successfully sells a network on a story idea. The film follows Klein as he must actually put the show together, navigate the corporate minefield of the network, and figure out what aspects of his show he is willing to compromise. Sigourney Weaver plays the demanding president of the network, Justine Bateman plays Klein's wife, and Judy Greer plays his manager. The TV Set had its world premiere at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
The TV Set is a 2006comedy about an idealistic writer attempting to bring his vision, in the form of a TV pilot, to fruition on the small screen. It was released on April 6, 2007. Writer/directorJake Kasdan, whose previous credits include the films Zero Effect and Orange County and the television series Freaks and Geeks, "uses his first-hand knowledge of the world of network television to craft a wily comedy about the making of a TV pilot", according to Below the Line. The movie screened at the Tribeca Film Festival in late April 2006.
The plot follows an idealistic writer (David Duchovny) as he tries to navigate his TV pilot down the mine-laden path from script to production to the madness of prime-time scheduling – all while trying to stay true to his vision. Along the way he has to juggle the agendas of a headstrong network president (Weaver), volatile young stars, a pregnant wife and an ever-optimistic personal manager/agent (Greer).
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 Lenny could actually be a woman instead.[citation needed]
In this movie, Sigourney Weaver plays a television network president. Weaver's father, Sylvester ("Pat") Weaver, was for many years president of NBC; the writer and director of TV Set, Jake Kasdan, was a producer and writer on "Freaks and Geeks" (1999), which aired on NBC (albeit many years after Pat Weaver's retirement).
The film makes reference to the film The Secret Lives of Dentists when Richard asks Lenny if she has ever heard of Hope Davis of The Secret Lives of Dentists and suggests getting her for an upcoming show.
The movie that Natalie is watching is Out of Sight.
DVD release
A single-disc edition was released through 20th Century Fox on September 25, 2007. It features commentary tracks, a "making of" featurette and a deleted scene.
