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2014 ATX Televison Festival
 
M.R. Dinkins Season Three of the ATX Television Festival celebrated TV coming up and TV gone by. Unlike the two senior screen events held in Austin, (SXSW and Austin film festivals), ATX is less about how-to-break-into show biz, and more about celebrating TV - the medium and its makers. Less about networking - more about camaraderie. The central strands of the festival are Panel discussions and Series showcases - festooned with a few festive events, like a balmy evening of tailgate viewing. (This year featured an episode of the locally produced Friday Night Lights) 
Henry Winkler was feted as the first recipient of the festival's Achievement of Television Excellence Award. At the ceremony, he reminisced about his life in show business, including, of course, his iconic casting as the Fonz in Happy Days. And the Roswell and Hey Dude reunions rekindled memories for fans of still cherished bygone seasons. Actors appreciate the reconnection with their cast and past, while devotees love seeing nostalgia come back to life. ATX also tendered a bitter-sweet homecoming for the made-in-Austin 2010 ABC mockumentary drama, My Generation. It was cancelled for poor ratings after two (of 8) aired shows. (My Generation's Keir O'Donnell and Anne Son pictured on right.) The conference honors and mourns young shows that have left us too soon. Waaay tooo sooon, according to its aficionados. (ATX, how about revisiting Peter Berg's reimagining of Prime Suspect with the stellar Maria Bello?) The Series sessions were located in movie theaters, where attendees pre-viewed an upcoming episode or pilot from the featured TV show. Followed by Q&A's by stars, writers, directors and producers, these showcases are the centerpiece attractions of the three day conference. And we all promised not to divulge any yet-to-be-aired secrets. This sense of community was palpable in all of the events. A great example was the Orange is the New Black session where enthusiastic fans were treated to the first episode of Season 2, a few hours before Netflix unspooled all 13 hours at once to the eager bingers waiting at home. 
Star, Taylor Schilling, was not on the schedule, but any lingering disappointment disappeared as soon as Lea DeLaria (Big Boo), (photo on right), flashed that puckish grin and delighted the crowd with quips like, "I've been a professional lesbian for twenty years. Before that, I was a freelancer." Big Boo shared the Q&A session with Crazy Eyes, (the super-coiffed Emmy nominated Uzo Aduba), and Taystee, (the elegant Danielle Brooks). All three exuded charm and delight as they revealed insights about their characters and how this ground-breaking series (with seven Primetime Emmy nominations) changed their lives. The energy radiating from stars of other Series may not have been as raucous as that generated by those three infectious women, but the joy of creating and appreciating quality television infused the festival. 
Appealing to the varied tastes of the diverse attendees, the 2014 ATX Festival served a smorgasbord of Series, from comedy to drama, from brand new to renewed, streaming to mainstream, for young folks to seasoned fans. Hemlock Grove (Famke Janssen pictured on right), Justified, The Night Shift, Dallas, Bates Motel and The Goldbergs, to name a few. Personally, I highlighted two Series on my ATX Festival schedule, Orphan Black and Rectify. Since I had reviewed the first seasons of both shows, (Orphan Black and Rectify), I was anxious to hear about Seasons Two. After watching the first episode of Rectify's sophomore outing - which did not disappoint - Abigail Spenser and Mark Johnson (Executive Producer) talked about creating this slow burn series in a small town in Georgia. In person, Spenser is disarmingly open and warm - nothing like her character, the prickly and confrontational Amantha Holden. The second season of Orphan Black was already midway through its run on BBC America, therefore the session kicked off with a sneak of Episode 8, with the common caveat that we don't tweet a peep about Tony - OMG, Tony! - or any other spoilers until the show aired later that night. 
Alas, neither Tatiana nor Jordan were present for the Q&A, though a Helena-hair-styled attendee did query creators, John Fawcett and Graeme Manson, (pictured on right), about the deliciously, devilish sestre. I still cannot fathom why the multi-faceted Maslany has not, at the very least, garnered an Emmy nomination. And that multi-composited dance number of multiple clones in the last episode of Season 2 deserves special recognition for visual effects choreography. 
Another Emmy nominee, Alison Tolman, (photo on left with Carradine) the sweetheart from Sugarland, Texas, emanated that same down home charm - sans the North Country inflection - that her Fargo persona, Molly Solverson exudes. In an inspired bit of casting, Keith Carradine, who plays her father, Lou, and Alison radiate real familial warmth in person. They will both be woefully missed if the reboot of Season 2 of Fargo progresses as currently planned. 
Always a special treat, Guillermo del Toro made an unannounced appearance at The Strain session, which previewed the first episode of this original take on the vampire mythos. The series is created by del Toro and Chuck Hogan and is based on a trilogy of graphic novels that they co-wrote. The perpetually appealing Mexican director-writer and former Austin resident, del Toro entertained the audience as did fellow panelists, Carlton Cuse (Executive Producer), and stunning stars Mia Maestro, Corey Stoll, Sean Astin, and Kevin Durand. Del Toro's contagious gusto for creating film and TV always inspires anyone fortunate enough to see and hear him. A self-proclaimed nerd, del Toro described his collection of books that fills two houses, including one room devoted to folk tales about vampires. Even if you do not like monsters, he can win you over with humor, heart and originality. You go, Guillermo. The series Legends debuts in August on TNT and stars Sean Bean, who plays an FBI deep-cover operative who embodies his guises so completely that he has a hard time separating them from his real self - whoever and whatever that is. Judging from the first episode, the premise works because of Bean's chameleon-like acting and is a worthy pick for any picky couch potato. As a bonus, Tina Majorino is a regular. 
The ATX Festival also featured panels on more industry-centric subjects like "Reboot, Remake, Reimagine, or Adapt." Most of the sessions were held in smaller, more intimate rooms, which provided the attendees an up-close opportunity to ask questions of the generous panelists. For example, in "POV: An Actor in the Pilot Process," Derek Phillips, Stacey Oristano, Sarah Drew (photo on left) and Arielle Kebbel were unvarnished about the trials and tribulations of auditioning during pilot season. 
Of course since ATX, Season Three was all about spoilers, a "Spoiler Alert" session seemed inevitable. Panelists brainstormed proper protocol for spilling spoilers. The Hollywood Reporter TV Critic, Tim Goodman (on right), described how he informs without revealing plot points. Those actors in shows that stream entire seasons at once like Netflix does with House of Cards and Orange is the New Black have another Spoiler problem when talking about their show to friends and fans. Udo Azuba explained that she has to determine how many episodes her friends have binged on before launching into a conversation. Speaking as press, this was the most humane convention I can remember attending. Compared to Cannes or Comic-Con, the ATX Festival was hospitality heaven. I am not naïve: I know that the size of Cannes crowds makes intimacy impossible and that the overflow of Comic-Con superstars makes access implausible. The two ATX founders, Caitlin McFarland and Emily Gipson, hosted a professional third annual event that showed no signs of its infancy. The volunteers and staff oozed southern hospitality. Series, panels, parties, food and a smattering of Austin's live music merged forum with fiesta. Viva ATX Festival. |
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