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Glenn Gordon Caron
Producer / Show Creator
"I think writing for television, film, particularly dialogue, is a music and you either hear it or you don't. I came to realize very quickly that I do hear it, and I got very comfortable with that."
About This Interview
In his over three-hour Archive interview, Glenn Gordon Caron talks about his first jobs, including his work at an ad agency where he learned how to write on a deadline. He speaks of writing his first teleplay, for Taxi, and recalls a number of the series for which he served as story editor in the early 1980s, including Remington Steele. He describes the creation of his own production company, Picturemaker Productions, and the exclusive deal he had with ABC. He lists the pilots that he wrote and produced under the company's banner, and outlines his signature show, Moonlighting. He talks about casting Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis, and enlisting Robert Butler as director. Caron discusses the music, the overlapping dialogue sequences, and the notorious production difficulties on the show. He describes several of Moonlighting's most creative and noteworthy episodes, such as "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice" (a black-and-white episode that featured an introduction by Orson Welles), "Atomic Shakespeare" (a retelling of "The Taming of the Shrew"), and "The Straight Poop" (a behind-the-scenes mockumentary of the show with interviewer Rona Barrett). Caron then briefly chronicles his work in feature films and on the short-lived series Now and Again and the unaired series Fling. Lastly, he discusses the production of the series Medium, the show's basis on a real-life medium, the casting, the importance of creating a realistic home life for the lead characters, and the season two episode that was broadcast in 3D. Gary Rutkowski conducted the interview on September 19, 2007 on the set of the show Medium in Manhattan Beach, CA.
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Highlights
Glenn Gordon Caron on how he cast Bruce Willis on Moonlighting
Clip begins at: 21:49, Duration: 07m 05sGlenn Gordon Caron on Orson Welles introducing the classic Moonlighting episode "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice"
Clip begins at: 03:16, Duration: 03m 00sGlenn Gordon Caron on working with director Robert Butler on Hill Street Blues and what he learned from him
Clip begins at: 12:51, Duration: 00m 48sGlenn Gordon Caron on the backstory of creating Medium
Clip begins at: 24:44, Duration: 04m 20sGlenn Gordon Caron on Patricia Arquette winning an Emmy for Medium
Clip begins at: 15:12, Duration: 01m 42s
Interview
- Part 1
- On his childhood and early influences; on TV shows and movies that he watched as a child
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On attending SUNY Geneseo; on getting a job in advertising; on wanting to be a filmmaker and starting to write screenplays; on getting his big break at NBC
Clip begins at: 14:08 - On enjoying the pilot of Taxi and wanting to write for the show
Clip begins at: 27:54 - Part 2
- On studying with Del Close at Second City; on moving to California to write for Taxi
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On turning down the offer to write for Hill Street Blues; on writing for and producing the TV version of Breaking Away; on having a rapport with Pierce Brosnan and writing for Remington Steele
Clip begins at: 04:58 - On forming his own company, Picturemaker Productions; on creating three pilots: Concrete Beat, Long Time Gone, and Moonlighting
Clip begins at: 16:30 - On casting Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis on Moonlighting
Clip begins at: 21:00 - Part 3
- On casting Bruce Willis on Moonlighting, contd.; on coming up with the premise for the show and filming the pilot episode
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On criticisms of the show; on Moonlighting's 16 Emmy nominations and 0 wins
Clip begins at: 13:41 - On problems with the censors on the show; on the music of Moonlighting; on casting Bruce Willis and Allyce Beasley
Clip begins at: 19:36 - Part 4
- On recurring gags, the fast dialogue, and the musical nature of Moonlighting; on the writers' room and production problems on the show
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On meeting Rona Barrett and asking her to appear on Moonlighting (as a way to get an episode when there were production problems with the show)
Clip begins at: 13:10 - On casting the supporting characters on Moonlighting; on the decision to have the main characters consummate their relationship; on incorporating Cybill Shepherd's pregnancy into the show
Clip begins at: 21:48 - Part 5
- On how Moonlighting reflected its era; on memorable episodes of the show
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On leaving day-to-day operations of Moonlighting and his involvement with the show after that; on the legacy of Moonlighting
Clip begins at: 11:30 - On his feature film work; on creating the unsuccessful series Fling; on the creation of Medium
Clip begins at: 15:14 - Part 6
- On casting Medium; on the character upon whom Medium is based serving as a consultant on the show
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On the dream sequences and style choices on Medium; on the structure of the show and a typical work week
Clip begins at: 10:05 - On the 3D episode of Medium; on the plight of being created by the parent company of one network and airing on another network; on Patricia Arquette changing her hairstyle on Medium
Clip begins at: 20:46 - On using his middle name for credits; on working with Katharine Hepburn
Clip begins at: 27:08 - Part 7
- On not wanting Bruce Willis to do "Die Hard"; on his style and his proudest achievements; on rewriting scripts and his writing process
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On career regrets, advice to aspiring writers, and how television has changed since he started in the business; on how he'd like to be remembered
Clip begins at: 13:16
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