FREAKS AND GEEKS Series Retrospective: Pilot and Episodes 2, 3, 4
January 26, 2014, 3:00 P.M. - 8:00 P.M.
Eileen Norris Cinema Theatre/Frank Sinatra Hall, 3507 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA 90007
The USC School of Cinematic Arts and Visions and Voices: The USC Arts & Humanities Initiative invite all USC Students, Faculty, Staff and Alumni to attend
Freaks and Geeks Series Retrospective:
Pilot & Episodes 2, 3, 4
There will be a 30 minute intermission between the Episodes 3 & 4, during which refreshments will be served in Queens Courtyard.
About the Episodes
Episode 1: Pilot
Lindsay's family and friends fear the worst when she quits the academic decathlon team (a.k.a. the "mathletes") and begins hanging around with a new crowd. Her depression grows after her attempt to stop the teasing of a special education student goes terribly wrong. She turns to the guidance counselor for advice, but he only cares about getting her back in the academic decathlon. A new friend tries to help her find her way. Sam ponders asking cheerleader Cindy Sanders to the homecoming dance, while trying to cope with persistent teasing and torture at the hands of a savage bully.
Directed by Jake Kasdan. Written by Paul Feig.
Running time: 48 minutes.
Episode 2: Beers and Weirs
When Lindsay and Sam's parents go out of town, Lindsay's friends suggest that she throw a party. Lindsay hesitantly agrees in the hopes of impressing Daniel, who has broken up with Kim. Sam and Neal become worried after going to a school assembly focusing on alcohol-related deaths. They decide to switch the real beer with non-alcoholic beer. Daniel and Kim get back together and despite the lack of alcohol, the party quickly gets out of hand. Bill samples the real keg. Neal finds a way to stop the party.
Directed by Jake Kasdan. Written by Paul Feig, J. Elvis Weinstein, and Judd Apatow.
Running time: 45 minutes.
Episode 3: Tricks and Treats
Lindsay agrees to stay home and hand out candy with her mom on Halloween night. However, when she gets an invite to go cruise around town with Nick, Daniel, and Kim, she ditches her mom to hang out with them. Sam, Bill, Neal, and Harris go trick or treating. Lindsay and the gang go on a vandalism spree that starts with smashing pumpkins and ends abruptly after Lindsay accidentally pelts Sam with an egg.
Directed by Bryan Gordon. Written by Paul Feig.
Running time: 45 minutes.
Episode 4: Kim Kelly is My Friend
Kim invites Lindsay to dinner, explaining that she needs to introduce a nice friend to her parents so they will stop hassling her to sell her car. After Lindsay realizes what an abusive home Kim is living in, the two flee the scene in Kim's car. Sam struggles with a bully who is friends with Kim.
Directed by Lesli Linka Glatter. Written by Paul Feig and Mike White.
Running time: 45 minutes.
About the Guests
STEVE BANNOS (Actor, "Frank Kowchevski")
Bio coming soon.
JAMES FRANCO (Actor, "Daniel Desario")
Bio coming soon.
SAMM LEVINE (Actor, "Neal Schweiber")
Samm Levine's first breakout role was as a member of the "geek" half of the short lived cult hit, Freaks and Geeks (1999). The following year, he rejoined Freaks and Geeks producer, Judd Apatow, for another widely praised coming of age series, Undeclared (2001). That same year, Samm made his feature debut in the raucous teen spoof, Not Another Teen Movie (2001).
Since then, he has appeared in over 60 films and television shows, including the Oscar winning Quentin Tarantino epic, Inglourious Basterds (2009), and in many memorable roles on beloved programs such as Entourage (2004), Modern Family (2009), NCIS (2003) and How I Met Your Mother (2005). In addition to his growing catalog of television appearances, Samm is also known for roles in many cult features, including the Broken Lizard comedy, Club Dread (2004), the sci-fi thriller, Pulse (2006), and acclaimed indie comedies, Drones (2010) and IFC's Made for Each Other (2009)
Samm has also served as co-host and producer to Kevin Pollak's renowned celebrity talk show, Kevin Pollak's Chat Show (2009), since its inception in 2009 - a role he came into after his interview as a guest on the first episode.
ALLISON JONES (Casting Director)
Bio coming soon.
GABE SACHS (Supervising Producer/Writer)
Bio coming soon.
About the Moderator
ALESSANDRO AGO is the Director of Programming and Special Projects at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where he programs film screenings, festivals, guest speakers and special events. In addition to programming the popular undergraduate courses Theatrical Film Symposium, taught by Leonard Maltin, and Television Symposium, taught by Howard Rosenberg, Ago also curates Outside the Box [Office], a screening series dedicated to bringing new international, documentary and independent cinema to USC. During a typical semester, Outside the Box [Office] offers over 50 new pre-release movies to students, faculty and alumni, often followed by conversations with the filmmakers, which Ago moderates. He oversees all Deans Council Visions and Voices programming for the School of Cinematic Arts and has produced festivals celebrating the work of John Wayne, Roger Corman, Costa Gavras, Maurice Jarre, Albert Broccoli and the James Bond franchise, as well as world cinema showcases focusing on Japan, Italy, Bollywood and the Middle East and an ongoing series of Live in HD satellite broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In 2013, Ago produced a complete series retrospective of the landmark 1990 ABC TV drama Twin Peaks, featuring panel discussions with 50 cast & crew members from across the production.
Also in 2013, Ago taught a course called Italian Genre Cinema and Society for the Italian Department at USC, and has taught two undergraduate courses for the SCA Summer Program: Transnational Nightmares and Filmmaking, Italian Style. He co-produced the 2006 & 2007 editions of Los Angeles - Italia: The Film, Fashion and Art Fest at Mann's Chinese 6-plex, as well as the 2006 Capri - Hollywood Film Festival in Capri, Italy. He also worked for the Sundance Institute as a screener in the International Documentary Feature department, helping to select films for competition for the Sundance Film Festival.
Both an Italian and American citizen, he grew up in Washington D.C. and Rome, Italy. He holds a bachelor's and master's degree from the USC School of Cinematic Arts' Critical Studies division.
About the USC Freaks and Geeks Retrospective
Over the course of the Spring 2014 semester, the USC School of Cinematic Arts will host a complete series retrospective of the NBC cult comedy series, Freaks and Geeks, created by SCA Alumnus Paul Feig, and Executive Produced by SCA Alumnus Judd Apatow. Each week, episodes of the series will be followed by in-depth Q&As with key cast & crew from the production.
The complete series will be screened across 4 Sunday afternoons from January through April 2014, with the following order (start times & running times vary):
Sunday, January 26th, 2014: Episodes 1, 2, 3, 4
Sunday, February 23rd, 2014 at 2:00 PM: Episodes 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Sunday, March 30th, 2014 at 2:00 PM: Episodes 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
Sunday, April 6th, 2014 at 3:00 PM: Episodes 15, 16, 17, 18
Check-In & Reservations
This screening is free of charge and open to the public. Please bring a valid USC ID or print out of your reservation confirmation, which will automatically be sent to your e-mail account upon successfully making an RSVP through this website. Doors will open at 2:30 P.M.
All SCA screenings are OVERBOOKED to ensure seating capacity in the theater, therefore seating is not guaranteed based on RSVPs. The RSVP list will be checked in on a first-come, first-served basis until the theater is full. Once the theater has reached capacity, we will no longer be able to admit guests, regardless of RSVP status.
Parking
The USC School of Cinematic Arts is located at 900 W. 34th St., Los Angeles, CA 90007. Parking passes may be purchased for $10.00 at USC Entrance Gate #5, located at the intersection of W. Jefferson Blvd. & McClintock Avenue. We recommend parking in Parking Structure D, at the far end of 34th Street. Please note that Parking Structure D cannot accommodate tall vehicles such as SUVs. Free street parking is also available along Jefferson Blvd.
About Visions and Voices: The USC Arts & Humanities Initiative
Visions and Voices is a university-wide arts and humanities initiative that is unparalleled in higher education. The initiative was established by USC President C. L. Max Nikias during his tenure as provost in order to fulfill the goals set forth in USC's strategic plan; to communicate USC's core values to students; and to affirm the human spirit. Emphasizing the university's commitment to interdisciplinary approaches, the initiative features a spectacular array of events conceived and organized by faculty and schools throughout the university. The series includes theatrical productions, music and dance performances, conferences, lectures, film screenings and many other special events both on and off campus. Each program invites students to dialogue and interact with artists, writers, professors and special guests. These interactions provide a dynamic experience of the arts and humanities and encourage active exploration of USC's core values, including freedom of inquiry and expression, team spirit, appreciation of diversity, commitment to serving one's community, entrepreneurial spirit, informed risk-taking, ethical conduct and the search for truth.
For more information, visit www.usc.edu/visionsandvoices
Produced by Alessandro Ago for the USC School of Cinematic Arts
Contact Information
Name: Alessandro Ago
Email: aago@cinema.usc.edu