1 post tagged freaks and geeks

Yes, we know, Hollywood is officially obsessed with the ’80s. The Die Hard pitch is back. The “wow, they can really dance” version of Footloose is out on video. The reimagined versions of Robocop and Total Recall (and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles … or is that Teenage Alien Ninja Turtles?) are on the way.

But this our new favorite way to obsess over the ’80s — via Freaks and Geeks, the short-lived but much-loved show created by Bridesmaids director Paul Feig and executive produced by Judd Apatow. The cast included Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Linda Cardellini, James Franco, Busy Philipps, John Francis Daley and Samm Levine (whose William Shatner impression got him the role — which Shia LaBeouf also auditioned for). And Joe Flaherty, from SCTV and Stripes.

Feig just walked through the entire series for The A.V. Club and it’s awesome. (It’s also long, but in that “I’m glad there’s more” way.) Here are some highlights, featuring Apatow, Rogen and improv magic:

The original idea:

I always had wanted to do a show about my experiences in high school. I always hated high-school shows and high-school movies, because they were always about the cool kids. It was always about dating and sex, and all the popular kids, and the good-looking kids. And the nerds were super-nerdy cartoons, with tape on their glasses. I never saw “my people” portrayed accurately.

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