Preparing for Paley Fest 2012

In just a few days The Paley Center for Media will kick-off its Paley Fest 2012, which means for the next two weeks some of the most popular TV dramas and comedies will be spotlighted to a packed house of fans and press alike.

American Horror Story

The big annual festival starts off with the buzzed-about creep fest from FX – American Horror Story – on Friday, March 2 at 7 PM with creators and executive producers Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk and Executive Producer Dante Di Loreto on hand to talk about the show along with cast members Connie Britton, Dylan McDermott, Jessica Lange and Alexandra Breckenridge with additional guests to be announced.

Community

Then on Saturday, March 3, the cast and creative team of the NBC comedy Community will be on hand at 7 PM to discuss the little comedy that could. Series creator Dan Harmon and executive producers Russ Krasnoff, Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan will be there with cast member Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Yvette Nicole Brown, Danny Pudi, Ken Jeong, Jim Rash and Allison Brie (and other guests to be announced).

Once Upon a Time

Appropriately enough, the panel for the ABC fairytale dram Once Upon a Time will be held on Sunday, March 4 (the same night the show returns with an all-new episode) at 1 PM. Among the cast members on tap for the afternoon will include Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Robert Carlyle, Lana Parrilla, Josh Dallas and Raphael Sbarge. Creators and Executive Producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz and Executive Producer Steve Pearlman will also be there.

New Girl

Monday, March 5 will bring the cast of the new hit FOX comedy New Girl to the stage at 7 PM with Creator and Executive Producer Elizabeth Meriwether and Executive Producers Brett Baer, Dave Finkel and Jake Kasdan as well as cast members Zooey Deschanel, Max Greenfield, Jake Johnson, Lamorne Morris and Hannah Simone on hand to talk about the series.

The Office

The NBC comedy The Office will be featured on Tuesday, March 6 at 7 PM with cast members Rainn Wilson, John Krasinksi, Jenna Fischer, Ed Helms, B.J. Novak, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Angela Kinsey, Oscar Nunez, Phyllis Smith, Mindy Kaling (and more actors) as well as Executive Producers Greg Daniels, Paul Lieberstein there to talk about the long-running comedy.

Sons of Anarchy

Creator and Executive Producer Kurt Sutter and casts members Katey Sagal and Theo Rossi, plus additional guests to be announced, of the FX series Sons of Anarchy will be on stage on Wednesday, March 7.

Bones

The following night – Thursday, March 8 – the cast of the popular FOX drama Bones will be featured at the festival at 7 PM with cast members Emily Deschanel, David Boreanaz, T.J. Thyne, Michaela Conlin and John Francis Daley on the stage along with Creator and Executive Producer Hart Hanson and Executive Producer Stephan Nathan.

Castle

The popular ABC drama Castle will then take the stage on Friday, March 9 at 7 PM with Creator and Executive Producer Andrew W. Marlowe and Executive Producer Rob Bowman on stage along with cast member Nathan Fillion, Stana Katic, Molly Quinn, Susan Sullivan, Seamus Dever, Jon Huertas, Penny Johnson Jerald and Tamala Jones all in attendance.

The Vampire Diaries

As we move into next weekend, the fan favorite series The Vampire Diaries on the CW will be spotlighted on Saturday, March 10 at 7 PM with cast members Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Candice Accola and Matthew Davis on stage alongside Executive Producer Julie Plec.

Revenge

The following night – Sunday, March 11 – will feature the cast and creative team behind the new hit ABC soap opera Revenge at 1 PM with Creator and Executive Producer Mike Kelly and Executive Producer Marty Bowen on stage alongside cast members Emily VanCamp, Madeline Stowe, Henry Czerny, Josh Bowman, Nick Wechsler, Gabriel Mann, Ashley Madekwe, Christa B. Allen and Connor Paolo.

Two and a Half Men

Creators and Executive Producers Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn behind the CBS comedy Two and a Half Men will be on hand on Monday, March 12 at 7 PM along with cast members Jon Cryer, Ashton Kutcher, Angus T. Jones, Conchata Ferrell and Holland Taylor.

Mad Men

The award-winning AMC period drama Mad Men will be spotlighted on Tuesday, March 13 at 7 PM with cast members Jon Hamm, John Slattery, January Jones, Vincent Kartheiser, Jared Harris, Rich Sommer, Aaron Staton, Robert Morse, Kiernan Shipka (and additional guest to be announced) along with Series Creator and Executive Producer Matthew Weiner all taking the stage.

Modern Famly

Rounding out the two-week festival will be the popular ABC comedy Modern Family on Wednesday, March 14 at 7 PM that will feature cast members Julie Bowen, Ed O’Neill, Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Sofia Vergara, Sarah Hyland, Ariel Winter, Nolan Gould and Rick Rodriguez as well as Creators and Executive Producers Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd.

The annual Paley Fest is now in its 29th year and has become part of the pop culture landscape, highlighting, each year, the most buzzed about shows on television. This year the Paley Fest will also be live-streamed on Hulu where full-length content and short form clips will be featured for all 13 panels to subscribers. You can see the live-streams here, but make sure to tune in on each day at the set time as each panel will only be live-streamed as they happen.

You can read about a few of these panels in my upcoming columns, as I will be attending and reporting on the Once Upon a Time, Castle and Revenge panels.

Artist’s Spotlight: This month’s spotlight is shone on artist Shannon Fogg whose first art teacher was her dad, teaching her how to draw mermaids with crayons even before she could write her name and that shaped her as an artist. Shannon grew up and has lived her entire life in San Diego eventually graduating from The Art Institute of California with a degree in Advertising.

While she has never taken a formal art class, Shannon does enjoy learning by observation and study, making art like meditation for her. She freely shares that art calms and centers her and helps her do her best thinking.

Shannon’s favorite subjects to draw come from legends and fairytales from around the world, because she loves fantasy and mythical art; but she loves all art. She is especially fond of stories with strong female characters.

She likes paint and pastels, but her favorite medium is colored pencil. Sometimes, though, she likes to break out the crayons for old time’s sake especially when she has artist’s block. Her art work is most inspired by Alex Ross, Kinuko Craft, and Jia Lu.

Boudica by Shannon Fogg

Her featured piece called Boudica” is one of her favorite pieces. It is based on an Irish warrior queen who was a warrior and a leader, which is why she holds a spear a shield. The fire in the background is symbolic of her spirit and will to fight for justice. The dramatic lighting and saturated colors convey her strength. Shannon shared that Boudica was one of the easiest drawings she has ever done; in fact, making the piece went smoothly and turned out almost exactly as she had envisioned.

You can learn more about Shannon Fogg’s work by visiting her website here and you can email her at shannon@shannonfogg.com. You can also visit her Facebook page here.