Paul Feig wouldn’t tell the sold out crowd at
The Coolidge Corner Theatre about his adolescent neck injury from trying to “recreate the sensation one receives” when getting a blowjob but many other embarrassments of riches were brought up as he read from his new book “Superstud.” Co-sponsored by Brookline Booksmith and the Coolidge, the creator of the series of perfection “Freaks and Geeks” was blown away by the crowd that gathered to hear him speak, sign and introduce two of his favorite episodes of “F&G” on this unbearably rainy evening in Boston.
From the “rope feeling” to nude photo art escapades all the way to his days as Detroit’s stand in Ronald McDonald he filled the packed crowd with incredibly funny stories and jabs at the Hollywood elite as he recanted his days of geekdom and stardom as the man behind one of televisions most underrated yet worshiped shows in history. He’s tall and skinny; a fast talker with a bombastic voice that just gives him this presence and likeability that is undeniably sweet and mild-mannered.
He conceded that Sam and Lindsay are the two characters he most identified with and most represented his childhood. Sam was the shorter version of Paul Feig in High School but Lindsay represented Paul Feig at the time the series was created. He joked that Lindsay was him at age 30 – it took males till the age of 30 to reach the maturity level of a High School girl. He also let it be known that he had quite the soft spot for Bill Haverchuck as he really did represent the “geek” of 1980 and that originally Bill was based off of his friend that actually was semi-retarded but that the network didn’t really want to go that direction.
In casting he said that his favorite story was when they were in Quebec seeing hundreds of actors, he came across Stephen Lea Sheppard sitting in the corner reading a book. He eventually was cast as Harris Trinsky and shooting was just about to begin on the first episode so they had to rush immigration papers for Sheppard as he was Canadian and supposed to be in the infamous fight scene along with Bill and Neal but apparently “rushing” immigration papers is only done if there is no other person in the American that can perform the task that this immigrant is to perform. So, Paul Feig forged recommendation letters from Speilberg and Scorsese saying that Stephem Lea Sheppard is the best actor they’ve ever seen. It was hysterical! If you’ve seen the show, you know that although he is quite funny, he’s no Oscar contender nor the prettiest of the bunch!
I fucking love the guy! He was a showrunner that actually lived and breathed his series. He put all of his heart and soul into those characters and honestly wanted to do nothing more than tell the tale of the other half – those outside of the cheerleading and football circles. He talked about how NBC was so frustrated with the stories because there were no “victories” for the characters – nothing big and good came to them. He said he always argued that there were victories in every story… by the end of each episode it was a victory that those characters survived. It was a funny comment but you could tell that THAT really was the goal and heart of the show.
The two episodes that he chose to screen were “among” his favorites. The first was “Girlfriends and Boyfriends” which had his favorite Harold Weir story (Korean hookers and misspent $5 bill). The second was “Looks and Books” where Lindsay wrecks her parents car after Daniel and the gang convince her to help them get band equipment. This is the one where Lindsay rejoins the Mathletes and the one where Sam slaps on that leisure suit to impress Cindy with his new look. Genius!
Unlike Harold Weir losing his virginity to a $5 Korean Red Light District Hooker, my night with Paul Feig was incredible and the best $5 I've spent in ages! Well, make that the best $5 Jon spent in ages as I didn't have cash on me. Whoops!
Donna, sorry you missed it. You would have just died.
