A List Of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago

SOMETHING TO ADD TO THE SAYING ABOUT LAWS AND SAUSAGES: Sure, that Tarantino/Rodriguez flick is going to get all the attention (and shockingly good reviews) this weekend, but at least in NY/LA, there are other options. I went with Jake Kasdan's The TV Set. Kasdan, son of director Lawrence Kasdan and producer/director of Freaks and Geeks, has made a movie about television that's funny, insightful, and just a little painful. David Duchovny plays Mike, a TV writer who's crafted a pilot script called The Wexler Chronicles about a guy who returns to his hometown after his brother's suicide. (Kind of like October Road, except not bad.) Sigourney Weaver and Ioan Gruffudd play the network suits who he's pitching it to. We begin with the final casting sessions, and go all the way through the process from there, including network notes demanding that the title be changed, that the brother's suicide be removed because "it's such a downer," and demanding casting that Mike hates. It's a really funny backstage comedy, filled with H!ITG! types (Judy Greer as Mike's agent! Justine Bateman as Mike's wife! Willie Garson as the pilot director! Lindsay Sloane as the leading lady! Lucy Davis as Gruffudd's wife! Mrs. Landingham as a foulmouthed editor!), and a few cameos (there's a post-credits scene with Seth Green playing himself that's just priceless). This is going to be WAY too inside for the average viewer, I expect, but for those of us who enjoyed at least the concept of the network politics side of Studio 60 (or who want to support Kasdan's apparent venting about what the network did to Freaks and Geeks), it's well worth your time and cash.