What’s up with ’Modern Family’?
On a recent Friday in Los Angeles, the 27th annual PaleyFest kicked off . For those who may not know, the two-week event, sponsored by The Paley Center for Media, focuses on what’s hot on television with open discussions with creators and talent alike about the inner workings of their respective shows.
The first night of the event turned its lights on the freshman sitcom success of ABC’s Modern Family. With the primary cast members in attendance as well as co-creator Steve Levitan and Executive Producer Jason Winer, fans were able to learn about how the actors feel in the roles as well as some of the behind-the-scenes workings that help shape the show, EDGE’s Jim Halterman was also there along with 1,400 other diehard fans for the Modern Family lovefest.
On the primary creation of the show, Levitan (Just Shoot Me) said that he and co-creator Christopher Lloyd (Frasier) just sat back one day and began talking. He said that "[we] would come in the morning and sort of look at each other for a while and then sort of started telling stories about what was happening in our lives. And I think it started from there. I think it started from the pure place of there are a lot of good things happening in our lives right now, a lot of interesting stories every day - why don’t we just write about that? I think when you start from a place like that - just real and honest - good things tend to happen."
Is America ready for this?
As for including the gay couple of Cameron (played by Eric Stonestreet) and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) in the mix of the family, Levitan paid tribute to the groundbreaking sitcom Will & Grace. "I remember seeing the pilot and it was really funny but [I thought] ’Boy, is America ready for this?’ And they sure didn’t care. I think they broke down enormous barriers and I think the best thing we can do on that front is just present two people who are responsible parents, who are likable, who are in a committed relationship."
Stonestreet, who is straight, was asked if his playing Cameron has affected his dating life with the opposite sex. "I have a little bit of a hole to dig myself out of with the ladies," he chuckled. That said he is obviously very happy with playing the role. "I’m appreciative of all my fans, no matter how much hair they have on their back."
As for how he went about bringing Cameron to life, Stonestreet looked for someone very close to him for inspiration - his own mother. "She’s very passionate," the actor explained. "She’s a real person, she’s not a character. She’s excitable. I always say the moment in the pilot that most is my mom is when we walk into the [baby’s] room and see the mural and I just say, ’Oh my God, do you love it?’"
Levitan talked about the physical transformation by Stonestreet from his real persona to Cameron. Never one to be shy, Stonestreet was more than happy to demonstrate how he becomes Cameron. The actor stood up, scratched his crotch with masculine flair and then as Levitan yelled ’Action,’ he then began to glide across the stage as only Cameron would. Hilarious.
