Kate Farina Event producer // Ideas person // Fan of fans
Paley Center
The Paley Center for Media: Public Programs
Since 2007, I’ve worked at The Paley Center for Media (formerly the Museum of Television & Radio), producing programs in our 200-seat theater, including panel discussions with casts and creative teams of current television series documentary screenings (and discussions with filmmakers and film subjects) author appearances and book signings one-on-one interviews discussions covering specific topics [...]
Fan Events: Bringing TV Fans Together
I’m proud to having contributed a new category of programming to Paley Center events. I love a good panel discussion, but I think it’s more special when the audience can really interact and connect with each other. I’ve always been really interested in fandom, so whenever I get the opportunity to create something cool for fans, [...]
Royal Wedding Viewing Party – April 29, 2011
They rose before dawn. Over 200 well-wishers from New York, wanting to experience the royal wedding with a group of like-minded anglophiles.
American Idol & Glee Season Finale Party
For our celebration of the season finales of American Idol and Glee, we wanted to do more than just invite people to watch the shows in our theater. The whole point of these hit series is performance. We invited two high school singing groups (Professional Performing Arts School in Manhattan and Wilton High School, in [...]
Human Giant – Live!
April 1, 2008 (yep – April Fool’s Day) I consider myself a comedy nerd, but I really like to go to straight to the source when I’m looking for new programs. In 2007, I reached out to L.A. comedy-insider and friend, the hilarious Alex Fernie, to see if he had any ideas for a sketch [...]
An Evening with The Good Wife
Bringing The Good Wife to the Paley Center was a project that began as soon as we learned the series would film in NYC. It’s never easy arranging for an entire cast to make themselves available for an evening event, particularly when they’re shooting. Thankfully, the terrific staff at CBS helped us make this happen. [...]
Oscars Viewing Party (2011)
This was our first year of Academy-sanctioned festivities. In fact, we were the only official NYC venue for Oscar-watching. To add some fun to our red carpet, our creative services team created life-size stand-ups of Hollywood stars. Our guests posed with Brad and Angie in front of photographers and camera crews. We built on the [...]
Who’s Next? The New Era of Doctor Who
April 12, 2010 From the website: A new era of the legendary BAFTA-winning series, Doctor Who, begins April 17 on BBC America. The iconic series, television’s longest-running science fiction program, follows the adventures of the Doctor, the mysterious traveler who, with his human companions, journeys throughout all of time and space, facing a variety of [...]
Oscar Viewing Party (2010)
March 7, 2010 For the first time ever, we presented the Academy Awards on our big screen, inviting the audience to “play along” and participate via Twitter. I also introduced TwitterFall to my co-workers, which is a great (and sometimes pretty) way to display tweets in front of an audience.
An Evening with Jim Parsons
From the website: In the three seasons that The Big Bang Theory has steadily risen in popularity to become one of television’s most-watched sitcoms, there are few who would argue that a key reason for the increasingly enthusiastic viewership has been breakout star Jim Parsons. As the all-too-logical, defiantly antisocial über-nerd Sheldon Cooper, Parsons has [...]
“Dark Shadows at Twilight: A Paley Center Vampire Weekend”
Collaborating with the Paley Center’s education staff (and fellow vampire enthusiasts), we created a weekend-long celebration of all things vampire in the media, designed to coincide with the release of New Moon. This multi-faceted event featured a panel/debate with fans of the most prominent and beloved vampire properties, a trivia competition, a gallery exhibit featuring [...]
A Detailed Account of What I Do
I’m spelling this out in great detail because this job is pretty unique. It’s not like saying “I’m a plumber” or “I’m a CPA.” It takes a paragraph or to just to explain where I work, let alone what I do. One of the reasons I created this website was to be able to explain [...]
The Paley Center for Media: After the Program
Here’s where things get more complicated. I called myself an “event producer” but there’s actually some other elements beyond just planning and running events. In fact, I pretty much elbowed my way in to these other responsibilities because they were being outsourced and I thought I could save the organization money and do it better. [...]
Click Critics: The Power of Fan Websites
May 19, 2008 From the website: We gathered writers behind some of the more well-known sites to discuss the influence of fan sites on programming, the culture of actively engaged critical communities, and their position in the “legitimate” critical landscape. This seminar was one of my first opportunities to “curate” a panel. It certainly [...]
Bravo’s “Work of Art”
From the website: Bravo’s latest stroke on the reality canvas brings Sarah Jessica Parker and her production company, Pretty Matches, together with Magical Elves (Top Chef, Project Runway) and Eli Holzman, to produce Work of Art: The Next Great Artist, an hour-long creative competition series among contemporary artists. Work of Art: The Next Great Artist [...]
Ugly Betty is Back
April 29, 2009 From the website: In the superficial world of high fashion, image is everything. Styles come and go, and the only constants are the super-thin beauties who wear them. How can an ordinary girl from Queens possibly fit in? On her own terms. The Paley Center welcomes the cast and creative team of [...]
Upright Citizens Brigade
November 8, 2007 From the website: UCB’s series on Comedy Central–starring Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh–inspired a cult audience hooked on the troupe’s dizzying takes on modern absurdity. UCB was my first comedy event at the Paley Center, and it was terrific mostly because I was one of the (apparently [...]
White Collar Comes Clean
From the website: What if The Fugitive’s Dr. Richard Kimble and Lt. Gerard had called a truce and teamed up? USA Network’s White Collar, having just concluded a sparkling rookie season, posits a similar scenario, as charming criminal mastermind Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer) turns informer for his longtime nemesis, FBI Agent Peter Burke (Tim DeKay), in order [...]
Women and Late Night Television
(Co-sponsored with the Writers Guild of America – East) From the website: Late night talk shows have dominated water-cooler conversation recently, but most of the conversation has centered on the male ego. Bill Carter of the New York Timeshas pointed out that “very few women make it inside the writing rooms for late-night television hosts, [...]
Bob Elliott Converses with Chris Elliott and Keith Olbermann
March 31, 2008 From the website: The Paley Center saluted legendary satirists Bob & Ray, with Bob Elliott himself and his son Chris discussing and screening clips from their careers. Along for the tribute was Keith Olbermann, who cites Bob & Ray as a major influence on Countdown. This program was my first introduction to [...]
Bravo’s NYC Prep
June 1, 2009 From the website: OMFG! Bravo’s new reality series NYC Prep chronicles the lives of a group of privileged teenagers who are the key players in Manhattan’s elite social life scene. We will get to watch their every move as they weekend in the Hamptons and throw exclusive midnight parties in Upper East [...]
“Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” Sing-Along
December 19, 2008 I’d wanted to pursue a Dr. Horrible event since the project was announced. Having tapped into the wonderful world of Whedon fandom for the Buffy reunion screening/sing-along in the spring, I knew New York would be ripe for a Sing-Along sing-along. Making it a reality was a bit more complicated than hitting [...]
Superman/Batman: Apocalypse
September 23, 2010 From the website: Warner Home Video, UGO.com, and The Paley Center for Media present the bicoastal premieres of Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, the highly anticipated ninth entry in the ongoing series of DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movies, produced by Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Animation. Executive producer Bruce Timm has taken [...]
Preview & Discussion: The September Issue
August 20, 2009 From the website (features a clip from the discussion) In this engrossing documentary, R. J. Cutler goes behind the iconic sunglasses of legendary fashion editor Anna Wintour to reveal the inner workings of her influential magazine, Vogue. With unprecedented access, this cinema-verite film follows Wintour and her passionate staff through the nine [...]
Twitter: @katefarina
- Fascinating. RT @Geniusbastard: The man who ACD largely based Moriarty on. ===> http://t.co/kEPMkbYH
- @GoTeamMegan It's HILARIOUS though.
- @sacsplace Yes. Very end of July. Once we pack up our kitchen, we'll be relying on Sac's for all sustenance.
- @sacsplace That said, we need to get all our Sacs in while we still can!
- @sacsplace Great! I used a new dough recipe and it worked so well. And I sauteed the mushrooms first (Sacs style). No bacon though :(