FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Hellboy 2 Director Guillermo Del Toro talks about
Rod Serling's Night Gallery
And the upcoming Season Two DVD
On the Internet radio show
TV Time Machine
www.tvtimemachine.com
September 22, 2008 - Directors Guillermo Del Toro (
Pan's Labyrinth) and Jeannot Szwarc (
Heroes) talk about Rod Serling's
Night Gallery and Universal Home Entertainment's upcoming Season Two DVD release of the classic TV series, on the Internet radio show TV Time Machine (http://www.tvtimemachine.com), hosted by TV historian Jim Benson.
On TV Time Machine, Guillermo Del Toro gives his most comprehensive interview ever about his lifelong passion for Rod Serling's
Night Gallery and his admiration for the show's most prolific director, Jeannot Szwarc.
In the early 1970's while growing up in Mexico, the series had a profound impact on Del Toro. The Academy Award-nominated director also talks about his audio commentary for the Rod Serling's
Night Gallery Season Two DVD, revealing the fact that the series has served as an inspiration for his remarkable film career.
"As I said on the DVD,
Night Gallery is a seminal work in my life," says Del Toro. If you look at the movies I do, there's always a little something of
Night Gallery. I first started noticing filmic style watching the show. It has informed
Pan's Labyrinth, The Devil's Backbone, and basically everything else. For my generation, it was more
Night Gallery than The
Twilight Zone."
On TV Time Machine, Guillermo Del Toro discusses his esteem for creator Rod Serling and his favorite
Night Gallery episodes and moments. Del Toro also explores director Jeannot Szwarc's remarkable contribution to Rod Serling's
Night Gallery. Mr. Szwarc directed many of the finest episodes of the series, including the classic segment, The Caterpillar - hailed by Stephen King as one of the most frightening TV episodes ever.
"At the time we had an idea that it was special," says Szwarc. "The amazing thing about
Night Gallery is that because of the quality of the material, it attracted casts that were unbelievable. Laurence Harvey had never done television before and he said 'yes' to doing The Caterpillar, based on the script. Geraldine Page agreed to do the episode Sins of the Fathers, because of the material."
Jeannot Szwarc helmed twenty-two episodes of
Night Gallery, more than any other director. A veteran of forty years in the industry, his credits include such films as
Jaws 2, Supergirl, and
Somewhere in Time. Szwarc has also directed over one-hundred TV episodes for such shows as
Columbo, Kojak, The Practice, Jag, Boston Legal, Smallville, Without a Trace, Cold Case, Bones and
Heroes.
One of the entertainment industry's top talents, Guillermo Del Toro has directed, written and produced over a dozen films including
Cronos, The Devil's Backbone, Hellboy, Hellboy 2, Blade II, and the Academy Award-winning
Pan's Labyrinth. Del Toro is also slated to write and direct
The Hobbit and
The Hobbit 2 with writer/producer Peter Jackson, to be released in 2011 and 2012, respectively.
TV Time Machine is a unique Internet radio show that explores classic TV and its influence over the past five decades. Beyond nostalgia, TV Time Machine spotlights TV's impact on our culture and society, and explores how present-day television and its movers and shakers have been -and are still - influenced by the stories, programs, and characters of television's past.
TV Time Machine host Jim Benson has interviewed a multitude of legendary TV celebrities, authors and experts of all stripes on his radio program, covering shows ranging from
Mr. Ed to
Meet the Press and topics such as Technology on TV and TV's Turning Points. A TV historian for over twenty-five years, Mr. Benson has contributed to dozens of TV productions - including a recent appearance on
Penn & Teller's Bullshit!, and is a Historical Consultant on Universal Studios' DVD release of Rod Serling's
Night Gallery: Season Two. He is the co-author, with Scott Skelton, of the book
Rod Serling's Night Gallery: An After-Hours Tour, published by Syracuse University Press.
