My first pilot gig; in fact my first job in television; was Freaks and Geeks (1999), and the experience of directing that pilot was probably the single most formative of my directing life. The lessons I learned from those people (Judd Apatow, Paul Feig, the incredible cast) and the approach to comedy that we derived together to make that 48-minute "mini-movie" have, in one way or another, infused almost all of my directing work since. Show less «

[re his movie _The TV Set ( 2006)_ (qv] Seven years ago, I made a movie that I was pretty sure at the time was going to end my career. Or at least a big part of it. And I was basically fine with that. Even though my career was not really big enough to start closing off any corridors, there was this one area that I was OK leaving behind...I had written and directed it. The subject was pilot season and the completely insane process by which new network television shows are developed. It was based on my own experiences, as well as those of my friends and collaborators, many of whom I had watched survive the making of their own pilots. And some people around me (my agent) felt that the movie was not particularly...loving in its depiction. Show less «