#podast

Wheels was Paris's introduction to Glee. It was the first episode he directed.

Kevin jokes and says this was their introduction to acting.

Paris hadn't worked with before Glee. For some reason Ryan thought he would be perfect for the show.

Dante Di Loreto showed Paris a copy of the pilot of Glee. Paris was very moved and said he did not think there has been a show on television that he is better suited for.

Paris was the musical director for the acapella group at Harvard and worked on musicals. He thought he was on his way to being the black Stephen Sondheim.

Paris' first directing gig was directing Elizabeth Taylor in a commercial.

He left advertising and became a music video director. He then moved to directing television shows.

All of this was like a pretraining for directing Glee.

Paris didn't read the script for Wheels until he arrived at Glee. It wasn't intentional. He didn't get the script until he got to set.

He knew the basics of the story and the songs that would be used in the episode.

He was incredibly touched by the Burt and Kurt stories.

The episode was like a perfect storm.

The cast was nervous about Paris directing them. They quickly learned he is a very warm and very good at making people feel comfortable.

Paris told Jenna a story about Elizabeth story because she was worried about crying in a scene.

Paris said they were both great in Wheels.

Part of his goal when he got to the show was to keep it more real. This was a very grounded episode.

Glee was a different show every time he came to direct an episode.

Everyone was sleeping with someone different.

Kevin said they would just kick back and tell Paris all the gossip when he would come direct episodes.

Paris echoed what Ryan said about if the show had been done now there would be more protections for the cast in regards to the commercial exploitation of the cast.

Paris said they had counseling available while they worked on Dahmer because of the subject matter.

He said in Glee's case it would have been needed because of all the personalities on the show. Young people being young people.

Glee was different then anything else Paris worked on.

The biggest show he worked on that he can compare to Glee is ER.

The producers were extremely conscious of the fact that the storylines on ER reverberated with the fans. The actors were professional and the writers were disciplined. This set a tone for the rest of the show.

Glee didn't have that luxury. That creates an incredible amount of stress for every department. They all work under a lot of stress. The cast lived and worked in incredible stress and tension. The crew didn't have time.

In hindsight Ryan should have set more of a precedent of discipline for everyone else on the show.

Dancing With Myself looks so smooth. It takes many many meetings and planning to make it look that smooth.

Kevin had to rerecord that song because Ryan didn't like the first version.

In the middle of the episode the cast went to upfronts in New York.

Upfronts is where the advertisers come and every network flaunts out their new lineup to get the advertisers to by ad space.

The more musical numbers there were the more hell it was for the cast.

Proud Mary was like three numbers.

The quickly realized they couldn't do it on a flat stage. There was one version built but the ramps were too steep.

Amber fell to the side at one point.

Amber and Lea were completely displeased with the number.

Someone took too much Xanax.

There are a couple takes where everyone exhausted, there is another where Lea is clearly done, and another with Amber is messing with one of the straps of her costume.

At the start things were simpler and attainable by an actual high school student but things quickly went off the rails.

This episode was really well written.

It had heart. It had Kurt and Burt.

Mike has become a friend. He is just unreal. He just lifts up those moments. Kurt and Burt were a dream team.

One of Paris most fun days on set was Diva. It cracks Paris up. Jenna also loves this number.

Tina and Paris had a good run.

When Tina got a chance to shine she shone and it was always great when Kevin was allowed to sang.

Every episode Paris had, had some sort of monumental moment for on the show and behind the scenes for the cast.

Paris did the 100th episode.

He also did 2009.

2009 is Paris' 2nd favorite episode. It breaks his heart. It would have been a good ending for the series.

The episode was filled with easter eggs.

The shot 2009 and the finale in tandem.

Cory's death caused a big shift in the show.

Paris felt an enormous amount of guilt and like he hadn't done enough. He felt that he should have been more proactive.

He feels like he failed Cory.

He wishes he could have done more.

The moments Paris was there and filming were a gift for the cast. They opened up to him because he was so easy to talk to and made them feel comfortable.

The cast rarely misbehaved when Paris was around.

They thought the best of him and he brought out the best of the cast.

He was a reminder to the cast of why they were there. They had a lot of respect for Paris.

The show before Wheels was getting crazy and Paris brought it back to earth.

He grounded the cast.

Paris said he was doing it out of respect for the cast. The original cast was like lightening in a bottle. He recognized their talent. This won't happen again.

He came extremely prepared. He felt he owed it to the cast to be efficient. He went for simple shots so they could really work on the performance.

He realized they had the magic.

Kevin was the guinea pig for using slow motion on the show.

The behind the head shots were Paris figuring out how to switch between Rachel and Kurt during Defying Gravity. This was the second time they used the spotlights.

Paris said he would take Kristen over Gwyneth.

Gwyneth wanted to do Happy and that delated shooting because they had to get the rights for the song.

Paris' experience made the music numbers so much better. He knew what he was doing.

Paris like when things were rough around the edges.

Sometimes in the script they were told to mimic the rough style of songs like Dog Days.

Paris said Glee is emotional. Some shows he feels that was stressful or that was hilarious. He feels emotional about Glee and it's often tinged with sadness.

It's sort of like a longing for a period of youth you can't get back.

Paris says he wishes there was more forgiveness. He wishes that people would just let things go.

Robin, the actress that plays Jean shares a birthday with Paris.

The scenes with Jean and Lauren were really at the heart of Glee. It was Glee flexing it's real power.

Paris said it disappoints him to see the cast sniping at each other. He wishes they had more forgiveness.

Kevin said it's frustrating when people in their group have negative and dark feelings about the show. They were kids. Nobody was perfect. The show became way bigger then anyone could have imagined. Things went off the rails. That shouldn't take away from all the good that came from the show.

Kevin talks about getting to meet kids in wheelchairs because of Wheels. He says they got to be a part or impactful stuff every time Paris came to direct.

Glee went there. Paris said they should be really proud of that.

Ouches in Wheels - Burt saying You can't discriminate against my kid because of his sex, religion, or the fact that he is queer as a three dollar bill. Paris says he knows they meant it with love but it wouldn't be done today.

Artie saying I want to be very clear I still have the use of my penis.

Kevin said this was the first episode there was a lot of us in these moments.

When Finn says this one's for you Artie was very emotional.

Mercedes says what you need is my chocolate thunder and Shue responds they will find something to dip in chocolate. So very cringey.

Last Finn saying we are busy with homework, football and teen pregnancy. Cory was so good and does that line flat. Jenna loves his wheelchair kick.

The scene where Quinn and Puck are making a cake/ food fight was stopped by the director of photography because he thought the flour in the air could start a fire. The stopped filming and Paris didn't know what to do. He went to Dante. They had to bring the fire marshal in to decide if it was okay to keep filming. Apparently there is a chance the flour in the air along with the lights could start a fire. Paris came with adding the sugar to the flour and the fire marshal said it that would be fine.

They asked Paris to come back.

They talked about skincare.

Kevin talked about Paris being honored by the DGA. He said seeing the people that showed up for him made Kevin feel honored. He said getting to be a smart part in his reel meant a lot.

Paris said it was an exciting night. His said his family was excited to meet the Glee cast.