This Turkey Day, Kenny Ortega will be one of many, many devoted Gilmore Girls fans who plan to gather with loved ones in the living room to queue up the Season 3 classic, "A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving."
But there’s a caveat: Not only did he direct the 2002 episode, he’s actually never seen it.
"I’ve never had the chance!" Ortega says in his defense. "But my sister watched it not too long ago, and my great-nieces are huge fans of the franchise and were just talking to me about it. So we’re all going to watch it together."
Ortega is in for a treat that ranks up there with sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie. Set during one very chaotic November day in Stars Hollow, Connecticut, the episode features Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory (Alexis Bledel) attending four Thanksgiving meals with their various friends and family. The "Korean" in the title stems from a fancy lunch with the Kim family; the “Deep-fried” happens when chef Sookie (Melissa McCarthy) freaks out about her eccentric husband, Jackson (Jackson Douglas), soaking their bird in oil. The mother-daughter duo also have dinner with Luke (Scott Patterson) and his nephew, Jess (Milo Ventimiglia), at their diner. The episode culminates with Lorelai picking a bone with her wealthy parents (Kelly Bishop and Edward Herrmann) regarding Rory’s plans to go to Yale instead of her long-preferred choice, Harvard.
In other words, the installment features all the New England coziness associated with the ever-popular series (that ended on The CW in 2007). "The script from Dan Palladino was so special and smart," Ortega recalls. "And it was a lot of fun to film."
At the time, Ortega was a well-established choreographer (Xanadu) who had successfully pivoted to directing films (Dirty Dancing, Hocus Pocus) and television (Chicago Hope). He’s gone on to work behind the camera for the mega-successful High School Musical franchise and helm several world concert tours, among many other projects. He’s also won three Emmys, including one for directing the Opening Ceremony at the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.
And though Ortega admitted to The Television Academy at the top of his interview that "I’m really going to have to go into my memory" to recall the finer details of his holiday Gilmore Girls contribution, he was up for the challenge. Here’s the dish.
Kenny Ortega / Photo credit: Invision/AP
Television Academy: "A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving" was your second of 12 Gilmore Girls episodes that you directed. How did you get involved with the series?
Kenny Ortega: [Creator and executive producer] Amy Sherman-Palladino invited me in for an interview. She told me that she was a big fan of choreographers as directors. Not many people would say that, but she grew up in New York City and loved Broadway musicals. [She] just had this confidence that choreographers would be right for this particular show. So, she invited me to take part in it. It was just truly a wonderful period of my life.
Did you get to pick this episode or was it an assignment?
No, I never got to read a script and got to pick. Everything was just a call — "Amy would like you to come in and direct another episode." There was just a trust and comfort between us; getting this episode was a surprise!
Did you have any sort of goal going in?
Amy didn't like you to rush. She loved elongated shots — let the words live and the performances carry the scene, and have trust that the audience doesn't need you to be cutting back and forth. As a choreographer, I loved that. I agreed with that. And so it was really about me finding ways to stage these scenes that served its necessities.
There was also a lot of food!
But you never saw a close-up! Amy expected all the actors to deliver every word in every piece of dialogue, so we didn’t do any insert shots. So even though there was a lot of food, you didn't go in on the turkey breast or the turkey legs. It was a wonderful new kind of way of approaching episodic television for me. With four Thanksgiving dinners, we also thought it would be fun for Lorelai and Rory to slide the food into napkins when no one's looking.
Okay, let’s talk about the cast. Who really made an impression on you?
I was already friends with Kelly Bishop because I had worked with her on Dirty Dancing. She originally had a much smaller role in that movie and she ended up becoming Baby’s mom.
I was also a big fan of Sally Struthers [Babette] and Liz Torres [Miss Patty]. Melissa reminded me of Bette Midler in Hocus Pocus with the way she could do comedy — everything that happened to her thereafter was no surprise. But Lauren and Alexis were really just amazing because of the work that got put in their laps. Each episode was a short turnaround, and working like that requires intelligence, dedication and talent. It was mind-blowing to watch them in action like that.
You also worked with a very fresh-faced Milo Ventimiglia, Jared Padalecki and Adam Brody in this episode. Could you have ever imagined their future success?
Gorgeous boys. I mean, I've worked with kids in entertainment for a long time. I can see the promise that exists in these young men and women. They were young and they were unknown but, at the same time, what they brought to each moment — their preparedness, the joy, their professional conduct — I knew that these were special kids.
The episode culminates in a tense Thanksgiving dinner at Emily and Richard’s house, with several people sitting at a big table talking. Was it arduous to film?
Yes! You had Emily and Richard’s international guests — along with Lorelai’s discovery that Richard may have had a hand in convincing Rory to consider attending a different university. Then, Lorelai starts fighting with Emily — it was just magnificent. I had to be so aware during the whole scene; that dinner really cemented what that whole family relationship was about.
Did it require a lot of takes?
There wasn’t enough time to do a lot of takes. The pressure was on, and everybody knew it. We had a lot to accomplish in those episodes. You had to move quickly in order to capture it all on budget, and then have it in the editing room. You had to depend on everybody being ready and in the right place with lighting and the camera so that you could get it quickly. There was no summer vacation on a Gilmore Girls set.
How many days did you have to shoot?
I’m not 100 percent, but I don’t think I had more than six days.
How did directing Gilmore Girls impact the rest of your career?
Working with Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino was monumental. It upped my name, and it introduced me to the dynamics that can exist from one project to the next. When trust is given, success can come from it.
What do you make of the show’s enduring appeal? It can’t just be an autumn thing.
It's that combination of script, design and casting. You end up with a legacy. It’s not a surprise to me that the show has continued to find an audience of young, smart, bright people. And I know more generations to come will fall in love with it.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Gilmore Girls is now streaming on Netflix.
