''Dinner for Five'' is a television program in which

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

and

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

Jon Favreau Jonathan Kolia Favreau (; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as '' Rudy'' (1993), '' PCU'' (1994), '' Swingers'' (1996), ''Very Bad Things'' (1998), '' Deep Impact'' (1998) ...

and a revolving guest list of celebrities eat, drink and talk. The program aired on the

Independent Film Channel IFC (formerly known as the Independent Film Channel) is an American basic cable channel owned by AMC Networks, originally launching in 1994 as a TV channel devoted to independent films. The Independent Film Channel originally operated as a com ...

with Favreau the co-

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights ...

with Peter Billingsley.

Format

The show format was a spontaneous, open forum for people in the entertainment community. The idea, originally conceived by Favreau, originated from a time when he went out to dinner with colleagues on a film location and exchanged filming anecdotes. Favreau said, "I thought it would be interesting to show people that side of the business". He did not want to present them in a "sensationalized way

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

they're presented in the press, but as normal people". The format featured Favreau and four guests from the entertainment industry in a restaurant with no other diners. They ordered actual food from real menus and were served by authentic waiters. There were no cue cards or previous research on the participants that would have allowed him to orchestrate the conversation and the guests were allowed to talk about whatever they wanted. The show used five cameras with the operators using long lenses so that they could be at least ten feet away from the table and not intrude on the conversation or make the guests self-conscious. The conversations lasted until the film ran out. A 25-minutes episode would be edited from the two-hour dinner. The one exception to the standard format was Favreau having a conversation with Martin Scorsese, done in a more traditional interview style. The show was canceled by IFC in favor of '' The Henry Rollins Show'' because the network felt that "four years in, we needed to make a change, and we needed to make a bold statement." Netflix and the Independent Film Channel produced a special 50th episode of ''Dinner for Five'', which premiered on IFC February 1, 2008 and is available on Netflix starting February 4, 2008. The 50th episode features Favreau and Vaughn, as well as Peter Billingsley,

Justin Long Justin Jacob Long (born June 2, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, director and screenwriter. Long is known for his film roles, notably appearing in '' Jeepers Creepers'' (2001), ''Dodgeball'' (2004), '' Accepted'' (2006), ''Idiocracy'' (2 ...

and

Keir O'Donnell Keir O'Donnell is an Australian–American actor, best known for his roles in the films '' Wedding Crashers'', '' The Break-Up'', '' Paul Blart: Mall Cop'' and ''American Sniper'' as well as numerous television appearances. Early life O'Donne ...

, who appear in ''

Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show Vince is a given name, it is the anglicisation and shortened form of the name Vincent, as well as a surname. It may refer to: Given name People * Vince Agnew (born 1987), American football player * Vince Cable (born 1943), British politici ...

''. A DVD was released by Fox Lorber in 2004 of the complete first season. Subsequent DVDs were released by

Fairview Entertainment Jonathan Kolia Favreau (; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as '' Rudy'' (1993), '' PCU'' (1994), '' Swingers'' (1996), ''Very Bad Things'' (1998), '' Deep Impact'' (1998) ...

in 2007 as "manufactured on demand when ordered from Amazon" discs. The Fairview DVDs aren't programmed as complete season, but under the aegis of "Jon Favreau presents his 10 most memorable moments/segments" from the series. These bear the titles "Favreau's Favorites", "Best Directors", "On The Road" and "Producer's Picks".

Guests

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dinner For Five 2001 American television series debuts 2005 American television series endings IFC (American TV channel) original programming Television series created by Jon Favreau