Time Flies - 100th Post!

This is my 100th post, yay!  I know I haven’t been blogging every day, I guess I’ve just been trying to focus on writing that new pilot right now.

Speaking of…writing this pilot has been a new and interesting experience.  For starters, the show is a lot more “cable” than what I usually write, which is cool with me…I like to watch cable shows and I'm trying to stretch myself after all.  It’s also my first time tackling a “period piece.”  That is to say, the pilot isn’t set in 2011.  The experience has been fun, but before I can really get into the writing of the actual script, I’m having to do a lot of research…library here I come!

Google Classic: For researching your retro TV show

Like I said a few posts back, I wanted to do something more out of the box for this pilot since the last one I wrote was much more mainstream.  As it happens, I had this seed of an idea I’d kicked around a while back, but I thought the premise was too “out there” or rather there was just something about it that did not work.  I came back to it recently and realized that the real problem I had with the idea was that it wasn't convincing as a modern story.  By setting it in a different time period, it suddenly became plausible to me.

So yeah, I guess you can say I’m getting on the Mad Men/Boardwalk Empire train.   And why not?  Period piece type shows are very hot right now.  Both of those shows (Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire) are magnets for awards, and more importantly, even though both are cable shows, they seem to be the type of shows that networks want.  There were several “Mad Men effect" shows as I called them this pilot season and 2 of them, Pan Am and The Playboy Club, got picked up.

I do worry that my sample will look stale if both those new network shows fail and people cool to the idea of retro set shows, but I’m trying not to think about that right now.  After all, even if this trend does briefly end next year, I don’t think period pieces will stay gone for long.  Before we could time travel with Mad Men there was Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, The Wonder Years, Homefront, I'll Fly Away, American Dreams, Swingtown, and That 70s Show just to name a few. I think there will always be a place for shows that either feed our love of nostalgia or that take us back to a different time we didn't get the chance to experience.

You must listen to...Jen Grisanti's interviews with writers!

So, I'm plugging away on the next big thing I'm up to (and yeah, maybe doing a little internet surfing procrastination) when I ran across something cool...

Half off blankets and pacifiers...kidding.

I’ve heard of Jen Grisanti and think I’ve even mentioned her somewhere on this blog before...but somehow I only just checked out her awesome blog and all the sweet podcast interviews she has posted with various writers.  Anyway, now I’m addicted and I’d highly recommend listening to them.  I’ve added the blog to my links on the right (under YOU MUST READ).

I especially recommend listening to her latest interview…it’s with FNL and Parenthood writer David Hudgins (Hudgins also created/ran the show Past Life…which he talks about).  The whole interview was really cool, but one of the best parts was when Hudgins (and Grisanti) recommended writing specs.  While I just finished a spec and am working on a pilot right now (because I want to and yeah, because pilots are supposedly hotter to have than specs) it was great to hear a couple pros advocate for specs.  After putting so much darn time into them for contest season, it’s nice to know that a former (and likely future) showrunner like Hudgins would like to read them.

I think Hudgins makes the excellent point that while reading original work is great and can show how amazing and creative you are (like a script about a man with pork chop hands) a spec can show your ability to capture the voice of a character…something pretty much impossible to judge in a pilot since...you know...you don't know these characters the way you know the characters on a show you like and watch.

So yeah, huge recommend…what are you waiting for?  Check out the site/interviews, already!

Entitled

No, this isn’t a post on nepotism…it’s a post on…titles!

Since I’m working on a new pilot I’ve been thinking a bit about titles lately and what the heck I want to call my new pilot.

Titles are fun…but tough.  Sometimes you have an awesome title that inspires you to write something and other times you have a great concept and can write the whole thing but when you're done, you're still stuck with just Untitled.

What the heck do I call this thing?

This is clearly something writers struggle with at every level (baby and up).  Just looking at the recent pilots, several changed their titles (Rookies became The 2-2, The Rememberer became Unforgettable, Damage Control became Scandal, etc.).  Now, the reason for title changes for pros aren’t always creative…there are sometimes bigger (read: legal) reasons for networks and studios to change a title…but other times it’s just about trying to find that one perfect title.

Here are some thoughts I’m trying to keep in mind so I pick the best title:

Get specific!

I remember Blake Snyder mentioning this in one of his Save The Cat books.  He talked about the movie Four Christmases.  Sure, they could have called the movie Yuletide or Noel or some other generic word that evokes the idea of Christmas, but Four Christmases is specific.  He also mentions a fake title...something like Love or Money, as an example of the sort of title that presents a concept that is SO generic dozens of movies could have it.  You don't want that.

I agree that vague concepts make pretty mediocre titles.  I know someone who recently revealed a project they had been writing and the title they picked was SO generic it could have been for pretty much every other piece of writing in that genre.  My Significant Other also mentioned seeing a driving billboard the other day (one of those billboards on a truck) and it was advertising some YA book called Dangerous Children.  I couldn’t help but think this was a sub par title.  While I like the contrast of dangerous and children (you don’t usually think of children as dangerous) this was SO generic it could have been the title for a bunch of other books like Lord of the Flies, The Hunger Games, or ANY book where there are children who do something dangerous.  All in all this title tells me ZIP about what the book is actually about.

So yeah, get specific and pick a title that could only be for that movie/show/book…I like to use the “no other” test for this.  Imagine the title Humans Vs. Robots…could have been used for several existing sci fi works, but there is no other Battlestar Galactica and no other Terminator.  Likewise, there is no other Harry Potter…no other Hunger Games…no other Jurassic Park...no other Bridge to Terabithia…no other Great Gatsby…no other Ugly Betty…no other Gossip Girl…no other Gilmore Girls…no other Shawshank Redemption…no other Jerry Maguire.   Find that thing, character, element, that makes your script/book/idea/whatever special and unique…and if you can’t find one…maybe you need a new idea?

A little something extra

Another Blake Snyder tip I recall is that a great title will have irony, an unusual contrast, or a double meaning.  His prime example was Legally Blonde which is great because it’s not only a riff/play on words of the term "legally blind" but it also refers specifically to the story of a “dumb blonde” going to Harvard Law.

I think Mad Men is a great title for similar reasons.  Think of all the meanings you can get out of it…(Mad Men as in Madison Avenue men, as a play on the phrase “Ad Men,” and of course "mad" as in crazy).  Also, there are no other Mad Men…another reason it’s an awesome title.

Anyway, just something I’m thinking about…but I think it’s also wise to keep in mind that what you write is more important than the title.  There might be no other Gigli but that doesn’t make Gigli a good movie.  Likewise, plenty of acclaimed books, movies, and TV shows have done just fine with fairly generic titles:

The Killing (couldn’t any crime show be called this/or some form of this?)
Friends (could be the title for pretty much any sitcom)
Election (could be used for any movie with an election)
Pride and Prejudice (pretty much good for any romance/rom com)
War and Peace (that pretty much covers everything…right?)

But then again, for every Pride and Prejudice there’s also a Love Happens.

The Man with the Pork Chop Hands

In exploring the internets a little while back, I ran across an old interview on Televisionary with showrunner Bryan Fuller where he talks about staffing Pushing Daisies (ah, too short lived).  The part of the interview that struck me the most was where Fuller mentions hiring writer Kath Lingenfelter because of a script she wrote about…wait for it…a man with pork chops for hands!  Now, this sort of script may not be for everybody/the best sample for every show, but I’ve gotta tell you…if I was a showrunner looking to staff my show, I’d sure like to read the script about the man with pork chop hands….and I bet you would, too!

There you are, righty and lefty!  I thought I lost you guys!

At any rate, this little anecdote really blew me away and was a wake up call of sorts.  I always strive to have my writing be top notch and to come up with unique and compelling ideas, but this just showed me how some pros are on a whole other level (pork chops...for hands...okay clearly I'm obsessed).

I’ve gotta say, the last pilot I wrote was…well…let’s just say, I wouldn’t have written it if I didn’t think it was an interesting and unique idea, but it’s also fairly “network” and “mainstream”…and yeah, it’s no man with freakin' pork chops for hands!

Anyway, I’ve been stuck on this whole pork chop thing ever since I finished my last spec and decided the next thing I wanted to write was another pilot.  Now, I was going to write another idea I’ve had for a while, a show that I thought was pretty cool and has a crime procedural element and yeah...it's also very “network” and “mainstream” in certain ways.  Buuuuut...I’ve put it on the back burner for a while, while I brainstorm coming up with something new that will hopefully be more...outside the box…we’ll see how I do.

So thanks, man with pork chop hands, for inspiring me to try something different…I hope reading about this inspires other baby writers to try writing something really different, too.  Oh, and if anyone knows where I can find or read that pork chop hands script…let me know!

When does the UTA Job List come out?

Okay, an easy question today while I ease back into posting, but one I still see asked occasionally online.

And, drum roll please...the answer is...

The Job List is updated with new listings (if any exist) every Tuesday and Friday.  Sometimes, it’s updated on Thursday instead of Friday when there is a holiday weekend.

So, keep that in mind...whether you're trying to post a job you need filled asap or if you're job hunting/want to apply for one of their listings.

Z's Pilot Preview: The Final Frontier

Alright, my final “Pilot Preview” post...finally.

Not really a “preview” now that shows have been decided and whatnot, just a chance to look at how things all shaped up by network (oh, and don’t think this is my last post about the upcoming TV season, I’m sure I’ll be dissecting trends and making other random comments about what got picked up and what didn’t before next fall).

Yeah, okay, so maybe I have no life...

ABC

I said they’d pick up: 7-8 new dramas

They actually picked up: 8...
Charlie’s Angels
Good Christian Belles (not Bitches)
Missing (the big Ashley Judd show that was kinda off my radar bc it hasn’t filmed yet)
Once Upon A Time
Pan Am
Revenge
Scandal (liked the title Damage Control better, but whatevs)
The River

How do I feel?: Meh, okay, 4/8 were shows I said I liked best, though the trailer for Once Upon A Time...wasn't what I thought it would be.

How did I do?: I was iffyier on this, but of the 3 shows I thought they’d pick up for sure, I got 2 right (Charlie’s Angels and The River).  So, you could say I picked 6/8 right, but that’s pushing it.

Most excited for: GCB I guess…I thought ABC’s pilots sounded the best going into this but the trailers didn’t impress me much…Once Upon A Time specifically looks...not how I expected…and Revenge still looks like it’s on the wrong network while Scandal falls short of my expectations and Pan Am looks glossy…but what’s it really about?

Biggest Disappointment: I thought Once Upon A Time sounded really cool…and the buzz was good…I liked it while not being into NBC’s Grimm but now both aren’t doing much for me.  Also, I’d heard great things about Georgetown…sorry to see it just fade away.

Biggest Surprise: Probably the shows that didn’t go…ABC turned their back on a show by Marc Cherry (Hallelujah) and a dancing show by Grey’s writer Krista Vernoff (Grace) as well as Georgetown all of which had a ton of early buzz.

Overall: Actually, kinda disappointed considering that ABC’s pilots sounded the best going into this…the trailers just didn’t deliver for me.  Something tells me next year might be another big regrouping year for the network.

CBS

I said they’d pick up: 4 new dramas

They actually picked up: 4...
A Gifted Man (fka Untitled Susannah Grant)
Person of Interest
The 2-2 (fka Rookies)
Unforgettable (fka The Rememberer)

How do I feel?: Very good, 3/4 that I wanted.

How did I do?: I was a little iffy on this…I was right about Person of Interest being a lock but Hail Mary didn’t actually go (although I guess it’s still kicking around…potentially in cableland).

Most excited for: Meh, I probably won’t watch any of these…not that they’re bad, just none are my cup of tea, but all look pretty spot on for CBS, which is great.

Biggest Disappointment: I guess that I was so wrong about The Doctor…the Rina Mimoun, David Nutter directed Christine Lahti pilot just faded away, and CBS took the other medical pilot A Gifted Man (which looks kinda silly to me…but who knows, I liked the show Providence and that had a similar premise, so maybe it will be okay).

Biggest Surprise: The Doctor just dying…and actually that I enjoyed the preview for Person Of Interest…like quite a bit.  Blame it on Michael Emerson for being so freaking amazing in everything he does.

FOX

I said they’d pick up: 4-5 new dramas including Terra Nova

The actually picked up: 4 including Terra Nova...
Alcatraz
Terra Nova
The Finder
Touch

How do I feel?: Very Good, they picked 3/4 of the shows I wanted to see most.

How did I do?: 3/4 right…pretty darn good, not that there were too many pilots in contention on Fox.  Still wondering if they’ll make room for Exit Strategy down the line…I was sure that show was a lock.

Most excited for: Terra Nova I guess…not really my cup of tea, but I’ll probably at least watch the first episode…same for Alcatraz…and then there’s Touch but only because it’s the in depth review I did based off nada and it got picked up so I really want to see if it will actually be good or not.

Biggest Disappointment: Weekends at Bellevue…wanted this to go, but I guess Fox is only big enough for one doctor (House)...maybe...next year?

Biggest Surprise: Exit Strategy not going (not disappointed by this, just a tad surprised).  I hear rumors this might still happen at some point.  Can’t say I’d cry if it never materializes, like I said, I’d love to see less CIA type stuff only because it hasn’t been doing all that well.

Overall: Except for Exit Strategy, everything seems pretty normal here, happy that Terra Nova is FINALLY getting off the ground…and hoping that Fox has some big/long lasting shows on the horizon.

NBC

I said they’d pick up: 5ish new dramas

They actually picked up : 5 (6 if you include that new redo of The Firm)...
Awake (this Inceptiony show was high profile but off my radar)
Grimm
Prime Suspect
Smash (!!!!!!!!!!)
The Playboy Club

How do I feel?: Pretty good…got 3/5 that I would have wanted.

How did I do?: The same…3/5…damn you Wonder Woman for being even WORSE than I thought you would be.

Most excited for: Smash!!!! This looks like the #1 new drama I want to see next season based on all the previews I’ve seen…well done NBC!  From the ashes!

Biggest Disappointment: I figured Wonder Woman would be the "genre" show NBC would pick up…not Grimm.  I was not into Grimm based off the logline and the trailer looks kinda silly (okay, really silly).  I stick by my original assessment.

Biggest Surprise: There are 2, first is that they didn’t roll the dice on Wonder Woman…can’t say I’m upset about this but I might have liked that better than Grimm.  The second is non-pilot related and that’s that Chuck is coming back…good for Chuck!

Overall: While Grimm still looks silly to me, Smash totally saves this for me.  Way to go NBC!  Totally exceeding expectations…Prime Suspect looks pretty good too.

THE CW

I said they’d pick up: 2-4 dramas depending on possible cancellations…probably only 2.

They actually picked up: 3 (cancelling Hellcats)...
Hart of Dixie
Ringer (was originally for CBS)
The Secret Circle

How do I feel?: Great…in my opinion the 2 best shows they developed got picked up.

How did I do?: Nailed it, 2/2, and while I didn’t predict Ringer going to the CW I did say that the show was not a good fit for CBS (I said maybe more for Fox but I think the CW is certainly a welcome home).  I can’t be too proud since odds were good I’d pick right for this network/there were only a couple pilots/it was no secret which shows were being pushed harder, but I’ll take it.

Biggest Disappointment: None…although I would have liked Georgetown to get a home somewhere and the CW having no interest while picking up Ringer bummed me out a little (as much as I could be bummed by a pilot I didn't actually see).

Biggest Surprise: I guess that Ringer went here, I didn’t see it coming, I just thought it would go nowhere.

Overall: The CW did as good as they could…I had some doubts about The Secret Circle I mentioned in my in depth preview, but I thought the trailer looked pretty darn good and put some of those questions to rest (it looks like there will be 2 guys on the show, not just one…which I think is essential).

And that’s that. To conclude, it’s all about Smash for me next season…I’ll probably try to catch everything new that interests me, but this is the one show I’m looking most forward to…too bad I have to wait til midseason.

I'm baaaaaaaack!

Hey everyone, finished all my scripts up and sent them off to contest land (well, all the ones that had June 1st deadlines).  I’ll be back to regular/mostly regular blog posts soon.  Look forward to reviews of summer movies, dissecting of this year’s upfronts/upcoming TV schedule, and more random musings about my own writing (or lack thereof).

Oh, Randy Quaid...America misses you.