How do you get your creative groove on? Is it simply something you kind of do? Or is it a profound, almost religious necessity in order to free yourself to write?
Scott Myers interviewed one Acme Ton’o’Writers on the subject and here’s what he learned:
Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are
J.J.Philbin (NEW GIRL) is adapting Amy Parham’s book 10 Lessons from a Former Fat Girl into a sitcom for NBC. (Gotta admit that the concept of a young woman discovering a whole other side of life because she’s now svelte and, we assume, gorgeous, is a TV natural. Just like the book’s title.)
Isaac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger (THE NEIGHBORS) are developing the sitcom, FIRST TIMERS, about a young business partner couple (like, you know, Isaac and Elizabeth) for ABC. (Yes, it’s based on the writers’ lives. Yes, it’s a celebration of the problems of success. We should live so long.)
Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby (CHILDREN OF MEN) are adapting The Expanse, a best- selling novel by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck – under the pseudonym James S.A. Corey – for the Alcon Television Group.(Which hopes to sell this to a network soon so they can afford the outgo for all these writers.)
Matt Angel (newbie who used Kickstarter to fund a pilot presentation for his show) has sold the sitcom HALF to NBC. (Let that be a lesson to all of us. Kickstarter works…especially if you’re actually talented at what you’re Kickstarting.)
Joshua Safran (SMASH) has sold the drama SOCIAL CIRCLE, a thriller about a group of college friends who reunite, to ABC. He’s also sold ROYAL, another drama pilot, this one about the ex-wife of a Brit heir to the throne who’s so disgraced that she has to take a gig as a minder for a suicidal addict type. (Whoa, talk about trendy stuff, no wonder Josh keeps getting gigs. Too bad the shows themselves keep bombing…but that’s showbiz, y’know?)
We have it on good authority that all the Barrymores said what was in the script (?!)
by Herbie J Pilato
A few years back, Zap2it.com reported how actor David Boreanaz, star of the Fox forensic drama Bones (and former lead vampire on Angel and Buffy, the Vampire Slayer) found it was acceptable to improvise the lines of dialogue he’s given to perform.
However, Boreanaz wasn’t allowed to do that on Angel and Buffy, as Joss Whedon, the creator, producer and periodic director of both shows, forbade such acting antics. “That became very frustrating,” Boreanaz said at the time. “For an actor to be able to create and also have a sense of freedom, you have to be able to revolve around those words and create around those words. Now, you can take the written word and have your subtext tell more than is written on the page, which is always fun and challenging too. But it’s always great to revolve around the words and improvise and change things, because that comes from the character’s perspective and point of view.”
Oh, pluueeze! Dude, this isn’t Whose Line Is It Anyway, and you’re not Drew Carey. You’re an actor and, as any true thespian will tell you, that, when it comes to your craft, one is ultimately and ideally supposed to interpret the given lines that a writer (be they William Shakespeare or Aaron Spelling) has written, word for word.read article
The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University, which we hear (via its website) is “the most widely cited and trusted source of information on the representation of women in film and television,” has announced that the employment of women in the television industry reached a record high in 2012-2013.read article