The human condition in 1 minute and 14 seconds. A tip of the TVWriter™ toupee to creator Mr. Castro:
Month: April 2014
Love & Money Dept – TV Writing Deals for 4/30/14
Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are
by munchman
- Noah Hawley (FARGO) has a new overall deal with FX for the usual developing/writing/producing stuff. (Cuz no boring, depressing, piece of crap show goes unrewarded, and Noah has given us a doozy in the painfully Coen-like FARGO. Congratulations, Noah!)
- Josh Berman (DROP DEAD DIVA) also has a new overall deal, this one with Sony. (Cuz this being showbiz even the boring, depressing piece of crap show that is DROP DEAD DIVA can make a ton of $$$ for everybody involved. Does your Fabulous Munchkin sound bitter? That’s cuz this kind of thing proves that bitter is better, y’know?)
- Mitch Hurwitz (ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT) also has gotten himself a new overall deal. (His is with Netflix, proving that even though his genius faltered a tad with the ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT Netflix, um, “return,” Mitch has more talent in his little toe than any other writer mentioned so far in today’s column.)
- Comedy Central is moving its really cool web series hosted by Ari Shaffir, THIS IS NOT HAPPENING, to the channel itself. Which means that TV viewers will have the chance to hear some damn fascinating stories from Ari and his very funny – brilliantly funny, actually – buds. (To which the munchman can only say, “Thank God! A reason to live after all!” Smart move, CC execs!)
Eyes on China
LB has done a lot of work with Chinese film and TV companies, mostly as a consultant although he’s also done some writing in Hong Kong. But do they ever ask him to speak on these panels? Oh no….
Cuz…well, to tell the truth, I don’t know why they don’t. But China definitely is emerging as a market for U.S. product, and this conference for WGA members should be very helpful to those who want to break into it. Just don’t tell ’em TVWriter™ sent you, okay?
A Documentary About Showrunners!
What can we say except – it’s about fucking time.
Writer-director Des Doyle has put together a feature film about the rising power of television series showrunners, featuring such high-powered stalwarts as J.J. Abrams, Matthew Carnahan, Jane Espenson, Hart Hanson, Ronald D. Moore, Kurt Sutter, and Joss Whedon. And let’s get real here: Any film featuring Joss Whedon at work, or just talking about work, is worth a hella lot more than the price of admission.
Leesa Dean: Adventures of a Web Series Newbie
Chapter 56 – Changes and R.I.P. Net Neutrality
by Leesa Dean
I’ve been working on four projects this year that have been incredibly time-intensive. One is nearly done, two are in the planning (pre-outline) stages and I’m currently writing the fourth (which is Season Two of the Lele Show). It is VERY hard to do all of that, but I feel really strongly about each one.
I had originally thought I’d do 33 episodes of the Lele Show for Season Two which is an enormous amount of work and truthfully, I’ve been a little stuck. Mostly cause it’s a lot to do and my time is fairly limited (the one that’s nearly done, the TOP SECRET PROJECT, is very time intensive).
This week, I decided to bring that episode number down to 20 and also do some ancillary material. It’s still a lot to write, but just cutting the episode number down made me go over my season story arc and tighten it up, which felt great and confirmed the decision. It’s now leaner and juicier. And, more importantly, it takes some pressure off. I’m now looking at October for a relaunch and between finishing writing and production, I’m hoping that’s realistic.