That’s it for now, munchachos. Don’t forget to write in and tell yers truly what you’ve sold when you sell it. Cuz TVWriter™ can’t wait to brag to all your friends. (And, more importantly, enemies. Hehehe….)
Month: December 2014
What the Golden Globes 2015 nominations say about TV right now
Who cares about entertainment business paradigms? It’s the entertainment paradigm itself that’s changing. And we at TVWriter™ absolutely love the way things seem to be heading:
by Rebecca Nicholson and Gwilym Mumford
Network comedy is in a sorry state
For the first time in Golden Globes history, not one of the traditional big four networks – NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX – received a nomination for best comedy or musical series. Even that reliable hoover-upper of awards, Modern Family, failed to make the list, with the nods going instead to the relatively young network addition The CW (Jane the Virgin), HBO (Silicon Valley, Girls) and web-based shows (Orange Is The New Black, Transparent). It tells us a lot about both the remarkable rise of the internet upstarts – Amazon, nominated with Transparent, only released their first original series in 2013 – and also the demise of the once-redoubtable network sitcom. And, given the quality of many of the fall additions – Mulaney, Bad Judge – it’s a situation that might not change any time soon.?
Love & Money Dept – TV Writing Deals for 12/14/14
That’s it for now, munchachos. Don’t forget to write in and tell yers truly what you’ve sold when you sell it. Cuz TVWriter™ can’t wait to brag to all your friends. (And, more importantly, enemies. Hehehe….)
JOHN OSTRANDER: CASTING ABOUT
by John Ostrander
This week the Internet was all a-twitter with news that the movie version of Suicide Squad, the series that I created in 1987, had been mostly cast. (You can read about it here.) The film is scheduled to debut in August 2016 and will be the first Warner Bros. DC film after theSuperman v. Batman: Dawn of Justice flick that shows up earlier that year.
As with any comic book movie, there has been substantial debate over the casting, largely focusing on Will Smith as Deadshot, the inclusion of the Joker at all (whether played by Jared Leto or not) and the possibility of Oprah Winfrey playing Amanda Waller. Heck, my fellow columnists Mike Gold and Marc Alan Fishman have already chimed in. I held forth in an interview on what I thought of the casting and why. I’m going to hold forth a little here as well. I need to get a column in and it would seem strange if everyone else here was talking about the movie and the casting and I didn’t.
Let me say upfront: I haven’t seen the script and I haven’t been consulted. Nor do I expect to be. I have no track record in Hollywood and Warner Bros. is putting a lot of money into this. A lot of money. The salaries alone will be substantial. It’s not a time to be using an amateur and that’s what I am as far as movies are concerned. The film’s writer and director will have their own take on the characters and they maybe, probably will be, different from mine.
More About Writing Strong Scenes
Once again, a prose fiction writer lays it on the line. But these are helpful tips for writers in all media:
by Rita Karnopp
There are a lot of really good writers out there who use narrative summary with finesse. I’m of the belief that paragraphs of such summaries are interruptions and distractions. They slow the action – which is the kiss of death.
But, if you must add narratives, the beginning of the scene is truly the best place. Don’t carry on-and-on or your reader will lose interest. Never add narratives at the end of a scene. Don’t get me wrong, there is a time and place for narrative. Just be careful where you place them so the reader’s attention isn’t distracted for long periods of time.