Month: June 2015

John Ostrander on Getting $$$, Credit and Satisfaction from the SUICIDE SQUAD Film

Suicide-Squadby John Ostrander

There’s a lot of attention focused on the Suicide Squad, what with the movie being filmed right now and coming out next year, and, yes, it’s based on the version of the Squad that I created back in the 80s and, yes, I should see some money for the use of Amanda Waller (not the Squad per se since it already existed in another form in the DCU) and that’s all pretty cool. Might as well tell my version of how this all started and give some credit where credit is due. You may have heard/read some of this before but I’m at the age where repeating stories is de rigeur so let’s do this.

My first shout out goes to Robert (“Bobby”) Greenberger who was our first editor on the Squad. I had met Bob at several conventions and while waiting in airports afterwards for our respective planes. I was working only for First Comics at that point; I hadn’t yet moved up to the major publishers. Bob and I got along really well and he broached the idea of my doing some work for DC. I was perfectly amenable and we started talking what I might do.

I loved the title “Challengers of the Unknown” which was lying fallow at the time. I considered, then and now, that this was one of the great titles in comics. All by itself, it conjured up possibilities. Really cool. read article

What I learned about writing from a broken tooth

We here at TVWriter™ just fucking love epiphanies. Especially about writing. More especially when they’re somebody else’s and that somebody else just gives them out to the world, angst-free. (Well, that somebody else may have felt some angst, but for us chickenshit wise men and women, insights like the one coming up in the following post are relatively free!)

toothpullerby Nathan Bransford

I recently had quite a health ordeal, and for some reason it reminded me of writing and publishing. Probably because everything does. Bear with me on this one.

A month back, while in the early days of my new job, I bit into a piece of toast and felt a sharp pain in one of my molars. I didn’t think that much of it — I’ve had some jaw/tooth aches in the past that didn’t amount to much — and I went about my business, planning to check with my dentist if the pain didn’t go away. Then, a week later, I proceeded to get immensely sick, coming down with a 104.5 fever. (Spoiler: I survived!) read article

CARGO 3120: Making the Switch

CARGO3120

The Making of a SciFy Franchise – #22
by Aaron Walker Sr.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: The Story So Far starts HERE)

On our last blog, we talked about the alternative content we are working on for the Cargo 3120 project. While we are not abandoning the webcomic, we felt it necessary to work on website content that we can push out sooner to our readers. Like Daymond said, the goal was always to present our story to the world in whatever format that we could. Adding the short story and the audiobook allows us to give our readers an immersive experience we feel they will enjoy.

The goal is to tell the same story in three formats, giving our audience a chance to read it (short story), hear it (audiobook), and eventually, see it (webcomic). This approach also gives those who may not be comic fans a chance to enjoy the story as well. And I speak for all of Team Cargo when I say: We are excited about the future of Cargo 3120! read article

Leesa Dean Gives Us “This Week’s Pep Talk”

baby-steps

Adventures in Digital Series Land #104
by Leesa Dean

So yes, things have been intense.  Struggling with this script (but inching forward).  Animating the new series. Working on two new shows with my producing partner. Thinking about the script for the short.  And, being gripped with anxiety (sometimes).

Why? While I love love love the creative process, when you’re smack dab in the middle of things, it’s very hard to see the big picture.  You know, the “where is this leading to” big picture?

Well, the big picture involves a long journey. That happens with baby steps.  Which is hard when you’re broke, trying to get heard (pick me! pick me! pick me!!) and attempting to evolve into creative dopeness. Cause the odds are usually not in your favor.  And yes, usually is also a codeword for “sometimes never.” Sigh. read article

Is Norman Lear Rebooting ALL IN THE FAMILY?

Now this is a consummation devoutly to be wished.

Legendary writer-producer Norman Lear was on CNN last week and said he’s thinking about rebooting ALL IN THE FAMILY and maybe doing a Hispanic version of ONE DAY AT A TIME. (And if you don’t know about those shows, it’s definitely time to google and go, “Wow” when you see what Lear, who created both series, was doing in the ’70s.)

Here’s a transcript of Lear’s interview on RELIABLE SOURCES: read article