Writing and living, living and writing – can they truly co-exist? Here’s how THE MIDDLEMAN and LOST writer-producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach approaches the dilemma:
by Mark Rozeman
Take a moment to think of some of your favorite shows. Chances are Javier Grillo-Marxuach has helped to pen quite a few of them.
A 20-year veteran of the industry, Grillo-Marxuach began his career as a writer on the NBC sci-fi program seaQuest DSV. Over the years, his resume has grown to include Boomtown, Charmed, The 100, Medium, Helix and, most notably, the first two seasons of Lost. It was Grillo-Marxuach’s experience on this latter series that inspired a widely distributed blog post, which documents the years he spent writing and developing what would become one of the biggest game-changers in the history of the medium. Besides Lost, Grillo-Marxuach is perhaps best known among TV aficionados for his short-lived ABC Family series The Middleman, a program that, despite low-ratings and a premature cancelation, grew to become a beloved cult hit.
by Noah Berlatsky
For writers, getting notes can be a terrifying, anxiety-ridden, and depressing experience. You’ve spent months, if not years, putting everything you have into your script, agonizing over every transition and slugline.Your themes matter deeply to you, and often come from your own personal struggles and failures. There is a little bit (or a lot) of your own heart and soul in each of your characters. So now you have to turn over the baby you’ve birthed and nurtured to a bunch of people who will spend a fraction as much time, effort, and soul sweat as you have on it, and then hope that it will be enjoyed and appreciated. And it usually isn’t.Your precious project is set on the altar of show business, awaiting sacrifice.