The most popular posts on TVWriter™ during the week ending today were:
Month: December 2015
Diana Vacc Sees ASH VS. EVIL DEAD
by Diana Vaccarelli
Starz Network does it again with their great original programming. First came SPARTACUS, then OUTLANDER, and now ASH VS. EVIL DEAD. The series follows Bruce Campbell as the chainsaw-armed character of Ash 30 years after he was last seen in the film ARMY OF DARKNESS. Ash has been living a quiet life in a small town, but now the evil dead are back and it’s up to him to save the world…again.
THE GOOD:
• This is funny and scary at the same time. I both laughed out loud and jumped in shock at various moments. Sometimes at the same time.
Are TV Execs Racists? Or Just Idiots?
One African-American TV writer’s perspective on the condition TV’s condition is in. And it all makes sad, unhealthy, and yet in its way perfect sense:
by Anonymous
On a good day, after I pitched my heart out to a roomful of executives, they would not dismiss my creativity and ask if I had an “Empire-esque” idea to pitch. Why would I pitch Empire? I don’t rap, my father isn’t a rapper and even though my mother did spend time in jail, it wasn’t to serve a 17-year drug sentence. Yes, the Empire effect is real — but it’s not what you might think. The good news: If you’re an established writer of color, you can get a pitch meeting. The bad news: Everyone in Hollywood is looking for the next Empire from every black writer — because I cannot possibly have any other idea or perspective. My creative parameters are limited to the nextScandal, Black-ish or a TV version of Straight Outta Compton. (Side note: The Straight Out of Calabasas pitch that Fox purchased [a comedy about two white parents who live in the celebrity enclave and whose kid is a basketball prodigy] is a complete abomination and the reason I wonder why I even try.)
On a good day, my representation would submit me for shows that tonally fit my writing style and not merely for shows that happen to have the prototypical “person of color” character. So, I can only write for the sassy black, sassy Latino or sassy gay friend? As a person of color, I have no choice but to consider the perspectives of others!
The Cable Industry Thinks Cord Cutting’s Just a Fad
Despite the evidence in articles like these, TV execs can’t seem to make themselves take the impending threat to their livelihoods seriously. Some of us never learn. (And, ergo, deserve what they get?!)
Anyway:
John Ostrander: Not Your Father’s Superman
by John Ostrander
My friend Paul Guinan put an interesting post up on his Facebook page recently. It sparked an equally interesting discussion, and, evidently, you can have discussions on Facebook that are not all salvos of rants.
Paul wrote: “I grew up with Superman being a character of pure good. Every once in a while something like Red Kryptonite would cause him to do some bad things – nothing too bad – and he would be forgiven and once again beloved. He wasn’t a morose, frowning, reluctant hero, he enjoyed his life and mission.
“Batman was a victim of gun violence. Bob Kane flirted with the idea of Batman carrying twin pistols for a very brief moment (a holdover from Batman’s inspiration, The Shadow), but seminal writers like Bill Finger solidified the code of Batman not carrying firearms. It made great thematic sense. Batman would sock a villain on the jaw, or throw his Batarang at a them – not beat them to a pulp and wind up with bloodied gloves. Batman is a scientist, detective, and martial arts expert. Such training develops character that’s in contradiction to being a rageaholic.