THE NEWSROOM is still Controversial

Five episodes in, THE NEWSROOM is still driving critics nuts. (Which is such a cool thing that maybe we should start loving on this show just for that.)

First the Good:

‘The Newsroom’ Halts Its Death Plunge With Its Least Terrible Episode Since The Pilot by Oliver Lyttelton

So far “The Newsroom” has had two major problems sitting on top of a whole bunch of minor ones. Firstly, Aaron Sorkin’s often-questionable approach to female characters has reached something of a zenith here. His shows have often featured strong powerful women undone by their love lives, but the leads of “The Newsroom” feel particularly and offensively bird-brained, and unlike CJ in “The West Wing,” Sorkin’s finest creation to date, haven’t been shown to be particularly competent at their jobs either, mainly out of Sorkin’s desire to show Will McAvoy to be right about everything. And some of them have been shown to be actively devilish, like Hope Davis’ gossip columnist last week. read article

RIP Frank Pierson

A sensational writer. If you love great, funny, serious films and TV (yes, that’s intentional) you probably already love Pierson’s work even if you didn’t know he was the writer.

Former President of Motion Picture Academy Dies — He Wrote One of the Movies’ Most Iconic Lines Deadline
by TeamTVWriter Press Service

A veteran TV and movie screenwriter, director and producer who served as president of both the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and the Writers Guild-West has died, Deadline.com reports. Frank Pierson was 87. read article

Remember Charlie Kaufman’s and Dan Harmon’s Kickstarter Project?

Guess what? It’s already funded. In fact, more than funded. After only 9 days.

Just think how quickly you could get funding if you were the writer of BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, ETerNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, and ADAPTATION., working with the creator of COMMUNITY. read article

TVWriter™ Top Posts for the Week Ending 7/20


Here they are, the most viewed TVWriter™ posts for the week ending Friday, July 20th:

 Galactus is NIGH

LB: Three Shows I No Longer Watch read article

People are Excited About Ron Moore Again

   

… And why shouldn’t they be?

Sure, he’s had a couple of disappointments since creating/writing/producing/metamorphizing into a god via BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, but when a writer’s work has made you as happy as BG made us, ya gotta cut him more than the usual slack. read article