Category: News

Another Attempt to Prove H’wood Employs Women

We’re seeing this particular slant in articles about women who get writing gigs a lot these days. I admire the females being praised here, but c’mon, people , you only insult these talented individuals by emphasizing their gender instead of their writing chops.

Women Created and Centric TV Roundup – by Kerensa Cadenas (Indiewire.Com)

In women and television news, some more promising deals have been cropping up from NBC, The Hallmark Channel and MTV. read article

The Wachowskis Rag About Hollywood

And here’s the thing: Just because they aren’t exactly first with this POV doesn’t mean they’re wrong.

‘Cloud Atlas’: Andy & Lana Wachowski and Tom Tykwer On The Problem With Hollywood – by Christopher Rosen

To call “Cloud Atlas” the year’s most ambitious film would be an understatement. The adaption of David Mitchell’s sprawling 2004 novel tells six interweaving stories — among them, a 19th century sea expedition, a present day fish-out-of-water comedy and a post-apocalyptic adventure set 106 winters after the fall of humanity — with stars like Tom Hanks, Halle Berry and Jim Sturgess playing multiple roles of varying genders and race. read article

Viewers Still Love TV – They Just Don’t Watch on, You Know, TV

Today’s Question: If the Apocalypse comes calling but you don’t see it on your iPhone or iPad…was it real?

New Research Says Viewers Remain Devoted to TV Programming — Even Though They’re Increasingly Watching It Online and on Tablets – by Team TVWriter Press Service (in other words, this is a press release)

A new study offers encouraging data for TV programmers, indicating that fears of losing viewers to YouTube, Netflix and other new media may be overblown. read article

Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!

As interesting as this sounds, this can’t be a good thing (certainly not for the audience):

‘Suburgatory’ Character Jumps From the Show Into Ad Breaks — Is This the Future of the TV Business? (Ad Age/TVWeek.Com)

As part of a trend designed to get viewers of television programming to stick around for the commercials, ABC’s “Suburgatory” is letting a character from the show stray into commercials for Lowe’s, Advertising Agereports.

“TV networks are allowing characters from the shows to stick around for a while and hawk product,” the piece reports. “On Wednesday, Sheila Shay, a butt-insky neighbor known for the attention she dollops on her garden, home and the lives of those living around her in the sitcom’s fictional suburb of Chatswin, will hold forth on the advantages of buying goods at Lowe’s and using the home-improvement retail chain’s MyLowe’s tool to track purchases and organize their homes.” read article

Love & Money Dept – TV Writing Deals for 10/22/12

“California dreamin’, on a winter’s day…” (In other words, yes, dammit, you have to live in L.A. to write for Major League TV!)

  •  Chris Fedak (CHUCK) is writing the pilot for a Fox drama based on Midnighters, Scott Westerfield’s Young Adult trilogy about, um, creepy kids. (This is the third try at such a project and as such is subject to competing superstitions about what happens with 3 chances. Good luck, Chuck Chris!)
  • Rob Thomas (VERONICA MARS) is writing the pilot for METROPOLIS, a CW drama based on a UK series about recent college grads trying to adjust to the real world. (Has the CW ever set a series in the real world before? Maybe they should make this a sitcom?)
  • Liz Garcia & Josh Harto (creators of MEMPHIS BEAT) have a sold a pilot called THE INFERNO to NBC. (NBC is calling this a “dark drama about two New York restaurateurs who hire a mysterious Italian chef,” which makes a lot of sense when you hear that Gordon Ramsay is producing. )
  • Moira McMahon (GREY’S ANATOMY, PRIVATE PRACTICE) is writing the pilot for NBC’s MADDOX, a “supernatural medical drama. (We’re not gonna mock this one because the People’s Pilot winner just a couple of years ago was a similarly themed show. We are, however, suggesting that the PP winning writer check into this because, oh, you know…)
  • Moe Jelline (YOU AGAIN) will write the pilot for DIRTY GIRLS, an ABC sitcom about a group of women friends and their dirty little secrets. (What interests us here is that this is the 6th project so far this season that producer Mark Gordon has sold to ABC, which tells us that all of you out there should be calling his company instead of reading this right now!)