Category: Opinion

Troy DeVolld Tells Us What (Fill in the Blank) is Really Like

betsey

by Troy DeVolld

This year, I’ve given myself a great present for Christmas: A get-out-of-jail-free card when it comes to the recurring question, “What’s (name of reality celebrity) really like?”

Ask anybody who’s met a celebrity exactly once what they think of them, and you’re going to get an absolute answer based on a tiny interaction. That moment eventually crystallizes into a summary “great guy/gal “or “total jerk/bitch” response. That assessment somehow never takes into account the way the celebrity was approached, as the teller/hero of the story, the “toucher of the garment” as it were, always bases their evaluation on how they were received in that moment. Someone I know scared the living hell out of a television actress recently, literally running after her in a parking lot to vomit praise at her. The verdict on return? “What an unfriendly bitch.”

Really? read article

John Ostrander Ponders “Christmas Anti-Heroes

Anti-hero? Or out and out villain? Hiya,k Grinchy!
Anti-hero? Or out and out villain? Hiya,k Grinchy!

by John Ostrander

T’is the season for Christmas related columns, fa-la-la-la-etc. I could write about Star Wars: The Force Awakens but that came out Friday so now it’s old hat and, besides, I haven’t seen it yet and, given the crowds, may not be able to see it until after the first of the year so let’s talk about something else, shaaaaall we?

Christmas is a time of peace, love, and goodwill to all unless you’re doing last minute shopping, running from store to store, and in a life and death struggle with some other harried shopper for the last iteration of a particular item that you both must have. So why is it that, aside from Baby Jesus of course, the most identifiable characters connected with the day are anti-heroes – the Grinch, Ebenezer Scrooge, and Mr. Potter (from It’s a Wonderful Life)?

Anti-heroes are what we used to call outright villains until it was found that we may identify with them more than perhaps we should. They’re bad guys who have a hint of good guy in them and these days we may sympathize with them more than the erstwhile heroes of the stories that they are in. They’re usually the most interesting and usually have the best lines. read article

WHAT A LONG, STRANGE TRIP THIS IS

Curves on Hightway 1 Northern California

by Lew Ritter

The title above is a slightly altered borrowing from a tune called TRUCKIN, sung by a band popular in the 70’s called the GRATEFUL DEAD. I chose it because the best way I can think of describing my current screenwriting Odyssey is that it indeed has been long and strange.

Why have I continued to write after all these years? Years ago, I went to see the then brand new Melanie Griffith movie WORKING GIRL. My friends laughed when I told them that someday, I would write a movie script that everyone would want to see at the movies. They scoffed at the idea, but as the saying goes” revenge is a dish best served cold”. read article

2015: The Year Television Figured Out How to Present Mental Illness

TV has always featured crazy characters. Now, however, television writers are finally being allowed to present mental illness as it really is. Could the Dark Ages when sufferers were depicted as either still or evil be over at last?

illness

by Alison Herman

Television’s defining trait as a medium is its length. We spend anywhere from four to 24 hours a year with our shows, which breeds both intimacy (hence, “our shows”) and inevitable frustrations. It’s no coincidence that we refer to so many of the shorter, pricier series found on cable and streaming, and the more deliberate visual style they allow for, as “cinematic” TV; we still think of the perfunctory direction that comes with cranking out episodes as the price we pay for weekly entertainment. It’s also no coincidence that TV’s greatest leaps forward involve using the platform’s extended, open-ended nature to its advantage.  read article

Diana Vacc Sees ASH VS. EVIL DEAD

ash-vs-evil-dead-bloodby 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. read article