Who needs a button when we have ourselves?
by David Perlis
Last week I applied for a position at BOOM! Studios. Here is my cover letter:
Dear F K,
Category: Resources
40 years worth of TV writing experience and info, yours for the taking.
John Ostrander: Should This Man Be Considered A Role Model?
by John Ostrander
“I am myself indifferent honest, but yet I could accuse me of such things that it were better my mother had not borne me.”
—Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1
Joss Whedon created Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and is credited with writing strong female roles and espousing feminist ideals – but not by his ex-wife, Kai Cole, who on the blog The Wrap accused him of being a serial cheater during their marriage and was a “hypocrite preaching feminist ideals.” This has led to a number of (now ex) fans venting their anger and feelings of betrayal.
Peggy Bechko on What a Synopsis IS & What It ISN’T
by Peggy Bechko
I hear it all the time:
“Do I have to write a synopsis?”
“Why do I have to write a synopsis?”
“What the heck is a synopsis?”
Answers:
“Yes you do.”
“Because.”
“You better do a little research – seriously.”
Okay, plainly a synopsis can be a very different animal for every writer. But who it is for doesn’t change. It’s for the reader whether a script reader or a novel reader. It has to be short, succinct and really hook ‘em.
The Best Advice Ever for New Filmmakers
Speaking of animated web series (like the one in the article below), we came across this on one of TVWriter™’s favorite websites, Wordplayer.Com. A solid tip on getting your work produced the way you want it to be produced, from Terry Rossio:
On the Wordplay message boards, one of our contributors, Tom Scott, put it best.
“The truth is, there’s no ladder to climb,” Tom said. “There is no gate, nor are there gatekeepers. There are only those who are making movies and those who aren’t. The professional eyes browsing your work on Inktip are in the same boat you’re in. But my friend who taught himself animation, made a short, put it online and got a movie deal is in the same boat as Neill Blomkamp, Quentin Tarantino and James Cameron.”
“That’s the boat you want to be in,” Tom concluded. “And there’s plenty of room for anyone who ever wants to climb on board.”
John Ostrander Loses It!
NOTE FROM LB: Neither John nor TVWriter™ nor I write very much about politics. Most of the time here on the interwebs, Mr. Ostrander covers the comic book/tv/film interaction beat. What he has to say here is off that beat, but, more importantly, I believe what he is saying is, as the rallying cry went during some past, troubled times, “Right on!”
by John Ostrander
Twenty years ago this month saw the publication of the first issue of my twelve issue historical western, The Kents (which has since been gathered into a TPB and is on sale at Amazon, among other places; end of plug). The book chronicles how the ancestors of Clark Kent’s adoptive family came to live in Kansas and was set before, during, and after the Civil War.
Of all my work, this is one thing of which I’m exceptionally proud. I did a great deal of research for the project and while by no means a history per se, it has a great deal of history in it.