Category: Resources

40 years worth of TV writing experience and info, yours for the taking.

JOHN OSTRANDER’S WRITING CLASS: OUR CHARACTERS, OUR SELVES

Penny-Dreadfulby John Ostrander

I’ve had a chance recently to catch some, not all, of Showtime’s series, Penny Dreadful, and I’ve enjoyed it quite a bit. It takes the same concept of Alan Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen(combine genre characters from the Victorian Age into a single story) and uses it with mostly horror and supernatural characters and elements, again in Victorian London.

The “real” penny dreadfuls were the pulp fiction of their day, precursors to the pulp magazines and also comics. The TV series was created by John Logan (who, among other things, wrote Skyfalland will be writing the next two James Bond films as well) and is the co-executive producer along with James Bond director Sam Mendes (he also directed The Road to Perdition).

There are also other Bond connections, including Timothy Dalton as the African explorer Sir Malcolm Murray, who is the father of Mina Murray, who just happens to be a character in the novelDracula. Eva Green, who was the “Bond Girl” Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale, plays Vanessa Ives, a medium and possibly a witch. Among interest to we pop culture geeks would also be Doctor Who’s companion Billie Piper as a prostitute with a possibly very dark future. read article

5 Tips to Help You get a Job in the Video Game Biz

Yesterday we ran an article about game writing, and it turned out to be so popular with people who want to do just that and get paid as well that we’ve gone back to that bottomless well we call the interwebs so we can bring you this insightful look at the video game gig situation:

videogamesjobsby Guy DeRosa

[This article was written by Guy DeRosa, games and interactive manager at recruitment agency Skillsearch. www.skillsearch.com]

As a recruitment agent I often find myself discussing how different the games industry is to recruit for versus any other. That’s extremely fortunate as I don’t think the other industries would tolerate me, and perhaps vice-versa (potentially because when I typed the word ‘versus’ I experienced an uncontrollable urge to shout “FIGHT” in an American accent because it reminded me of Street Fighter 2). read article

Is it really impossible to make a living writing for the theater?

From the lips of playwright-TV writer Tanya Barfield to our ears, via magazine writer Christopher Henley:

by Christopher Henley

tanya-barfieldThe Call by Tanya Barfield is one of those rare plays that puts the most intimate of situations into a compelling global context. It’s the story of a white couple in the U.S. who decide to adopt a child from Africa. The intersection of the couple’s personal struggles and the international implications of the transaction makes for a play that engages its audience on several different and provocative levels. Theater J’s production of Barfield’s play runs through May 31st and is being presented not at the troupe’s home base at 16th Street’s DCJCC, but at Atlas Performing Arts Center in Northeast.

John Stoltenberg wrote about the production on DCMetroTheatreArts.com: “Tanya Barfield’s play The Call…tackles a topic with vast global consequence and humanizes it on stage such that we in our western comfort zone may take a hard look at it and not avert our eyes. In Theater J’s handsome new production…Barfield’s worthy ambition is well served. The Call comes through clearly with both gravitas and grace.” In The Washington Post, Nelson Pressley praised “Barfield’s hard-nosed realism” and ”tough-minded insights,” continuing, “The playwright plainly knows what she is talking about…you hear some honest and deeply unsettling things…There is heat on Barfield’s fastball.” read article

Do You Want to be a Video Game Writer?

If the answer is “Yes!” or “Maybe,” or even, “Huh? They use writers for games?” then read on, Mario, and learn about the journey that can make you the ultimate game god… its creator:

game-writing-man

by Luke Kelly

“I enjoyed it, but there isn’t much career progression for writers in the cruise ship market.”

From sailing sketches to Sherlock: David Varela has come a long way. Last year saw him sharing scripts with Sherlock co-creators Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, whilst also receiving tips on how to get the best out of Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch. David had been hired to write Sherlock: The Network, a companion app to the TV show which made a great deal of its bespoke cutscenes featuring the series’ stars – not bad for someone who started out writing light entertainment for cruise liners. read article

The Best and Worst Trends of the 2014-2015 TV Season

In case y’all need to be told how to feel about the current TV season. Cuz it’s such a drag, you know, to have to think for yourselves:

TV-BRAINWASHING-02
This pic doesn’t necessarily reflect the article, but we couldn’t resist its message cuz we’re so used to obeying, you know?

by Pilot Viruet

Last week, networks announced their 2015-16 television season pick-ups, cancellations, and official schedules. Just by looking at the big four networks, it’s easy to pick out the trends they’re betting on for next year: movie-to-television adaptations, reboots and remakes, childhood nostalgia like The Muppets, more medical dramas, and more superhero shows. But before we look ahead, and now that the current TV season is finally winding down, it’s necessary to take a look back at what networks were gung-ho about last year — and to see whether or not any of those ideas worked. From multiple knockoffs ofThe Americans to romantic-comedy sitcoms to, of course, superheroes, here’s a look at 2014-15’s best trends and worst failures.

Win: Comic book adaptations and superhero narratives read article