by John Ostrander
Despite my thirty odd (sometimes very odd) years as a professional writer in comics, I wouldn’t describe myself first and foremost as a writer. I consider myself primarily a storyteller. You don’t have to be a writer to be a storyteller; in fact, all of us are storytellers. Phillip Wilson, the former rector at the church I attended when I lived in New Jersey, used to describe story as the atoms of our social interactions.
Think of how we use storytelling every day – all of us. When someone asks you how your day has been, you don’t tell them each and every thing you’ve done (hopefully). You select this moment, that moment, and arrange it some sort of sequence. That’s a story. We use story to relay experience to one another.
Denny O’Neil and I were once talking about a particular story on which I was working (Batman: Seduction of the Gun to be specific) and he told me that in comics you can make any point that you want but first you have to tell a story. That’s what gives you the right to make your point. If you want to preach, get a pulpit.
Take an extended breath, then brace yourself for an explosive second half of 2013. Quite a ride is in store for anyone involved in the television world, starting and ending with viewers. Here’s a roundup of what you can expect:
Paul Feig seems to have occupied every corner of the television and filmmaking process, from performing stand-up in Detroit clubs at age 15 to taking a role on “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” (“Acting is hard, but not when you’re playing Eugene Pool”) to helming episodes of some of the best shows on the small screen. Perhaps best known as the creator of the seminal TV series “Freaks and Geeks,” Feig has an impressive list of directing, acting, producing and writing credits. He’s directed episodes of “The Office,” “Arrested Development,” “Mad Men,” “Nurse Jackie” and “Weeds,” as well as 2011 hit “Bridesmaids” and the new buddy cop comedy “The Heat,” starring Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock. On Tuesday night, Feig sat down with David Schwartz, chief curator at the Museum of the Moving Image, at the closing 92YTribeca to talk about working in film and television, women in comedy, and his obsession with Steve Martin. Here are some of the highlights: