Category: The TV Biz

Time Now for a Sneak Peak at Herbie J Pilato’s New Book About Mary Tyler Moore

See what we did there? We got both four important points in one headline. Pretty good, huh? So is the newspaper interview with our favorite Contributing Editor below. (Oh, and here’s another sneaky factoid: Herbie J’s book is even better:)

Mary Tyler Moore & the rest of the beloved Petrie family

Mary: The Mary Tyler Moore Story sheds new light on iconic actress
by Anthony C. Hayes

For fans of the late, great Mary Tyler Moore, the phrase “Love is all around” transcends the theme to her stereotype-shattering TV show. In the annals of television history, one would be hard pressed to think of an actress more adored by legions for a longer period of time than Mary Tyler Moore. Mary’s successes were legendary, but her struggles off-camera were often far from the happy endings of her award-winning TV shows.

In the soon to be released book Mary: The Mary Tyler Moore Story (Jacobs Brown Press 2019) Herbie J Pilato offers the first full-scale, objective, and detailed biography of the actress best known from The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Moore’s life was shaped not only by these two benchmark series but also by the ravages of diabetes, as well as various physical, psychological, and professional challenges. More uplifting experiences came from her involvement with numerous charitable works, such as animal rights and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. read article

Writer to Watch: “The Little Drummer Girl’s” Claire Wilson

If we had to sum up the following article we probably could boil it down to: “Keepwriting! Keepwriting! Keepwriting! Keepwriting! Keepwriting! Keepwriting! Keepwriting! Keepwriting! Keepwriting! Keepwriting! Keepwriting! Keepwriting…!”

Fortunately, we don’t have to boil it down. Even more fortunately, the point is made much more artfully by Rachel Montpeller right here:

read article

Is ‘Saved by the Bell’ Your Future?

Ah, technology! This TVWriter™ minion loves tech, I gotta admit. But sometimes, well, I dunno if I can handle it anymore.

And this, I admit, is one of those times:

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock (1623055a)
Saved By The Bell: Hawaiian Style , Mark Paul Gosselaar, Dustin Diamond, Mario Lopez

by Ben Travers

Television began by offering a square, 4:3 image. As home viewing grew more and more popular, HDTVs helped make the big screen’s 16:9 framing the standard for small screens, too, but now things are changing again. Content creators of all kinds — from Snapchat to NBC Entertainment to “Homecoming” director Sam Esmail — are sharing stories with vertical framings fit to your phone. read article

VR might just be the future after all

Two interesting news stories about VR. All we can say is that the people making this happen are going to need one Acme Boatload of WRITERS!

Wonderscope iPhone App Turns Bedrooms into Stages for Children’s Stories in Augmented Reality
BY TOMMY PALLADINO

Augmented reality content makers often position the technology as a new storytelling medium. And who loves stories more than children? read article

Writers Guild Members Approve Screen Credits Changes