BLACK LIVES MATTER

From the Writers Guild of America, West

Dear Members,

Sometimes we are confronted with a crisis so acute and so devastating that it takes a few beats, as an institution, to decide exactly how to respond. By this, we don’t mean how do we react. That’s automatic: we get out into the street, even in the face of a pandemic, even in the face of police brutality, to stand with our union brothers and sisters. That’s a reaction and a righteous one.

But a response—a real response that can activate the change a reaction initiates—that is something else. All of our members are asking what they as individuals, and we as a union, can do to promote real and lasting change. Here is a start at a reply. read article

The Latest PodNews

What? You thought we weren’t going to give you more podcasting news? Sorry, Charlie, but here at TVWriter™ we’re still big believers in the future of fiction podcasting and its potential as the best/cheapest way to prove yourselves as writers and content creators. So without further ado…

via PodNews.Net

The podcast app that’s eight times bigger than you thought

Thank you to our latest subscribers, including folks from Penguin Random House, New Zealand’s Mediaworks, Colorado Public Radio, Sony Music, PRX and Oxford Road. Tell your colleagues! read article

What does a theater company do when it can’t make theater? Make a film.

If there ever was a time that demanded that we put our actions where our mouths were and do what we do best, this is it. Here’s a fine example of truly positive thinking.

by Peter Marks

The idea struck Molly Smith, Arena Stage’s artistic director, on a morning of the pandemic when she was reading the newspaper and reflecting on what a theater company might make when it can’t make theater: read article

Racism and ‘Bewitched’

Why has the most potent entertainment medium in history failed to stop racism in the U.S.? Well, it ain’t for lack of trying. Take this example from days gone by.

‘Bewitched’ Star Erin Murphy Remembers the Episode of the Series That Took on Racism 50 Years Ago
by Ed Gross

Like many Classic TV sitcoms, a show like Bewitched would seem to be very much of its time; a prism through which to view the past and see how different that world is from ours today. But given the racial unrest that has so consumed the country, it’s necessary to take a look back at an episode of the show from 50 years ago that drives home the point that as much as things have changed, the underlying issues remain prevalent. read article

Before They Were Famous

Beautiful pictures and cogent comments from a publication not noted for being as hypnotized by celebrities as, well, as so many TV networks and streaming channels, and – yeppers – websites think the rest of us are…The New York Times.

First Inklings of Fame
by Veronica Chambers and Jennifer Harlan

It is graduation season, and luminaries like Tina Fey, Oprah, Tom Hanks and Barack Obama are giving advice to graduates about starting their next chapter.

Of course, this year, in the midst of the pandemic, the gatherings of family and friends must happen online. Instead of hugging classmates and celebrating years of hard work with teachers and mentors, the class of 2020 is marking this milestone with socially distant Zoom parties and virtual speeches. But even in this uncertain moment, the messages — of hope, possibility, using the gifts you’ve been given — remain timeless. read article