Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are
Jeff Greenstein (WILL & GRACE) has a new agency: CAA. (So if you’re also a CAA client tell you point man you want to be part of the next package they put together for Jeff!)
NBC is putting together AD: BEYOND THE BIBLE, a drama mini-series about the days after Jesus’ death. (So if you’re a firnd of Mark Burnett or his lovely wife Roma Downey, time to hit one of ’em up for a writing gig.)
Speaking of getting your agents in motion, word is out that the search is on for a writer to adapt Declan Hill’s book The Fix for international TV. (Whoa, 2 potential UK gigs in a row. What can this portend?)
Jill Soloway (SIX FEET UNDER, THE UNITED STATES OF TARA) has optioned an untitled half-hour dramedy to Amazon Studios. (And what this portends is pretty clear: Amazon is continuing to make moves designed so that it will appear to be a viable playa…even though so far it’s anything but.)
The in-house Amazon.Com production company originally intended to give new writers/directors/producers/et al a shot by developing online series for Prime Instant Video announced yesterday that it was greenlighting a pilot for ZOMBIELAND, based on the 2009 Columbia Pictures film of the same name and staffed by the original creative team, including writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.
ZOMBIELAND joins 12 other pilots produced by established Industry types which will be shown on Amazon Prime so viewers, referred to by Amazon Studios boss Roy Price as “customers,” (hey, that’s a much more honest way to talk about it) can choose which shows they want to become series.read article
Truth in Journalism Dept: Nope, this pic isn’t from BROWSERS, but we’re hoping it could be.
In case you had any doubts about Amazon’s TV production arm being for reals, Variety.Com today says that Amazon Studios is thisclose “to greenlighting a musical comedy series dubbed “Browsers.”
According to Variety, BROWSERS, written by David Javerbaum (THE DAILY SHOW, Emmys, Grammys, even Peabody Awards up the yinyang), was originally developed at CBS but didn’t make it past the script stage. Possibly because the premise – the adventures of 4 interns at a site not unlike HuffingtonPost.Com – seems to have even less potential than, oh, a series based on yours truly’s own duller-than-the-cobwebs-around-my-social-calendar life.
Still, good judgment has never been very important when it comes to television. And musicals can be fun if the music is listenable/dance-able. So we applaud Amazon for at least doing something and say, “Bring it on!”read article
From the amazingly wonderful blog written by John August, who knows this stuff better than anybody. Wow.
Articles like this are just the tip of the iceberg at johnaugust.com. (In other words, GO THERE!)Alert: The following was not written by John but by Reader Mike (but it’s still informative as hell).
Amazon Studios has been a much–discussedtopic on both the blog and the podcast. Last week at the Austin Film Festival, the company made a presentation explaining how they work with screenwriters.Reader Mike attended and took notes, which he generously offered to write up.
A little bit about my background: I started out working at a production company as an intern and as a reader, kept working at writing and eventually got representation from a manager and an agent. I’ve had scripts go out and I’ve done the studio water bottle tour a couple of times, but have yet to earn a single penny as a writer.
I consider myself in that grey, ugly pool of zombie writers: Part alive, but mostly dead inside.read article
Amazon to open a new centre in London to spearhead a global push into film and television delivery services. by Katherine Rushton
The US firm is headquartered in Seattle but said London was “the obvious choice” for the “digital media development” centre, because Britain has led the way in pioneering on-demand services which allow users to rent films and television over the internet. Amazon’s existing on-demand services, LoveFilm and Pushbutton, were both founded in the capital.
The retail giant has taken an eight-storey, 47,000 square foot office near Barbican tube station, and close to the technology hub around Old Street, dubbed “TechCity” or “Silicon Roundabout”.read article
A little bit about my background: I started out working at a production company as an intern and as a reader, kept working at writing and eventually got representation from a manager and an agent. I’ve had scripts go out and I’ve done the studio water bottle tour a couple of times, but have yet to earn a single penny as a writer.