A few words from one of television’s – and the interweb’s – best writers.
Ken Levine of Cheers, M*A*S*H, Frasier, Ken Levine’s Blog, etc., etc.,etc. had the War Between The Writers Guild of America & The Association of Talent Agents on his mind over the weekend, especially in terms of how it impacts the current WGA Board of Directors election campaign.
And vice versa.
As usual, Ken Levine tells the story best:
Apparently this is real. According to an article in MacRumors, Apple is looking for people to write comedic answers for Siri. Siri is the personal assistant feature that talks back to you in newer iPhones. At first she was friendly and humble, but Apple is now looking to give her a little edge.
You know what this means, don’t you? It means that now even Dane Cook’s phone will be funnier than he is.
Is Ken Levine comedy writing’s Larry Brody? What would either of them think if they were asked?
Oh dear. If we had to ask that second question, that means we’re worried that the answer wouldn’t go down well. And if we’re worried about it, then it probably won’t. So forget we said anything. No comparisons from here, no sir. Just, you know, read:
by Ken Levine
Here’s a question I get (and am happy to answer) every year.
Ken Levine says this is the best comedy writing book evah…and who are we to disagree?
If anybody ever had great credentials for a book about comedy – what it is, what it ain’t – Dan O’Shannon, Emmy winning showrunner of MODERN FAMILY, former showrunner of FRASIER, former executive producer of CHEERS is the guy. His approach – analyzing the “comedic event” as opposed to examining joke structure, makes you wonder why anybody ever even thought of looking at what’s funny another way. To O’Shannon, context is everything…and he’s convinced me of it too.
With that in mind:
