Tag: Larry Brody

Secrets from inside the TV writer’s room

Another kind of look at TV writers rooms, including those of THE GOOD WIFE, BOARDWALK EMPIRE, DOWNTON ABBEY, and more. Ooh, it’s so hip and trendy to care about them now!

And if that isn’t a sign of new respect for TV writers and TV Writing, then what is?

BOARDWALK EMPIRE's Terence Winter
BOARDWALK EMPIRE’s Terence Winter

by Randee Dawn

Sometimes, the words flow like water. And sometimes, there’s a clog in the drain. For whatever reason, TV writers can find themselves stuck on a scene — the death of a character, being pulled between multiple assignments, or just a season finale with a lot of loose ends that need tying up — and that tough scene can make for some serious headaches. The Envelope talked to several show runners about how they got the creative stream flowing again this season. read article

Inside the Writers Room with ‘The Mindy Project’

This is one of the most helpful articles on what we would call “The TV Writing Life” that we’ve ever found on the interwebs. Dig in:

mindy-project-writers-guildby Amanda

“Big, relatable things that happen in our dating lives” – that’s what the writers ofThe Mindy Project think about when they pitch stories for the show, which just finished its first season on Fox.

Last night’s Writers Guild Foundation “Inside the Writers Room” event at the Landmark Theater kicked off with a screening of the episode “Frat Party,”followed by some insight into the writing process from creator/star Mindy Kaling and the show’s writing staff. read article

LB: Stop Asking Me How To Get an Agent, Dammit!

Glad You Asked Department 6/3/13

question_ditkoToday’s question is one I’ve answered a million and a half times before, in three million different places. I used to say it was the second most-asked question I got, right behind, “How did you get started?” Over the past few months, though, it’s bounded over its rival to become Number One.

In other words, our topic for today, as proposed by Dennis and Emily and Katrina and Rob and Tyrese and Jason and Sarah and two or three entire generations of talented and intelligent new writers is:

“How do I get an agent?” read article

Amazon Invests Millions In Original TV Shows To Get You To Buy More Diapers

Speaking of corporate plots (ah, paranoia! how we love you!), here’s a commonsense look at the thinking behind Amazon.Com’s move into TV/video production.

buy-buyby Timothy Stenovec

Netflix. Hulu Plus. And now, Amazon.

The world’s largest online retailer is joining its streaming video peers and betting millions of dollars on creating original content. read article

Love & Money Dept – TV Writing Deals for 6/3/13

Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are

  • John Glenn (EAGLE EYE) has made an overall development deal with Universal Television. (Because he came very close with several pilots in the most recent pilot season and Uni is convinced that he’ll strike gold for them this time.)
  • Tim Schlattmann (DEXTER) has a new development deal with Warner Brothers TV for a couple of projects, one for broadcast TV and one for cable. (We don’t know what’s going on here, but we gotta love a writer whose credits range from ROSEANNE to DEXTER via SMALLVILLE. Can’t say this dude isn’t versatile.)
  • Meredith Averill (the upcoming series STAR-CROSSED) has signed an overall deal with CBS TV Studios, having risen from the ranks, where she began as a producer’s assistant. (And now she’s a showrunner. Our little girl’s all growed up. Sigh…)
  • The GRUMPY CAT movie is going forward at Broken Road, which produced STATE OF THE UNION, among other feature films. (Proving that you can’t keep a good meme down. Or in this case, a bad meme. Come to think of it, can there in fact be a “good” meme? Hmm…)
  • Eli Attie (HOUSE) is joining the new series MIND GAMES as a writer-executive producer. (Because before HOUSE he was a writer for some guy named Barack Obama, and if the White House isn’t a place where you can become expert at mind games, no place is.)