Tag: Steven Spielberg

Love & Money Dept – TV Writing Deals for 8/18/13

Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are

  • Barry Schindel (LAW & ORDER) is the new showrunner of CBS midseason drama series INTELLIGENCE. To which we feel duty bound to say – ready? sure? – “Smart move!” (Hey, look, dunno when you’re reading this,but we wrote it pretty damn early in the a.m.)
  • Ken Marino & Erica Oyama (he’s a star of CHILDRENS HOSPITAL; she’s his, um, wife) have sold a sitcom about a new twist on the American dream to Fox. (And why not? Ken and Erica are living it, right? Cuz that hitch your wagon to a star thing, isn’t that the real American dream?)
  • Mickey Fisher (noob!) has sold a science fiction drama, ECTANT, to CBS with a straight-to-series order. (Interestingly, this wasn’t a case of the writer pitching to the network but rather of the networks pitching to the writer. Every place in H’wood wanted this show…or, um, its producer, some old guy named Steven Spielberg. Must be the Hitch Your Wagon Syndrome we’ve been hearing about.)
  • Alexandra Rushfield (PARKS & RECREATION) has written STUCK, a sitcom pilot for Fox. (Because, in line with today’s theme, it too has hitched up with a mighty fine wagon – Rashida Jones, formerly a co-star of the very same PARKS & RECREATION, will be the producer. Anybody want to bet that she’ll also end up the star?)

Why CBS Will Never Cancel Stephen King’s UNDER THE DOME

Um, 200 international licensing agreements for the series, that’s why. Even if the series, which is produced by Amblin Television (AKA Steven Spielberg) tanks – and we aren’t saying we think it will cuz it is produced by Amblin and Stevie, after all – all that overseas revenue is way too much to throw away.

Here are the specifics, brought to you in that wonderful, old-fashioned Hollywood way: Via a Press release from CBS. Thank you for sending this out and making our writing lives so much easier than usual, doods. We owe ya one. Anyway:

Under-The-Domeby Team TVWriter™ Press Service

CBS Studios International announced today agreements for the broadcast rights of “Under the Dome” with prominent broadcasters from around the world. The U.S. drama, which is produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television and is based on Stephen King’s bestselling novel of the same name, will be licensed in 200 international markets, with some starting to run the series this summer. read article

Love & Money Dept – TV Writing Deals for 5/23/13

Latest News About Writers Who Are Doing Better Than We Are

  • Time to put your hat in the ring, gaming fans, at least if you want to write the live-action TV series version of XBox game HALO. Some newbie name of Steven Spielberg is producing. (Don’t just sit there, bake the dood a cake, send him a stripper. something!)
  • Mike Gagerman & Andrew Waller (they teamed up on upcoming feature ROAD TO NARDO) are writing a pilot for FX that will star Ray William Johnson, host of the snarky YouTube series #3. (Whoa, does this mean that if your name is now known – for anything – you’re not only automatically qualified to write, you’re also qualified to star? The times are a ‘changin’ after all.)
  • Lee Eisenberg & Gene Stupnitsky (THE OFFICE) have made an overall deal with ABC Studios, where they’ll be running two new shows, TROPHY WIFE and HELLO LADIES. (As fans of THE OFFICE, we think this is terrific…but what do we know?)
  • Jon Vitti (KING OF THE HILL) is moving to feature films and writing the screenplay for – get ready – the 3D film version of ANGRY BIRDS.  (We’d really like to find a way to snark the hell out of this, but just the fact that it’s happening lends a whole new depth to the meaning of the S word all by itself.)
  • Miles Millar & Alfred Gough (SMALLVILLE) just settled their $100 million lawsuit against Warner Bros Television, only a couple of weeks before it was due to go to trial. The claim was that Warner’s made sweetheart deals with itself for various ancillary licenses resulting in the two writers ending up with a much smaller piece of the pie than they were due. (Since we’ve never heard of that not happening, we’re hopeful that Millar & Gough scored huge.)
  • Peter Ocko (FAIRLY LEGAL) has written the comedy pilot, DIVIDE & CONQUER, for USA. (Because this is TV, where nothing succeeds like failure. Let that be a lesson, kids!)