Tag: TV writing

You Don’t Have to Go to Film School to Produce a TV Pilot

by Corinna Mendis

As a new independent TV writer and producer, I’ve learned a lot about the process, without even taking a film class. The irony is that as an undergrad I went to NYU, which is known for its film school…but I went for psychology, not film.

Growing up, I always wanted to be an actress. I would get all the neighborhood kids together, write one-act plays (mostly about my dog), then get everyone together in my basement and put on a show for my stuffed animals. As I got older, my passion for acting grew, as I took acting classes at the community theatre, played the lead in the high school plays, sang my way through Guys and Dolls, and drove into Manhattan for head shots. read article

Self-Sabotage 101

AKA: Our Inner Depths Don’t Always Help Our Outer Reaches; or ‘It’s All In Your Mind, Dude’

How Our Brains Stop Us Achieving Our Goals and How to Fight Back – by Gregory Ciotti

As admittedly wonderful and fascinating as the human brain is, it definitely can feel like our brain is out to get us sometimes. read article

Networks Want to Know: Where are the New Series Pitches?

We can give a quick answer: The pitches are everywhere. You doofusses just don’t know where the $#@! to look!

Um, not true. Lying liars, etc.

Pitch Season Starts Slow, NBC And ABC To Scale Back On Development Volume – by Nellie Andreeva

Exactly a year ago, at its TCA executive session NBC announced several projects in development, including a Dick Wolf-produced firefighter drama, which became the network’s upcoming drama series Chicago Fire. This year there has been only one big sale so far — the Alex Kurtzman/Roberto Orci-written and Len Wiseman-directed Sleepy Hollow, which went to Fox with a put pilot commitment.

Pitch season is starting late and is shaping up to be calmer, with less action. I hear NBC and ABC, the most aggressive players last year, are paring down the number of projects they will buy and money they will spend. With a new regime and stuffed coffers, NBC went on a buying spree last summer, joined by ABC. The two networks often ended up in heated bidding wars, sometimes joined by Fox, driving up prices and leading to a slew of big commitments…. I hear NBC and ABC now plan to spend less and go only after projects they fully believe can get to the air. Fox also will be more targeted in its approach as the network accomplished its goal of assembling a two-hour comedy block, so its comedy needs are not as great… read article