Month: February 2008

“We’re Going to Need a Bigger Boat”

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Seaquest
Roy Scheider died today at the age 0f 75. I worked with him briefly on the NBC series SEAQUEST and one of the things I remember most about him was how he’d sit on a folding chair outside of his trailer, soaking up the sun wearing nothing but a g-string sized Speedo.  Apparently, Richard Dreyfuss has similar memories:

Dreyfuss recalled Sunday a time during the filming of ‘Jaws’
when Scheider disappeared from the set. As the filming was on hold
because of the weather, Scheider "called me up and said, ‘You
don’t know where I am if they call.’

"He’d gone to get a tan. He was really very tan-addicted. That
was due to a childhood affliction where he was in bed for a long
time. For him being tan was being healthy," Dreyfuss said.

Do Unto Others

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I wonder if "The Insider" will take the same glee in their host Pat O’Brien checking into rehab (again) that they enjoy when Kirsten Dunst, Eva Mendes, Lindsay Lohan, or any other Hollywood star does the same thing. I don’t like to see people suffer, but I have to admit I feel a certain poetic justice when evangelists (like Ted Haggard, Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart etc.) political commentators (like Rush Limbaugh), politicians (like Larry Craig, Tom DeLay, etc.), and tabloid reporters (like O’Brien) are caught doing exactly the same things they rail against….adultery, drug abuse, tax evasion, corruption, gay sex, etc.

Strike Ends, Awards Given

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In an odd bit of timing, the strike ended (more or less officially) on the same day that the WGA awards for excellence in screenwriting were announced. I am pleased to say that three of my friends earned awards….Terence Winter won Best Episodic Drama script for his SOPRANOS episode "The Second Coming" (he also shared an award for Best Episodic Drama Series writing) and Bryce & Jackie Zabel won the Best Original Miniseries screenplay statuette for PANDEMIC. Congratulations to them all!

Who Says that Crime Doesn’t Pay?

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In counter-point to my previous post about what some bestselling crime writers are earning, here’s what author John Scalzi says he has earned strictly from his science fiction writing:

1999: About $400, from Agent readers
2000: About $1000, from Agent readers
2001: About $1100, from Agent readers and a short story sale at Strange Horizons
2002: About $1000, from Agent readers
2003: About $6000, from Agent readers and from first part of advance for Old Man’s War
2004: About $5000, from Agent readers and from first part of advance for The Android’s Dream
2005: About $15,000, from second part of OMW advance, first part of The Ghost BrigadesAgent to the Stars hardcover, and short story sale to Subterranean Press.
2006: About $67,000.

Scalzi has other sources of writing income outside of his SF genre work, but this gives you a view of what earnings are like for a successful and acclaimed author in a particular genre who is not a megastar.

(Note: Agent refers to Agent of the Stars, a book that Scalzi offered online)

Bob Won’t Die

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The TV Series Finales site charts the many reunions of the THE BOB NEWHART SHOW characters in other sitcoms and specials in the years since the series ended. Everybody knows about Bob & Emily’s surprise reappearance in the finale episode of NEWHART…but did you know that Bob and his secretary Carol showed up in  MURPHY BROWN episode?

Murphy Brown – “Anything But Cured” episode from March 14, 1994.
A regular joke of the sitcom is that the title character (played by
Candice Bergen) had to endure a long line of incompetent and strange
secretaries. In one episode, her secretary turns out to be Carol and
she’s the perfect aide. Unfortunately for Murphy, Bob appears at the
end of the episode and begs Carol to come back. He says that the office
is a mess; Jerry’s got his files all messed up and Mr. Carlin thinks
the temp is out to kill him. After getting into a bidding war and
trading barbs with Murphy, Bob wins out. As Bob and Carol leave in the
elevator, Bob is cornered by insecure Frank Fontana (Joe Regalbuto) who
is looking for some free psychological advice. Bonerz was a frequent
director on Murphy Brown but didn’t direct this particular episode. Wallace was nominated for an Emmy Award for her appearance.

Why Isn’t My Name on the List?

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The Shots Magazine blog reports that some authors are making lots of money writing crime novels:

Figures recently released show that earnings through the trade in 2007
for crime writers looked pretty healthy. Figures are shown as GBP MILLIONS

James Patterson  10.3
Ian Rankin  5.2
Martina Cole  4.8
Jed Rubenfeld  4.7
Alexander McCall Smith 4.4
Antony Horowitz  4.3
Patricia Cornwell 4.1
John Grisham  3.9
Lee Child  3.7
Tess Gerritsen  3.5
Clive Cussler  3.5
Andy McNab  3.3
C.J. Sansom  2.8

A Partnership that’s Plum Over

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The Smart Bitches are reporting what I already knew — the collaboration between my friends Janet Evanovich and Steve Cannell didn’t work out. The way I heard it from Steve, their writing styles just didn’t mesh but things ended amicably between them. I’m not surprised they have remained friends despite whatever creative tussles they may have had — they are two of the nicest,  and most talented, people I know.