Lots of good news for TV writer/producers today…
Former LAW & ORDER producer Barry Schindel has signed a multi-year pact with Paramount that includes taking over as the showrunner on NUMBERS.
THE SHIELD creator/producer Shawn Ryan has signed a three-year deal with Fox that will net him "the high seven figures."
Production is about to begin on "Locked and Loaded," the feature starring 50 Cent that was written by my buddy Terence Winter and directed by Jim Sheridan. Terry wrote some of the best-loved, and most honored, episodes of THE SOPRANOS…proving that having THE NEW ADVENTURES OF FLIPPER on your resume isn’t necessarily a career-killer… which is a big relief for yours-truly.
And Ben Affleck is in talks to play actor George Reeves in "Truth Justice and the American Way," a movie written as a spec by my buddy Paul Bernbaum (who once owned the original Superman suit and displayed it in a glass case in his living room). Adrien Brody and Diane Lane also star. Paul and I worked together on LIKELY SUSPECTS and MARTIAL LAW… proving that having those two shows in your past won’t stop you from enjoying success in feature films… which is also a big relief to yours truly.
Mr. Winter’s Sopranos episodes made me want to try TV writing. I consider him a big influence. Let him know he’s inspiring a new generation of TV writers.