In the Trades Today

Variety reports that Rockne S. O’Bannon, creator of FARSCAPE and SEAQUEST, has sold a new pilot to the WB entitled CULT:

The two lead characters try to get to the bottom of a series of mysterious deaths and disappearances that may be linked to fans of a TV show called … "Cult."

The fictional "Cult" is a "very ‘Silence of the Lambs’/’Seven’-like thriller," O’Bannon said.

In addition to the usual die-hard Trekkie-like fan base, the fictional "Cult" also has "a whole other level of people watching and reaching out to each other. There’s a dangerous aspect to it."

Series leads will "try to figure out what this subculture is all about."

O’Bannon certainly knows a thing or two about "fandom."

If you’ve bought any episodes of BONANZA on DVD, the first thing you’ll notice is that the show’s classic theme music is missing.  The same is true on some episodes of BEVERLY HILLBILLIES, ANDY GRIFFITH and THE LUCY SHOW, among others.

According to DVD Exclusive Magazine, that’s because some individual episodes of those series have inexplicably fallen into public domain — but the music has not. The companies who are issuing the cheapo DVDs don’t want to pay for the theme music and scores, so they change them… leaving buyers feeling confused and ripped off (Okay, this buyer).

Reel Media International, which holds 2,500 public domain,
or PD, films and TV episodes in its library, regularly hires composers to cook
up new theme songs for its DVD clients. 

"We’ll replace every bit of music–the front and the end, into the commercial
break–that way our clients aren’t going to have to pay," Reel Media president
Tom T. Moore said.

I was genuinely thrilled to read in Variety today that Naren Shankar, who I worked with years ago on SEAQUEST, just signed a multi-trillion dollar mega-deal that will keep him on CSI  and Paramount Network Television for some time to come.  It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy…and I like to see my friends, and people I enjoyed working with, doing well.

This has not been a great couple of years for the Writers Guild of America. First, president Victoria Riskin created an embarrassing scandal when it was revealed she wasn’t actually an active member and, therefore, unqualified to serve.  She resigned and Charles Holland took her place — until it was revealed by the LA Times that claims he made about his college football accomplishments and military service were at best exaggerated and at worst complete fabrications.  He resigned, too. 

After those two scandals, and with the union’s image in tatters, the WGA instigated a very public battle with their own members by charging that the  WGAe hadn’t paid their fair share of dues. While the WGA may have been right, technically and legally,  in their dispute with WGAe, it was a public relations disaster that underscored the  image of a Guild in utter disarray.

And so it goes today. Apparently, the WGA board has learned nothing from the events of the past couple of years.  Variety reports that the WGA is giving Riskin the prestigious Valentine Davies Award for her contributions to writers and the community at large. 

The action — taken several weeks ago with board members pledged to
confidentiality — undoubtedly will reopen what had been an embarrassing chapter
for the WGA West.

No kidding.  What were they thinking? Or, more accurately, were they even thinking at all? I don’t argue that Riskin may deserve the honor…I’m sure that she is. But to give it to her now, so soon after she resigned in disgrace and embarrassed her Guild,  is such a blatantly  wrong-headed decision that I can’t believe the Board seriously considered it…much less approved it.

This decision shows that the board suffers from a disturbing and rather astonishing case of political ineptitude. Can they be this unaware of how their reactions are perceived…or the image of the Guild right now among its members and the industry as a whole? Either they are  dumb or they are clueless. Neither choice speaks very well of our elected leadership.

The New York Times reports that the upcoming season of  THE SOPRANOS won’t be the last one after all.

Brad Grey, the new Paramount chief, who retained his title of executive
producer on "The Sopranos," said that Mr. Chase, when he got into the
storytelling for the coming season, decided it was still so rich it could be
continued, a decision Mr. Grey said that was endorsed by everyone involved in
the production.

"For the people on the show, this has been the greatest creative experience
of everyone’s life. Why wouldn’t you want that to continue?" Mr. Grey said.

Writer/Producer Tim Minear talks to zap2it.com about  how his 21 JUMP STREET-esque pilot about an FBI agent going undercover in high school morphed into the doomed Fox series THE INSIDE.

It
began as a "21 Jump Street"-style tale of an undercover FBI agent (Rachel
Nichols) in high school. When that didn’t work out, Minear and pal Howard Gordon
("24"), who’d previously teamed on the short-lived 1999 ABC science-fiction
series "Strange World," reworked the idea, turning Nichols’ character into a
former childhood kidnap victim who parlays her unique insight into investigating
serial murder and other heinous crimes.

"I’ve got two unaired pilots," Minear says. "One of them is the original ’21
Jump Street’ version. The second one is the first attempt at shooting my script,
which we then went back and reshot."

If Minear never wanted to work in TV again, he could probably write a terrific non-fiction book about his experience.

Variety reports that New Line Cinema has hired British mystery writer Mark Burnell to adapt his 1999 novel "The Rhythm Section," about the adventures of a female assassin, for the big screen.

New Line exec veep Mark Ordesky, shepherding the project with senior veep of
European production Ileen Maisel, describes it as "a female ‘Bourne Identity.’ "

"Rhythm Section" follows Patrick as she looks into a mysterious air crash
that took the lives of her parents and brother.

"What’s exciting is not just launching this franchise, but also the talent
discovery of Mark Burnell," Ordesky says. "We really feel he’s someone who’s
going to develop into something quite extraordinary."