Current Affairs

Anonymous Thoughts

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I accidentally stumbled on a fascinating and compelling blog apparently written by a single mother raising two kids. Her entries have simple headings….Honesty. Church. Broke. My Ex. Teenage Daughter. Tears… but are surprisingly candid and powerful. I found myself reading every one…as if she was a character in a novel.

Yesterday was a pretty eventful day in a bad way. I have a 16 year old daughter who recently informed me that she had sex with her boyfried for the first time. I handled the situation fairly well inspite of the dreaded feelings that were inside me. I asked her if she was ok with what happened and explained to her that she should not do it again for awhile as she really needed to let what happen sink in. I told her that sometimes we do things that seem ok at first but then after thinking about it we are sorry. I asked her to give it a month before she does it again. It seems weird to tell her this as it is almost like giving her permission but where there is a will there is a way and I am not stupid enough to believe that she will stop it now. Then I asked her if he wore a condom and explained the health risks to her.

The things that upset me most about what she did is that she didn’t appear to care about what she did. She really had no compassion whatsoever considering the level of intimacy that she allowed herself to experience with this boy. It was like it didn’t even really matter to her that she gave up the one thing she can never get back. Maybe she is to young to understand and she is looking at it as only a physical act.

I have had sex without loving the person I was with but I still hold a very serious level of compassion towards it. Each experience that we have had in our lives is different and when you have sex with someone you learn something and experience something with that person that most people have not. Whether you want that bond or not its there. In most cases if you are not in love the bond is not a strong one but it still remains. I guess it just makes me sad that being her first time she didn’t hold it higher than she did. She will remember that experience for the rest of her life and it makes me sad that she is too young to understand what she did.

Anyway, yesterday I went over to my ex-husbands house and I saw her boyfriends car parked on the side of the street. I looked in the window and I guess she heard my ex coming in the house so when I saw her she was running half naked up to her room. She was caught. I was infuriated. I am not even sure why because I knew she had been doing him already. I guess it was because it was in that house and in my old bed. When I finally got into the house I screamed at her about the disrespect and grounded her. I told her boyfriend to get the fuck out of the house.

Then I went to her job and asked her manager for her work schedule as I want to know where she is at all times now. Then I went to her boyfriends house and bitched him out. I made sure he knew that he was a minor and if he gets her pregnant I will without a doubt sue his parents for child support. He must have called my daughter because later she sent me a text message telling me she hates me because her boyfriend broke up with her because of me. I feel bad but I guess he didn’t really love her like she thought. She knew the rules………..no boys in the house………she got caught………she doesn’t care about anything but him……….I am going to make her live with me full time. She will hate me even more. Am I over reacting?

Follow the Bouncing Bond

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Variety reports that Sony is acquiring MGM/UA… which adds an interesting new twist to the Bond saga.

Years ago, long before DR. NO, writer/producer John McClory collaborated with 007 author Ian Fleming on an original Bond screenplay entitled THUNDERBALL. When the movie went nowhere, Fleming adapted it into a novel of the same name… which eventually became the basis for the fourth 007 movie…and thus began a long legal battle between MGM/UA and McClory, who claimed the right to make his own Bond movies. After decades of wrangling, McClory produced NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN, a remake of THUNDERBALL, for Warner Brothers starring Sean Connery. After that, McClory periodically announced new Bond pictures, none of which ever came to fruition.

A few years ago, McClory struck a deal with Sony, which announced a new, rival series of Bond movies to be produced by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich. That sparked a new legal war between MGM/UA and Sony. The conflict was settled when MGM agreed to buy NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN and all rights to the movie from Sony… thus ending any chance of a rival 007 series.

The End is Never The End in this saga (Hey, that sounds like the title of a Bond movie, doesn’t it?) Now Sony not only gets back NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN but, it seems, the entire Bond franchise as well.

Writing Partnerships

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On my website discussion board, someone asked me about the pros-and-cons of writing partnerships…. so I dug up this article I wrote on the subject a decade ago. I thought you might enjoy it:
Lee_and_bill

Screenwriting Partnerships

The meeting with the TV series producer was going very badly. We were going to lose the writing assignment until, as a joke, I suggested we add a dozen scantily clad models and a psycho killer to the plot. Bill grimaced in embarrassment. The producer thought the idea was brilliant. We had a sale.

At that moment, Bill probably was torn he was glad he had a partner… and wished his partner had died in a car crash on the way to the meeting.

Perhaps that is the nature of partnerships. Everything is torn in half: emotions, responsibility credits, and., worst of all, paychecks.

When I was a kid, and dreamed of my name in lights, the name I saw was MINE, and mine alone. I saw it on book jackets, TV screens, movie posters … a “shared credit” never entered my mind.

But now, most of the time, I share the credit with William Rabkin Not just the credit, but the money, the work, and everything that goes along with it.

So I’ve revised my dreams a bit. When I see my name in lights, there’s another right next to it. And that’s okay by me.

It’s not that I don’t like writing alone, I just like writing with Bill better, for some simple reasons. For one, I like the company. I like hashing out the idea, developing the story, and overcoming the obstacles of actually writing the script with someone else. Like sex, writing is a lot more fun with a partner than doing it all alone. It’s also motivating. We nag each other far better than our individual consciences would

Of course, we argue a lot. But out of those fights actually come better ideas. It shakes us out of complacency, out of going the easy way, out of using those same tired cliches. And it scares the hell out of our assistants, who are convinced that we are killing each other behind our closed doors.

After one such row, our assistant came into my office, gravely concerned. He wanted to know if we were “okay.” Sure, I said, we were just brainstorming. He didn’t buy it. So he went into Bill’s office, and asked if him the same question. Bill said, are you kidding? We’re on a roll! The assistant decided we were both in extreme denial and that our partnership was doomed.

Of course, the arguing isn’t restricted to our offices. We were once on a series with a small staff, four writers in all, including us. The executive producer was a kind, fair¬individual who felt everyone had an equal say in the direction of the series so he warned us he didn’t want us to always present a united front, to use our partnership as a blunt instrument to cram ideas down his throat.

We left his office, and thought to ourselves, what a brilliant idea! We had never thought of being a power block before, much less a blunt instrument. So, we decided to give it a try. We would always agree publicly, and argue privately. So the next meeting we went in, I presented a story idea, and Bill promptly said “that is the single dumbest thing I have ever heard in my entire life.” So much for the power block idea. If he hadn’t done it, I probably would have. Such is partnership. It can’t be locked in an office.

I’m also a better writer with Bill than I am on my own. We are hard on each other. We force one another to go beyond “good enough” and to try for something better … and usually harder. And we are good at different things, we compensate for each other’s weaknesses and enhance each other’s strong points. Sometimes it can be confusing.

We work differently on different scripts. For example, on one script we divided acts. I did Act One, he did Act Two, and then we switched. I was enraged to discovered he had created a subplot that didn’t exist before. How could he do that without talking to me first? Probably the same way I added a new character in Act One and forgot to mention it to him. As it turned out, both changes helped the script enormously.

On those occasions when a script is due next week, and I wake up without the creativity to write a grocery list, it’s nice to know Bill is there to pick up the slack. And vice versa. It’s especially nice when one of us has to leave town two days before the deadline we know the other poor schlub will do the work. Of course, the downside is schlub duty is shared, too. It’s also great when it comes to pitching, and later story meetings, too. I tend to dive, roll, and come up firing literally when describing an action sequence. Bill, on the other hand, will discuss the thematic, symbolic, metaphoric and religious implications of a scene, and how it relates to great scenes in film history. We know whatever the sensibility of the executive, one of us can deal with it. On one weird occasion, we were facing producers whose partnership was frighteningly similar to our own. At casual moments, Bill would discuss with one producer how our project evoked Faulkner, while I would debate with the other which actor was the best James Bond.

On another, abortive, project, Bill was so frustrated by a producer’s indecision, that when he tried to tell the guy off, he couldn’t find the words. So, I said, “what Bill wants to say is that you change your mind constantly and have no idea what you want. Call us when you get a clue,” and I walked out. Finding words for one another often extends, we have learned, beyond the keyboard.

We have strong egos, but that doesn’t seem to get in our way, either. We view the finished product as /our/ script not HIS lines and MY lines, but /our/ lines. Our styles are so alike, and we work over the scenes so many times, who did what blurs.

It doesn’t matter anyway. I’m just as proud or our shared credit as I was of my single one.

I just wish he didn’t get half of my money

Book’em, Dano

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stevemcgVariety reports that Warner Brothers has snagged the rights to do a feature film version of Hawaii 5-0.

This is not the first time studios have tried to revive the classic TV series… dozens of feature scripts based on the series have died in development over the years. But before going the feature route, CBS quietly enlisted Stephen J. Cannell and former network president Kim LeMasters to steer a TV revival. A one-hour pilot was shot, with Gary Busey and Russell Wong splitting the McGarrett role…and with several old regulars from the original series making cameo appearances (including James McArthur as Danny Williams, now Governor of Hawaii, and Kam Fong’s Chin Ho character, who was killed off in the last season of the show).

The unsold pilot was dreadful and mercifully never aired…though bootleg copies have been circulating among 5-0 fans for years.

HOLLYWOOD REPORTER on “Best TV Shows That Never Were”

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TV Review: The Best TV Shows That Never Were
Fri Aug 13, 2004 02:06 AM ET

By Marilyn Moss
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – It’s not a new idea, but it’s still a funny one: to sew together a slew of “almost made it” pilots that never hit the air and until now would never have been missed or mourned.

But now, in this hilarious (not to mention educational, in the funniest sense of the word) one-hour compilation of never-was, never-happened pilots, we get a treat. “The Best TV Shows That Never Were” is must-see TV.

The hour is divided by genres, of course, such as the crime show, the sitcom, the drama. We open with detective crime series that never made it, and we see Dennis Franz riding a horse (and not too well at all) in a failed pilot (are you ready?) called “NYPD Mounted.” That one rode off into the sunset really fast. Then we find out that a detective drama called “Bunco” never made it off the assembly line because the network, which like all the others remains nameless, thought its two stars, Robert Urich and Tom Selleck, could not carry a show.

We also find Marilu Henner, post-“Taxi,” starring as a woman just released from a mental institution who ends up running a television station (this one’s a comedy, of course). Let’s not forget John Denver as a singing detective in another lost and sterling television creation. The list goes on, and tuning in is highly recommended.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

Why I Won’t Read Your Script, Book, or Epic Poem

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Lots of people ask me to read their books and scripts… relatives, friends, my Mom’s friends, friends of my Mom’s friends, and as you’ve noticed from postings here over the last few months, complete strangers. My brother Tod, in his weekly column, describes one reason why I offer any excuse I can think of *not* to read people’s stuff…

there was a letter waiting for me from a man named Kevin. A month earlier, my cousin Leigh asked if I’d read Kevin’s epic poem as a favor to her–he cuts her hair–and see if I could help him on his quest to get it published. I said sure. I read the epic poem, offered some advice to Kevin on it, including an honest critique, and spent a good two hours of my life on his work. He sent me a two-page, single-spaced letter in return essentially calling me an idiot who obviously didn’t appreciate quality writing and that I should re-evaluate why I’ve chosen the career I’ve chosen and that he hopes I choke.

The smartest thing I ever did was co-write a book on breaking into television… now I just tell people to buy my book. All the advice I have to offer is there…

(Oh, I should add one exception…my wife’s best friend showed me her first novel. It was incredible… certainly better than any book I’ve ever written. She writes with such confidence, power and grace… I knew as I was reading it that she was a natural born writer. I immediately tried to convince my agent, and a couple other agents I knew, to take her on. Sadly, she’s still looking for representation…)

Journalist Integrity, Again…

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William Rabkin reports…

That paragon of journalism, the New York Post, which only last month ran a full page headline proclaiming Gephardt to be Kerry’s veep pick, yesterday ran a gossip item in which they said Sylvester Stallone was spotted at a restaurant chatting with Bob Wright and his wife, and Brandon and Lily Tartikoff.

Yup, that Brandon Tartikoff.

Remember when there used to be such a thing as an editor?

Today, the NY Post printed this correction:

A BIG thank-you to all the readers who called and e-mailed to point out a mistake we made on Saturday, when we identified the man sitting with Lily Tartikoff at Mr. Chow in Los Angeles as Brandon Tartikoff, her late husband. The brilliant NBC programmer died of cancer in 1997. We regret the error.

And press wonders why the public doesn’t trust the media any more…

Donut Holes

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The SEC is investigating questionable accounting practices at Krispy Kreme, which has sent their stock price tumbling…

Krispy Kreme, which operates nearly 400 stores in the United States and overseas, said it is confident in its accounting practices and is cooperating fully with the inquiry.

The company’s shares, which have fallen nearly 50 percent since the company’s profit warning, were down $2.08 at $16.58 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The real, burning question that no one has answered yet is… does this mean they are going to stop giving away free samples when you walk in?

Late Scripts

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The DGA reports that TV drama series producers have notched a 61% improvement in delivering scripts on time.

The percentage of on-time scripts for single-camera one-hour dramas had increased to 61% for the 2003-04 season, up from 47% in the previous season. The DGA also said the proportion of scripts delivered more than two days late had been cut to 23% from 41% and the number coming in five to 15 days late dropped to 8% from 20%.

By “on time,” the DGA means having a script ready for the first day of pre-production, aka “prep.” Episodic TV directors have seven days to scout locations, cast actors, etc. before beginning the actual shooting of their episodes. It doesn’t seem like a lot of time when compared to features… but in TV shows, the majority of actors are already in place (the regular weekly cast), the major sets are already built (the standing sets, like the hospital in ER), and the production team is already a well-oiled machine. But if a director is new to the show, a week can seem like precious little time… even to a director who has worked on the show before, it can be tight.

It’s even tighter when the script isn’t ready for prep. Not only is the director screwed… so are the location scouts, the wardrobe department, the production designer etc… everyone is pressed for time and can’t possibly do their best work.

But mostly, it’s terribly unfair to directors. Because when the director delivers their show, and its mediocre, nobody at the network or studio is saying “yeah, well, he only had four days to prep.” The director gets the blame… and everyone conveniently forgets he was sabotaged from day one.

And I’m saying all this as a producer who just delivered a script one day late for prep.

Guild said the writers for eight series — “Star Trek: Enterprise,” “Law & Order,” “The District,” “JAG,” “Judging Amy,” “She Spies,” “Hack” and “Strong Medicine” — delivered all scripts on time in 2003-04. “Six Feet Under” was the only series to deliver all its scripts on time in 2002-03.

The DGA also said 12 series improved by 20% — “24,” “Alias,” “Angel,” “The District,” “ER,” “The Guardian,” “Hack,” “JAG,” “Judging Amy,” “Law & Order,” “Third Watch” and “The West Wing.” It credited CBS, Fox, Sony, Touchstone, Universal and Warner Bros. with improvement of 20% in the 2003-04 season.

Guild also singled out “Ed” and “The Gilmore Girls” as not delivering a single script on time and pointed to five other shows — “Charmed,” “Everwood,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “NYPD Blue” and “The Practice” — as delivering more than 70% of their scripts late.

The number one priority of any showrunner, I believe, is the make sure a shooting script is ready on the first day of prep. Ideally, the teleplay should be in well before prep, so all the department heads … casting, production design, wardrobe, etc… have plenty of the opportunity to do their best work and to be thinking about the episode even before the director arrives. You get better guest stars for the parts if the casting director has two weeks instead of one to find the right actors for the role…if the location scout has an extra week to find best places to shoot… if the set designer has the extra week to create interesting sets. You get the idea.

There are times when events beyond a producer’s control make it impossible to deliver a script on the first day of prep… one of your stars takes ill, a storm makes it impossible to shoot an “outdoor” episode outdoors, the network re-arranges air order of the episodes at the last minute, etc. Inevitably, on every series I’ve been on, at least one or two scripts are delivered late.

It’s quite common on the first season of a show for scripts to come in late. Everything seems to be conspiring against delivering the scripts on time.. a late-pickup from the network, last-minute staffing and especially, the creative process as a show “finds itself” while being battered from all sides by notes from the network, the studio, the stars. Plus, it takes some time for everyone to learn how to work together, to discover the unique production problems inherent in your show. It can take a while for a new series to get settled, creatively and from a basic production stand-point.

But after a show has been on a season or two, there’s really no excuse for 70% of the scripts being delivered late. “NYPD Blue,” “Charmed,” and “Law & Order SVU” have been on the air for years… with relatively little staff turnover. You’d think they’d have it down by now. I can’t imagine what their excuse is. (And in the case of “SVU,” they aren’t waiting around for a back-nine pick-up, they already have a multi-year renewal, they can bank scripts well in advance)

The lateness of “Gilmore Girls” and “The Practice,” I would guess, has more to do with the fact that most of the scripts are written or rewritten by one showrunner (ie David Kelley on “The Practice”) who is stretched too thin. This, to me, is a big argument against the “writer-auteur” in episodic television… unless, like British TV, all the scripts are written well before production begins.

I’m glad to see there’s been a concerted effort in the industry to deliver scripts in time for prep — it’s good for everybody.