#1 New York Times Bestselling Author & TV Producer
The Crime Fiction Dossier has given a rave to my friend Victor Gischler‘s new book.
"Gischler’s best book since Gun Monkeys
is a sinfully-delicious orgy of violence, thrills and dark humor.
Nobody does comic noir like this guy. Nobody." -Crime Fiction Dossier
I’m looking forward to reading it. And if you haven’t read GUN MONKEYS yet, you are really missing out.
The California State Supreme Court threw out a lawsuit by a writer’s assistant against the writers and producers of FRIENDS. The assistant charged that the sexually explicit jokes and anecdotes shared among the writers in the writer’s room created a "hostile work environment." (You can read the full text of the decision here)
Because "Friends" was an "adult-oriented comedy show featuring sexual
themes," Lyle should have expected coarse language from writers producing jokes
and scripts for the show, the Supreme Court held in its ruling.While the Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibits conduct that creates a
hostile or abusive workplace for women, it does not outlaw "sexually coarse and
vulgar language that merely offends," the high court said.The case raised questions of how far TV comedy writers can go in pushing the
boundaries of taste in their private joke-writing sessions, with supporters of
the writers and producers arguing that Lyle’s suit infringed on their freedom of
speech.The high court declined to address the free-speech issues raised in the
case."We have no occasion to determine whether liability for such language might
infringe on free speech rights," the court held.The show’s writers claimed Lyle was fired because she was a slow typist who
often missed the jokes she was supposed to transcribe.
Novelist Millenia Black , who is African-American, claims she has been told by her editor to change the race of the characters in her latest book, THE GREAT BETRAYAL, from white to African-American or they won’t publish it. She writes on her blog:
THE GREAT BETRAYAL is a story about secrets. Secrets.
And just how long you can bury them before the past crashes into the
present, with a vengeance. Pretty universal subject matter, yes? I
thought so. Now, suppose you’d written such a novel, and your
publisher told you that, although it was a dynamite story, they would
not accept it—because the characters were white. The race must be
changed before they’ll publish it!
If this story is true, I don’t blame Millenia for being outraged. She believes that she’s being told that as an African-American author she can’t write about whites. They are, in essense, relegating her to a niche market — strictly "African-American" readers. Black adds in a comment to her post:
It’s one thing to write to an AA audience. It’s another thing to write mainstream/commercial fiction and be relegated
to an AA audience. The fact that you can’t write a book with
main characters that happen to be white (would have to lie about or
hide your race in order to do so) is the Jim Crow of modern-day
publishing. Enough is enough.
Especially when you consider that nobody has a problem with James Patterson, a middle-aged white guy, writing about a black detective. But a black woman can’t write about white characters? It’s ridiculous.
UPDATE: Bloggers Monica Jackson, MJ Rose and Edward Champion weigh in..
UPDATE 10-9-06: She’s suing. Millenia writes:
Career or no career, the genre of a book should not be determined by
its author’s color. An author should not have to lie about his or her
skin color in order to obtain equitable handling by a publisher. An
author’s skin color should not determine where his or her books will
likely be shelved by a bookseller, or whether or not some booksellers
will even order said book. The color of an author should be of no
interest in any acquisition. If they want a book about black people, that’s what should be acquired – a book about black people.
Christina York’s latest ALIAS tie-in novel, STRATEGIC RESERVE, just came out and she muses today about the craft of tie-in writing:
Another thing about writing tie-ins. It takes a lot
of research. You have to get it all right.[…] But it’s not just the stuff from the
show. It’s all the rest of the world, too. Alias was particularly
challenging, because of the diverse and exotic locations.In STRATEGIC RESERVE, a good portion of the book was set above the
Arctic Circle, along the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. I have never been about
the Arctic Circle, but I know if I messed anything up, I will hear
about it from a reader or three. So I spent a lot of time looking at
photos on line, studying maps, and reading accounts of people who have
been there.[…] Writers tell lies for a living. But we try to layer in enough truth
that you believe everything we tell you.
Meet the anonymous ghostwriter of OAKDALE CONFIDENTIAL, a tie-in novel celebrating the 50th anniversary of AS THE WORLD TURNS. He/She has a new blog where he/she talks about the wonderful world of ghostwriting and tie-ins (and no, it’s not me). What’s unusual about this particular tie-in is that the book itself has become a plot point in the show:
…the characters of fictional
Oakdale USA are going to be all up in arms, wondering who wrote this
scandalous, sexy, anonymous novel. The story will play out on air for
weeks, and eventually lead to many complications in the lives of
Oakdale’s favorite couples. I know who really wrote “Oakdale
Confidential.” But it’s doubtful I’ll ever get the chance to jump up
and down yelling, “Me, me, me, it was me, send the kudos this way!”I
don’t mind. I knew what I was getting into and I’m proud of my work as
well as the show it’s associated with. But a nameless, faceless writer
needs some forum in which to blow off the steam of keeping their
identity a secret…[…]In addition to ghost-writing "Oakdale Confidential," I am also blogging as Katie, the on-the-show writer, on Amazon.
[…]And when I’m not being Katie, I am blogging as Luke, a sixteen year old boy agonizing over how to come out to his parents, the show’s supercouple, Holden and Lily Snyder.
This is one busy ghost.
"All writing for television is pretty much excruciating because I think most of us would much rather be sitting at home googling ourselves all day than actually writing."
"It’s very tedious being a writer on the set because all you’re doing is sitting around waiting for someone to hate something. It’s like sitting there with your fire extinquisher waiting for the fire. It’s not fun."
That’s some of the knowledge and truths that my friend Javi, Emmy-award winning supervising producer of LOST imparts in a wide-ranging, informative and very, very entertaining Q&A about TV writing at the University of Michigan. You can watch it for yourself here.
Screenwriter Josh Friedman blogs about the time he was offered the chance by a good friend to write the screenplay for a "go" movie for an International Star.
All I had to do was meet the star, hear
the movie he wanted to make, and nod my head. The job was mine. That
was it. […]After some small talk, I settled in to hear the movie. What happened
next was forty-five of the most entertaining and annoying minutes I
have ever spent in the film business. International Star stood across
from me and proceeded to act the movie out, giving me examples of
action scenes, stunts, sight gags, etc. He never stopped moving for the
better part of an hour.And here’s what he kept saying the entire time:
INTERNATIONAL
STAR: So…we have a bar scene first. Maybe…a bar fight? Six men
against me…I’ll balance on a chair like this…take out all six…do
my funny International Star thing…maybe drink their drinks…then we
have some story bullshit…After that…I rescue this girl from…the
whorehouse? Maybe bandits…I’ll do my funny International Star
thing…like with this chair here…Then some story bullshit…and I
find this other girl tied up…there’s a chair gag…then some story
bullshit…Here’s the conversation I have in the car with my friend afterwards.
FRIEND: So…you’re in, right? It’s fucking awesome, right?
ME: You’ve gotta be kidding me.
FRIEND: What?
ME: Story bullshit? STORY BULLSHIT? My part in all this is…story bullshit?
FRIEND: Oh don’t be so senstiive. That’s just International Star. He’s…international.
ME: He refers to my job as bullshit.
FRIEND: Which is exactly why I need you. You’ll make it better than bullshit.
ME: No way. Not doing it.
FRIEND: You HAVE TO.
ME: I don’t, actually.
FRIEND: I already told him you would.
ME: What!
FRIEND: I told him you’d do it. I told him you were perfect. He’ll take it as a personal affront.
ME: I don’t care.
FRIEND: I stuck my neck out for you. You can’t fuck me like this.
ME: I’m afraid I am fucking you like this.
And so I did.
Two weeks later I got this phone call from my friend:
FRIEND: So. I just wanted to give you an update on the International Star thing.
ME: Look, I’m sorry if I made you look bad–
FRIEND: Don’t worry. I fixed it. We hired someone else.
ME: Good. That’s great. How did you–?
FRIEND:
I told him that I had second thoughts about you. That after thinking
about it I decided you weren’t a good enough writer for the project.
ME: Wow. You’re fucking good.
FRIEND: Aren’t I?
His latest blog post, in late March, refers to his then-upcoming surgery for cancer. It got him pondering some other "story bullshit" — what his eulogy might be:
I’ve spent the last twenty-five years composing my own eulogy. I’ve
never written it down, never even started it. But I’ve written it a
thousand times in my head. Ever since I was young I’ve been obsessed
with all aspects of my funeral. Who would speak, Who would be
there…What they would say…Where it would be held, what kind of
music would I choose…What kind of food would be served at the
afterparty…I’m an incredibly arrogant sonuvabitch, and it probably
won’t surprise you to know my funeral’s a pretty tough ticket it’s so
fucking crowded with mourners.I’ve brought myself to tears
dozens of times with this masturbatory/fetishistic reimagining of my
final words washing out over the assembled masses. Sometimes funny,
chiding yet touching, my eulogy at all times insightful and peaceful
and reassuring to the thousands who have gathered to mark the passing
of one of the great unheard voices of a generation.Words.
My ultimate words.
At the end of the day, why do we write? We write to remember, we write
to be remembered, we write to discover who we are, or determine it for
others. Our words will always outlive us, immortalizing us if not
always powerful enough to make us immortal. Although if we choose our
words well, there will always be a way back to life, a way to and fro
through time. Someone will always feel us like it was yesterday,
someone will smell our skin again, if we choose our words well.If we choose our words well there need not always be a last. If we choose our words well there will always be a way to find us.
I have chosen my words. They are:
There are motherfucking snakes on the motherfucking plane.
I don’t know Josh, but I hope his surgery went well and I wish him the very best.
It isn’t easy making a living as a writer…and it’s getting harder, as the Independent reports (via POD-dy Mouth). Here are some excerpts:
Publishers have been forced to protect their profits by reducing
costs throughout their businesses. At first this meant redundancies,
consolidation and cutting production costs. But such have been the
rapacious demands of retailers that publishers have been forced to save
money on the riskiest part of their business: books. That’s why authors
are feeling the pinch.Midlist authors who had sold in steady but unspectacular numbers
felt the impact first. Their sales were undermined by the decline in
library budgets. Once sales to these institutions fell away, they
became far less attractive to large publishing houses, the economics of
which make small books that sell in the few hundreds unsustainable.Large publishers scythed through their lists.
[…] "The market has shrunk dramatically," says agent Luigi Bonomi.
"Advances are either very big or very small with nothing in the
middle." Orion paid £800,000 for Diane Setterfield’s The Thirteenth
Tale; but according to the Society of Authors, the harsh truth is that
the average advance rarely climbs above £12,000 for a two-book deal,
and authors’ annual incomes are under pressure – the average author
earns less than £7,000 a year.
In a somewhat related item, GRADUATE author Charles Webb is bankrupt.
Charles Webb, the novelist who based the couple on himself and his
long-term female partner, Fred, wrote the basis for a hugely successful
film but made one serious tactical error. He accepted a £14,000 one-off
payment for his work, and then watched the film take £60 million at the
box office. The wise generally go for the percentage, but material
wealth, he says defensively, has never meant much to him. It is just that he could do with some right now.Webb and Fred, who settled in Britain six years ago after
emigrating from America, received a letter from their landlord last
week telling them to expect an eviction notice because they are two
months behind in their rent. Webb is hoping that a well-wisher will
offer them a place to stay while he finds a buyer for his latest works.
(via Bookslut via The Guardian)
Today I came across two opposing views on the "re-imagining" of pop culture properties. First, my friend Javi says live with it — recasting is an inevitable part of an industry that recycles everything:
In a culture where everything is re-made and re-hashed over and over
again, i can understand why people would get so mad about daniel craig becoming the new james bond, or brandon routh the new superman or david tennant the new doctor who (any hartnell loyalists out there? c’mon – express yourselves!). People crave stability in their heroes and the values they embody – and re-hashing and re-casting takes that way. I get it. I can even understand the good-natured argument between friends about how the only man ever to really capture the spirit of superman was kirk alyn, and the occasional shocking revelation that someone who’s opinion
you respect actually thinks that george lazenby’s work in “on her majesty’s secret service” has been shockingly under-appreciated……what i don’t understand is the all-pervasive vitriol – why put up web pages full of heated invective about craig’s perceived shortcomings? why the long angry treatises about how “the character is named ‘starbuck’ – not ‘stardoe!’” why all the keening wails over how some callous money grubbing producer “ruined my childhood?” why the nasty public outcry over michael keaton putting on the mask and cowl? why all the death threats about how michael shanks was no james spader? oh wait – there weren’t any, moving on.
…but the fact is we live in a society where everything is re-made, re-hashed and re-packaged endlessly – which means your idols can be frozen in time indefinitely. no need to put up a protest site, i
can just curl up in a sofa and watch my dvd of “octopussy…”
John Kenneth Muir doesn’t agree. Despite all the accolades that the new BATTLESTAR GALACTICA has been getting (including a Peabody Award), he thinks they should call it something else.
To reiterate my stance on Galactica: It’s well-written and I can enjoy an episode any time in much the same way I enjoy the tense 24. However, my problem begins and ends with the fact that it’s called Battlestar Galactica. The original series has been used as a "brand name" by Ron Moore to do something totally new, something unfaithful, something he wanted to do. That’s fine, and some people obviously like what he’s done very much. But it shouldn’t be called Battlestar Galactica
By the way, LIVE AND LET DIE was my first 007 movie, too, and I loved it (hey, I think I was 10 at the time). But then I saw GOLDFINGER and it was a revelation. James Bond became my hero (and still is). That said, I still eagerly awaited each new 007 movie — and enjoyed them –even as I was rediscovering the early ones (this was before home video…I had to wait for the Connery Bonds to show up in revival theatres or on TV). I was able to see them as two distinctly different experiences — the Roger Moore Bonds and the Sean Connery Bonds — and enjoy them for what they were (not any more. I cringe watching the Moore Bonds).
I can’t wait to see Daniel Craig in CASINO ROYALE. But the truth is, I’d be dying to see it no matter who was starring as 007 (Clive Owen, Julian McMahon, etc.). Because I’m a James Bond geek. Even at my ripe old age, I’m still a little kid when it comes to Bond…
UPDATE 4-18-07: John comments at length on the reaction to his original post. Here are some excerpts:
The LA Times reported today about the tragic downfall of screenwriter Eric Monte… a story that could serve as a cautionary tale for both TV writers and vanity press authors. The once high-flying comedy writer, who had a tumultuous relationship with the Industry even during his heyday, is now living in a homeless shelter. Two big lessons from the article — stay away from crack cocaine and don’t flush your money down the vanity press toilet:
A year of crack cocaine abuse robbed him of money,
dignity and a circle of Hollywood friends. Attempts to sell a
self-published book drained the last of his savings.[…]With $10,000 from a "Good Times" movie option, Monte self-published a book, "Blueprint for Peace." In it he wrote that peace could be achieved if humanity followed seven basic principles: merge all nations into one, stop manufacturing weapons of war, adopt one universal language, eliminate money as the medium of exchange, abandon the concept of land ownership, abandon the concept of inheritance, and control population growth. Monte rented a booth at last April’s Los Angeles Times Book Festival, but he failed to sell a single copy of his book.
"I just have to figure out how to market it," he says. "I know that as soon as it starts selling, it will sell for 1,000 years."