Film and Television
Shirley Bassey’s Rejected Quantum Theme
Here's Shirley Bassey's rejected QUANTUM OF SOLACE theme, set to the opening titles. The music is by David Arnold (who clearly lifted some elements from the song in his final QUANTUM score) and lyrics by longtime Bond vet Don Black.
Interceptors, Immediate Launch!
Variety reports that the feature film version of the TV series UFO is taking shape. Joshua Jackson has been cast as Capt. Paul Foster, the role originally played by Michael Billington in Gerry Anderson's 1970s series. No word yet on who is in line to play Commander Straker (Ed Bishop), the leader of SHADO (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defense Organization), with secret bases on the moon and underneath a movie studio. (Michael Billington and Ed Bishop are pictured above, Joshua Jackson below).
She-Wolf of London Coming to DVD!
I never thought I'd say this…but the 1990 first-run syndicated series SHE-WOLF OF LONDON aka LOVE & CURSES is finally coming out on DVD. TVShowsOnDVD reports that the complete series, the London and L.A. episodes, will be out February 2. William Rabkin and I were the showrunners and wrote almost all of the episodes.
The show was hardly seen…it aired as part of Universal Studios' fledgling "Hollywood Premiere Network," which basically consisted of KCOP in Los Angeles and a station in New York. Other shows on the "network" were THEY CAME FROM OUTER SPACE and SHADES OF L.A.
You can find some of the SHE-WOLF scripts, and even the Writers Guidelines for the show, here.
Good News for Fanboys
Looks like BORAT director Larry Charles and CHARLIE'S ANGELS director McG have been watching STAR TREK: THE NEW VOYAGES, PHASE II, the fan-produced sequel to STAR TREK. Variety reports they've sold a pilot to NBC about a group of fans in a small town who produce their own version of a canceled TV show.
Speaking of CHARLIE'S ANGELS, Variety reports that Josh Friedman is scripting a remake for ABC. Friedman previously wrote & produced the Fox series TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES with writer/producer John Wirth who, incidentally, wrote a CHARLIE'S ANGELS reboot with LOST's Carleton Cuse that ABC passed on a few years ago.
The Mail I Get – Writing the Treatment
Bryon Stedman asked me this question in a comment to another post:
I have a situation where a broadcast entity claims they want to hear my idea for a boxing series or made for TV movie. The characters belong to my family from a comic drawn by my father.
If a narrative is they way to go, what are the key points to include? Do I go as far as dialog and cameas shots and locations or simply text with main characters CAPITALIZED? Advice requested and appreciated.
A series treatment and a TV movie treatment are very different. A series treatment sells the characters and the franchise of the show…the relationships and format that will generate stories week after week. A TV movie treatment sells a story.
If the studio is already familiar with your Dad's comic, I don't know why they need you to come up with a series treatment…the strip itself sells that or they wouldn't be interested in the first place.
A series treatment isn't about telling a story…it's about describing the characters, how they interact within the unique format of your show. Who are they? What do they do? And how will who they are and what they do generate 100 interesting stories?
For a TV movie treatment, you're selling the characters and their story. At this point, you're trying to sell the broadstrokes…they can pay you to work out the rest. Write up a punchy over-view of what happens in the story, as if you were writing a review of a great movie (only minus the praise). You want to convey the style and tone of the movie. But don't go into great detail. Keep it short, tight and punchy.And whatever you do, DON'T include camera shots or dialogue.
Don't fixate on treatment format, because there isn't one. Tell your story in the style that works best for you. Don't worry about whether the character names are in capitals or not (it doesn't matter). Concentrate on telling a strong story.
(This is a repost from June 2005…and it was a blog post on this topic from Scott Myers that inspired me to unearth it).
FAST TRACK Webshow
Here's the edited version of the live, interactive FAST TRACK: NO LIMITS webshow I did a couple of weeks ago with actors Erin Cahill and Andrew Walker, automotive technical consultant Sam Barer, and callers/chatters from all over the world. I hope you enjoy it!