show business
News Update
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Overheard at Du-par’s
The other morning I ate breakfast within earshot of an interview with the woman who created the T.V. show Saving Grace. She had some interesting advice for anyone who wants to learn everything there is to know about acting. “Watch the first season of Saving Grace.”
an underrated gem
Sometime in the mid 1980s, my partner Mike and I wrote a well-crafted comedy for Columbia about a juror who falls in love with a defendant. But Hollywood doesn’t want well-crafted comedies from arrogant twenty-four year-olds. And Mike got into a relationship with the development executive, then broke up with her just before we turned […]
the writers’ room
I emerged from my three week course of antibiotics and went to help a friend with a multi-camera comedy pilot he’s making for a basic cable channel. It made me realize that I’ve written more about sitcom scenes I hate to write than I have about how much I hate to write them. I’d like […]
How do they do it?
You’re very lucky if you create one hit television show. But for David Kohan and Max Mutchnick, the ideas just keep on flowing. The creators of Will and Grace have sold a new show to ABC, loosely based on their relationship, about the friendship and working partnership of a straight man and his gay best […]
For anyone who thought show business was sexy
I was copied on this email today, from Lipstick Jungle’s payroll company to NBC-Universal… This notification is to let you know that the following Document Type folder names have been changed as described: Script Clearance Report has been renamed: Script Research Report.Script Collated has been renamed: Script – First White.Script Revisions has been renamed: Script […]
Knocked Up versus Superbad
I met Judd Apatow in 1997. I’d just written a script that he liked and ultimately helped me set up. The studio didn’t meet his terms as a producer, so he ended up backing out of the deal, but he didn’t do anything to screw it up for me. He was a class act. At […]
order of operations
You’ve all heard about Heath Ledger. He realized he was the fifth best Bob Dylan and went into a fatal spiral. So what’s your first move if you find him clinging to life and time is of the essence? According to Perez Hilton, you call Mary-Kate Olsen: A masseuse, Diana Wolozin, arrived to give Mr. […]
The State of the Strike
The DGA and management are negotiating. Meanwhile, the WGA keeps making deals with companies looking for a competitive edge. So pressure is being exerted from both sides. Ken Ziffren, the universally respected entertainment lawyer who played a big part in resolving the 1988 dispute, has stepped in as the directors’ lead negotiator. The Oscars are […]
AND mean?
From Nikki Finke: NBC Entertainment co-czar on Monday told his new best friend, the no-talent Ryan Seacrest before the Golden Globes awards show was officially scrapped that, “Sadly, it feels like the nerdiest, ugliest, meanest kids in the high school are trying to cancel the prom. But NBC wants to try to keep that prom […]
Jack Silbert, curator