A Few More Pilots

I have a few more pilots on this DVD a publicist was kind enough to send me. CANTERBURY'S LAW is "centered on Elizabeth Canterbury (Margulies), a tough-minded defense attorney who isn't afraid to push boundaries in order to protect innocent clients."

Um... isn't that SHARK? But without James Woods?

I'll also pass on the new Jimmy Smits vehicle, CANE, 'cause, as DMc so aptly put it, zzzzzzZzzzzzzzzzzzzZZzzzzzz.

As I recall from reading DESPERATE NETWORKS, CSI was picked up because a network exec asked a showrunner about the new Tony Danza vehicle, and got the response, "Isn't it enough with that guy, already?" That's how I feel about Jimmy Smits. Isn't it enough with that guy already?

I checked out SWINGTOWN, but couldn't find a reason to keep watching after the first act. Suburban swingers in 1976. I care why? If you're going to create a series about 1976, shouldn't it bear some relevance to now, possibly by providing counterpoint (are we more truly liberated now? and yet more puritanical?). I didn't see what that was going to be. I have limited time. Click.

On my DVR: CHUCK, JOURNEYMAN (though it may stay there; I dunno), MAD MEN, JEKYLL, HEROES, 30 ROCK. And October 5: FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS!

"Life"

How is it, of all the networks, NBC seems to be doing the best work?

I watched the LIFE pilot. It's a strongly written procedural, created by Rand Ravich, the core of which is a cop who just did twelve years for a crime he was framed for. Now he's doing his best to be all Zen about what was done to him -- cops don't have good experiences in prison. He got a huge settlement but he's back on the force, though no one knows why. And some on the force are still out to get him.

Damien Lewis (Capt. Winters from BAND OF BROTHERS) brings to life a fresh and intriguing character who feels real and fleshed out. The Zen isn't played for cartoon contrast, but as a person who's really trying to make sense out of a life that hasn't made a whole lot of sense. Likewise there are moments where his prison experiences work for him, helping him connect with suspects and witnesses; and other times those experiences and the emotions that come with them get in the way. And Lewis carries the show convincingly.

Like so many shows these days, this is your basic episodic procedural, but with an über plot which, I am sure, each episode will forward juuuuust enough, VERONICA MARS style.

I won't be watching LIFE because I just don't care about cop shows. Lewis's character is very clever, in his irregular way, and the episodic performances are lovely. I just don't need to see crimes solved, no matter how cleverly, and no matter how compelling the performances by the episodic characters. But if you like cop shows, try this one out.

LIFE airs after THE BIONIC WOMAN on NBC and Global on Wednesdays at 10 pm.

Thank Heaven For Little Girls

In this charming pictures by Carlos and Jason Sanchez the nice man is giving the little girl some presents.

In a windowless attic room. And that's her backpack. And she doesn't look that happy to be getting presents; she's wondering what's on the card.

The photo is called "The Abduction."

The Sanchez Brothers currently have a really disturbing exhibit you ought to go see if you're in Montreal. It's of posed large-format photographs, and it's at the Parisian Laundry. There's a picture of a way-too-young beauty queen, and a lovely white building in the snowy woods that turns out to be a crematorium. Some of the pictures don't set off your alarm bells until you see the title; others are immediately upsetting, like the body being dug out of the mudslide, and the dogs snarling.

I find the exhibit intriguing because many of the photos are staged. Most photography is meant to be documentary. The photographer is only meant to be choosing the frame and the exposure. If he moves items in the frame for a better composition, he's cheating.

Then, of course, there are art photographs whose elements are arranged, but with no pretense otherwise: still life photos, abstracts, surreal collages, etc.

The Sanchez Brothers belong to a tradition that originated in Vancouver about thirty years ago, where the photographer stages and then shoots the scene. He has to imagine the scene, cast and costume the actors, rig the lights, direct the emotions and only then start shooting. If it's effective, it can feel like the photographer just happened to be there at the right time and the right place. Or it can raise disturbing questions like, What is the photographer doing there? And why isn't he calling the police???

We just bought this Amy Stein photograph, of a girl facing a bear that has just appeared next to her swimming pool. It feels entirely like the photographer lucked into an amazing shot, except she would have to be about three feet behind a bear, which seems unhealthy. In fact the bear in the photograph is stuffed and mounted. (You can get away with that in a still!) The photo is even more striking in person. I would buy one of the Sanchez Brothers pics, too, because they're going to be famous soon. But I don't think I could have their quietly alarming pictures up on my wall!

What's real? What's staged? Can a staged photo get to a level of truth that a documentary photographer will never see?

Go check it out.

More on Downloadable Scripts

Dabrast comments on an earlier post:

Great posting. Just FYI.

"Lost" scripts, from the Hatch - http://www.writerdirector.net/thehatch/scripts/index.html
is a dead site. Try http://www.dailyscript.com/tv for those "lost" scripts

Internet Movie Script Database (search engine)
http://www.imsdb.com/
destructive popups and weird script formatting and a lot of transcripts passed off as scripts

LunaLounge - http://www.geocities.com/thelunalounge/site/sections/_screenplays.html
Most script links are dead. Hasn't been updated in a long time

ScriptCrawler (search engine)
http://www.scriptcrawler.net/
Most script links are dead. Hasn't been updated in a long time

Drew's Script-O-Rama
http://www.script-o-rama.com/snazzy/dircut.html
Most script links are dead. Hasn't been updated in a long time

simplyscripts - change links to http://www.simplyscripts.com/movie.html for movie scripts - the rest of the site has unproduced scripts

I would, however add http://www.weeklyscript.com - great site. No ads, just scripts.

Whistler

Just got word that TWELVE WAYS TO SAY I'M SORRY has been accepted at the Whistler Film Festival. Hmmmm... I wonder ... is there anything to do in whistler in December?

Chain of Command

Used to be, when you called a producer or an agent, their assistant not only put the call through, but listened in on the entire conversation, so he would know what follow-up he needed to do, and could double-check later with his boss to make sure things got done.

Since the Blackberry epidemic, it seems to me that many producers, and possibly agents, are managing their office remotely. That means you may be talking with the producer on his cell phone at MIP and shooting him emails at the airport, and he may be responding from the plane.

Problem is, his assistant may not have access to all this back and forth on a regular basis. It's not hard for information to get lost. It may even get lost while your exec or producer is at the office. I have more than once had to remind network execs that they actually have a copy of the script we're talking about, which they thought they were waiting for me to send.

Solution: always copy the underlings. If you are delivering a script, copy the assistant; now he or she knows that his or her boss needs to read the script, and can remind him.

If a check is due, you might want to copy the business affairs guy, so there is no argument later on about what was or was not delivered.

Theoretically, writers are artists and producers are businessmen. But this is show business. You have to expect that your producer has a strong artistic side. You have to behave a lot more like a businessman. You have to understand contracts, you have to be a bit of a salesman, you have to make sure you got a signed copy of the contract back, you have to dot all the i's and cross the t's. Or have very, very good people working for you.

Eat Your Serials

Q. Given the plethora of web serials I wonder if you could speak to the difference in structure and story when writing a web serial vs breaking up a TV script into 3-5minute chunks and calling the result a web serial. In other words, if I can't sell my idea to television producers and want to go it alone, how might the script change?

I certainly don't think you can just break up a TV script and call it a web serial. For one thing, in a serial, each episode has to work on its own in a satisfying way, with a satisfying conclusion. TV acts just have to keep you hooked.

More crucially, I think what makes a good web serial is probably not the same as what makes a good TV show. It's a smaller picture, with less resolution, almost always being watched by a single viewer, probably usually at the office. That makes for a completely different dynamic. For example, comedy is at a premium. Subtlety is not.

A lot of web serials seem to have gimmicks. The LonelyGirl15 phenom, for example, only worked because people were wondering if she was a Real Girl or not.

I'm not sure most successful web shows are serials, actually. 30 Second Bunny Theater and Têtes à Claques are one offs ("anthologies" in the parlance). Can anyone point me to an artistically and commercially successful web serial?

Post Your Scripts?

Matt asks:

Q. I was wondering if you could post some of your old scripts on the site, like some other writers do? It's helpful for us [aspiring] monkeys to see how the pro [monkey]s do it.

I'll ask some of the shows I've worked on if this is cool. Bear in mind none of the scripts I've written for TV are solely my own work. Everything I wrote for NAKED JOSH had the heavy involvement of my co-creator and my producer. Everything I wrote on CHARLIE JADE was trying to follow Bob's vision. So I don't feel creative ownership of the scripts. If God willing the show I'm writing now goes, I'll eventually post some of my scripts.

In the mean time, check out these links to downloadable scripts:

Awesome Scripts and Screenplays
The Daily Script
Drew's Script-O-Rama
Internet Movie Script Database (search engine)
"Lost" scripts, from the Hatch
The Luna Lounge
Movie-Page.com
Science Fiction and Fantasy Movie Scripts
Screenplays for You
ScriptCrawler (search engine)
Simply Scripts