Tag Archive: Television


2009 Midyear Update

Six months into 2009, I think it’s time to check in with those goals I set for myself back in January.

Getting Back in the Directing Chair – Sadly, I haven’t directed anything since I wrapped my film at the end of last year. I was hoping to direct a web series I’d been developing with a troupe of actors but that fell through. I’d like to get something under my belt before the end of the year, maybe a spec spot or a short doc, but at this point…

Write Two Features and One Teleplay – There is cause to celebrate here. I finally finished my TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES spec.

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Once I broke the story, the script came easily. And I gotta say I kinda enjoyed it. I really think I might give it another go later this year with a FRINGE spec.

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Oh, and for those wondering what I do with a T:SCC spec, so far I’ve submitted to the Austin Film Festival Teleplay Competition and the Disney/ABC Television Writing Fellowship and soon I’ll be sending it to the Warner Brothers Writers Workshop.

As for writing a new feature script, I always have to consider what I’ll direct next. I have a few ideas simmering. Basically, I’m deciding between a sequel to the film I just shot, a zombie flick, a coming-of-age comedy and a twist on the bromance movie. Of the ideas I just listed, each one gets increasingly bigger and I think that affects my ability to set them up as my next directing gig. I’m also working on a web-series of my own that I can’t talk about (it’s sorta a legal thing).

Network More – I’ve been trying to reach out to folks but there’s plenty of room for improvement. I am also on the verge of re-styling my website and then possibly this blog (more computer stuff to learn).

Work on Pitching – Yeah, I haven’t really worked on that.

As for my other non-film related goals, I haven’t achieved any of them. I’ve been swamped with work since the year started. But I am teaching myself After Effects and I’m learning how to use the Magic Bullet Suite.

Lastly, I hope you have a happy and safe 4th of July.

Going to Comic-Com

Yes, that’s right, I’m going to the fanboy mecca this summer.

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After glancing yesterday’s news, it seems like I should expect a giant press event from the major broadcasters peddling any of their shows that might possibly have a geeky male audience.

Hey, hold on, I’m not trying to be snarky but why there hell will there be a GLEE press event? Do we have to provide our own cabbages?

(Dark Tony’s Conscience: That one goes out to my buddy, Mr. Big Hollywood Producer.)

(Tony’s Conscience: No, no, no! Don’t go negative. Stay positive. There’ll be a FRINGE event. Your TV crush Anna Torv might be there. Sure, you probably have a better chance of talking to her at the Sunset Coffee Bean but…)

Okay, anyone that’s gone before, what should I do? What should I expected? What kind of trouble can I get into and will she be wearing a Princess Lea bikini from RETURN OF THE JEDI?

Hulu Desktop

I’ve been trying out the new Hulu application for the Mac and it isn’t half bad.

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It’s nice that you can control the app with the Apple remote but you can’t re-order shows or delete them from cue from within the application. You can only do that from the Hulu website. Also, the system requirements are pretty steep but I seem to do fine with my 1.2 Mbps home wireless download speed (2 Mbps is recommended).

Is this just a glorified viewer? Yes. Is it smoother than the old Joost application? I think so (I can’t really remember that old app). Will I use this application over their website? I think so. What about you?

(And yes, this was yet another shameless excuse to spotlight my latest TV crush, Anna Torv)

Happy DTV Day!

Do you hear that sound? It’s faint but if you’re very, very quiet you can hear a gaggle of grannies bellowing, “where are my stories?!”

But not you because you’re ready for DTV-Day. Yes, after years of anticipation, a few stumbles and a handful of delays, President Obama pushed the big button and all our television sets just went digital.

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How does this affect me? It doesn’t. I have a TV but I only use it to watch DVDs. It’s not hooked up to anything else (no cable, not even rabbit ears). Where do I watch all my TV? Why on Hulu, of course.

How is the DTV switch affecting you?

My First TV Spec

For a while now I’ve wanted to try my hand at writing a television spec but I didn’t really watch TV so I never found a show I was comfortable diving into until I caught TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES.

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Soon after the series kicked off, I had a kernel of an idea for a script but I couldn’t break the story. Everything I hashed out didn’t fit the tone of the series and speccing TV is all about writing with the show’s voice. It was always “on again, off again” until May 12th. That day I received an email from the Austin Film Festival informing me that they’d extended the deadline for their teleplay contest to June 8. Okay, that gives me a deadline but I still hadn’t figured out the story. Then one morning as I was in the shower, BAM–I cracked the story wide open. That was May 17th. May 18th, Fox cancels the show.

This is the point when I should have thrown in the towel. But I kept hearing Brian Peterson saying that “TV writers get 2 weeks to write a script but sometimes they only get 3 days so if you can’t write fast, you don’t belong in television.”

Suddenly I had something to prove to myself.

By May 26th I had a 5-page outline. By June 1st I finished my first draft of the script. I took 4 days for the first rewrite and just 2 for the second. June 8th I rushed down to the WGA to register the script. 15 minutes later I was in line at my local post office.

For a recap:

  • 9 days to a 5-page outline
  • 6 days to a 60-page script
  • 6 days to pound through two rewrites before sending it off
  • I know that isn’t a world record (you all know the ROCKY story, right?) and writing shouldn’t be a race but sometimes it is and it feels damn good to cross the finish line.

    Now, time to sleep.

    No, wait, time to sync hours of footage.

    No, first some sleep.

    Hasta La Vista, TSCC

    Today Fox officially cancelled their TERMINATOR television show.

    Cameron-TSCC.jpg

    So this brings me to my TSCC spec teleplay. I’ve been working on it for a while but hadn’t cracked it until I was in the shower this past weekend. Now, well, the question is this: do I still write it? It’s value as a sample is quickly diminishing but I could use it as an exercise. I could see just how quickly I can pump one of these things out. My deadline should be the Austin Film Festival Teleplay competition deadline (June 8).

    Deep breaths… and “fade in”…

    Six Freakin’ Days!

    According to the latest Nielsel report, Americans watch 151 hours of television per month.

    That’s 6 days of  TV. In other words, 20% of your month is spent on the couch.

    Wow!

    More fun facts:

    • 3 hours a month is dedicated to internet video and 4 hours/month for mobile devices.
    • Expect for the teenage years, viewing of traditional television increases with age.
    • Men watch more content on mobile phones than women but women watch more stuff off the internet than dudes.
    • The prime-time for internet video corresponds with the work day (M-F, 9AM – 5PM).

    Happy Digital TV Day… NOT!

    Today was the day. Today we were supposed to ditch analog and switch to digital television broadcasts. That transition will now (supposedly) happen June 12. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

    Clown vs. Monkey

    Although the following is an editorial about the television industry by veteran writer Rob Long, that’s not why I’m posting this.

    No, I’m posting this bit of radio because it combines 2 of my biggest fears: clowns and monkeys. After hearing this story, it took me longer than usual to fall asleep. Once I did, I had nightmares that… if my nightmares were a movie, they’d be the original THE HILLS HAVE EYES but with clowns and monkeys as the bad guys. Why share this with you? Because my mother always said, “tell someone your nightmares and they’ll go away.”

    Thanks for the nightmares, Rob.

    Part 2 of the last FIND seminar featured a couple of NBC/Universal executives delivering this message: it’s hard for writers and harder for directors to break into TV. They both suggested checking out the NBC diversity website, applying to the Comedy Short Cuts competition and their Writers on the Verge program. They also suggested the directing programs at NBC (a professional must nominate you), CBS and ABC/Disney.

    As they answered questions for the majority of the event, let me highlight a few useful answers.

    1. Have at least 2 TV scripts: one spec of a current TV show and another of an original pilot.
    2. Lower lever comedy staff jobs are all about the jokes. Have great jokes.
    3. You must develop your own personal brand (or as a previous employer once put it, “why do I want to spend 10 hours a day with you?”)
    4. Treat your first meeting like a blind date. You want to impress.

    Enough blogging. Time to get cracking.

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