The Comedy Debate Continues

WARNING: Donald Trump is not part of this debate. There are no angry responses, no personal attacks, no grandstanding, no hidden agendas. If it were televised it would be on C-SPAN-6 not CNN or Fox News. Don’t expect to see portions of it discussed...

A few fun fotos

For all the baseball fans in LA who can't get the Dodgers because of TWC, this one's for you.  The Mets' Lucas Duda hit a home run in batting practice yesterday that did this:For anyone about to go on trial: And I should be writing instead of surfing...

Lost in Translation

When my writing partner, David Isaacs and I did a rewrite on JEWEL OF THE NILE for Michael Douglas we had to have the script approved by the Moroccan government before they'd be allowed to film there. Make sure no international crisis would be...

One of those truly uncomfortable moments in life

From time to time, folks in show business try to use contacts to get house seats for various plays and musicals. Some participants of a production – like playwright, director, actors – are entitled to a certain number of house seats for each performance...

Friday Questions

Friday Questions – come and get ‘em.Peter gets us started. What’s your opinion on the news that Cate Blanchett will play Lucille Ball in a biopic written by Aaron Sorkin? Aaron, you have some ‘splainin’ to do. Actually, I think Cate Blanchett is inspired...

The truth about network casting

Here’s a Friday Question that became an entire post.It’s from Grant Woolsey:I know you've mentioned a few times in the past about certain high-end Hollywood types interjecting their own favorites or "pet projects" into certain casting calls. In one...

Hey, you know what's a good show? BREAKING BAD

Okay, I admit it. I’m a little late to the party. I just finished watching BREAKING BAD. Didn’t catch it when it first came on. The buzz really didn’t really start until the second or third season – at least in my circles. And you know how it...

Misc-Takes

Some random rambling…The fall used to mean holidays. Now it means pumpkin coffee.The movie THE WALK is causing people to throw up. Can you imagine what those theaters must smell like by the 10:00 PM show?Since I personally prefer not to vomit, I...

How QUANTICO got on the air

Recently I got ahold of the BLINDSPOT pitch meeting. Today I’ve been fortunate enough to get the transcript of the QUANTICO pitch meeting between the show’s writer/creator and ABC.Writer/Creator: We understand you have a development deal with Priyanka...

Writing under less than ideal conditions

When my partner and I started out we would lock ourselves in a room whenever we wrote. We couldn’t have any distractions. Most of the time that meant working in one of our apartments so it was easy to do… except for the neighbor across the courtyard...

Dance Me to the End of Love

I LOVE this video.  Leonard Cohen's great "Dance Me to the End of Love" with a montage of Cary Grant dancing.  Maybe the coolest guy EVER. ...

Friday Questions

The Friday Questions of October begin this week.Andrew starts us off. Did the cast and crew of Frasier and Seinfeld get along, since they were always in competition for Emmy's, etc.? Was their attitude mutual respect, friendly rivalry, or disdainful...

Help me Rhonda, or anybody

I’m not alone.I’ve been hearing this song my entire life and have never figured out what the opening lyric meant. It’s from “Help Me Rhonda” by the Beach Boys. The thrust of the song is that a guy is hoping his new girlfriend Rhonda will help him...