Stars I claim to have discovered even though I really didn't

Anyone who has been producing TV series for any length of time will have similar stories. They can look back at actors they worked with or hired that since became big names. Here are some of mine.Shelley Long – played a nurse once in MASH when I was there. I don’t remember much except she looked very cute in army fatigues.Rita Wilson – same thing. Also cute in army fatigues. Worked with her again when she starred in VOLUNTEERS. Amazingly,...

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The most amazing Xmas song you'll hear this year

No matter your religious preference you'll be blown away by this guy. Sam Robson. He does all nine voices in this Acapella rendition of "I Need Thee O I Need Thee." Wow....

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Black Friday Questions.

Hello from Silicone Valley.  God, I’m stuffed. Here’s today’s Black Friday Questions:From Janice:I just watched one of my favorite Frasier episodes, "Dinner Party", in which the entire episode is shot in real time. I always enjoy these types of episodes because I feel like I'm right there in the room. Are they easier to write? And if so, why don't we see more episodes like this on television? It really depends on the story. Most require the...

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Happy Thanksgiving and Chanukkah

It is rare that Thanksgiving and Chanukkah overlap.  I'm sure there will be one year where Thanksgiving, Chanukah, and the World Series all fall on the same night.Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  It kicks off the season. And by that I mean awards season.  Guild members receive screeners of some films and are invited to screenings of others.  I'm surprised a studio hasn't come out with "A CHARLIE BROWN FINAL BALLOT"...

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What I'm thankful for...

Besides my family, here are some of the things I’m thankful for this year.  Claire DanesAppsTwitter followersJenny Johnsone-booksNew Yorker cartoonsMustangsCrawfishCarl ReinerVin ScullyPaul RudnickTHE GOOD WIFERachel McAdamsGRAVITYgravityTina FeyLouis C.K.Doc Emrick My USC studentsNetflixalmond croissantsINSTANT MOMApple computersThrowback ThursdayHOUSE OF CARDSGrantlandLobster at The LobsterPARKS & RECREATIONJon StewartFacebook groupsThe...

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Welcome to the Snark Tank

Here’s another edition of random (a)musings. For members of showbiz guilds that hand out awards, screener DVD’s have started arriving for movies hoping to be in consideration. I got GRAVITY. It’s in 2D of course. If they wanted the voters to have the 3D experience they should have just sent action figures and the script. If you’re working today, why bother?  Seriously. You know you’re not going to get anything done.The new Sarah Silverman...

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My 8th anniversary

When I started I thought this would last a couple of months.  I mean, who reads blogs anyway?   But I had nothing else going at the time, and it seemed like a fun novelty.   I could write whatever I wanted with no one giving me notes.  So what if my audience was zero?  At least the unread articles were all mine!  Actually, I had no idea what I was going to write about.  So I just opted for variety. ...

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A prank with a great payoff

Talk about a guy getting what he deserves... Check this o...

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I hate Thanksgiving episodes

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. I look forward to the holiday, never writing about it. Every sitcom I’ve ever worked on, we’ve had the obligatory Thanksgiving episode. How many variations can you have on the big family dinner going awry? I think I’ve written the “turkey gets burned”, “relatives clash”, “nutty friends invited”, “can’t find a restaurant”, “kids break something”, “Guess who’s Coming to Dinner variation, “Meet the Parents...

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Gr-gr-gr-groin injury

This is a funny parody on sportscaster auditions.  Lots of laughs along the way. The last bit seems a little familiar though.   From our CHEERS episode "I on Sports."  Theirs was funny too....

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The worst Thanksgiving song ever

From Bacharach & David no less. This is from their musical PROMISES PROMISES. There are some brilliant songs in that show and then...there is "Turkey Lurkey Time" and it's even more horrifying than that title. Get ready to throw a drumstick at your monitor. Truly, what were they thinking...

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Friday Questions

Here are this week’s Friday Questions.  If you're just checking in, I also wrote another post today.  Please scroll down to that.  And before we start:Congratulations to the cast & crew of INSTANT MOM starring Tia Mowry-Hardrick.  Nick at Nite has picked them up for additional episodes this year and a full second season.  Proud that my daughter Annie Levine and her partner Jonathan Emerson were part of the team.  Okay,...

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Where was I?

Friday Questions coming later in the day, but on this, the 50th anniversary of day that changed America forever, I thought I would give my answer to the big question of the day: “Where was I when I heard about the JFK assassination?”I was in Parkman Jr. High School in Woodland Hills, California. It was around 11:15, a Friday just like today. I was in science class half-asleep as usual. I started to hear people murmur in the hallways. I just...

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Amazing first-person account of covering the JFK assassination

With November 22nd being the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination, we're being inundated by specials and tributes to commemorate the event.   Tomorrow in particular.  I thought I would get a jump by presenting a first-person account you've never heard and quite frankly is somewhat astounding.  In 1963 Geoff Edwards was a San Diego disc jockey who got a job in Los Angeles radio.  Eventually he would become quite popular on...

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Join me for a live podcast

My partner David Isaacs and I will be Stu Shostak's radio show live from 4-6 pm PST (7-9 EST).  You can listen here.    We'll be discussing CHEERS, our career, writing, and anything else Stu throws at us.  We'll also be taking your questions via email.    If you can't hear it live it will be available for instant downloading tomorrow.  But personally, I plan to listen li...

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What we can learn from DR. STRANGELOVE

I screened DR. STRANGELOVE for my USC comedy class recently. It’s maybe the greatest black comedy ever. If you haven’t seen it, treat yourself. If you have seen it, treat yourself again. The movie also serves as a great lesson in comedy.  Things are funnier if you play them straight.What do I mean by that?Nobody in this film knew they were in a comedy. The subject matter was somewhat dramatic – the possible destruction of the entire...

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The strangest side effect EVER

Any time I see one of those commercials for some unpronounceable drug, half the ad warns you of all the side effects. They scare the shit out of you. Yes, you could get blessed relief from hay fever, but every organ of your body could shut down. If loss of vision or a severe stroke occurs stop taking this medication. If you experience an erection lasting longer than four hours consult your physician. Yeah, I’m going to wait four hours. ...

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R.I.P. Syd Field

Sorry to hear of the passing of Syd Field today. He was 77. I never met him personally, but like most screenwriters, he had a major impact on my life. His books on screenwriting have pretty much become the bible on the subject.When my partner David and I decided to team up and hopefully become writers we originally wanted to write movies. Woody Allen and Mel Brooks were our comedy idols and they were both very much in vogue back then. The only...

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ABOUT TIME -- my review

Richard Curtiss writes and directs lovely little romcoms. LOVE ACTUALLY is maybe the best example. They’re filled with amusing somewhat quirky characters, Bill Nighy to steal every scene he’s in, some good laughs, and enough sentimentality to bring a tear to a glass eye. His characters are all so lovable. If one has a hard edge then he’s only likeable. Wringing comedy out of loveable characters is not easy but Curtiss manages to do so with...

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How dumb do you have to be?

I see where you can buy the paperback of my book brand new for $8.73.  Or, if you're a complete moron you can buy one used from a second party.  Check out the last one.  I want to meet the cretin who pays that.  And it doesn't include shipping.   Anyway, if you want a new copy for $112.00 less, here's where you go.   Than...

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A Hollywood tradition -- My Thanksgiving travel tips

The Thanksgiving holiday is the peak travel weekend of the year (in America. The rest of the world could give a rat’s ass about Thanksgiving.) So as a public service, here again -- and with a few additions -- are some travel tips:Leave for the airport NOW. Bring no luggage. Wearing the same clothes for a week is a small price to pay. Plus, the airlines now charge you for check-in luggage AND blankets. Pretty soon pressurized air...

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10 useless things you don't know about me

A question swirling around Facebook is "what are 10 useless things people don't know about you?"  (There are not enough privacy issues with Facebook as it is.)  Anyway, I dutifully answered (since I do whatever Facebook tells me to do) and figured, what the hell, share the answers here as well even though there's nowhere to click "like."   So here dey is:1. O.J. Simpsons was an uninvited guest at my wedding. -- He happened to...

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Blog spelling and punctuatio, or lack of same

When I can't think of an appropriate picture I always just use one of Natalie Wood.  It's worth not having an appropriate picture.  These posts would be so much eazier to write if I didn’t have to worry about spelling and punktuation. That was always one of the beauties of riting dialog. People don’t talk in grammatically correct sentences and who cares about the spellling because the audience is just hereing the words and not...

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On a very special episode of Friday Questions:

Friday Questions as you book your holiday travel:Covarr is up first.  What do you think of "Very special episodes"? Are they good or bad, or does it depend on the show? Well, it depends of course, but most of the time they're bullshit. There’s something promotable in the show so the network makes a big deal of it.  I mean, how could there ever really be a "Very Special Episode of 2 BROKE GIRLS?"  (Kat Dennings deserves so much...

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If I wrote for SCANDAL

I know I’m late to the party, but I’m just now getting into SCANDAL. It’s good sudsy fun, as if Joe Eszterhas wrote WEST WING. There are elements that seem far fetched – Kerry Washington just yelling at the President of the United States and a woman getting to a fourth floor office in the Capitol building with a bomb strapped to her (good security at the lobby) – but overall it zips along. ABC was so right to get Shonda Rhimes to create this...

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