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Girls, don't let this happen to YOU!

Oh, the humanity!  The heartbreak!  Imagine if she had slept with a roadie.  Or worse -- a writer. Let this be a cautionary tale.  Never sleep with a celebrity until you've determined he's important enough.   Now this poor girl has to go through life with the shame of knowing she only slept with a bass player.    Let the years of therapy begin.  My favorite related concerns a certain character...

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Richard Dreyfuss is in a sitcom?

Did you know there is a sitcom starring Richard Dreyfuss? It’s on the air now. It’s been on the air for a couple of weeks. Yes, Richard Dreyfuss, the Oscar winner. The show is called YOUR FAMILY OR MINE and it’s on TBS. Other cast members include JoBeth Williams, Kat Foster, and Kyle Howard. Greg Malins, a terrific writer from FRIENDS and HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER is behind it. Is it a good show? I don’t know. I haven’t seen it. I didn’t...

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Where is Howard Beale when we need him?

This is a RANT.  A real angry one.   What’s the point of having a union if it goes against the overwhelming wishes of its members? That’s exactly what happened last week when Los Angeles Actors Equity members voted over 2-1 to keep things status quo in the small theater (99 seats or fewer) LA scene; to not demand they be paid minimum wage per hour for all performances and rehearsals – and the New York board completely dismissed their...

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Next up on open mic night -- the President of the United States

Some random thoughts on last Saturday's Correspondents Dinner...Obama killed. He should be the new host of THE DAILY SHOW. My guess is Nixon wasn’t hilarious at his Correspondents Dinners. I missed the Red Carpet show. Was Sam Rubin & Mindy Burbano there to ask Katie Couric if she’s had a colonoscopy lately? Comics like to tryout their material. Wouldn’t it be cool to be at your local comedy club on a Thursday night and the President of...

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The MASH finale returns

Next Sunday night, MeTV is airing the MASH finale, along with new interviews with members of the cast, production team, and even me. These interviews were recorded last year for a proposed documentary on MASH (that is still in the works). Much to my surprise, I’m included in the promo that MeTV is airing. When it originally aired in 1983 it was seen in 50.2 million homes. I’m sure MeTV would be happy with just half of that. Here’s the promo:...

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What does studio coverage look like?

There has been a lot of discussion in the comments section about the value of readers and coverage.  A number of you have asked "What does a coverage report actually look like?"  Tying in with yesterday's post where I reference the screenplay David Isaacs and I wrote in 1981 called STAR SPANGLED ADVENTURE, here is the actual coverage. What exactly is studio coverage?    They're synopses of scripts prepared for studio executives...

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Levine & Isaacs -- you're fired!

It’s not uncommon for writers to get fired off of film projects. You turn in a draft, the phone stops ringing, and then you learn that someone else has been hired to rewrite you. Larry Gelbart, at a WGA membership meeting debating one of our many contracts, spoke to the crowd of about a thousand and said, “At one time everyone in this room will rewrite everyone else in this room”.  He's right.  But how many writers have been fired...

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Friday Questions

Who’s ready for some Friday Questions?Gazzoo gets us started. I notice that beginning in season six of MASH, two chopper shots were changed in the opening credit sequence (the one under the main title, and the quick one before the chorus). The shots that were replaced had clearly shown bloody soldiers with their arms dangling...were those eliminated due to a complaint? No, just for a little variety. I said to Burt Metcalfe, the producer, “You can...

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Crazy Jewish Mom

Jewish mothers are a staple of comedy. From Ida Morganstern in RHODA to Beverly in THE GOLDBERGS to Marie in EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND (Yes, the Barones are technically Italian, but don’t kid yourself, she’s JEWISH) Jewish mothers provide a wealth of hilarity, frustration, bizarre logic, and jaw dropping statements. They're easy to dismiss as a cliché, but here’s the thing – they’re REAL. What made Marie so funny was that she was so relatable. ...

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The most insane game show ever... or at least, this week

WARNING:  Adult content.  (So now you want to read on even more.) How has American TV not jumped on this concept? Talk about “can’t miss.” Remember a reality show a couple of years ago called KILLER KARAOKE? Contestants had to sing karaoke and maintain their concentration while being bombarded by tomatoes, given electroshock, or waterboarded – fun stuff like that. The first episode was somewhat amusing, but it became repetitive quite quickly. The Japanese have solved that problem! They’ve created a show called SING WHAT HAPPENS....

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What are the chances of your favorite show coming back next year?

Some of your favorite shows may be on the bubble. Networks are now just getting in their pilots and in a couple of weeks will announce their fall schedules and order additional shows for midseason. Most of the hit series have already been picked up. But each network has two or three “bubble” shows – they could go either way. Determining whether your fave will survive or face the chopping block is difficult because each show is in its own...

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Women I love

At a newsstand once I saw an Esquire magazine with the headline “Women We Love.” I eagerly leafed through the magazine, figuring I was going to see great glossy photos of hot women. Instead, the women they loved were like Golda Meir and Madeline Albright. Still, it was a great feature and very effectively made the point that the women we love don’t have to be hot. So I’m stealing the concept. Here are some women I love (and to me they all...

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Character actors

My heart goes out to character actors.When you read casting breakdowns there are a lot more productions seeking, “Male, 30’s, handsome, charming” than “Overweight, 50’s, Italian/Russian mix, unibrow”.And the few character actors that are successful enough that they don’t have to be service managers at Jiffy Lube ultimately get trapped by their own success. Producers will glance at their headshots or see them read and say, “Him again? Jesus. This...

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ORPHAN BLACK returns tonight!

Here in the States, ORPHAN BLACK returns tonight for it’s third season. This is the TV equivalent of pitchers and catchers report. I’ve been waiting for months.For those who are not familiar with ORPHAN BLACK (like TV Academy members obviously), it is a show on BBC America that is part science-fiction/part thriller about cloning. It’s well written and stylish but what elevates it to must-see status is Tatiana Maslany who plays at least five...

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Friday Questions

Time for more of your FQ’s and my FA’s. Eric E. Durnan starts us off: I've read on here where there have been complaints/comments about the color on MASH. Now that all the episodes save the finale are on Netflix, have you seen the quality presented there? I think the color is very good on Netflix. The episode where everyone dyes their hair and wear red for Hawkeye really stands out compared to syndication. On a side note, have you ever had MASH...

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The real suspense this pilot season

Most people in television are either underpaid or overpaid.When actors sign on to pilots they commit to the series for five to seven years. If the show becomes a huge hit in season two, the network and studio (often they’re the same) makes a shitload while the actor works for his agreed upon price, usually based on what he made on a failed series or two busted previous pilots. So it stands to reason that should the series go long enough that the...

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Happy Birthday, Elizabeth Montgomery

I will get to Liz.  Read on.  At first I was very excited about nostalgia channels. How cool to be able to watch shows I loved as a kid again. But then I discovered some problems. A lot of these shows don’t hold up. Kojak seemed really cutting edge at the time. But compared to shows like THE WIRE or THE SHIELD, he sounds as street and authentic as Inspector Gadget. The old DANNY THOMAS SHOW used to make me laugh. Now, Danny Thomas’...

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HBO's Sinatra

Who’s seen the four hour HBO documentary on Sinatra? Who under the age of 50 has seen the four hour HBO documentary on Sinatra? Who under the age of 20 has even heard of Sinatra? You really should see it. I’m sure they’ll replay it a gazillion times. It’s chock full of great footage and does a pretty good job of giving you a portrait of this extremely gifted and complex man. As in all Sinatra bios, it’s somewhat slanted in one direction or...

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