And no guest bloggers, so check back later, or feel free to chat in the posts below. Starter questions:
LOST new season -- yay or nay?
Can Obama defeat Hilary in CA, where there's already been a ton of early voting?
Best place to eat in the city or town where you live.
Compose a full 15 hour prime time week consisting of DVD available shows.
Have fun, and see you in a week.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
"They Say I Am A Televison Man ..."
Denis beat me by hours. Sonuvabitch. In its entirety:
"You see, I am a TELEVISION WRITER. And I wish to speak to you today about WRITING FOR TELEVISION. There are those who will say they can craft you a pilot, and that may VERY WELL be TRUE. But can they get you to SIXTY EPISODES? Can they craft a decent ACT BREAK? Will they rely on a creaky FOUR ACT structure, or have they mastered FIVE? It is THESE QUESTIONS you must consider.
I have a six episode strike over at the former CHUM, you see. I have had meetings with executives both HIGH and LOW. You could go with someone from the Film Centre, or someone who's developed a CANADIAN FEATURE, yes, about a man having sex with his GRANDMOTHER. But only I can have the FIRST DRAFT and the BIBLE for your series by APRIL. I can do it, I can have it, and I can make it exciting, with explosions and sexual interplay. YOU can GO WITH SOMEONE ELSE, that is your right. BUT you CANNOT say that you were not PRESENTED with the option to skip all that; to just DEVELOP WITH ME.
I await your decision. I will sit here and calmly wax my mustache. Please don't mind my son, J.W. He will be stepping out momentarily to procure a SMOOTHIE.
NOW, what is for LUNCH?"
I am SO using this voice in my next network meeting.
"You see, I am a TELEVISION WRITER. And I wish to speak to you today about WRITING FOR TELEVISION. There are those who will say they can craft you a pilot, and that may VERY WELL be TRUE. But can they get you to SIXTY EPISODES? Can they craft a decent ACT BREAK? Will they rely on a creaky FOUR ACT structure, or have they mastered FIVE? It is THESE QUESTIONS you must consider.
I have a six episode strike over at the former CHUM, you see. I have had meetings with executives both HIGH and LOW. You could go with someone from the Film Centre, or someone who's developed a CANADIAN FEATURE, yes, about a man having sex with his GRANDMOTHER. But only I can have the FIRST DRAFT and the BIBLE for your series by APRIL. I can do it, I can have it, and I can make it exciting, with explosions and sexual interplay. YOU can GO WITH SOMEONE ELSE, that is your right. BUT you CANNOT say that you were not PRESENTED with the option to skip all that; to just DEVELOP WITH ME.
I await your decision. I will sit here and calmly wax my mustache. Please don't mind my son, J.W. He will be stepping out momentarily to procure a SMOOTHIE.
NOW, what is for LUNCH?"
I am SO using this voice in my next network meeting.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Story2Oh!
I was holding on to this a bit to see how it played out. Jill Golick's got a project going called Story2Oh. Basically, it's narrative through voyeurism. The romance at the heart of the story is revealed through the various social interaction networks that the characters belong to -- in particular, the Facebook accounts of the two protagonists, Simon and Ali. other social networking systems, Twitter, Delicious etc., will be folded in as they proceed.
Although this may seem ridiculously experimental, I think it's actually a very smart update of a not-uncommon narrative device -- the epistolary novel, done in real-time and fragmented delivery system. Last time I checked, Les Liasions Dangereuses and its funky art-girl niece Griffin and Sabine worked quite nicely, thank you. There's an even more direct cousin of Story2Oh, one of my favorite bits of web ephemera: The Dionaea House. Oh, to have been in the middle of that as it was rolling out real-time ... Wait, is Stranger Adventures still updating?
Time to burn some of that Strike Time and check it out. Keep writing, folks. There's some way to tell your story, somehow, out there.
Although this may seem ridiculously experimental, I think it's actually a very smart update of a not-uncommon narrative device -- the epistolary novel, done in real-time and fragmented delivery system. Last time I checked, Les Liasions Dangereuses and its funky art-girl niece Griffin and Sabine worked quite nicely, thank you. There's an even more direct cousin of Story2Oh, one of my favorite bits of web ephemera: The Dionaea House. Oh, to have been in the middle of that as it was rolling out real-time ... Wait, is Stranger Adventures still updating?
Time to burn some of that Strike Time and check it out. Keep writing, folks. There's some way to tell your story, somehow, out there.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Book Review: ACTION SPEAKS LOUDER
(Full Disclosure: The author interviewed me two years ago for this book, and I'm quoted twice in 340-odd pages. Take it as you will)
Action Speaks Louder by Eric Lichtenfeld is one of the few books analyzing American action movies as a genre. Possibly the only one that's actually fun to read without sacrificing its scholarship.
Lichtenfeld traces the influences in American film that led to the emergence of the first Action (capital "A" intended) films in the 70's. He illustrates how three mid-century American film genres -- police procedurals, film noir and Westerns -- got stoned, spat in a glass, swirled it around and gave birth to Dirty Harry. The DNA of each of these progenitor genres rise and fall in influence as the Action genre evolves over the next thirty-five years.
His approach is loosely historical. Lichtenfeld follows one run of movies as they define the genre, then backs up a bit in the next chapter to show the chronological overlap as a new style emerges. As America changes, from the 70's through the 80's and 90's up until 2004, so do the heroes -- and the villains. His research is thorough, always placing movies in not just the proper cultural but Hollywood business context of the time. In an interesting bit of honesty, at the end of the book he details how his analytical framework isn't quite as ironclad in dealing with newer movies -- the "Action" movie as a genre has, well, smeared out a bit as the PG-13 rating changed the market forces involved.
His insights are often pleasantly surprising. In particular, making the Action hero the inheritor of the Western hero tradition of, well, the half-breed, is fascinating. When you look at the Action hero as the new, grittier version of familiar "The Man Who Knows (the Other)", it helps you understand why some action heroes work as protagonists, and others don't (possibly even the protagonist in your movie). As I never went to film school some of this may indeed be old hat. But ... I have to pay Lichtenfeld the ultimate compliment: He made me look at movies I thought I knew, and see them in a different light.
The only time the book fizzes a bit is when Lichtenfeld has to tackle disaster movies. He arrives at the conclusion (rather late in the relevant chapter) that disaster movies seem to be a recurring subgenre that echoes in and out of existence every twenty years or so. When they rise within the context of Action movie supremacy, they seem to ... bend to the tune of whatever Action movies are doing at the time. At the same time, they diffuse the ordinary rules of the Action genre. Dealing with disaster movies' odd nature derails Lichtenfeld's thesis somewhat. The chapter's still entertaining and informative, but you can feel the train chunk back onto the rails as soon as he can return to hero-driven model he's been using for most of the book.
Granted, this book's a bit more theoretical than the usual Spec-Monkey recommendation. However, the book will add to your toolbox -- if you're writing an action film, you'll gain considerable insight into why certain choices feel right, and also help you understand where you can subvert the script in order to serve it. It certainly helped me as I looked at a few projects I have kicking around, which is always my measuring stick for recommending a book. I'd say this is one for the graduate-level section of your Spec-Monkey library.
Eric Lichtenfeld also writes for Slate and blogs at his own joint, Reaction Shot.
Action Speaks Louder by Eric Lichtenfeld is one of the few books analyzing American action movies as a genre. Possibly the only one that's actually fun to read without sacrificing its scholarship.
Lichtenfeld traces the influences in American film that led to the emergence of the first Action (capital "A" intended) films in the 70's. He illustrates how three mid-century American film genres -- police procedurals, film noir and Westerns -- got stoned, spat in a glass, swirled it around and gave birth to Dirty Harry. The DNA of each of these progenitor genres rise and fall in influence as the Action genre evolves over the next thirty-five years.
His approach is loosely historical. Lichtenfeld follows one run of movies as they define the genre, then backs up a bit in the next chapter to show the chronological overlap as a new style emerges. As America changes, from the 70's through the 80's and 90's up until 2004, so do the heroes -- and the villains. His research is thorough, always placing movies in not just the proper cultural but Hollywood business context of the time. In an interesting bit of honesty, at the end of the book he details how his analytical framework isn't quite as ironclad in dealing with newer movies -- the "Action" movie as a genre has, well, smeared out a bit as the PG-13 rating changed the market forces involved.
His insights are often pleasantly surprising. In particular, making the Action hero the inheritor of the Western hero tradition of, well, the half-breed, is fascinating. When you look at the Action hero as the new, grittier version of familiar "The Man Who Knows (the Other)", it helps you understand why some action heroes work as protagonists, and others don't (possibly even the protagonist in your movie). As I never went to film school some of this may indeed be old hat. But ... I have to pay Lichtenfeld the ultimate compliment: He made me look at movies I thought I knew, and see them in a different light.
The only time the book fizzes a bit is when Lichtenfeld has to tackle disaster movies. He arrives at the conclusion (rather late in the relevant chapter) that disaster movies seem to be a recurring subgenre that echoes in and out of existence every twenty years or so. When they rise within the context of Action movie supremacy, they seem to ... bend to the tune of whatever Action movies are doing at the time. At the same time, they diffuse the ordinary rules of the Action genre. Dealing with disaster movies' odd nature derails Lichtenfeld's thesis somewhat. The chapter's still entertaining and informative, but you can feel the train chunk back onto the rails as soon as he can return to hero-driven model he's been using for most of the book.
Granted, this book's a bit more theoretical than the usual Spec-Monkey recommendation. However, the book will add to your toolbox -- if you're writing an action film, you'll gain considerable insight into why certain choices feel right, and also help you understand where you can subvert the script in order to serve it. It certainly helped me as I looked at a few projects I have kicking around, which is always my measuring stick for recommending a book. I'd say this is one for the graduate-level section of your Spec-Monkey library.
Eric Lichtenfeld also writes for Slate and blogs at his own joint, Reaction Shot.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
3:10 to Yuma
I'd forgotten that the DVD came out last week. The first movie in ten years I wished my Dad was next to me in the theater, watching with me. In a word, goddam you, America, for not making it the hit it deserved to be. Watched it again last night. Go buy it. Gooooooo.
Some recent emails have noted I seem cranky lately. You know, looking over the last few posts -- fair enough. Hmmm. I blame jet lag and, well, 3:10 to Yuma not being a megahit. And the middling artwork in the Angel comic book, compared to the Buffy comeback.
Luckily I read Terry Pratchett's Going Postal on my last flight. God that cheered me up. I'd forgotten the sheer delight his wordplay engenders. I should finally read the entire Pratchett library, look it up on line --
"Pratchett Diagnosed with Early-Onset Alzheimer's".
... come on. HIM?
Open thread on Pratchett, Yuma, Buffy and Angel, and Fate being apparently even pissier than I've been lately.
Some recent emails have noted I seem cranky lately. You know, looking over the last few posts -- fair enough. Hmmm. I blame jet lag and, well, 3:10 to Yuma not being a megahit. And the middling artwork in the Angel comic book, compared to the Buffy comeback.
Luckily I read Terry Pratchett's Going Postal on my last flight. God that cheered me up. I'd forgotten the sheer delight his wordplay engenders. I should finally read the entire Pratchett library, look it up on line --
"Pratchett Diagnosed with Early-Onset Alzheimer's".
... come on. HIM?
Open thread on Pratchett, Yuma, Buffy and Angel, and Fate being apparently even pissier than I've been lately.
Pretty Much Turtles All the Way Down
I was just going to blow past the whole leaked Tom Cruise Scientology tape thing. Defamer did what Defamer does, we're moving on ... until I saw Ezra Klein, officially my favorite health care policy wonk, take a shot at it.
You know, I'm as Captain Mock-y as the next guy, but we're out of line here. All religions sound crazy if you don't believe in them.
I was raised Catholic, so for half my life I fervently believed God both had a Son through virgin birth and also WAS that Son (the Trinity's tricksy). Said God performed miracles -- including demon-fighting -- until some Italians nailed him to a tree, an act we remember weekly by consuming his Flesh. Not metaphorically, but thanks to a spiritual alchemy, literally his flesh. My Jewish friends are often hazy on transubstantiation, and react with horror when I explain the full ramifications.
Of course, Jews believe the Eternal and Almighty creator of the vast and infinite universe had a hangup about pigs and tattoos, and they also believe that certain rocks in the MidEast are so invested with Magical God Juice that they should fight and die over these rocks, rather than living comfortably in their natural habitat. By which, of course, I mean Manhattan's Upper West Side or the Beverly/Fairfax area.
Rinse and repeat for all belief systems.
I'm never going to do better than the South Park Mormon Episode -- which is possibly one of the sharpest bits of writing ever done about religion on television. But it's all about wrapping your head around the infinite. Once you decide to step away from a head-space predicate on physical evidence, whatever narrative you buy into in order to stave off the Madness in the Dark is pretty much as valid as the next. Gotta let it slide.
Except, of course, for Young Earth Creationists. Religion's meant to fill in the gaps of the Unknowable, not contradict the Knowable But Makes You Uncomfortable. There's a fossil record, assholes. Join the Enlightenment.
You know, I'm as Captain Mock-y as the next guy, but we're out of line here. All religions sound crazy if you don't believe in them.
I was raised Catholic, so for half my life I fervently believed God both had a Son through virgin birth and also WAS that Son (the Trinity's tricksy). Said God performed miracles -- including demon-fighting -- until some Italians nailed him to a tree, an act we remember weekly by consuming his Flesh. Not metaphorically, but thanks to a spiritual alchemy, literally his flesh. My Jewish friends are often hazy on transubstantiation, and react with horror when I explain the full ramifications.
Of course, Jews believe the Eternal and Almighty creator of the vast and infinite universe had a hangup about pigs and tattoos, and they also believe that certain rocks in the MidEast are so invested with Magical God Juice that they should fight and die over these rocks, rather than living comfortably in their natural habitat. By which, of course, I mean Manhattan's Upper West Side or the Beverly/Fairfax area.
Rinse and repeat for all belief systems.
I'm never going to do better than the South Park Mormon Episode -- which is possibly one of the sharpest bits of writing ever done about religion on television. But it's all about wrapping your head around the infinite. Once you decide to step away from a head-space predicate on physical evidence, whatever narrative you buy into in order to stave off the Madness in the Dark is pretty much as valid as the next. Gotta let it slide.
Except, of course, for Young Earth Creationists. Religion's meant to fill in the gaps of the Unknowable, not contradict the Knowable But Makes You Uncomfortable. There's a fossil record, assholes. Join the Enlightenment.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Lunch Discussions #4668: *SPOILERS*
CLOVERFIELD DISCUSSION -- bail now.
Tyrone: Black people had two jobs in that movie. Loot and get the fuck out of Manhattan. And you 'll note we accomplished both with alacrity.
John: Now I really, really liked the movie.
Tyrone: Me too.
John: But general rule: when you see a thousand rats running, priority one is to OUTRUN THE RATS. Do not stop and stare down and wonder where the rats are coming from.
Tyrone: "Oh hey. Spooky noise. I'm gonna stop running, stand here and fuck with the night vision --"
John: "No, no it's the red button under the --
Tyrone: "This one?"
John: "There you go. Double-click that annAAGGHHHHHH!" But seriously, we're talking general yuppie stupidity, not a black/white thing, right? Because 'black people would act different in a horror movie", c'mon, we're not hacks.
Tyrone: You'll note the monster didn't cross north of 110th Street. All I'm saying.
Tyrone: Black people had two jobs in that movie. Loot and get the fuck out of Manhattan. And you 'll note we accomplished both with alacrity.
John: Now I really, really liked the movie.
Tyrone: Me too.
John: But general rule: when you see a thousand rats running, priority one is to OUTRUN THE RATS. Do not stop and stare down and wonder where the rats are coming from.
Tyrone: "Oh hey. Spooky noise. I'm gonna stop running, stand here and fuck with the night vision --"
John: "No, no it's the red button under the --
Tyrone: "This one?"
John: "There you go. Double-click that annAAGGHHHHHH!" But seriously, we're talking general yuppie stupidity, not a black/white thing, right? Because 'black people would act different in a horror movie", c'mon, we're not hacks.
Tyrone: You'll note the monster didn't cross north of 110th Street. All I'm saying.
Monday, January 21, 2008
John Wells on the DGA deal
Courtesy Craig, we have John Wells on the DGA deal. I agree on a lot -- holy shit, distributor's gross? really? -- and differ in opinion only slightly. Wells has a much better read of the death of the broadcast rerun. I hadn't considered that context. He also covers the Internet Side letter, which I didn't realize also fell under the DGA deal. Which is why he is a huge smarty-pants producer and Guild negotiator, and I am a shmuck with a hobby website.
I'd like to see us backdoor in that sweet sell-through bump in EST onto DVD's -- that is, go to 3.5% of 20% after the first hundred thousand DVD's sold (or, hey, a million. pick a number). It would be consistent with redefining DVD's and sell-through as the same "concept" which will help us dodge tech-specific issues in the future. Ain't gonna happen, but they opened the door back when they wanted us to redefine EST as identical to DVD's, we're just walking through. (ooo, Law&Order-speak)
It'll be interesting to see what the sticking point is if/when we get back to negotiating. I would laugh (or at least chuckle darkly) if I wind up giving up on my beloved DVD bump and Craig becomes the holdout when the studios try to hold on to separated rights.
I'd like to see us backdoor in that sweet sell-through bump in EST onto DVD's -- that is, go to 3.5% of 20% after the first hundred thousand DVD's sold (or, hey, a million. pick a number). It would be consistent with redefining DVD's and sell-through as the same "concept" which will help us dodge tech-specific issues in the future. Ain't gonna happen, but they opened the door back when they wanted us to redefine EST as identical to DVD's, we're just walking through. (ooo, Law&Order-speak)
It'll be interesting to see what the sticking point is if/when we get back to negotiating. I would laugh (or at least chuckle darkly) if I wind up giving up on my beloved DVD bump and Craig becomes the holdout when the studios try to hold on to separated rights.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
(Actually Not) Apuzzo. Not Again. (CORRECTED)
(NOTE JAN 21: As a commenter points out, although I always assume Apuzzo is using the Dirty Harry moniker as a sock puppet, I can't actually prove it. So the offending post is not actually made by the editor of Libertas. It is just made by its strangely most prolific writer -- 15 posts in the last 3 days, for example -- and I assume, as Mr. Apuzzo edits the site and slapped it up on the first page, Mr. Apuzzo approves its message. )
(I've changed my post to reflect this fact. If Jason Apuzzo does indeed find the Libertas post as offensive as I do, I heartily apologize for lumping him in with the whinging selfish fella who types under Dirty Harry. Look! Self-correcting blogosphere! Wheee!)
Over at Libertas, the conservative film website edited by the "Stupidest Fucking Guy in Hollywood", the fellow who goes under the pseudonym "Dirty Harry" is all in a dither over the NAACP Award Show getting a waiver.
(And, also ... "bolsheviks?" Really? Are we still Commie bastards even though there's not a Soviet Union? )
You know, I'm not sure what's the worst thing in this post. Is it the complete misunderstanding of how waivers work, and how many have been given out in this strike and previous ones? Probably not, as Libertas contributors have proven themselves relentlessly and repeatedly, to not really understand how Hollywood business works.*
Is it the kinda creepy race-baiting near the end, where "Dirty Harry" actually manages to combine a slam against the NAACP with a subtle hint that he himself is for sale? Impressive, but no.
Is it when he ignores how the AMPTP refused to bargain in good faith, opened negotiations with massive rollbacks and then walked out on negotiations over a month ago? Eh.
No, I think it's how the sheer, boiling resentment of those "select group of writers" segues uncontrollably to "I've got my CHANCE dammit, and you people are screwing it up!" He almost managed to make it seem like a principle was at stake but, Tourette's-like, couldn't keep his own narcissism and frustrated ambition from hissing free between clenched teeth.
Because this conservative "mystery blogger" is the only guy who's suffering from this strike. All those writers who got hired on their first gig and had it disappear under them, all the writers who have shot pilots (myself included) who may lose years of work because of a canceled season, all the other thousands of working Guild writers with kids and families who still -- apparently insanely -- support the strike, not to mention all the the physical production crews who are not working, no goddammit, he's the one taking it in the neck.
And if, miraculously, "Dirty Harry" does somehow get hired to write on something, I'm sure he'll take that health insurance (won by the Guild), take advantage of arbitration when the producers try to screw him (won by the Guild), and take his streaming internet residuals and electronic sell-through for his work (which wouldn't exist without this strike), yeah, he'll take all that with a big fucking smile.
Again, I have no problem with Libertas as an organization. I disagree with them editorially on some things -- primarily their weird obsession with "anti-American movies" made by indie producers yet held up as Hollywood sins, but again that's more just not understanding how the industry works. They have every right to press their agenda. But damn, people, find some frontmen who are not so nakedly frustrated at their inability to get a career. There have got to be some working Guild members who'll write for you. (Look! I'm concern-trolling! Wheee!)
* NAACP got a waiver because they're black and liberal. Just like famous activist Negro David Letterman.
(NOTE the second: And look, at 8:15 am today Dirty Harry posts about how he's always supported the strike, but he's just sick of the top fat cats 1% acting al Bolshevik-y, and he's one of the 95% who are just trying to build a career, etc, etc . so let's take the DGA deal and run, boys.
A deal that wouldn't be as good -- even he admits -- without the strike. And how exactly our guys were supposed to not spend their time dancing around the maypole when the AMPTP walked out of negotiations, well, no answer there. And the weird logical fallacy of why the already-rich Fat Cats are incredibly selfish because they're obsessed with "sticking it to the man" over residual payments that will primarily benefit future, non-rich writers ... it's just a mess. Just a mess of resentment and sloppy logic.)
(I've changed my post to reflect this fact. If Jason Apuzzo does indeed find the Libertas post as offensive as I do, I heartily apologize for lumping him in with the whinging selfish fella who types under Dirty Harry. Look! Self-correcting blogosphere! Wheee!)
Over at Libertas, the conservative film website edited by the "Stupidest Fucking Guy in Hollywood", the fellow who goes under the pseudonym "Dirty Harry" is all in a dither over the NAACP Award Show getting a waiver.
That is the biggest crock of crap ever nuanced onto a press release. The NAACP is getting a pass because they’re black and they’re liberal. And now only a select group of writers are going to make their mortgage next month. Please, WGA, please keep trying to tell me about the “principle” involved in all of this.I’m sitting here right now holding my breath over a job which could change my life — which everyday this damned strike goes on means one more day where any one of the millions of things that kill these deals could happen.
Where’s my waiver? Why can’t I work? And how about instead of wasting time dancing around the Maypole of the NAACP acting the role of the politically correct Bolsheviks you are, you negotiate like grown ups — like the DGA, who struck a perfectly fine deal in less than a week?
Note To The AMPTP: We all know how easy it is to buy off those BushDeranged race hustlers over at the once-great NAACP. Wanna end the strike? Stick a few million in all the right pockets and start NAACP PRODUCTIONS. And I have a story idea that would knock your socks off…
It’s also worth noting that this deal is getting almost no attention in the trades or anywhere else. Gee, wonder why…?
(And, also ... "bolsheviks?" Really? Are we still Commie bastards even though there's not a Soviet Union? )
You know, I'm not sure what's the worst thing in this post. Is it the complete misunderstanding of how waivers work, and how many have been given out in this strike and previous ones? Probably not, as Libertas contributors have proven themselves relentlessly and repeatedly, to not really understand how Hollywood business works.*
Is it the kinda creepy race-baiting near the end, where "Dirty Harry" actually manages to combine a slam against the NAACP with a subtle hint that he himself is for sale? Impressive, but no.
Is it when he ignores how the AMPTP refused to bargain in good faith, opened negotiations with massive rollbacks and then walked out on negotiations over a month ago? Eh.
No, I think it's how the sheer, boiling resentment of those "select group of writers" segues uncontrollably to "I've got my CHANCE dammit, and you people are screwing it up!" He almost managed to make it seem like a principle was at stake but, Tourette's-like, couldn't keep his own narcissism and frustrated ambition from hissing free between clenched teeth.
Because this conservative "mystery blogger" is the only guy who's suffering from this strike. All those writers who got hired on their first gig and had it disappear under them, all the writers who have shot pilots (myself included) who may lose years of work because of a canceled season, all the other thousands of working Guild writers with kids and families who still -- apparently insanely -- support the strike, not to mention all the the physical production crews who are not working, no goddammit, he's the one taking it in the neck.
And if, miraculously, "Dirty Harry" does somehow get hired to write on something, I'm sure he'll take that health insurance (won by the Guild), take advantage of arbitration when the producers try to screw him (won by the Guild), and take his streaming internet residuals and electronic sell-through for his work (which wouldn't exist without this strike), yeah, he'll take all that with a big fucking smile.
Again, I have no problem with Libertas as an organization. I disagree with them editorially on some things -- primarily their weird obsession with "anti-American movies" made by indie producers yet held up as Hollywood sins, but again that's more just not understanding how the industry works. They have every right to press their agenda. But damn, people, find some frontmen who are not so nakedly frustrated at their inability to get a career. There have got to be some working Guild members who'll write for you. (Look! I'm concern-trolling! Wheee!)
* NAACP got a waiver because they're black and liberal. Just like famous activist Negro David Letterman.
(NOTE the second: And look, at 8:15 am today Dirty Harry posts about how he's always supported the strike, but he's just sick of the top fat cats 1% acting al Bolshevik-y, and he's one of the 95% who are just trying to build a career, etc, etc . so let's take the DGA deal and run, boys.
A deal that wouldn't be as good -- even he admits -- without the strike. And how exactly our guys were supposed to not spend their time dancing around the maypole when the AMPTP walked out of negotiations, well, no answer there. And the weird logical fallacy of why the already-rich Fat Cats are incredibly selfish because they're obsessed with "sticking it to the man" over residual payments that will primarily benefit future, non-rich writers ... it's just a mess. Just a mess of resentment and sloppy logic.)
Friday, January 18, 2008
DGA Deal
United Hollywood has a pretty good breakdown of the DGA tentative agreement -- in that they seem to understand it roughly the same way I do, so caveats all 'round -- here.
Short answer: this is not a bad deal for a Guild that doesn't really give a crap about residuals. Which, for a variety of reasons, is precisely the DGA. Note the candy up front for production.
Now, "distributor's gross" definition of "gross", that's magnificently important, if it's indeed enforceable.
Yet there are a multitude of traps in the ad-supported streaming/rerun sections, in that shifting definitions of terms and tech can strand the writers with worst-case/0% situations. Personally, I'd stay on strike until we get internet payments based on percentages rather than sliding flat fees. How hard is this? "If you make money, we make a wee tiny bit. If you make no money, we don't make any either." That offer from the WGA is patently a better offer than flat fees ... unless, of course you're a company that knows through intensive market research that you're going to make boatloads of cash on the internet. Ahem.
Also, the .7% bump after first window in electronic sell-through -- depends on how TV shows are packaged. If I download a full season of LOST, does that roll the counter on each individual ep's dowload, or will they count downloads of "LOST Box Set" and "LOST epsiodes" separately? (This leads to another dicussion. Will get to that in a post in a bit)
.7% is still crappy, and the fact that the .3% is even still on the page ticks me off. If it were .7% flat, I could live with it (grumbling and pissy, but live with it), and personally I'd stay on strike until 1% flat is somewhere in there. .3% is based on an outmoded production model. Distributions costs for the studios on electronic sell-through will asymptotically approach zero as tech progresses. I don't care what "facts on the ground" are. If every contract negotiation were defined -- not constrained but defined -- by "facts on the ground", there'd be no purpose to them, in any field.
At the very least, if this is what the AMPTP is willing to start with, we're in a good place. If they are indeed willing to negotiate in good faith.
And this is a sticking point worth mentioning, particularly to some people now crowing "See, you aren't negotiating. so you're stuck with the DGA deal." The WGA weren't the ones who walked out of the negotiations. The AMPTP Negotiating Team has not negotiatied in good faith up to this point, and they walked out of negotiations without provocation. This situation we're in was the AMPTP's doing, and indeed I believe their fundamental negotiating strategy.
Personally, I believe the strike gave DGA leverage (the agencies in LA seem to hold this view also, according to a couple phone conversations I've had). Also, the strike gave SAG cover to support us, implying that they will also take a hard stand in June in a way that forces the AMPTP to take a strike threat seriously in a way that they wouldn't before. This is actually important -- you have no idea the number of times I heard in July/August, from mid-level executives "Oh, come on, there's no way you'll really strike", even as we were buying duct tape, posterboard and markers.
Assuming that rumors are true and this is the starting point for new negotiations with the WGA, not bad.
Short answer: this is not a bad deal for a Guild that doesn't really give a crap about residuals. Which, for a variety of reasons, is precisely the DGA. Note the candy up front for production.
Now, "distributor's gross" definition of "gross", that's magnificently important, if it's indeed enforceable.
Yet there are a multitude of traps in the ad-supported streaming/rerun sections, in that shifting definitions of terms and tech can strand the writers with worst-case/0% situations. Personally, I'd stay on strike until we get internet payments based on percentages rather than sliding flat fees. How hard is this? "If you make money, we make a wee tiny bit. If you make no money, we don't make any either." That offer from the WGA is patently a better offer than flat fees ... unless, of course you're a company that knows through intensive market research that you're going to make boatloads of cash on the internet. Ahem.
Also, the .7% bump after first window in electronic sell-through -- depends on how TV shows are packaged. If I download a full season of LOST, does that roll the counter on each individual ep's dowload, or will they count downloads of "LOST Box Set" and "LOST epsiodes" separately? (This leads to another dicussion. Will get to that in a post in a bit)
.7% is still crappy, and the fact that the .3% is even still on the page ticks me off. If it were .7% flat, I could live with it (grumbling and pissy, but live with it), and personally I'd stay on strike until 1% flat is somewhere in there. .3% is based on an outmoded production model. Distributions costs for the studios on electronic sell-through will asymptotically approach zero as tech progresses. I don't care what "facts on the ground" are. If every contract negotiation were defined -- not constrained but defined -- by "facts on the ground", there'd be no purpose to them, in any field.
At the very least, if this is what the AMPTP is willing to start with, we're in a good place. If they are indeed willing to negotiate in good faith.
And this is a sticking point worth mentioning, particularly to some people now crowing "See, you aren't negotiating. so you're stuck with the DGA deal." The WGA weren't the ones who walked out of the negotiations. The AMPTP Negotiating Team has not negotiatied in good faith up to this point, and they walked out of negotiations without provocation. This situation we're in was the AMPTP's doing, and indeed I believe their fundamental negotiating strategy.
Personally, I believe the strike gave DGA leverage (the agencies in LA seem to hold this view also, according to a couple phone conversations I've had). Also, the strike gave SAG cover to support us, implying that they will also take a hard stand in June in a way that forces the AMPTP to take a strike threat seriously in a way that they wouldn't before. This is actually important -- you have no idea the number of times I heard in July/August, from mid-level executives "Oh, come on, there's no way you'll really strike", even as we were buying duct tape, posterboard and markers.
Assuming that rumors are true and this is the starting point for new negotiations with the WGA, not bad.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Operation In The Zone
It'd be easy to just believe it's all a massive flameout. But as you know, I've accumulated some interesting friends out here in the blogosphere, some Army Intelligence guys, some counter-insurgency consultants and when I was sent this ... it just makes a lot more sense.
BEGIN TRANSCRIPT
Date: [REDACTED]
NSA INTERVIEW ROOM #[REDACTED]
PRESENT: AGENT [REDACTED], ASSET CODENAME/TOXIC
Preliminary Interview
Interview already in progress, see Transcript #194BSZ
Toxic: So what am I looking at here?
Agent: Osama Bin Laden's cave headquarters near Tora Bora. Footage was shot by a Marine Recon Team. Would you like some soda or coffee?
Toxic: Just water please. Hmm, that's Qutb's book on that table.
Agent: ... you can read ...
Toxic: No, I recognized his picture on the back cover. (LAUGHS) Had you goin' there for a while, huh?
Agent: Indeed. Well, as you can see as we enter Osama's personal chambers ...
(PAUSE / 10 SECONDS)
Toxic: Oh my.
Agent: Yes.
Toxic: I mean, a lot of people have "... Baby One More Time", but --
Agent: On that shelf next to the poster for the Onyx Hotel Tour, those are bootleg tapes. Of your Mickey Mouse Club appearances.
Toxic: Oh.
Agent: Mmm-hmm.
Toxic: That's just gross, y'all.
Agent: Our official judgment as well.
Toxic: Wow, he's even got "And Then We Kiss".
Agent: Based on this evidence, our profilers believe you have the best chance of getting close to Osama Bin Laden. He is utterly obsessed with you.
(PAUSE / 8 SECONDS)
Agent: Miss [redacted]?
Toxic: Anything for my country
Agent: We're not going to lie to you. You're America's pop princess. There's no way he's going to believe you just decided to "hook" up with him. No way he's got a chance with you at the height of your fame and power. We need --
Toxic: -- to ruin me.
Agent: A downward spiral. Very public, very messy. This is deep cover, Miss [redacted]. Not everybody comes back.
Toxic: What's the timetable?
Agent: To make it convincing? Years. At least. Sham marriage. Alcohol and drug abuse, multiple psychological problems. We need to go completely over the top, too, to make it convincing. And then ...
Toxic: Then what?
Agent: You contact any one of these paparazzi we've had under surveillance. They're all of Middle Eastern or Muslim descent. Begin a relationship. Our profilers feel that at that point, Bin Laden will figure he has a chance, and will make the call.
Toxic: What do I do when that happens?
Agent: You'll receive weapons training.
Toxic: I understand.
(SUBJECTS RISE)
Toxic: Hey, if Lindsay Lohan can do it for whatever mission she's on, I can tough it out.
Agent: I'm sorry. Who?
INTERVIEW ENDS
TRANSCRIPT ENDS
You believe your tawdry world. I'll believe mine. Mine is far, far more romantic. I believe in heroes, mister. I. Believe. In HEROES.
BEGIN TRANSCRIPT
Date: [REDACTED]
NSA INTERVIEW ROOM #[REDACTED]
PRESENT: AGENT [REDACTED], ASSET CODENAME/TOXIC
Preliminary Interview
Interview already in progress, see Transcript #194BSZ
Toxic: So what am I looking at here?
Agent: Osama Bin Laden's cave headquarters near Tora Bora. Footage was shot by a Marine Recon Team. Would you like some soda or coffee?
Toxic: Just water please. Hmm, that's Qutb's book on that table.
Agent: ... you can read ...
Toxic: No, I recognized his picture on the back cover. (LAUGHS) Had you goin' there for a while, huh?
Agent: Indeed. Well, as you can see as we enter Osama's personal chambers ...
(PAUSE / 10 SECONDS)
Toxic: Oh my.
Agent: Yes.
Toxic: I mean, a lot of people have "... Baby One More Time", but --
Agent: On that shelf next to the poster for the Onyx Hotel Tour, those are bootleg tapes. Of your Mickey Mouse Club appearances.
Toxic: Oh.
Agent: Mmm-hmm.
Toxic: That's just gross, y'all.
Agent: Our official judgment as well.
Toxic: Wow, he's even got "And Then We Kiss".
Agent: Based on this evidence, our profilers believe you have the best chance of getting close to Osama Bin Laden. He is utterly obsessed with you.
(PAUSE / 8 SECONDS)
Agent: Miss [redacted]?
Toxic: Anything for my country
Agent: We're not going to lie to you. You're America's pop princess. There's no way he's going to believe you just decided to "hook" up with him. No way he's got a chance with you at the height of your fame and power. We need --
Toxic: -- to ruin me.
Agent: A downward spiral. Very public, very messy. This is deep cover, Miss [redacted]. Not everybody comes back.
Toxic: What's the timetable?
Agent: To make it convincing? Years. At least. Sham marriage. Alcohol and drug abuse, multiple psychological problems. We need to go completely over the top, too, to make it convincing. And then ...
Toxic: Then what?
Agent: You contact any one of these paparazzi we've had under surveillance. They're all of Middle Eastern or Muslim descent. Begin a relationship. Our profilers feel that at that point, Bin Laden will figure he has a chance, and will make the call.
Toxic: What do I do when that happens?
Agent: You'll receive weapons training.
Toxic: I understand.
(SUBJECTS RISE)
Toxic: Hey, if Lindsay Lohan can do it for whatever mission she's on, I can tough it out.
Agent: I'm sorry. Who?
INTERVIEW ENDS
TRANSCRIPT ENDS
You believe your tawdry world. I'll believe mine. Mine is far, far more romantic. I believe in heroes, mister. I. Believe. In HEROES.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Lawyering and the AMPTP
Former corporate lawyer and now screenwriter explains why the Studios seem to be acting, well ... kinda crazy. Strikes are Lawyer Games, the way frolicking in the snow and stringing thin chain across snowmobile paths are Reindeer Games.
Although I think he underestimates the hard-assery of several of the involved executives, it's a good chat about how these things tend to go in the corporate world, and how this one's going to go. In a nutshell: hang tight, don't take a bad deal just because the directors do, and put DVD residuals back on the table. (yeah!)
Although I think he underestimates the hard-assery of several of the involved executives, it's a good chat about how these things tend to go in the corporate world, and how this one's going to go. In a nutshell: hang tight, don't take a bad deal just because the directors do, and put DVD residuals back on the table. (yeah!)
Monday, January 7, 2008
DVD clipping software bleg
How much more effective would that previous post have been if I could have just tossed up that clip from Miracle? But damn, the only way I can figure out how to grab such footage is to rip the DVD and then just clip it out with editing software. That CAN'T be right. Is there no decent clip-grabber program for DVD play?
Kurt Russell and Hillary Clinton
I won't be hitting the primaries on a regular basis, but one thought occurred to me as I watched Clinton's team of highly trained pros thrash around dealing with the unexpected Obama bounce going into NH.
That moment in Miracle where the American Olympic Hockey team has grabbed a slim lead over the previously unbeatable Russian Team.
Kurt Russel as Herb Brooks, despairing, waiting for the Russians to shut them down ... and he suddenly realizes that the Soviet Team doesn't know what to do when they're behind. Russell, boggled, hoots in amazement that the juggernaut just has no Plan B.
Clinton may well pull it out tomorrow. But this experience has been ... informative.
Also for discussion -- the number of American actors who can string together the performance in Miracle, then Sky High, then Death Proof, can be counted on one hand, and that hand is Kurt frikkin' Russell's.
Bonus -- did you know about Super-delegates? Wow. I thought I hated the Electoral College ...
That moment in Miracle where the American Olympic Hockey team has grabbed a slim lead over the previously unbeatable Russian Team.
Kurt Russel as Herb Brooks, despairing, waiting for the Russians to shut them down ... and he suddenly realizes that the Soviet Team doesn't know what to do when they're behind. Russell, boggled, hoots in amazement that the juggernaut just has no Plan B.
Clinton may well pull it out tomorrow. But this experience has been ... informative.
Also for discussion -- the number of American actors who can string together the performance in Miracle, then Sky High, then Death Proof, can be counted on one hand, and that hand is Kurt frikkin' Russell's.
Bonus -- did you know about Super-delegates? Wow. I thought I hated the Electoral College ...
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