Bryan Thomas starts us off:
When a new character is introduced to an existing series and becomes a regular, are the writers of the episode in question credited as creators of that character and given residuals or can a producer or someone else create it, assign them to write it, and take credit and any pay?
Usually it’s the writer of the episode. David Isaacs and I got creator royalties on the Eddie LeBec character of CHEERS. We wrote the episode that introduced him. And then he was a hit and eventually married Carla. We thought we were in the money.
But then when the actor playing him, Jay Thomas, said something very unflattering about Rhea Perlman on the air and she heard it; that was it for Eddie LeBec. We wrote the episode that killed him. RIP our money.
Colin Stratton wonders:
Have you ever thought: "Wait a minute! This asshole is getting a $100,000 for acting out lines that I wrote! Why I aren't they paying me a $100,000? Motherfuckers!"
Nope. Not ever. I marvel at great actors and know I could never do what they do. I’m just thrilled they’re making my script work.
Also, the commitment and amount of rejection an actor faces would kill me. I don’t have the temperament for it. Nor do I have a burning desire to get in front of an audience. So I’m fine with the actor making $100,000 reading my lines as long as I don’t have to be the one to pay him.
From Tammy:
I once wrote a fan letter to a screenwriter (I cringe thinking about it now). I didn't necessarily need him to reply (though he kindly did), I mostly just wanted him to know how much his film had meant to me. I think in this kind of interaction, the fan's need to give praise is greater than the artist's need to receive it, as the latter has heard it all a 1000 times already. As an established writer yourself, what's your take on it, if you don't mind sharing? Thanks!
I’m thrilled when my work moves someone or really entertained them. And I’m delighted when they tell me so. Never feel shy about reaching out. That’s why I have an email address I give out on my podcast.
HollywoodLevine@outlook.com.
I love to hear from people. When shows I wrote go out on television I never know how of if they affected people, so by all means, I wanna hear from you. And I’m very flattered that someone would take the time and make the effort to get in touch.
When I give out the email address at the end of the podcast I always say that I will write you back.
And finally, from Janet:
You've mentioned that you are finding it harder to write the blog.
Is that due to lack of ideas, lack of research to develop those ideas, something else?
After almost 14 years of daily posts, it’s hard to keep finding new things to talk about. And fewer people are now reading blogs. They’re less of a “thing.” I love doing it but I don’t want to be the last blogger on the net.
That’s why I’m devoting a lot of time and effort to my podcast. At least there I can elaborate more and add things I’ve never shared before. Also I can interview people and bring you different perspectives besides just mine.
What’s your Friday Question?
from By Ken Levine
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