Susan begins.
Do you think you will be remembered in the Oscar's 'In Memoriam' segment?
You wrote for a few movies, but your work was for mostly TV shows. I am sure you would have thought about it too.
No, I don't think I'll be included. Not with the body of movie work I have now. If one of my plays becomes a major motion picture and wins a bunch of Oscars then I have a chance. But since that’s highly unlikely I’m going to try to stay alive as long as possible.
I suppose for the TV Academy I’ve got a chance. Depends on how many more important people also go that year.
But here’s my real goal: Considering how irrelevant these award shows are becoming, I hope to outlive them.
VP81955 queries:
Are some characters in an ensemble simply more difficult to write stories for, regardless of the quality of the actor?
Absolutely, and you’re right, it’s not necessarily the actor’s fault. If the character is bland, too nice, or too perfect there’s nothing to hang any comedy on.
Fay on WINGS was tough. Father Mulcahy on MASH. Daphne on FRASIER. Those were three that I had to personally wrestle with, and I’m sure every TV comedy writer has one or two that he or she encountered.
I always feel bad for the actors. They have thankless roles, and as a writer I feel bad that I couldn’t service them better. But we were hampered by the overwhelming goodness of their characters.
From Bob Waldman:
Have you ever been far into developing an original series idea when you learn a network has greenlit a pilot with almost the identical premise as yours? Do you put away your idea and start on another?
No, not in television. But in TV it’s not uncommon for several networks to do similar shows. And in the case of NBC, they developed two shows one pilot season with the same premise although with different execution -- the backstage world of an SNL-type show. STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP from Aaron Sorkin and 30 ROCK from Tina Fey. Well, one of them was successful.
In movies however, David Isaacs and I wrote a spec screenplay that we were literally in the middle of negotiations for a studio to buy it when it was announced that Robin Williams was attached to a project with a similar premise so our studio pulled out.
If that announcement had been made just one day later we would have made a lot of money. That one hurt.
And finally, from Randall Klugman:
Why are there no multicamera comedy movies? Even SABRINA, THE TEENAGE WITCH and GOOD LUCK CHARLIE changed formats when they made movies.
Filming a TV show in front of a studio audience is meant to simulate the experience of watching the show in a theatre with other people, and not just by yourself in your living room. So, in theory, the laughter on the screen is supposed to prompt you to laugh as well.
But when you do a TV show as a movie it is (at least initially) meant to be seen in a theatre with a live audience. And you know how much funnier a comedy is when everyone in the room is laughing.
So a TV audience is unnecessary.
What’s your Friday Question?
from By Ken Levine
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