Speechless Campaign

SpeechlessWithoutWriters has launched an online video ad campaign that shows what movies and TV would be like were it not for the vital pens of writers. A lot of celebrities participated and most of the spots are really good.

My favorite, though, has to be this one from Ed Asner...


Damn, that guy can act!!

Leopard Attack and TV Pilots

My Thanksgiving present arrived today. (I know...who the hell gets presents at Thanksgiving anyway?) My copy of OSX 10.5 (A.K.A. Leopard) landed on my desk so, like any other pathetic Mac-head, I'm installing it right away.

So far, everything seems to be chugging along happily as I write this from a nearby Windows PC. I've taken great care to back up everything, especially my photos and screenplays, the latter of which are also saved in my Gmail account.

On the screenwriting front, everything is going well. I'm set to work on a third round of rewrites over the holiday weekend. This should be the final big rewrite, with a spit and polish round to follow this one. After that, if all looks solid, I'll pass it around to some people for comments and any notes they feel like giving.

Then it's back to work on the BBC TV pilot. My plan is to simply write the pilot and synopses of some following episodes, just to give the reader an idea of the intended story direction.

That having been said, my question is this: What's the proper procedure for setting up a new TV drama pilot? Just the first episode? Should I write more full episodes? Should I include synopses?

If you've done a TV pilot, how'd the process go for you?

Surfing the Scribosphere

Andy Caughlan has put together a great (and pretty darned complete) list of screenwriting blogs at his site, Scribomatic. Everyone I can think of is there, including this little ol' blog.

Thanks, Andy!

(via Man Bytes Hollywood)

The Studio Execs Explain It All

Just in case you were wondering what the writers are in such a tizzy about these days, why not let the studio execs themselves explain it to you.



That was easy. Doesn't it all make sense now?

WGA Strike 101

Pencils Down.

Unless you're a writer who's been living under a rock, you already know that the WGA is striking.

If you're a normal person (living under a rock or not), you'll probably never know that the WGA is striking, because apparently the mainstream press doesn't think the story is sexy enough to make much of a deal about it.

Check out this video or this WGA document for a simple explanation of the main issue.

As a non-member who doesn't have any scripts ready to go out, I won't be affected for the time being. But that doesn't mean that I might not be affected in the future. What the guild is fighting for is a writer's fair share in a market that is changing and evolving to include streaming video, downloadable video, and other video delivery technologies that are drastically lowering the distribution costs, thereby raising profits. There is plenty of room for writers to participate in increased profits. In fact, a writer's residual payments are quite often their primary bread-and-butter, paying their mortgages and health insurance and supporting their families when between writing gigs.

While I'm geographically far away from being able to participate in the picket lines, I'd just like to voice my support and solidarity for the pro writers who are hit by this strike.

If I were there, I'd stop by, carry a sign and buy you all coffee and snacks.