David Letterman’s caution in the name of comedy: My visit to the first ‘Late Show’ in 1993
So I guess this is how it happens: You do something long enough and you start being able to flash back on your own work. In 1993 I wrote to Late Night With David Letterman in the hopes of being able to get a ticket to one of his last NBC shows before he jumped…
Read MoreRemake, remodel: “Mad Max: Fury Road” and the delicious taste of a reboot done right
When I go to the grocery story for ice cream, I know exactly what flavor I want. Maybe I’m flexible on who’s making the flavor but in general, give me what I know I already like. Ice cream makers aren’t the only ones in on this truism; advertisers are well aware that once consumers find…
Read MoreLet’s get retro: My 2007 ‘Mad Men’ review for The Hollywood Reporter
Back in July of 2007, I was about a year and four months from getting laid off from The Hollywood Reporter after a pretty good run at the troubled trade publication (which has very much bounced back in the years since after going through a visionary rethink). But they were at loose ends in a…
Read MoreContain yourself! Four shows whose “bottle” episodes are short bursts of perfection
Into the life of every TV series, a breather must fall. Here you have a successful plot engine chugging along, peopled by a beloved ensemble cast, all of whom who up every week to continue an ongoing story. But that can get tiring. Everyone needs a palate-cleanser. Which is what happens when a showrunner and…
Read MoreCuriosity Quills
Very kind of Curiosity Quills to include me in their Blogging from A to Z list! https://curiosityquills.com/j-is-for-jason-purdy-and-randee-dawn/
Read MoreA Love Song for Howard Jones: Why Pop Lyrics Matter to the Teens We Are and the Adults We Become
The world teaches us to think that life is full of limitations The world tries to make us think that there are loads of limits — “Conditioning,” Howard Jones Two things happened in the world of music during the week of March 23, neither of which had anything to do with one another – unless you…
Read MoreWriting Dead: Why Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse still ask the big questions in ‘The Leftovers,’ ‘The Returned’
Years after “Lost” went off the air, two of its co-creators, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, are still asking the big questions in “The Leftovers” and “The Returned.”
Read More“Last Man on Earth”: Laughing, or not, at the end of the world
Can the end of the world be funny? It sure can be serious: One of TV’s most popular shows has been showing just how un-funny the end of the world can be for five seasons now. In fact, The Walking Dead has pretty much rubbed our faces in not only how bad it is when…
Read More10 scripts, 2 Oscars: Which writers will take home the best screenplay awards?
The writer on a movie set is a second-class citizen, a vestigial remnant that might once have served a purpose but who, once filming has begun, can only get in the way. Once a script leaves the hands of its screenwriter, unless said screenwriter is also directing, they’re less useful than an appendix. Nobody wants…
Read MoreImitation of Life: Why Hollywood doesn’t tell stories of female pioneers
At some point while watching the “Imitation Game,” probably when Benedict Cumberbatch was not actually on the screen, it occurred to me: Joan Clarke deserves a movie of her own.
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