tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post2869986248480004022..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Getting started as a directorBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-63345245408237498242014-01-30T13:18:25.773-08:002014-01-30T13:18:25.773-08:00Great post, thanks for sharing that Ken! I've ...Great post, thanks for sharing that Ken! I've always wondered how people learn the requisite skill to move from a writer to director (never seems to go the other way, does it?).<br /><br />Now I know: The skill comes with painstaking research, the opportunity comes with luck.<br /><br />Now... when you see actors directing episodes of show they're on, do they do the same amount of homework as you? :)Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13302545167970532080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-54192590657113476352014-01-30T10:52:15.399-08:002014-01-30T10:52:15.399-08:00Re: Marc Daniels. He was directing into his 70s. H...Re: Marc Daniels. He was directing into his 70s. He worked on Lucille Ball's ill-fated LIFE WITH LUCY in 1986. And I know he was a regular director, at least while former I LOVE LUCY writers Madelyn Martin and Bob Carroll Jr. were producing it, on the Linda Lavin series ALICE.<br /><br />He quit I LOVE LUCY after its first season to direct Joan Davis's similar series I MARRIED JOAN, a move he quickly regretted, commenting in later years that Davis was the meanest, most unpleasant person he had ever worked with.Toddnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-17737193754300674222014-01-30T02:39:40.256-08:002014-01-30T02:39:40.256-08:00Duncan, totally agree about Sarah Shahi. What a ba...Duncan, totally agree about Sarah Shahi. What a babe!<br /><br />http://images.tvrage.com/news/chicago-fire-casts-sarah-shahi-in-guest-arc.jpg Hamidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-25681788077222814692014-01-29T19:45:58.737-08:002014-01-29T19:45:58.737-08:00One more for your Natalie Wood collection, from Sa...One more for your Natalie Wood collection, from Sarah Shahi (worthy of her own collection, I say) <br /><br />Sarah Shahi @onlysarahshahi <br /><br />“@HistoryInPics: Natalie Wood after filming a pie fight scene pic.twitter.com/eijAPdMjhC<br /> <br />”so wish this was meDuncan Randallnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-7526754975794199032014-01-29T16:15:38.587-08:002014-01-29T16:15:38.587-08:00Tell us about how you crafted Lt. Patty Haven. I&...Tell us about how you crafted Lt. Patty Haven. I've always loved her two scenes with Radar. When After-MASH was on, I was hoping that she would be Radar's wife. Was that considered?bmfc1https://www.blogger.com/profile/17416188158730495359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-88822939505042575622014-01-29T16:06:08.747-08:002014-01-29T16:06:08.747-08:00Dear Ken,
that question form Nancy about the TV ...Dear Ken, <br /><br />that question form Nancy about the TV Series "Episodes" is really interesting. I'd really like to hear your take on it, too! Did you see it? If not, go watch it, it's really funny, especially if you have a showbiz background. <br /><br />Best,<br />PhilPhilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-64481250769049244462014-01-29T14:22:49.157-08:002014-01-29T14:22:49.157-08:00Great article, Ken. It is interesting to watch the...Great article, Ken. It is interesting to watch the first season of I Love Lucy, and note how very crude the show was was the first few episodes, and how quickly it improves in terms of blocking and camera movement. for example, they had started out filming each episode straight through - the director that first year, Marc Daniels, had started out directing live drama shows like <i>Ford Theater</i>, and such - with four cameras. When they got a look at the those shows, is when they realized the four cameras were so bulky at the time, a lot of action got blocked from the filming audience, plus it was an editing nightmare. It then dawned on them that it would be more open with three cameras, and that they could actually stop for costume/makeup/set changes. <br /><br />Have you ever heard of Daniels before, Ken? LouOCNYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16151395857835632917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-29042032295312084382014-01-29T09:34:12.749-08:002014-01-29T09:34:12.749-08:00Dear Ken,
Here's a possible Friday question f...Dear Ken,<br /><br />Here's a possible Friday question for you? Have you written a recent review of Showtime's series, "Episodes"? If not, could you comment on its recent cast additions of network brass comedy characters? They include the fictional 'new' Network Boss, played by Chris Diamantopoulos along with other executive characters, "head of comedy" Myra, and the network "head of programming," Kathleen Rose Perkins as Carol. With lines like "It's like everything you gave me arrived pre-cancelled," there are some nuggets of funnier moments on this show now. I didn't really enjoy the series in its initial two seasons (not a particular fan of its marquee star, myself), but the addition of these network characters is ramping it up to a new level in the writing.<br /><br />I'd be very curious about your take on it.<br /><br />Thanks, <br />Nancy BeachNancynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1134295663616245882014-01-29T09:15:00.102-08:002014-01-29T09:15:00.102-08:00Thanks for sharing the Crystal Bernard part, Ken. ...Thanks for sharing the Crystal Bernard part, Ken. Now I've got an even BIGGER crush on her than I had before!VincentSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-83806862027814671742014-01-29T08:10:53.310-08:002014-01-29T08:10:53.310-08:00My favorite show to watch for the director is Jeop...My favorite show to watch for the director is Jeopardy. Most of the contestants are (and I'm being kind) not what you might call photogenic. Sometimes they not only avoid close-ups, they practically put the camera in the third row of the audience.<br /><br />One day about a year ago, they had on a gorgeous young lady who was blessed with simply enormous breasts and was wearing a sweater that made no secret of that fact. <br /><br />That director invented so many new camera angles to keep her in the shot that was like watching a film noir version of Jeopardy.They should have given him the Daytime Gameshow Emmy right on the spot.ODJenningsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-62793107015985895522014-01-29T07:33:12.234-08:002014-01-29T07:33:12.234-08:00Great reading!
I feel like directing is like tryi...Great reading!<br /><br />I feel like directing is like trying to solve two Rubik's cubes at once: the acting and the technical. Maybe not as impossible, but definitely worthy fuckin' adversaries (as puzzles go).<br /><br />Ken, I'd be interested to know how you handled directing dramatic scenes. On a sitcom, it seems like you've got to stop a freight train of comic momentum to get a mood conducive to drama established. Is it really that tough or is it better when you're working with 'trained professionals'?Dan Ballhttp://thedanballbrand.comnoreply@blogger.com