tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post4572728115053439910..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Writing room etiquetteBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-10298355422691863682011-03-22T01:11:25.543-07:002011-03-22T01:11:25.543-07:00Your favorite show is made by staggeringly brillia...Your favorite show is made by staggeringly brilliant and creative people who are just barely hiding a colorful rainbow of semi-diagnosed psychiatric issues. I guarantee it. <br /><br />If you can't handle that reality then I suggest that some of you stick with the studio-approved press packages showing all the shiny, happy behind the scenes moments (hey, look, there's even a wacky blooper reel!), you are clearly not ready to know how the sausages are made.A Cunning Stuntnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-63113097648915173502011-03-18T04:32:50.212-07:002011-03-18T04:32:50.212-07:00What, no I'm so stressed that I have to make j...What, no I'm so stressed that I have to make jokes about the situation in Japan postdroszelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17897688611911694566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-51088947037557070842011-03-15T08:47:48.916-07:002011-03-15T08:47:48.916-07:00How I long for intelligent humor. This story is a...How I long for intelligent humor. This story is a good example of why it is in such short supply...<br /><br />-C.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-24286604725900886222011-03-13T13:30:30.144-07:002011-03-13T13:30:30.144-07:00I found your story to be very dated. When I looked...I found your story to be very dated. When I looked again at the picture you'd posted (from the 50's), it confirmed my belief.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1923445569518690632011-03-12T17:58:37.397-08:002011-03-12T17:58:37.397-08:00"And it should be pointed out, we make these ...<i>"And it should be pointed out, we make these horrible blue jokes not so much because we’re awful human beings, but because we’re under tremendous pressure."</i><br /><br />Nicely said, selection7. I suppose comedy writers are now hunkered down thinking should be making jokes about tsunamis wiping out thousands simply because we're "under pressure".<br /><br />Being a comedy writer doesn't negate your responsibility for being human.Trevornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-32493518399370360862011-03-11T13:03:09.098-08:002011-03-11T13:03:09.098-08:00I agree with the minority here. Don't confuse...I agree with the minority here. Don't confuse the necessity of being ribald in a writier's room with some imagined necessity to be cruel to someone who didn't understand. Being a bully because you can is not the point the showrunner needed to make, while the point that really needed to be made was barely communicated. That doesn't mean if I had been there that I wouldn't have laughed!, but I would have had the sense not to be proud of it later.<br /><br />Part of being an adult is actually learning HOW to be immature. When you're a kid, you only do it completely thoughtlessly because you have no perspective and few cares. As an adult that would be a very bad quality (ask Charlie Sheen, who also works in comdedy).selection7noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-22132593772277862052011-03-11T12:47:16.279-08:002011-03-11T12:47:16.279-08:00Ken:
Anyone who is upset about this post and the ...Ken:<br /><br />Anyone who is upset about this post and the post about Charlie Sheen should stay far far away from the entertainment field....this is nothing compared to the days that top level executives would throw phones and on an hourly (or maybe by the minute depending on the day)multi- expletive rant! There's no biz like show biz!!!HopFoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15873024422046733438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-68349676119608685332011-03-10T19:13:27.197-08:002011-03-10T19:13:27.197-08:00@Dan O'Day - Thanks for your help. I really a...@Dan O'Day - Thanks for your help. I really appreciate you and Ken putting these on, and your quick and helpful responses are fantastic. Keep on rockin', guys.ajjjjnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-26386768244001068712011-03-10T15:44:05.240-08:002011-03-10T15:44:05.240-08:00@ajjjj: It's the one from a couple of years ag...@ajjjj: It's the one from a couple of years ago.Dan O'Dayhttp://danoday.com/writingsitcomsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-80745235439447886992011-03-10T15:04:40.526-08:002011-03-10T15:04:40.526-08:00Dan O'Day, I thought that was the teleseminar ...Dan O'Day, I thought that was the teleseminar from a few weeks ago. Can you put up a link to all three, so I can figure out which one I've heard. Or maybe I'm wrong and that one is the one from a couple years ago.<br /><br />Thanks!ajjjjnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-55661482473720644092011-03-09T19:34:39.578-08:002011-03-09T19:34:39.578-08:00One of my other favorite exchanges in "My Fav...One of my other favorite exchanges in "My Favorite Year":<br /><br />"He's plastered!" - Sy<br />"So are some of the finest erections in Europe." - Alan SwannRory L. Aronskyhttp://scrapsofliteracy.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-42306731597265216792011-03-09T16:10:32.410-08:002011-03-09T16:10:32.410-08:00I think the showrunner naturally assumed that anyo...I think the showrunner naturally assumed that anyone assigned to the assistant gig, even on a temp basis, would have some idea of what the job entailed. So if anything, blame the temp agency for not giving Prudy a heads up. But in that situation, you're supposed to be quiet and do your job, not moralize to your boss of the moment. I'm sure the situation was uncomfortable for Prudy, but ultimately the showrunner did her a favor -- I'll bet if she truly couldn't stand that kind of heat, she got out of the kitchen and took the next bus back to Pleasantville.jbryantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-60158539659772170592011-03-09T15:55:10.467-08:002011-03-09T15:55:10.467-08:00It's a matter of behaving like a grown-up. Eve...<i>It's a matter of behaving like a grown-up. Even if you are writing a sit-com.</i><br /><br />Those are two incongruous sentences. Grown-up? Sitcom? You can't possibly hope to be a grown-up if you're writing a sitcom. Otherwise, your sitcom is shit. Which makes me believe that besides the very flawed concept, the writers' room of "Shit My Dad Says" (I refuse to use the pansy-ass censored title) must have a lot of leather chairs and pipes.<br /><br /><i>They've done a TV show, a movie and a play, all based on the same writers room: "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "My Favorite Year," and "Laughter on the 23rd Floor."</i><br /><br />"Then why don't you be head writer, Alice?" - Sy<br />"I can't take that chance."<br />"On what?"<br />"That I'd become like you."<br /><br />[I pulled this next one from IMDB, to get it exact]<br />Sy: We're discussing morals. We're talkin' generations to come here. <br />Alice Miller: [for Herb] You're not qualified to discuss morals, Sy. <br />Sy: Up your hole with a Mello Roll, Alice! You too, Herb! <br /><br />My people! And I don't even work in sitcoms.Rory L. Aronskyhttp://scrapsofliteracy.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-46940719378637431152011-03-09T14:22:33.673-08:002011-03-09T14:22:33.673-08:00Someone will have the bright idea of simply puttin...<i>Someone will have the bright idea of simply putting a camera in the room 24/7 - editing the results down to 30 minutes a week - and you won't actually have to do a show....</i><br /><br />They've done a TV show, a movie and a play, all based on the same writers room: "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "My Favorite Year," and "Laughter on the 23rd Floor."tehttp://toddeverett.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-68662541076724151632011-03-09T13:21:45.584-08:002011-03-09T13:21:45.584-08:00OK, add me to the list of killjoys. Frankly, some...OK, add me to the list of killjoys. Frankly, someone should have warned this poor woman what goes on in the writer's room at a sitcom before they threw her into the chaos. (If not the temp agency, then how about the showrunner or another member of the office staff?) And once she made the mistake she did (if it WAS a mistake), there were better ways of handling it than subjecting her to that kind of humiliation. This was NOT another member of the writing staff, nor was it the regular, battle-hardened secretary who knew what went on in the writing sessions. And when the boss did that to her, he crossed a line and became a bully. It would have taken less time to explain that this is how scripts get written than it did to make a fool of her and satisfy one of the grubbier corners of his ego. The fact that he kept his language under more control AFTER that suggests that he knew that he had gone too far. Creative Type he may have been, but that doesn't completely excuse him from the rules of basic decency. This isn't a matter sexual harassment or someone's right of Free Expression being trampled. It's a matter of behaving like a grown-up. Even if you are writing a sit-com.Matt Pattonhttp://notsomuch1962.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-65738298875251633252011-03-09T11:44:43.639-08:002011-03-09T11:44:43.639-08:00Thank you, Tallulah. Praise from you is an honor i...Thank you, Tallulah. Praise from you is an honor indeed.Sir Funnybonenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-14658987362640110642011-03-09T11:12:00.270-08:002011-03-09T11:12:00.270-08:00Reminds me of a joke in which two Army men were ta...Reminds me of a joke in which two Army men were talking, and one was telling the other about what he did the previous night, using the f-word as an adjective with <i>everything</i>, right up to the point where he and his ladyfriend got into bed. His buddy asks what happened next, and he responded, "We had sexual intercourse!"<br /><br />BTW, I used to work with someone named Prudy. Don't think it's her, though; the last I saw of her, she was now a more respectable "Prudence," reporting business news on TV.<br /><br />wv: "consp" -- new slang for a certain problem with your stomach.VP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1512167184753541462011-03-09T09:41:51.041-08:002011-03-09T09:41:51.041-08:00As a script coordinator on numerous shows, I know ...As a script coordinator on numerous shows, I know the later the hour gets the raunchier the room gets. It's part of the turf. Doesn't matter if it's an hour-long or comedy, there's always dark, raunchy talk. It can be funny or serious, but it's never hurtful and always lets you get to know the people you're working with a little better. <br /><br />I have no sympathy for Purdy. If you're a writer's assistant or script coordinator, you should know what you're getting into. <br /><br />Thanks for sharing the story, just wish I could've read the monologue.Jenniferhttp://www.kitchycooking.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-60046043000348631542011-03-09T01:03:52.746-08:002011-03-09T01:03:52.746-08:00Reading the story was made me laugh but in other s...Reading the story was made me laugh but in other side i felt pity on Prudy.analeehttp://www.episodetracker.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-63005613467659668342011-03-08T20:09:24.112-08:002011-03-08T20:09:24.112-08:00Speaking of writers: Rachel Sweet, who used to be ...Speaking of writers: Rachel Sweet, who used to be a pop singer from Akron, is now a writer/exec-producer on the TV show "Hot In Cleveland". In an interview with the Akron Beacon Journal's TV writer she claims in the interview: Sweet, in her late 40s, is in the same age bracket as the characters. ”as are all my fellow writers. I think our youngest writer is maybe late 30s. But you know, Rich, out here that’s kind of how it’s going. Writing staffs are getting smaller, just because of the economy, so show-runners want people who know how to write. They’re not necessarily in bringing people up and bringing people along. . . . It’s not there are more older writers working. I just think that, because there are a lot fewer jobs, jobs are going to people with a lot of experience first.”<br /><br />I might be wrong, but I think you [and Earl Pomerantz] have stated that most shows now want writers who are way younger than what she states. So is she right or are you and Earl or is it a combination of the two?<br /><br />If you want to read the whole interview: http://the330.com/on-screen/hot-in-cleveland-has-rachel-sweets-stamp/ <br /><br />(By the way, the Beacon Journal has a reputation of claiming "famous" people are from Akron even if they stopped here one day just to break wind maybe 20-30-40 years ago.)YEKIMIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01921751875397071034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-75602185931789881932011-03-08T20:04:50.984-08:002011-03-08T20:04:50.984-08:00Sir Funnybone, I think I've fallen in love wit...Sir Funnybone, I think I've fallen in love with you. Pip, pip, and all that rot.Tallulah Moreheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07416330735326405496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-49096884784065472072011-03-08T18:30:01.745-08:002011-03-08T18:30:01.745-08:00Perfect timing. I just read Sarah Silverman's...Perfect timing. I just read Sarah Silverman's Interview in <i>Playboy</i> magazine yesterday. Here's a relevant exceprt...<br /><br /><b>WARNING</b>: adult language ahead<br /><br />SILVERMAN: When we were working on the show, we noticed [Sarah Silverman Program co-creator] Rob Schrab would always get cranky toward the end of the day. We found out it was because he had to take a shit and needed to do it in the privacy of his home. Then we moved into office space, and one office had a private bathroom, so we gave it to Rob. Comedy writers can be so lazy, but when they’re motivated by something, they can do amazing things. The writers Chris Romano and Eric Falconer came in extra early the first morning and took a huge shit in Rob’s toilet, and then Chris put a toothpick with a homemade flag in the shit and wrote on the flag, “I know what you did last summer.” [laughs to the point of tears] It’s just so absurd and stupid. Why would you put “I know what you did last summer” on the flag? What does that horror movie from eight years ago have to do with their shit?<br /><br />PLAYBOY: The work environment for your writing staff sounds like a fraternity party.<br /><br />SILVERMAN: It can be, yeah. But [head writer and executive producer] Dan Sterling keeps us pretty focused. He made a rule that nobody can take out his dick until five o’clock.<br /><br />PLAYBOY: Your writers have to be told not to expose themselves?<br /><br />SILVERMAN: They do, because otherwise it would happen all the time. And the guys interpreted Dan’s rule as “Take your dick out at five.” It would be like [glances at watch], “Forty-five more minutes.”<br /><br />PLAYBOY: What’s the context in which somebody might take out his penis?<br /><br />SILVERMAN: Oh, there are so many! Chris started it. He takes his dick out all the time. And then Harris Wittels, the young one who is normally a very shy and nervous guy, started taking his dick out. It usually happens when we’re stuck on an outline or something. One of them will just stand up and pull down his pants and underwear and sit back down. It gets us out of the moment. <b><i>It’s a safe room, where you can just do anything.</i></b> [bold and italic mine] One time Chris came out of the bathroom and his dick was sticking through a napkin, out of his fly. I told him, “Chris, it isn’t five yet!” And he said, “I can’t help it. My dick just ate lobster.” [laughs] I know these are not clever jokes, but I love them.Davenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-71303641279432892262011-03-08T17:33:57.976-08:002011-03-08T17:33:57.976-08:00Cap'n Bob: same for the women I work with in...Cap'n Bob: same for the women I work with in a newsroom. In the last 30 years, I've gone from nearly an all-male environment to a mostly female one.<br /><br />And the jokes and the attitudes are pretty much the same, no matter the gender. The important thing is that we work in a medium with tight deadlines, we have to trust one another, and that brings a closeness even among people who wouldn't necessarily be friends outside the work environment. Anything that superficially sounds like bullying is actually a form of bonding, of giving someone a "hard time."<br /><br />Anyone believed to mean what they say in such an environment would be instantly shunned.Dave Creekhttp://www.davecreek.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-73645311013287878272011-03-08T17:31:12.889-08:002011-03-08T17:31:12.889-08:00I always wondered who watched the old ABC Friday n...I always wondered who watched the old ABC Friday night line up in the 90s, with that Bob Saget show and Urkel and the like. Now I know: Trevor and Sean French.Jim, Cheers Fannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-13166762907456822892011-03-08T16:57:06.272-08:002011-03-08T16:57:06.272-08:00I worked for the US Air Force for 32 years. The wo...I worked for the US Air Force for 32 years. The women I worked with were as profane and foul-mouthed as any man I've known. You don't have to be a comedy writer to hear such language.Cap'n Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11783977137812876489noreply@blogger.com