EP298: The Most Hated Script We Ever Wrote

Ken Levine & David Isaacs once wrote a script that the studio president hated so much he tried to get them booted off the lot. Another delightful feel-good Hollywood story.

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EP297: Another Free Association Podcast

From the new FRASIER reboot, to curing the common cold, old movies, and selling a pilot CBS had no intention of making — Ken starts off with one topic and just begins free associating. God knows what else is in this episode. Find out.

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EP296: Brian Wilson Part Two

Ken continues his discussion with author/filmmaker, David Leaf on the amazing life of musical genius, Brian Wilson. Lots of good and bad vibrations. If you heard part one I guarantee you’ll listen to part two.

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EP295: Brian Wilson and the Price of Genius

Brian Wilson, the creative musical genius of the Beach Boys has led a rollercoaster of a life. One of his closest friends, David Leaf, offers a fascinating and candid portrait of this brilliant but troubled musician.

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EP294: Hanging with King Charles and other royal notables

Since the royal family has been front page news these days, Ken discusses his various brushes with royalty and other distinguished world leaders. If there’s a theme it might be irreverence.

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EP293: Casting Director, John Levey Part 2

More advice for actors on just what it takes to get that job, and the process of casting several iconic television series. Learn what the business is really like in this fun and informative episode.  

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EP292: Meet Casting Director John Levey

John Levey is an award-winning casting director of such iconic shows as THE WEST WING and ER. With great insight and candor he discusses the state of casting today — what producers are looking for, what actors can do to maximize their chances. If you’re an actor this is the episode you can not miss.

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EP291: Documentary Filmmaker, John Scheinfeld Part 2

More on the making of documentary films. Getting music clearances, enlisting celebrities, and other assorted stories and tips from award winning filmmaker, John Scheinfeld.

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Last Post

I have decided to finally end the blog.  This will be my last post.  After doing this almost daily for close to 16 years it is not a decision I made lightly.  To be honest, I had been contemplating it for about a year.  

There have been 6,850 posts, 188, 330 comments, more than 3,000 Friday Questions answered, and over 42,000,000 visitors over that stretch (of course it could just be 42 people who came back a million times).  

Why am I stepping away?  Well, first of all, I’ve outlived blogs. Mine may be the last one on the internet.  When I started and blogs were the thing, I figured this would be fun to do for a couple of years.  Other bloggers advised I post something new every day as a way to build an audience.  That was a little more work than I had planned but okay.  Eventually the blog took on a life of its own and I found myself posting daily for well over ten years.  I can’t believe I didn’t run out of things to write by 2010.  

But what was once fun has become a chore.  I think I have run out of things to write about, or at least they’re getting much harder to come up with.  I began reducing my schedule hoping that would help, but it hasn’t.  I just feel it’s time.

I’m also involved in a number of other creative pursuits and really want to focus more on those.  The podcast will continue.  I’ve been doing that for six years and nearing 300 weekly episodes.  I thought initially a lot of my blog readers would subscribe to the podcast, but that hasn’t been the case.  I seem to have a largely separate audience for the podcast.  But it’s still out there if you wish to follow me.   I’m also on Twitter (@KenLevine), Instagram (Hollywood and Levine), and from time to time my cartoons will pop up in The New Yorker.  So I’m not David Letterman growing a ZZ Top beard and disappearing into the Ozarks somewhere.  

What I will miss most is you.  I’ve made a number of good friends and have really enjoyed the little community that has formed via the comments section.  Often times I found the comments more interesting than my posts.  So I will miss the daily interaction and your contribution.  

Beyond that, I sincerely hope you got some value out of this sixteen-year labor of love.  You were entertained, maybe learned a writing tip, enjoyed the assorted adventures of my various careers, and looked forward to the occasional photo of Natalie Wood.  

It’s certainly been a fun and rewarding ride; a much longer ride than expected.  

The blog will remain up.  I’ll still post weekly links to new podcast episodes.  And you’re welcome to dive into the archives.  Among the 6,850 posts there are at least 20 that are really good.  

Some people to thank: Howard Hoffman, Lee Goldberg, Cynthia Furey, Mark Evanier, Dan O’Day, Doug McEwan, Larry Gelbart, and all my guest bloggers (that ranged from Aaron Sorkin to Babe Ruth).  

Thank you for your support.  Thank you for allowing some old guy TV writer to be a part of your life.  I wish you all much success, good health, happiness, and projects that bring you as much joy and satisfaction as this blog has provided me.

As hard as it’s been to write this, ending it is even harder.  So I’ve decided to just leave a teddy bear on the bunk and move on, hoping we meet again.  

Thanks again.

Ken 

Labor Day reflections...

I’ve always hated Labor Day.

It meant the end of summer.  School was starting.  Somehow you never get over that low-grade dread.  (Now a lot of schools begin in August.  That’s nuts!)

But the toughest Labor Days I had were the three years I announced minor league baseball.  Minor league seasons end around Labor Day.  Major League rosters expand and some players are called up to the big leagues.  

I was always depressed because even after 144 games with maybe 2 days off in five months I was sorry to see it end.  That’s when I knew I was a real baseball lover or needed serious help.  

Trying to will myself a positive attitude while looking ahead, at least for twenty years or so we had the Jerry Lewis telethon.  This schmaltz-fest was always good for a few laughs.  Ooooh, the dripping sincerity.  But now that’s gone.

September also once meant the beginning of the new fall TV season.  That’s sort of a joke now since no one watches the networks anymore and shows on various platforms premiere every week.  

Oh well, at least this year I have more January 6 hearings to look forward to.  And the World Series, although now that’s almost a winter event.  

But in any event, Labor Day signals changes.  More on that tomorrow. 

Weekend Post

Among the many things we learned on MASH was the value of research. Gene Reynolds, the showrunner, loaded us down with transcripts, articles, books, and even maps. The more authentic, the more real you can make your world, the richer and more interesting it will be. During our time on MASH we conducted numerous interviews with doctors, corpsmen, nurses, and soldiers who had served in Korea. And there were five years of interviews before us. Gene and series creator, Larry Gelbart, even took a trip to Korea. Many of the stories we used came right out of the research.  In some cases we had to tone them down.  The real stories were too absurd to be believed. 

On staff we had a medical adviser, a technical adviser, and a military adviser. We had no fashion consultant for Klinger however. The budget was only so large.

But my partner, David Isaacs and I continued to do our homework on future projects. Hey, Paddy Chayefsky used to do extensive research and so does James L. Brooks (although Brooks got it from Gene Reynolds as did we) so you know there's value in it. 

Over the last 15 ½ years of this blog I might have mentioned once, twice at the most, that we wrote the Tom Hanks/John Candy movie VOLUNTEERS. If I didn’t mention it, now you know. The bulk of the film was set in Thailand in 1962. Tom’s character joins the Peace Corps to avoid a gambling debt. So we wanted to know about the Thai culture – what their lives were like, their food, their homes, customs, religion, concerns, etc.

Our producer, Walter, said he knew someone from Thailand who was living out here now. We arranged a dinner with him.

The gentleman, whose name was At (that’s a name we used in the movie) selected the meeting place – the most expensive Thai restaurant in Los Angeles if not the world.

At apparently was a relative of the royal family. He ordered for us. Every dish was scrumptious, but hugely rich. Lobster sauce, and filet mignon, and exotic noodle dishes. We asked what the common folks ate. “This,” At answered. “Really?” I said, “Jungle Curry Pork Ribs, Ginger Whole Seabass, and Crab Meat Noodles?” Yep, he insisted. That’s how the peasants ate.

Except, according to At, there were no peasants. Everyone in Thailand lived in nice homes. I guess the real unfortunate ones didn’t have a view.

We asked how the general population in outlying areas filled their days. Working in rice fields? Taking shelter from the monsoons?   Oh no. They played a lot of sports.

We of course used none of this nonsense in the film but stayed late into the evening asking more questions because we were highly entertained.  Had we used his stuff our movie would have become REAL HOUSEWIVES OF THAILAND.

I’d like to think he was bullshitting us and didn’t actually believe any of the balloon juice he expounded. According to At -- there were no communists or warlords. Many huts had TV (in 1962). Recreational opium was the perfect nightcap after a feast of Lamb with Spicy Lime or Roast Duck with Mint Leaves.

Research is great… as long as its valid. I don’t know whatever happened to At. I do hope he wrote the Thailand page on Wikipedia.

 

Friday Questions

Propelling you into Labor Day, here are some Friday Questions.

Chad Holmes leads off:

Have you gotten feedback on your critiques of what has gone wrong with the networks and sit-coms in your blog from the top levels that are the targets of those postings over the years and what have they said?

Yes.  I’ve heard from a number of network executives.  Sometimes they disagree with me and lay out their case.  In those instances I usually do a follow-up sharing their position.  

One time I ripped a network’s development slate.  They didn’t pick up a single comedy pilot although they made ten.  I got an email from a high-up executive at that network saying he didn’t want to reveal his identity, but said I was right.  There was something about every pilot that kept them from getting picked up.

I said, “Then you’re hiring the wrong development people, writers, or actors.”  He said, “You’re right.”  

He’s not with that network but he still is a major player today.  I, meanwhile, am still blogging.  

From Brian:

For the Frasier episode “The Show Where Lilith Comes Back”, which you and David wrote, Bebe Neuwirth received hearty laughter and applause when her voice is first heard calling into Frasier’s show. Was Bebe’s appearance kept secret from the studio audience to prompt a genuine reaction of surprise?

Yes.  What’s nice is that her character is so well-known and her voice is so recognizable that the audience picked up on it right away.  

She was also the first character to crossover from CHEERS and I think the audience was particularly delighted about that.  It signaled right away that this was a special episode.  

Bronson Turnquist asks:

What do you think of the recent rise in fast paced joke comedies like Rick and Morty and Archer?

Any comedy that makes a concerted effort to make people really laugh is good in my book. And rare. So I’m all for it.  

And finally, from msdemos:

As a baseball man yourself, who were/are some of the play-by-play and/or color analysts you consider the most "fun" (as opposed to most technically proficient) to listen to ??

Jon Miller of the Giants.  Jason Benetti of the White Sox.  Also Len Kasper of the White Sox.  Howie Rose and Gary Cohen of the Mets.  Andy Freed and Dave Wills of the Rays.  Eric Nadel of the Rangers.  Steve Physioc of the Royals.  Dave O’Brien of the Red Sox.  Dan Schulman of the Blue Jays.  Tom Hamilton of the Guardians (still the Indians as far as I’m concerned).  Bob Uecker of the Brewers.  Dan Orsillo of the Padres, Duane Kuiper of the Giants.  

For analysts:  Mark Grant, Dennis Eckersly, Keith Hernandez, Steve Stone, Darrin Jackson, Mike Krukow, Tommy Hutton, Ron Darling, and then there’s always crazy Rex Hudler.

I’m sure there are others I’m forgetting.  But Jon Miller and Jason Benetti my top two.  

For local TV broadcasts:  White Sox, Giants, Mets.

For local radio broadcasts: Giants, Mets, Rays.
 

EP290: Meet Documentary Filmmaker John Scheinfeld

John Scheinfeld has been producing, writing, and directing documentaries for twenty years. Learn about the fascinating world of documentary films along with some great stories.

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A learning tip

I bumped into a former USC student of mine this weekend.  I had taught a lecture class with a hundred students called “Foundations of Comedy.”  It was a mixture of lectures and screenings.  I taught this course once a year for two years.  This student was in the second class.

For the first class I allowed the students to use their laptops.  In theory, they were taking notes.  I gave a final I thought was ridiculously easy, but what the hell?  It’s supposed to be a fun class, and I didn’t care if everyone got A’s.  Much to my surprise, a good portion of the class did horrible on the final.  B’s and C’s.  If you were awake in class you should have aced it.  

The next year I did not allow computers.  There was a lot of grumbling.  This former student said, “Yes, the class was pretty pissed off at you.”  But what I said to them was “People got C’s last year.  And you have to be a fucking moron to get a C in the Foundations of Comedy.”   This former student said people were unaccustomed to taking notes longhand. This apparently was a major hardship. 

I gave the exact same final.  Practically everybody got an A.   

What a difference it makes when you’re not texting, playing video games, watching TikTok, surfing the web, competing in on-line poker.

So if you’re currently a student, you might give this some thought — especially if you’re currently reading this while in a Calculus class supposedly taking notes. 

Happy Birthday, Annie

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my amazing, funny, talented, compassionate daughter, Annie.  She’s also a spectacular wife, writer, and now mother.  

You have enriched my life in so many ways and I can not love you enough.  

I celebrate your many accomplishments and cheer every time I see your name on television.  My sincere hope is that soon I am known in the industry simply as “Annie Levine’s father.”

Love always,

Annie Levine’s father

Another sign of the changing times

There’s a report that NBC might give back the 10:00 hour to local affiliates and only program two hours of primetime TV a night, a la Fox.  

So let’s see.  First the networks gave up on Saturday night — now showing reruns and newsmagazines and sports.  Then they mostly threw in the towel on Friday nights.   And now NBC is considering dropping 1/3 of it's primetime programming.  

We’re seeing the slow end of broadcast network television as we know it (or soon — knew it).  I would be surprised if there are broadcast networks in three-to-five years.  And if there are, they will just be replaying content that originated on their streaming services (or, in the case of Fox — Tubi).  New NBC shows will premier on Peacock first, not the other way around. 

Cable channels are also in a precarious place.  Cable customers no longer want to pay for channels they don’t watch so they bundle.  As a result, a lot of the niche and fringe cable channels could soon go belly-up.   I'm waiting for the Hallmark Channel to show their Christmas movies all year long. 

It’s the wild wild west out there, folks.  Industry folks were certain streaming was the future, but once Netflix suffered a stock free-fall earlier this year, suddenly streaming no longer looks like such a sure thing.

So what WILL be the future of delivering entertainment to your TV, phone, car, whatever?   Now THERE’S a cliffhanger.  

Weekend Post

 

Tourism is always big in Los Angeles, especially during the summer. Local residents on the Westside are used to seeing kids stand out on Sunset Blvd. selling maps to the stars’ homes. Hollywood locals take it for granted that a thousand nimrods in Bermuda shorts will be milling about Grauman’s Chinese Theater and getting selfies with Spiderman or a guy dressed like Marilyn Monroe. And double-decked tour buses clogging up left hand lanes is a city staple.

But this year, for some reason, I am seeing way more tour buses. It’s almost one-to-one Hollywood Tour vans and parking enforcement vehicles. Why there are so many more tour buses these days I do not know. Especially since…

There is nothing to see.

Not really.

One tour takes you by the homes of the stars. But stars don’t live in Beverly Hills anymore. They used to. You could drive by Jack Benny’s house, and Lucille Ball’s, and Ronald Colman’s but the chances of actually seeing them have breakfast or watering the lawn is rather slim since they’re dead. And how many of you even know who Ronald Colman was? You’re driving by lawyers’ homes and guys who own furniture warehouses.

Stars live secluded in canyons and beach colonies and Upper Manhattan. Their compounds are gated. And would you even know the difference? If a tour guide took you to Bel Air, pointed to a gate, and said this is where Tom Cruise lives, how would you know it’s not really where the owner of Starlight Tours lives? Or a military academy?

As for stars’ hangouts – you don’t need a tour bus. Just go to Maestro’s or Spago’s or any super expensive chic eatery. The classic Hollywood haunts like Chasen’s, Perino’s, the Brown Derby, Scandia, Le Dome, Morton’s – they’re long gone. Sure, you can still go to Pink’s Hot Dogs as Orson Welles frequently did, but you’ll suffer the same fate as him. Musso & Frank’s is still open, and it’s worth seeing, but the only movie stars you’ll see there now are celebrating their 105th birthdays. Over the years I’ve seen dozens of big stars in LA restaurants, but they’ve all closed. Perhaps I should start a tour: “Where Robert Duvall, LaToya Jackson, and Dustin Hoffman used to eat.”

Will you see stars shopping in Beverly Hills? Maybe. You’ll more likely see their personal assistants.

These tours also show you “locations” from movies and TV shows. The truth is after a hundred years of movie making, every street and location has been used at least once. So the Coffee Bean you’re in right now was once a hamburger stand used in FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH. The street you just crossed was seen in an Allstate commercial back in 1967. The actual house used on BLESS THIS HOUSE might be right around the corner. Just assume it is.

LA is a great vacation destination.  Lots of fun things to see and do.   Disneyland, Dodger Stadium, the Venice Beach walk, Universal, the Grove, Farmer's Market, LACMA, Costco. If you want to see television shows you can write to the networks.  TV tickets are free.  And there are kiosks in tourist locations like the Grove that offer these tickets.  Some shows that were locked down due to the pandemic are starting to welcome studio audiences again. 

But the bottom line is this: You want to see big movie stars? You want to see A-list celebrities? Come back in the winter and go to a Lakers game.

Friday Questions

Wrapping up August with Friday Questions.

Kendall Rivers leads off.

Been watching a lot of Cheers and Frasier lately and I'm curious about writing for Frasier Crane in both shows. Which version of the character did you and David enjoy writing for more?

We wrote him the same way in both series.  I’ve told this story before (by now I've told every story before) but as FRASIER progressed his speech got more florid.  David and I got an assignment and decided to write him the way we always had and figured they could just add the curlicues if they felt they needed to.  When we turned in our script the shows creators said to the staff “This is Frasier.  We’ve drifted away a little.  Go back to this.”  

But as a character, Frasier was certainly richer and more layered in his own series.  

Brian Phillips queries:

Reading about the Dick Van Dyke Show, a show was in rehearsal and word got to the set, President Kennedy was shot. Carl Reiner stopped the show and sent everyone home.

Has there ever been a case where a show you were involved with stopped rehearsals?

Yes.  David Isaacs and I had written an episode of BECKER that was in production when 9-11 happened.   

As with THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW, everyone went home for a few days and the show was not shot in front of a studio audience.  I believe it’s the only episode of BECKER not shot with an audience.  

By the way, it’s the episode where Becker has to take an MRI.  The episode is entitled "Get Me Out of Here" if you want to run to whatever platform it's on and watch it. 

Matt asks:

What do you do when you write for a specific actor, but then the actor becomes unavailable?

We were watching COACH one night and it hit me that Hayden Fox sounds like, acts like, probably could've been played by Dabney Coleman rather than Craig T. Nelson. So I looked it up and sure enough, Barry Kemp wrote the part for Coleman. But when it came time to do the show, Coleman was already cast for BUFFALO BILL.

So as a writer or even Executive Producer (or both), what do you do when you write a part for an actor and that actor is no longer available? Do you go out and find a similar actor (as they did with Craig T. Nelson) or do you rewrite the part in a more general way to attract a wider range of actors?

You have two choices.  Find another actor who you can slot in, or rewrite to fit the actor you do hire.  

We were casting a pilot once and wrote a part for a specific actor in mind.  He came in and read and pretty much read it exactly as we pictured it.  When he left, David and I turned to each other and said, “I think we can get someone better.”  And we did.

Finally, from Rappin' Rodney:

Ken, what's your take on shows/movies that have long, slow parts? When they linger on a scene or image for far too long without anything further in it that moves the plot forward. What is the writer/director trying to tell us? Is it just to add atmosphere? Is it ever just trying to pad screentime? I think what bugs me most about those parts is not just the slow scene itself, but the implication that as the viewer there's something wrong with me if I don't want to sit through it: that I'm some ADD-addled teen that can't appreciate "art." But if there's a chance that's true, what art am I missing?

For the most part I think it’s indulgent and pretentious.  BREAKING BAD established that and it was fine and somewhat unique for the first few times.  But I didn’t tune in to see the New Mexico desert.  One or two quick establishing shots and I’m like “I’ve got it. Get to the story.”   

That’s one of the reasons I can’t stand Terrance Malick movies.  They’re just filled with long atmospheric beauty shots that mean nothing.  It seems stupid to have to pay to be bored.  

What’s your Friday Question? 
 

EP289: Comedy Writer Earl Pomerantz

This week Ken replays his interview with Earl Pomerantz from 2018. Earl was an Emmy winning comedy writer who sadly passed away in 2020. He was insightful, very funny, with a unique voice. With appreciation — here again is Earl Pomerantz.

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Everything old is brought back as new

One night last week I went on DEADLINE, the Hollywood trade site.  And here’s what I learned.

There’s a new cast in the Broadway revival of FUNNY GIRL.

There may be a revival of Reba McEntire’s REBA.

An ALLY MCBEAL sequel is in the works.

Warner Brothers is looking to another OCEAN’S ELEVEN reboot.  

There’s a FERRIS BEULLER’S DAY OFF spinoff being developed.  

Casting updates are announced on the SEX AND THE CITY sequel.  

Can the entertainment industry do anything original anymore?   There is so much product out there that networks and studios and Broadway feel they need a recognizable brand going in.  But it comes at the expense of original material.  

Still, if I’m being honest, I can’t wait for the sequel of JUSTIFIED.