tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post3750789493032277196..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: A look into the creative processBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-82887815863259124242012-10-28T23:51:02.759-07:002012-10-28T23:51:02.759-07:00So how is the Bioshock movie going, Ken?So how is the Bioshock movie going, Ken?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12861911006558371576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-33496166179049920392012-10-06T01:45:43.223-07:002012-10-06T01:45:43.223-07:00Good post and good analysis Ken but a couple of no...Good post and good analysis Ken but a couple of notes...<br /><br />For an international audience the Woolworths reference is jarring - in Australia and New Zealand (and English too I think) Woolworths is a corporation running one of the largest supermarket chains in the country along with a range of other stores. Handing over a Woolworths to your son would be the equivilent of handing over a Walmart to your son in America.<br /><br />Which leads to an obvious Friday Question: As Television becomes more international (like movies already have) and the overseas markets become more important - do you think television writing in America will need to take into account the international audience?Nicknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-57052236526387172572012-10-05T21:50:15.091-07:002012-10-05T21:50:15.091-07:00I'm a long time reader and I've learned a ...I'm a long time reader and I've learned a lot. The insights contained in this post are a master class. Thanks!Joel Spezeskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03978328381884061148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-34322942104382062462012-10-05T07:36:00.288-07:002012-10-05T07:36:00.288-07:00Ken, great scene and breakdown. Hope your partici...Ken, great scene and breakdown. Hope your participants in this year's SITCOM ROOM will be able to appreciate and utilize some of the more general guidelines you mentioned, especially the rule that every line needs to have some importance and contribute to moving the story forward.<br /><br />Regarding someone posting the day before on the scene being a stereotye which he found distasteful, sometimes in an opening scene the writer finds he or she has to do a little stereotyping in order to make the audience understand who the characters are; then in successive scenes it's easier to back off on those stereotypes since the viewers now "get" the characters, so to speak. I think that if people watch the first scenes of any comic movie or sitcom pilot, they'll usually find the characters to be a bit more cartoonish and stereotyped than they ultimately turn out being.Tom Quigleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12959628996361620134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-73482848883899895582012-10-05T04:39:48.292-07:002012-10-05T04:39:48.292-07:00Friday question: Looking at this list http://en.wi...Friday question: Looking at this list http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012%E2%80%9313_United_States_network_television_schedule <br /><br />you can see how many shows has each network canceled and how many new shows they have, CBS the fewest and NBC with a huge number of cancellations and new shows. Is that an indication of how well a network is doing or is it just a coincidence?Chrisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-82129322469192133572012-10-04T22:55:34.674-07:002012-10-04T22:55:34.674-07:00I am really new to this reading about TV stuff as ...I am really new to this reading about TV stuff as I mostly follow Ken Levine because of the great work he does on Mariner's radio broadcasts, so this stuff is really informative. My basic question is how is the physical comedy worked in. Seems plenty of room from the driving the car and the opening of the rocket for physical jokes. Is that a directors or actors addition or can it be written in?RJBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-35986778115980256372012-10-04T16:38:01.414-07:002012-10-04T16:38:01.414-07:00Great scene and commentary there. Anyone trying to...Great scene and commentary there. Anyone trying to write an original sitcom could learn from it.kingcookyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08320756158257696524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-28152995764860064572012-10-04T15:29:03.682-07:002012-10-04T15:29:03.682-07:00Maybe even better: Old-school ITALIAN couple (thin...Maybe even better: Old-school ITALIAN couple (think 'Everybody Loves Raymond' Frank and Marie Barone) find Baby Superman. Old-school USA Italians are more emotional than Jews, but have that same underlying current of guilt and sarcasm with their children.<br /><br />Might be awfully hard to pull off since Peter Boyle's dead and Frank & Marie were one of a kind, but not completely impossible, methinks.ScottyBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-46421766376746019142012-10-04T15:15:48.572-07:002012-10-04T15:15:48.572-07:00Given today's breakdown post, here's a Fri...Given today's breakdown post, here's a Friday Question for Ken *and* David Isaacs: Much has been made (here and elsewhere, and rightfully so) about the quality of writing as the basic foundation of a damn good sitcom. Lately, I've been catching 4am reruns of 'Make Room For Daddy' (which predates me by several years) on Me-TV, and it reminds me a LOT of the kind of writing that made 'Cheers', 'Frasier', 'Wings' and 'Becker' so damn good -- quick, snappy, concise, but above all, raising the art of subtly stabbing the heart out of someone or something. 'Make Room For Daddy' makes me laugh even today, and it really makes me appreciate what guys like you are able to do week in and week out. <br /><br />Thing is, back in the day we never really knew -- or paid that much attention to -- who was writing these shows. If it wasn't for 'The Dick Van Dyke Show', we'd probably still be thinking show stars were writing their own material. So OK, here's my question: Have either of you ever met any of the really great regular-Joe writers from TV's Golden Age shows that you grew up with in the late '50s thru the '60s? And if so, did you learn anything from them that has made you a better sitcom writer?ScottyBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-56232483261745178792012-10-04T15:08:30.415-07:002012-10-04T15:08:30.415-07:00@HourOfLead kinda touched on what I was thinking w...@HourOfLead kinda touched on what I was thinking when I read the initial post and then today's instructional followup. In both cases, I wondered whether today's audiences would really get "the whole Jewish thing" that was a big part of a lot of older sitcoms back when there was just network TV and radio (1950s-mid 1960s). I'm a Catholic who grew up on TV early '60s thru '70s, and I understood Ken's references, but I'm not entirely sure anyone under 50 (or my teenage kids) would, today. I mean, Christ, my kids don't even think 'Green Acres' is funny in the least. Philistines.<br /><br />So I'd concur with @HourOfLead: Could be funnier if it was some older black or Mexican couple instead of Jews. Better character contrast with a bigger field to mine, methinks (as he mentioned with 'The Jerk').ScottyBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-13832400454767631462012-10-04T14:24:45.783-07:002012-10-04T14:24:45.783-07:00This breakdown was great!
Some questions from a ...This breakdown was great! <br /><br />Some questions from a beginning writer (that I Ken can answer later but I'd welcome responses to other pros that I know read this): <br /><br />I'm wondering how much of the creation of dialouge comes natural the first time through the writing process. You said "go back through and find places" where the jokes in the back-and-forth can fall and I'm sure I will in stuff I'm drafting. And I can clearly see this is where a writing team / partner comes in handy. Once you've written a few hundred episodes, does this process come more naturally? Or are you constantly thinking through the details here like you showed us? How much or how vivid do you see a scene in your head as you put it on paper? Or do you see / hear a line or two of dialouge and then think it through to the next line?Ednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-30966626872865150182012-10-04T14:12:11.809-07:002012-10-04T14:12:11.809-07:00Have you ever changed a script in response to crit...Have you ever changed a script in response to criticism?<br />I think without your post, Moneyball would have had a Danny.MikeNnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-80948968993395007192012-10-04T13:17:24.801-07:002012-10-04T13:17:24.801-07:00Great concept, Robert!
Ken, you didn't think ...Great concept, Robert!<br /><br />Ken, you didn't think to this level of detail when you wrote your first draft, right? I personally find this is a great way to analyse what you've written to make sure it flows and make sense, and that you've not missed opportunities for jokes, but it would get in the way of how the scene flowed if I stopped after every line I wrote. Just clarifying. Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13302545167970532080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-77399021902360552932012-10-04T12:51:09.857-07:002012-10-04T12:51:09.857-07:00Very instructive, Ken. It's always interesting...Very instructive, Ken. It's always interesting to see how others approach their craft or job. And great homework about Sesame Street, Robert.Eric Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10639837826294361383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-18472919928042877682012-10-04T12:19:20.901-07:002012-10-04T12:19:20.901-07:00Fascinating look at the creative process, especial...Fascinating look at the creative process, especially your effort in researching the details that are to add to the sense of time and place. But I am one of those who are hyper- vigilant about finding anachronisms.<br /><br />Some are factual...Kia wasn't in the U.S. market in 1990. "Yugo" certainly would have worked, and "Hyundai"--then people would have understood, as the cars were only a modest step up from Yugo, but not to people today who only know the world-class product they offer.<br /><br />Same thing with BAYWATCH..in 1990 NBC had just cancelled it--more little kids watched FULL HOUSE. It wasn't until David Hasselhoff took it into syndication, with eyes on the international market, that the show became the cultural phenomenon it did.<br />(thanks in part to the lower budgets that precluded lots of action sequences, and more focus on the babes and hunks of the beach. NBC wanted and paid for EMERGEHCY! in the sand--the globe fell in love with a live-action MAXIM magazine.Paul Ducanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-12154196043421383492012-10-04T11:48:17.707-07:002012-10-04T11:48:17.707-07:00Well, this may be slightly off topic, but I was si...Well, this may be slightly off topic, but I was sitting at work today thinking about last nights debate, and then read your take on Superman... So I came up with this:<br /><br />Ext. 123 Sesame Street – Sesame Street – Day (January 21st, 2013)<br /><br />Big Bird, The Grouch, Bert, Ernie, Elmo, and the rest of the Sesame Street cast stands in a line on the street. The Count can be seen talking to Mitt Romney in the background. The conversation ends, Mitt Romney walks away while The Count walks towards the cast. <br /><br />THE COUNT: Bad news everyone.<br /><br />BERT: What is this? A Futurama episode?<br /><br />ERNIE: Oh Burt, just shut up.<br /><br />The Count hands a pink slip to Big Bird and goes down the line.<br /><br />THE COUNT: 1 pink slip, ha ha. (starts crying)<br /><br />BIG BIRD: But, but, but… Where the fuck am I going to work now? <br /><br />OSCAR THE GROUCH: At least you’re popular; people just throw trash at me you 8 foot twit.<br /><br />THE COUNT: 2 pink slips. (really crying)<br /><br />SNUFFLEUPAGUS: You’ll be fine freak, what about me? I’m an invisible friend!<br /><br />THE COUNT: 3 pink slips. (sobbing uncontrollably)<br /><br />PLACIDO FLAMINGO: I’m screwed too, no one listens to opera now. I mean, no one wants their kids learning the damn classics anymore. It’s always, “that’s great Placido, but could you do that Gangnam Style?”<br /><br />THE COUNT: 4 pink slips. (sobbing)<br /><br />ELMO: You know, when I’m not getting paid to be tickled it’s just weird.<br /><br />OSCAR THE GROUCH: Tickle whore.<br /><br />ELMO: I’ll mess you up bitch.<br /><br />OSCAR THE GROUCH: Just try tickle whore.<br /><br />ELMO: Bitch!<br /><br />OSCAR THE GROUCH: Whore!<br /><br />THE COUNT: 5 pink slips. (wheezing from crying)<br /><br />COOKIE MONSTER: Cookies?<br /><br />BIG BIRD: No C.M., not anymore?<br /><br />COOKIE MONSTER: Cookies?<br /><br />BIG BIRD: I’m sorry but no, Food Stamps don’t pay for cookies.<br /><br />COOKIE MONSTER: Cookies!<br /><br />THE COUNT: 6 pink slips. (slouching and crying)<br /><br />KERMIT: Just great! Just fucking great! Miss Piggy files for divorce and now this?<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05976758043152054556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-77852486961193563992012-10-04T11:40:37.191-07:002012-10-04T11:40:37.191-07:00Wow! This is one of your best posts ever!Wow! This is one of your best posts ever!Tednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-88985046561396087672012-10-04T10:20:51.758-07:002012-10-04T10:20:51.758-07:00Hey Ken,
Next time, could you take the story and ...Hey Ken, <br />Next time, could you take the story and do it from the perspective of a black couple living in Atlanta finding the rocketship? <br /><br />I'd love to see a white Superman raised by a black family in a Wayans sort of way. Maybe the S on his chest is blinged with Swarovski crystals?<br /><br />If you've ever seen The Jerk, you know there's gold to be mined there. <br /><br />God I love stereotypes.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09587558854488554257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-36763536230973986352012-10-04T09:34:36.142-07:002012-10-04T09:34:36.142-07:00It's like a Pop-Up Video for writing!
Great p...It's like a Pop-Up Video for writing!<br /><br />Great post, thanks!Marknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-40194942937715566102012-10-04T07:57:47.766-07:002012-10-04T07:57:47.766-07:00That is the BEST show that I have never seen.
Wel...That is the BEST show that I have never seen.<br /><br />Well done.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02040425178167331091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-54830931612072279862012-10-04T07:16:55.048-07:002012-10-04T07:16:55.048-07:00Thanks so much for this, Ken. I've been strugg...Thanks so much for this, Ken. I've been struggling for a while with my spec pilot, so this is going to help look at every line from a new angle. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-59743606930972470942012-10-04T07:14:51.036-07:002012-10-04T07:14:51.036-07:00Boy, is this a valuable lesson for anyone thinking...Boy, is this a valuable lesson for anyone thinking of writing sitcoms. Wish I had it 30 years ago when I first started writing spec episodes! I could have strengthened my scripts just by examination and asking the right questions. David Schwartzhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ2W6VoCrSwnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-85950342513671606982012-10-04T07:09:19.618-07:002012-10-04T07:09:19.618-07:00I thought the scene you wrote was excellent; the l...I thought the scene you wrote was excellent; the line-by-line breakdown is even better.<br /><br />Thanks so much. Happy Sitcom Room!<br /><br />wgWendy M. Grossmanhttp://www.pelicancrossing.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-44088910768286035272012-10-04T07:04:40.205-07:002012-10-04T07:04:40.205-07:00That was great Ken - cheers - I mean, thanks (I of...That was great Ken - cheers - I mean, thanks (I often say cheers as thank you, can't do that with you now can I - it's just confusing - anyway... )TFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13433621712742557264noreply@blogger.com