tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post5888144352500977026..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Friday QuestionsBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-14256372391996465922016-10-24T21:37:00.483-07:002016-10-24T21:37:00.483-07:00Ken, I for one would love to see a play based on y...Ken, I for one would love to see a play based on your experiences writing 70s or 80s sitcoms. As great as Neil Simon is, I thought his LAUGHTER ON THE 23RD FLOOR was only partly successful. Thinking about it now, I guess you've gone there a little bit with ALMOST PERFECT, though those guys were writing a drama.Greg T.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-65769809884500951152016-10-22T14:52:03.406-07:002016-10-22T14:52:03.406-07:00Friday question: what do you think of SPEECHLESS?Friday question: what do you think of SPEECHLESS?Jakenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-23623321995479456642016-10-22T13:57:55.253-07:002016-10-22T13:57:55.253-07:00The original Leave It to Beaver series broke a lot...The original Leave It to Beaver series broke a lot of new ground for sitcoms - first to have a finale, prioritizing story over simply going for the laugh - things that were later evident in M*A*S*H, among others. Did that have anything to do with your choice of Beaver Cleaver as your "boss jock" stage name?John Foxnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-21480649978400861012016-10-22T10:47:57.720-07:002016-10-22T10:47:57.720-07:00Then there's Paul Rudnick's very funny alt...Then there's Paul Rudnick's very funny alter ego, Libby Gelman-WaxnerKirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02155991693956178030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-41443928987578964852016-10-22T06:08:27.549-07:002016-10-22T06:08:27.549-07:00Paul Duca: because the actor singing there is Andr...Paul Duca: because the actor singing there is Andrew Rannells, whom Ken mentions a paragraph or two in.<br /><br />wgWendy M. Grossmanhttp://www.pelicancrossing.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-59897744625643708792016-10-21T19:27:13.047-07:002016-10-21T19:27:13.047-07:00 Why is there a scene from THE BOOK OF MORMON on t... Why is there a scene from THE BOOK OF MORMON on top of your page?Paul Ducanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-10630000861310279402016-10-21T17:21:09.048-07:002016-10-21T17:21:09.048-07:00And I'm a huge Paul Rudnick fan also, and won ...And I'm a huge Paul Rudnick fan also, and won two lovely awards for starring in his play <i>I Hate Hamlet</i> out in Riverside a mere 21 years ago.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-73344597506199544522016-10-21T17:17:14.549-07:002016-10-21T17:17:14.549-07:00Ted, yes, I do find that bank robber an annoyance,...Ted, yes, I do find that bank robber an annoyance, especially since people I get into political arguments with online (Which, this month, happens hourly)sometimes assume, or pretend to assume, that he's me. Why can't they mix me up with the Douglas McEwan who lives in Edinburgh and is a "Professional Sean Connery Impersonator." Actually, given that my great-grandfather was born in Edinburgh, the Doug McEwan who looks like Connery is probably a distant cousin. <br /><br />And thanks for the plug, Ken.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-12494466785470991222016-10-21T17:11:08.261-07:002016-10-21T17:11:08.261-07:00Thank you, darling. And little Dougie interrupts m...Thank you, darling. And little Dougie interrupts me to point out that he actually has two new books coming out early in 2017, a novel and a non-fiction work, hopefully both amusing.Tallulah Moreheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07416330735326405496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-85577395307045389362016-10-21T13:14:01.003-07:002016-10-21T13:14:01.003-07:00I was curious about Douglas McEwan, the only one o...I was curious about Douglas McEwan, the only one of these comedic writers I haven't read. I bet he's not too happy that a bank robber named Douglas McEwan now beats him to the top of the Google listings.Tednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-13534137806407029152016-10-21T12:19:05.510-07:002016-10-21T12:19:05.510-07:00Ken, I've been able to spot Warren Littlefield...Ken, I've been able to spot Warren Littlefield sitting at the bar in the final season of Cheers, but I haven't been able to spot you! Catnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-38163831399952130592016-10-21T10:31:47.795-07:002016-10-21T10:31:47.795-07:00The first I read about the idea of adapting A Conf...The first I read about the idea of adapting <i>A Confederacy of Dunces</i> was at the end of <i>Outrageous Conduct: Art, Ego, and the Twilight Zone Case</i>, where John Landis - who had recently escaped justice in the on-set deaths of Vic Morrow and two small children - was said to be planning an adaptation. That was nearly 30 years ago.<br /><br />I'm quite glad no one has done so. Some of my favorite parts of the book are excerpts from Ignatius' journals, and those couldn't be reproduced successfully on screen. Likewise for Toole's physical descriptions of the characters, such as the way Lana Lee sits on a barstool or Miss Trixie shuffles around the Levy Pants office. These are at least as funny as the dialogue, and would be lost by simply <i>showing</i> the characters. gottacooknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-39906207327052272302016-10-21T09:17:50.995-07:002016-10-21T09:17:50.995-07:00Friday Question:
In mentioning your love of A Con...Friday Question:<br /><br />In mentioning your love of A Confederacy of Dunces, it brought to my mind the multiple efforts to bring the book to the big screen. Why do you suppose no ones been able to do it, Steven Soderburgh's suggestion of "bad mojo" aside?Thomas Mossmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00678349322403895276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-9964950169085106972016-10-21T09:16:58.814-07:002016-10-21T09:16:58.814-07:00Friday question: Building on the Q&A about you...Friday question: Building on the Q&A about your favorite "written-word" comedy writers, what are your favorite cartoons? Peanuts, Bloom County, Far Side, Calvin & Hobbes, etc.? (I grew up in the 80's.) Any contemporary ones? How about political cartoons/cartoonists? Andrewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-74779208977939815602016-10-21T08:28:10.268-07:002016-10-21T08:28:10.268-07:00What? Nothing about the game tonight that will en...What? Nothing about the game tonight that will end the longest drought in MLB history? I really think a study should be done with a graph that shows the increase in heart attacks on this date, and one that reports how many people in Nursing Homes draw their last, blissful breath tonight. Diane D.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-89436456131122712932016-10-21T06:16:37.476-07:002016-10-21T06:16:37.476-07:00Thank you for the answer to my question. Very goo...Thank you for the answer to my question. Very good answer. Mike Barerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14447874605833321732noreply@blogger.com