tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post6503829832326671678..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Open letter to anyone producing a sitcom pilotBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-82349046242235064942009-03-01T17:52:00.000-08:002009-03-01T17:52:00.000-08:00Ken,This is a great piece and I wish I would have ...Ken,<BR/>This is a great piece and I wish I would have read it before I jumped right into directing my first sitcom. I made some pretty amateur mistakes— including jumping to production before working out the flaws in the script. We auditioned actors, and I think the casting was pretty solid given our resources as students. In the end, I think we came out with a decent pilot— but nothing that will come close to killing. Not sure you can make it through the whole thing, but if you have 30 minutes, you should check it out:<BR/>http://www.youtube.com/orangerhymepicturesOrange Rhyme Pictureshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12998148216688187415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-55898395353826491552008-05-07T08:17:00.000-07:002008-05-07T08:17:00.000-07:00Back to You is bringing the weather girl back toni...<I>Back to You</I> is bringing the weather girl back tonight, seemingly for the purpose of writing her out. Which is a shame, because I like her. <BR/><BR/>I notice post-strike there are some interesting developments, how the bitter street reporter and the nervous fat dude are now best buds.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-29906498004343221382008-05-06T10:04:00.000-07:002008-05-06T10:04:00.000-07:00tcinla: Pretty sure it was Ann Sheridan, not Sothe...tcinla: Pretty sure it was Ann Sheridan, not Sothern, who almost played Ilsa. And I've also heard they wanted Dennis Morgan for Rick, with Reagan as Victor Laszlo. Either way, it worked out for the best.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-11542803175134387982008-05-05T20:48:00.000-07:002008-05-05T20:48:00.000-07:00Did anyone else see an episode of NICK AND HILLARY...Did anyone else see an episode of NICK AND HILLARY, the sitcom transformation of the hourlong drama TATTINGER'S from the previous fall? That was a weird experience: the same lead actors (Stephen Collins and Blythe Danner - yeah, it was a Paltrow production) taking on the demands of a sitcom. (Plus they added Chris Elliott as a new character.) I happened to see the first episode in spring 1989; according to Brooks & Marsh's reference book, only one further episode aired. Danner was charming as usual; Collins left no impression, which was likely the trouble.<BR/><BR/>Seems to me that learning what happened in this case might shed some light on the topic at hand. Was there even a pilot? Or is it simply that Paltrow was so persuasive as to convince NBC that these actors, in these roles, could make a sitcom work? It's a mystery, unless Blythe writes her memoirs. (The only similar drama-to-comedy example, BEVERLY HILLS BUNTZ, had already come and gone, also on NBC, only the year before. That one did have a pilot, shot by Hal Ashby.)<BR/><BR/>Finally: One of my favorite MASH episodes was the one with Blythe Danner - before your time on staff, I know.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-44214884533731985332008-05-05T20:21:00.000-07:002008-05-05T20:21:00.000-07:00carolmr said:Wow! Aaron Spelling must have had inc...carolmr said:<BR/><BR/><I>Wow! Aaron Spelling must have had incredible powers of persuasion even back in 1963!</I><BR/><BR/>Yes, it's amazing what money can buy with the under-employed.<BR/><BR/>I don't mean that as any put-down of those people you named, but in 1963, they were not "contemporary hotties" shall we say.TCinLAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10019943818456775718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-55978196291998154402008-05-05T20:15:00.000-07:002008-05-05T20:15:00.000-07:00Worst casting possibility ever: "Casablanca" with...Worst casting possibility ever: "Casablanca" with Ronald Reagan and Ann Southern.<BR/><BR/>For those who don't know their film history, those were Warner Brothers' first choice for the roles of Rick and Ilsa.<BR/><BR/>Ken is absolutely right, if I might paraphrase Vionce Lombardi - "Casting isn't everything, it's the <I>only</I> thing!"<BR/><BR/>Not just in comedies. I write drama and action. Think of Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones. He was Lucas' first choice, and the only reason he didn't get it was that he did the pilot for Magnum P.I. They didn't want to use Harrison Ford because he'd been in everything Lucas had done to that point from "American Grafitti." Can you imagine <I>anyone else</I> as Indiana Jones? Harrison Ford was <I>born</I> to play Han Solo and Indiana Jones. I suspect he'll even be good in "Indiana Jones Meets The Over-The-Hill Gang" this summer.<BR/><BR/>Bruce Willis fought like hell to be in the first "Die Hard" (personally, I can't stand the sequels, but the first one really is great, probably because it's so low-budget). They saw him as the wiseass from "Moonlighting" and turned him down. Three times. He ended up doing the movie for Scale +10 (or so I have heard). If true, what a helluva investment in yourself.<BR/><BR/>Sylvester Stallone, four months behind in the rent with $100 in the bank, turned down $375,000 for the "Rocky" screenplay because they wouldn't do it with him playing Rocky, and finally convinced them to let him do the movie by taking $50K less and acting for free. All the sequels are varying degrees of awful, and he's one of the most limited stars who ever became a star, but the first "Rocky" works like a swiss watch to this day and nobody else could have done it.<BR/><BR/>And you should trust your gut about your casting decision. Arnold Schwarzenegger has told the story of how hard he fought to play the Terminator so many times over the years that I am sure he could pass a lie detector test on that point. But the truth is, he wanted to play Reese, the hero, until James Cameron sat him down and convinced him to play the Terminator.<BR/><BR/>The list goes on....<BR/><BR/>You really have to go with your gut and then trust it, and that's hard because if you're wrong, you just wrote your one-say ticket to Palookaville. But nobody ever got drafted to work here....TCinLAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10019943818456775718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-72743920849985280632008-05-05T16:38:00.000-07:002008-05-05T16:38:00.000-07:00Funny you should compare Valerie Mahaffey with Jul...Funny you should compare Valerie Mahaffey with Julie Haggerty. They shared a supporting role on the Delta Burke/"Designing Women" spinoff, "Women of the House". The producers wanted Julie originally, but she wasn't available, so Valerie filled in, playing the same character, in the first few episode. Then Julie freed up and took over the part for a couple of episodes, and then quit. Valerie then came back.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-62099953599729249772008-05-05T14:32:00.000-07:002008-05-05T14:32:00.000-07:00Valerie Mahaffey is sort of the TV equivalent of J...Valerie Mahaffey is sort of the TV equivalent of Julie Hagerty: attractive, likable, talented, yet wasted by the industry which never quite found the breakout role for her (or, in the case of Hagerty, never found one that let her build upon her success from "Airplane!"). Then again, Paula Prentiss was wasted by <I>both</I> mediums.VP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-30233203650880231552008-05-05T14:29:00.000-07:002008-05-05T14:29:00.000-07:00Mr. Levine: Off-topic, sorry. I just received th...Mr. Levine: Off-topic, sorry. I just received the Season One DVD set of BURKE'S LAW. I used to watch it with my parents as a child. I've seen about four of the episodes so far and the guest list is something like this: Sammy Davis, Jr., Soupy Sales, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Mary Astor, Barbara Eden, Elizabeth Montgomery, Lizabeth Scott, Paul Lynde, Suzy Parker, Diana Dors, William Bendix, Don Rickles, John Saxon, Arlene Dahl, Jim Backus, Burgess Meredith, Joan Blondell, Fred Clark, and Ruth Roman. Wow! Aaron Spelling must have had incredible powers of persuasion even back in 1963!CarolMRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06357698369178272616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-72927400963127572892008-05-05T13:59:00.000-07:002008-05-05T13:59:00.000-07:00Had William Devane played Sam Malone, the title wo...Had William Devane played Sam Malone, the title would have had to be changed, perhaps to LAST CALL.<BR/><BR/>I went to the taping of the pilot for that short-lived Nathan Lane sitcom where he was a congressman. The female lead was a very pretty black woman who was clearly a competant actress, but -well let's just say, a bit of a black Pam Dawber.<BR/><BR/>I also attended the reshoot, when they reshot only her scenes, only now with Laurie Metcalf in the role. Now it was funny!<BR/><BR/>Not funny enough, obviously, but a huge improvement. TR Knight was also in that show, and very good he was. Which shows that funny people means you now have a better chance, but still nothing is certain in this field.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-43069320480268436332008-05-05T13:18:00.000-07:002008-05-05T13:18:00.000-07:00I confess I never watched the American version of ...I confess I never watched the American version of Coupling (any more than I've ever watched the American version of The Office [yes, I KNOW, and no I don't CARE]), but I don't know if you can blame it all on the cast. Colin Ferguson was cast in that, and he has been spectacularly good--and FUNNY--on Eureka. Sometimes the premise just sucks. Brit-com humor works at a different pace than our version, and some things just don't translate. Coupling is a great example of that. But I'm not sure you can blame it entirely on the cast.Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01288100796201737845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-84246859992900945452008-05-05T12:40:00.000-07:002008-05-05T12:40:00.000-07:00The problem with the network and studio casting in...<I>The problem with the network and studio casting interference is that THIS is when the problem of hiring execs based on their place in the "diversity rainbow" really becomes fatal.</I><BR/><BR/>Yeah, those damn minorities are just killing show biz. We need lots more old white guys who, let's face it, always did a bang-up job as network and studio execs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-78293807896188019992008-05-05T12:20:00.000-07:002008-05-05T12:20:00.000-07:00I'd be interested in hearing the story on the Kels...I'd be interested in hearing the story on the Kelsey Grammar sitcom "Back to you". I've noticed an upgrade to a more capable child actor and the disappearance all together of the sex pot weather girl. <BR/><BR/>What focus group doesn’t like a sex pot?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-82145703350581085252008-05-05T12:15:00.000-07:002008-05-05T12:15:00.000-07:00I'm assuming that when a producer or producers get...I'm assuming that when a producer or producers get the green light to go ahead and produce a pilot and hire funny people for the cast, the producers themselves also know what "funny" is. I remember one show in particular, CONRAD BLOOM, with a tremendously talented cast in the pilot who were all sitcom veterans -- the show stunk. It wasn't funny and lasted about six episodes. Included in the pilot's cast were such stalwarts as Linda Lavin, Steve Landesberg, Valerie Mahaffey, and Mark Feierstein, and even that group couldn't save it... And as if someone decided to start shoveling ice onto the deck of the Titanic, when the show got picked up, Valerie Mahaffey (who had won an Emmy for a guest spot on WINGS) had been replaced by Victoria Jackson from SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE... Go figure...Tom Quigleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12959628996361620134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-22109779596306880932008-05-05T10:07:00.000-07:002008-05-05T10:07:00.000-07:00I didn't know writers did the casting. I thought t...I didn't know writers did the casting. I thought that was a specialty credit "casting by"<BR/>I've always felt bad for Jason Alexander never getting an Emmy for playing Costanaza. He carried that showAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-55137583564584975632008-05-05T09:06:00.000-07:002008-05-05T09:06:00.000-07:00That's a funny idea, William Devane as Kramer (or ...That's a funny idea, William Devane as Kramer (or as Sam Malone, for that matter)... I always picture Devane in his MARATHON MAN character Janeway, who must have been great fun for him to play; he gets to smile more than everyone else in the picture put together, and also has great lines (in context, anyway) like "GET the F***ING CAR!" <BR/><BR/>I have heard about how funny the OFFICE cast is since it began airing on NBC, but I simply cannot watch the show because of the camerawork; I've tried. (I felt the same at the beginning of HOMICIDE in early 1993, but what seemed extreme then is mild today and didn't keep me from getting involved in the episodes.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-87847663151572209382008-05-05T08:33:00.000-07:002008-05-05T08:33:00.000-07:00Anonymous said "but they cast 6 great looking peop...Anonymous said<BR/> "but they cast 6 great looking people, 4 of whom were funny (and 1 more who caught up by the end.)"<BR/><BR/>You are being far to kind, the only dynamic that worked on that show was the dumb guy and his roomate.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-965312605943381602008-05-05T08:18:00.000-07:002008-05-05T08:18:00.000-07:00and be sure to hire amanda peet.and be sure to hire amanda peet.The Minstrel Boyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00697821546165315014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-27793990133422270202008-05-05T07:49:00.000-07:002008-05-05T07:49:00.000-07:00Sometimes you get a break in your casting. For exa...Sometimes you get a break in your casting. For example, when the "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" sitcom was cast in 1996, Beth Broderick was initially hired to play<I>...Aunt Hilda</I> (a man-hungry character sort of along the lines of those she played on "Hearts Afire" and "The Five Mrs. Buchanans")! However, Beth soon decided she'd prefer the cooler, more-straitlaced Zelda role (which suited her sultry sex appeal), and Caroline Rhea was cast as Hilda. And I'm sure every time a "Sabrina" residual check enters Caroline's bank account, she gives thanks to Beth.VP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-16028429970595533512008-05-05T07:36:00.000-07:002008-05-05T07:36:00.000-07:00Ken, what are your thoughts on the crossover stunt...Ken, what are your thoughts on the crossover stunt being done on CBS this week? Not only the actors but the writers are making a change up....the CSI scribes are doing the script for TWO & A HALF MEN and vice versa.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-81283947041538482008-05-05T07:22:00.000-07:002008-05-05T07:22:00.000-07:00The problem with the network and studio casting in...The problem with the network and studio casting interference is that THIS is when the problem of hiring execs based on their place in the "diversity rainbow" really becomes fatal. Try and argue with a gay, african-american man or even worse, a gay, african-american woman that they might not know ALL there is to know about comedy from their many valuable years as a personal assistant... you can kiss your pilot and future development deal good-bye. Whatever happened to the good old days when studio and network execs were hired based on nepotism and blackmail? At least then, there was a 1% chance that you might end up with someone mildly capable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-11619514321337883272008-05-05T05:28:00.000-07:002008-05-05T05:28:00.000-07:00Are you serious about William Devane being conside...Are you serious about William Devane being considered for Kramer? I ask because he and Fred Dryer (the NFL player turned actor who would become the star of the police drama HUNTER) were the other two finalists for the role of Sam Malone.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-39664047275887961902008-05-05T02:36:00.000-07:002008-05-05T02:36:00.000-07:00What was wrong with Windows 98? I seem to remember...What was wrong with Windows 98? I seem to remember that one working. Unlike poxy Vista, which I'm on now.<BR/><BR/>I can't quite get 5 funny people in Friends - who are you thinking of, Mr.Anonymous? Are you including the monkey gimmick? And Gunther?Bitter Animatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06617537816971588380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-50513438894260120942008-05-05T02:34:00.000-07:002008-05-05T02:34:00.000-07:00I'd say Ross, Joey, and Chandler were the funniest...I'd say Ross, Joey, and Chandler were the funniest on Friends. Rachel was bleh, and her laughs were brought via writing or when she was angry.<BR/>Monica was alright, and her yelped lines are classics, but she got REALLY annoying near the end of the show when thy focused way too much on her "cleanliness is naziness" crap.<BR/>Phoebe was always average. Said some goofy things, and that's it.<BR/><BR/>Chandler was ruined once his and Monica's relationship was found out by Ross. After that, Chandler became a boring sap.<BR/>"Ohh, I love you Monica. :) "<BR/>Shut up and do something stupid, asshole.<BR/><BR/><BR/>:PAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-51358769743683511312008-05-05T00:51:00.000-07:002008-05-05T00:51:00.000-07:00Friends ruined it. It was a good show, but they c...Friends ruined it. It was a good show, but they cast 6 great looking people, 4 of whom were funny (and 1 more who caught up by the end.)<BR/><BR/>And since it was a monster hit, networks expect the same from every show.<BR/><BR/>The classic sitcoms had nice looking stars, but they didn't have to be models.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com