Toaster.TV: Screen Jam : Road to the Emmys: The Writer

Today's Emmy preview section at Variety focuses on writers, with the lead story on writers who per-form on screen, such as Tina Fey of 30 Rock and the crew from The Office. I chip in a piece on how writers get typecast:

A few years back, Ronald D. Moore was eyeing his next career move after a successful decade writing and producing for the "Star Trek" television franchise.

But as far as his chances of finding work outside the sci-fi genre were concerned, he might as well have plied his trade at Astro Burger.

"When I left 'Star Trek,' it was kind of a rude awakening," recalls Moore, now a "Battlestar Galactica" executive producer. "It turned out that my agent said, 'Would you mind specing something?' I said, 'Huh?' He said, 'No one will read a "Star Trek.'"

To this day, writer typecasting remains alive and well in Hollywood, and the burden rests on scribes to find their way out. ...

Comments

2007-06-06 15:58:05

1. Bob Timmermann

Does "Men in Trees" really still exist?

2007-06-06 15:58:55

2. Jon Weisman

Does it ever ... they're going to have about 27 episodes next year.

2007-06-06 21:51:58

3. Bob Timmermann

Well, there's some ambivalent feelings.

2007-06-07 09:57:49

4. underdog

I can't imagine going from writing (hiding behind a screen) to acting, but of course Tina Fey had experience as a performer and improviser in tandem with her writing. And we know Denis Leary's background. Steve Carrell... I wouldn't mind being Steve Carrell! Anyway, nice piece(s) Jon.

Btw, only tangentially related (Steve Carrell, segue) but I wrote - or rambled - about Knocked Up on my blog if anyone cares.
underdog.typepad.com

2007-06-07 23:49:38

5. Andrew Shimmin

Open threading: has anybody else noticed that there are two versions of the Carl's Jr. commercial for the burger with a big honking hunk of canned pineapple on it? One for male-centric sports audiences (it plays during Dodger games, so, I'm making that leap), that goes something like, "If you can't get your woman to put pineapple on your hamburger, you'll have to step out on her with us." Then there's the general audience one that goes, "When you have pineapple on your hamburger, it's a good day."

It's a disgusting suggestion, that putting canned pineapple on a burger is a good idea. But it's even more transgressive than that!

2007-06-08 06:03:08

6. Benaiah

I finally got around to seeing "Pirates of the Caribbean" a couple of days ago, and I was kind of surprised. Despite its incoherence, it was kind of ambitious and beautiful. It was no masterpiece (Kiera Knightly's speech about freedom ground the movie to a halt, at least to my ears where "freedom" rings hallow in its popular use) but there were some absolutely standout moments. The fighting wedding is obvious, but I also loved Beckett's last walk down the stairs, his hand properly gliding down the banister in proper English style, as the boat explodes around him. That image summed up the themes of a changing world much better than all of the nail on the head exposition by the pirates.

It could have used a chainsaw in the editing room and I would have loved a plot with less double crossing for the sake of double crossing. Still, it was a movie based on a roller coaster that opened by hanging a singing child. Which is to say, I got goosebumps as many times as I groaned, so I could see myself returning to "Pirates", which is more than I can say for a lot of movies.

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