This little trailer has me so excited for The Office to come back. It encapsulates everything that is fantastic about the show.

If you’re a regular reader of ScreenwriterGuy (That’s right, I’m talking to both of you…) you know that I’m pouring most of my time lately into building a web site of short comedy pieces. Look for it to launch on January 14th. You heard it here!

Anyway, I’m doing a lot of surfing lately looking at things other people and groups have put up. I thought I’d share a few of my favorites:

Endless Romance
How to Shower: Men vs. Women
Minesweeper: The Movie
Powerthirst
Time Is Up
Webcam Girls Go Wild

I’m sure there are thousands of others that I haven’t seen. Recommendations?

In Los Angeles there exists a division: “Industry” and “Not.”

Industry people tend to hang with their own sort, as do non-industry people, although the motivations of the two groups are different. The reason industry types want to meet other industry types is because they expect those people can help them somehow. And the reason the non-industry types want to meet other non-industry types is because they are sick of industry types looking for other people to help them somehow.  So prevalent is this dichotomy that one can often find ads for roommates who are” clean, neat, responsible… no actors, writers, etc.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Continued depravity from reality TV: I’m not a snob. But if you watch reality television–any reality television at all–I won’t be your friend. While this may seem like snobbery, it is actually a reasonable concern for our nation’s wellbeing. After all, reality television grows closer and closer to destroying the fabric of western society with each passing month. I’ve warned before that we’re in danger of seeing Running Man get greenlit. Meanwhile, this week we get news that parents are upset about a contract CBS made them sign before their 8- to 15-year-old children participated in a show called Kid Nation. The idea behind the show is that 40 kids are dropped in a New Mexico ghost town and made to fashion their own society. Folks are concerned, and CBS denies, that the production violated child labor laws. Plus, some find it strange that the contract included a clause about how parents can’t sue if any of the kids catch STDs. What concerns me is that everyone is so concerned about the legal details, and no one has stopped to ponder the morality of turning Lord of the Freakin’ Flies into prime time entertainment! We all remember how things turned out for Piggy and Ralph in the novel, right? I’ve got the conch, and I want more comedy programming.

Read the rest of this entry »

Fall has long been my favorite season. The leaves go orange, the air turns crisp, and the mindless summer tentpoles give way to passion project Oscar bait. Of course, we’re not free from knock-offs of previous box-office champs, nor from standard Hollywood drivel. Still, the percentage of art-house fare rises, and I couldn’t be happier. There are quite a few I’m looking forward to this fall and winter. I think the movie I most expect to love is Elizabeth: The Golden Age, coming October 12. Queen Elizabeth was a badass, and so is Cate Blanchett. If the trailer is to be believed, this movie will move past political intrigue to full-on war. Sweet. After a summer dripping with franchise sequels, here’s a story that actually begs for a trilogy. I’m glad director Shekar Kapur was able to convince Blanchett that this needed to happen. Next would have to be Sweeny Todd, due December 21. I’m preparing myself for the kind of disappointment I felt from Corpse Bride and Sleepy Hollow. Tim Burton can only do so many Johnny Depp, Helena Bonnam-Carter movies, wallowing in cartoony darkness, before we all turn on him. But something tells me that tackling a Sondheim musical with a story that just shouldn’t be will summon up the best in Burton. Bringing us the demon barber of Fleet Street, in song, will no doubt push Burton out of his comfort zone, and that’s often where the best art happens. Allan Rickman may be the aspect to which I most look forward form this outing. Then, on January 18, we get “Cloverfield.” Not since The Blair Witch Project has a movie so effectively generated preliminary buzz. Considering we haven’t even been told a damn thing about the movie, (Cloverfield isn’t even its real name…) some marketing guy somewhere clearly deserves a promotion. It has worked on me. There’s no way the movie can deliver on the promises of the marvelous trailer, but I’ll still be in line when it comes out. The other movies that have me excited:

Read the rest of this entry »

I love when the premiere of a show just has good written all over it. You know, not the kind where you feel like it has potential and you’ll give it another shot, but the kind where you can’t wait to see the next episode. Studio 60, maybe The Riches, last forced onto my watchlist so decisively. Last night’s debut of Californication may have trumped those debuts.

Californication is a great marriage of premise and character into a show that is willing to be funny without taking itself lightly. Also, in the hooray-for-boobies category, David Duchovny has found himself a magical project. Excluding a ménage à trois he breaks up, I counted four scenes with Duchovny and a different naked woman. In a half-hour show. That’s good work if you can get it. Better though, it was that most rare of creatures: non-gratuitous nudity.  Each occurrence was important to the story, and usually undercut in a fun, character-relevant way.

So color me interested. And here’s hoping that, unlike Studio 60 or The Riches, Californication won’t let me down.