Interview w/ Monica Macer

Check out this great Twirlit.com video interview with Lost, Prison Break and Knight Rider writer Monica Macer!

Interview W/Monica Macer Hollywood TV Writer from twirlittv on Vimeo.

Act Breaks in Premium Cable

Harris writes: I'm working on a one-hour spec pilot that thematically and tonally feels suited for premium cable. Should I be including traditional act breaks and such?



Great question. I say no. Anyone with other experience can feel free to comment, but when I wrote my Weeds spec I studied several real scripts and found no act breaks, so I copied that format. After a look at the Pilot School website, I found that The Sopranos is the same.


HOWEVER - and this is a big however - I'm talking about format, i.e., actually writing "END OF ACT TWO" - not structure. Premium cable doesn't give you a free pass to ignore structure. While you might not need traditional cliffhangery act breaks, you still need story turns. I thought of my Weeds in a beginning-middle-end-tag fashion: the problem, what we do about the problem, the ramifications of our choices, and the set-up for next episode's problem. Watch episodes of other premium cable shows and see how they do it. Many of these writers have also written for network or basic cable, and I bet already have traditional structure ingrained in their minds.


UPDATE: Okay, you guys have convinced me. In the interest of using your spec pilot as a sample for a variety of shows, put act breaks in your pilot. But don't put them in a spec of a show that doesn't use them.

Interview with Pang Ni-Landrum

The Hollywood Writer's Office Assistants blog has another great interview up, this time from Pang Ni-Landrum.

Agent Season

Dan writes: I know that staffing season is the worst time for agents to consider taking on new clients. What are the best times of the year, if any?

Probably now, actually. There is no hard and fast rule, but staffing season finishes up in June, and now we're in the (short) lull before development season is in full force with lots of pitches. (Though I know many are already being set.) You will find that many agents and execs take this time to go on vacation and reacquaint themselves with their families, though.

Another good time to be sending your stuff out is early December, since many agents hope to catch up reading over the 3-4 week holiday break.

I'm not sure if these seasons are really a way to tailor your strategy - you should always be meeting people, always be writing, always be trying to get people to read. But logically, now is better than, say, February.

Just a writer? Not good enough.

Check out THE MULTI HYPHENATE by Kirsten Smith, and rethink your aspirations!

(Internet Explorer users - if you're having trouble, click the link below the video.)

The Multi-Hyphenate - watch more funny videos

Assistant Dos and Don'ts

Check out my Twirlit post:

Hollywood Assistant Files: Top 10 Dos and Don'ts

WB Workshop

Sorry for the hiatus. I've been busy celebrating our nation's birth and watching my favorite band play with the LA Phil and whatnot. I'm sure many of you have been busy writing last minute essays for all the fellowships and workshops. James wanted me to let everyone know that the WB TV workshop website has an "online application," but actually requires you to submit everything by mail as well - so make sure you give yourself enough time. The deadline is July 25. (Thanks James!)

I will be getting to more of those questions soon.