My bumpy road through “Hollywood” – PALLION THE YOUNG STALLION spec script for BoJack Horseman

My favorite show on Netflix is BoJack Horseman, which reveals a lot about me, since it’s a show about an emotionally dysfunctional has-been in Hollywood. So, back in January 2018, I was motivated to write a spec script for the show. I thought maybe I could replay the events decades earlier, described in “My Bumpy …

My Bumpy Road Through “Hollywood” — Starting Over. Again.

Since Middle School, I have been a writer, and was the editor of my school paper in Ninth Grade. I began in television in high school and became producer and writer for the New Year’s Eve variety program “CELEBRATION” which aired on network affiliate TV stations in Minneapolis for several years. I then helped build …

My Bumpy Road Through “Hollywood” — HOT CAR

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5zfhD2GSo4 I said to myself, for quite some time now, "I gotta do SOMETHING." Tired of projects failing, hating the junior high cliquishness of crowdfunding, realizing it's been too many years. I sought the Holy Grail of indie filmmaking: two people, one room, one day. So, at Thanksgiving time 2014, I took an inventory of …

My Bumpy Road Through “Hollywood” — A VENOM IN THE BLOOD

Two decades ago, I bought a book. In producer-speak, that means I acquired the rights via option to make a movie from a book. I knew a TV news reporter, and she had made contact with a reclusive author who wrote a book she thought I might be interested in. Actually, “reclusive” is too weak …

You’ll enjoy reading NATE AND KELLY

If anything I've written has informed or inspired you, you will enjoy reading my novel NATE AND KELLY. Read the many reviews!

From the Ivey Business Review: “Arrested Economics — Assessing Netflix’s Original Content Business”

Story-makers, the shift in the independent film industry includes new opportunities in what is commonly called "television." The new creative opportunities are exciting. Here's the second of two discussions about these new opportunities. Arrested Development and House of Cards aren't designed to deliver the metrics Wall Street expects, and this means a lot about how …

From the Ivey Business Review: “Original TV Series — The Illusory ‘Silver Bullet'”

Story-makers, the shift in the independent film industry includes new opportunities in what is commonly called "television." The new creative opportunities are exciting. Here's the first of two discussions about these new opportunities. Streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon see original TV series as the path to success. It's not. But consumers win. Reposted …

“Story-making”

Production is morphing into ... what? Is it "filmmaking" if there's no film? Are we "taping" a program if there's no tape? Are they "films" or "movies" it they are viewed on a smartphone? Is it "Television" if it's streaming online on demand? The technology of production and the delivery methods are no longer pertinent …

WRITER’S AGENTS IN LOS ANGELES & NEW YORK CITY

This is the start of a list that will, I hope, build based on input from writers and others with knowledge of the agencies. For now, I will try to update the list and keep it focused on Los Angeles and New York City area agencies. Please add names, contact information, the agency's preferences, and …

Coffee joints for Writers & Filmmakers in NYC & L.A.

This is just for writers and filmmakers! =} Writers and filmmakers are often hauling their laptops to coffee houses for writing and working. In New York and Los Angeles, there are many such places, but sometimes they are difficult to find. Let’s build a list of coffee joints where we like to work. Besides, we …

The latest on NATE AND KELLY the novel

NATE AND KELLY is a love story from a century ago, about today. The novel has a strong, interesting narrative structure (essential for all media and what audiences now want). It is an interesting combination of fiction and non-fiction that works well with both the broad subjects of historical significance and its very specific, illuminating …

NATE AND KELLY the novel

1915. A businessman and a prostitute find love. And hate. The United States of America faced incomprehensible horror one day shortly after the turn of the century. There was shock, destruction, and death. War loomed. Americans veered toward either hopelessness, fear, and hate or toward vision, faith, and rebuilding. They asked, “Could life in America …

How to Start Writing a Screenplay

There are a lot of screenwriting gurus. That's because there are so many people who want to write screenplays and are scared to death about doing it wrong. It seems that, for every 100 people who are afraid of the number of brads that must be in a script (two), the typeface that must be …

My Bumpy Road Through “Hollywood” — THE MOVIE THAT NEEDS TO BE MADE

After working in television, radio, and video since high school, I eventually pushed myself into the indie film biz, which suited my creative and entrepreneurial nature. That involved me acquiring scripts and novels of other writers and trying to make them into movies. [UPDATED, see end of blog posting.] For instance, I acquired a New …

My Bumpy Road Through “Hollywood” — The battle to make an independent movie

One of the odd things about being an independent filmmaker is the battle to get into production. Those of us who don't have well-to-do families or impressive connections to powerful people have to cultivate other ways to fund the production. This is especially true today with all the turmoil in the indie film biz and …