On this week’s episode of 3rd and Fairfax, the official podcast of the Writers Guild of America, the guest is Carlton Cuse who created the series Nash Bridges, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr;, Martial Law and developed the series Bates Motel and created for television the series Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. And was the executive producer of Lost. He talks about his career and co-developing the AppleTV+ drama series Five Days at Memorial, chronicling the impact of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath at a local hospital.
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Back in February, I wrote here about the great documentary, Turn Every Page, about the half-century working relationship between Robert Caro (who's won two Pulitzer Prizes for The Power Broker and Master of the Senate in his thus far four-volume series on Lyndon Johnson) and legendary editor Robert Gottlieb, who has edited such authors as Salman Rushdie, John Cheever, Ray Bradbury, John Le Carré, Toni Morrison, Bruno Bettelheim and Bob Dylan. This is an extremely enjoyable 52-minute Q&A with them and Gottlieb's daughter Lizzie who directed the documentary. It was done at the New York Public Library, and is a lot of fun and interesting. And as a bonus, I feel I should explain the title, which has next to nothing to do with the video, other than having the name "Caro" in it. But "O Mio bambino caro" (Oh, my beloved father) is probably the most famous aria from Puccini's opera Gianni Schicchi -- and one of the better-known arias in all of opera. Even many people who don't like opera might know it, having been used in many movies and even TV commercials. So, here is Renée Fleming singing it as a reminder with the Berlin Philharmonic -- Yesterday, when embedding the latest Naked Lunch podcast -- in which hosts Phil Rosenthal and David Wild talk about both being in the Writers Guild, their time walking on the current picket line and how their careers in writing got them to this point -- I mentioned that this especially resonated with me because I'd met Rosenthal during the 2007-8 WGA strike in the picket line at Fox Studios. As I noted, Everybody Loves Raymond was on the air at the time, and one of the several columns I was writing for the WGA website was called "E-mail Interviews." I would email a set of core questions about writing to the person being interviewed -- occasionally expanding with a few questions more specific to the writer. (My reasoning for keeping the questions largely the same was that 1) it was about the process of writing, and those basic questions didn't change, 2) it wasn't the questions that were important, but rather how each individual writer answered about how they wrote. And perhaps more importantly, 3) being on the editorial board for the then-new WGA website, I wanted to build content and so was writing three columns, all of which were volunteer, and it just made things oh-so much easier...) The writers could then respond at their own pace when they had the time, and send their answers back along with a page from one of their scripts, ideally with edit notes written on it, and a photo. What I recall is how gracious Phil was when asked to participate, despite having been accosted on the picket line, and also how entertaining his E-mail Interview answers were. Both qualities that subsequently became apparent in his documentary series, Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix. (For the record, it began life on PBS as I'll Have What Phil's Having.) I've tracked down the interview, and here it is. Originally posted in 2008, as best as I can recall. E-mail Interview with Phil Rosenthal Edited by Robert J. Elisberg Phil Rosenthal is the creator and executive producer of the series, Everyone Loves Raymond. He began his career as a staff writer on the series, A Family for Joe, which starred Robert Mitchum (a show for which Rosenthal self-effacingly quotes NBC president Brandon Tartikoff saying, “It should be cut up into guitar picks".) He followed this with Baby Talk and The Man in the Family, both created/developed by ed. weinberger. Alan Kirschenbaum's Down the Shore came next, followed by three seasons on Coach. In addition to his TV work, Rosenthal was also director and co-writer of the now-famous "The Final Days" comedy short film which starred President Bill Clinton, made for the 2000 White House Correspondent's dinner. It can be seen online here. >WGA: Were there any movies, TV shows or books that first got you interested in writing? PR: My earliest influences were The Honeymooners and The Jackie Gleason Show. Gleason and Art Carney got me interested in comedy at about age 4, and I wanted to do what they did. That was the same year Mary Poppins came out, and I wanted to marry Julie Andrews. When I was 15, I saw Jaws and was knocked out by the power a movie could have. Other sitcoms I loved growing up were Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, All In The Family, The Odd Couple, Taxi, and Soap. I was acting in Neil Simon plays from age 14, and when I saw Woody Allen's Love and Death at 16, I wanted to be him. When I saw Annie Hall the next year, and saw all the trouble he had with women, I realized I was him. >WGA: When you write, how do you generally work? PR: When writing alone, I like bed. I've got a Mac Powerbook, and one of those little desktops-over-a-beanbag things from restoration hardware. >WGA: Is there a specific time you prefer to write? PR: I feel a little less like an old man in the morning. >WGA: Do you have any specific kind of music playing or prefer silence? PR: Quiet is nice. >WGA: Are you a good procrastinator? PR: The best. I'm the world's laziest workaholic. >WGA: What sort of characters interest you? PR: Believable ones. I love outrageous characters, but I still want to believe we're on earth. >WGA: What about stories? PR: The same. And a good structure. Nothing substitutes for a good beginning, middle and end. And it should maybe be about something that someone gives a shit about. >WGA: How do you work through parts of a script where you hit a roadblock in the story? PR: I would love to know of some tricks. If you have the luxury of time, forget about it for today, or this week, even. go get something to eat and see a movie. If it's got to be done today, what else can you do? I find that if I just start putting something, anything down, it helps. Because then at least you're working off of something instead of nothing. And nobody needs to see the first something. >WGA: What are the additional challenges (or advantages, for that matter) in doing a television show based on the life and works of the star of your show? PR: In first talking to Ray (Romano), he told me about his life, just in the way of getting to know someone. But, the more he told me about his actual life, the more I realized that this was the show. And what I didn't know about the personalities of his family, I filled in with my own. but obviously it was a blessing that Ray had such a screwed up life. >WGA: What is your best experience as a writer? PR: Working with my friends on "Raymond". We laugh like idiots every single day. I'm in love with them. >WGA: Was there any particular writer who acted as a sort of mentor to you? PR: My mentor in sitcoms was actually younger than me – Alan Kirschenbaum. We went to high school together, were in the school plays together. He became a writer first, and then, while I was a struggling actor, he showed up at my apartment in NY during the writers strike of '88 with one of those new fancy "word processors" (about the size of an oven), and we wrote a screenplay. The following year, I moved out to L.A., hooked up with a writing partner (Oliver Goldstick), and Alan taught me the basic, essential structure of a sitcom in about 15 minutes over a terrible seafood lunch. The best advice we ever got was from ed. weinberger, who said, "do the show you want to do, because in the end, they're gonna cancel you anyway". >WGA: Why do you write? PR: Because I couldn't stomach being an actor. We have a slightly different episode of the Naked Lunch podcast, hosted by Phil Rosenthal and David Wild. As they note, "With the Writers Guild of America on strike, Phil and David -- who've both been on the picket lines -- discuss how they each eventually became TV writers and longtime members of the WGA. Phil traces his journey from starting out as a 'failed actor' in New York, while David talks about starting out as a journalist and editor at 'Rolling Stone' magazine.
It's a very fun, interesting episode. But also, with Phil talking about being on the WGA picket line, it reminds me of when I met the good fellow. It was in 2008...on the Writers Guild picket line. (It was at the Fox Studios.) At the time, Everybody Loves Raymond was on the air, and I was writing a few columns for the Writers Guild website, one of which was "E-mail Interviews." I would send questions to the writer, who at their own pace would send back their responses, along with a photo and a page from one of their scripts, ideally with edit notes written on it. What I recall is how gracious Phil was when asked to participate, having been accosted on the picket line, and also how more detailed his E-mail Interview answers were than most people. And how entertaining it was. I've tracked down the interview, and unless scheduling changes, will post it tomorrow. For now, since I can't embed the Naked Lunch podcast, you can listen to it by clicking here. This will be of interest to members of the Writers Guild in Los Angeles. Sorry to all others.
Gino’s East is one of the more popular deep dish restaurants in Chicago. A few years ago, they opened a branch in Sherman Oaks, which is owned and operated by longtIme WGAW member Tod Himmel and SAG/AFTRA member Dan Michaels. They sent an email today with a bunch of new specials, but then wrote (and the bold-face is all theirs) -- "We would not have been able to open our business if not for the wages, benefits, residuals and pensions we earned thanks to our guilds’ collective bargaining. "We support our WGAW comrades in the fight for a living wage. Bring in your WGA/SAG card and receive 25% off any pizza during the work stoppage." Well, good on them. They're located at 12924 Riverside Drive,, Sherman Oaks. (818) 788-5050. This is a link to their website. Their Facebook page here has more information about the restaurant. Yesterday, I did my WGA picketing duty at the Fox studio. And to offer support for his striking human writer friends against the use of AI, we were joined by Strikebot 5000.
It not only was much appreciated but also meant more muffins from the food table for the rest of us who require calories. |
AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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