Thursday, March 1, 2012
The UA French Club hosted a viewing of the French movie Intouchables. There were about 15 students present much more advanced in parlez francaise and greeting each other with un bise. It was fun. I felt like I was visiting a francophone country.
Intouchables was an important movie to watch if you are a student learning French because the movie was the second most successful film of all time and considered a cultural event in 2011. The movie is both a drama and a comedy about the friendship between Philippe and Driss. Philippe is a wealthy Frenchman who is a tetraplegic as a result of a hang gliding accident and requires a live-in caretaker. Driss is a young man from a poor family who has done some time in jail. He interviews for the live-in caretaker job to go through the motions just to get the needed signature to obtain unemployment benefits. No one is more surprised than Driss that Philippe hires him on a trial basis.
It was a wonderful movie. I highly recommend watching the movie. I am glad that I got to see it with appreciative French students.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
The Development of a TV Series
Yesterday, February 18, 2012, I attended Inside Track's panel discussion on how a TV series is created from pitch, development, production, to airing the pilot on a network. The panelists were: Jennifer Breslow, VP Scripted Series for Lifetime Network; Robert Myman, an entertainment lawyer; Joe Port, writer/producer for comedy series; and Lisa Roos, VP, Drama Development, Warner Brothers TV. Jennifer Breslow and Lisa Roos were alum from the UA Media Arts program. They discussed what make a good idea for a TV series, what is it like to pitch ideas, when do you need an entertainment lawyer, how to go about getting an agent, and how to break into the business.
Bob recommended getting a manager or a young agent that's hungry that will take the time to read your script. Make sure your script is as perfect as you can get it. No one has time or the patience to read drafts.
Joe recommended starting out by writing spec scripts. They can lead to bigger things.
Both Jennifer and Lisa said that when they hear a unique, fresh, original idea, they know it, they can instinctively feel it.
I came away liking all the panelists and how unpretentious and approachable they seemed to be. I felt grateful to them for taking the time to talk to us. I also felt greatly encouraged as an aspiring writer/director/producer because it seems that the cable networks have opened up a lot more opportunities for writers and producers than what existed before on the regular broadcast networks.
Inside Track http://insidetracktucson.com/
Bob recommended getting a manager or a young agent that's hungry that will take the time to read your script. Make sure your script is as perfect as you can get it. No one has time or the patience to read drafts.
Joe recommended starting out by writing spec scripts. They can lead to bigger things.
Both Jennifer and Lisa said that when they hear a unique, fresh, original idea, they know it, they can instinctively feel it.
I came away liking all the panelists and how unpretentious and approachable they seemed to be. I felt grateful to them for taking the time to talk to us. I also felt greatly encouraged as an aspiring writer/director/producer because it seems that the cable networks have opened up a lot more opportunities for writers and producers than what existed before on the regular broadcast networks.
Inside Track http://insidetracktucson.com/
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