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Posts tagged as “Friends”

TV Stunt Specs ft. Billy Domineau (Family Guy) (PT45)

Alex and Nick invite Billy Domineau, writer of the popular Seinfeld 9/11 spec script and staff writer on Family Guy, to talk about the pros and cons of writing a TV stunt spec.

When should you write a stunt script? What is the process of making and distributing one? How can a TV spec get shared around town? How do you use that popularity to get represented and staffed on a TV show?

The Paper Team goes viral…

SHOWNOTES

Content

1 – Brainstorming, writing, distributing and having the stunt spec script go viral (00:54)
2 – Getting representation, being staffed on Family Guy, lessons from the writers’ room, and using social media as a TV writer (31:01)
Resources and Next Week On (53:23)

Links

Billy Domineau on Twitter
Seinfeld
Billy Domineau’s Seinfeld 9/11 stunt spec (“The Twin Towers”) (PDF)
Family Guy
Upright Citizens Brigade
Nicole Conlan’s The People v. O.J. Simpson stunt spec (“The Briefcase Switcheroo”) (PDF)
The Bechdel test
Jerry Seinfeld (character)
Elaine Benes
Cosmo Kramer
George Costonza
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
“The Conversion” (5×11 – Seinfeld)
“The Secret Code” (7×07 – Seinfeld)
Rachel Bloom
“The 9/11 Seinfeld spec script you absolutely have to read today” – The Comic’s Comic
“What Happens When Your 9/11 ‘Seinfeld’ Spec Script Blows Up the Internet” – Splitsider
“This Seinfeld Episode about 9/11 Is a Model of Comedy Writing and Monumentally Bad Taste” – Slate
Jon Lovett
James Adomian
Chris Kelly
Brandon McCarthy
“Billy Domineau talks September 11 spec script” – Entertainment Weekly
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
Rachel Bloom’s “Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury” (Video)
3 Arts Entertainment
United Talent Agency
Alec Sulkin
BET (Black Entertainment Television)
“The Wedding Squanchers” (2×10 – Rick & Morty)
Bowen Yang on Twitter

Resources

Writers’ Guild Foundation Library

This episode brought to you by Tracking Board’s Launch Pad Writing Competitions

Use code PAPERTEAM to get $15 OFF when you enter a Launch Pad Competition

Special thanks to Evan Schmitt for helping us edit this episode.

If you enjoyed this episode (and others), please consider leaving us an iTunes review at paperteam.co/itunes! :)

You can find Paper Team on Twitter:
Alex@TVCalling
Nick@_njwatson
If you have any questions, comments or feedback, you can e-mail us: [email protected]

TV World-Building 101 (PT44)

Update: PT44 transcript now available

Alex and Nick discuss the importance of world-building in television writing and TV pilots.

What is the point of world-building in TV shows? What are some good and bad examples of mythology? How can you implement world-building effectively in your own writing? What are some common pitfalls to avoid falling into?

The Paper Team sets the scene…

SHOWNOTES

Content

1 – Defining world-building (00:58)
2 – Tools of world-building (10:03)
3 – Common pitfalls of world-building (20:19)
Takeaways and Resources (29:22)

Links

The Shield
Vic Mackey
Claudette Wyms
C. C. H. Pounder
The Practice
Battlestar Galactica
The Man in the High Castle (TV Series)
Firefly
American Gods (TV Series)
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage
Logan
Defiance (TV Series)
17th Precinct
Battle of Serenity Valley (Firefly)
The Handmaid’s Tale (TV Series)
“Unfinished Business” (3×09 – Battlestar Galactica)
Caprica
Lostpedia
“TV Writer vs. Fandom: Writers’ Rooms and Fan Interaction” (PT38)
“The One with the Prom Video” (2×14 – Friends)

Resources

r/worldbuilding (reddit)
Writing in the Margins’ Sensitivity Readers

This episode brought to you by Tracking Board’s Launch Pad Writing Competitions

Use code PAPERTEAM to get $15 OFF when you enter a Launch Pad Competition

Special thanks to Jason J. Cohn for helping us edit this episode.

If you enjoyed this episode (and others), please consider leaving us an iTunes review at paperteam.co/itunes! :)

You can find Paper Team on Twitter:
Alex@TVCalling
Nick@_njwatson
If you have any questions, comments or feedback, you can e-mail us: [email protected]

TV Writer vs. Fandom: Writers’ Rooms and Fan Interaction – Paper Team Live at WonderCon 2017 (PT38)

For the first Paper Team Live event, Alex and Nick go to WonderCon 2017 to host a panel on the dialogue between TV writers and their fans.
This relationship has become a vital tool for many television shows — and one that is often very fickle. That’s why we’ve invited writers and assistants from several beloved shows to share their thoughts on the issue.

Panelists include Ray Utarnachitt (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow), Jill Weinberger (Chicago Fire), Tennessee Martin (Lucifer), Diya Mishra (The Tick), and Taylor Brogan (The Shannara Chronicles).

What does a typical conversation look like between a writers’ room and their fandom? How much attention do TV writers pay to fans? Have fans’ voices changed the course of a story or character? What is it like going from being a fan of a show to being involved directly in the creative decisions?

The Paper Team goes live in room 209…

SHOWNOTES

Content

Live Paper Team WonderCon panel (00:00:38)
Next Time On (01:01:15)

Links

Taylor Brogan on Twitter
Diya Mishra on Twitter
Tennessee Martin on Twitter
Jill Weinberger on Twitter
Ray Utarnachitt on Twitter
The Shannara Chronicles
Into the Badlands
Gilmore Girls
Emily Gilmore
Powerless
The Tick
Pokémon (anime)
Lucifer
South of Nowhere
Chicago Fire
Wonder Woman (TV series)
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
It’s Your Move
The Tick Writers’ Room on Twitter
Lucifer Writers’ Room on Twitter
Into the Badlands Writers’ Room on Twitter
The Shannara Chronicles Writers’ Room on Twitter
Derek Haas
Marc Guggenheim
Ben Edlund
Person of Interest
Terry Brooks
ATX Television Festival
Hep Alien
Amy Sherman-Palladino
Sutton Foster
Rachael Harris
“The One Where Rachel Has a Baby: Part 1” (8×23 – Friends)
Psych
Michael Emerson
Sports Night
Holly Robinson Peete
Iron Fist (TV series)
Atom (Ryan Choi)
Atom (Ray Palmer)
Brandon Routh
Hogsmeade
The Magicians (TV series)
iZombie (TV series)
Victoria Thompson’s “Gaslight Mysteries”
Grace and Frankie
Legion (TV series)
Good Girls Revolt
Riverdale (TV series)
Lee Toland Krieger

If you enjoyed this episode (and others), please consider leaving us an iTunes review at paperteam.co/itunes! :)

You can find Paper Team on Twitter:
Alex@TVCalling
Nick@_njwatson
If you have any questions, comments or feedback, you can e-mail us: [email protected]