Pool Update & Heavy Metal Boobies

Jim has a Blogger's & Writer's Hockey Pool Update at his place...and Friday Fun has to be Kenny tripping on cat urine to the strains of 'Takin' A Ride' (a la Heavy Metal)...



Because it makes me smile...

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Listen To The Monkey

As I plink away as dancing story editor/script monkey on a feature flick...John Rogers of the Kung Fu Monkey tells it like it is so good in these posts about working in the story department on a TV series... HERE, and then HERE AGAIN.

And meanwhile, Stephen Colbert wants to tongue the crack of Lady Liberty....too funny.

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Hockey Pool Update

Okay...after much accusation of conspiracy and pool rigging, the stats access is open for business. Seems the login numbers were mixed up...uh huh. Note the change, and you'll now be able to access the standings HERE... login: 73076 password: stanley


And after the first few games of each series, here's where everyone stands:

1 Denis McGrath 36
2 Laurie Nyveen 32
2 Jeff Martel 32
4 Peter Allen Rowley 31
4 John Callaghan 31
4 Wil Zmak 31
7 Juniper 30
7 Will Pascoe 30
9 Michael Foster 29
9 Will Dixon 29
9 Scotty William 29
12 Brian Stockton 28
12 Larry Raskin 28
14 Mark Askwith 24
15 Mark Farrell 23
16 Robert de Lint 22
17 Jim Henshaw 14


Little disappointed in the turn out, but thanks to all those that entered. And it's early yet, but I hear McGrath is already buying a celebratory cigar...and Henshaw - you like the basement don't you, sheesh...and where's the Cunningham??

Game on!

Scores And Fores (Redux)

NOTE: Login number changed! Should work now...


It's turning into sports week here at Uninflected. Our hockey playoff pool doors have closed, but Henshaw is still inputting all the entrants and their picks. Once that's done, you'll be able to access the standings HERE... login: 73076 password: stanley

Go Caps and Sharks!

And today marks the start of professional golf's diamond in the rough, The Masters. Mmmmm....daddy likey...even though CBS.com isn't allowing access to online viewers outside the United States to watch morning coverage of Amen's Corner...argghhh!

Don't Walk....Don't Run....Skate!

Okay peeps....just a couple hours left until the deadline for your entries into the 2nd Annual Infamous Writers (& Bloggers) Hockey Playoff Pool...let's try and get a few more of you into the game.

I'm going to make it real simple for the Alex Epsteins out there...here are teams and the matchups:

EAST

#1 Montreal vs. #8 Boston
#2 Pittsburgh vs. #7 Ottawa
#3 Washington vs. #6 Philadelphia
#4 New Jersey vs. #5 New York Rangers

WEST

#1 Detroit vs. #8 Nashville
#2 San Jose vs. #7 Calgary
#3 Minnesota vs. #6 Colorado
#4 Anaheim vs. #5 Dallas


Pick three or four teams you see going to the semi finals....go to nhl.com...and pick the top scorers from each of those teams to make up your 10 skaters. Then pick a goalie from the two teams you think will make the final and make those your 2 goaltender picks. Easy!

Then send Legion of Decency's Jim Henshaw an email at seraphic@sympatico.ca with "POOL PICKS" in the subject line before 6:00 PM EST (or thereabouts) tonight.


C'mon Alex...you can pick 10 Habs if you want! It's just for fun...

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Okay, Everyone Into The Pool!

Are you ready for some hockey...poolies?

Jim Henshaw at Legion of Decency has done all the heavy lifting again and today put out the call for entrants for the 2nd Annual Infamous Writers (& Bloggers) Playoff Pool.

Go get all the details HERE...but I'll lay out some of the highlights:

HERE'S HOW IT WORKS

You join "The Infamous Writer's Hockey Pool" by sending Henshaw an email at seraphic@sympatico.ca with "POOL PICKS" in the subject line before 6:00 PM EST Wednesday night (April 09/08).

In your email, list the 10 skaters and 2 Goalies who make up your team. They can be members of any of the 16 teams competing in the opening round. The scoring is as follows: For every goal or assist scored by your skater you earn 1 point. Every time your goalie wins you also earn a point and seven points each time he earns a shutout.

The 12 players you choose are yours for the entire tournament. As the teams your players represent fall by the wayside, they cease earning you points, but their totals remain a part of your total. In the end, the poolie with the most points wins.

Jim will post your team online. From then on, you can check your progress by going HERE. All players will be provided with a password so they can check their progress throughout the playoffs. Once you're inside the pool site, you'll see all the information on the poolies and their teams. You'll also receive a twice weekly email update of the pool standings, which either Jim or I will post for all the world to see on our blogs.

And what do you win? Well, since gambling is technically illegal, and the entrants are going to come from a lot of disparate currencies, we've decided that your entrance fee must be something either related to your career or a sports souvenir you've gathered along the way. Once the winner is decided, all entrants must ship he or she a DVD of a film they made, an autographed script, their Bobby Orr lunchbox or even that old Honus Wagner baseball card that's just gathering dust in grandpa's desk.

Fast! Easy! Fun!

So there you go, nothing to it...though I've already spoke with a couple of people this past week bemoaning the fact they don't know hockey or it sounds too complicated, but c'mon peeps...Mark Farrell (Corner Gas, This Hour Has 22 Minutes) knows hockey and still finished in the basement last year. And hell, we all know how hard it is to navigate the Canuck TV/film financing system...comparatively speaking, this is nothing!

And just so we're clear...it's open to anyone, writers and readers alike.

Pick some players...email them to Jim...and may the best writer/blogger win!

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You Know You're Getting Older When...

...they start asking you to present the awards at a festival, instead of you receiving them.

But did my duty and wearing the Super Channel hat delivered last night at the 2008 Saskatchewan Showcase Awards... first time I've ever given out a trophy to anyone I believe...it was kewl.

Congrats to the team behind the Andrea Menard songfest The Velvet Devil which pretty much swept the evening. And as much as I am uncomfortable speaking in front of large groups of people, managed to kibitz with the original guitar hero/ Guitarman Jack Semple. Got some laughs. Bonus. And it was great to see a lot of old familiar faces again, plus some of the new up and comers. And though I've had my issues with Showcase in the past...bygones...I kept my remarks short and sweet...didn't start ranting and pull a Cartman at least...



Because he makes me smile...

More Touching?

I know this is old news but still thinking about whether or not to be excited about the talk of an Arrested Development movie.



I can't think of a TV series that has given me more pleasure and enjoyment with repeated viewings on DVD than Arrested Development. Smart, clever, fast, funny...like, really funny...but it's the multiple layers and subtle laughs discovered when viewing again (and again) that makes it stand out so much. Fantastic writing, a perfect cast, a unique presentation...AD gets an A+ in my books.

But do we need a movie? The show was never really a big hit, so it isn't like it would be made to cash in and run. And unlike say, South Park, which has had some really brilliantly funny episodes which be expanded into a self contained feature story, AD was soft funny...character beats and 'moments that built on themselves and then grew hilarious over time' funny...not self contained 'boy was that one ep funny and it could have been a movie' funny.

TV series comedies and movie comedies are sooooo different. It's character vs. concept. And as much as I love the notion of seeing more Michael and Poppop and George Michael and Buster and Gob, I'd want to see more series...not one movie. Let it live forever in our minds and memories as a what was and might have been, instead of 'ending' in what couldn't help but be a letdown and disappointment.

Damn The Torpedoes!

After much deliberation, I've decided to post every day from now until the end of the year, and hold nothing back. That's right, throw caution to the wind...spooge....spill...tell all, man...from under the rocks of TV production to behind the doors of TV networks, divulge every little dirty secret about this industry that I know...

Oh right, Henshaw's already all over that one.


In the meantime I will resume my fav working position whilst directing...on the floor...making my little notes in the margins of the sides...all the while wondering: who shall I tell on first? (Jay, get out of my light!)

BTW Happy April Fool's Day! (McGrath, you can stop sweating...)

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What The Puck? (We're Talking Hockey Here, People)

As March rolls into April, it means spring is just around the corner of course, but it also means the marathon that is the NHL playoffs are about to begin once more (sans the Leafs...again...argh).

For the past 20 years or so (yikes...has it been that long?), I went about organizing a hockey playoff pool as many TV industry writers, directors, and producers (though there's been some actors, production designers, and 1st AD's in as well) I could get into a room or around a phone for a conference call. It was never a large group, but t'was always fun and made the long road to the Stanley Cup more exciting to follow.

Then there came what I'm calling the recent 'dead zone years' where there was no pool for a variety of reasons...primarily stemming from being in LA where no one cared about hockey, and my general malaise about most things social.

But last year Henshaw convinced me to get back on the horse and we put together the 1st Annual Infamous Writers and Bloggers Hockey Pool. Around 15 people signed up (no entry fee...just for fun), and it actually went right down to the last game with Mark Askwith managing to barely overtake long-time point leader yet hockey novice Bill 'the Mad Pulp Bastard' Cunningham (still shaking head about that Bill...ouch).

Anyway, it helped make spring fun...even if you aren't a hockey fan. Seriously.

Jim at Legion of Decency will be doing the official post announcing the pool next week, but start thinking about what teams you will be pulling for...what players will be big point getters....and let's see if we can get a lot more people/bloggers involved.

Jim even has some cool prizes lined up....wheeee

Game on!

Belch...Erp...Arrrrggghh!

Regular programming will resume shortly, but it didn't help that Blogger ate a couple of posts I'd done up earlier this week. Grrr...argggghhh.

So instead...hmmm...drunk animals!




Because it makes me smile...

Burning Down The House....

I know it's been a good/bad news week, which makes excellent fodder for comedy, but shiiiittttt....have Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert been on fire lately or what?

I say yes, nation...and that's the word.

I Called For You...I Said...Laura...

From Man Stroke Woman, Friday Fun arrives in the form of the mighty Man Cold!



I feel some sniffles coming on...and I'm calling 911.


Because it makes me smile...

Damn...

I hate it when someone else writes the post I was about to write...so I guess I won't be penning a 'Follow The Money in the Canadian Broadcasting Industry' essay since Henshaw just up and WROTE THE SHIT out of that topic yesterday.

And people wonder why a lot of us old guys are a little jaded and some might even say, bitter...

The Ghastly Backside of Television

More Screenwipe from the UK --- I love this series.



Because it makes me smile...

Bill C-10 Edumacation

All I can say is....wow.

And...cool.

And...huh?

Well, it seems that all the stamping of feet is making a difference...but I still have to wonder what we all could do about this travesty posted by McGrath...

The CRTC released their report on Canadian Broadcasters' Financial Results:

Ratio of money spent on foreign drama to homegrown drama, in dollars: 12.6 to 1
Amount spent on foreign: 461, 770, 968.
Homegrown: 36, 500 000.
That's almost 462 million versus 36 and a half million.
Broadcaster profits in 2007: stable
Profit before tax income, 5.2 %
Increase over last year's profit, 1.3 %

And you pay twice on your cable bill for these programs -- once for the U.S. networks where you'd get them anyway, and once for the Canadian nets. Nice. Racket.

Where's all the news reporting and letter writing and facebook groups regarding this little outrage? Or if we did stamp our feet just as loud, would anyone in the government even listen. Or care.

C'mon Children...Don't Be Shy

You've read the news articles....you've read the outraged bloggers here and here and here ...now do the right thing and follow McGrath's lead (all the directions HERE) and write your MP or the PM or someone in the government and tell them that Bill C10 can 'suck...your...balls'




Because if the South Park gang makes you smile like they make me smile, this is exactly the kind of programming that could be made by a Canadian producer but then be deemed 'offensive' and have it's tax credits/gov't funding retroactively retracted by the Heritage Minister via Bill C10.

And that's just wrong...wroooonng I tell you.

There Better Be An Episode Two!

Two great TV writing primer posts out there right now:

John Rogers smartly speculates on how to get noticed with your specs...and Ken Levine (who never fails to make me smile almost every single post) throws down some tips about creating series and writing pilots.

From Ken:

Don't give the girls boys' names and the boys girl' names. It's confusing enough remembering who all the characters are without Sam being a girl and Jan being a guy. And every pilot seems to have a "Kevin". Even if it's set in ancient Rome.

The most common mistake most young pilot writers make is that they over-reach.

“It’s part romantic comedy, part workplace comedy, set in a foreign country with its own language and customs. Kinda like ENCHANTED meets THE WIRE”.

Trust me, by page five you're throwing yourself in front of buses.

Love it. Go read 'em both...

TV Trades And Deadlines

Anyone who follows hockey knows it's trade deadline day for the NHL...when teams try to make last minute additions or deletions to bolster their lineups and get ready for the upcoming Stanley Cup playoffs. And it got me thinking: what if there was a trade deadline day for TV writer's and director's during the course of the television production season?

Of course, in many ways, working freelance in the film/TV business is a lot like being a sports athlete. You move from show to show...city to city even, and you try to be a complimentary fit to the team that's already in place, and before you know it you're yesterday's news and it's time to go learn how to sell cars.

But if there was a trade deadline day for this year's post-writer's strike 'restarted' TV season, what shows do you think need help? Does House need to be defibbed ? Is Lost lost? Does Heroes need some new muscle? Is 24 running out of time? Is the The Border on the fence...?

And if you were the showrunner/general manager of any of these and the other shows...who would you trade away, and who would you want to bring in and why?

(I ask this knowing hardly anyone knows the actual names of any TV writers or directors or producers, so an analysis of what a show needs more of or could lose will suffice...)

And to help fuel this fire, McGrath and Weinmann both reference lame vampire show Moonlight's recent decision to finish their season without a showrunner. Yikes.

Discuss...

But I Got The Berkowitz's...

It's Friday. Classic Woody Allen standup and the 'Moose Story'...



Because it makes me smile...