Monthly Archives: February 2008

An exercise in CYA

One fun way to get creative is to have a character work at a place of business that is a parody of a real business. A good example of this is NBC’s Chuck; Chuck works at an electronics retailer, Buy More, with an elite squad of electronics fix-it people, The Nerd Herd. Does anyone not …

February 11, 2008 – 12:50 AM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in writing | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Disparate elements can make good stories

One fun writing exercise is to select a number of disparate, unrelated elements and work them into the core of a plot. You’ve probably heard of the concept before. In fact, I suspect several Elmore Leonard novels came about in exactly this way. Here’s an example. 1. An out-of-work plumber. 2. Colon cleanser. 3. A …

February 11, 2008 – 12:40 AM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in spec script | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

WGA deal details emerge

Negotiators for the WGA have unanimously recommended the Writer’s Guild of America accept the latest proposal worked out via informal discussions between the entertainment writers’ union and Hollywood producers represented by the AMPTP. A general membership meeting to inform writers of the details of the deal was held Saturday, and on Sunday union leaders held …

February 11, 2008 – 12:03 AM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in 2007 WGA Strike | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Unpredictable TV

Most TV suffers from being numbingly predictable. That’s why, even though it took me a while to discover it, I’m so appreciative of ABC’s spunky dramady, Pushing Daisies. It rarely bores because it is rarely predictable. In the second episode, for example, Olive broke into song, offering a sparkly rendition of the Grease number, Hopelessly …

February 7, 2008 – 12:17 AM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Striking writers target Disney on Thursday

What some are hoping will become the last major picket line of the strike – though that’s far from certain at this point – has the WGA targeting Disney/ABC on Thursday. But I wouldn’t invest in the marketing pens just yet. While strike weariness is setting in on several fronts, the simple facts are that …

February 7, 2008 – 12:06 AM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in 2007 WGA Strike | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (1)