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It's Friday Question Day on Saturday. Also an excuse to show an episode of BECKER I wrote and directed. LeeFranke wonders: "Who is playing guitar between the scenes on TV's Becker?" I asked the source, Bruce Miller, who composed the theme and did all the music on BECKER (along with FRASIER ...
Television
Thanks to friend of the blog, Bob Elisberg for reminding me that yesterday Rocket J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle Moose turned 50. Their show premiered on ABC on November 19, 1959. Robert DeNiro almost killed them a few years ago in his sort-of live-action movie of the dynamic duo. But neither ...
Celebrities
Rocky
Robert De Niro
Natasha
Friday's question has been pushed back till tomorrow. Too many movies, too few free passes. SHERLOCK HOLMES – Robert Downey Jr. plays the super-sleuth but with a twist – he’s an action hero. Catch phrase: “Ele-fucking-mentry, Watson!” WHITE RIBBON – Various atrocities within a German village ...
Celebrities
THE PRIVATE LIVES OF PIPPA LEE – Robin Wright as a woman who looks back at her life. I wonder if any character ever says to her, “Well, Pippa, you made some bad mistakes in your life but at least you didn’t marry Sean Penn.” ARMORED – Armored car robbery by its guards. Actually I wonder why ...
Celebrities
Natalie Portman
Ho ho ho! It's time for this year's Holiday Movie Preview, or what you'll be seeing on HBO in February. THE MESSENGER – Ben Foster just back from Iraq gets a fun job in the Army’s Casualty Notification service. And you thought those telemarketers were annoying… OH MY GOD! – Documentary ...
Celebrities
Thanks everybody for your anniversary wishes and feedback. It's great to know you're out there. I think the attendees of SITCOM ROOM 4 are just now catching up on sleep. No one ran screaming from the event so I consider it an irrefutable triumph! Thanks to all those who participated. Hope ...
Movies
I can only imagine how much more money I’d be worth if I were on a show that long. But I know I wouldn’t have had as much fun. Since I started back in November of 2005 I have posted 1,645 entries. This is amazing to me because I thought if I post something each day I would run out of ideas in ...
Television
Steve Allen created THE TONIGHT SHOW. He was an enormously talented m an. Addition ally, he was an accomplished musician and as if that wasn’t enough, a frequent game show panelist. He wrote numerous books on comedy. He won Emmys and God knows what else. He was one of my idols growing up. And ...
Television
Sherlock Holmes
Worth mentioning: Mary did that funeral scene absolutely pitch-perfect. AND she did it again -- a second take -- and was also right on the money. One of the greatest comic performances I have ever seen. And then she duplicated it. Extraordinary.
Television
The Extraordinary
I imagine you've probably already seen it (many maybe times)but it's sure worth seeing again. This is David Lloyd's classic MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW episode, "Chuckles Bites the Dust". I've seen it forty times. I still marvel.
Television
Mary Tyler Moore
As I head off to do another SITCOM ROOM seminar, here are a few Friday Q’s and even A’s: From Sammy Glick (I love THAT name): Who is Syd Field and what prompted him to write screenplay instructional books? Do you know of anyone who read the book and went on to write a successful screenplay? ...
Celebrities
Directing multi-camera shows can be a challenge in the best of conditions but in New York, it can really be a test. A number of years ago I directed several episodes of LATELINE for NBC in New York. It starred now-Senator Al Franken and was filmed at the Kaufman-Astoria Studios in Queens. We ...
Celebrities
kenlevine.blogspot.com - 10 days ago
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kenlevine.blogspot.com —
In the famous “Chuckles Bites the Dust” episode
of THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW, Lou and Murray
and Sue Ann just can’t stop laughing at the absurd circumstances that led to their clown colleague’s death. At one point Murray asks why they laugh and Lou ...
In memory of David Lloyd
Comments
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TV Squad
found this 10 days agofound this
Looking forward to the Sitcom Room seminar this weekend. It’s for would-be writers not looking for short cuts. As opposed to this story: I was a Story Editor on MASH and was invited to speak to a sitcom writing class at UCLA along with my friend Larry, who at the time was a Story Editor on ...
Movies
M.A.S.H.
Here's another taste of my growing up in the 60s in LA book. Some friends have said, "Why are you posting this? No one will buy a book if they can read it for free?" Well, I'm not sure anyone will buy this book anyway, but what I'm sharing are just small snippets. There's another 90%. Or at ...
Celebrities
From the recent issue of THE NEW YORKER magazine . It's from their cartoon issue. They have a feature called "the Cartoon IQ Test" I DON'T GET IT. What it is is a good lesson in what NOT to do when writing a joke. If a punch line is vague it's a bad joke. I feature two of their examples. ...
Television
kenlevine.blogspot.com - 13 days ago
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kenlevine.blogspot.com —
The MAD MEN third season finale airs Sunday
night. Another great year. As usual, there’s been a
lot of speculation as to what’s going to happen. Will the Drapers split up? Will the Sterlings split up? Will the Campbells split up? Will the Harris’ ...
What will become of the kids on MAD MEN?
Tuesday was election day (I learned on Wednesday). I am reminded of the election episode my partner, David and I wrote for the TONY RANDALL SHOW. I’ll pause for a moment while you say “what the hell was the TONY RANDALL SHOW?" It was an MTM series in the late 70’s starring the late Tony ...
Television
Tony Randall
kenlevine.blogspot.com - 14 days ago
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kenlevine.blogspot.com —
Welcome to Friday question day. If you have
one the comments section beckons. gottacook asks: Ken, since
you've been on an arbitration committee, could you perhaps write a little about the process when a credit is contested? Just in a general ...
How do we determine screen credits?
Hooray for Santa Clarita That screwy, ballyhooey Santa Clarita ...Go out and try your luck, You might be Donald Duck Hooray for Santa Clarita The Walt Disney Company last week announced that it would build a 56-acre production facility in Santa Clarita, which is in the middle of nowhere ...
