Peter Tolan (Rescue Me, Outsiders, The Jim Gaffigan Show, Analyze This) talks TV pilots and his creative journey.We talk about:
creating character conflicts
balancing comedy and drama
The central idea, the nugget, the central question of what a show is and writing to it
Building character conflicts, plot in a TV pilot
Mapping out the season/seasons of a series
Episode balance of comedy and drama on Rescue me
Writers room
Using cards
Cards wall
Story checkpoints
Sequences
George Clooney
Sony Television
Pitching
Rewriting
Writing the rough draft
Writing just comedy/jokes vs. story/plot – what happens next?
The Larry Sanders Show
UMass theatre days
New York theatre exploits
Murphy Brown
Gaffigan
Playwriting to TV writing
Breaking into the business today – Youtube, shooting somethingQuotes from the show:

"You slowly put everything in place so you can get to that last moment. We knew what the last image of the first season of Rescue Me was so we could always write to it. We slowly could make our way towards that."

"Rescue Me was dealing with death all the time. As dark as it went with drama, it had to go just as light with the comedy. You had to balance the two out."

“If you're young and starting out,  you can shoot on your phone. Write something and make it. Put it on YouTube  and people will see it.”

“You write somebody who's a dick - who has outrageous behavior, but then how do you have an audience empathize with that character, care about that character? So an essential character is not the dick, it's the other guy."

Peter Tolan (Rescue Me, Outsiders, The Jim Gaffigan Show,&nbsp;Analyze This)&nbsp;talks TV pilots and his creative journey.
<h2>We talk about:</h2>
<ul>
<li>creating character conflicts</li>
<li>balancing comedy and drama</li>
<li>The central idea, the nugget, the central question of what a show is and writing to it</li>
<li>Building character conflicts, plot in a TV pilot</li>
<li>Mapping out the season/seasons of a series</li>
<li>Episode balance of comedy and drama on Rescue me</li>
<li>Writers room</li>
<li>Using cards</li>
<li>Cards wall</li>
<li>Story checkpoints</li>
<li>Sequences</li>
<li>George Clooney</li>
<li>Sony Television</li>
<li>Pitching</li>
<li>Rewriting</li>
<li>Writing the rough draft</li>
<li>Writing just comedy/jokes vs. story/plot &ndash; what happens next?</li>
<li>The Larry Sanders Show</li>
<li>UMass theatre days</li>
<li>New York theatre exploits</li>
<li>Murphy Brown</li>
<li>Gaffigan</li>
<li>Playwriting to TV writing</li>
<li>Breaking into the business today &ndash; Youtube, shooting something</li>
</ul>
<h2>Quotes from the show:</h2>
"You slowly put everything in place so you can get to that last moment. We knew what the last image of the first season of Rescue Me was so we could always write to it. We slowly could make our way towards that."
"Rescue Me was dealing with death all the time.&nbsp;As dark as it went&nbsp;with drama, it had to go just as light with the comedy. You had to balance the two out."
&ldquo;If you're young and starting out, &nbsp;you can shoot on your phone. Write something and make it. Put it on YouTube &nbsp;and people will see it.&rdquo;
&ldquo;You write somebody who's a dick - who has outrageous behavior, but then how do you have an audience empathize with that character, care about that character? So an essential character is not the dick, it's the other guy."

Outstanding screenwriters, TV writers-showrunners, directors, producers, actors, executives agents managers and other cultivators of truth and beauty discuss their creative process with Tom Benedek.

Film and TV creatives on their work methods, sources of inspiration.

TheProcess.Ink

Peter Tolan (Rescue Me, Outsiders, The Jim Gaffigan Show, Analyze This) talks TV pilots and his creative journey

#2 - Peter Tolan (TV writer-showrunner & screenwriter) in Santa Monica

Tamako Akiyama (Rikkyo University) and Markus Nornes (University of Michigan) speak about the history and state of current independent film in China. 

 

We Talk About:
Navigating government censorship oversees
Foreign distribution practices and circulation
A new film festival in Inner Mongolia
The Bejiing International Film Festival shutdown
Comparing independent filmmaking in China to the U.S.

 

Quotes from the Show:

"This one festival got shutdown. They just cut off the electricity, so they couldn't show films. The next festival, the designer of the poster was actually Wong Wo, the guy who directed the film (A Filmless Festival) on the 2014 festival, and his poster was the picture of an electric generator. They bought a bunch of these things just in case... the thing is, that year, they also got shut down."

"Writing about, discussing and programming the work of those filmmakers who are dealing with sensitive subjects, I think it's important."

Tamako Akiyama (Rikkyo University) and Markus Nornes (University of Michigan) speak about the history and state of current independent film in China.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
We Talk About:
<ul>
<li>Navigating government censorship oversees</li>
<li>Foreign distribution practices and circulation</li>
<li>A new film festival in Inner Mongolia</li>
<li>The Bejiing International Film Festival shutdown</li>
<li>Comparing&nbsp;independent filmmaking in China to the U.S.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Quotes from the Show:
"This one festival got shutdown. They just cut off the electricity, so they couldn't show films. The next festival, the designer of the poster was actually Wong Wo, the guy who directed the film (A Filmless Festival) on the 2014 festival, and his poster was the picture of an electric generator. They bought a bunch of these things just in case... the thing is, that year, they also got shut down."
"Writing about, discussing and programming the work of those filmmakers who are dealing with sensitive subjects, I think it's important."

Tamako Akiyama (professor of Chinese cinema, Rikkyo University) and Markus Nornes (professor of Asian cinema, University of Michigan) speak about the history and state of current independent film in China.

#18 - Tamako Akiyama & Markus Nornes (professors of Chinese cinema)

Peter Horton (Thirtysomething, Grey's Anatomy) talks about his journey from musician to actor to a director and writer/producer of film and television.

We Talk About
Finally agreeing to act in "Thirtysomething"
Writing and producing "American Odyssey" for Netflix
Directing the pilot for "Grey's Anatomy" and producing the first three seasons
The best kind of actors out there
A new project for Cinemax set in the future

Quotes from the Show

“(As a director,) you can never ask for an effect because you’re just sabotaging your actor. You have to be able to say, “It feels like the stakes aren’t as high as they need to be here. Can you find a way to make the stakes higher?” So, then you’re giving it back to them, and they can give you what you need.”

“I find the best actors have a real ego about what they’re doing. The they have a real take on it, too. They come in having really done their homework, having really embodied this character, so that they know them better than I do... they go deep with their work.”

“There are so many great shows out there that don’t necessarily immediately suggest story. I think with the advent of serialized shows, it’s a little harder to identify that as something that obviously has legs. You can always make anything have legs if you’re a good enough writer these days.”

Peter Horton (Thirtysomething, Grey's Anatomy) talks about his journey from musician to actor to a director and writer/producer of film and television.
We Talk About
<ul>
<li>Finally agreeing to act in "Thirtysomething"</li>
<li>Writing and producing "American Odyssey" for Netflix</li>
<li>Directing the pilot for "Grey's Anatomy" and producing the first three seasons</li>
<li>The best kind of actors out there</li>
<li>A&nbsp;new project for Cinemax set in the future</li>
</ul>
Quotes from the Show
&ldquo;(As a director,) you can never ask for an effect because you&rsquo;re just sabotaging your actor. You have to be able to say, &ldquo;It feels like the stakes aren&rsquo;t as high as they need to be here. Can you find a way to make the stakes higher?&rdquo; So, then you&rsquo;re giving it back to them, and they can give you what you need.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I find the best actors have a real ego about what they&rsquo;re doing. The they have a real take on it, too. They come in having really done their homework, having really embodied this character, so that they know them better than I do... they go deep with their work.&rdquo;
&ldquo;There are so many great shows out there that don&rsquo;t necessarily immediately suggest story. I think with the advent of serialized shows, it&rsquo;s a little harder to identify that as something that obviously has legs. You can always make anything have legs if you&rsquo;re a good enough writer these days.&rdquo;

Peter Horton (Thirtysomething, Grey's Anatomy) talks about his journey from musician to actor to a director and writer/producer of film and television

#17 - Peter Horton (actor/director/producer) in Santa Monica

Jim Burnstein (Love and Honor, D3: The Mighty Ducks, Renaissance Man ) discusses his screenwriting career and shaping the next generation of young writers at UofM

 

We Talk About:
Working in Hollywood while living in Michigan
The journey to the first feature film production
Teaching Shakespeare to soldiers and Renaissance Man
The importance of re-writing your screenplay
The value of talent versus the value of discipline
Taking notes on your writing and giving notes to others
Collaborating with a writing partner

 

Quotes from the Show:

"The best thing about being a writer is you can write on the moon. You don't have to wait for somebody to give you a job. It only takes one great script to get you in the game."

"I do not believe that you can teach talent any more than you can teach speed. A good track coach can make you faster, but he can't make you fast."

"I look at the first draft like a dream. You don't know what it means. You don't know why you wrote it. That's what the process of discovery is. Why did you tell this story? What is it about it that you emotionally connected to?"

"If you're playing defense as a writer, you're going to lose."

"Teaching is the job that keeps me sane. Writing is a little bit of a lonely job. It's you and your imagination, and that's great, but you want to be with people. You are more fundamentally sound when you're teaching others because it makes you more aware of what you need to do."

"Human beings, if nothing else, are natural storytellers and consumers."

Jim Burnstein&nbsp;(Love and Honor, D3: The Mighty Ducks, Renaissance Man&nbsp;)&nbsp;discusses his screenwriting career&nbsp;and shaping&nbsp;the next generation of young writers at UofM
&nbsp;
We Talk About:
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1">Working in Hollywood while living in Michigan</li>
<li class="li1">The&nbsp;journey to the first feature film production</li>
<li class="li1">Teaching Shakespeare to soldiers and&nbsp;Renaissance Man</li>
<li class="li1">The importance of re-writing your screenplay</li>
<li class="li1">The value of talent versus the value of discipline</li>
<li class="li1">Taking notes on your writing and giving notes to others</li>
<li class="li1">Collaborating&nbsp;with a writing partner</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Quotes from the Show:
"The best thing about being a writer is you can write on the moon. You don't have to wait for somebody to give you a job. It only takes one great script to get you in the game."
"I do not believe that you can teach talent any more than you can teach speed. A good track coach can make you faster, but he can't make you fast."
"I look at the first draft like a dream. You don't know what it means. You don't know why you wrote it. That's what the process of discovery is. Why did you tell this story? What is it about it that you emotionally connected to?"
"If you're playing defense as a writer, you're going to lose."
"Teaching is the job that keeps me sane. Writing is a little bit of a lonely job. It's you and your imagination, and that's great, but you want to be with people. You are more fundamentally sound when you're teaching others because it makes you more aware of what you need to do."
"Human beings,&nbsp;if nothing else, are natural storytellers and consumers."

Jim Burnstein (Love and Honor, D3: The Mighty Ducks, Renaissance Man ) discusses his screenwriting career and shaping the next generation of young writers at UofM

#2 - Peter Tolan (TV writer-showrunner & screenwriter) in Santa Monica

TheProcess.Ink

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