A YouTube Surprise.

I know the last couple of posts have been somewhat self-promoting.
I apologize for that.
I apologize for this one, too.
Because it will also be somewhat self-promoting.
If it is any consolation, I'm as surprised about it as you are.

Quite a while ago, I submitted a concept to the powers-that-were for a Laverne
and Shirley movie. This was when a movie based on some old TV series was coming out every other week.
It was responded to positively, and I wrote a screenplay.
When I handed it in, I also gave them a videotape of a live-audience reading I did
of the script. I don't know if the tape was ever looked at. Then the movie made
from the series "Bewitched" totally tanked at the box office, and suddenly the trend was over.
My idea was for two younger actresses, say, Drew Barrymore and Kate Hudson, to play
Laverne and Shirley. There was even serious talk about Penny Marshall directing it.
The idea became still-born, and the movie was never made.
It's a shame. I thought I turned in a great script.
It addressed just about everything in the series that the series never addressed.
Such as:
"How did the girls meet each other?"
"How did they meet Lenny and Squiggy?"
How did Lenny and Squiggy meet each other?"
"How did the girls end up in that basement apartment?"
"Just what the heck does a bottlecapper do, anyway?"
"Why did they move to California?"
"Why did Laverne's father sell the Pizza Bowl?"
Why did EVERYBODY move to California?"
"What happened to Shirley?"
"Did she and Laverne ever reconcile after the series ended?"
All these questions and others were dealt with in my screenplay.

Just three days ago, I received a Google alert, telling me that Part One of me reading my screenplay,
the first fifteen minutes, from that videotaped reading I did, is now up on YouTube.
I went to YouTube, and sure enough, there I was.
It was posted by God-Knows-Who.
That videotape had been kicking around all over the place for the better part of
nine years.
Beginning long before there ever was YouTube.
It could have been just about anyone who saw it and had their hands on it.
Anyway, God-Knows-Who stated that the rest of the reading will be up shortly. Knowing how much there is of it, and how it has been divided up, it'll probably be around eight or nine parts.
The first four segments are already up.
God-Knows-Who has certainly not been kiddin' around.
So it's going to be there in it's entirety, if you want to take a look.
Or only to look at the first hour. It's up to you.
Just go to YouTube and type in my name, or The Laverne and Shirley Movie.
You'll get to see me strut my acting and screenwriting stuff.
I'm very proud of this script, and glad somebody went to the trouble to put it
out there.
I could never have done it.
I barely have enough computer skills to turn out this blog every few days.

That's all the self-promotion for a while, although I will be giving you
YouTube updates.
I'll try to get us to "The Best TV Theme Songs of All Time" as soon as possible.

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My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store. Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperback, "Mark Rothman's Essays" is still available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings remaining, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one.
If you'd like one, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got You've got YouTube.


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