I'm going to handle this one a little differently.
I'm going to reveal a key piece of information about it that I wish I had before I saw it, because I would have enjoyed it that much better.
It becomes apparent very early on that Tom Hanks and the other key actors are each playing several parts. In the first half-hour or so, it seems like there are roughly half-a-dozen Peter Sellers running around.
It seems a little gimmicky.
You find yourself mostly trying to guess if that's the same actor in different makeup, or another actor.
It seems distracting.
My advice is, make the buy that they are doing this, and don't let it affect your enjoyment of the film.
If you do that, you will much better appreciate the enormous payoff that awaits you.
This is a movie that is very life-affirming, and very afterlife-affirming.
Just go with it.
On to the scoring:
Is it interesting?
Fascinating.
A+.
Compelling even?
Quite.
A+.
Is it controversial?
Incredibly.
A+.
Is it a story worth telling?
It is about six stories worth telling.
A+.
Is it good storytelling?
It blows you away.
A+.
Is it well written?
Extremely.
A.
Is it well cast? Well played?, Well shot?
Superbly, in all respects.
As I watched it on my sixty inch flatscreen, I felt a little disappointed that I didn't see it in the movies in 3D.
I found out later that it wasn't shot in 3D. I was stunned.
The film is gorgeous.
A+.
Is it too long? Too short?
It is a very long film, and you are aware of its length, but if you were me, you wished it would never end.
A.
Is it believable? Do you care about the characters?
A tremendous effort is made to make it believable and make you care about the characters. And all the effort is worth it.
A+.
Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?
Nothing is predictable, and the payoff, as I indicated, is spectacular.
A+.
Do you think about it after you've seen it?
A whole lot.
A+.
Is it funny?
Here and there.
It's not really about humor.
B+.
Would it have been worth the thirteen bucks it would have cost to see it in the movies?
Definitely.
A+.
Is it impressive ?
One of the most impressive films I have ever seen.
A+.
Overall grade: A+.
I love movies that are a triumph of imagination.
This is that.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Larry Hagman, From A Distance.
I never actually met Larry Hagman, but I saw him quite often, from a short distance.
If you want to read a great article about him, go to Mark Evanier's blog.
Mark did interact with him, and has a great story to tell about him.
And it is quite complimentary.
It also explains how Hagman essentially shook the studio that made "Dallas", Lorimar,
by it's ankles, to get every last nickel out of them when he re-upped as J.R. when his contract was up.
My first awareness of Larry Hagman came in the mid-1960s, when my friend Allie Wolf
claimed to have spotted him in the baggage claim area at LaGuardia Airport.
And Allie made the huge-est deal possible out of this.
"I Dream of Jeannie" had been for about a year.
I had never seen it.
I had no idea who Larry Hagman was.
I only knew about Barbara Eden and her navel.
Allie, of course, was astounded that ANYONE would not know who Larry Hagman was.
Allie was often prone to seeing, or at least thinking he was seeing, celebrities in everyday life.
He once thought he saw Leonard Bernstein on the Q-44A bus, that went from the outreaches of Queens, along Union Turnpike, to Forest Hills, where one could catch the subway to midtown Manhattan.
He was positive it was Leonard Bernstein.
This was met with a resounding "Leonard Bernstein? On the Q-44A bus? He probably went
everywhere by limo."
Allie simply retorted, in his most self-assured fashion, "It was HIM!!"
Spotting Larry Hagman at least seemed a little more plausible.
My paths and Larry Hagman's crossed quite a bit.
We both lived in Malibu, where I'd seen him pushing his own grocery cart around Ralph's, the local supermarket, always graciously stopping to sign autographs.
We also worked at the same studio.
"She's The Sheriff" was also shot at Lorimar.
I'd always see the "Dallas" cast walking around the lot, or in the commissary.
So there was certainly proximity, but nary a word was exchanged.
Lorimar was reputed to be the toughest, most cutthroat studio in town to work at.
I still have some scars on my throat to prove it.
I'd often see Barbara Bel Geddes in the commissary.
She was the original Miss Ellie on "Dallas".
She left the show, and was replaced by Donna Reed.
When Ms. Bel Geddes decided that she wanted to return to the show, the studio
unceremoniously fired Donna Reed, and rehired Ms. Bel Geddes.
This led to Donna Reed filing a hefty lawsuit, which led to a hefty settlement.
I'd also often see Valerie Harper on the lot. "Valerie's Family" shot it's show in the soundstage right next to ours.
After some dispute or other, probably due to Lorimar not living up to something they
agreed to in her deal (I know that was the problem I had with my deal), she was
unceremoniously fired, and replaced by Sandy Duncan.
They changed the name of the show to "The Hogan Family"
That was decent of them.
She sued Lorimar for wrongful termination and won two million dollars.
Why do I bring all this up?
And what does this all have to do with Larry Hagman?
Well, Larry Hagman, we now know from several sources, was a sweetheart of a guy.
But he had his quirks.
And one of his quirks was that he was completely satisfied sleeping on an army cot in
his dressing room.
No fancy trailers required for him.
This gave the bastards at Lorimar all the ammunition they needed.
If any of their other well-paid TV stars had asked for a trailer during negotiations,
they were met with "Larry Hagman doesn't have a trailer. Do you think you're a bigger star than Larry Hagman?"
Needless to say, no trailers were given to anybody.
I know this because the above-mentioned bastards bragged about this often, in my presence.
I'm guessing that these other well-paid TV stars included Donna Reed, who was seriously ill when she was shooting "Dallas", and could have really used a trailer, and Valerie Harper, who was probably just jobbed out of one.
Maybe if Lorimar had acquiesced, Donna Reed's settlement might not have been so hefty, and maybe Valerie Harper might have been a little less persistent in carrying out her quest for the two million.
Thinking that all of this had to do with Larry Hagman sleeping on an army cot makes
me sleep a little better at night.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
If you want to read a great article about him, go to Mark Evanier's blog.
Mark did interact with him, and has a great story to tell about him.
And it is quite complimentary.
It also explains how Hagman essentially shook the studio that made "Dallas", Lorimar,
by it's ankles, to get every last nickel out of them when he re-upped as J.R. when his contract was up.
My first awareness of Larry Hagman came in the mid-1960s, when my friend Allie Wolf
claimed to have spotted him in the baggage claim area at LaGuardia Airport.
And Allie made the huge-est deal possible out of this.
"I Dream of Jeannie" had been for about a year.
I had never seen it.
I had no idea who Larry Hagman was.
I only knew about Barbara Eden and her navel.
Allie, of course, was astounded that ANYONE would not know who Larry Hagman was.
Allie was often prone to seeing, or at least thinking he was seeing, celebrities in everyday life.
He once thought he saw Leonard Bernstein on the Q-44A bus, that went from the outreaches of Queens, along Union Turnpike, to Forest Hills, where one could catch the subway to midtown Manhattan.
He was positive it was Leonard Bernstein.
This was met with a resounding "Leonard Bernstein? On the Q-44A bus? He probably went
everywhere by limo."
Allie simply retorted, in his most self-assured fashion, "It was HIM!!"
Spotting Larry Hagman at least seemed a little more plausible.
My paths and Larry Hagman's crossed quite a bit.
We both lived in Malibu, where I'd seen him pushing his own grocery cart around Ralph's, the local supermarket, always graciously stopping to sign autographs.
We also worked at the same studio.
"She's The Sheriff" was also shot at Lorimar.
I'd always see the "Dallas" cast walking around the lot, or in the commissary.
So there was certainly proximity, but nary a word was exchanged.
Lorimar was reputed to be the toughest, most cutthroat studio in town to work at.
I still have some scars on my throat to prove it.
I'd often see Barbara Bel Geddes in the commissary.
She was the original Miss Ellie on "Dallas".
She left the show, and was replaced by Donna Reed.
When Ms. Bel Geddes decided that she wanted to return to the show, the studio
unceremoniously fired Donna Reed, and rehired Ms. Bel Geddes.
This led to Donna Reed filing a hefty lawsuit, which led to a hefty settlement.
I'd also often see Valerie Harper on the lot. "Valerie's Family" shot it's show in the soundstage right next to ours.
After some dispute or other, probably due to Lorimar not living up to something they
agreed to in her deal (I know that was the problem I had with my deal), she was
unceremoniously fired, and replaced by Sandy Duncan.
They changed the name of the show to "The Hogan Family"
That was decent of them.
She sued Lorimar for wrongful termination and won two million dollars.
Why do I bring all this up?
And what does this all have to do with Larry Hagman?
Well, Larry Hagman, we now know from several sources, was a sweetheart of a guy.
But he had his quirks.
And one of his quirks was that he was completely satisfied sleeping on an army cot in
his dressing room.
No fancy trailers required for him.
This gave the bastards at Lorimar all the ammunition they needed.
If any of their other well-paid TV stars had asked for a trailer during negotiations,
they were met with "Larry Hagman doesn't have a trailer. Do you think you're a bigger star than Larry Hagman?"
Needless to say, no trailers were given to anybody.
I know this because the above-mentioned bastards bragged about this often, in my presence.
I'm guessing that these other well-paid TV stars included Donna Reed, who was seriously ill when she was shooting "Dallas", and could have really used a trailer, and Valerie Harper, who was probably just jobbed out of one.
Maybe if Lorimar had acquiesced, Donna Reed's settlement might not have been so hefty, and maybe Valerie Harper might have been a little less persistent in carrying out her quest for the two million.
Thinking that all of this had to do with Larry Hagman sleeping on an army cot makes
me sleep a little better at night.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Report Card---"The Perks Of Being A Wallflower"
"The Perks Of Being A Wallflower" is a movie that definitely has merit.
But it's not the kind of movie that you embrace, or fall in love with.
There is an overhanging pall of melancholia about it that is pervasive.
That being said, it is also quite moving, and effective.
This is a living definition of a mixed review.
It deals with a high school freshman, with no friends, trying to make his way through the high school experience.
He also brings a lot of baggage with him, so at no point is it easy.
On to the scoring:
Is it interesting?
It certainly holds your interest.
B+.
Compelling even?
Not really.
C.
Is it controversial?
Not really.
C.
Is it a story worth telling?
I'm sure a lot of people would think so.
It helps if you are a lot younger than I am.
B.
Is it good storytelling?
For the most part.
B-.
Is it well written?
There are things that could be clearer.
B-.
Is it well cast? Well played?, Well shot?
The young leads are very good and very affecting.
The problem for me is the older actors.
Dylan McDermott (The Practice) has this throwaway part as the young lead's father.
And I don't like thinking of him being old enough to be a high school kid's father.
Melanie Lynskey, best known as the creepy Rose on "Two and a Half Men", plays an even creepier part here. She seems to have found her niche.
The great Joan Cusack has a throwaway part in this.
A part that could have been played by anybody.
Why waste her like this?
Plus, she looks quite a bit older than the last time I saw her.
I don't need to see that.
Maybe she doesn't either.
C+.
Is it too long? Too short?
It definitely needs trimming.
C.
Is it believable? Do you care about the characters?
Very much and very much.
A.
Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?
Not at all predictable, and there is a bit of a surprise.
A-.
Do you think about it after you've seen it?
Not hardly.
C.
Is it funny?
It cries out for more humor.
C-.
Would it have been worth the thirteen bucks it would have cost to see it in the movies?
No.
F.
Is it impressive ?
Somewhat.
B+.
Overall grade: B-.
How's that for a mixed review?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
But it's not the kind of movie that you embrace, or fall in love with.
There is an overhanging pall of melancholia about it that is pervasive.
That being said, it is also quite moving, and effective.
This is a living definition of a mixed review.
It deals with a high school freshman, with no friends, trying to make his way through the high school experience.
He also brings a lot of baggage with him, so at no point is it easy.
On to the scoring:
Is it interesting?
It certainly holds your interest.
B+.
Compelling even?
Not really.
C.
Is it controversial?
Not really.
C.
Is it a story worth telling?
I'm sure a lot of people would think so.
It helps if you are a lot younger than I am.
B.
Is it good storytelling?
For the most part.
B-.
Is it well written?
There are things that could be clearer.
B-.
Is it well cast? Well played?, Well shot?
The young leads are very good and very affecting.
The problem for me is the older actors.
Dylan McDermott (The Practice) has this throwaway part as the young lead's father.
And I don't like thinking of him being old enough to be a high school kid's father.
Melanie Lynskey, best known as the creepy Rose on "Two and a Half Men", plays an even creepier part here. She seems to have found her niche.
The great Joan Cusack has a throwaway part in this.
A part that could have been played by anybody.
Why waste her like this?
Plus, she looks quite a bit older than the last time I saw her.
I don't need to see that.
Maybe she doesn't either.
C+.
Is it too long? Too short?
It definitely needs trimming.
C.
Is it believable? Do you care about the characters?
Very much and very much.
A.
Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?
Not at all predictable, and there is a bit of a surprise.
A-.
Do you think about it after you've seen it?
Not hardly.
C.
Is it funny?
It cries out for more humor.
C-.
Would it have been worth the thirteen bucks it would have cost to see it in the movies?
No.
F.
Is it impressive ?
Somewhat.
B+.
Overall grade: B-.
How's that for a mixed review?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
Thursday, November 22, 2012
A Memorable Thanksgiving----39 Years Ago.
1973.
This was my favorite Thanksgiving.
I was given a gift that year that I still cherish, to this day.
And it came, from all people, Ma Bell.
I am reminded about it by my recent viewing of the first season of the series "Mad Men"
Admittedly, I have come to this series rather late, but I'm really glad I did.
As most of you who watch it know, it is first rate.
What triggered my Thanksgiving memory of 39 years ago was the prominent display in "Mad Men" of rotary phones.
The only kind there were in those days.
Except maybe for the old crank phone that Jan Clayton, Jeff's mother on the old "Lassie" series, used to call Jenny the phone operator, to get an outside line, in order to help get whoever needed to get out of trouble that Lassie warned her about.
In 1973, I was getting near the end of my second season writing on "The Odd Couple".
Oscar and Felix had rotary phones.
Rotary phones present a particular problem for a writer.
Any time someone makes a phone call, he has to dial the phone.
The time it takes to dial the phone takes up dead air.
Nothing else can happen while that phone is being dialed.
If someone else is in the room when that phone is being dialed, the writers job is somewhat easier.
But only somewhat.
An artificial conversation has to be contrived between the two parties to cover the time that the phone is being dialed.
Then, some time in November of 1973, the prop man for "The Odd Couple" brought out two push button phones.
One for Felix, and one for Oscar.
Our prayers had been answered.
No more dead air.
No more contrived conversations.
You could dial a number on a push button phone in two seconds.
Never mind that there wasn't anything called speed-dialing yet.
And I've been thankful ever since.
Maybe the folks on "Mad Men have learned this lesson.
I've yet to see anyone there dial a phone.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
This was my favorite Thanksgiving.
I was given a gift that year that I still cherish, to this day.
And it came, from all people, Ma Bell.
I am reminded about it by my recent viewing of the first season of the series "Mad Men"
Admittedly, I have come to this series rather late, but I'm really glad I did.
As most of you who watch it know, it is first rate.
What triggered my Thanksgiving memory of 39 years ago was the prominent display in "Mad Men" of rotary phones.
The only kind there were in those days.
Except maybe for the old crank phone that Jan Clayton, Jeff's mother on the old "Lassie" series, used to call Jenny the phone operator, to get an outside line, in order to help get whoever needed to get out of trouble that Lassie warned her about.
In 1973, I was getting near the end of my second season writing on "The Odd Couple".
Oscar and Felix had rotary phones.
Rotary phones present a particular problem for a writer.
Any time someone makes a phone call, he has to dial the phone.
The time it takes to dial the phone takes up dead air.
Nothing else can happen while that phone is being dialed.
If someone else is in the room when that phone is being dialed, the writers job is somewhat easier.
But only somewhat.
An artificial conversation has to be contrived between the two parties to cover the time that the phone is being dialed.
Then, some time in November of 1973, the prop man for "The Odd Couple" brought out two push button phones.
One for Felix, and one for Oscar.
Our prayers had been answered.
No more dead air.
No more contrived conversations.
You could dial a number on a push button phone in two seconds.
Never mind that there wasn't anything called speed-dialing yet.
And I've been thankful ever since.
Maybe the folks on "Mad Men have learned this lesson.
I've yet to see anyone there dial a phone.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Report Card---"Argo"
"Argo" is a perfect example of the kind of movie that should be reviewed Report Card
style.
The less you know about it going in, the better.
They tell you at the beginning that it is based on a true story, and even that seems like almost too much information.
"Argo" is a great movie.
A great story.
The fact that it is true only enhances its value.
It takes place during the Iran Hostage crisis in 1980, and involves the attempt to get at least some of the hostages out of Iran.
The approach to this problem is a unique one, and I'm not going to be the one who tells you what it is.
The story did eventually become public, but that was quite a while ago, and it slipped under my radar at the time.
Having it slip under your radar at the time makes "Argo" that much more of an enjoyable experience.
On to the scoring:
Is it interesting?
It is fascinating.
A+.
Compelling even?
Fascinating is even better than compelling.
A+
Is it controversial?
To a large extent.
A.
Is it a story worth telling?
Absolutely.
A+.
Is it good storytelling?
It is great storytelling. A ripping, and in some ways, hilarious yarn.
A+.
Is it well written?
The dialogue is first rate.
A+.
Is it well cast? Well played?, Well shot?
Perfect in all respects.
A+.
Is it too long? Too short?
Time was never a factor.
A+.
Is it believable? Do you care about the characters?
It happened. It's hard not to believe it. The perfect comp for this movie is "Schindlers List", and for specific reasons which I will not elaborate on, I cared about the characters in "Argo" far more than the characters in "Schindlers List".
A+.
Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?
It is predictable. It can't help itself. Once the premise is established, you know that it has to end a certain way, or it would never be worth making a movie out of it. But predictability is not a problem. The issue is not how it ends. You get caught up in the intricacies of how it gets there.
A.
Do you think about it after you've seen it?
I've already thought about it quite a bit.
A+.
Is it funny?
Often. And when it is, it is hilarious. Kudos to Alan Arkin and John Goodman for that.
A+.
Would it have been worth the thirteen bucks it would have cost to see it in the movies?
Every dollar.
A+.
Is it impressive ?
Extremely
A+.
Overall grade: A+.
Ben Affleck did a great job in the leading role and in directing it.
Do not miss this one.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
style.
The less you know about it going in, the better.
They tell you at the beginning that it is based on a true story, and even that seems like almost too much information.
"Argo" is a great movie.
A great story.
The fact that it is true only enhances its value.
It takes place during the Iran Hostage crisis in 1980, and involves the attempt to get at least some of the hostages out of Iran.
The approach to this problem is a unique one, and I'm not going to be the one who tells you what it is.
The story did eventually become public, but that was quite a while ago, and it slipped under my radar at the time.
Having it slip under your radar at the time makes "Argo" that much more of an enjoyable experience.
On to the scoring:
Is it interesting?
It is fascinating.
A+.
Compelling even?
Fascinating is even better than compelling.
A+
Is it controversial?
To a large extent.
A.
Is it a story worth telling?
Absolutely.
A+.
Is it good storytelling?
It is great storytelling. A ripping, and in some ways, hilarious yarn.
A+.
Is it well written?
The dialogue is first rate.
A+.
Is it well cast? Well played?, Well shot?
Perfect in all respects.
A+.
Is it too long? Too short?
Time was never a factor.
A+.
Is it believable? Do you care about the characters?
It happened. It's hard not to believe it. The perfect comp for this movie is "Schindlers List", and for specific reasons which I will not elaborate on, I cared about the characters in "Argo" far more than the characters in "Schindlers List".
A+.
Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?
It is predictable. It can't help itself. Once the premise is established, you know that it has to end a certain way, or it would never be worth making a movie out of it. But predictability is not a problem. The issue is not how it ends. You get caught up in the intricacies of how it gets there.
A.
Do you think about it after you've seen it?
I've already thought about it quite a bit.
A+.
Is it funny?
Often. And when it is, it is hilarious. Kudos to Alan Arkin and John Goodman for that.
A+.
Would it have been worth the thirteen bucks it would have cost to see it in the movies?
Every dollar.
A+.
Is it impressive ?
Extremely
A+.
Overall grade: A+.
Ben Affleck did a great job in the leading role and in directing it.
Do not miss this one.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
Saturday, November 17, 2012
What Are You, Da Hostess?
For me, the highlight of the movie "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World", and also the
highlight of Buddy Hackett's rather miniscule movie career, was the scene that took
place in the airplane.
Jim Backus was the pilot, who got loaded up on at least one too many Old-Fashioneds, leaving Hackett and Mickey Rooney, who had both never even been in an airplane before, in charge of the controls.
Actually, Hackett was in charge of the controls.
Rooney was in charge of crabbing, bellyaching, and panicking as their lives were seeming to be coming to an end.
Hackett, having had enough of this, cried out "He's passed out in the back, I'm flying da plane, what are you, da hostess?
I thought that this was the funniest line of a very funny picture.
And it transcended itself into my sisters and my daily life.
Any time we were in the supermarket and passed the packaged baked goods section, one of us would point to a Hostess product and say "What are you, da Hostess?"
This extended to when we brought one of said products home, opened the refrigerator,
got the others attention, and said "What are you, the Hostess?"
During that era, with rare exceptions, we loved Hostess baked goods.
Particularly their chocolate items.
Hostess creme filled cupcakes was my favorite.
I also was fond of Hostess Sno-Balls, which consisted of chocolate cake, creme-filled, covered with marshmallow, and coconut sprinkles, two to a package, one white, the other pink.
I couldn't eat the pink one, even then a little wary of what went into the dye that turned it pink.
My sister was a little less discriminatory.
She would knock down everything chocolate.
The more icing, the better.
Ho-hos, Ding dongs, Yodels.
All loaded with icing and creme filling.
Notice that I spell it creme, because that's how they spelled it.
Probably because it was something ersatz other than cream.
The thing that neither of us could hack was Twinkies.
Tasteless, creme filled, no icing, and not any chocolate.
And then, they started cocking around with orange cupcakes.
Thing were getting out of hand.
Too much branching out.
And it was all junk food to the nth degree, before we were even aware of the term.
So I was saddened when I started hearing that Hostess was shutting down operations.
It was the end of an era,
It also occurred to me that it had been at least fifteen years since I had sampled any of their wares.
I think this is because, even though they contained enormous nostalgia value, the product got worse and worse.
The cupcakes got smaller and didn't taste as good as they used to.
So I'm saddened on an aesthetic level, but not on a culinary one.
And I'll have no further opportunity to say "What are you, da Hostess?"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
highlight of Buddy Hackett's rather miniscule movie career, was the scene that took
place in the airplane.
Jim Backus was the pilot, who got loaded up on at least one too many Old-Fashioneds, leaving Hackett and Mickey Rooney, who had both never even been in an airplane before, in charge of the controls.
Actually, Hackett was in charge of the controls.
Rooney was in charge of crabbing, bellyaching, and panicking as their lives were seeming to be coming to an end.
Hackett, having had enough of this, cried out "He's passed out in the back, I'm flying da plane, what are you, da hostess?
I thought that this was the funniest line of a very funny picture.
And it transcended itself into my sisters and my daily life.
Any time we were in the supermarket and passed the packaged baked goods section, one of us would point to a Hostess product and say "What are you, da Hostess?"
This extended to when we brought one of said products home, opened the refrigerator,
got the others attention, and said "What are you, the Hostess?"
During that era, with rare exceptions, we loved Hostess baked goods.
Particularly their chocolate items.
Hostess creme filled cupcakes was my favorite.
I also was fond of Hostess Sno-Balls, which consisted of chocolate cake, creme-filled, covered with marshmallow, and coconut sprinkles, two to a package, one white, the other pink.
I couldn't eat the pink one, even then a little wary of what went into the dye that turned it pink.
My sister was a little less discriminatory.
She would knock down everything chocolate.
The more icing, the better.
Ho-hos, Ding dongs, Yodels.
All loaded with icing and creme filling.
Notice that I spell it creme, because that's how they spelled it.
Probably because it was something ersatz other than cream.
The thing that neither of us could hack was Twinkies.
Tasteless, creme filled, no icing, and not any chocolate.
And then, they started cocking around with orange cupcakes.
Thing were getting out of hand.
Too much branching out.
And it was all junk food to the nth degree, before we were even aware of the term.
So I was saddened when I started hearing that Hostess was shutting down operations.
It was the end of an era,
It also occurred to me that it had been at least fifteen years since I had sampled any of their wares.
I think this is because, even though they contained enormous nostalgia value, the product got worse and worse.
The cupcakes got smaller and didn't taste as good as they used to.
So I'm saddened on an aesthetic level, but not on a culinary one.
And I'll have no further opportunity to say "What are you, da Hostess?"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Report Card---Celeste And Jesse Forever"
"Celeste and Jesse Forever" is a chick-flick.
You can tell that because Rashida Jones is the lead actress, co writer, and, I think producer.
She was definitely the muscle of this picture.
She is very young, which helps make this a very young chick-flick.
Add to this that the male lead is Andy Samberg, late of Saturday Night Live, doing nothing that might have made him funny on SNL.
He plays Rashida's love interest, with the added bonus of his character wanting to have a baby, while she doesn't.
This is a classic chick-flick point of view.
Grown men are, to my knowledge, never the prime movers for wanting to have a baby.
So this obviously is not a movie designed for my enjoyment.
Early on, it is established that they are getting divorced, but are remaining the best of friends.
Something that always happens in my world.
When you call a picture "Celeste and Jesse Forever", it's either meant sincerely, or ironically.
In any case, it becomes completely formulaic.
Boy meets girl, boy loses girl----and then several choices are left, each entirely unsatisfying.
1- Boy gets girl. We may be rooting for this one, but it is entirely predictable.
2- Boy or girl starts dying, a la "Love Story", or "Terms of Endearment"
Depressing, and also predictable.
3- Boy never gets girl again. This one is just simply disappointing.
I'll give you a clue without it being a spoiler alert.
It's one of the above three.
Which is why this is bad storytelling.
On to the scoring:
Is it interesting?
It's not uninteresting. That's as far as I can take it.
B-.
Compelling even?
Never.
F.
Is it controversial?
Never.
F.
Is it a story worth telling?
Not that I can see.
F.
Is it good storytelling?
No, for the above reasons.
D+.
Is it well written?
The dialogue is okay.
B-.
Is it well cast? Well played?, Well shot?
No better than average in all respects.
C.
Is it too long? Too short?
The length wasn't a problem. It was only 90 minutes.
B.
Is it believable? Do you care about the characters?
Not really, and not really.
C-.
Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?
It's predictable, except for determining which of the predictable ways they were going.
C.
Do you think about it after you've seen it?
I didn't give it a thought.
F.
Is it funny?
Only on rare occasions.
B-.
Would it have been worth the thirteen bucks it would have cost to see it in the movies?
No chance.
F.
Is it impressive ?
Not in the least.
F.
Overall grade: C-.
I've seen worse movies, and I've seen far better movies.
Not an auspicious debut for the Report Card Season.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
You can tell that because Rashida Jones is the lead actress, co writer, and, I think producer.
She was definitely the muscle of this picture.
She is very young, which helps make this a very young chick-flick.
Add to this that the male lead is Andy Samberg, late of Saturday Night Live, doing nothing that might have made him funny on SNL.
He plays Rashida's love interest, with the added bonus of his character wanting to have a baby, while she doesn't.
This is a classic chick-flick point of view.
Grown men are, to my knowledge, never the prime movers for wanting to have a baby.
So this obviously is not a movie designed for my enjoyment.
Early on, it is established that they are getting divorced, but are remaining the best of friends.
Something that always happens in my world.
When you call a picture "Celeste and Jesse Forever", it's either meant sincerely, or ironically.
In any case, it becomes completely formulaic.
Boy meets girl, boy loses girl----and then several choices are left, each entirely unsatisfying.
1- Boy gets girl. We may be rooting for this one, but it is entirely predictable.
2- Boy or girl starts dying, a la "Love Story", or "Terms of Endearment"
Depressing, and also predictable.
3- Boy never gets girl again. This one is just simply disappointing.
I'll give you a clue without it being a spoiler alert.
It's one of the above three.
Which is why this is bad storytelling.
On to the scoring:
Is it interesting?
It's not uninteresting. That's as far as I can take it.
B-.
Compelling even?
Never.
F.
Is it controversial?
Never.
F.
Is it a story worth telling?
Not that I can see.
F.
Is it good storytelling?
No, for the above reasons.
D+.
Is it well written?
The dialogue is okay.
B-.
Is it well cast? Well played?, Well shot?
No better than average in all respects.
C.
Is it too long? Too short?
The length wasn't a problem. It was only 90 minutes.
B.
Is it believable? Do you care about the characters?
Not really, and not really.
C-.
Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?
It's predictable, except for determining which of the predictable ways they were going.
C.
Do you think about it after you've seen it?
I didn't give it a thought.
F.
Is it funny?
Only on rare occasions.
B-.
Would it have been worth the thirteen bucks it would have cost to see it in the movies?
No chance.
F.
Is it impressive ?
Not in the least.
F.
Overall grade: C-.
I've seen worse movies, and I've seen far better movies.
Not an auspicious debut for the Report Card Season.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Another Way That Life Is Not Fair.
Here are two bare-bones obituaries that appeared over the last couple of days.
Henry Colman
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Television producer and executive Henry Colman - whose credits include "The Love Boat," ''Hawaii Five-O" and "Green Acres" - has died at age 89.
From the New York Times---Frank Peppiatt Dies.
Frank Peppiatt, the Canadian-born co-creator of “Hee Haw” — who died on Wednesday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., at 85.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now, what did these two men have in common?
Give up?
They were two purveyors of some of the worst crap ever put on television.
In all fairness, I never watched an entire episode of any of these shows.
They were on primarily during the days before there were remote control devices.
So I saw them for as long as it took for me to get up and change the channel.
But word has pretty much filtered back to me that they were consistently godawful.
"The Love Boat" seemed to be "Love, American Style", wet, and with bigger guest stars.
"Hee Haw" was a Right Wing version of "Laugh In", which, in reality, was a right wing
version of itself.
With the red states being what they are, I'm amazed that it is no longer in production.
They could prop up Buck Owens' corpse and nobody would know the difference.
I know that a case could be made that my career has been one of a purveyor of crap.
But sometimes I was simply trapped in the shows I was on, and I always aimed to the
top of peoples intelligence.
"Laverne & Shirley" and "She's The Sheriff" were both left-wing shows caught up in right-wing trappings.
Not of my making.
I am proud of my work on both of them.
The only time I wasn't proud was when I had to write an episode of "The Jeffersons"
In their style.
I spent the entire time with my left hand hitting the keys on the typewriter, and my
right hand holding my nose.
That's the only time I wasn't proud.
Frank Peppiatt made it to 85.
Henry Colman made it to 89.
Now.
Nat Hiken and Rod Serling.
What did these two men have in common?
Give up?
They were both purveyors of the best that television ever had to offer.
Hiken with Sergeant Bilko, and Serling with all those great Playhouse 90s, and of
course, "The Twilight Zone"
Nat Hiken died at age 54.
Rod Serling died at age 50.
What's wrong with this picture?
What isn't?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
Henry Colman
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Television producer and executive Henry Colman - whose credits include "The Love Boat," ''Hawaii Five-O" and "Green Acres" - has died at age 89.
From the New York Times---Frank Peppiatt Dies.
Frank Peppiatt, the Canadian-born co-creator of “Hee Haw” — who died on Wednesday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., at 85.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now, what did these two men have in common?
Give up?
They were two purveyors of some of the worst crap ever put on television.
In all fairness, I never watched an entire episode of any of these shows.
They were on primarily during the days before there were remote control devices.
So I saw them for as long as it took for me to get up and change the channel.
But word has pretty much filtered back to me that they were consistently godawful.
"The Love Boat" seemed to be "Love, American Style", wet, and with bigger guest stars.
"Hee Haw" was a Right Wing version of "Laugh In", which, in reality, was a right wing
version of itself.
With the red states being what they are, I'm amazed that it is no longer in production.
They could prop up Buck Owens' corpse and nobody would know the difference.
I know that a case could be made that my career has been one of a purveyor of crap.
But sometimes I was simply trapped in the shows I was on, and I always aimed to the
top of peoples intelligence.
"Laverne & Shirley" and "She's The Sheriff" were both left-wing shows caught up in right-wing trappings.
Not of my making.
I am proud of my work on both of them.
The only time I wasn't proud was when I had to write an episode of "The Jeffersons"
In their style.
I spent the entire time with my left hand hitting the keys on the typewriter, and my
right hand holding my nose.
That's the only time I wasn't proud.
Frank Peppiatt made it to 85.
Henry Colman made it to 89.
Now.
Nat Hiken and Rod Serling.
What did these two men have in common?
Give up?
They were both purveyors of the best that television ever had to offer.
Hiken with Sergeant Bilko, and Serling with all those great Playhouse 90s, and of
course, "The Twilight Zone"
Nat Hiken died at age 54.
Rod Serling died at age 50.
What's wrong with this picture?
What isn't?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Tarnishing My Legacy.
These are highlights from the obituary appeared in the Hollywood Reporter a few days ago:
"Bob Brunner, a writer-producer on the classic ABC sitcom Happy Days who named Henry Winkler's "Fonzie" but also -- as legend has it -- suggested the character jump a shark in a now-infamous 1977 episode, has died. He was 78.
Brunner invented the nickname "Fonzie" for Winkler's suave biker character, whose birth name was Arthur Fonzarelli. He also came up Fonzie's insulting comeback catch phase "Sit on It!" which wildly caught on in America as the show became a huge ratings hit.
With TV's No. 1 show returning in 1977, the show decided to set the season-opening three-part episode in Hollywood, where Fonzie is invited to take a screen test. In one storyline, he engages in a water-skiing challenge with a local kid and, as a tiebreaker, has to jump a shark in a netted area in the ocean. (Of course, Fonzie is wearing his trademark black leather jacket as he attempts the feat.)
The phrase "jump the shark," coined by radio personality Jon Heim and his college roommate, has since come to signify the precise moment when a popular TV show begins its inevitable decline.
In a September 2010 article for the Los Angeles Times, Happy Days writer-producer Fred Fox Jr. wrote about who came up with the shark idea.
Q&A: Garry Marshall on Earning Laughs in TV and Why Fonzie Jumped That Shark
"Amazingly, I can't remember — which is frustrating, as I can usually watch a Happy Days episode from any season, hear a joke and recall who wrote it," he wrote. "My friend Brian Levant, then a talented new member of the writing staff, believes that Garry Marshall, the show's co-creator and executive producer, and Bob Brunner, the showrunner at the time, made the suggestion. But what I definitely remember is that no one protested vehemently; not one of us said, 'Fonzie, jump a shark? Are you out of your mind?'"
Fox wrote that the Sept. 20, 1977, episode attracted 30 million viewers and was the No. 3-rated show on TV that week. Happy Days remained on the air for another six seasons."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interestingly, about five years ago, I read an obituary of Bob Brunner in some outlying publication on-line.
But I couldn't find any corroboration.
And it's not that I didn't try.
I asked several people who knew him "Is Bob Brunner dead?"
Nobody knew.
This recent obituary seems to put that speculation to rest.
I am commenting on this obituary for one reason and one reason alone.
One look at Brunner's IMDB page will give you an indication of what kind of writer he was.
It's not all that different from my IMDB page.
We both spent considerable amounts of time in the Toy Department of TV sitcom.
If we might have had any difference, I suspect that it was that Brunner never had a burning desire to write the Great American Novel, or Play, or Movie, something I am afflicted with, much to my frustration.
So I'm not writing this to comment on his writing.
I always liked Bob Brunner.
He was always nice to me.
I would describe him as a hale fellow well met.
He seemed very happy to have attained whatever he attained in show business.
But I'm not writing this to express my personal feelings about him.
I am writing this because once again, the media has not done its homework, and in
the process is unjustly robbing me of credit and credibility.
As has been the case relentlessly that whenever "Laverne & Shirley" is mentioned,
the fact that I co-created it is usually lost in deference to Garry Marshall, so here, my second most noteworthy accomplishment, the introduction of the expression
"Sit on it" has been credited to someone else.
Because it is in the Introduction to this blog and my e-books, I have already received e-mails doubting my veracity on this issue.
From my own loyal readers.
Because it was credited to Brunner in his obituary.
In print.
In letters you can read.
I feel I must respond in my own letters that you can read.
The expression "Sit on it" came out of a writing session between Lowell Ganz and myself, as we were writing the first live audience episode of Happy Days in 1975.
Our writing took the form of verbal ping-pong matches, during which, always bearing in mind that Garry Marshall was always looking for catchphrases, the words "Sit on it" came out of my mouth to be put into Fonzie's mouth.
Lowell and I looked at each other instantaneously and knew immediately that we had found the new catchphrase.
Bob Brunner didn't come to work on Happy Days until 1977, at which point I was already doing other things.
Bob was very "earthy".
The kind of person you would have expected to have come up with "Sit on it" in perhaps its most vulgar connotation.
But it wasn't his vulgarity at work.
It was mine.
So this is another example of "Caveat Emptor" when you read anything in the press.
Who knows? When I die, somebody might write that I came up with the idea of Fonzie jumping the shark, which I emphatically did not.
If I had still been the Show Runner then I would have been the huge naysayer in the
room.
I would have been the one saying "Are you all crazy?"
But as I said, I was no longer on the premises.
I know that "Sit on it" may not seem like much to you.
And maybe it isn't much.
Maybe it's a little thing, but it's mine own.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
"Bob Brunner, a writer-producer on the classic ABC sitcom Happy Days who named Henry Winkler's "Fonzie" but also -- as legend has it -- suggested the character jump a shark in a now-infamous 1977 episode, has died. He was 78.
Brunner invented the nickname "Fonzie" for Winkler's suave biker character, whose birth name was Arthur Fonzarelli. He also came up Fonzie's insulting comeback catch phase "Sit on It!" which wildly caught on in America as the show became a huge ratings hit.
With TV's No. 1 show returning in 1977, the show decided to set the season-opening three-part episode in Hollywood, where Fonzie is invited to take a screen test. In one storyline, he engages in a water-skiing challenge with a local kid and, as a tiebreaker, has to jump a shark in a netted area in the ocean. (Of course, Fonzie is wearing his trademark black leather jacket as he attempts the feat.)
The phrase "jump the shark," coined by radio personality Jon Heim and his college roommate, has since come to signify the precise moment when a popular TV show begins its inevitable decline.
In a September 2010 article for the Los Angeles Times, Happy Days writer-producer Fred Fox Jr. wrote about who came up with the shark idea.
Q&A: Garry Marshall on Earning Laughs in TV and Why Fonzie Jumped That Shark
"Amazingly, I can't remember — which is frustrating, as I can usually watch a Happy Days episode from any season, hear a joke and recall who wrote it," he wrote. "My friend Brian Levant, then a talented new member of the writing staff, believes that Garry Marshall, the show's co-creator and executive producer, and Bob Brunner, the showrunner at the time, made the suggestion. But what I definitely remember is that no one protested vehemently; not one of us said, 'Fonzie, jump a shark? Are you out of your mind?'"
Fox wrote that the Sept. 20, 1977, episode attracted 30 million viewers and was the No. 3-rated show on TV that week. Happy Days remained on the air for another six seasons."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interestingly, about five years ago, I read an obituary of Bob Brunner in some outlying publication on-line.
But I couldn't find any corroboration.
And it's not that I didn't try.
I asked several people who knew him "Is Bob Brunner dead?"
Nobody knew.
This recent obituary seems to put that speculation to rest.
I am commenting on this obituary for one reason and one reason alone.
One look at Brunner's IMDB page will give you an indication of what kind of writer he was.
It's not all that different from my IMDB page.
We both spent considerable amounts of time in the Toy Department of TV sitcom.
If we might have had any difference, I suspect that it was that Brunner never had a burning desire to write the Great American Novel, or Play, or Movie, something I am afflicted with, much to my frustration.
So I'm not writing this to comment on his writing.
I always liked Bob Brunner.
He was always nice to me.
I would describe him as a hale fellow well met.
He seemed very happy to have attained whatever he attained in show business.
But I'm not writing this to express my personal feelings about him.
I am writing this because once again, the media has not done its homework, and in
the process is unjustly robbing me of credit and credibility.
As has been the case relentlessly that whenever "Laverne & Shirley" is mentioned,
the fact that I co-created it is usually lost in deference to Garry Marshall, so here, my second most noteworthy accomplishment, the introduction of the expression
"Sit on it" has been credited to someone else.
Because it is in the Introduction to this blog and my e-books, I have already received e-mails doubting my veracity on this issue.
From my own loyal readers.
Because it was credited to Brunner in his obituary.
In print.
In letters you can read.
I feel I must respond in my own letters that you can read.
The expression "Sit on it" came out of a writing session between Lowell Ganz and myself, as we were writing the first live audience episode of Happy Days in 1975.
Our writing took the form of verbal ping-pong matches, during which, always bearing in mind that Garry Marshall was always looking for catchphrases, the words "Sit on it" came out of my mouth to be put into Fonzie's mouth.
Lowell and I looked at each other instantaneously and knew immediately that we had found the new catchphrase.
Bob Brunner didn't come to work on Happy Days until 1977, at which point I was already doing other things.
Bob was very "earthy".
The kind of person you would have expected to have come up with "Sit on it" in perhaps its most vulgar connotation.
But it wasn't his vulgarity at work.
It was mine.
So this is another example of "Caveat Emptor" when you read anything in the press.
Who knows? When I die, somebody might write that I came up with the idea of Fonzie jumping the shark, which I emphatically did not.
If I had still been the Show Runner then I would have been the huge naysayer in the
room.
I would have been the one saying "Are you all crazy?"
But as I said, I was no longer on the premises.
I know that "Sit on it" may not seem like much to you.
And maybe it isn't much.
Maybe it's a little thing, but it's mine own.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Mitt And Mitch.
As the glorious results came in on Tuesday night, I kept thinking about two people
in particular: Mitt Romney and Mitch McConnell.
Mitt had just spent the last two years, let me amend that, the last eighteen years,
lying his ass off about everything.
Nobody is really all that comfortable about lying his or her ass off.
Particularly someone like Romney, who has absolutely no talent for it.
And he did it for one singular reason.
He wanted to be elected president of the United States.
I don't even know if he knew why he wanted to become President.
I have a feeling that it didn't have so much to do with actually being President as becoming President.
All of that lying his ass off culminated on Tuesday night with him losing.
With not getting what he wanted.
With failing.
A man who doesn't like to fail failed.
And he knows that he will never get another chance.
How does someone recover from that?
Yes, I know that he has all those moneybags to recline on while he ponders this, but
then he's always had these money bags to recline on, and it was never enough.
So why should it be enough now?
I've thought that if nothing else, Romney was a sensitive man.
If he wasn't sensitive, the result wouldn't lay him waste as much as it will.
And it will.
I would love to be Romney's psychiatrist right now.
I think there are fortunes to be made.
Mitch McConnell's opening salvo when President Obama was elected in 2008 was "Our goal above all else is to make sure that Obama is a one-term President"
This implies that he was willing to throw the entire country under a Greyhound Bus to
accomplish this.
And he did.
Tommy Freidman, in his op-ed in the New York Times yesterday, maintained that this
one line, and it's subsequent follow through, is what cost Romney the election.
I also give McConnell credit for having somewhat of a conscience.
He's not the Koch brothers, or Sheldon Adelson.
This was just a drop in the bucket to them.
Or Grover Norquist, or Trump, or Limbaugh, who on their best days could not be accused of having consciences.
McConnell, as far as I remember, has attempted to be a practical politician, who in this case was led by the nose by his base.
So this statement that he made will most-likely be his legacy, and it's got to really hurt.
He seems to be stuck with this position, or some variation on it, if only to save his
own political skin.
And he didn't even win back the Senate.
Mitt and Mitch will have probably self-consigned themselves to hell, if only on a short term basis.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
in particular: Mitt Romney and Mitch McConnell.
Mitt had just spent the last two years, let me amend that, the last eighteen years,
lying his ass off about everything.
Nobody is really all that comfortable about lying his or her ass off.
Particularly someone like Romney, who has absolutely no talent for it.
And he did it for one singular reason.
He wanted to be elected president of the United States.
I don't even know if he knew why he wanted to become President.
I have a feeling that it didn't have so much to do with actually being President as becoming President.
All of that lying his ass off culminated on Tuesday night with him losing.
With not getting what he wanted.
With failing.
A man who doesn't like to fail failed.
And he knows that he will never get another chance.
How does someone recover from that?
Yes, I know that he has all those moneybags to recline on while he ponders this, but
then he's always had these money bags to recline on, and it was never enough.
So why should it be enough now?
I've thought that if nothing else, Romney was a sensitive man.
If he wasn't sensitive, the result wouldn't lay him waste as much as it will.
And it will.
I would love to be Romney's psychiatrist right now.
I think there are fortunes to be made.
Mitch McConnell's opening salvo when President Obama was elected in 2008 was "Our goal above all else is to make sure that Obama is a one-term President"
This implies that he was willing to throw the entire country under a Greyhound Bus to
accomplish this.
And he did.
Tommy Freidman, in his op-ed in the New York Times yesterday, maintained that this
one line, and it's subsequent follow through, is what cost Romney the election.
I also give McConnell credit for having somewhat of a conscience.
He's not the Koch brothers, or Sheldon Adelson.
This was just a drop in the bucket to them.
Or Grover Norquist, or Trump, or Limbaugh, who on their best days could not be accused of having consciences.
McConnell, as far as I remember, has attempted to be a practical politician, who in this case was led by the nose by his base.
So this statement that he made will most-likely be his legacy, and it's got to really hurt.
He seems to be stuck with this position, or some variation on it, if only to save his
own political skin.
And he didn't even win back the Senate.
Mitt and Mitch will have probably self-consigned themselves to hell, if only on a short term basis.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Voter Suppression.
For most of the last few months, I have been astounded that voter suppression by the
Republicans hasn't been the lead story in every newspaper, and every TV news show (except for FOX news, of course)
I've been shocked that there hasn't been more coverage about this ethical travesty.
That there hasn't been more of an insurrection, to the point of a coup d'etat over it.
Romney should be disqualified to win the Presidency simply for not speaking out against the voter suppression employed on his behalf.
That's how illegal it should be.
To this Democratic mind, it confirms that the Republicans are, and have been, in bed with the devil.
In theory, to attempt to deprive any citizen of his or her Constitutionally guaranteed right to vote is reprehensible at best.
And virtually nobody in the media is calling out the lowlifes on it severely enough.
There has always been voter suppression to some extent, but never with the flagrancy
and brazenness that has been prevalent this year.
When presented with the fact that there has been virtually no voter fraud, which has been what they have been hanging their hats on, there has been no embarrassment coming from the other side.
No, they even seem to be thumbing their nose at us.
The courts have taken care of most of it, but that hasn't kept all of the effort down.
However--------
I've recently had a revelation.
I can visualize a scenario where I would be in favor of voter suppression in a
New York minute.
As long as it's still legal.
Let's say that there was this nitwit Governor from a very cold state who quite seriously could end up being one quite aging heartbeat away from being President.
And that ticket was leading in the polls.
I think I would consider it my civic duty, yea, my patriotic duty, to use every dirty
trick in the book to suppress the oppositions vote and make sure that this ticket loses.
I would just be more discreet about it.
And hopefully, a better liar.
I honestly can't believe that this race is so tight.
Maybe the Republicans are right.
Maybe the polls are wrong.
But maybe they are wrong the wrong way.
Maybe the President has a huge lead that simply isn't reflected in the polls.
That would certainly make more sense to me.
But then, maybe my perspective is warped.
Just like my grandmother, who lived in the Bronx in the seventies.
When Nixon walloped McGovern, my grandmother was stunned.
"I don't understand! Everybody in my building voted for McGovern. Nobody voted for
Nixon, that bastard...."
I know that the electorate is entitled to the President it chooses, but in this instance, and the current one, so am I.
Particularly since they are now still trying to suppress us.
I guess what I'm saying is that sometimes the high road is too high.
As we go into this good night, let's hope that there are still enough sane ones
among us.
At least in the swing states.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
Republicans hasn't been the lead story in every newspaper, and every TV news show (except for FOX news, of course)
I've been shocked that there hasn't been more coverage about this ethical travesty.
That there hasn't been more of an insurrection, to the point of a coup d'etat over it.
Romney should be disqualified to win the Presidency simply for not speaking out against the voter suppression employed on his behalf.
That's how illegal it should be.
To this Democratic mind, it confirms that the Republicans are, and have been, in bed with the devil.
In theory, to attempt to deprive any citizen of his or her Constitutionally guaranteed right to vote is reprehensible at best.
And virtually nobody in the media is calling out the lowlifes on it severely enough.
There has always been voter suppression to some extent, but never with the flagrancy
and brazenness that has been prevalent this year.
When presented with the fact that there has been virtually no voter fraud, which has been what they have been hanging their hats on, there has been no embarrassment coming from the other side.
No, they even seem to be thumbing their nose at us.
The courts have taken care of most of it, but that hasn't kept all of the effort down.
However--------
I've recently had a revelation.
I can visualize a scenario where I would be in favor of voter suppression in a
New York minute.
As long as it's still legal.
Let's say that there was this nitwit Governor from a very cold state who quite seriously could end up being one quite aging heartbeat away from being President.
And that ticket was leading in the polls.
I think I would consider it my civic duty, yea, my patriotic duty, to use every dirty
trick in the book to suppress the oppositions vote and make sure that this ticket loses.
I would just be more discreet about it.
And hopefully, a better liar.
I honestly can't believe that this race is so tight.
Maybe the Republicans are right.
Maybe the polls are wrong.
But maybe they are wrong the wrong way.
Maybe the President has a huge lead that simply isn't reflected in the polls.
That would certainly make more sense to me.
But then, maybe my perspective is warped.
Just like my grandmother, who lived in the Bronx in the seventies.
When Nixon walloped McGovern, my grandmother was stunned.
"I don't understand! Everybody in my building voted for McGovern. Nobody voted for
Nixon, that bastard...."
I know that the electorate is entitled to the President it chooses, but in this instance, and the current one, so am I.
Particularly since they are now still trying to suppress us.
I guess what I'm saying is that sometimes the high road is too high.
As we go into this good night, let's hope that there are still enough sane ones
among us.
At least in the swing states.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
Saturday, November 3, 2012
'Tis The Season.
I just received the first couple of DVDs from the West Coast studios.
They do this every year, in an attempt to solicit my vote for the various awards
that are given out, now that we have begun to approach awards season.
This means that I am about to be inundated with DVDs on almost a daily basis.
And this also means that you will begin to be inundated with my "Report Cards",
or reviews, of these films.
Mind you, the studios only send out DVDs of films that they deem award-worthy.
Or at least films that can be assumed to be perceived as award-worthy.
My previous track record has been that I usually like more of these than I dislike,
but not by any kind of overwhelming percentage.
The concept behind Report Cards, for those of you less than familiar with it, is to
provide only as much information about the plot of the movie that is absolutely necessary.
And not a bit more.
And then grade them in various categories, answering key questions about them.
I do this from an unabashed screenwriters point of view.
I hate seeing stars on talk shows showing clips from the movies they're on to plug.
I don't want to be tipped off to anything about a movie that I don't have to.
I try not to read regular movie reviews which usually reveal way too much of the
plot.
For those of you new at reading report cards, I hope you enjoy the form.
One of my e-books at the Amazon Kindle Store is called "Report Cards", and is a collection of these reviews from the last couple of years.
The e-book has been selling very well, so more than just somebody out there likes
them.
Maybe you will too.
Maybe you already do.
You might want to go to the Amazon Kindle Store, where you can read the first five chapters or so, to get a sense of things.
So, let's go to the movies!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
They do this every year, in an attempt to solicit my vote for the various awards
that are given out, now that we have begun to approach awards season.
This means that I am about to be inundated with DVDs on almost a daily basis.
And this also means that you will begin to be inundated with my "Report Cards",
or reviews, of these films.
Mind you, the studios only send out DVDs of films that they deem award-worthy.
Or at least films that can be assumed to be perceived as award-worthy.
My previous track record has been that I usually like more of these than I dislike,
but not by any kind of overwhelming percentage.
The concept behind Report Cards, for those of you less than familiar with it, is to
provide only as much information about the plot of the movie that is absolutely necessary.
And not a bit more.
And then grade them in various categories, answering key questions about them.
I do this from an unabashed screenwriters point of view.
I hate seeing stars on talk shows showing clips from the movies they're on to plug.
I don't want to be tipped off to anything about a movie that I don't have to.
I try not to read regular movie reviews which usually reveal way too much of the
plot.
For those of you new at reading report cards, I hope you enjoy the form.
One of my e-books at the Amazon Kindle Store is called "Report Cards", and is a collection of these reviews from the last couple of years.
The e-book has been selling very well, so more than just somebody out there likes
them.
Maybe you will too.
Maybe you already do.
You might want to go to the Amazon Kindle Store, where you can read the first five chapters or so, to get a sense of things.
So, let's go to the movies!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Playing To The Band.
You've got to hand it to David Letterman.
Monday and Tuesday night, in the middle of the hurricane, he did his usual show.
Only without an audience.
Without changing any other elements of his show, which has always been designed for a
live audience.
This takes balls.
But Dave has always been a trailblazer.
And he has always looked for ways to push the envelope.
So he sat in the massive Ed Sullivan Theater, without an audience, reading his usual monologue jokes, off of index cards.
To the band.
He literally played to the band.
Metaphorically, this has always been the hippest thing in show business.
He brought the metaphor to life.
And it was great.
A friend of mine recently sent me a DVD of Saturday Morning kiddie shows that I grew up with, and it displayed interesting variations of the use of form and content.
The first thing I watched was an episode of "Kukla, Fran, and Ollie.
This was a show that I had remembered fondly from my early childhood.
Essentially, a puppet show, Kukla appeared to be a clown puppet, Ollie was a dragon,
and Fran, Fran Allison, was a human being.
What "Kukla, Fran, and Ollie" had going for it was its charm, and its artistry.
Burr Tillstrom, the puppeteer, did every puppets voice, and there were a lot of them.
Fran Allison supplied the charm, which she had in abundance.
It was a pleasure to watch.
But about halfway during its thirty minutes, something occurred to me.
They were all completely WINGING IT!
There was no script.
There were no jokes.
There were no attempts at jokes.
Tillstrom couldn't have been working with a script, because he never had a hand free to turn the pages.
The only way to do this show was to wing it.
As a result, along with the charm and artistry, there was an awful lot of yakking.
This made it something less than compelling viewing.
I went to Wikipedia, where they confirmed that the show was completely improvised.
All the time.
It's the only way they could have made it work.
I didn't realize that when I was six.
It didn't have an audience, and didn't need one.
Then I saw an episode of "Howdy Doody"
This was the complete antithesis of "Kukla, Fran, and Ollie"
It was heavily scripted.
It had to be.
Buffalo Bob Smith did the voice of Howdy Doody, and in order to accomplish this,
they could never hold Bob and Howdy in a two-shot while they were conversing.
So the direction was tricky, and Bob had to know his lines and Howdy's lines, and exactly when they came in.
"Howdy Doody", in retrospect, was not a very good show.
It had charm.
Nobody was more charming than Buffalo Bob.
But it had no artistry.
Instead, it had a "Peanut Gallery" of little kids to serve as a live audience.
I can't imagine Buffalo Bob doing a show if Hurricane Sandy showed up and kept the kids home.
Then, there was an episode of "The Soupy Sales Show"
Soupy ONLY played to the band.
The band, in this case, was his crew.
He always managed to make his crew laugh.
This was much of the fun.
He also played directly to the camera, but that didn't prevent the crew from laughing their heads off.
So I guess Soupy was the pioneer in this regard.
But Dave did what he did in a huge empty theatre.
That, to me, was even more impressive.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
Monday and Tuesday night, in the middle of the hurricane, he did his usual show.
Only without an audience.
Without changing any other elements of his show, which has always been designed for a
live audience.
This takes balls.
But Dave has always been a trailblazer.
And he has always looked for ways to push the envelope.
So he sat in the massive Ed Sullivan Theater, without an audience, reading his usual monologue jokes, off of index cards.
To the band.
He literally played to the band.
Metaphorically, this has always been the hippest thing in show business.
He brought the metaphor to life.
And it was great.
A friend of mine recently sent me a DVD of Saturday Morning kiddie shows that I grew up with, and it displayed interesting variations of the use of form and content.
The first thing I watched was an episode of "Kukla, Fran, and Ollie.
This was a show that I had remembered fondly from my early childhood.
Essentially, a puppet show, Kukla appeared to be a clown puppet, Ollie was a dragon,
and Fran, Fran Allison, was a human being.
What "Kukla, Fran, and Ollie" had going for it was its charm, and its artistry.
Burr Tillstrom, the puppeteer, did every puppets voice, and there were a lot of them.
Fran Allison supplied the charm, which she had in abundance.
It was a pleasure to watch.
But about halfway during its thirty minutes, something occurred to me.
They were all completely WINGING IT!
There was no script.
There were no jokes.
There were no attempts at jokes.
Tillstrom couldn't have been working with a script, because he never had a hand free to turn the pages.
The only way to do this show was to wing it.
As a result, along with the charm and artistry, there was an awful lot of yakking.
This made it something less than compelling viewing.
I went to Wikipedia, where they confirmed that the show was completely improvised.
All the time.
It's the only way they could have made it work.
I didn't realize that when I was six.
It didn't have an audience, and didn't need one.
Then I saw an episode of "Howdy Doody"
This was the complete antithesis of "Kukla, Fran, and Ollie"
It was heavily scripted.
It had to be.
Buffalo Bob Smith did the voice of Howdy Doody, and in order to accomplish this,
they could never hold Bob and Howdy in a two-shot while they were conversing.
So the direction was tricky, and Bob had to know his lines and Howdy's lines, and exactly when they came in.
"Howdy Doody", in retrospect, was not a very good show.
It had charm.
Nobody was more charming than Buffalo Bob.
But it had no artistry.
Instead, it had a "Peanut Gallery" of little kids to serve as a live audience.
I can't imagine Buffalo Bob doing a show if Hurricane Sandy showed up and kept the kids home.
Then, there was an episode of "The Soupy Sales Show"
Soupy ONLY played to the band.
The band, in this case, was his crew.
He always managed to make his crew laugh.
This was much of the fun.
He also played directly to the camera, but that didn't prevent the crew from laughing their heads off.
So I guess Soupy was the pioneer in this regard.
But Dave did what he did in a huge empty theatre.
That, to me, was even more impressive.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
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