Out of the Blackout and Into the Pit

BY NOW you've probably seen this statement from the WGA:

To Our Fellow Members,
After four days of bargaining with the AMPTP, we are writing to let you know that, though we are still at the table, the press blackout has been lifted.

Our inability to communicate with our members has left a vacuum of information that has been filled with rumors, both well intentioned and deceptive.

Among the rumors was the assertion that the AMPTP had a groundbreaking proposal that would make this negotiation a "done deal." In fact, for the first three days of this week, the companies presented in essence their November 4 package with not an iota of movement on any of the issues that matter to writers.

Thursday morning, the first new proposal was finally presented to us. It dealt only with streaming and made-for-Internet jurisdiction, and it amounts to a massive rollback.

For streaming television episodes, the companies proposed a residual structure of a single fixed payment of less than $250 for a year's reuse of an hour-long program (compared to over $20,000 payable for a network rerun). For theatrical product they are offering no residuals whatsoever for streaming.

For made-for-Internet material, they offered minimums that would allow a studio to produce up to a 15 minute episode of network-derived web content for a script fee of $1,300. They continued to refuse to grant jurisdiction over original content for the Internet.

In their new proposal, they made absolutely no move on the download formula (which they propose to pay at the DVD rate), and continue to assert that they can deem any reuse "promotional," and pay no residual (even if they replay the entire film or TV episode and even if they make money).

The AMPTP says it will have additional proposals to make but, as of Thursday evening, they have not been presented to us. We are scheduled to meet with them again on Tuesday.

In the meantime, we felt it was essential to update you accurately on where negotiations stand. On Wednesday we presented a comprehensive economic justification for our proposals. Our entire package would cost this industry $151 million over three years. That's a little over a 3% increase in writer earnings each year, while company revenues are projected to grow at a rate of 10%. We are falling behind.

For Sony, this entire deal would cost $1.68 million per year. For Disney $6.25 million. Paramount and CBS would each pay about $4.66 million, Warner about $11.2 million, Fox $6.04 million, and NBC/Universal $7.44 million. MGM would pay $320,000 and the entire universe of remaining companies would assume the remainder of about $8.3 million per year. As we've stated repeatedly, our proposals are more than reasonable and the companies have no excuse for denying it.

The AMPTP's intractability is dispiriting news but it must also be motivating. Any movement on the part of these multinational conglomerates has been the result of the collective action of our membership, with the support of SAG, other unions, supportive politicians, and the general public. We must fight on, returning to the lines on Monday in force to make it clear that we will not back down, that we will not accept a bad deal, and that we are all in this together.

Patric M. Verrone, President, WGAW
Michael Winship, President, WGAE

DHD has the skinny here.

But if I can just say for a minute -- this is simply not a serious offer in any way shape or form. That script fee for webisodes? I just got paid more than that to write my portion of an interactive web-thingie for The Border. A Canadian show.

This is not good news. Fans4Writers, all you guys out there...the CEO's aren't listening...hopefully on the weekend I'll work up a post about something new to be tried.

And this one aint about sending pencils.

A Decent Dose of Perspective

AS YOU ANXIOUSLY check Nikki Finke every five minutes, remember that the process of negotiation is a difficult one, even when the sides are talking. Jim Henshaw has an excellent piece up about labor negotiation, with some historical context on the very first contract secured by the Writers Guild of Canada. It's an interesting read.

The negotiation process is a complex one. You come to see some of your own positions as justified but maybe unattainable. You see some of the Producer's requirements as onerous but logical. And both of you get snagged on issues that can't be addressed without throwing some other section already agreed upon completely out of whack.

A clause may be painful for some of the membership and perfect for the rest. They pay the same dues and work just as hard. What do you do?

A loophole covered creates another that a disingenuous producer could drive a truck through. Do you hamstring them all for the sake of one potential bad apple, or cut them some slack and hope the trust is appreciated and respected?

Those two words constantly reverberate in your head -- strong but reasonable.

In the end, the final agreements are always imperfect. This isn't a business where everybody operates the same jack hammer.

Our first IPA (Independent Producers Agreement) was imperfect, but it achieved its goal of creating a a reliable foundation for a burgeoning industry. Accepting that development money was scarce, we made the initial writing stages cheaper, creating a "script fee" that was below WGA rates, but was topped up when it went into production. We also created a "Production fee" that prepaid residual uses and didn't require further outlays from the producer until he was out from under his negative cost and in profit.

I've had writers tell me it was an agreement that finally allowed them to earn a living in this country. I've had others insist it cost them a fortune. They're probably both right.

What comes out of the current talks in Los Angeles will be imperfect. Nobody will get everything they want. We'll give away things we've championed to make a deal and some writers will complain that the strike wasn't worth it.

The Legion of Decency can be read here.

Writers' Protest Day Wrapup

"Today, people all over the world are going to signify that we do have power and we do have influence. Every day we grow stronger. We're more resolved."

TOM FONTANA (Homicide, OZ) Quoted today in the Hollywood Reporter

When both sides went back to the bargaining table on Monday, there was a whole lot of optimism in the air. But that's cooled now -- with the realization that the two sides in the WGA strike really are still quite far apart.

This is when people can start to lose heart. So symbols are important. I'm glad writers around the globe got out there yesterday to show striking American writers that we are all united, too.

The French Demo is up first with a great video:



Seriously, how cool is that? Oh, and is anyone surprised that the Irish demonstrators seemed to be having the most fun?



And get a load of the German writers at the Brandenburg Gate. (I can't remember, did anything else of historical importance ever happen there?)



Here's an article on the Canadian demo. (Mercifully minus my mug, which appears in the print edition.) There's coverage of the British demo here,

And here's a story about the Australian edition.

Speakers at the 50-strong Sydney rally included Oscar-nominated screenwriter Jan Sardi (Shine, The Notebook), Craig Pearce (Strictly Ballroom, Romeo+Juliet, Moulin Rouge) and AFI-nominated writer Rick Kalowski (Comedy Inc, The Honourable Wally Norman).

Here's another take on the Canadian demos, complete with another quote from that annoying quote whore. At least here I manage not to insult anybody. And I avoid the dreaded war metaphor!

Striking WGA members, don't lose faith, keep fighting. The public backs you, and so do your fellow scenaristes. (Seriously, how cool is that word. I want to be called a scenariste always!)

Canadian Screenwriting Awards Entry Deadline Extended

I'VE BLOGGED before about The Canadian Screenwriting Awards, and how they're pretty much the best party going. (Erudite wiseasses + good food x booze/ short awards show = Awesome.) Well, before the big shindig comes the entries.

Originally the deadline for entries was tomorrow, but it's now been extended to Monday, Dec 3 at 5:30 pm.

To be eligible for entry, scripts must have been produced within the WGC’s jurisdiction, and either broadcast on TV or radio, released theatrically in North America, or screened at a Canadian film festival for the first time between December 1, 2006, and November 30, 2007. All entries must be written and submitted by a WGC m ember in good standing.


So there you go. Don't be shy. Get those scripts in. And in a related story, they're looking for judges...

Call for Judges for the 2008 Canadian Screenwriting Awards

Help Celebrate the People Behind the Scripts

Everyone has an opinion about what makes a great script – here’s your chance to make your opinion matter. The WGC is looking for members to volunteer as judges for our upcoming 2008 Canadian Screenwriting Awards.

To volunteer as a judge, please email David Kinahan at d.kinahan@wgc.ca and indicate the genre(s) in which you have experience. Please do not volunteer in any category where you have submitted an entry.

CBC's take on the Day of Solidarity

FROM CBC.CA.

Canadian writers take to streets to support striking U.S. colleagues

Solidarity events also held in U.K., Europe, Mexico, New Zealand and other areas

Last Updated: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 | 4:02 PM ET

CBC News

Screenwriters in Toronto and Montreal took to the streets Wednesday to show solidarity with members of the Writers Guild of America, who are in the fourth week of a strike.

Canadian TV and film writers joined writers in Paris, London, Berlin and other entertainment centres around the world in a show of support for their U.S. colleagues.

A member of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain shows his support for striking Hollywood screenwriters.
(Lefteris Pitarakis/Associated Press)

"As Canadian writers, what happens in the U.S. desperately affects us," said Denis McGrath, a Canadian screenwriter picketing outside Toronto's Sony Centre.

"We already make a lot less money than American writers do, and we still have it better than writers in other countries," he said.

"So all around the world today, in six, seven cities around the world, different members of their national writers guilds are marching in solidarity with the WGA for their deal on internet rights."

Yes. If you insist, you may now officially call me, "Quote Whore." But only capped like that. It's classier.

I Killed In The Line

YOU ALWAYS KNOW when Alex Epstein is calling. That's because your phone rings, and your cell phone rings, and you get an email almost simultaneously. Seriously. When Mr. Crafty Screenwriting wants to get ahold of you -- he means stat. It makes one kind of feel like Richard Dreyfuss in Close Encounters. I'm surprised I didn't immediately start sculpting a giant "I Support The WGA" sign out of mashed potatoes.

Alex was calling last night (and I'm sorry Alex, for dodging your call) to try and figure out if I'd come up with any catchy slogans for the line today. I hadn't. My bad.

Little did I know that I'd be facing much the same question, for real, 12 hours later. Today, of course, was the International Day of Solidarity in Support of the striking members of the Writers Guild of America. Over a hundred writers marched in Toronto in support of the WGA's efforts to secure a fair deal on Internet rights from the AMPTP. The Toronto writers were joined at the demo (outside the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts) by members of ACTRA, the Canadian Actors' Union, the Writers Union of Canada, and the Canadian Media Guild.

A similarly sized crowd -- English and French, marched and demonstrated in Montreal, where it was much colder. And similar demos took place all over the world -- Australia, Ireland, France, and England. Writers everywhere recognize the importance of the sea change facing our industry. We who face the blank page are well acquainted with staring into the abyss. And though we're a fractious lot, there's a certain unanimity in facing down an opposition who wants to pay you nothing for the product that essentially starts with you.

But Goddamn, son, none of that high falutin talk helps you when you're out there walking around in a circle in dead silence. That's what it was like for the first five minutes. You know, we Canadians, we're a reticent lot. So, someone tried out a desultory "Stop Corporate Greed Now," or something like that. But face it, droogs, we're not going up against Monsanto or Martin Marietta here (although G.E. is a defence contractor...hmmm) so that fell a little short. I floated one: "Internet/DVD/Don't Ask Us to Write for Free." Not bad for a first draft. But you know, walkin round and round in a big circle, the thing is, those slogans? They get old pretty fast. So it was, walking furiously, trying to come up with something sung. "C'mon Denis," somebody said. "Come up with another one."

Can I remind you for a moment that this is a group of one hundred writers? Did I miss the part where I was elected to do all the free writing needed everywhere in the Country? This blog, demonstration chants, seriously, you need a prescription written, give me a day and I'll see what I can do.

But the new chants weren't coming, no matter what I tried. Naturally. Open big, then hit a dry spell. I tried going for a "Pay us fair, Right is right" and then followed by something about "or you'll have to go home and talk to your wife tonight." But that didn't seem particularly egalitarian, I couldn't make the scansion work, and I couldn't shake the suspicious feeling that I was stealing an old Henny Youngman bit.

The thing is, walking around, cold, carrying a sign, traffic around you, weird TV cameras and photographers prodding you for the get -- man, this is not the way to spitball. Where's the couch? The gummy bears? The corn chips? Seriously, guys, can we just talk about The Simpsons or Battlestar Galactica for five minutes and try to get our bearings?

But this is the thing, when you're a pro, you gotta do what you gotta do. I shifted gears. We needed a song. Something Full Metal Jacket-y. Why not? People are entirely too cavalier going for that war metaphor in describing the fight for internet rights anyway...why not steal from basic training?

So I came up with a quick framework:

I don't know but I've been told.

(classic start. Good.)

The internet is paved with gold.

(Topical. Aces.)

Now they say that they won't pay --

(Hey, this is easier than a chant. This is really cooking.)

But then: boom. Brick wall. I did the fifteen year old poetry thing. You know, cruise through the alphabet, a -- eh? No, too cute. Bay, Cay, Day, Fay, Gay....wait a min...no, no, no that's just asking to be misinterpreted, stay on point. Jay, Lay, May, Nay, this is hopeless.

I think I did an interview leaning on my sign.

By the time I'd returned to the line, Jeremy Boxen (Falcon Beach) had come up with our sell line,

"It's colder here than in L.A."

So that became the official Toronto chant. And believe me, it was funny because it was true. And yes, I know the comedy writers out there will point out that the setup was all wrong, that the punchline didn't follow and the construction is way sloppy...but damnit, everything in Canada is about the weather. And anway, Jeez, if you're gonna pick pick pick the minutae -- I mean, do you think they gave Lincoln this much guff at Gettysburg?

You learn a lot walking around in a circle talking to the same people over and over. For once and for all, the difference was firmly established between Toronto-based writers Lara McKinnon and Anne Fenn (who's got a very funny piece in this Month's Walrus Magazine) Anne is kooky. Lara is quirky.

Also seen on the line...Don Ferguson, (Air Farce)...Big time showrunners Peter Mohan (Blood Ties) and David Barlow, (The Border, Blue Murder) (at left) Aaron Martin and Karen McClellan, (The Best Years) Screenwriter/Playwrights Mike McPhaden and Jason Sherman, Brenda Greenburg, Sean Jara, Karen Hill, Jennifer Cowan, Claire Ross Dunn, Shelley Eriksen, (Blood Ties, Shania) (In fact, Blood Ties fans, you missed a good portion of the writing staff of the show -- even book author Tanya Huff made the trip in from the country to the demo!)

Fellow bloggeristas Henshaw and Golick were there (Golick was one of the main organizers of the event, along with the irrepressible crew from the WGC: Executive Director Maureen Parker, Kelly Lynne Ashton, Laurie Channer, David Kinahan and President RebeccaSchecter)

Best of all, there was a strong contingent of new and emerging writers who are probably going to spend a significant portion of their careers writing for the internet: Heather Jackson, Sarah Glinski, John Callaghan, Cole Bastedo -- a lot of young faces for whom this fight isn't theoretical at all. They'll feel the heat of what's to come hotter than the rest of us.

So we made some noise, we marched in a circle, we did a little monkey dance for the cameras. Sugith Varughese worked the camera for our video. Maureen tried to get me to come up with more slogans. (I tried, Maureen, I tried.) I collected some nice words from people about Across The River To Motor City. I resisted the urge to self-deprecate. I got to meet print writers I read, like Gemma Files and, finally, Jaime Weinman from Macleans.

And then a bunch of us landed in at Shopsy's. Classy act award goes to Brandon, a guy who's trying to break in who bought coffee for Peter and Jim and breakfast for me. Smart guy, Brandon. No flies on him.

(Of course we rewarded him with hair curling stories about the real industry. That's right, kids. The Too Hot For TeeVee truths that never even make it into this blog. Not in a million years.)

It was at that little table that we tried the best we could to reach for the metaphor for our little industry. For as much as things look shakier for the WGA right now -- it could always be worse. You could be in Canada. Sometimes it's all about just reaching for the right metaphor:

"It's worse than hurry up and wait."

"It's more like a race...but, it's a bad race..."

"A race between between a snail and a turtle."

"No...not a turtle."

"A retarded chicken."

"A headless, retarded chicken."

"Perfect."

"That's the Canadian industry right there. It's like a race between a snail and a headless, retarded chicken."

Solidarity forever, Bitches!

UPDATE: Full Circle. Alex Epstein reports from the Montreal march, where not only did they have slogans, they had slogans in two languages. And he got interviewed en Francais! Not just Crafty, folks. Le Crafty. Tres Jaloux. (Anybody who blogged about any of the other marches in other cities, let me know and I'll throw up a link.)

Strike Alt Viewing

SO I STILL find it difficult to enjoy American scripted programming on the TV. I find myself thinking about the whole mess and I can't concentrate on the narrative. So what do you do in the meantime?

Well, here in Canada, SHOWCASE has started running the British import Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Thursday nights at 10pm. It stars Billie Piper (Doctor Who) and the first episode was actually quite excellent.

Additionally, if you haven't before, Sunday nights might be a good time to tune in Canadian comedy Rent-A-Goalie. The second season (for which I freelance wrote two episodes) is looser and more absurdist, but still has a bevy of interesting humor. A joke about William Burroughs smacks up against jokes abou bodily functions, people go on strike because they don't like their nicknames, and the small bedroom community of Burlington, Ontario becomes the nexus of all that is evil and perverse. (That part's true, by the way.) (SHOWCASE, Sunday, 9:30 p.m.)

The other thing I'm really enjoying -- courtesty of Will -- is clips of Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe series. It airs on BBC Four in the UK. If media deconstruction classes in High School were this fun, maybe they'd get somewhere.

Script Linkage Not So Much

A COUPLE of eagle-eyed visitors have emailed to let me know that the script link for the earlier post on Across the River To Motor City is dead. I know. I was contacted by someone from the production who expressed concern that having script material out there that differed from the final product might confuse potential investors while they're still trying to get a second season.

Whatevs, kids. I don't necessarily agree, but I'm not the guy doing the selling on this one...and I'm all about playing team, remember. As the series unspools, I'll be writing more about the script to screen transitions.

In related news, Saskatchewan is awesome.

Rally to Support the WGA in a Country Near You

AS THE WGA and the AMPTP return to the bargaining table for the first time since the strike began, a news blackout is in effect.

But that doesn't stop writers, film industry workers, actors, directors, and fans from around the world showing their support for the concept of fair compensation in the digital age.

Here are rallies taking place around the world, this Wednesday, November 28th. All times listed are local times.



LONDON, UK

The Writers' Guild of Great Britain invites you all to congregate outside the Trades Union Congress HQ in Great Russell Street in central London. Map. There will be signs and material there.




TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA

The Writers Guild of Canada is asking people to meet outside the Sony Centre (formerly the Hummingbird Centre, and before that, the O'Keefe Centre) on Front Street just East of Yonge, at 10 am. (Rally is 10 to 12 noon.) There will be signs. Wear red if you can. The location is close to two subway stops -- from King Station, walk south. Or from Union, walk East. Either way it's about 1-2 blocks. Writers, Friends, Actors, Directors, Crew, Moms, Fans -- all are Welcome!

MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA

The Montreal rally is being co-sponsored by SARTEC, the French writers' union in Canada, and the WGC. It starts at 10:30 a.m. and runs to noon. Meet at the SARTEC offices (1229, rue Panet in Montreal - between René-Lévesque and Ste-Catherine). Weather is currently calling for -4 and sunny, so bundle up a bit.

PARIS, FRANCE

Because, you know, the French aren't good at strikes or rallies or anything. Heh heh. This is the one where you can find yourself some lovely young artist type and fall in love. Except it's serious. Very serious.

à 16 heures précises sur l’esplanade du Trocadéro,

(According to the UGS website )


AUSTRALIA

Now if I didn't have to be in Toronto, this is the one I'd try to be at. You think Neighbours just happens? The AWG also managed to get THREE demos together. Bravo!

SYDNEY
4.30pm
Sydney Square, Sydney Town Hall, George Street
(meet from 4.15pm)

BRISBANE
5.00-5.30pm
Queen’s Gardens, cnr. Elizabeth and George Sts, Brisbane

PERTH
5.15pm to 6.00pm
Entry Forecourt, Perth Railway Station, Wellington St, opposite Forrest Place.
RSVP: Please email wa@awg.com.au with “Solidarity” in the subject header

DUBLIN, IRELAND

3:00 pm
Guild Office
Art House, Curved Street, Temple Bar
(According to the Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Blog)


If you hear of any others, let us know.

Because, Perversely, I Know It Matters To You...

DAVINCI'S INQUEST's 2nd season was just released on DVD, and today the New York Times gives it some love:

VIEWERS disappointed with this fall’s crop of new crime shows — or worried that a lingering writers’ strike will rob them of their favorite old crime shows — can take solace, we’re told, in DVDs. But what if you’ve already watched all 10 seasons of “The Sopranos” and “The Wire,” as well as the 14 Orbach-Noth-Florek-Moriarty episodes of “Law & Order”? What’s left to discover?

At the moment the best answer may come from a country known for its low crime rate. The Canadian series “Da Vinci’s Inquest,” whose second season has just been released on DVD (Acorn Media), passed largely unnoticed in the United States but had an eerily “Sopranos”-like track record at home. The shows, which made their debuts just three months apart, were both nominated as their countries’ best dramatic series in all seven years they were eligible. “The Sopranos” won the Emmy twice; “Da Vinci’s Inquest” won the Gemini five times.

Because it’s a police procedural centered on a coroner’s office, “Da Vinci” has been called a cross between “Law & Order” and “CSI.” (It’s right there on the DVD box: “The realism of ‘Law & Order.’ The science of ‘CSI.’”) But it’s not at all like either of those shows. While its crimes can be sensational — several multiple-episode story arcs in the first two seasons involve a serial killer preying on prostitutes near the Vancouver docks — its approach is resolutely low-key, avoiding both ripped-from-the-headlines formulas and glossy melodrama.

Q Who? Me?

CLICK HERE and you now listen to the CBC Radio Q podcast from Thursday, November 22. This one's a twofer. First up is me and fellow Tube Team-er (guh, who came up with that?) Tara Thorne discussing ethical viewing during the WGA strike, and then about three quarters of the way through, you get an interview with Charlotte Sullivan, one of the actors from Across The River To Motor City.

In between, a surprisingly interesting interview with wrestler Chris Jericho. Dude's written a book. Huh.

I Keep A Close Watch On This Heart of Mine

BUT AS OF NOW, I no longer walk the line.

Episode 12 is shooting. Episode 13's just started prep.

I am wrapped on The Border.

Now.

Where's that waitress...?

The Pilot Witness Protection Program: Sabbatical

LUCKILY, WHEN YOU'RE masochistic enough to work in Canadian TeeVee, your fellow masochists sometimes give you a heads up about something.

So it is that I've heard from a couple of people about an intriguing new pilot that's airing tonight on CTV. You can't find out anyhting about it on the CTV site -- when you search it turns up nothing, and when you click on the link for the show in "tonight's schedule" it just takes you to the generic CTV program page, with no info.

So it is that this is the only info I could find on Sabbatical:

Avonlea Badlands setting for series pilot.

Sabbatical is a thrilling, new, one-hour suspense drama that follows the Marlowe family as they leave the big city life behind for an idyllic sabbatical in the mystical Badlands--dinosaur country. They discover something odd about their strange new home and neighbours--cell phones don't work, local kids look like devil worshippers and a fervent minister preaches the end is near. And then there's the triple murder that occurs next door. Is something truly evil lurking in their strange new surroundings ... or is it possible that evil arrived in town with the Marlowes?

The show stars Matthew Bennet (Battlestar Galactica) and Anne Marie DeLuise (Stargate, Smallville) as well as Patrick McKenna and Stephen McHattie.

The pilot was directed by Ken Girotti, (Rescue Me, Law & Order: CI -- he's also currently directing an episode of The Border) and was created by Peter Mitchell.

What can be said? It's a pilot, it's being shown at 10pm on the Friday of American Thanksgiving weekend (when CTV probably doesn't have a lot of stuff coming from the American broadcasters.)

Then again, it is a pilot, and remember that pilots that don't get picked up rarely air, so it could just be that CTV's throwing this out there because they're not sure about it and they want to see how the audience reacts.

As one friend wrote me, "It's got sex, violence and dinosaurs - seriously, who among you can top that?"

Indeed. If you've got your fingers near your PVR, it's worth making a little space. Who knows, maybe you'll be the super secret smartypants who discovers the greatest show Canadian TV's never seen.

Sabbatical airs tonight at 10pm on CTV stations.

Nov 28: International Day of Solidarity for the WGA

The Writers Guild of Canada has just announced details of the November 28 demonstration in support of striking WGA members.

The protest in Toronto will be held at:

The Sony Centre (formerly the Hummingbird Centre)

@ the corner of Yonge and Front Street

from 10am to 12pm, Wednesday,

November 28, 2007

Look for the WGC members in Red Hats -- they'll have signs for support. Tell family, friends, and fans. Come out and stand in solidarity for writers striking for a fair deal in the digital future.

Details of a similar protest in Montreal are here.

The Border: The Website

AS I TRY to pound out revisions for a cast read through of the next to last episode this afternoon, here's something. The official website for The Border is up, courtesy of Stitch Media. Go in, check around, kick the tires, play the game.


The Border launches January 7th, 2008 at 9pm on CBC Television.

Happy Thanksgiving

TO ALL MY U.S.A. readers, but especially to my Dad and Little Sis, who are in the great state of Florida today. Here it's snowing. Yeah, I said it. Stop. Stop laughing. Wow. I wish you gravy stains that won't come out.

As a half Yankee, there are three things I'm thankful for this Holiday-on-which-I-shall-be-working:

1. The other fantastic writers, fans, and TeeVee partisans I've had the pleasure of meeting because of this blog.
2. Great notes. When they come they make me want to frame them and cry, not necessarily in that order.
3. The fact that tomorrow is my very last day on The Border. I'll be taking time off for basically the first time in about two years.
   

Have a great day.

The River of Reviews

THERE'S BEEN A BOMB slowly lurking in this blog for months. And it was all set to go off today.

One of the things that I've preached many a time is that Canadian creatives need to build tougher skins about their reviews. There are many stories of people going up to critics at industry functions and complaining about this or that review. Network execs who call a newspaper to complain about a critic's "bias." Changing this kind of whining, unprofessional behavior was one of my 10 Things That Could Make Canadian TV Better.
But, of course, today was also on the calendar as the day that Across The River To Motor City hit the air in most of Canada.

Now, I'm a voluble guy. If reviews were bad, if something that I thought was really unfair got said, would I be able to keep it all in? Would I become the thing I hate? Would I give in to the dark side, realize that my hate makes me stronger, and then scream "nooooo!" as I hurtled down the airshaft, friendless, handless, alone, with my best friend frozen in carbonite and...

Sorry. Got away from me there.

Well the reviews are in. And they're mixed. But the funny thing is -- in all the critical things that get said, they're right. Every one of them. It makes me feel great to know that, you know what, they are watching closely, and they are fair. And perceptive. Yay!

Let's start with the Globe & Mail's John Doyle, who probably gave the most positive review:

Across the River to Motor City (CITY-TV, 10 p.m.) makes excellent use of Windsor as a state of mind. A new, six-part, Canadian mystery-drama, it opens with a muddled first episode, but then develops into an original and compelling story of love lost, lives wasted and toxic suspicions surfacing over and over again.

As a TV drama, Across the River to Motor City (written by Denis McGrath and Robert Wertheimer) broods as intently as old Ben himself. And it is often rescued from its elliptical quality by David Fox in the role of Ben. The theatre veteran is magnificent here. You can't take your eyes off him, even as he sits quietly, assessing what to reveal and to whom. He's a coiled encapsulation of rage, disappointment and shrewdness.

The other key figure is Katie, and Charlotte Sullivan, all blond beauty, optimism and vulnerability, personifies America for Canadians: She's elusive, alluring and out of reach. In the nicely crafted opening credits, a photo of Katie blends into the drawing of the Queen on the old Canadian dollar bill, signalling all the complex connections and

disconnect between Canada and the U.S.

The series often looks stunningly good. Director Michael DeCarlo uses a fluid, striking style in establishing both Windsor and Detroit in two eras. In the opening hour, that fluidity is a problem, and it requires considerable concentration to follow the early threads of the story. Roiz is very good as the angry young Ben and, in the current segments, Anne Openshaw is excellent as Ben's smart, bitter daughter.

This is an entertaining, slippery drama for grownups. It has so much story crammed into it that it calls out for more mining of the Windsor/Detroit mindset.

Doyle keys in immediately to the thing that I loved most about Windsor: how utterly impractical a city it is. Not quite American, Not entirely Canadian. Small city, international crossing point, next to a huge metropolis. Playhouse of gangsters, (Capone visited there in the 20's) lawless place in the 50's, witness to the convulsions of Detroit in the 60's. It's a sleepy place, but a river of really powerful, strange stuff runs under the surface. And we only got to nick it.

Doyle's also right about David Fox and Charlotte Sullivan. And Michael DeCarlo and his DOP David Greene, who get credit for the sumptuous look of the piece.

Vinay Menon in The Toronto Star takes the muddled and runs with it in a review called "Bridge Over Troubled Drama."

Across the River to Motor City (Citytv, 10 tonight) is a new miniseries that tells the story of Ben Ford, then and now. It is also a new miniseries that gambles on atmosphere and forfeits coherence.

On Nov.22, 1963, Ben (Sasha Roiz), an insurance investigator, is celebrating his 30th birthday. As we learn, he has bought an engagement ring for girlfriend Katie Wilton (

Charlotte Sullivan) and plans to propose when she returns from a flight (in the era's parlance, she's a stewardess).

But Nov.22, recall, is also the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated. And after his death, Katie vanishes, setting into motion an epic mystery.

The old man? That would be present-day Ben (David Fox). After collapsing, Ben moves in with his daughter Kathleen Ford McNeal (Anne Openshaw) and her husband Brett McNeal (Peter Stebbings).

Soon, two skulls are seen amid the debris in a landfill. Though Katie has been missing for 44 years, local police make a positive ID in record time and are at Old Ben's front door asking questions.

You may have a few questions of your own. First and foremost: Why is a show that has plenty to truly admire – writing, direction, camerawork, set design, lighting, acting, music – so hell-bent on baffling viewers by jumping back and forth in time without properly setting up the story?

It's like watching a world-class runner crouch at the starting line, unaware his shoes are tied together.

A conspiracy? Cuban businessmen? A cover-up? Italian mafia? Dark secrets? A mysterious airline passenger? Mercury? The Blue Grotto Lounge? The Teamsters?

By the midway point, I was half-expecting Keyser Söze to suddenly appear and whisper "Redrum."

Editing a TV pilot is a tricky job, especially for a mystery miniseries that's anchored in two different times. You need to give viewers a clear sense of the characters and conflict while pacing the exposition.

Deftly handled, you get a story that ropes viewers in; bungled, you get a story that leaves them dangling. And in our age, dangling = change the channel.

Again, Across the River is not bad. But it could have been great.

It works hard to get your attention. You just have to work harder to give it.

Ouch. But he's right. The first hour is challenging to get through, and not nearly clear enough. I can't speak to the decisions that were made putting it together. I saw an early Director's cut that seemed to be rocking the transitions in the script alright. But then I was off on Rent-a-Goalie, and then Vancouver and on and on and obviously somewhere along the way that cut changed for reasons that I am absolutely not privy to. Oh well.
This is actually kind of a great educational opportunity here. Hmmm.
If you click here, you can get a PDF of an early production draft of the first ep. You'll see that originally that there was supposed to be a voiceover - but that voiceover wouldn't have helped with clarity, because it wasn't that kind of voiceover -- focus on the other elements -- the transitions from past to present and back. Are they clear? Clear-er? Bueller?

The secret when you're flipping back and forth in eras is to do exactly what Mr. Menon says above. Balance the exposition and time and place. When you compare script to the cut, was it clearer or not?'m not setting up a straw man here -- I really am not sure myself. Clarity -- how to make sure everyone knew what was going on was always the number one concern at each step of the process. It's what the network asked about. It's something the Producers knew about. It was a concern of the Director. There's not a person involved with the show who didn't appreciate that making things clear was a primary concern for a dense narrative.

Since ATR wrapped shooting, I've been on three series; and I've seen the subtle changes that editing can do to rescue a story. Or not. It really is like a second chance to write the show -- which is why those striking showrunners in the USA are actually making a big, big artistic sacrifice. Standing with your writers in solidarity is brave. Standing with your writers when you know it might mean that someone else is in that room making the final call on the cut -- and that you may never get your chance to nudge it just that little bit to make it better. Well if you're a creative type, that's heartwrenching.

Anyway, the first hour might be a tough slog, but I hope some of you stick through it. There are rewards to come.

Finally, let's look at the Canwest papers with Alex Strachan. (This one's from the Regina Leader Post)

The Detroit River, we're told at the beginning of the occasionally compelling, often maddening homegrown drama series Across the River to Motor City, has been dubbed "the Greatest Commercial Artery on Earth." It separates two North American cities: Windsor, Ont., (pop. 97,210) and Detroit, Mich., (pop. 1,670,144). "Two cities," the narrative scroll reads, "two countries. Two different ways of life."

Well, yes and no. In style and in tone, Across the River to Motor City resembles the stylish, cerebral dramas of American pay-TV channels HBO and Showtime. It wears its ambition openly -- in just three minutes, we're introduced to the main character and the setting: Windsor, Ont., in both present day and Nov. 22, 1963, the day of the Kennedy assassination. The story -- a murder mystery -- will flash back and forth between then and now over the course of the series. Two cities, two periods in time, but with the same characters and the same central mystery.

The "ways of life" between the two countries may be different, but one washes up on the other. The commerce between Windsor and Detroit, the shared culture and the way a cataclysmic event in one country -- the Kennedy assassination -- reverberates in the other have a certain inevitability.

The story is complex and hard to follow at times, but it's tied together by a central thread. A Windsor insurance investigator, Ben Ford, turns 30 on Nov. 22, 1963, the day Kennedy is assassinated -- and the day Ford's would-be fiance vanishes without a trace on a flight from Dallas.

Across the River to Motor City has a tremendous sense of time and place. As written by Robert Wertheimer and Denis McGrath and directed by Michael DeCarlo, the scenes set in the early '60s practically glow with nostalgia. Golden light suffuses everything, from the flight attendants decked out in their orange scarves and peaked caps to the way beams of sunlight stab through the window shades in a Detroit police station. The present day scenes are darker and more grim: the sky is grey and perpetually cloudy, with city lights gleaming off rain-slicked streets at night.

The acting is top-notch. Veteran stage actor David Fox exudes a world-weary heaviness as the older Ford, an elderly loner forced to confront his past. Sasha Roiz cuts a dashing figure as Ford as a young man, an ambitious insurance investigator with marriage and career advancement on his mind. Fate, and history, intervene though, and nothing is quite the same again.

Across the River to Motor City is ambitious and often absorbing, if a little hard to follow at times. Stay the course, though, if you can. It's a messy journey, but patience is rewarded in the end.

I learned so much writing this show. I'm glad an audience finally gets to see it. But there's also a funny dissonance, because this is where I was over a year ago. That's how long it's taken to get to market. People often come up to authors and want to talk about books, and the thing is, they confuse the fact that they just experienced it with you being the person who wrote it -- like you wrote it right now.

But that's not it. So when people say to Woody Allen, "I like your earlier funnier films" that's why it rankles -- because he feels he's in a different place than he was then. It seems slightly unreal to think that that was you, too. It's like being confronted with your younger self in the kitchen, scarfing coldcuts out of your fridge. (And no, I'm not comparing myself to Woody Allen. I might as well compare myself to Woody Woodpecker.)

I'd like to think I'm a better writer now than when I did Across the River to Motor City. But that doesn't mean that it's not nice to get it out there, warts and all.

Across the River to Motor City airs 10pm Thursdays, on Citytv (Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton) And Tuesdays at 10 pm in Winnipeg.

Radio, Radio, Radio

OH, I'LL ALSO be on CBC Radio's Q again tomorrow, talking about TV withdrawl alternatives.

A Quick Check of ProScribes

AN INFORMAL gathering of writer mafia types last night (some heap big Dons among the bunch, real five families stuff) and talk turned to a common topic:

How many pages is an hour, now?

I remember marvelling a few years ago at how Aaron Sorkin's West Wing teleplays could run sometimes 70 pages. And everyone said, "well, of course, that's what you get when everybody talks fast and walks down halls and interrrupts each other."

The first few shows I wrote for, the aim was to write 52-55. On Across The River To Motor City, we aimed for the 50-52 page range but consistently found our timings coming up short.

Blood Ties ran 52-53 and there were some timing issues, but generally it was okay.

So it was last night that a Canadian showrunner spoke about his recent series and revealed that, even at 60 pages, timings would come up short. We found the same thing on The Border.

Here's the problem: once a script leaves the story department, it becomes about math. How many scenes, how many days, how long to schedule it. In Canada, you have fewer days to shoot. Whether you're doing an 8 day, 7 day, or 6 1/2 -- you're constantly fighting that battle between how many pages can we shoot -- we can't shoot/board more pages, and we can't be short.

A lot of things have contributed to the shortness -- faster editing and camerawork, a general "pick up the pace" style, a recognition that traditional slower Canadian pacing was killing us... but it doesn't help you with that eternal conundrum.

So, all you lurking hour long writers here -- Canadian, mostly, but we'll let you Yanks and Brits play too. What's your page count these days? (and yes, WGA members, I know the answer to that for you is zero. Very funny.) And how many scenes?

Half hour writers, same question. And finally, how are your timings doing?

Leave your answers in the comments below.

Across The River To Winnipeg

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA is a fantastic and magical place, immortalized in Neil Young Songs and Falcon Beach; it's the place where all the people who either run the media in Toronto, or used to, secretly come from. (I'm not kidding, it's really weird.) This weekend, their Blue Bombers descend upon Toronto to hopefully kick the stuffing out of the Roughriders. The Saskatchewan Roughriders. You know I have to specify...

I love how any Americans reading this probably zoned out after "Neil Young."

But whilst I try to tamp down my Grey Cup Fever, I'm also keenly aware of Winnipeg's other place in my life: it's the first City in the world to ever broadcast the miniseries I co-created and wrote -- Across The River To Motor City.

It aired last night on CityTv Winnipeg. (Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, and Edmonton air it tomorrow night at 10pm.)

The Winnipeg Free Press published a review. Some excerpts from the review by Brad Oswald:

Dark, homegrown miniseries worthy prime-time watching
Thriller delivers fresh drama during U.S. writers strike
Tue Nov 20 2007

WITH all the talk these days about how much time and money we Canadians are spending on the southern side of the border, perhaps it's timely that Citytv is airing a homegrown miniseries that involves cross-border chopping.

Yes, chopping. And stabbing. And punching. And shooting. And dumping of bodies, and everything else that's required in a top-notch cops-and-mobsters thriller.

Citytv's six-part drama Across the River to Motor City serves up all of those grisly elements and more, including fractured-family infighting, insurance-fraud intrigue and good old-fashioned political potboiling at the very highest of levels...

Despite being a bit hard to follow through its narratively dense and decidedly time-disjointed first hour, Across the River to Motor City is a yarn that pays off the investment of time and patience that watching it requires. Its dark atmosphere and deliberate pacing get frustrating at times, and occasional lapses in period-detail attention are a bit offputting, but the characters are well drawn, the story is appealingly intricate and the actors' performances are note-perfect powerful all the way down the roster.

Roiz and Fox are particularly impressive in two generationally distant incarnations of the same person; Roiz plays young Ben with a seething stubborness, and Fox brings an interesting whiff of danger to the old man's frailty.

At a time when the writers' strike in Hollywood is about to dry up the U.S. networks' supply of original drama episodes, Across the River to Motor City offers more evidence that there's no shortage of compelling TV being created on this side of the international divide.

For prime-time-drama fun, cross-border flipping is not required.

So there it goes. Tomorrow the rest of the country gets their turn.

CBC 08 and 22 Too!

JUST A SHORT one to say that I've just returned from CBC's cavernous broadcast centre on Front Street, where they held their winter launch event. Hosts Steven Sabados and Chris you know that other guy who is not a Designer Guy but used to be stepping up and doing a soft shoe for their new daytime show that premieres Jan 14. I guess this is the next generation of Gill Deacon. Only, you know...fabulouser.

Things really got hopping when Network poohbah Kirstine Layfield came out to run down the drama offerings for the winter.

Now, if you're a regular reader of this blog, you'll know that I have a dog in that hunt. Besides the Monday January 7th premiere of The Border (whose fabulous cast members James McGowan, Graham Abbey, and Nazneen Contractor were in the audience,) Layfield also presented a total of twelve new shows premiering on the National Broadcaster this winter.

And I gotta say, the trailer made them look pretty spiffy. The sexiest was MVP - the long rumored show about Hockey Wives that looks like it's gonna take a bunch of sex and spunk, mix it up with a hip soundtrack and throw it on...Friday nights? Ruh row.

But seriously, the trailer made it look fun and frothy. And it could work. I mean, it's Canada. It's cold. We stay home in the winter, right? Right? I kid, but I'm actually really looking forward to this series a lot. Some great actors who deserve a breakout: Kristin Booth, Deborah Odell, Lucas Bryant...

I have an O.C. shaped trashy guilty pleasure viewing slot that's still wide open from this season. Come on, MVP, fill it with Hockey and fornication! (Premieres January 11 at 9pm)

J-Pod (shout out to my writer peeps the Double D's -- Daegan and Dennis!) bows Tuesday January 8 at 9pm. I thought it was a comedy, but the press release describes it as a "quirky drama series." Hmmm. Quoi? Allan Thicke was there. Allan Thicke, people. Don't tell me he's quirky drama. That man is pure. fucking. comedy. And I was, like, three feet away from him.

Sophie (Wed January 9 at 8:30 pm) is harder to judge, since the clips seemed to be from a premise pilot. "Sophie Parker, a beautiful, ambitious and very pregnant young woman visits a psychic on a whim. After a brief consult with the universe and some chicken bones, the psychic fearfully breaks the news...that this will be the most horrible year of her life, and just when she hits rock bottom her troubles will have only just begun." Well, she loses her boyfriend, best friend, her business is threatened and the baby comes...

...and uh, I guess, then comes episode two and the rest of what the show's about.

Some nice actors in this one, too. Nathalie Brown (Sophie) has the look and presence of a star. But this production, like the stillborn Rumours, is based on a Quebec comedy (from the same company that made Rumeurs, actually.) Let's hope Sophie clicks where the first show fell short. Mosque could use a playmate on Wednesday.

There were also two movies that really caught my eye. I wasn't the biggest fan of Paul Gross' H20 (I thought the 2nd half fell apart a bit in the logic department) but he's back with a sequel called the Trojan Horse, and DAMN if it doesn't look like some heap big intriguey fun. Killer trailer. I won't say more. When CBC gets it up, you should watch for yourself. (March/April 2008)

Then there's the adaptation of Guy Vanderhaege's Governor General Award-winning novel The Englishman's Boy. I know someone who's seen it and says it's really great. Michael Terriault -- so good in Prairie Giant -- Bob Hoskins, Nicholas Campbell, R.H. Thompson. Mmmm. It looks goooood. (March 2008)

There were some intriguing reality based shows -- The Week The Women Went, a science-based show called Project X.

The impression I walked away with? When Layfield and the new regime started at CBC they took a lot of heat for saying they wanted to redefine and remake what the broadcaster was, and the kind of programming it did. This looks like a pretty vibrant schedule -- it definitely has energy and a potential for big pop. I hope the stuff all works. It would be nice for CBC to get a win.

And if the WGA strike is still on, Canadians might actually get a chance to fairly sample their homegrown wares. It's the best slate I've seen from CBC in a while. I wish all the shows well. Knock it out of the park, man. Out of the park.

Now...

With all this talk of 2008, one must not forget what's on the air right now. This Hour Has 22 Minutes has been inexplicably bumped this week to put Mosque behind Mercer. But they've actually got an ep coming up that sounds like it's gonna be a treat. Mark Critch went to Moscow to claim Russia for Canada. And they got stuff on the Writers Strike, and Mulroney too. It's an embarrassment of riches really. And it airs tomorrow night at 8:30. Not tonight. After Mosque. Which is on tonight. And tomorrow at 8 too, but that will be a rerun. Of tonight's...

Wait...I'm...

No. No. 22 8:30 P.M. tomorrow (Wed) that's all you need to know. For now.

Putting it In Perspective

I HAVE A crazy day today. Finished writing ADR lines, then to the office briefly, then the CBC Winter Launch and back in time for the Stunts meeting...oy vey, whatta day. But there's also that dang strike, right? And you know, we really need to put this strike in the proper perspective, showing how important the ripple effects could really be.

Thank God McSweeney's is on the case.

My favorite bit from John Moe's "Ripple Effects of the Writers' Strike" --

Pet-store owners

Without the assistance of professional writers, such droll puns as "purrfect pets" prove impossible, leaving shopkeepers to describe their offerings as "perfect pets." This results in unrealistic expectations being placed on the pets. Eventually, an acrimonious pet/owner dynamic emerges that proves impossible to overcome. After a surprisingly short period of time, cats say, you know, fuck this shit and they leave. The human/cat arrangement, which, to be honest, has been on thin ice for centuries, finally collapses and the domestication of the cat ends.

Losing the fight for a fair deal on the internet is one thing, but losing the battle for the continued domestication of the cat? That shit is science fiction terrifying, my droogs.

H/T To Jeff Rentals

Working Your Way Through

ANOTHER ARTICLE from the Canadian Press about the possibility of Canadian Shows ending up on U.S. networks during the strike. This one quotes some of the same suspects as the others of the ilk, but there's a couple of new voices in the mix, and people saying a few new things:

"We've actually had inquiries from the U.S. networks about shows that we've either produced or are going into production on, so it's been interesting - they're looking for alternatives," Kirstine Layfield, head of network programming for CBC, said Monday.

"The U.S. is the hardest nut to crack. They are the most parochial of markets in the world - they buy no British, no Canadian, no anything. Because they're so obviously self-reliant, when this happens they all of a sudden have to look outside themselves, and that's what's happening right now."

Except for "The Border," Layfield didn't want to name the CBC shows piquing the interest of American broadcasters due to ongoing negotiations. But Mary Darling, head of Westwind Productions, says "Little Mosque" is getting some attention.

She disputed a recent assertion by the president of the Writers Guild of Canada that Canadian producers are "dreaming in Technicolor" and entertaining some "weird pipe dream" if they think American networks are going to buy their shows.

"It's not a pipe dream," Darling said, adding that the longer the strike drags on, the more it could benefit Canadian producers eager to crack the massive and lucrative American market.

Then there's more of the kind of thing that's been said for two weeks. But if you're a writer looking for context, here it comes:

Denis McGrath, a longtime Canadian television writer who also pens the TV blog Dead Things on Sticks (www.heywriterboy.blogspot.com), says no Canadian-based writers should feel like scabs if the shows they worked on find homes in the U.S. because of the strike.

"If you're a Canadian writer and you're a Writers Guild of Canada writer, you've got to think about it; you've got to find your way through," said McGrath, who writes for "The Border," the drama about immigration police premiering Jan. 7 on CBC.

"But if you worked for a show - you wrote it, you got paid, it got produced and it sells abroad - I mean you can't be against capitalism. American shows are regularly sold into our markets on Canadian networks, and because our Canadian networks are saturated with U.S. programming there is less opportunity for Canadian writers, so I don't think any WGC member needs to be upset if a show they worked on gets sold."

The trouble arises if a show is suddenly greenlit by a Canadian network simply to take advantage of the strike.

"The dirty little secret of private Canadian broadcasters is they have tons of shows in development because they have money for that and they can spend that money and point to that on their balance sheet and say: 'Look, we're trying to develop Canadian shows,' and then they just never greenlight any of them," McGrath said.

"But if one of those shows gets greenlit because it makes a U.S. sale it would not have otherwise made - if I was that writer, I would feel really, really skeevy. That's where it gets complicated."

McGrath said he also doubts whether U.S. networks will make any major Canadian purchases, and adds that Canadian producers might suffer long-term consequences if their shows are seen by American audiences simply because of the strike.

"From a producers' standpoint, I don't think it's the boon they think it's going to be - you can't overestimate the insularity of Americans," he said.

"And if you sell a couple of shows to American broadcasters, they are going to be seen as 'strike shows.' In the long run, the producers of these shows - if they want to make more shows and have long-term relationships in the United States - may find that it's not a good thing to have aired during the strike."

Boyce agrees that Canadian producers should be wary of having their shows associated with the strike.

"You don't want to ever do anything off the backs of these fantastic writers," she said. "We just hope this ends for everyone soon."

If the strike endures, McGrath said, the biggest silver lining will be how it might encourage Canadians to take in homemade television in January, when many Canadian shows premiere.

"There will be no new U.S. programming on the air, and that's a tremendous opportunity for us - not in the U.S., but here in Canada."

Significantly, the two network execs quoted downplayed the chances of the pie in the sky scenario. I'm really glad, first of all, to see Susanne Boyce lined up backing up my contention that being perceived as a "strike show" is not a good thing. It's nice when one of the most powerful people at the biggest Canadian network agrees with you.

The example I used for Lee-Anne was the CFL. They showed CFL games on American TV during (I think) the 1982 NFL strike. And of course, we all know how that led to legions of lifelong Canadian football fans in the USA, right? Right? Anybody?

Doesn't anyone find it odd that the only person making the point I make at the end of the article -- that this might be good for homegrown product shown HERE, to CANADIANS...isn't it weird that the only person making that point is a writer?

The full article is also available here.