Friday Questions

Aloha from Wailea, Maui.  If you have any restaurant suggestions, please pass 'em along.  Mahlo, y'all.   Even in paradise I never stand down from my Friday Question watch. What’s yours?

Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Kveller (what a name) starts us off:

The mention of the awful series finale for Mad About You brings me to a Friday question - series finales. How does a good show go bad

My review of LINCOLN

Director Steven Spielberg was very disappointed in the outcome of his movie last year, WAR HORSE. Not because it bombed at the boxoffice but because it didn’t win any awards. When a Steven Spielberg movie comes out in the Fall it’s all about Oscars. And if millions of theatergoers happen to like it, well that’s just a plus. When he wants big boxoffice numbers he goes off and makes

Angus T. Jones -- holy shit!

So Angus T. Jones has found religion and publicly told America to not watch his show, TWO AND A HALF MEN, because it’s “filth.”

Just so I have this straight – he was fine doing the show all the previous years? The subject matter of the show was not a surprise to him? It’s not like he signed up for one thing but it became something else? He’s made a ton of money over this period? He’s

#LizAndDick: My review

Oh my fucking God!

I only hope that when they do the Lindsay Lohan TV biopic – and they will – that it’s as jaw droppingly atrocious as LIZ AND DICK. They will need to find the worst actress in America to play Lindsay, if only to do the same justice to her as she did to Ms. Taylor. Although I don’t know if a worse actress can be found. Lindsay might have to play herself – assuming she’

If I ran NBC

Here’s a question from reader Jim that set my mind a'wanderin':

What would you do to turn around NBC's fortunes?

Let's say you've been tapped to be the network's head programmer. What would you change? What would you keep? What would you do that the other networks aren't doing that would set your network apart?

First off, be it duly noted that NBC just won the November sweeps for the first

A Black Friday shopper lives to tell about it

Thanks to everyone for your nice comments on yesterday's post.  They're always greatly appreciated.  And now...

In the spirit of those brave war correspondents who put themselves in harm way to report while bombs explode only a few yards away, my courageous daughter Annie risked life and limb and entered that demilitarized zone called Black Friday.   Here is her heroic report, with additional

My 7th anniversary

Monday marks the 7th anniversary of this blog. Who can even remember 2005? It was an experiment – stretching exercises for a writer. I thought it would be nice break from writing scripts. No format. No notes. Writing actual prose. The whole notion seemed so liberating.

Only two hitches. What the hell do I write about? And how the hell do I get anybody to read it?

A blogger

Chevy Chase has left COMMUNITY

Wow! Knock me over with a feather!

Chase is leaving the show immediately. They still have a few more episodes to shoot to complete their series order of thirteen. Since they’re filming them out of order and already completed the last episode it remains to be seen whether they will take him out of that one, explain his absence from shows he’s not it, or (my vote) ignore it. He just isn’t

(Black) Friday Questions

Here are some Black Friday Questions to read on your smart phone as you stand in line at Kohl’s.

Johnny Walker has one about writing spec scripts:

I was watching an episode of MODERN FAMILY the other day, the Emmy winning "Caught in the Act". It's a very enjoyable and farcical episode, but I was struck by how simplistic the plot was. In particular, the initial misunderstanding was not

Happy sitcom Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving.
I look forward to the holiday, never writing about it. Every sitcom
I’ve ever worked on, we’ve had the obligatory Thanksgiving episode. How
many variations can you have on the big family dinner going awry? I
think I’ve written the “turkey gets burned”, “relatives clash”, “nutty
friends invited”, “can’t find a restaurant”, “kids break something”,
“Guess who’s Coming to Dinner

Some last minute Thanksgiving thoughts

I bet Ann Curry is thrilled she doesn’t have to get up and host the Macy’s Parade.

To all the people who have been in line at Best Buy since Tuesday waiting for Black Friday. Even if you save $500 you are still an idiot.

Thanksgiving marathons used to be a big treat but now there are marathons on TV channels every day. Is there really that much demand to see SISTER SISTER repeats?

THE

What I'm thankful for...

Besides my family, here are some of the things I’m thankful for this year.

Claire Danes
Vin Scully
The Good Wife
Felix Hernandez
Hostess Cup Cakes (the ones that are left)
Jon Stewart
Richbroradio.com
My daughter is not dating a vampire
Ohio
Jennifer Lawrence
THE BOOK OF MORMON
Raylen Givens
People who bought my book


@JennyJohnsonHi5
Don Draper
Harold & Belle's
Australia
Stove Top

A Hollywood tradition -- my Thanksgiving travel tips

The
Thanksgiving holiday is the peak travel weekend of the year (in
America. The rest of the world could give a rat’s ass about
Thanksgiving.) So as a public service, here again -- and with a few
additions -- are some travel tips:

Leave for the airport NOW.

Bring no luggage. Wearing the same clothes for a week is a small price
to pay. Plus, the airlines now charge you for

Great innovator or menace to society?

There has been much debate about whether the Manhattan Project – that created the first nuclear bomb – was ultimately a positive thing because it effectively ended a World War and perhaps staved off future ones, or was a ghastly thing because of all the fatalities it caused and the threat to world annihilation. We'll leave that to Chelsea Handler and her guests to decide. 

But that debate

Claudine's back in jail again

As a perfect follow-up to my post today about Claudine Longet killing her boyfriend, here's a song by the Rolling Stones about the incident.  Thanks to reader LouOCNY for the heads-up.

The perfect holiday gift for this year

I know it sounds like just another plug for my book but hear me out. This one’s legit! With the holidays just hours away, THE ME GENERATION… BY ME (GROWING UP IN THE ‘60s) would make the perfect gift for friends and family members who fondly remember that magic era when the surf was up, gas prices were down, music was psychedelic, and we kids didn't have a care in the world except Viet Nam and

When Annie met Sandy

Readers of this blog know that I file travelogues whenever I return home from trips.  I even compiled the funniest of them in a book, WHERE THE HELL AM I?  TRIPS I HAVE SURVIVED, which you could (and should) order here.   But these travelogues have now become a Levine family tradition.  I haven't been anywhere in awhile, but my lovely daughter Annie spent last weekend in New York.  And she

In network cancellation news...

A number of shows have been cancelled over the last few days. None of them are a surprise. CBS axed PARTNERS (the blatant rip off of the 1995 series, PARTNERS). This series comes from the same writer/producers who created WILL & GRACE. So which was a fluke? W&G or PARTNERS?

Other series produced by this team: $#*! MY DAD SAYS, FOUR KINGS, TWINS, THE STONES, GOOD MORNING MIAMI, and

Who pays for stunt casting?

Last Friday Questions before Thanksgiving.

Derek (in Calgary) starts us off:

My question relates to stunt-casting and the fee paid to the stunt-casted actors.

Suppose you are running Modern Family and for whatever reason you decide to offer a small one-episode cameo role to (say) a well-known baseball player. How is it determined how much the baseball player is paid? Is it the same rate as

My most surprising role model

I was at lunch recently with a writer friend and we got onto the topic of role models. We each had writers, parents, other individuals we admired, and then another name occurred to me – one he found surprising. And I imagine you will too.

Those of you who have even heard of this person.

Okay. Ready? One of my role models was Shari Lewis.

So who’s Shari Lewis? Younger readers

Audience research is bullshit

A perennial topic on this blog is research. In my interview last week with former NBC President, Warren Littlefield he discussed it and the flaws in the system as he saw them. I received an interesting Friday Question though, right after the election, supporting the notion of research and seeking my response.  (I'm also trying to answer a few more of these questions and catch up a little.)  

Why are some shows cancelled so soon?

It's the Fall Season.  Some new shows have already been given the quick hook (sorry MADE IN JERSEY).  I Got a Friday Question about that that has turned into its own post/rant. 

Joseph Scarbrough posed it:

In the old days, a network would wait until the end of the inaugural run of a new series to determine its ratings, and whether or not the series would be renewed (in other words, if a

R.I.P. Lucille Bliss

Lucille Bliss, the first voice of Crusader Rabbit passed away this week.  She was 96.  She had a long career, did many cartoon voices including several for the Smurfs.  But for me as an impressionable dorky kid growing up, Crusader Rabbit was my favorite -- I suppose because of all the clever puns and wordplay.  So the voice was as important as the picture.  I never met Miss Bliss, but I

Sitcom Room 6

SITCOM ROOM 6 was held this weekend at the birthplace of comedy -- the Custom Hotel in Marina Del Rey (just a mile from LAX where Denzel Washington lands planes upside down). For two days twenty attendees experienced what it’s like to be on staff of a sitcom. As you read this they're still sleeping.  

Two came from Australia and two came from Alabama.  They all had the same accent.  

Social Network Rejection

Hello from the SITCOM ROOM where everyone is having way more fun than in Robert McKee's class.

Meanwhile, I've been subjected lately to the heartache and horror of “Social Network Rejection”.
You might suffer this too. I’ll check my Twitter page and see two or
three people have unsubscribed. And I wonder – hey, what did I do?
Did saying something nice about Patty Heaton cause you to

How to be a good showrunner

Natalie Wood

Hello from the Custom Hotel where I am holding my annual SITCOM ROOM seminar this weekend.  Wish you could be here.  This is the type of stuff we discuss: 

The WGA recently held a seminar on “How to be a Good Showrunner”.  The answer: stay within budget, even if the budget is smaller than Napoleon Dynamite’s clothing allowance. You may think “shouldn’t the course be more about

More stuff you wanted to know

Here are some Friday Questions as I prepare for this year’s SITCOM ROOM seminar, which begins tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you lucky attendees and causing you sleep deprivation for the next two days. But on to the business at hand. The answer to this one is the shortest I’ve ever given to any Friday Question.

It comes from Steve Murray:

When writing a script, how do you best

My review of FLIGHT

Paramount Pictures is making a big Oscar push for FLIGHT. It did very well at the boxoffice on its opening weekend and Paramount is crowing that at industry screenings the crowds are just going wild.

Really? What movie are they watching?

I saw FLIGHT at a DGA screening. The theater was packed because director Robert Zemeckis was supposed to be there for a Q & A after (he cancelled).

The 2012 Election Re-Cap

I have found that it’s difficult to talk politics on this blog. Even political satire (and this is essentially a humor blog). But it is such a hot topic that even if I mention a celebrity who happens to have strong political leanings I get a blizzard of hate comments. Don’t believe me? I think Patricia Heaton is a nice person and a fine actress. Just watch.

In years past I would

My talk with Warren Littlefield: Part Two

Happy Election Day. Get out there and vote. This is part two of my interview with former President of Entertainment for NBC, Warren Littlefield. Part one was yesterday. Warren has a great book about his years at NBC and all the classic shows he oversaw. It's called TOP OF THE ROCK: THE RISE AND FALL OF "MUST SEE TV" and it's available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other venues.

Over

My talk with Warren Littlefield

Warren Littlefield was the NBC President of Entertainment during the '90s and was Brandon Tartikoff's key lieutenant in the '80s.  Under his watch NBC enjoyed unprecedented success.  He wrote a terrific book about his days there called TOP OF THE ROCK: INSIDE THE RISE AND FALL OF MUST SEE TV.  You can get it here on Amazon and here at Barnes & Noble. 

I worked with Warren for over twenty

For all you foodies -- here's a restaurant review!!

L.A. has no shortage of chic, trendy, super hip restaurants.  I mean, Justine Timberlake, Simon Cowell, and Ann Coulter have to eat.  These places are, as a rule, ridiculously expensive but the cuisine is unique and there's always the possibility you could perform the Heimlich Maneuver on Heidi Klum.   Recently my daughter Annie and her writing partner, Jon Emerson went with a group of friends

the Sunshine Boys

I posted this on Facebook and it got a bunch of "likes" so I'm posting it here.  My partner David Isaacs and I at my book signing.   Still talking to each other after all these years.  The last time we looked this happy was when we got a foreign residual for our TORTELLIS episode. 

The value of re-inventing yourself

I’m a BIG believer of re-inventing yourself. It keeps you young, you learn new things, and in this economy and marketplace it just provides you with more options.

The entertainment world, in particular, is changing every minute. This is partly because technology is changing every thirty seconds and the industry is desperately trying to keep up even though they have no idea what they’re

Friday Questions

Okay, here they are.  Today's Friday Questions. 

ScottUSF leads off:

What does it mean in Deadline|Hollywood when they mention a pilot/show has been sold "with Penalty"...penalty to who?

Penalty to the network. Usually in the form of a bonus payment to the writer/producer or studio. But generally the network rolls that over for a future commitment instead. Studios tend not to really

30 years ago today

Friday Questions follow later this morning, but first I wanted to take a few minutes to wish my son, Matt a happy 30th birthday.  He's still a great kid even if he's now at the age where he can longer be trusted.  Matt Levine has always been a good luck charm.  How much of a good luck charm? Matt was the first CHEERS baby born. The evening he came into the world I arrived home to find a

UP ALL NIGHT switches to multi-camera format

NBC announced this week that UP ALL NIGHT was changing formats and going from a single-camera show to a multi-camera show. Single-camera means it’s shot like a movie. Multi-camera means it’s shot like a play with four cameras in front of a studio audience. To give you some idea – MODERN FAMILY is shot single-camera; THE BIG BANG THEORY is shot multi-camera.



To flip from single to