My last day as an intern at Trancas International Films.  I had a wonderful experience and the folks there are super nice, fun, and normal.  Read everything…horror, comedy, drama, thrillers/crime, TV pilots and teleplays, comic books, graphic novels, etc.  Finished up my very last piece of coverage with a tear in my eye, ok not really, but it was very bittersweet.

Onto the next adventure.  A friend put me in for a P.A. gig on a TV show.  Potential coolness is high.

Sent a spec off to a TV showrunner for notes, which is very generous of him/her.  I’ve restructured, rewritten, punched up dialogue, trimmed descriptions, and checked for formatting, spelling, and grammar errors. It’s 27 pages of crazy hard work, but I loved every minute of it.

Continuing to work on writing a TV pilot with actor/producer friend tomorrow who always makes me feel like a million bucks.

NBC WOTV and DISNEY/ABC WRITING PROGRAM applications due next week. Am I diverse? I don’t know, but I play a brown guy on TV.

TOY STORY 3 tonight.

BUSTOMETER READING:  2

So, I’m gonna list the best episodes of this week in TV. I know the week isn’t over, but here goes.

• Sons of Anarchy (intense, bad people being good, evil people winning, two words–KATEY SEGAL)
• Castle (hilarious, twisty and turny, sexy, smart, great cast)
• Mad Men (sublime, lots of cheatings, firings, political change)

30 ROCK: Best Comedy Series. Tina Fey got Best Actress
and Writer in a Comedy, while Alec Baldwin won Best Actor in a Comedy.

MAD MEN: Best Drama Series, Matt Weiner got
Best Writing in a Drama (nominated 2X).

BREAKING BAD: Bryan Cranston for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series for Lynne Willigham.

ENTOURAGE: Jeremy Piven
got Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series,

DAILY SHOW: Best Variety,
Music or Comedy Series and Writing.

JOHN ADAMS: Best Miniseries and Best Writing in a Miniseries.
Stars, Laura Linney (I have a huge crush on her, by the way), Paul Giamatti,
and Tom Wilkinson were all winners.

Complete List of Winners

Anyway, the party will be catered by Laura, of course. At my bequest or behest or whatever the word is, we’re having
mini-pb&j, ants-on-a-log, and deviled eggs. Awesomeness will ensue as we play ROCK BAND 2 and discuss what it’s like turned 29, again.
So F U Seattle weather, we’re gonna party anyway. We’re that hardcore.

As for the Coolest Book on TV Writing…I’ve been reading Pamela
Douglas’s book, WRITING THE TV DRAMA SERIES (2nd Edition).
Put out by our friends at MWP, this is an extremely comprehensive and exhaustive
book on breaking stories, writing a spec, the business of TV writing, getting
a job, and contains great interviews with people like Steven Bochco (NYPD Blue,
Hill Street Blues), Ann Donahue (CSI:Miami), Melissa Rosenberg (Dexter),
Georgia Jeffries (China Beach, Cagney and Lacey), Damon Lindelof (Lost),
and Ron Moore (BSG).

This is a must read for anyone who wants to write for one-hour television
and do it the right way. There are no illusions here, as Pamela breaks down
all the myths about dramatic TV writing. There’s no doubt that it is hard work,
just a little different type of hard work than writing an original feature.  They’re
all incredibly difficult at times, no? Since
I’m in the process of writing my spec of Burn Notice, it’s come in quite handy.
As many of you know, I’m a total procedural junkie, having written a spec of
Law and Order some time ago and embarking on writing more this/next year.

Did anyone see that Danny Boyle and Charlie Kaufman are going to be at Austin
this year? Holy crap. I’m so glad I’m going. Well, signing off. Got partying
and gorging to do. Finished up my bio for the Austin Film Festival program/website.
Need to get my photo, but having a bad skin week.  (Got my passport
photos for Sweden. Had a big zit in the picture, which will be there in perpetuity,
Oh well.) Anyway, there is something surreal about being listed as a panelist
with people who’ve done real/huge/awesome/stellar/kick-ass/sublime work.   

A poignant moment of this episode occurred when a student asked if Mr. Cusack
ever got blocked. He answered by saying all actors go through that, but explained
that he learned later in his career about using Jungian archetypes and embracing
your shadow self–the self that embodies the things we want to deny about ourselves.
Personally, I use this method to devise characters, especially my antagonists,
false mentors, etc.

There are four books that specifically address this idea, which I think are
of great benefit to us as writers: Meeting The Shadow (exerpts
from various disciplines regarding the shadow side of our subconscious), The
Power of the Dark Side (using classic archetypes to create new characters,
namely villains), Psychology
for Writers (general psych studies for writers
who haven’t had therapy, j/k) and Archetypes
for Writers (more specific work in archetypes).
You don’t necessarily need all of them, but all are helpful in
tapping the subconscious. We have these for sale on our website.

Oh, the little interview with Heather and me made it to the official AFF website.

I saw two movies, one awesome, one “nawesome” (aka not awesome). Went with Laura and few buddies to see Tropic Thunder, again. What an awesome movie. So funny. Tom Cruise should just do roles like that from now on. Seriously. Go see already.

The day prior the same friends had DVR’d Enter the
Ninja, a nawesome crapfest. Since we used to sit around and watch
Kung Fu and stuff all the time when we were all roommates, we sat down to
watch it amid the chaos of Brando and a tot running around being tired, cranky,
hungry, and totally disinterested in bad ninja movies from the ’80s. It’s
very much a scene out of Big Bang Theory.

Quite frankly,
this was one of the worst martial arts films ever. No discernible plot, main
character is the “great
white hope” (as
usual). The guy who played the lead was a low-rent Chuck Norris, replete
with giant stache, stilted acting, and don’t forget, bad dubbing. Ouch. Everyone
but me fell asleep, only cause I had had a giant Dr. Pepper.

Got back to the pad and took a short nap. 

I was a relatively good boy, only dropping some quid on the scripts for
Freaks and Geeks Vol. 1 and 2, a new copy of the Juno shooting script, a replacement
copy of Writing the Romantic Comedy, and a DVD on career development. The guys
who work that know their stuff and are really helpful. I wish we had one of
these in Seattle. Thank goodness their delivery business for those of us far
removed from HW. Definitely stop in if you’re in town.

Just grabbed coffee with Blake
Snyder in his hood, Beverly
Hills. He was feeling under the weather, fighting off a cold from one of his
many recent travels across the globe. As usual, Blake’s positivity and openness
are like a breath of fresh air in a world full of cynicism and self-doubt.
His encouragement of my own career and the future of the Guild was energizing,
as well as his sincere goal to help all the other aspiring screenwriters have
the success that he has had. His continued advice and support have been one
of the biggest perks of being President of the Guild. 

Walking back to the Eclipse after meeting with Blake, I came upon this great
store called Doggie
Styles.
The proprietor, Mike (and his wife Eva, who was not there), was an ex ad-guy
(perhaps a Mad Man), who came out from NYC on a job and never left.  He
stayed in LA and as his retirement gig, opened up this store.

Suffering from
Brando withdrawal syndrome (BWS), I played with his two dogs, HEMI and BUTTONS,
eventually purchasing a Burberry style necktie and a Captain
America Camouflage T-Shirt. Pretty cool shit. Funny thing–he asked
me what I did and thought it was great what we’re doing up in the NW for screenwriters.  He
followed that up with, "Did you go to Comic-Con?" Only in LA would
someone who owns a store where they sell high-quality leashes, collars, and
everything else for spoile dogs know about important industry conventions.
Of course, he was off to Pet Fashion Week in NYC. Now that sounds fun.

After coming home and checking
out the website, I realized that J LO and Jessica Alba shop there, among other
celebs.

Had lunch in Santa Monica with ex-Board Member and good writing buddy, Danny
Walter and my childhood friend, Jeff. The proprietor
of the place kept giving me the could shoulder about sitting us. He wanted
our whole party there, so I guess 2 out of 3 doesn’t count. Jeff,
although from Sacramento, sets his watch to island time. I’ve known this
forever, so I just told the guy he was parking. After seating us and 45 minutes
later the dude is in my face about it. Of course, we ordered an appetizer
and several beers, so what’s the big to do, Anyway, we had a lovely 2+ hour
lunch amid the beautiful people. I have this theory– anybody who is a somebody
seems to be in their late 30s to early 50s. This ageism is strange because
the people perpetuating are about to "age out" or have already. I don’t get
it. I hope a few more of these lawsuits come through and age has no bearing
on employment in the business. That’d be great for all of us, no.

Just had drinks with Sanjay Shah. Sanjay just got back from Cancun (with his family),
so he was slamming bitters and soda water. Montezuma’s Revenge. I was having a Tanqueray Tonic. Gotta fight off Malaria every chance I get.
We had a quick chat about writing, surfing, traveling with Gujarati parents, and what I should work on with my own writing. I heard some more horror stories and then he showed me around the KING OF THE HILL office. All delusions of grandeur faded from my mind. It looked like any old office, except the invidual writers’ offices were pretty spare, dirty, and well, looked like writers lived there. I got to see the board of the seasons’ episodes and who wrote what. Pretty exciting. I met another writer on the show who is from Greenwood, my hood. Small world.

Just got back from a lovely dinner and stroll through Hancock Park with former
guest and my good friend, Marilyn Atlas.
We hit up the old El Coyote, where Hollywood hipsters, rockers, writers, and
actors carouse and imbibe. Although Marilyn doesn’t like Mexican food,
she obliged me, since this time I was the guest. Funny how that is.

After a very filling meal, she took me on a late night walk through her neighborhood,
showing me all the old mansions, each with their own unique flare. There were
also several mansions that had been converted to multiple 1,500-2,000+ square
foot apartments. Very cool.  After returning to my car and saying my goodbyes,
I hopped in the Eclipse and burned it back home.

Since the show I’m speccing is impossible to get, it was imperative that they
have a copy for me to check the formatting and structure. Luckily, they had
the pilot and four produced teleplays. So after reading through a couple really
fast, taking notes on the formatting, I got a call. Had to meet past guest
and friend, Michael McGahey over in Burbank. I’ll be BACK.

So I jetted off to
McCormick and Schmicks (NW Company, eh?) and had a lovely lunch with him and
Leah Hoyer (originally from Lake Forest Park), both are at Disney these days.
We talked about the state of affairs at Disney, Starbucks, driving in LA, the
development of the Guild, and enticed Leah to come up.

While waiting for the valet to bring my car, I had my one and only celeb sighting
on my trip—CESAR MILLAN, the DOG WHISPERER. Laura thought I should’ve brandished
my Brando tattoo (Brando the Maltese, not Marlon Brando), but I didn’t want
to scare the poor man. The last time I was in LA I saw Paris Hilton. I was
way more excited about this one.

I had some time to kill before coming home for a family dinner, so I went
over to Melrose (my favorite place to shop in LA), parked the car and WALKED,
yes, walked up and down the street. It’s almost like a pilgramage for me, since
I never find threads that I like in Seattle. I usually get all my clothes in
Vancouver BC. It was a hot day, so most of the women were half clothed, which
is very surprising compared to the covered up ladies of Seattle. Not that
I was looking. Laura doesn’t care anyway, as long as they’re cute. I got
two pairs of shoes, two shirts, a pair of pants, and a ridiculous gorilla toy

at Munky King, an anime store. Not bad for me. I usually go crazy after saving
up my money. After a few hours, mostly people watching and chatting with the
shopkeepers. Many of them were complaining about the high costs of things,
some are even closing down due to exorbitant rents. All in all, people are
very nice on Melrose.

Pineapple Express:

After a nice sit-down dinner at my uncle’s pad, my cousin and I saw Pineapple Express.
It starts out funny (great inside stoner comedy), with a scene-stealing James Franko.
Thin on plot and characterization, it devolves into the most ridiculous fight sequence I’ve ever seen. We prayed for it to end, and it kept going. Worth seeing, on DVD, at home, where you can smoke your ass off.

It’s Sunday, and I spent it with my friend (an agent at CAA), and her husband,
(a Film Editor) at the Sherman Oaks Galleria. I ate a giant belgian waffle
at the Cheescake Factory. Oh wait, in the menu it was listed as GIANT BELGIAN
WAFFLE. I’m glad they warned me. I ate the whole thing, drank a ton of coffee,
then we dorked around looking at furniture. Am I nesting? Why all the foreplay?
We were preparing for TROPIC THUNDER. The cool thing is we bought our tickets
online the day before and RESERVED OUR SEATS. I LOVE LA. The Greeter before
the film was very well-spoken. We had the most comfortable movie seats outside
The Grove.

The movie was so funny, from the fake opening credits onward. Do not
miss them. I don’t want to give too much away, but it is worth seeing in the
theatre, for it’s grandness, ridiculous stunts, over-the-top performances,
and of course, the collective response from the audience.

Robert Downey Jr
was excellent as an Australian (method) actor who undergoes plastic surgery
to look black in order to get a part in the movie that the movie is about. Hard
to ‘splain, but as a person-of-color I was not offended, because they really
let the character have it.  Fun
stuff.  Ben
Stiller, Jack Black, Nick Nolte, and many others turned out great performances.
So awesome.

Spent the evening watching episodes of the next thing I’m going to spec.