Try It Out: The Chair

For those who don't know, in addition to entertainment journalism and criticism, I also direct children's musical theatre productions. I have a lot of passion for children and the arts, and I particularly love what kids bring to the table, being innocent and wide-eyed and green. I also see a lot of theatre, from community shows to touring musicals to hits on Broadway when I'm in New York. And, although I've been taking in theatre for a few decades now, it's only been in the past few years that I'll watch a performance and unconsciously think about what I would do differently. Therefore, when I first learned about the competitive documentary series, The Chair, I was extremely intrigued.

In my own work, several directors use the same set, props, and costumes each year at various schools, but we'll approach the same play differently, and that's very similar to what's going on with The Chair, which boasts the tagline "every director has their own take." Two first-time feature filmmakers, Shane Dawson and Anna Martemucci, receive the same screenplay, location, and budget, and the series will document how each approaches the project, from creation to marketing to reception of a feature-length movie. Audiences will also be able to vote for the winner, who will receive $250,000.

Dawson's film is titled Not Cool while Martemucci's is Hollidaysburg. Based off the titles alone, I'm more sold on Dawson, but there are many more factors at play... for instance, Dawson is a self-taught internet sensation while Martemucci has more formal training and has made an independent film before. How these aspects will factor into the ways the two approach the project and find different steps easier or more challenging is a big reason to watch the program. I'm especially curious as to how they decide to balance indoor/outdoor filming because of the time of year they were in Pittsburgh!

Tune in for The Chair on Starz, where the first of ten episodes will air tomorrow, Saturday, September 6th, at 10pm ET/PT. Starz can be found DirecTV 527/528, DISH 350/351, FiOS 340/855, U-Verse 902/903, Xfinity 534, and on other carriers.

2014 Comic-Con: Friday's TV Panels

Yesterday we saw television panels for three series and a scholarly approach. Today, our television panels included three for series, two for behind-the-scenes writing, and one on the translation of television to comics. Nope, this isn't exactly what we planned initially... we didn't make it to iZombie due to a time-ticketed exhibit, but learned that they weren't able to show the pilot in its entirety anyway (due to re-casting), so no major loss. We purposely chose to skip The Unexplained Files due to the additional information that was released describing the panel. But, we thew in another series and two different sessions discussing how pilots come to be, and what it takes to write one, so that's different. Included below are some highlights from these  events - look for more in-depth articles in the future. And, be sure to follow us on SmugMug, on Twitter or on Facebook for the latest throughout Comic-Con!

Writing for TV: From First Draft to Getting Staffed, with Spiro Skentzos, Karen Horne, Keto Shimizu, David Schulner, and David Slack.
- The more television you watch, the better you will be at identifying event triggers, character goals, and the stakes of a dilemma, which will improve a writer's ability to create those things.
- It's helpful to write a character description in both the first and third persons so you can get into their head and think of how they'll say things.
- You need more than just a spec script for a currently airing show and your pilot. Create content to showcase your abilities. With that, write what you know.

photo: Amy K. Bredemeyer

The Chair: One Script, Two Visions, One Winner, with Zachary Quinto, Dan Schoffer, Josh Shader, Shane Dawson, and Anna Martemucci.
- Martemucci was paranoid about being filmed as she directed, knowing that similar things have wreaked havoc on families.
- Dawson really learned to be patient through this project. He's accustomed to just putting an ad on Craigslist, getting an actor, and paying them. Now, he had a month to cast, a budget to work with, etc.
- Dawson won't be leaving YouTube behind after eight years of videos, but he thinks he'll need to change it, even if that's just slowing down to one video each week.

photo: Amy K. Bredemeyer

The 100 Special Video Presentation and Q&A, with Jason Rothenberg, Eliza Taylor, Isaiah Washington, Ricky Whittle, Lindsay Morgan, Devon Bostick, and Marie Avgeropoulos.
- The second season has fewer than 68 people alive. BUT, the title of the series doesn't refer to the number of people, but rather the name of the project.
- More information about the languages of the Grounders will come out - we even heard Avgreropoulos speak a bit in the tongue!
- Getting dirty happens much quicker than getting clean, so the actors don't mind wearing rags, because they're not spending hours in the makeup chair!
- If they had to spend a week with a castmate, Taylor would pick Bostick because he's funny, Whittle would pick Morgan because she can cook, and Avgreropoulos would pick Bostick because Canadians know how to survive!
- Most of the characters are now on the ground, so there will be some strange pairings in the near future. 

photo: Amy K. Bredemeyer

Falling Skies Season 4 Panel, with Noah Wyle, Moon Bloodgood, Will Patton, Drew Roy, Sarah Carter, Maxim Knight, Doug Jones, Scarlett Byrne, and David Eich.
- Sarah calls the second half of the season "gnarly"!!
- Yet another variation on the species we've seen will come about.
- Bloodgood liked working with different actors this season, because although it was unfamiliar, it was also refreshing.
- Wyle thinks that the structure of this season allowed for a lot of the characters to develop their leadership skills.
- Anne will have a flashback to her life with a son.
- Patton noted that "Weaver feels a certain amount of things in his heart as Lexi makes him think about Jeanne." The character becomes one of Lexi's biggest proponents because of that. Also, he wants his character to have one more shot at love before the end of the series.
- Wyle hopes that Tom will get to be a founding father in the next society.
- Jones would like Cochise to understand what peace is and have a heart-to-heart with his father, then remain behind with his human friends. (and maybe move to Atlanta and become the head of programming at TNT, haha!)

photo: Amy K. Bredemeyer

Roar Comics: Saved by the Bell, Punky Brewster, and More, with Adam Staffaroni, Chynna Clugston Flores, Anne Toole, Lesley Vamos, and Brandon Easton.
- In the Punky Brewster comic, Henry becomes the title character's mother's cousin. I had never thought about society no longer accepting a young girl living with an elderly unmarried man!
- Henry's job has also been upgraded to him being a successful traveling photographer, so the storylines will take them out of Chicago.
- Original characters like Alan, Margeaux, Cherie, and Betty are still there.
- The Saved by the Bell comic maintains the Zack-Kelly-Slater love triangle.
- They will be starting a Care Bears comic book in 2015! Also, be on the lookout for Madballs and Packages from Planet X.

How to Write a Pilot, with Gray Jones, Jen Grisanti, William Rabkin, Bill Taub, and Carole Kirschner.
- Although it's tough to sell a pilot without being established, Extant was written by a nobody. Mad Men also didn't sell until the creator had done other things.
- Writing your own show demonstrates an original voice, which can be great... but some showrunners want to see people who write in their tone, so specs are sometimes better.
- With that, you should really have a dossier of 2-3 original pilots and a few spec scripts so if anyone wants to read more of your work, you have it available!
- The series Bible has gone from the 40 pages of the 90s to just 6-15 pages now, but you should still know everything about your characters.

photo: Jonathan Bredemeyer

* find more pictures of these panels, plus others, the exhibit floor, and off-site events at our SmugMug site!

My 2014 Comic-Con TV Panels

In a week, it'll all be over. San Diego Comic-Con (known by many simply as "Comic-Con") begins on Wednesday night at 6pm and runs until Sunday at 5pm. Plans for the convention begin over a year in advance, and the dates for the subsequent event are generally known before the current one ends. Online pre-registration for badges takes hours. Determining your hotel order for the lottery is a lengthy process. But what really takes time and effort is planning how you'll make the most of those four days... from panels to see to booths to visit, from autograph possibilities to sorting through shopping exclusives, from to sifting through film schedules to discerning the best off-site activities, the work involved is great. [flashback to our previous SDCC schedules: 2011, 2012, 2013.] And that's considering you've been before and don't need to learn how to get around San Diego, where to eat, and how the logistics of attending work.

Because of the amount of work involved (note that I haven't even mentioned the hours spent in lines yet), outsiders don't think Comic-Con is worth the hassle and expense. It is a pricey event (for starters, the vast majority of hotel options come in over $180/night), but it's also one of a kind. Repeat attendees share a camaraderie like no other; once you've been initiated into SDCC, you understand. You share a kindred spirit with all who swarm upon the San Diego Convention Center, whether they be comic book collectors, zombie fanatics, wannabe filmmakers, creative cosplayers, or another variety of pop culture junkie. Folks at Comic-Con appreciate the passion everyone has for something, regardless of whether there's overlap in interest, and that's what makes the ambiance of the environment truly special.

All of that said, I've painstakingly narrowed down my selections and made my schedule for how I will spend Comic-Con this year. I still have twelve television panels on my list, but I'm not going to be camping out in Ballroom 20 or 6 BCF all day to maximize my TV program exposure. Why? Because I have other interests, too, and can't wait for my geek-out moments, which inevitably happen (like after the Disney Afternoon panel last year).

So, without further ado, here are the television panels I'm hoping to see, tweet, and report on this year:

Thursday, July 24th
10:30-11:30am: Legends of TV Land (Indigo Ballroom, Hilton Bayfront), featuring Betty White, among others, who will answer questions about making history on television. Plus, a look at the animated episode of Hot in Cleveland.

11:30am - 12:30pm: Dig: A USA Network Event Series (Indigo Ballroom, Hilton Bayfront), an inside look at this fast-paced international thriller, with actors participating via satellite from Israel.

8-9pm: Psychology of Cult TV Shows (Room 23ABC), will feature several scholars and scientists and examine the cult followings of shows like Doctor Who, Firefly, and Buffy. As someone who has studied Rocky Horror cult fanatics, I'm especially interested in the scholars.

Friday, July 25th
11:30am-12:30pm: iZombie Pilot Screening and Q&A (Room6BCF), for the new CW series that will premiere midseason.

1:30-2:30pm: The Chair: One Script, Two Visions, One Winner (Marriott Hall 2), for the new Starz series. Both directors and the creator will be there, and scenes from the movies and the series will be shown. I've already written a little about this show, and look forward to more.

4:30-5:30pm: Falling Skies: Season 4 Panel (Room 6BCF), for what may very well be the final panel for this post-apocalyptic television show. I've seen the three before this one (2011, 2012, 2013), and while they're not groundbreaking and tend to show you a clip from the very next episode, they're a goof time.

5:30-6:30pm: Roar Comics: Saved by the Bell, Punky Brewster, and More (Room 8), because I love that some of my favorite characters are in serialized narrative format. Some announcements are also promised, so perhaps more television shows are going that way?

7-8pm: The Unexplained Files (Room 7AB), from Science Channel, will be taking a deeper look at stuff you can't believe. It's as simple as that, but still truly fascinating, plus there will be scholars, eye witnesses, and prizes.

Saturday, July 26th:
10-11am: Why Not Serious? Comedy vs. Drama in Animation (Room 9), caught my eye because I hadn't thought about how little action and adventure is in cartoons. I grew up with Danger Mouse, and The Awesomes is around, but the big 80s/90s X-Men, Batman, and the like aren't really there anymore, so I am interested in the theories as to why not.

5-6pm: The Digital Revolution: The Convergence of Television and the Internet (Indigo Ballroom, Hilton Bayfront), will hopefully offer more information than I've already been learning lately about how ratings are changing and people are "cord-cutting."

8-11pm: Warner Bros. Television and DC Entertainment: The Flash, Constantine, Arrow, and the World Premiere of Gotham (Hall H) may be too tough to get into, as the Gotham pilot is very highly anticipated, plus a full viewing of The Flash will also entice people, but I'm game to try.

Sunday, July 27th:
10:15-11:15am Sesame Street & Pop Culture: 45 Years of Spoofs on the 'Street' (Room 6A) is near and dear to by heart. Two new parodies (on Comic-Con and Star Wars, no less!), plus looking at how popular culture has influenced the iconic show, with muppeteers on the panel.

Yeah, you probably noticed that there are quite a few gaps in this schedule... so what else am I planning on seeing, panel-wise? Well, Thursday features a Hanna-Barbera offering I don't want to miss, plus a Goonies discussion, and a look at retro 90s stuff. Friday and Saturday I'll hit a little of the Film Festival for a little bit of old-time Disney magic, plus take in a few how-to sessions about writing television shows. And Sunday I'm back at my old scholarly ways with an anthropological study panel, plus the making of the LEGO movie. Keep checking back as we report on the many distinct facets that make up Comic-Con!

Summer 2014 TCA: Starz's The Chair

Starz is embarking upon a new type of competitive documentary series with The Chair, an original filmmaking experiment that was first announced in April. The idea is that two first-time feature filmmakers will receive the same screenplay (a coming-of-age story which was originally sold to MTV, who unfortunately closed their movie department), location (four weeks of shooting in Pittsburgh), and budget ($940,000 each, of which $600,000 is discretionary for the directors), and the series will document how each approaches the project, from creation to marketing to reception of a feature-length movie.

The movies are due August 1st, and both directors (Shane Dawson and Anna Martemucci, who had not met before today) report finishing sound and color at this point. There will be a limited theatrical release of the "R-rated or less" films (Dawson's Not Cool and Martemucci's Hollidaysburg) the first week of September before show premieres, and both will later air on Starz. Voting will be done across multiple platforms (beginning episode eight), and the audience determines who wins $250,000.

That's where things get tricky. Dawson's background is in YouTube comedy while Martemucci does independent films, as a writer, director, and filmmaker, so he has a significantly larger online following. On the other hand, Martemucci's formal education may trump his learn-as-you-go YouTube channels. Fortunately, both will receive mentorship from Zachary Quinto, Chris Moore, and Josh Shader (the script's original producer), so comparing how each approaches every step of the process should prove particularly interesting to anyone in a similar field.

Tune in for The Chair on Starz, where the first of ten episodes will air Saturday, September 6th, at 10pm ET/PT. Starz can be found DirecTV 527/528, DISH 350/351, FiOS 340/855, U-Verse 902/903, Xfinity 534, and on other carriers.