The X-Files

If it wasn't for Chris Carter, I don't know that I would be doing what I'm doing right now.  It's true.  The X-Files changed everything I previously thought a Television show should be.  For me, it was an interactive experience.  I got sucked in.  I was completely obsessed with Fox Mulder and his plight.  The sub-plots were amazing.  The mythology was unreal.  I bought it all, hook line and sinker.  Just ask my roommates at the time.

I loved the show so much, that when the network would re-loop new episodes three hours later, I would stay up and watch it again.

To date, I think, The X-Files is the best example of any Procedural show on Television.  Hands downs. 

Chris Carter is a genius.  And not so much for his story telling abilities, but I think I would venture as far to say that, first and foremost, this is a guy who gets what an audience wants.  What an audience needs.

A place to escape.

You craft a believable world with strong story lines and loveable characters, and well, you're set for life.  Literally. 

For me, the X-Files was what every broadcaster dreams of; appointment television.  I would race home on Sunday from wherever I was to catch the 9pm show.  At a friend's cottage?  Well, I was beating the traffic and speeding down the highway home in time to catch it.

But Karen, why couldn't you just tape it?

Aha!  Seems rational enough.  Tape it, and enjoy a few more hours on a lake sipping beers.  But no!  I was so in love with the show that the thought of missing it created a swell of anxiety in me so deep that even though the VCR was set, I couldn't risk it.  What if the tape got caught?  What if there was a mini blackout earlier in the day and the settings were off?

It could happen....

And so, inevitably, from wherever I was on planet Earth; come 9pm I was plunked in front of my TV anxiously waiting to see if The Men in Black would appear, or if the writers would finally tell us what the fuck happened to Samantha.

Brilliant.

And, for that reason.  Because of that experience, I chose to enter into the  cut-throat world of Television.  Because I wanted to write a show that people could sink their teeth into, like how Chris Carter created one for me.

It's my life's mission.

It may take a few million rejection letters, failed pitches, and tireless kicks at the can;  but I know that I'll get there.  It may not happen for another 10 years... or it could happen tomorrow, but one thing is for certain: as long as I stick with it, the opportunity will present itself. 

One day, when the stars are all aligned.

And, in the meantime, I'll keep slugging away,  because tenacity disintegrates failure.

And failure, for me, has never been an option.

So you wanna be a writer?

 

Really?  Are you sure about this?

Are you prepared to enter full isolation? Lose friends? Avoid Family?

 

I'm being serious.  Dead serious.

Myself, I'm an extreme extrovert.  In fact, that probably isn't even giving credit to how much I actually feed off of other people's energy.  ENTJ according to Myers Briggs.

So, when I actually decided to COMMIT (operative word) to becoming a writer it was a painful, bloody process.  I sat at my desk and cried from the lack of external stimulation.  I watched my weight go up in increments of 10lbs at a time.  The external world drifted away from me.  Current events came and went and I was unaware because...

I was hanging out in my own world.  Writing.  Creating.  And trying very hard to discipline myself to sit for hours on end EVERY DAY putting words on a page.

I saw an interview the other day with Nia Vardalos who pretty much validates everything I am saying, and if I can find it, I'll post it at the end of this entry.  She basically says that all writers (more or less) hate the process of writing.

It's true. 

I know the common myth is that writers enjoy the good life sipping lattes and hanging out in cafes; but that's not really been my experience.  My experience has been one that involves the mental prowess of a JEDI to tune out the world that I actually live in, in order to create a world that others can escape into.

Most of the writers I know spend their days cursing the day they chose to become a writer.  It's riddled with anxiety, looming deadlines, saying "no" to fun things like trips away, patios, and family events.  Case in point; in the past three weeks I've had to miss three birthdays, half a dozen patio invites, two family emergencies, a funeral, and umpteen phone calls.

I've seen the resurgence of camel toe in pants that used to hang off of me.  My official uniform is comfy house wear.  And glasses.

I am a sex kitten no longer.

And the only reason that I dive head first into this pit of chosen isolation?  Is because, I am a writer.  And to not write takes away the essence of who I'm meant to be.  To not write creates a deep swell of anxiety that is probably synonymous to that of a Heroine addict.

 

I have to write.  It keeps me sane.

 

So, ask yourself: are you prepared to give up everything you previously used to define yourself in order to immerse yourself in writing?  Because good writing takes time.

 

Good writing is not only the ability to consistently put words to a page.  Good writing is the mental ability to commit to the time and effort it takes to put those words to a page.  And the additional time and effort it takes to make those words the best they can be.

 

I often turn to my Writer friends and say, "Seriously?  Why did I chose to do this?" and they just look at me with a smirk because they get it.  "You're a Writer," they say back. 

 

And Writers write.

See what Nia has to say after the 07:30 mark on the same thing.

Overnight Success

Just wanted to do a little blurb about the fairy tale otherwise-known-as "overnight success" and the fact that there is no such thing.  So, I suppose this is unofficially Brief Entry #2.

There is no such thing as overnight success.

I'll say it again:

There is no such thing as overnight success.

Success comes from a spirit of humility, camaraderie, and appreciation.  It comes from having enough respect for your talent to hone it, nurture it, and commit to it.  Trust me.  It's an uphill never ending battle that ripples and retracts over the course of your career.  Especially so if you are in a creative field.

But what about Diablo Cody?

Oi veh!  Are you [expletive] kidding me?  Chicky spent ten years writing before she was 'discovered'.  It's true.  Look it up.  I don't have time to toil through the Internet to corroborate what I'm saying, but I'll stand by it. 

Here's the thing:

Opportunity + Preparation = Luck

So, I ask you:  what are you doing to prepare?

And now, a little ABBA because I saw Mamma Mia the other day and I love them!

Brief entry #1

My timing was a bit off when it came to actually having the time to write here.  But, like all shifting sands, that should change after mid next week.  In the meantime, for those of you who are interested in popping in for a view, I'll be posting brief entries.

 

Brief entry #1:

 

This song was in my head.  Enjoy!

which reminded me of one of my favourite movies as a kid...



Is there anything better than Olivia Newton-John?
(rhetorical question people)

And now...back to the trenches.

Victim Mentality

There's a lot of whining going on in the entertainment industry these past couple of weeks.  Former Hells Angel vs. 'Sons of Anarchy' creator Kurt Sutter.  Nicollette Sheridan vs. ABC and 'Desperate Housewives' creator Marc Cherry.  But the weirdest happens to be a little story about a niece in Vegas suing her Hollywood producer Aunt and Uncle for making a movie more or less based on her crappy life.

 

According to THR, Esq. Alix Daily is suing Peter and Leslie Tolan of Capacity Pictures and producers of the direct to DVD "Finding Amanda", for"

events [that] really happened, and that the character of Amanda looks, dressed, and behaved like Daily

 

Alix claims she suffered mental anguish and anxiety (loosely paraphrased) from the distress she encountered upon learning of the release of the movie.  You can read about it in specific detail here if you're into legal stuff.

Let's shelve that for a second so I can impress you with my story telling skills and wrap these suckers up all nice and pretty at the end.

Quick transition to:

Kurt Sutter, superhero to all writers and ASS KICKER of the year.  Seriously, I love this guy.  If he ever walks down the aisle for the 4th time I'm so taking the plunge.  The backstory, for those who don't know, is that a guy who used to be on the Sopranos (or something like that) came up with an idea for a show, pitched it to FX and 3 or 4 years later Sutter's "Sons of Anarchy" was greenlit.  NOW:

Anyone who has ever created a show or pitched a show knows how nerve wracking it is the first time you have to sign over that release waiver that says (more or less) that if they ever come up with the same show in the future, you can't sue them.

Obviously buddy from 2004 did not read his little waiver. 

What I love about how Kurt responded was that he basically gave a big "FUCK YOU" to the guy and said that even if he had pitched the exact same show (which he didn't), the network is going to buy the more developed concept.  The one where there's a mythology.  A world.  Character Arcs.  To loosely quote every working writer in the northern hemisphere:  It is not the idea, it's THE EXECUTION of the idea.  And in the case of "SOA", according to Kurt, he has the better idea.  I have to quote this guy because he's just so raw and kick ass:

It's that time of year again. Where a disgruntled ex-biker decides that Sons of Anarchy was in fact his idea. This one, from the half-talent of Chuck Zito, former NYC HA and Oz actor. He slapped FX with a 5 million dollar breach suit, claiming that the idea he came up with over 12 years ago and pitched 6 years ago was "similar" to SOA. I know at this point I shouldn't even waste the keyboard moves, but I feel like I have to comment because Zato has reached out to that ultimate news source, TMZ, so now his bullshit has gone viral.

[stuff that's unimportant to me so I cut it out for entertainment purposes]

HAVING THE FUCKING IDEA IS NOT THE SHOW. THERE HAVE BEEN DOZENS OF OUTLAW MOTORCYCLE TV DRAMAS PITCHED IN THE LAST TEN YEARS. NONE OF THEM HAS MADE IT TO SERIES, EXCEPT SOA. BECAUSE THEY SUCKED. The same way there were dozens of mob family pitches before the Sopranos and crime scene pitches before CSI.

[more stuff I don't give a shit about]

[And finally...]

once, in 2004, I was in the lobby of AMC and complained to someone's assistant that there was a guy in the parking lot acting like a "mad man". Fuck... AMC and Matt Weiner stole my idea. Clearly I came up with the concept for Mad Men.

 

 

Kurt I love you!  For so many reasons, but mostly because you defended your work.  I was watching a round table discussion online that had some Showrunners in it and Seth McFarlane said something along the lines that he is always approached by people who say "I have a friend who has an idea and they're looking for a good writer", and he just shakes his head. 

Because: [newsflash] the idea isn't complete/worth anything/really yours until you develop it. 

So, do I feel sorry for the guy from Oz who felt shafted by Sutter and Fx?

Ish. 

I mean, he's obviously not a writer for so many reasons:

a) he could have taken his idea to other broadcasters

b) after it was rejected he could have revised it and re-pitched it (to other broadcasters)

c) he could have done all that he could to get it made, until he eventually had to aquiesce and move on to the next project.

The only reason I feel sorry for not-really-a-writer-guy from Oz,  is because he's probably unaware of this.

And because Kurt Sutter will kick his ass.

KURT I LOVE YOU!!!

Now, in a tight race for ridiculous (code word for crazy) is Nicollette Sheridan.  Least favourite and most problematic of the cast (I'm assuming).  We all know a Nicollette, don't we?  Someone who thinks they're the centre of the Universe and feels personally offended every time something doesn't go exactly their way?

Come on!

Now, if there is any meritt to her claim I will retract what I've said and apologize.  But I doubt it.  Highly doubt it.  People show you who they really are over time.  Case in point, after the pilot aired and the numbers did well, Nicollette was the first on ET whining about how she doesn't have a car like the cast of Friends did when they were number one.

OK.  Seriously.  This biotch is a Producers worst nightmare.  And if it wasn't for the fact that Marc Cherry had just crawled out of his mother's basement where he festered for two years prior to casting; I highly doubt he would have had such a hard on for a washed up Soap actress from the 80s.

Attention all Talent! (Yes, I mean you!) Here's a little tidbit for you.  It's free.  Use it:  It doesn't matter how talented you are.  We don't want to work with you if you're difficult.  Just remember.  We are COMPLETELY CAPABLE of recognizing talent, and nurturing it to replace you.  Don't forget this.  We don't.

See also: Lindsay Lohan.

Cool?

So, Marc Cherry having seen better days aside, it's now time to assess the three crazies.  And I have to say that I think Alix Daily (God, I love her name) takes the cake.  Quite sadly, because I actually think she might certifiably be crazy.

Why?

One second:  KURT I LOVE YOU!!!

Here's the thing:

Alix Daily is probably the craziest of the three, because she (quite possibly according to the court of me) actually had a legitimate claim.  One without reasonable doubt (at least from what I could tell, but I'm not a lawyer).

So, did she sue for 5 million like buddy from Oz?  Or 20 million like Nicollette?  No.  She didn't sue in the millions.  In fact, when I read the document I had to look twice just to make sure I wasn't reading it wrong.

She only sued for 10K.  Yep.  That's it.  The one with the most claim asking for the least amount of money.  Poor Alix.  Maybe once this is all said and done, her Uncle will take her out for lunch or something.

And now for the trailer to the movie that nobody saw! (woo hoo!!)