Blogcritics

Entourage Finds Success Out Of Failure

Diane Kristine — Mon, 7 Jul 2008 00:19:04 EDT

Creator Doug Ellin describes the arduous journey of bringing the hit HBO show to life.
Creator Doug Ellin has a pithy answer to the question of what Entourage is about: "Friendship." "These guys at the end of the day always have each others' backs. In any world, that's tough to find. When you're in your thirties, you start to lose those close connections. But especially in Hollywood, it's so hard to...

The Unusual Life of Friday Night Lights

Diane Kristine — Tue, 1 Jul 2008 09:45:40 EDT

Head writer Jason Katims is grateful to have a third season of the struggling and unique show.
Brooklyn native Jason Katims admits he was an unlikely choice to take over as Friday Night Lights showrunner from Peter Berg, the writer/director of the feature film and the TV series pilot. He didn't have any background in the world of the show. He hadn't read the book, hadn't seen the movie, wasn't a football fan, and had never...

Swingtown Producer Sees Double Standards In Network Standards

Diane Kristine — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 10:58:58 EDT

Executive producer and director Alan Poul relates his struggles with the FCC and timid networks.
"The timidity of American broadcast networks could end up being a theme of today's talk," producer and director Alan Poul warned towards the beginning of his recent Master Class at the Banff World Television Festival. It did, in fact, emerge as a recurring theme as he reflected on his career.Poul's resume includes television...

Creator Hart Hanson Digs Up Bones Stories

Diane Kristine — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:29:10 EDT

Hanson shows his humorous side in a Banff TV Festival Master Class.
I'd interviewed writer/producer Hart Hanson by phone a couple of years ago, before Bones had been renewed for a second season, before it was clear it would be. So attending his Master Class this month at the Banff World Television Festival, I thought I knew what to expect from the Master Teacher: polite, restrained, and speaking in carefully...

From Idea to Screen: The Craft of TV Writing

Diane Kristine — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 06:53:14 EDT

Desperate Housewives and House writers break down the creative process.
The Banff World Television Festival introduced a new programming stream to this year's 29th annual industry event called The Craft, workshop-type sessions breaking down the creative process. Included were two sessions by two writers with several high-profile series in their credits, who gave insight into how shows are assembled from concept to...

Breaking Into Hollywood Any Which Way They Can

Diane Kristine — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 01:59:09 EDT

Three success stories prove there's no clear path to Hollywood.
Perhaps it’s another “nobody knows anything” sign about the unpredictability of Hollywood. Perhaps not. Either way, many of the writers, directors, and producers attending the Banff World Television Festival shared stories about breaking into the business that emphasized that while they might have gotten into the business a...

Online Fans Represent TV's Vocal Minority

Diane Kristine — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:41:12 EDT

TV writers, directors and producers reflect on their online relationship with fans.
Does Eric Millegan's fate in the Bones finale still have you fuming? Can't stop talking about Hugh Laurie, Robert Sean Leonard, and Anne Dudek's powerful performances in the House season ender? Pondering Swingtown, looking forward to Sanctuary, and can't wait for the boys of Entourage to return? Like many fans, maybe you're...

Sanctuary Leaps From Net To Network

Diane Kristine — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 11:26:18 EDT

The science fiction series makes its move to Sci Fi in October.
Sanctuary won't be the first series to make the leap from web to television, but executive producer and director Martin Wood hopes it's learned enough from its broadband run to make the most of its cable run. "When you're that far in front of the wave, you're sitting on the foaming edge of it. Everybody looks at you and says...

What's Next? Friday Night Lights, Entourage, Desperate Housewives, Bones, and House

Diane Kristine — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 05:53:30 EDT

Gleaning spoilers from TV writers.
The Banff World Television Festival is an industry conference for producers, broadcasters, and creative folks to talk about their craft and make deals. And, in some cases, to spill the goods on what's up next on their popular shows. Spoilerphobes proceed at your own risk. Except House fans. I've got little more than evasiveness and joking...

From Law To Medicine: An Interview With House Writer David Hoselton

Diane Kristine — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:59:37 EDT

Wherein he calls me crazy and won't tell me anything about season five but still has me on his side. Kinda House-like, in fact.
If you took the writing staff of House as a representative sample, it would seem there's an epidemic of lawyers fleeing Toronto for Hollywood, all named David. Never mind the qualifiers: looking at that writing staff, there would seem to be an epidemic of lawyers making a break for the glamorous world of television. "Four writers have law...