TV Writer Podcast - Video

025 – Portlandia, Community Writer Karey Dornetto (VIDEO)

Comedy writer & stand-up comic Karey Dornetto has worked on all kinds of comedy shows, from sketch to traditional sitcom, and many in between.

The daughter of a military professor and an ex-nun, Karey was headed for a life of financial trading before taking the plunge to join the sketch comedy group The Perch, in Charlotte, NC. Still working in finance, she moved to New York and began to perform stand-up comedy.

In New York, she wrote a story called “Fat Basketball Diaries” for the online magazine, Girlcomic.net. This story would prove to be a major turning point for her, as the response to the story convinced her she could become a writer. It also helped her land management in L.A., and her first TV writing gig, on South Park.

Moving to Los Angeles, Karey landed gig after gig on a wide variety of comedy shows, such as The Jamie Kennedy Experiment, Dog Bites Man, Arrested Development, Community, and her current show, Portlandia. She has a lot of great stories about her path through the industry, as well as her experiences with the different comedy and writing styles.

For more information and writing samples, visit her website at kareydornetto.com.

Follow Karey on Twitter: @KareyDornetto

Buy Gray’s book for only $4.99! Look for it on Amazon – How To Break In To TV Writing: Insider Interviews.

Didn’t get your questions asked? Make sure you follow Gray on Twitter (@GrayJones) so you can get the scoop on who is being interviewed and how to get your questions in. Also check out our TV Writer Twitter Database to find Twitter addresses for over 1,000 TV writers. Find our previous episodes and other resources at www.tvwriterpodcast.comor on Gray’s YouTube channel.

First published June 18, 2011.

024 – The Cleveland Show, My Boys Writer Courtney Lilly (VIDEO)

Comedy writer Courtney Lilly has only been in Hollywood 11 years, and yet has had tremendous success on a number of well-known sitcoms, including Arrested Development, Everybody Hates Chris, My Boys, and The Cleveland Show. You’re going to love his story!

Working as a journalist on the east coast, Courtney Lilly decided pretty quickly that journalism was not for him. He knew nothing about TV writing, but read everything he could about it, and got accepted to the Nickelodeon Fellowship’s first year, in 2000.

After staffing on the animated show Invader ZIM, Courtney tells how he ended up as an assistant to a lawyer in Encino. Though it seemed like he was far from his goal, he shares how “prepared luck” landed him an influential manager, who helped him land a staff gig on Arrested Development.

From there, Courtney goes into great detail about time on Arrested Development, Everybody Hates Chris, My Boys, and his current show, the Family Guy animated spinoff, The Cleveland Show.

He gives a lot of great tips on breaking in, including the wisdom: “Everyone takes bets … you might as well bet on yourself!”

Follow Courtney on Twitter: @CourtneyLilly

Buy Gray’s book for only $4.99! Look for it on Amazon – How To Break In To TV Writing: Insider Interviews.

Didn’t get your questions asked? Make sure you follow Gray on Twitter (@GrayJones) so you can get the scoop on who is being interviewed and how to get your questions in. Also check out our TV Writer Twitter Database to find Twitter addresses for over 1,000 TV writers. Find our previous episodes and other resources at www.tvwriterpodcast.comor on Gray’s YouTube channel.

First published June 17, 2011.

023 – Shattered / Mr. Young Writer Jennica Harper (VIDEO)

Next in our “writers who have done it all” series is Vancouver-based TV/feature/graphic novel writer, poet, and stand-up comic Jennica Harper. Not only has she worked in many genres and mediums, but she has great tips and anecdotes about them.

Jennica Harper has published poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction in over 25 publications in Canada and the United States, as well as two poetry collections, and a graphic novel Abigail’s War, which she currently developing as a feature with Zeros2Heroes Media.

An award-winning stand-up comic, Jennica is a lot of fun to listen to … You’ll love the discussion on how story editing for Canadian features has many similarities to TV writing in Hollywood, yet how Hollywood feature writing differs from the Canadian approach.

Jennica also has a lot of great tips about breaking in, planting many seeds, and being aggressive at going after what you want.

Follow Jennica on Twitter: @jennicaharper

Buy Gray’s book for only $4.99! Look for it on Amazon – How To Break In To TV Writing: Insider Interviews.

Didn’t get your questions asked? Make sure you follow Gray on Twitter (@GrayJones) so you can get the scoop on who is being interviewed and how to get your questions in. Also check out our TV Writer Twitter Database to find Twitter addresses for over 1,000 TV writers. Find our previous episodes and other resources at www.tvwriterpodcast.com or on Gray’s YouTube channel.

First published June 2, 2011.

022 – Psi Factor Writer Andrea Moodie (VIDEO)

This week we meet another writer who has done it all… Toronto-based writer Andrea Moodie has worked in features, scripted dramatic television, documentaries, reality and lifestyle television, interactive games, and web series. She has a lot of tips on writing for these different mediums, and the differences between them!

Most writers interrupt their lives to write — Andrea interrupts her writing for life. Writing in all forms consumes her, and so it’s not surprising she’s written material for many mediums, and many of her projects have won awards and critical acclaim.

You might recognize some of the titles of shows she’s written for — Property Virgins, Animals at Work, The List, the sci-fi drama Psi Factor, and webisode missions for SyFy’s Sanctuary, among many others.

A graduate of Queens University Film Studies, The Drama Studio London USA, and the Canadian Film Centre, Andrea is an active member of the writing community as a juror for the Dora, Gemini and Writers Guild Top Ten Awards.

Buy Gray’s book for only $4.99! Look for it on Amazon – How To Break In To TV Writing: Insider Interviews.

Didn’t get your questions asked? Make sure you follow Gray on Twitter (@GrayJones) so you can get the scoop on who is being interviewed and how to get your questions in. Also check out our TV Writer Twitter Database to find Twitter addresses for over 1,000 TV writers. Find our previous episodes and other resources at www.tvwriterpodcast.com or on Gray’s YouTube channel.

First published May 21, 2011.

021 – Producer/Author/Playwright Chad Gervich (VIDEO)

Do you want to write comedy? Reality? Scripted? Work in development? Write a pilot? Web series? Or maybe work as an executive? This week we have a massive 82 minute podcast with Chad Gervich… and he’s done it all!

Chad Gervich is a television producer, bestselling author, and award- winning playwright who currently has a comedy development deal with 20th Century Fox, and is a writer-producer for After Lately, E!’s hit half-hour comedy starring Chelsea Handler.

As a writer and producer, Chad created Style Network’s hit comedy/reality show, Foody Call, before going on to write, produce, and develop shows (both scripted and reality) for ABC, FOX, Warner Brothers, Endemol, E!, Overbrook, SuperDelicious, CBS Studios, TruTV, Zoo Productions, Fox Reality Channel, Renegade 83, Food Network, and the Weinstein Company. His credits include Wipeout, Cupcake Wars, Reality Binge, Speeders, and others.

Prior to producing, Chad spent five years as a development executive with the Littlefield Company, former NBC president Warren Littlefield’s production company, developing pilots and series for NBC, ABC, UPN, the WB, and Paramount TV. Chad also worked in production on shows such as The Wanda Sykes Show, Star Search, The Academy Awards, and Malcolm in the Middle.

As an author, Chad’s best-selling TV-writing handbook, Small Screen, Big Picture: A Writers Guide to the TV Business, debuted in 2008 to critical acclaim and outstanding sales, and it’s presently being used as a textbook in the CBS Diversity Writing Program, the WGA Showrunners Training Program, NBC’s Writers on the Verge, NATPE’s Diversity Fellowship, California State, and USC’s TV classes.

Chad currently writes Script Magazine’s popular weekly Primetime blog, and contributes regularly to many other publications, including Daily Variety. In addition, he created and produced Morning Call Time, Hollywood’s first daily audio news podcast.

One of Chad’s passions is teaching. With a Playwriting MFA from UCLA, he has spent years teaching writing and producing classes for Mediabistro, Gotham Writers Workshop, Writing Pad, and StoryStudio Chicago, as well as lecturing at colleges and schools such as UCLA and Vanderbilt. He also speaks at festivals and conferences such as the TV/Film Summit, and the Great American Pitchfest.

Follow Chad on Twitter: @ChadGervich

Visit Chad’s website: www.chadgervich.com

Buy Gray’s book for only $4.99! Look for it on Amazon – How To Break In To TV Writing: Insider Interviews.

Didn’t get your questions asked? Make sure you follow Gray on Twitter (@GrayJones) so you can get the scoop on who is being interviewed and how to get your questions in. Also check out our TV Writer Twitter Database to find Twitter addresses for over 1,000 TV writers. Find our previous episodes and other resources at www.tvwriterpodcast.com or on Gray’s YouTube channel.

First published May 15, 2011.

020 – Social Media & The Writer Round Table – Part 2 (VIDEO)

To tackle the immense, cutting edge topic of social networking for the writer, we needed to call in a panel of experts… in a round table discussion set in a cool 3D environment, our three esteemed guests were Jeanne Veillette Bowerman and Jamie Livingston of #Scriptchat, and Joshua Stecker of Script Magazine; Gray Jones, in addition to moderating, represented Ink Canada.

In Part 1, we discussed: Are you getting the most out of Facebook and Twitter? What are the differences between them? What pitfalls should you avoid and/or protect yourself against? Why are some people getting a lot more Twitter followers than you? How can you network with top writers without seeming too pushy?

In Part 2 this week, we get a lot more specific. We discuss several resources on Facebook, Twitter, and the web in great detail. Jeanne demonstrates how you can attack Twitter with the same creativity with which you attack a script, and maybe even land a job or an agent from it. We expound on blogs and bloggers, of course we talk about more dos and don’ts, and there is an exciting call to arms at the end. We cover all of this and much more in part 2 of our massive 100 minute discussion.

Meet our panel:
Jeanne Veillette Bowerman is the Co-Founder and moderator of the weekly Twitter screenwriters’ chat, #Scriptchat, and a regular columnist for Write On Online and Script Magazine. A graduate of Cornell University, she’s written several spec scripts, including the adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Slavery by Another Name, with its author, Douglas A. Blackmon, senior national correspondent of The Wall Street Journal.

Jamie Livingston is a writer, Co-Founder of #Scriptchat, and President of Romance Writers of America Screenwriting Chapter Script Scene. She’s a business owner and former magazine writer.

Joshua Stecker is the West Coast/Web editor of Script Magazine, co-owner/producer of Modjeska Playhouse theatre company, and a part-time actor.

Gray Jones is a reality TV editor, produced writer, and internationally award winning short film producer. In addition to hosting the TV Writer Podcast in partnership with Script Magazine, he also hosts Chuck vs. the Podcast for NBC’s Chuck, which has been voted the #1 TV-themed podcast in the entire world continuously for the last 28 months. He also runs a database of TV Writers on Twitter, which contains 700 writers and continues to climb.

Follow the round table participants on Twitter:
Jeanne Veillette Bowerman: @jeannevb
Jamie Livingston: @Jamie_LD
Joshua Stecker: @joshuastecker
Gray Jones: @GrayJones

Buy Gray’s book for only $4.99! Look for it on Amazon – How To Break In To TV Writing: Insider Interviews.

Didn’t get your questions asked? Make sure you follow Gray on Twitter (@GrayJones) so you can get the scoop on who is being interviewed and how to get your questions in. Also check out our TV Writer Twitter Database to find Twitter addresses for over 1,000 TV writers. Find our previous episodes and other resources at www.tvwriterpodcast.com or on Gray’s YouTube channel.

First published May 1, 2011.

019 – Social Media & The Writer Round Table – Part 1 (VIDEO)

To tackle the immense, cutting edge topic of social networking for the writer, we needed to call in a panel of experts… in a round table discussion set in a cool 3D environment, our three esteemed guests were Jeanne Veillette Bowerman and Jamie Livingston of #Scriptchat, and Joshua Stecker of Script Magazine; Gray Jones, in addition to moderating, represented Ink Canada.

Part 1: Are you getting the most out of Facebook and Twitter? What are the differences between them? What pitfalls should you avoid and/or protect yourself against? Why are some people getting a lot more Twitter followers than you? How can you network with top writers without seeming too pushy? We cover all of these topics and much more in part 1 of our massive 100 minute discussion.

In Part 2, we will get a lot more specific. We discuss several resources on Facebook, Twitter, and the web in great detail. Jeanne demonstrates how you can attack Twitter with the same creativity with which you attack a script, and maybe even land a job or an agent from it. We expound on blogs and bloggers, of course we talk about more dos and don’ts, and there is an exciting call to arms at the end. We cover all of this and much more in part 2 of our massive 100 minute discussion.

Meet our panel:
Jeanne Veillette Bowerman is the Co-Founder and moderator of the weekly Twitter screenwriters’ chat, #Scriptchat, and a regular columnist for Write On Online and Script Magazine. A graduate of Cornell University, she’s written several spec scripts, including the adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Slavery by Another Name, with its author, Douglas A. Blackmon, senior national correspondent of The Wall Street Journal.

Jamie Livingston is a writer, Co-Founder of #Scriptchat, and President of Romance Writers of America Screenwriting Chapter Script Scene. She’s a business owner and former magazine writer.

Joshua Stecker is the West Coast/Web editor of Script Magazine, co-owner/producer of Modjeska Playhouse theatre company, and a part-time actor.

Gray Jones is a reality TV editor, produced writer, and internationally award winning short film producer. In addition to hosting the TV Writer Podcast in partnership with Script Magazine, he also hosts Chuck vs. the Podcast for NBC’s Chuck, which has been voted the #1 TV-themed podcast in the entire world continuously for the last 28 months. He also runs a database of TV Writers on Twitter, which contains 700 writers and continues to climb.

Follow the round table participants on Twitter:
Jeanne Veillette Bowerman: @jeannevb
Jamie Livingston: @Jamie_LD
Joshua Stecker: @joshuastecker
Gray Jones: @GrayJones

Buy Gray’s book for only $4.99! Look for it on Amazon – How To Break In To TV Writing: Insider Interviews.

Didn’t get your questions asked? Make sure you follow Gray on Twitter (@GrayJones) so you can get the scoop on who is being interviewed and how to get your questions in. Also check out our TV Writer Twitter Database to find Twitter addresses for over 1,000 TV writers. Find our previous episodes and other resources at www.tvwriterpodcast.com or on Gray’s YouTube channel.

First published April 24, 2011.

018 – Corey Miller, Writer of CSI: Miami & Body of Proof (VIDEO)

What’s another way to spell “juggernaut?” You could easily spell it C-S-I, or N-C-I-S. The franchises spawned by these shows dominate the ratings, and continue to deliver week after week, month after month. We are very fortunate to have writer-producer Corey Miller with us this week… you’re going to love his story!

Wannabe writers are often told: “get a job as an assistant!” Corey took this to a new level… you’ll love hearing how youthful naivete helped him to land a job with Oliver Stone, why life on Lois & Clark was much better without email, and how he spent much longer than usual in various assisting and coordinating positions before becoming a staff writer, and why it was worth the wait.

Through it all, Corey kept writing, and even though he didn’t have an agent, he sold two freelance scripts to CSI, and his next chapter began! In addition to a story he and then co-writer Philip Chung had sold to Lois & Clark, Corey has also written for six seasons of CSI: Miami, for NCIS: Los Angeles, The Forgotten, and Body of Proof.

Corey also wrote the independent feature Border to Border, and recently sold a pilot to The Peter Chernin Company and Fox.

Follow Corey on Twitter: @TooMuchFire

Buy Gray’s book for only $4.99! Look for it on Amazon – How To Break In To TV Writing: Insider Interviews.

Didn’t get your questions asked? Make sure you follow Gray on Twitter (@GrayJones) so you can get the scoop on who is being interviewed and how to get your questions in. Also check out our TV Writer Twitter Database to find Twitter addresses for over 1,000 TV writers. Find our previous episodes and other resources at www.tvwriterpodcast.com or on Gray’s YouTube channel.

First published April 20, 2011.

017 – Animated TV Writer Steven Darancette (VIDEO)

Just like there are far fewer resources for learning TV writing than for learning to write features, there are an incredibly small number of resources for learning to write for animated TV. That’s why it is a great privilege to have animation writer Steven Darancette open a window for us into this field.

As an L.A.-based episodic TV animation writer, Steven has written for shows at Warner Bros. Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and others, including such well known animated shows as Ozzy & Drix, and Krypto – The Superdog. He has also created over a dozen animated TV series pitches that are in varying stages of development. He has a lot of wisdom to share!

Why will learning to draw help you to write scripts for animation? How does the pay structure for daytime animation work, and why is it highly different from primetime animated shows? Is it true that you pitch by email, even without an agent? If so, how? What problems will a US writer face if they want to tap into the large Canadian animation market?

Steven has also written and produced features, and has a number of projects in development. He has some interesting advice on what to do with the unsold feature scripts you’re written, which are now collecting dust in your drawer…

Follow Steven on Twitter: @sdarancette

Buy Gray’s book for only $4.99! Look for it on Amazon – How To Break In To TV Writing: Insider Interviews.

Didn’t get your questions asked? Make sure you follow Gray on Twitter (@GrayJones) so you can get the scoop on who is being interviewed and how to get your questions in. Also check out our TV Writer Twitter Database to find Twitter addresses for over 1,000 TV writers. Find our previous episodes and other resources at www.tvwriterpodcast.com or on Gray’s YouTube channel.

First published April 11, 2011.

016 – Ellen Sandler - Author, TV Writer’s Workbook (VIDEO)

This week we have an absolute treat… a 46-minute interview with Emmy-nominated writer-producer, playwright, director, and author of the TV Writer’s Workbook, Ellen Sandler!

Entertainment Today calls Ellen Sandler the “Dalai Lama of television writing”… her TV Writer’s Workbook is used by the top film schools in the world, including USC, UCLA, and NYU. The praise is well-deserved… like Save the Cat by Blake Snyder does for feature writing, Ellen’s book comes from a writer’s approach, telling you in very simple, easy to understand terms, virtually everything you need to know to be a successful TV writer.

Ellen is a seasoned writer — she was nominated for an Emmy for her work as a Co-Executive Producer of the CBS hit series, Everybody Loves Raymond. She has written for many other prime time network television comedies, including ABC’s Coach, and has created original television pilots for ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox Family, Oxygen Network, and the Disney Channel.

Both a teacher and a consultant, Ellen provides script development and career coaching for professionals and emerging writers in the entertainment industry, as well as writing workshops and seminars at conferences and universities both in the US and abroad.

Do we need to tell you she has a ton of wisdom to share? Even if you haven’t read her book, you’ll benefit greatly from the interview. If you have, you’ll get a lot of extra depth.

Follow Ellen on Twitter: @sandlerink — or visit her website at www.sandlerink.com.

Buy Gray’s book for only $4.99! Look for it on Amazon – How To Break In To TV Writing: Insider Interviews.

Didn’t get your questions asked? Make sure you follow Gray on Twitter (@GrayJones) so you can get the scoop on who is being interviewed and how to get your questions in. Also check out our TV Writer Twitter Database to find Twitter addresses for over 1,000 TV writers. Find our previous episodes and other resources at www.tvwriterpodcast.com or on Gray’s YouTube channel.

First published April 2, 2011.