Whitney Cummings Talk Show!
“We usually put stuff like this on the Kahn Artists At Large Blog and save the main blog for things that (hopefully) educate and inspire. But c’mon!!!! How amazing is Whitney? Three shows in one year? If THAT’s not inspiring, what is????????!!!!!!!!” – LK
http://m.hollywoodreporter.com/news/whitney-cumings-talk-show-e-weekly-317898
Perfect is Boring
From Tina Fey’s BOSSYPANTS (via Giovanni A) . . . re her experience writing sketches for SNL:
“You have to let people see what you wrote. It will never be perfect, but perfect is overrated. Perfect is BORING on live TV. What I learned about “bombing” as an improviser at Second City was that bombing is painful, but it doesn’t kill you. No matter how badly an improv set goes, you will still be physically alive when it’s over. What I learned about bombing as a writer at SNL is that you can’t be too worried about your “permanent record.” Yes, you’re going to write some sketches that you love and are proud of forever–your golden nuggets. But you’re also going to write some real shit nuggets. And unfortunately, some times the shit nuggets will make it onto the air. You can’t worry about it. As long as you know the difference, you can go back to planning for gold on Monday.”
Pilot Season Recastings
‘After taking up to nine months to develop their pilot scripts, the networks rush to make as many as 90 pilots in three months, all at the same time. The window for casting those pilots has shrunk significantly over the years — from 10 weeks, which had been the standard for decades, to roughly 4-to-5 weeks now. “The process is so flawed,” one insider said, “it’s actually surprising that so few mistakes are made.”’
The Book of BATS and GATS!
In case you missed it in the midst of Pilot Season hysteria, here again is The Book of BATS and GATS! http://flipflashpages.uniflip.com/3/64270/129080/pub/ Love, Lester
Near-Miss Casting
Check out this article from Hollywood Reporter via Saku E. on castings that could have been.
The Difference
Thank God Mark Sande is around to make me read everything I wouldn’t otherwise read. Check out these quotes and his wonderful analysis:
Les,
Did you see Brantley’s review of “Salesman” in NYT? Here’s his key criticism of the actors who play Willy, Linda and Biff:
“Mr. Hoffman, Ms. Emond and Mr. Garfield all bring exacting intelligence and intensity to their performances. They make thought visible, but it’s the thought of actors making choices rather than of characters living in the moment. Their reading of certain lines makes you hear classic dialogue anew but with intellectual annotations. It’s as if they were docents showing us through Loman House, now listed on the Literary Register of Historic Places.”
Isn’t this EXACTLY the tendency that those of us who are blessed with well-developed left brains are fighting against in our acting? He compares them later in his review to the actors who play Charley and Happy:
“At the end of this “Salesman” I felt that I understood Willy and Linda and Biff, and was grateful for the insights that the actors playing them had offered. But I felt I knew Happy and Charley, that I might run into them on the street after the show. I also felt for them.”
And THERE’S the difference.
Once Upon a Time…
Once upon a time a certain young director wanted Jeremy Renner (http://pro.imdb.com/name/nm0719637/) to play a role in his movie. The producer said Jeremy didn’t have “it” and wouldn’t cast him. Then? He got DAHMER (http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0285728/). The rest is history.
What do “they” know anyway?
Octavia Spencer: The Muscle of THE HELP
Check out this interview by Octavia Spencer and her preparation for her Oscar nominated performance in THE HELP as well as her thoughts on race relations in the south, then and now.
And see where it all began…
UNSUPERVISED
Watch David Hornsby’s fab new animated show UNSUPERVISED! It’s with Romany Malco, Justin Long, Kristen Bell and others!
