The Futon Critic now lets you add their development updates as custom email alerts.
Who's getting cast? What's getting picked up? How many zillions of dollars was that POD? Look no further. Handy dandy!
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Friday, March 23, 2007
Did They Watch Their Own Movie?
I've read that the producers of 300 were "surprised" that the movie has been drawing in so many women.
300 is 85% glistening, jaw-droppingly cut manly men doing manly men things, and features a strong-willed queen (Gorgo).
The movie also has fans in the gay community, another "surprise" audience.
300 is 85% glistening, jaw-droppingly cut manly men doing manly men things, and features a strong-willed queen (Xerxes).
300 is 85% glistening, jaw-droppingly cut manly men doing manly men things, and features a strong-willed queen (Gorgo).
The movie also has fans in the gay community, another "surprise" audience.
300 is 85% glistening, jaw-droppingly cut manly men doing manly men things, and features a strong-willed queen (Xerxes).
Tonight We Dine in Heck
For the three of you who haven't seen this yet (I apparently was the fourth), here is 300, the PG version.
This... is... CAKE TOOOOOOWN!
This... is... CAKE TOOOOOOWN!
Monday, March 19, 2007
Writers Co-Op
From The Thinking Writer comes a tip to Variety's article on John Wells' fascinating, just-launched venture at Warner Bros. Participating screenwriters will forgo their upfront paychecks in favor of a cut of the gross, roles as producers, and writers' rights (writes?) such as ownership of the rewrite process and other production decisions.
Interesting experiment? Utopian folly? A sign of things to come?
If anyone can pull this off, it's Wells, co-founders Nick Kazan ("Reversal of Fortune") and Tom Schulman ("Dead Poets Society"), and their posse.
Check out this who's who: Ron Bass ("Rain Man"), Henry Bean ("Internal Affairs"), David Benioff ("Troy"), Scott Frank ("Out of Sight"), Robert Nelson Jacobs ("Chocolat"), Callie Khouri ("Thelma & Louise"), Richard LaGravanese ("The Fisher King"), Phil Alden Robinson ("Field of Dreams"), Bruce Joel Rubin ("Ghost"), Stephen Schiff ("The Deep End of the Ocean"), Ed Solomon ("Men in Black"), Dana Stevens ("For Love of the Game"), Robin Swicord ("Memoirs of a Geisha"), Michael Tolkin ("The Player"), Rafael Yglesias ("Fearless"), and the writing team of Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel ("City Slickers").
Excelsior, folks!
Interesting experiment? Utopian folly? A sign of things to come?
If anyone can pull this off, it's Wells, co-founders Nick Kazan ("Reversal of Fortune") and Tom Schulman ("Dead Poets Society"), and their posse.
Check out this who's who: Ron Bass ("Rain Man"), Henry Bean ("Internal Affairs"), David Benioff ("Troy"), Scott Frank ("Out of Sight"), Robert Nelson Jacobs ("Chocolat"), Callie Khouri ("Thelma & Louise"), Richard LaGravanese ("The Fisher King"), Phil Alden Robinson ("Field of Dreams"), Bruce Joel Rubin ("Ghost"), Stephen Schiff ("The Deep End of the Ocean"), Ed Solomon ("Men in Black"), Dana Stevens ("For Love of the Game"), Robin Swicord ("Memoirs of a Geisha"), Michael Tolkin ("The Player"), Rafael Yglesias ("Fearless"), and the writing team of Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel ("City Slickers").
Excelsior, folks!
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Off to GDC
I'm up in San Francisco for the rest of the week for the Game Developers Conference, to catch such sessions as the panel Ted Elliott is headlining on writing across multiple platforms.
Happy gaming and writing, all!
Happy gaming and writing, all!
Monday, March 05, 2007
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Complications Ensue Feed Down?
Is anyone else having trouble with the feed to Complications Ensue? All of a sudden my newsreader's latest post is from 2/2, and Alex has clearly been posting since then.
Weirder yet, I'm pretty sure some posts since 2/2 have appeared in the reader, but are no longer there...
Weirder yet, I'm pretty sure some posts since 2/2 have appeared in the reader, but are no longer there...
Monday, February 26, 2007
Sunday, February 11, 2007
WGA Award Winners
The writers of LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, THE DEPARTED, THE OFFICE, THE SOPRANOS, and UGLY BETTY took home the gold tonight, in the form of the book-birdy-pen thing that is the Writers Guild Award statuette.
Full list of winners here.
Full list of winners here.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
SLINGS & ARROWS Season the Third
Sound hautboys! The Canadian series SLINGS & ARROWS returns to the Sundance Channel starting Sunday, February 18, at 8pm. On the menu for our dysfunctional troupers: KING LEAR.
Exeunt, pursued by a bear, to set TiVos.
Exeunt, pursued by a bear, to set TiVos.
Friday, February 02, 2007
Variety Pilot Watch
What will you be watching on TV next year? Check out the current crop of pilots for a peek into the future.
"Zombie dramedy"?
I am so there.
"Zombie dramedy"?
I am so there.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Sam & Jim Got Staffed!
If you've been following the adventures of writers Sam and Jim as they go to Hollywood, you'll be thrilled to know that they're on staff now at THE DEAD ZONE.
Their first podcast since starting work there is up now, and provides an invaluable peek at a newbie TV writer's first experiences inside The Room.
Their first podcast since starting work there is up now, and provides an invaluable peek at a newbie TV writer's first experiences inside The Room.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
ROME Vincit Omnes
Or vincit most, anyway.
I started watching season 1 of ROME on DVD a little while ago, planning to take in just an episode or two as tonal research for a new project I've started.
Well, an episode or two of this fantastic show wasn't enough, and I slurped down that first season in time for the season 2 opener last week.
It's amazing, Shakespearean stuff, as Alex Epstein has commented on a few times.
I particularly love how the writers imbue the characters with a principal trait that makes them who they are, and, as in Will's work, can be their downfall (some SPOILERS follow...).
For Luscious-- sorry, Lucius, it's his honor. It resides like a hard, battle-tested stone at his very center, and wins him respect and position in Rome but also costs him his wife and family. Not to mention the chance to knock sandals with Cleopatra.
For Titus, it's his easy skill with violence. It makes him a great soldier, but also keeps him, fatally, from finding his way in peacetime. It allows him to fall into seamy underworld assassinations and casual, unthinking murder.
For Caesar, of course, it's his pride. For Atia, I think it's her fear of being alone, which comes out as political and social ambition and her fierce if often twisted love for her children.
The treatment of Marc Antony's speech was brilliant, as Jane Espenson notes, and I also loved the "Et tu, Brute?" moment during the assassination. You're waiting for Caesar to say "And you, Brutus?" or something like it, and-- he doesn't. He opens his mouth, and Brutus, tormented, relates later that he thought he heard Caesar say something, but really the accusation was only in the dying man's eyes and face.
I'm very sorry that this is the last season for ROME, but apparently according to interviews that'll allow for some balls-out storycraft. Not that the show's pulled any punches (or gladii) so far.
Thirteeeeeen!
Non sequitur postscript from The Boyfriend, who's watching BLOODRAYNE on TV as I write this: "Uwe Boll must be stopped."
I started watching season 1 of ROME on DVD a little while ago, planning to take in just an episode or two as tonal research for a new project I've started.
Well, an episode or two of this fantastic show wasn't enough, and I slurped down that first season in time for the season 2 opener last week.
It's amazing, Shakespearean stuff, as Alex Epstein has commented on a few times.
I particularly love how the writers imbue the characters with a principal trait that makes them who they are, and, as in Will's work, can be their downfall (some SPOILERS follow...).
For Luscious-- sorry, Lucius, it's his honor. It resides like a hard, battle-tested stone at his very center, and wins him respect and position in Rome but also costs him his wife and family. Not to mention the chance to knock sandals with Cleopatra.
For Titus, it's his easy skill with violence. It makes him a great soldier, but also keeps him, fatally, from finding his way in peacetime. It allows him to fall into seamy underworld assassinations and casual, unthinking murder.
For Caesar, of course, it's his pride. For Atia, I think it's her fear of being alone, which comes out as political and social ambition and her fierce if often twisted love for her children.
The treatment of Marc Antony's speech was brilliant, as Jane Espenson notes, and I also loved the "Et tu, Brute?" moment during the assassination. You're waiting for Caesar to say "And you, Brutus?" or something like it, and-- he doesn't. He opens his mouth, and Brutus, tormented, relates later that he thought he heard Caesar say something, but really the accusation was only in the dying man's eyes and face.
I'm very sorry that this is the last season for ROME, but apparently according to interviews that'll allow for some balls-out storycraft. Not that the show's pulled any punches (or gladii) so far.
Thirteeeeeen!
Non sequitur postscript from The Boyfriend, who's watching BLOODRAYNE on TV as I write this: "Uwe Boll must be stopped."
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
HEROES Picked Up
Excelsior! THE OFFICE and MY NAME IS EARL were also on NBC's shopping list.
In other news, a scuba-diving cat. Seriously.
In other news, a scuba-diving cat. Seriously.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
The Name Game
You want to do everything possible to make your characters memorable and compelling to readers and audiences, so why cram your narrative worlds with Johns and Susans?
Of course, you can go too far with this. I remember seeing a Julianne Moore movie in which her name was Telly.
Telly? Isn't that a muppet?
A device I often use is to take some key aspect of the character or their place in the story and let that suggest the name. Hell, any trick that's good enough for Dickens, the Restoration dramatists, and the makers of Max Payne is good enough for me.
Some examples from my scripts:
(Caveat: No disparagement meant for people who have these names but not these characteristics!)
Val, short for Valerie. Horror heroine. Valiant, valkyrie.
Bridget. A two-fer, since this character is inflexible (rigid, stringent) and sexually cold (frigid).
Lance. Easygoing guy, loose where Bridget is not. Also a little dreamy, not very grounded in real life.
Fay. Seductive world traveler. More dangerous than she first appears, like faerie, Morgan Le Fay.
Roger. A scoundrelly, womanizing Englishman. A play on the British slang meaning of the word.
Galen. A twist on Gawain, the knight. The character is honorable, noble, and plays fantasy games.
Neva. A similar twist on Guenevere.
Abigail. Buttoned-up, prim, religious.
Reyna. Powerful CEO. Reign, and reine is French for queen.
Clayton. A man of substance, figuratively and literally, but also weak, feet of clay.
This works with surnames and full names as well: I named a character Tim Pritchard because that suggested he was a little untrustworthy and kind of a dick, which he was. And Palmer Sykes just sounds like a child molester, doesn't he?
Other techniques...
Many BATTLESTAR GALACTICA characters have a regular-sounding name spiced with something more fantastical, often pulled from ancient history or mythology. Karl Agathon, Kara Thrace, Sharon Valerii, Gaius Baltar. A neat way to suggest sci fi without all those damn apostrophes that apparently we'll all be using in the future. Qapla'!
And for horror stories or thrillers, I'm reminded of the Bill Cosby routine where you should name your kid something that yells well down the block, that is, doesn't end in a consonant. Compare the bellowing-into-the-haunted-basement possibilities of "FRANK!" and "BILLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"
What are your own methods for naming?
Of course, you can go too far with this. I remember seeing a Julianne Moore movie in which her name was Telly.
Telly? Isn't that a muppet?
A device I often use is to take some key aspect of the character or their place in the story and let that suggest the name. Hell, any trick that's good enough for Dickens, the Restoration dramatists, and the makers of Max Payne is good enough for me.
Some examples from my scripts:
(Caveat: No disparagement meant for people who have these names but not these characteristics!)
Val, short for Valerie. Horror heroine. Valiant, valkyrie.
Bridget. A two-fer, since this character is inflexible (rigid, stringent) and sexually cold (frigid).
Lance. Easygoing guy, loose where Bridget is not. Also a little dreamy, not very grounded in real life.
Fay. Seductive world traveler. More dangerous than she first appears, like faerie, Morgan Le Fay.
Roger. A scoundrelly, womanizing Englishman. A play on the British slang meaning of the word.
Galen. A twist on Gawain, the knight. The character is honorable, noble, and plays fantasy games.
Neva. A similar twist on Guenevere.
Abigail. Buttoned-up, prim, religious.
Reyna. Powerful CEO. Reign, and reine is French for queen.
Clayton. A man of substance, figuratively and literally, but also weak, feet of clay.
This works with surnames and full names as well: I named a character Tim Pritchard because that suggested he was a little untrustworthy and kind of a dick, which he was. And Palmer Sykes just sounds like a child molester, doesn't he?
Other techniques...
Many BATTLESTAR GALACTICA characters have a regular-sounding name spiced with something more fantastical, often pulled from ancient history or mythology. Karl Agathon, Kara Thrace, Sharon Valerii, Gaius Baltar. A neat way to suggest sci fi without all those damn apostrophes that apparently we'll all be using in the future. Qapla'!
And for horror stories or thrillers, I'm reminded of the Bill Cosby routine where you should name your kid something that yells well down the block, that is, doesn't end in a consonant. Compare the bellowing-into-the-haunted-basement possibilities of "FRANK!" and "BILLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"
What are your own methods for naming?
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Appendages!
Mac-vs.-PC style "ad" for There and Second Life.
The comparison to Macs and PCs, though superficial, works fairly well. The two worlds do a lot of the same stuff -- user-generated assets and events, virtual currencies -- but There is prettier, less flexible and customizable, and has less market share. Second Life offers more customization, is more popular, and erm, is ugly. In a number of senses of the word. ;)
The comparison to Macs and PCs, though superficial, works fairly well. The two worlds do a lot of the same stuff -- user-generated assets and events, virtual currencies -- but There is prettier, less flexible and customizable, and has less market share. Second Life offers more customization, is more popular, and erm, is ugly. In a number of senses of the word. ;)
Monday, December 18, 2006
Holiday Hiatus
The fall finales have come and gone. The TiVo's to-do list is blissfully empty. I loves me some TV, but I'm as ready for a break as anyone, not leastly because I have a lot of writing to do.
I'm signing off here until the New Year. Enjoy some holiday flicks, why dontcha? Here's a list to get you started, reprinted from last year.
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE - Darker and wittier than you remember.
HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS - WARNING! VERY IMPORTANT!! I mean the ANIMATED version, with charming Chuck Jones art and plummy voice work by Boris Karloff. Not the Jim Carrey redundancy, for the love of Fah who for-aze.
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY - Not strictly speaking a Christmas movie, but many of the story's key moments happen at the holidays. The season of groveling, revelatory Mallomars.
MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL - I'm serious. Michael Caine gives excellent deadpan as Scrooge in the face of adorableness (Fozziwig!) and catchy songs, but the movie gets scary and sad right when it's supposed to. All that and mini Miss Piggies. Get over yourself and rent it.
THE THIN MAN - Another not-quite-Christmas movie, but who cares when you have William Powell shooting ornaments off the tree with a BB gun while Myrna Loy watches, amused, in a new fur coat? In a movie that glimmers with champagne dialogue, this wordless moment is a standout.
THE GODFATHER - Okay, okay, I'll stop cheating, but the Godfather saga is framed around moments rich with ritual and family significance: weddings, baptisms, the holidays. I love Al Pacino's tense and terrifying vigil at the creepy, Christmas-quiet hospital.
A CHRISTMAS STORY - Some time ago I came across a rant against this movie, which I just don't get. So it's faux nostalgic. Nostalgia is false almost by definition. A CHRISTMAS STORY is funny, sweet, just arch enough, and yes, authentic, capturing the tribulations and joy of being a kid at yuletide. Plus Peter Billingsley now is poker buddies with Vince Vaughn, so there's that.
BAD SANTA - Christmastime sucks for a lot of people. BAD SANTA is bleak and funny and has heart without dipping into sentimentality. Co-stars Lauren Graham as a Santa fetishist. Oh, Lorelai!
Happy Holidays!
I'm signing off here until the New Year. Enjoy some holiday flicks, why dontcha? Here's a list to get you started, reprinted from last year.
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE - Darker and wittier than you remember.
HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS - WARNING! VERY IMPORTANT!! I mean the ANIMATED version, with charming Chuck Jones art and plummy voice work by Boris Karloff. Not the Jim Carrey redundancy, for the love of Fah who for-aze.
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY - Not strictly speaking a Christmas movie, but many of the story's key moments happen at the holidays. The season of groveling, revelatory Mallomars.
MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL - I'm serious. Michael Caine gives excellent deadpan as Scrooge in the face of adorableness (Fozziwig!) and catchy songs, but the movie gets scary and sad right when it's supposed to. All that and mini Miss Piggies. Get over yourself and rent it.
THE THIN MAN - Another not-quite-Christmas movie, but who cares when you have William Powell shooting ornaments off the tree with a BB gun while Myrna Loy watches, amused, in a new fur coat? In a movie that glimmers with champagne dialogue, this wordless moment is a standout.
THE GODFATHER - Okay, okay, I'll stop cheating, but the Godfather saga is framed around moments rich with ritual and family significance: weddings, baptisms, the holidays. I love Al Pacino's tense and terrifying vigil at the creepy, Christmas-quiet hospital.
A CHRISTMAS STORY - Some time ago I came across a rant against this movie, which I just don't get. So it's faux nostalgic. Nostalgia is false almost by definition. A CHRISTMAS STORY is funny, sweet, just arch enough, and yes, authentic, capturing the tribulations and joy of being a kid at yuletide. Plus Peter Billingsley now is poker buddies with Vince Vaughn, so there's that.
BAD SANTA - Christmastime sucks for a lot of people. BAD SANTA is bleak and funny and has heart without dipping into sentimentality. Co-stars Lauren Graham as a Santa fetishist. Oh, Lorelai!
Happy Holidays!
Saturday, December 16, 2006
WGA Television Nominations
Awards season is truly in full swing. Here're more TV noms, this time from the Writers Guild of America.
DRAMATIC SERIES
24
DEADWOOD
GREY'S ANATOMY
LOST
THE SOPRANOS
Excellent list overall, but special huzzahs for hoopleheads, laudanum addicts, jaw-clenching sheriffs, and c**ksuckers!
COMEDY SERIES
30 ROCK
ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT
CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM
ENTOURAGE
THE OFFICE
I watch some of these.
NEW SERIES
30 ROCK
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
HEROES
STUDIO 60
UGLY BETTY
Yowza, tough call. And what's up with the dueling shows about sketch comedy shows?
EPISODIC DRAMA - single episode
"Election Day, Part II" (THE WEST WING), Written by Eli Attie & John Wells
"Occupation/Precipice" (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA), Written by Ronald D. Moore
"Two for the Road" (LOST), Written by Elizabeth Sarnoff & Christina M. Kim
"The End of the Whole Mess" (NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES: FROM THE STORIES OF STEPHEN KING), Teleplay by Lawrence D. Cohen, Based on the short story by Stephen King
"Pilot" (STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP), Written by Aaron Sorkin
"Pilot" (BIG LOVE), Witten by Mark V. Olsen & Will Scheffer
Godsdammit, BSG is finally on one of these awards lists. About. Frakkin'. Time. The show won a Peabody Award, people!
EPISODIC COMEDY - single episode
"It Takes Two" (DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES), Written by Kevin Murphy & Jenna Bans
"Don’t Look At Me" (DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES), Written by Josh Senter
"Bomb Shelter" (MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE), Written by Rob Ulin
"Casino Night" (THE OFFICE), Written by Steve Carell
"The Coup" (THE OFFICE), Written by Paul Lieberstein
"Jump for Joy" (MY NAME IS EARL), Written by Vali Chandrasekaran
I'm not sure I watched any of these.
So there you have it. But again, no THE WIRE! Argh.
DRAMATIC SERIES
Excellent list overall, but special huzzahs for hoopleheads, laudanum addicts, jaw-clenching sheriffs, and c**ksuckers!
COMEDY SERIES
I watch some of these.
NEW SERIES
Yowza, tough call. And what's up with the dueling shows about sketch comedy shows?
EPISODIC DRAMA - single episode
Godsdammit, BSG is finally on one of these awards lists. About. Frakkin'. Time. The show won a Peabody Award, people!
EPISODIC COMEDY - single episode
I'm not sure I watched any of these.
So there you have it. But again, no THE WIRE! Argh.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Golden Globe Nominations
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has spoken! The key TV noms:
BEST TELEVISION SERIES DRAMA
24 (FOX) Imagine Television and 20th Century Fox Television i.a.w. Real Time Prods.
BIG LOVE (HBO)Anima Sola and Playtone Prods. i.a.w. HBO Entertainment
GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC)Touchstone Television
HEROES (NBC)NBC Universal Television Studios i.a.w. Tailwind Prods.
LOST (ABC)Touchstone Television
Nice list! Yay, freshman HEROES, for making the cut.
BEST TELEVISION SERIES - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)Touchstone Television
ENTOURAGE (HBO)Leverage and Closest to the Hole Prods. i.a.w. HBO Entertainment
THE OFFICE (NBC)Deedle Dee Prods. with Reveille i.a.w. NBC Universal Television Studio
UGLY BETTY (ABC)Touchstone Television
WEEDS (SHOWTIME)Showtime i.a.w. Lionsgate Television and Tilted Prods., Inc.
No weak ones here either. Expect this category to get more competitive as more light dramas like DESEPERATE HOUSEWIVES, WEEDS, and UGLY BETTY enter the grid. Btw, just started watching WEEDS this season -- love it.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
PATRICIA ARQUETTE — MEDIUM
EDIE FALCO — THE SOPRANOS
EVANGELINE LILLY — LOST
ELLEN POMPEO — GREY'S ANATOMY
KYRA SEDGWICK — THE CLOSER
No surprises here. I'm a fan of all these shows; no idea how I'd vote if I had to.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
PATRICK DEMPSEY — GREY'S ANATOMY
MICHAEL C. HALL — DEXTER
HUGH LAURIE — HOUSE
BILL PAXTON — BIG LOVE
KIEFER SUTHERLAND — 24
Oof, did James Gandolfini lose his spot to Michael C. Hall (love his creepy-cool-adorable performance on DEXTER) or Bill Paxton? THE SOPRANOS is a masterwork, but I'm all for new blood. So to speak, in DEXTER's case.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES -COMEDY OR MUSICAL
MARCIA CROSS — DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
AMERICA FERRERA — UGLY BETTY
FELICITY HUFFMAN — DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS — THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE
MARY-LOUISE PARKER — WEEDS
Go, America, playing in the big leagues! Julia Louis-Dreyfus deserves much credit for showing that conventional 3-camera sitcoms can still be funny, but I like Mary-Louise Parker's hilarious, spirited, and tender "Lacey LaPlante" FTW.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
ALEC BALDWIN — 30 ROCK
ZACH BRAFF — SCRUBS
STEVE CARRELL — THE OFFICE
JASON LEE — MY NAME IS EARL
TONY SHALHOUB — MONK
Alec steals every scene of 30 ROCK that he's in, and no jury in the world would convinct him.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
EMILY BLUNT — GIDEON'S DAUGHTER
TONI COLLETTE — TSUNAMI, THE AFTERMATH
KATHERINE HEIGL — GREY'S ANATOMY
SARAH PAULSON — STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP
ELIZABETH PERKINS — WEEDS
The supporting actor categories are an utter comparing-apples-to-bicycles situation, no?
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
THOMAS HADEN CHURCH — BROKEN TRAIL
JEREMY IRONS — ELIZABETH I
JUSTIN KIRK — WEEDS
MASI OKA — HEROES
JEREMY PIVEN — ENTOURAGE
More apples and bicycles. How do you choose between obnoxious superagent Ari Gold and the Earl of frakkin' Leicester? Still, loving that Masi Oka is in there.
Any misfires, according to you? Who's missing that should be on here? THE WIRE and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA are two, for me. Anyone on who shouldn't be?
BEST TELEVISION SERIES DRAMA
Nice list! Yay, freshman HEROES, for making the cut.
BEST TELEVISION SERIES - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
No weak ones here either. Expect this category to get more competitive as more light dramas like DESEPERATE HOUSEWIVES, WEEDS, and UGLY BETTY enter the grid. Btw, just started watching WEEDS this season -- love it.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
No surprises here. I'm a fan of all these shows; no idea how I'd vote if I had to.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
Oof, did James Gandolfini lose his spot to Michael C. Hall (love his creepy-cool-adorable performance on DEXTER) or Bill Paxton? THE SOPRANOS is a masterwork, but I'm all for new blood. So to speak, in DEXTER's case.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES -COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Go, America, playing in the big leagues! Julia Louis-Dreyfus deserves much credit for showing that conventional 3-camera sitcoms can still be funny, but I like Mary-Louise Parker's hilarious, spirited, and tender "Lacey LaPlante" FTW.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Alec steals every scene of 30 ROCK that he's in, and no jury in the world would convinct him.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
The supporting actor categories are an utter comparing-apples-to-bicycles situation, no?
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
More apples and bicycles. How do you choose between obnoxious superagent Ari Gold and the Earl of frakkin' Leicester? Still, loving that Masi Oka is in there.
Any misfires, according to you? Who's missing that should be on here? THE WIRE and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA are two, for me. Anyone on who shouldn't be?
Sunday, December 03, 2006
(Almost) A Massive Waste of Time
On a recent flight I read the first issue of Massive, the new magazine about MMOGs. The poor thing is hovering perilously close to fishwrap quality.
Massive needs help. Chiefly, Massive needs a firm editorial hand:
Sure, it's interesting to read a blurb about the gender split of MMOG players-- but the pie chart accompanying the text actually shows the player base's age breakdown by gender.
A description of ArenaNet's new Nightfall expansion for Guild Wars both spells the company's name wrong and misidentifies the two new character classes as "factions."
The colorful (and memorable) phrase "800 lb. gorilla" is used twice in the magazine. Guess I should be happy it wasn't used twice in the same article.
Nitpicky? Maybe, but it's too bad that Massive shows so little of the editorial zing and professional polish of its parent mag Computer Games.
Other problems are more glaring. One huge section lists mini-descriptions of pretty much every MMOG out there, including some nifty-sounding ones I hadn't heard of before (Ooh!) but fails to provide URLs where you could, y'know, go learn about them or play them (D'oh!).
The layout and graphics are solid, but one funny article about chatspeak suffers from a printing error, with half the untranslated lines of text missing.
The best content of the magazine apart from the teasing URL-free catalog of current games is the selection of editorials from many of the MMOGinati, including Raph Koster, Nick Yee, Richard Garriott, and Richard Bartle (recapping his keynote from the 2005 Austin Game Conference).
But even Raph notes that most of what can be written about MMOGs has been (albeit not necessarily in a dead-tree periodical), and the most interesting topics aren't quite ready to be talked about yet. Also, Massive may've shot their wad too soon given the sheer number of editorials. At this rate they'll burn through all the top tier developers and researchers in, oh, three issues.
And I'm not sure what's served by peppering the magazine with irrelevant newsbits about knitting guilds and contested gold in the mountains of Chile.
I may pick up the second issue, if there is one -- MMOG magazines have launched and failed before -- but here's hoping the folks behind Massive can regroup, with a l33t editor at the helm FTW.
Massive needs help. Chiefly, Massive needs a firm editorial hand:
Nitpicky? Maybe, but it's too bad that Massive shows so little of the editorial zing and professional polish of its parent mag Computer Games.
Other problems are more glaring. One huge section lists mini-descriptions of pretty much every MMOG out there, including some nifty-sounding ones I hadn't heard of before (Ooh!) but fails to provide URLs where you could, y'know, go learn about them or play them (D'oh!).
The layout and graphics are solid, but one funny article about chatspeak suffers from a printing error, with half the untranslated lines of text missing.
The best content of the magazine apart from the teasing URL-free catalog of current games is the selection of editorials from many of the MMOGinati, including Raph Koster, Nick Yee, Richard Garriott, and Richard Bartle (recapping his keynote from the 2005 Austin Game Conference).
But even Raph notes that most of what can be written about MMOGs has been (albeit not necessarily in a dead-tree periodical), and the most interesting topics aren't quite ready to be talked about yet. Also, Massive may've shot their wad too soon given the sheer number of editorials. At this rate they'll burn through all the top tier developers and researchers in, oh, three issues.
And I'm not sure what's served by peppering the magazine with irrelevant newsbits about knitting guilds and contested gold in the mountains of Chile.
I may pick up the second issue, if there is one -- MMOG magazines have launched and failed before -- but here's hoping the folks behind Massive can regroup, with a l33t editor at the helm FTW.
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