Armchair Commentary

Guest Post: "Episodes" Actress on Finding Empathy for a TV Exec

Kathleen Rose Perkins (Tell Me You Love Me, NCIS: LA) plays a network exec in the Hollywood satire Episodes, which begins its second season this Sunday on Showtime. The show is about two writers whose lives — and fledgling TV series — become hilariously complicated by Matt LeBlanc (played by Matt LeBlanc, of course). Getting into character? Well, for Perkins, that had its own complications, as she explains in an exclusive guest blog post for Amazon:

Television executives used to scare the crap out of me.  If I was lucky enough to get a job on a TV show, I would assume everyone I met who was wearing a suit was an executive, and, by definition, held my job in the palm of their powerful hands.  I’d tremble at the very sight of them, smile awkwardly, and try desperately to make them like me. In other words, not fire me.  

You may think that this was paranoid behavior. But you have to understand,  I had seen so many actors fired from so many projects over the years.  Heck, I was fired not once, but twice, from two different TV shows in the same year!  (Needless to say, that was a rough year.)  So, no matter what, they were “them”.  They were the ones I could never understand.  They were the ones that did things like not hire a girl because they didn’t like her bangs.  At least, that’s what they told her agent.

So, imagine my surprise when I auditioned to play a television executive by the name of “Carol Rance” on a show called Episodes in February of 2010, and I actually got the job.  Well, at first, it wasn’t so much surprise as it was absolute, huge, and emphatic joy.  I got a job!  On a great show!! That was already picked up and set to air!!! That shot in freakin’ London!!!!

When the smoke cleared, the confetti settled and the clowns got back in their clown car (to drive to the house of the next actress who got a job), I then felt the surprise; along with a healthy dose of pressure as I realized that I would now have to portray someone I had always thought to be the villain. To be more specific: an automaton with no feelings, no regard for their fellow man, no nice-ness in their bones. (Remember, I had been fired twice in the same year.  Also, admittedly, I’m a bit dramatic).

And so began the overwhelming task of finding sympathy for and attempting to relate to these people with whom I had nothing in common.  I read some books (most notably Desperate Networks by Bill Carter, a fantastic and eye-opening read).  I spoke to some casting executives (I found them the most relatable to actors).  I tried to figure out what type of person would take such a job.

Read more on the Amazon Studios Hollywonk blog.

"Walking Dead" Producer Talks about the Future of Zombies and the Impact of Fans

The zombies are on the march again, and Gale Anne Hurd is in her element. “I love creating new worlds that we hadn’t seen before,” Hurd says during a break from the Atlanta production of the third season of The Walking Dead, AMC’s hit series about people trying to hold on to their humanity in a post-apocalyptic world.

And as producer of that hit series, as well ground-breaking movies like The Terminator, T2, Aliens, Armageddon and The Incredible Hulk, Hurd has been creating worlds for more than 25 years — with a deep commitment to the story, to storytellers, and to fans.

With The Walking Dead, she says, “we’ve been entrusted with a franchise that people feel passionately about but also introduced it to people who weren’t aware of the comic book” created by Robert Kirkman. And they’ve been able to turn that franchise into a TV hit — a show that rivals its acclaimed AMC brethren, Breaking Bad and Mad Men, creatively and outperforms both in the ratings. More than 10 million people watched the finale of season two, which averaged nearly 7 million viewers per episode.  

Expectations are high for season three, after an intense and tantalizingly brief first season (just six episodes) and a second season that began with the dramatic departure of showrunner Frank Darabont and ended with raves for the onscreen drama. Survivors led by sheriff Rick Grimes searched for a missing member of their group, fought to protect a safe haven and suffered new kinds of hell.

“The first season was about setting up the world, coming to terms with Rick rejoining his family and finding out that his best friend and his wife — thinking that he was dead — formed a bond. Gradually, he found out just how strong a bond they’d formed,” Hurd said. With deadly consequences. “And now,” Hurd added, “we’re continuing in the tradition inspired by the comic book.”

Which sounds like things are going to get even more brutal. When the new season begins in October, viewers know that there’s a different world waiting — one that will include fearsome female warrior Michonne (played by Danai Gurira from Treme), and (spoiler alert) the Governor (David Morrissey), a dark figure well known to fans of the comic books for inflicting all manner of cruelty on those who cross him. Fans of the comics know them well, but as with, say, the character of Shane, should expect to experience them differently in the television series.

What are the benefits and challenges of creating a show based on such well-realized (and beloved) source material?
The comic is fantastic: terrific, character-driving storytelling. And not every fan will appreciate variation from the panels. Some would prefer that we bring every panel to life. But that’s not what Rob Kirkman wanted to do. He’s the first to say that [comics and television] are two different media. … You can’t include everybody that was in the comic. But you can make sure the characters you have integrate into the world. … And some of the new characters have become fan favorites, like Daryl and Merle [the Dixon brothers, whose abusive upbringing turned them into hardcore survivors].

What is the appeal of shows like The Walking Dead?
It’s not about the zombies, really. People far wiser than we are … talk about a primal fear that we have as human beings — being dead but not dead, with no control, shuffling around with no awareness. And then you become a cannibal and eat your family.

Are you worried that people will tire of zombie stories?
No. I think what people get tired of is ripoffs that don’t deliver. I can’t imagine World War Z won’t deliver.

You tend to be involved with projects that generate a great deal of interest and enthusiasm. And over time, fans have developed more and more ways to connect not just with each other, but with people like you. Has that changed your approach to your work?
There’s not enough hours in the day to do everything you need to do to produce a show, and to read everything people have posted. But I’ve been reading the boards since Ain’t It Cool News began, or Superhero Hype. You can sense a vibe and I think that’s important, but at the same time you truly have to stick to the original vision that everyone signed on for.

Find Hurd's thoughts on Prometheus, Aliens and more at the Amazon Studios Hollywonk blog.

Comics Legend Neal Adams on What Makes Superheroes (and Superhero Movies) Great

Neal Adams knows superheroes. He broke new ground with Batman, X-Men and The Avengers, and recently tackled ZvG: Zombies Vs. Gladiators, a project on the Amazon Studios Movie Development Slate (see the trailer here). Adams talked with us about the best superhero movies he's seen, plus Batman, Sherlock Holmes and what Superman needs to be super again.

Some highlights from the interview:

What do you think are the biggest pitfalls for studios looking to make a superhero movie?

Underestimating the audience. … They really have to look for good stuff. People are not thrilled necessarily with superheroes — they’re thrilled with characters with characters, just like literature forever. You need good characters. You can relate superhero movies directly to Shakespeare, or stories of the gods.

Of all the superhero movies that you’ve seen, which ones stand out to you as having done the best job?

Well, oddly enough, the last two Batman movies have done some of the best jobs, and Batman is not even a superhero; he is the antithesis of a superhero if you think about it. Nothing super about him …. Superman is probably the greatest comic book superhero, this god-like creature that’s out there. And Batman, created very shortly after that, is the opposite. He’s a superhero who is not a superhero in any way. He’s like an Olympic champion who is very much like Sherlock Holmes. And if you play him that way, then you’ve got a great character. Is he a superhero? Well, he does put on a weird costume. … Sherlock Holmes is a great character. No, he’s not a comic book character. Well, excuse me, I just saw the last two movies. He looks like a comic book character to me. In fact, I would say that of Raiders of the Lost Ark. That guy is a superhero — of a different sort.

What is Superman’s place in the world, in the 21^st century. Some people say he doesn’t work anymore …

Superman is one of the most unrealistic characters. And he’s changed — he used to be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, now he can leap tall planets. I think the future of Superman is to downgrade his powers so that he’s fallible and is someone who can be hurt. … I think you have to go in that direction. There are too many middle-ground characters getting too much traction. … If Superman is not making it people’s minds, but Thor is, something’s wrong and it’s gotta be fixed. And it will.

"Pop" Artist: Lou Adler on the 45th Anniversary of the Monterey International Pop Music Festival

The career of Lou Adler seems comprised entirely of historical superlatives - manager of The Mamas and the Papas; songwriter for Sam Cooke, among others; founder, Dunhill Records; producer, Carole King's Grammy-winning Tapestry album, as well as records by The Grass Roots, Spirit, Johnny Rivers and many others; owner, the Roxy Theater on Los Angeles' Sunset Strip; producer, The Rocky Horror Picture Show; director, Up in Smoke and Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains. With such a staggering c.v., it's hard to imagine that Adler had time to for anything else, especially a festival on the scope of the Monterey International Pop Festival, which he and Mamas and Papas leader John Phillips helped to organize on June 16-18, 1967.

A groundbreaking effort in rock festivals, the Monterey festival introduced American audiences to such legendary performers as Jimi Hendrix, who famously lit his guitar on fire at the conclusion of his set, as well as the Who, Janis Joplin and soul singer Otis Redding; such '60s icons as the Animals, Simon and Garfunkel, Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Buffalo Springfield and Ravi Shankar filled out the remainder of the bill. The festival's highlights, which represented the cultural zeitgeist of the Aquarian Age in compelling sights and sounds, were captured on film in D.A Pennebaker's documentary, Monterey Pop.

June 16-18, 2012 will mark the 45th anniversary of the Monterey Pop Festival, and Adler has seen fit to mark the occasion in a variety of media. He's penned the introduction for A Perfect Haze: The Illustrated History of The Monterery International Pop Festival by Harvey Kubernik and Kenneth Kubernik, and will appear with Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and Papas at a screening of Monterey Pop in Los Angeles on June 17. He also took time to talk with Armchair Commentary about the challenges faced in mounting a festival on the scale of Monterey, as well as its lasting impact on music and pop culture.

QUESTION: You've achieved so much over the course of your career. If you had to grade them, where would the Monterey Pop Festival fall?

LOU ADLER: The way I look at it is that they're all Number One - they're all in different categories. And I haven't done a lot of festivals, so it's definitely Number One [in that category].

Horror Legend Clive Barker to Take On "Zombies vs. Gladiators" for Amazon Studios

Acclaimed artist, author and Hellraiser creator Clive Barker has signed on to rewrite ZvG: Zombies Vs. Gladiators for Amazon Studios. ZvG, the story of a gladiator who must stop the spread of a zombie horde and save Rome from a shaman’s curse, is one of the most buzzed-about projects on the Amazon Studios Movies Development Slate.

“Zombies vs. Gladiators is now in the hands of someone who has written genre-defining material throughout his career,” said Roy Price, director, Amazon Studios. “We are excited to see how Clive will add his unique narrative to capture the essence of this story and propel the project into something unique and original that could one day be enjoyed by all audiences.”

Said Barker, “I’m excited by the opportunity to interweave two very rich narrative threads. One of them concerns itself with the reality of the decadence of Rome and its rise and fall. The other is a fantastical narrative element – the living dead. My brief to myself on this project is to give the audience not only zombies they have never seen before but also a Rome they have never seen before.”

Barker added, “Amazon Studios offered up the dream ticket with this project. In 25 years of working in this town, I've rarely had people listen to what I had to say as closely and as carefully as they did and then simply give me the freedom to go do it. Amazon Studios is an innovative creative concept. I am looking forward to providing my own perspective to make Zombies vs. Gladiators a highly commercial and entertaining movie.”

Gods and Monsters, which Barker executive-produced, garnered three Academy Award nominations and an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. In 1987, he directed Hellraiser, based on his novella The Hellbound Heart, which became a cult classic spawning a slew of sequels, several lines of comic books, and an array of merchandising. He also adapted and directed Nightbreed (from his short story Cabal) and executive produced Candyman and Candyman 2: Farewell to the Flesh. See more about Barker’s movies.

Barker’s range and vision extend from poetry to painting to the pages of beloved literary works, including Weaveworld, Imajica, and the children’s books The Thief of Always and Abarat.

Learn more about Amazon Studios.

Exclusive: "Road to Perdition" Writer on Going From Book to Screen, and Back Again

Max Allan Collins writes movies, graphic novels (Road to Perdition) and mysteries (Lady, Go Die, released last month). In this exclusive guest post, Collins talks about the challenges of writing for the screen vs. novels (and graphic novels), and how lessons of independent filmmaking help him make the transition.

I’m a storyteller.

That’s how I think of myself, and describe myself. Everything else is a compartment: mystery writer; screenwriter; comics writer; non-fiction writer; songwriter; and so on … almost always with “writer” part of the description, but “storyteller” at the heart of the beast.

Those various compartments grow out of two things: enthusiasm and necessity. Enthusiasm is what drives me — I get an idea for a story, and I want to pursue it. Necessity is the need to keep the writing projects flowing, because this is my profession and I need to make a living. You know, to keep the lights on in the joint.

That means I need to be flexible and versatile. Starting out, I thought of myself as a mystery writer, and writing mystery novels was the goal. But I was always a big fan of movies and comics, so when I’ve been given the chance to work in those fields, I’ve grabbed it.

On the other hand, a lot of writers can’t make the transition into another form. The list of novelists who are miserable screenwriters is a long one; and the list of screenwriters who become successful novelists is a short one.

The ability to write both novels and screenplays well requires developing an appreciation and an understanding of each form. The novelist who wanders blithely into screenwriting will inevitably write scenes that would work fine in a novel but are inappropriate for a film. A novelist will typically write a dialogue scene that is either too long, too short, or not necessary. Novelists have no budgetary restrictions in fashioning a novel, a freedom that is death on a screenplay, where every dollar — like every second — counts.

Having directed independent films, I know things most novelists don’t — like the need to minimize the number of actors and locations. These kind of basic technical concerns are a must in screenwriting.

But the most important factor is understanding that novels are interior and films are exterior. A novel is told from inside a character or characters, and a film is told from the outside of the characters, reporting their actions and reactions.

Read more at Hollywonk, the official blog of Amazon Studios.