Rob Long’s MARTINI SHOT at KCRW
Last few weeks we have had a lot of posts & discussion on screenplays. Dabba dissected the screenplay of AAMIR.
Then he bitched about the Conspiracy against Screenwriters.
I thought keeping with the tradition of writing on the subject of writing I would share with you one of my favorite radio shows LA.
Its called MARTINI SHOT. Hosted by Writer/Producer Rob Long. His bio on KCRW says
“Veteran TV writer and producer Rob Long shares his behind-the-scenes look at Hollywood life on “Martini Shot.” A contributing editor for the National Review and Newsweek International, he was a co-executive producer of “Cheers” while still in his 20s and is the co-creator of a string of (cancelled) sitcoms: “George & Leo,” “Men, Women & Dogs,” etc. Rob is also the author of “Conversations With My Agent,” the cult classic about real life in Hollywood, as well as its recently published sequel, “Set Up, Joke, Set Up, Joke.”
Every week on KCRW he talks about his experiences & observations about his life as a writer in Hollywood. And they are hilarious. They are all very short clips. 4 minutes to 10 minutes. And once you play the latest show the KCRW music player will automatically play the rest of his recent shows from its archives. Each show is funnier than the last one. Some of the favourites are -
1) The Last Day in the Business –
http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/ma/ma080618the_last_day_in_the_
We’d pitch nonsense — actual strung-together nonsensical words — at one network, and when they questioned us, we’d just roll our eyes and sigh. Forget it, we’d say, you guys just don’t have a clue. And we’d walk out.
At another place, we’d do the opposite: we’d shamelessly and fulsomely grovel and plead and praise the executive
2) Craft Services –
http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/ma/ma080611craft_services
The best way to give somebody bad news is, first, give them a doughnut. This is basically the idea behind what we in Hollywood call “Craft Services.”
3) Faster Funnier –
http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/ma/ma080521faster_funnier
There’s also the Faster Funnier rule, which is that the solution, almost always, to almost everything, is Faster Funnier. Say it faster. Do it faster. And it’ll be funny. You’d be surprised how many scenes have been saved by simply asking the actors to do it again, with no pauses.
Now, a corollary to the Faster Funnier rule is the Louder Quieter rule, which is basically exactly like the Faster Funnier rule, except for volume.
4) The Bad One –
http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/ma/ma080514the_bad_one
Somewhere inside you – somewhere you hope deep – is a truly awful piece of work. A funny script so unfunny – a scary script so unscary – a terrible script so unfixable — that it’s hard to believe it actually came from you. That you typed it.
5) Race to the Computer –
http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/ma/ma080416race_to_the_computer
Once, a famous writer gave a talk to a lot of aspiring writers. This kind of thing happens all the time – and not just at colleges and universities, but at weekend scriptwriting workshop seminars and writers’ conferences, that sort of thing. I’ve done a few myself.
I Highly recommend this show to everyone here.
And if you enjoy this, there is another good show about films on KCRW called THE TREATMENT. Its usually Interviews of filmmakers by film critic Elvis Mitchel. This week was Christopher Nolan.
Tags: Hollywood, LA, radio, Writers
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awesome Mainak thnx!!!
listening to Mamet now and Nolan coming up on the 23rd
The Scene in Redbelt he talks about, is among the many that sold the movie for me!!!
Dpac
Did you check out all the podcasts of Rob Long?
not there yet mainak.. got stuck with Mamet and Redbelt