[The following interview also appears on the official Adopt a Writer site.  Even though the Writers Strike has ended, this project will continue to support the WGA by highlighting writers and their experiences; putting faces to the names we see scrolling by in television and film credits.]

As someone who loves and works with music, I was tremendously
honored and excited to be given the opportunity to interview David Leaf for Adopt a Writer. As I prepared
to speak with this amazing music historian and writer, I popped in my Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE CD and
re-read David’s eight page liner note introduction.

David Leaf is the king of pop culture and music
retrospectives. He is one of the Peabody Award-winning writers of the 9/11
telethon “America:
A Tribute to Heroes,” for which he also received an Emmy nomination, and he won
a Writers Guild award in 2003 for “The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of
Performing Arts.”  In addition, David is a
documentary filmmaker: he wrote/directed/produced the Grammy-nominated “Beautiful
Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of SMiLE,” and co-wrote/co-directed/produced
“The U.S. vs. John Lennon.”

David has been called ‘Brian Wilson’s biographer,’ and he’s authored
the books The Beach Boys and the
California Myth and The Bee Gees: The
Authorized Autobiography.  He received
a Grammy nomination for “Best Historical Recording” for writing the books that
accompanied The Pet Sound Sessions
4-CD boxed set, which he also produced.

In addition to the WGAW, David Leaf is a member of the Authors
Guild, The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, ASCAP, The Society
of Professional Journalists and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.  He even gets to vote annually for the Rock
& Roll Hall of Fame.

1.      
At what point in your life did you
realize that you wanted to be a writer?

I always told stories. 
I just didn’t start writing them down until I was about 13.  I’m lucky in that I believe I was born with a
certain ability to glibly synthesize information and tell a story.  What my high school history teacher used to
call “BS.”   In junior high, I was writing about sports for
the school paper and was even sports editor of the Latin newspaper. In school, I
was a class clown.  Or at least I thought
I was funny. 

2.       How were you first introduced to Brian Wilson, in what was to become a
lifelong friendship?

For my college newspaper, I had written an article about
Brian.  That was inspired by reading
about his roller coaster of a life in Rolling Stone.  At that time, I was inspired by the work of
Edward R. Murrow, and thought I could be a crusading journalist.  So I decided that I wanted to write a book and
tell the real story of Brian Wilson’s life.   

I met him just after moving to California. 
I was shooting baskets with a friend at a local YMCA in 1976. Brian walked onto the court with his cousin,
who asked us if we wanted to play 2-on-2 with him.  What really makes this story even more unbelievable
is that his cousin was an NBA player.  

Anyway, a few years later, when I wrote and published my biography
of him, we weren’t friends at that point. Thanks to some friends of his, who
wanted me to have a better understanding of what he was really like, I’d gotten
the chance to spend a little time around him while I was writing the book.   Through the 1980s, I continued to see him
around town.  Ironically, given what
inspired your ‘adoption’ of me, it was during the WGA strike in 1988 that I got
a job at Warner Brothers Records that put me into regular contact with
Brian.  So it was around then that we began
to develop a friendship.

3.      
Are there any writers who have had
an influence on your careers?  Who are
your mentors in this industry?

For sports writing (which is how I started), Larry Merchant.
For journalism, Pete Hamill.  Both wrote
for the New York Post, which had an amazing, diverse collection of columnists
when I was a kid.

As for authors – Kurt Vonnegut.  To me, his world view was essential, letting
me know it was okay to see things differently than conventional wisdom would
suggest.  And of course, I’m the cliché:  J.D. Salinger. 
In fact, the first chapter of The
Beach Boys and the California Myth opens with a quote from The Catcher in the Rye.

I guess if I had a mentor, although he would have laughed at
the idea, you could say my comedy writing mentor was Greg Fields. Working with him
was like getting a Masters in comedy writing. He was extremely influential for
me, teaching me how to spend every minute in the office making comedy out of
life, teaching me that nothing was off limits when it came to comedy. He knew
how to make everything funny without being mean. I think he was an extraordinarily
talented comedy writer.

4.      
How long have you been a member of
the Writers Guild of America?

For just over twenty years now. I wrote my first spec
features and spec sitcoms in the early/mid-1980s.  Then, I earned my WGA membership in 1987 writing
a Beach Boys anniversary special for ABC television. A year after that, I got
hired as a staff writer on The New Leave
it to Beaver.

5.      
How did the Writers Strike affect
your current development deals and projects?

Being on strike and picket line felt like being inside a
TiVO and waiting for someone to hit play. Everything was in suspended
animation. It was a frustrating yet unavoidable situation for everybody. I had
spent most of last year writing, developing and pitching, and I guess the way
it affected my current deals was to bring everything to grinding halt.  Now we all hope to reignite the momentum that our
projects had. 

6.      
What level of involvement with the
Writers Strike did you have? Were you out on the picket lines? How often were you able to participate? Can you describe that experience?

I was on strike in 1988, but it was different back then in
terms of organization and membership involvement; we only picketed sporadically.
This time, it was very well organized. I was on a specific team with a specific
assignment, 4 days a week for four hours a day.  From my point of view, it was very important
to be on the line every day.  And from
the team I was on, there were about a half dozen regulars who walked together
and became friends. It was like being in a writers’ room, without any deadlines
or scripts to write. It was a very good support system during what were tough
times for everyone.

Unless you’re on staff on a show, you probably don’t spend that
much time with writers. Being on the picket line provided the opportunity to
reconnect with other people trying to do same things you were; writing,
selling, pitching, developing, etc.  We
had some great days out there and were lucky with the terrific weather in California. We’d tell
each other stories, talk about the business and the creative part of writing.
It was a positive part of the strike – the sense of being in it together. 

Another positive thing was that we were able to walk and
talk with some of our own writing heroes; major screenwriters, legendary TV
writers like Allan Burns (Mary Tyler
Moore), Jay Tarses (The Bob Newhart
Show), Ken Levine (M*A*S*H, Cheers
& Frasier) and writers from The Simpsons.
It was a community of writers and ideas. 


Unlike the strike in 1988, we felt like we were working
together in battle. We were on strike; that’s where we should have been, out on
the picket lines.  We didn’t start the
fight or pick it, but once we were in it…we were in it for the duration. 

7.       How did you become involved with FremantleMedia, the company
responsible for shows like American Idol?
Can you reveal any details about your future plans with them?

I was approached a few years ago to work on a multi-part History
of Rock and Roll project. We’re still developing it and hope to get it made
sometime soon. They contacted me after Beautiful
Dreamer appeared on the BBC, and I was flattered to be considered by them for
such a prestigious project.  And there’s
a production from my company that’s “in the works” that they’ll be
distributing.

8.      
Your long list of credits as a
writer/producer of music specials for television is very impressive, from
benefit and live concerts to pop culture icon profiles. You’ve covered artists
and performers as varied as Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Christopher Reeve, Billy
Joel, the Marx Brothers, the Bee Gees, Jonathan Winters and Nat King Cole. Do
you approach an opportunity to write for and about these particular individuals
as an admirer, as a writer, or both?

For me, the idea usually starts in the same place—what is it
about these artists that I love and think is important for others to know about?
 I then figure out how to tell their
story using their work to speak for themselves, which is essential when the
artist is no longer with us.

I don’t ignore sensational aspects of an artist’s life, but
my focus is more on the artist and how they created their art. Naturally, their
private life will come into the story as it affects their work, but it won’t
come into the story unless it’s relevant. In some senses, I’m a fan and
proselytizer, but more than anything else, I consider myself a storyteller. I
ask myself, what is the most important story I can tell about that particular
artist, a story that you as a viewer need to know.  Watching these retrospectives, if you are a
fan, you might get a deeper understanding and love for the artist. If you’re
not a fan, you might become one. Or at least come to respect the artist.  The goal is to experience their art and at
the same time, enhance your appreciation of their work.  I want to keep the focus on where the art came
from, but also get the artists to reveal something about themselves.   Most of all, I make the show I would want to
watch. 

9.      
Besides specials and awards show,
your career as a primetime television writer for series has been sporadic; a
staff writer on The New Leave It to
Beaver from 1988-1999 and Party of
Five and Beverly Hills 90210 retrospectives. Were sitcoms and primetime dramas just
not your cup of tea?

Not at all.  I’ve
always been a big TV addict, I love sitcoms and one-hour dramas. I started as
staff writer on The New Leave it To
Beaver in mid-February of 1988, but within three weeks the industry went on
strike. When the strike was over, I did one full season of that show.

That was just about my favorite job of all time, being on
staff on a sitcom. I would love to do it again in the future. You’re paid to reveal
your ‘inner smartass.’ There is nothing more fun that trying to make people
laugh all day long.

10.   Now that the Writers Strike is over, do you look forward to a
normal life of writing and producing again? 
Is there a specific project that you’ve been itching to return to?

I
don’t know if there is any such thing as normal life for a writer.  The last four months, however, have been very
abnormal.  During this strike, I shut
down for the first time in a very long time. The only writing I did was e-mail.
But the reality is that in the blink of an eye, many of us went from ‘striking
writer’ to ‘unemployed writer.’  It’s
very strange. But we are all pretty excited that we can get back to it.  We’re all going to have to readjust, but we
are all anxious to put this behind us and get back to where we were before the
strike started.

 

There
are two projects in particular that I want to reignite ASAP. One is a feature
spec, the first draft of which I finished just before the strike started.  I can’t wait to take that out into the
marketplace.

I’m
really proud of it.  I think writers often
feel that ‘this is the best work I’ve ever done.’  But this is a script that really ties
together everything I want to do as a writer, and hopefully someone out there
will see that and also see the movie I see.
 

The
other is a feature spec pitch that I sold. I am looking forward to my agent
completing the deal so I can start outlining and writing it.
 

But
I’ve learned not to predict what’s next in my writing career, because I certainly
didn’t plan my career to go the way it went. I didn’t plan to become a director
and yet I became one.

I
didn’t set out to make retrospectives, but I’ve done a lot of them. I didn’t
plan to spend lots of time developing and pitching as a producer, but that is
what I’ve done.

 

I
came to L.A. to
write sitcoms and write movies.  Last year,
with the developing/pitching/writing I did, I was back in touch with ‘pure’ writing.
 Even the picketing had that effect.  I feel much more like a writer today than I
did a year ago.

I would like to thank David for participating in this interview,
and for sharing some of his incredible experiences! He was very generous with his time and information, and it was a real pleasure to speak with him at length about writing, television and music.

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Later this week, I hope to publish an interview with award-winning writer/producer/director David Leaf, which I conducted on behalf of Adopt A Writer. Even though the Writers Strike has ended, this fantastic project will continue to support the writers by highlighting their careers and many accomplishments.

This week’s Lost blog will be postponed; due to Valentine’s Day, my weekly Thoughts & Theories post will appear on Friday night rather than Thursday after the new episode. In the meantime, be sure to check out a new weekly installment on my other blog called Character Spotlight, as well as a new Lost contest (for a chance to win a season of the show on DVD).

Set your TiVO – Matt Nathanson will be performing on Jimmy Kimmel Live this Friday night (2/15)!  Here is a link to his appearance on Conan a few weeks ago.

I am aiming to blog the Oscars live on Sunday, February 24 in two parts: snarky red carpet commentary, followed by instant reactions to winners, losers and speeches.

Stay tuned!

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The Writers Strike has ended. Scribes will return to their craft, and films and TV shows will resume production.

The only task remaining for members of the Writers Guild is to vote in favor or against the tentative 3-year contract with the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers), which they will do in a few weeks.

Below are excerpts from the official announcement, released by the Presidents of the WGA West and East:

On Tuesday, members of the Writers Guilds East and West voted by a
92.5% margin to lift the restraining order that was invoked on November
5th. The strike is over.
 
Writing can resume immediately. If you were employed when the strike
began, you should plan to report to work on Wednesday. 

 
The decision to begin this strike was not taken lightly and was only
made after no other reasonable alternative was possible.  We are
profoundly aware of the economic loss these fourteen weeks have created
not only for our members but so many other colleagues who work in the
television and motion picture industries. Nonetheless, with the
establishment of the WGA jurisdiction over new media and residual
formulas based on distributor’s gross revenue (among other gains) we
are confident that the results are a significant achievement not only
for ourselves but the entire creative community, now and in the future.
 
We hope to build upon the extraordinary energy, ingenuity, and
solidarity that were generated by your hard work during the strike. 
 
Over the next weeks and months, we will be in touch with you to discuss
and develop ways we can use our unprecedented unity to make our two
guilds stronger and more effective than ever.
 
Now that the strike has ended, there remains the vote to ratify the new
contract. 
 
Thank you for making it possible.  As ever, we are all in this together.

I am very happy for the writers, and to hear that the strike was resolved on their terms. Without their words, you would be bored and I would have nothing to talk about. They deserve fair compensation for their work, no matter the medium where it appears, and they earn it with every episode and movie that we are fortunate enough to view across many platforms.

So keep the writers in mind after you fall in love with a film, or laugh for days at a line that a character on one of your favorite shows said. Stay through the credits at the movies, and don’t TiVO fast-forward through them at the end of an episode.  Because the ones in front of the camera would be nothing without those behind the scenes.

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If the writers approve the terms of the deal and vote to end the strike this week, below is a glance at how the rest of the 2008 television season looks, by show (series that I watch or have been asked about; all speculative at this point).

I
could have simply posted links to this information from several online
sources, but what fun would that be? Besides, I don’t think anyone
reading this really cares about the future of Aliens in America.

Let’s start with my favorite, and then return to alphabetical:

Lost: Six pre-strike episodes remain; potential for SIX more this year!

24: Returning 01/09

30 Rock: New episodes as early as April or May

Big Shots: Canceled

Bionic Woman: Canceled

Bones: Four pre-strike episodes will air beginning 4/14

Boston Legal: New episodes as early as April or May

Brothers & Sisters: Last pre-strike episode airs this Sunday; shooting additional episodes this Spring

Chuck: No new episodes until Fall

The Closer: New season will air this summer

Cold Case: New episodes as early as April or May
 
Criminal Minds: New episodes as early as April or May

CSI (all versions): New episodes as early as March or April

Desperate Housewives: New episodes as early as April or May

Dirty Sexy Money: No new episodes until Fall; 3 remaining pre-strike episodes being retooled

ER: No word

Friday Night Lights: No new episodes to air; future TBD

Gossip Girl: New episodes as early as April or May

Grey’s Anatomy: New episodes as early as April or May

Heroes: No new episodes until Fall

House: New episodes as early as April or May

How I Met Your Mother: New episodes as early as April or May

Journeyman: Canceled

Law & Order (all versions): New episodes to air this Spring

Life: No new episodes until Fall

Medium: Six pre-strike episodes will air; new episodes expected later this year

Men in Trees: Eleven pre-strike episodes will air

My Name is Earl: New episodes as early as April or May

Nip/Tuck: Last new episode airs next week; new season to film this summer

October Road: Five pre-strike episodes will air; future TBD

The Office: New episodes as early as April or May

Private Practice: New episodes unlikely until Fall

Pushing Daisies: No new episodes until Fall

The Riches: New season premieres next month

Samantha Who: Three pre-strike episodes to air; new episodes this Spring

Saturday Night Live: May air as soon as this weekend

Scrubs: Four pre-strike episodes to air; future TBD

Ugly Betty: New episodes as early as April or May

So…which show are you anticipating the return of the most?

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Last night, thousands of members from the Writers Guild gathered on both coasts (WGA East in NYC, WGA West in Los Angeles). Various sources are reporting that there is a tentative deal on the table, and that the members of the WGA will decide by tomorrow whether or not the Strike continues. On Tuesday, members will then cast their votes whether or not to agree to the terms of the new deal, and Hollywood might be back to work as early as Wednesday. That is a cautiously optimistic best-case-scenario, but I believe we (the fans) should continue to support the writers and be patient as this unfolds.

Patrick Verrone, President of the WGA West, released the following statement yesterday (which I am excerpting; the entire letter can be found on Deadline Hollywood Daily):

We have a tentative deal.

It is an agreement that protects a future in which the Internet
becomes the primary means of both content creation and delivery. It
creates formulas for revenue-based residuals in new media, provides
access to deals and financial data to help us evaluate and enforce
those formulas, and establishes the principle that, “When they get
paid, we get paid.”

Over these three difficult months, we shut down production of nearly
all scripted content in TV and film and had a serious impact on the
business of our employers in ways they did not expect and were hard
pressed to deflect. Nevertheless, an ongoing struggle against seven,
multinational media conglomerates, no matter how successful, is
exhausting, taking an enormous personal toll on our members and
countless others. As such, we believe that continuing to strike now
will not bring sufficient gains to outweigh the potential risks and
that the time has come to accept this contract and settle the strike.

Much has been achieved, and while this agreement is neither perfect
nor perhaps all that we deserve for the countless hours of hard work
and sacrifice, our strike has been a success. We activated, engaged,
and involved the membership of our Guilds with a solidarity that has
never before occurred. We developed a captains system and a
communications structure that used the Internet to build bonds within
our membership and beyond. We earned the backing of other unions and
their members worldwide, the respect of elected leaders and politicians
throughout the nation, and the overwhelming support of fans and the
general public. Our thanks to all of them, and to the staffs at both
Guilds who have worked so long and patiently to help us all.

I will update this post when additional details emerge.

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Yes, I watch shows other than Lost, although it may not seem like it at the moment.

I have been neglecting to write about both new and beloved series, so here are some updates.

FRINGE

This is a brand new FOX series that sounds suspiciously and deliciously like a cross between The X-Files and The Twilight Zone. Did I mention that it is being produced and written by Lost creator J.J. Abrams? So hell yes, I’m there. Casting thus far includes Joshua Jackson (Pacey from Dawson’s Creek), Lance Reddick (formerly of The Wire and currently freaking us out as the mysterious Matthew Abbadon on Lost), Kirk Acevedo (Miguel Alvarez from Oz), British import Charlotte Rampling (Swimming Pool), and Blair Brown (The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd). It is currently filming (because the pilot script was completed before the strike began), so I hope to see a release date for later this year.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

It pains me to report that one of the best shows on television is in danger of being canceled. Not only did NBC move the series to Friday nights (an insulting assumption that we’d forget when it’s on otherwise, and a huge mistake), the head of NBC Entertainment recently made the following statements about one of my favorite hours of TV:

“I love it. You love it. Unfortunately, no one watches it. That’s the
thing with shows. People have to watch them. We’re NBC, we have a
reputation to uphold. And, man, with this writers’ strike … well,
we’ll see what we can do.”

It would be a damn shame to discontinue FNL for many reasons, one of which is that Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton haven’t received their Emmys or Golden Globes yet (nominations and statues). Let’s just hope that another network picks up where NBC leaves off.  ESPN, for instance…

BONES

Bones will return on April 14.  Adjust your TiVO season pass – it will now air on Monday nights.

DIRT and THE RICHES

Both of their sophomore seasons on FX have been reduced to only 7 episodes each, which means that even when the Writers Strike is resolved, no additional episodes will be written or produced. And fans of both series might be disappointed to find that there won’t be any cliffhangers or even closure to the seasons of either show.

CASHMERE MAFIA v. LIPSTICK JUNGLE

I couldn’t get through the Lipstick Jungle premiere. Even if it had debuted before Cashmere Mafia, I wouldn’t have liked it; the characters are empty and the pace was ridiculous. Some might say that very thing about Cashmere Mafia, but I enjoy Lucy Liu and Bonnie Somerville in LJ ten times more than any of the women on CM.

KNIGHT RIDER

I had no intention of watching this rehash, because the original version wasn’t enticing either. However, I was more intrigued when I found out that the voice of the new KITT car was none other than Will Arnett (a.k.a. GOB Bluth from Arrested Development). And then it wasn’t. For some reason, Val Kilmer took over that responsibility. What, they wanted a cranky monotone delivery instead of a sarcastic one? Just who are they attempting to market this show to? This is strike 2 for NBC, in my book (see FNL above for strike 1).

SCRUBS

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you strike 3 for NBC. It is up in the air whether or not the show will even go back into production following resolution of the Writers Strike, but show runner Bill Lawrence is aiming to at least film the last 4 episodes ever of Scrubs for DVD distribution.

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT

Great news for one of the most underrated (at least among viewers, not critics) comedies of all time…there are rumblings about an Arrested Development movie, with full cast and crew involvement!

Have a nice weekend! Should there be major developments in the Writers Strike, I will be sure to post updates.

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Initial thoughts, questions and theories are now posted here on my LOST-centric blog. Come on over!

Additional blog now posted (Friday night). And I’m not quite finished with this episode yet…

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