(Don't) Leave Them Hanging

Common wisdom seems to be that open endings aren't the way to go when you're talking about television (and less so for films). Creators should wrap up their series in a nice little package, answer all the audiences questions, don't leave any loose threads. You know...clean up, sweep the floors and turn out the lights when you go.

Just look at the furor going on over The Sopranos finale. Fans are being, well, fanatic, about the whole thing. Most of them want David Chase's head on a platter. They're crashing HBO's website, they're pissed, flooding the intertubes with their vitriol. Clamoring they say "Tell us what happened! Give us answers!"

Why?

This was the perfect ending for a show that embraced uncertainty. There are no easy answers, no black and white morality, just a messy, ugly world. What happened to Tony? I don't know, but I would've been incredibly disappointed if I knew for sure that he got whacked (or arrested, or just went on with his life).

Choosing to go with an open ending was a brave choice and I salute Mr. Chase for sticking to his guns and doing it his way. Thanks for proving that an open ending isn't necessarily "a very bad thing."

Babies, Pirates and Sci-Fi, Oh My!

So I had a nice review of Knocked Up all ready to go...and then Blogger ate it. I was going to try to rewrite the whole thing, but I really don't want to. Instead I'm going to post a few quick hits and other random things.

Knocked Up

Fabulous. Finally a romantic comedy that brings an element of reality to the proceedings. This movie is funny because the audience watching it can relate. They all have friends like that. They've all been in situations like that (maybe not knocked up, but definitely regretting a night of drunken debauchery).

Everyone should see this movie.

Pirates: At World's End

Terrible. I spent the first hour and a bit trying to figure out what exactly was going on and why everyone was doing what they're doing. They've got to get Jack because he's a Pirate Lord with one of the nine pieces of eight? I thought they needed him back because he's a friend! They're trying to free Callypso? When did that happen? It felt like the movie was just careening from one set piece to the next, with no rhyme or reason for when or why.

On the plus side the action sequences are good and it was nice to see all the characters again. Still hardly worth the price of admission though.

Space: Above and Beyond

Not sure that anyone remembers this series (ran for a year in 95-96), found a copy of it in the bargain bin and thought I'd pick it up to relive my youth. I wasn't expecting much, I thought it was kind of cheesy when I first saw it at age 15, but I actually quite enjoyed it. Some of the writing is actually pretty good, of note is episode #12 "Who Monitors the Birds?" What impressed me so much about it was the lack of dialogue. Practically the entire episode is silent, told entirely in images. It was done very well.

And isn't it about time that Sci-Fi shed its pariah status? Where does that prejudice come from anyways?

Blogger Ate My Homework

Or at least my latest post. All gone. Didn't save it. Disappeared into the ether. Darn it.

This makes me a sad panda.

Fans Unite!

Looks like all it took was lots and lots of nuts!

I think that it's great CBS is bringing Jericho back. It's an opportunity for the writers to wind up the story and close it out the way it was meant to close.

Now if the networks were really listening (to me) they'd bring back a few other shows...

Deadwood - You mother****ing ****suckers!
Veronica Mars - Whoever decided to cancel Veronica is the "obligatory psychotic jackass" of the CW.
Dead Like Me - But only if they hire me to write for them!
Undeclared / Freaks and Geeks - Judd Apatow for life!
Firefly - Joss is a (the?) God!

Any other beloved shows you'd like to see come back? Write them down! Maybe if we all start sending them bags of nuts some other shows will come back!

What Canadians should be doing...

...we should be loosening up.

Let me explain...

I was fortunate enough to take part in a conversation with some of the fine folks over at Telefilm Canada recently. The conversation centered around one of the projects my company had submitted with the aim of getting development financing. Eventually we just started talking about the types of submissions that Telefilm gets in general, practically all of which are serious, earnest, dark dramas.

Now don't get me wrong. I like serious, earnest, dark dramas as much as the next guy (which probably isn't as much as the next girl, but that's a subject for another post), but I don't think that they're the kind of films we should be making loads of. Why? Because they're just not that popular.

The general public wants to go and see the latest Shrek or Pirates or Spiderman. Given the choice between some piece of light fluffy entertainment and a serious drama, they're going to choose the fluff.

We need to start making fluff.

Now that's not to say I think we need to start making commercial crap. Fluff doesn't mean commercial crap (no matter what serious artistic types are wont to tell you). We need to take a page out of the Brits book and start making movies that are smart, quirky, funny or scary, but most importantly, that are commercially viable.

Let's toss out some examples, shall we? I'm talking about movies like Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. The Descent and Severance. There are already some Canadians who're doing this. If you haven't seen Andrew Currie's Fido you're missing out.

EDIT: I can't believe I forgot to mention Bon Cop, Bad Cop. Mea Culpa.

My point is that it's making those kind of movies with a Canadian spin that's going to save our industry (or at least it's the way that I think our industry should be moving).

It's time to start catering to what people want to see, not what we think they should see...

Why I do bother

-OR-

Hope springs eternal


Glad to see that at least some people get it.

Here's hoping they stick to it!

And as an addendum, check out this post by Will Dixon. Great stuff!

Why do I even bother?

-OR-

The State of the Canadian Industry


I'm usually a pretty upbeat person. I know that I've chosen a hard road. It's a tough game this thing we call screenwriting, but I just can't see myself doing anything else. Of course that doesn't mean that I don't question my sanity at times.

Especially when I see things like this.

That's the CBC's coverage of their fall schedule announcement. Now let us forget for a moment that it's a case of a broadcaster providing coverage of themselves (wonder what the slant on that coverage is going to be?), and look at what they're saying.

Frankly, I was shocked. This year the CBC is charging headlong into producing reality television. Dragon's Den, Test the Nation, No Opportunity Wasted, Triple Sensation. All reality. All a departure from the types of shows Canadians are used to seeing on their public broadcaster.

This wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, particularly if there were a bunch of scripted dramatic series waiting in the wings.

I'd say guess what, but I'm sure everyone can see where this is going...

Four reality shows in its fall schedule and the CBC's only planning on having two dramas. Intelligence (which I do give them kudos for renewing) and a new drama called Heartland. The CBC's also bringing back Little Mosque and a couple of miniseries St. Urbain's Horseman, Showtime's The Tudors (which barely counts since it was mainly an Irish endeavor).

Guess I was hoping for better from the Ceeb.

Why does this depress me? Well it's another symptom of the declining opportunities for Canadian creatives. I think that the CBC has its head up its collective arse if they think that Canadians want to see more crappy reality television (okay...that might've been unfair, but I'm venting) rather than dramas or comedies.

The joys of the Canadian industry.

Let us review:

Screwed up government regulations. Check!

A plain screwed up government. Check!

Commercial pressure? Check!

We could go on (and on) but others have commented much more eloquently (and with more experience) than yours truly (people like Mr. McGrath and Mr. Henshaw...my heroes!).

So what's a young writer to do?

Honestly I haven't a clue. Could always try my luck south of the border, but that would involve all sorts of nasty things like green cards (not to mention I really do love living in Canada).

Nope. Nothing for it but to keep on plugging away.

That reminds me that I have a pilot treatment to finish off...

Back to the grindstone...