Monthly Archives: January 2012
Episode 2 Stills & Poster
Mallory Drazin here, just updating the Courage IMDB with some images from our 2nd Episode, The Sons of Liberty.
Episode 3 Production Update
Plausibility and Good Advice from the Crew
Back in my Stanford writing workshop days, all of my literary fiction professors would routinely warn us about what they called “plot-dominated” fiction. Some poor, well meaning sophomore (like me) would be thinking detective mode, or combat story or espionage epic and we were then schooled in the many loftier aims of fiction, including the interior space of the characters, the beauty of the language, the free-fall rush of moral ambiguity, and all the things that get you published in the Prairie Schooner for an audience of seven people reading short stories between fellowship applications. Continue Reading »
Garrow’s Law
We’re very deep into 3rd episode planning and writing, so the blog gets sent to the high meadow for summer grazing. I did discover a little 18th century television you might like while you’re waiting for more Courage. It’s called Garrow’s Law and it tells the “true story [of] William Garrow, who acted as counsel for the accused, introducing the concept of ‘innocent until proved guilty’ at London’s Old Bailey.”
Like most BBC period pieces, it’s pretty lush on the art direction front, with loving attention to wigs, wardrobe, the look of 18th century books and documents, and the routine of the trial, complete with court attendants gracing the room in the early morning with what looked like aromatic censers. Continue Reading »
Production Update — Episode #3
We put out the word on pre-production for our first episode 3 meeting yesterday, and the Hawk’s Head Tavern was nearly full of the Colony Bay crew, anxious to weigh in on the next episode, “A Snake in the Garden.”
I don’t believe in writing by committee, but one of the most gratifying things about this team is their passion for story, so I wrote a “plot points” outline and they all gave me some great finishing ideas for increasing tension and deepening our investment in character. Continue Reading »
Stories that Civilize
Stories are potentially dangerous, at least the wrong ones.
A lot of parents lament profanity, sex, and violence in modern entertainment, but those, as I’ve lamented recently, are all found even in the Bible — in a context that explains their place. How do you tell the story of Jesus without cutting off the centurion’s ear and seeing the Master restore it? Would Samson lose his hair, and strength, to a homely girl, dressed head to ankles in a pressed denim dress? Continue Reading »
Between Comedy and Horror
Careful out there in the middle..
I remember enough about mathematics and physics to know that you can be solving for both sides of a complicated equation only to find yourself, miserably, winding down to the painfully obvious. You see it a few steps before the eraser reveals it on paper: a=a.
I’m not sure if I’m on track to the obvious here, but I want to think it through, for the sake, if nothing else, of our relativistic present:
Whether you’re a believer or not, we joke about wrong-doing all the time. Continue Reading »
HBO’s John Adams
I’ve been re-watching HBO’s John Adams, along with the “making of” bonus material, and while it is true enough that I would be happy with just their wig budget, let alone their green screen and CGI budget, I can’t help but comment about the choices they made in their interpretation of the facts. (This is another way of saying that I very much applaud the sort of attention they paid to detail, and the money they spent telling a story that needs to be told, but truth is served by many perspectives, even those whose bank accounts are a tad shy of Tom Hank’s.)
Stately old David McCullough positively glows with approval for the accuracy of the tale, as told by HBO, and with respect to clothing, farm yards, and naval matte artistry, I have to agree, but on second-watch, I can’t help but comment on the gross disservice the makers of the film did to Sam Adams. Continue Reading »
I’ll Buy it or I’ll Rent it — Someday
There’s a “metric” out there I wish I knew but can’t seem to find on Google, perhaps because television production companies keep it a secret, but I guess I would call it the “delayed admission” revenue arc of a show.
For example, the first season of the Andy Griffith Show, shot in 1960, can be purchased on Amazon as a 4 disc DVD, for $16.99. A show filmed 52 years ago is still being purchased directly by the public. The first season of the comedy “Friends” (1994), can be purchased for $19.19 on DVD or $26.99 via Video on Demand. Continue Reading »
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