On this episode of Scriptnotes, the hosts discuss how people are making dramas during this pandemic. To do this they talk to two network TV drama writers-producers. This is a sensitive subject of course because these are dark troubling times there is no denying. Probably the last thing most people want to do is bawl their eyes out at a sad drama TV show episode. However business needs to go on somehow in the film and television industry, and that means dramas have to be made still. The way to do it according to the hosts is to not be overly sad but also have something that people can relate to during these times. This is a good idea because that way we can all cry together and still feel someone’s pain. That way we can help out. Obviously it’s not the job of a writer or a producer to be a therapist or try to talk to the viewers directly, but they can still at least find ways to emotionally appeal to viewers through emotions. The hosts also discuss the issue of politics on TV shows which unfortunately seems inevitable especially after the current election. Some shows try to be politically neutral while others are more explicit on which side they support. This is something that the Hosts seem to give a word to the audience about whether someone writing a drama needs to lean left or right politically or just stay neutral.

On this issue of the Hollywood reporter, a story of very big proportions is told. Apparently Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has decided to declare an emergency due to rising COVID 19 cases. He told everyone in an announcement to “cancel everything.” This likely means a lockdown across the entire city. However the Reporter points out that this announcement came a little late because COVID cases in LA have already risen. Garcetti has made this emergency more extreme than the city’s previous lockdown orders by saying no one should go anywhere, meet with anyone, or take any risks that will cause cases to spread. Although the WHO has stated that hardcore lockdowns actually didn’t do much to stop the spread of the virus, apparently some government officials are deciding to go to extremes anyway. So therefore what the mayor is doing is no different from what mayors in cities like New York are doing now. While a vaccine is almost on its way from the sound of things, the best thing anyone can do right now is wear masks, wash hands, and stay six feet apart from each other. 2020 has been a truly crappy year from COVID to George Floyd’s death, from riots and protests to the elections, this year has really not been a good start to the decade. However I’m still alive and am trying my best to stay healthy and others should do the same.

On this issue of the Hollywood Reporter, they discuss the current CEO of MGM Mark Burnett. Apparently according to the article, after a streak of success now Burnett is failing to get success for the studio. However that’s not the worst of it apparently. Because as the article states, Burnett has now been criticized as holding a sort of disruptive rule over the company. He is now accused of having anger attacks and fits of rage from out of nowhere. This is bad of course and now it seems that business has fallen short for Burnett now. This is just another in a list of executives who have fallen from grace in Hollywood since Harvey Weinstein it seems to me. This is becoming a problem but one that’s just business as usual in Hollywood or the city of demons in my personal opinion. That town leads to fame going to peoples heads and swallowing them whole. This can lead to people harassing or becoming a dictator to their employees. But I think the time has come for change and there are improvements being done. This is applaudable but they still have a long way to go and there are always roadblocks. But never give up.

Today on Scriptnotes the hosts talk to a man named Scott Frank. He helped make movies such as Minority report. Now he is doing a series called “The Queens Gambit.” Here in this episode they talk about writing scenes that do more than just using sight and sound. I guess that this means appealing to people’s emotions in the audience. I believe that this is an essential part of both movies and TV shows. The appeal to emotion is something people can’t underestimate or overstate. If you can’t feel for the characters then you won’t care about them. Plenty of movies have this appeals such as “Avengers Infinity War” and “Forrest Gump.” This can help the audience both understand both the heroes and the villains motives. These are senses that no one really notices because they are helping the audience watch the movie and pull through. The hosts also answer questions about voice over narrations. This is a good place for the hosts to end on. Emotional appeal also was a good topic for them to discuss throughout the podcast as well. They also finish up for how someone researches how to write for a period piece. That is also a very good thing to know about if someone does that type of stuff.

On this episode of Scriptnotes, the hosts talk about the recent end of a short form video company called Quibi. Actually the company hasn’t closed yet but it soon will next month apparently. The hosts discuss the reasons for the decision to shut down the company. One reason is that the companies business failed to live up to expectations. This seems to happen to many companies in my opinion, they set out to reach a goal, never reach it, and end up shutting down. It’s a sad thing to go through. The hosts also discuss what This shutdown means for the entertainment history as a whole. It sounds weird but apparently all businesses are intertwined. So if one fails it can affect others as well. One group being affected are the people who invested in Quibi who now have to go somewhere else. This is a hard situation to fix and it can be disasterous if not handled correctly. I personally hope that things work out for the people involved in the company in the future but I can’t think of any advice to give unfortunately because I am not a businessman. Another effect is that some planned projects will be put on hold and end up in development hell where they may not come back out of.

This article from the Hollywood reporter discusses the efforts of AMC entertainment to stay in business during this pandemic. One way they are doing this according to the article is by doing private screenings for certain groups of people. The way they do this is by having groups of at least 20 friends and family book certain show times to watch movies privately. They can do this by booking times through an ap and by choosing which movie they want to watch. I think that this is a good way to stay in business for this company. Every business nowadays is finding different ways of keeping their jobs and money without having to shut down completely. The way AMC is doing it through private screenings allows them to stay in business without having too much risk of a rise in COVID cases. Of course people still have to wear masks, socially distance and use healthy common sense decisions while their doing all of this. However as long as people use their brains and stay safe then this new private screening method can help keep AMC alive during these difficult times. I just hope everything goes good for them. I’m sure that it will probably.

Today on Scriptnotes they explored a very less talked about part of movies: the calm scene of reflection. According to the hosts, these scenes are normally very quiet without much action. I guess movies like “The Revenant” have used this type of scene sometimes. They involve both the characters and the scene around them. These scenes normally show the characters reflecting on some past event or situation. The hosts say that the scenes can really impact the audience as well. This is because the reflection scene is normally pretty psychological and can get inside the characters head. It also can serve as an analysis for the character in the story as well to determine how far along they have come. It really helps the character grow both physically and psychologically. This can really help character development. The hosts also discuss how a writer can pitch an idea to his agent. I think that this is a good thing to teach to the listeners, some of whom may be wannabe screenwriters. Therefore they can really help them with staying focused and composed as well as organized. These three things can really help out when pitching an idea to someone. They also answer listener questions.

This Hollywood reporter article has some bad news for us. Apparently movie giant Cinemark has experienced a loss in their third quarter. This is not good for them. But the good news is that their CEO is encouraged by the reopenings. So the good news is their back in business, the bad news is that they have experienced a loss of millions of dollars. I chose this story because just about every other story the reporter is covering is over the current election but I am suffering from election anxiety and I don’t want to cover that right now. I believe that Covid has really hit the country’s businesses really hard especially movies. However I don’t think that this justifies giving the government too much power OK? I do think that businesses need to get back to work in order to get their money back and recover from losses. Cinemax is no exception to this either so they need to get back their lost money somehow. The lockdowns turned out to have done more harm than good to the country and so we need to avoid them as much as possible in this case so we can get back to work.

In this issue of the Hollywood Reporter, they talk about the influence that Hollywood Guilds have on people in Hollywood going to vote in the polls. Apparently various guild groups in Hollywood are encouraging their members to go out and vote in the upcoming election. According to the article, the Guilds also may be encouraging them to vote for so called “pro labor 2020 candidates.” The way that these guilds are doing this is by putting up posters encouraging voting or by even providing a small in person voting areas in theatres that they are partners with. They also are donating to political candidates as well. While I think that it is good that the Guilds are doing these things: encouraging people to vote or even providing in person voting centers, I also feel like they may unintentionally or intentionally alienate some voters. This is because the majority of the political candidates that the Guilds are endorsing are democrats such as Adam Schiff of California. I’m not saying they don’t have the right to vote for who they want, but I am saying that only supporting liberals can alienate conservative people in the industry. Yes there are some conservatives in Hollywood who support Donald Trump and no it’s not just Kanye west. These names include: Kevin Sorbo, Kristy Swanson, Dean Cain, James Woods, John Voight, and several others. So I think the guilds should let everybody in on it.

On this recent episode of Scriptnotes, the hosts discuss the topic of Loglines. They say that they previously avoided talking about Loglines because normally screenwriters don’t write them and they just aren’t that interested in them. However people kept asking them so they finally decided to answer. Loglines according to them are brief summaries of the plot of both Tv shows and movies. I previously had never heard the term “Logline” before so this is a new education for me. However the hosts explain that while loglines sometimes can help, they aren’t “the real thing” and therefore aspiring screenwriters shouldn’t be overly concerned about them. That “real thing” I am assuming is the full plot summary. I kind of agree with them here because, while it is good to have a brief summary to let people know the plot, it is more important for screenwriters to create the full story and plot for the idea to become a reality. The hosts also advice us not to be afraid to be brash, ambitious, or sneaky about loglines either because according to them most loglines aren’t competitive and are just “empty advertisements.” I think it was a wise decision on the part of the hosts to reassure up and coming screenwriters not to worry too much about loglines also.