The Art of Collaboration
WGAw president Victoria Riskin shared what she claimed was Hollywood's "big, dark secret." "The truth is that writers and directors sometimes get along, and even collaborate very well."
The business of trying to make people laugh, whether the medium be theatrical film, television sitcom or TV commercial, is surely no joke. It makes undergoing root canal work seem positively light and breezy by comparison.
Many cinematographers said it was impossible to film multi-camera before a live audience. It just couldn't be done. But that was not a phrase in Desi Arnaz' vocabulary.
Champlin on Chaplin
In Chaplin's last film,
A Countess From Hong Kong, he plays a steward in a scene which borders on self-effacement. Entering a room with his tray of drinks, he seems to stumble, but recovers with a grace that is charming to watch.
This HBO hit has brought the concept of working without a script into the TV mainstream, transforming its creator and star Larry David from the man behind the genius of
Seinfeld to the butt of every self-inflicted joke on camera in
Curb.