A GOOD WEEK

LegalDispatch 0.8

Howdy.

So, I missed last week’s newsletter because I got flu and shingles vaccines the day before and they. Laid. Me. Out. (Still very glad I got ‘em, though.)

Well, this has been a good week.

A very good week.

First, our LA Law script has been picked up to pilot. Basically, what this means is the network (ABC) has committed to shooting the first episode of a potential new series. Many, many, MANY miles to go before we sleep (i.e., have a show on the air), but this is a major step forward.

LA Law is the reason I became an attorney and a writer. It is one of my all-time favorite shows and introduced me to David E. Kelley’s writing. David has not only been a huge inspiration to me (it’s actually impossible to overstate how much), he also gave me my very first professional writing gig (as a Staff Writer on The Practice).

All of which is to say that doing LA Law is both a dream come true and like coming home.

Coincidentally, a few days later, it was announced that Sam Hargrave has been attached to direct and Jake Gyllenhaal has been attach to star in my adaptation of Prophet based on the Image Comic created by Rob Liefeld that I wrote for Studio 8.

Yes, wrote, past tense. There’s something interesting about the timing of Hollywood announcements. Oftentimes, the timing is out of one’s control (particularly mine) and bears no relation to when the thing being announced was actually done. In fact, all of the articles speak in terms of me “writing” the screenplay in the present tense, but the most current draft of the script has, in fact, been finished for months.

But the timing of the news coming on the heels of the LA Law pickup made for a pretty pleasant week.

This past week was mainly taken up with work on PROJECTS MARBLE, GRANITE, and ARTERY. I also took some time to work up a take for a major franchise movie. The odds of me getting that gig are Powerball lottery-long but I had a lot of fun cogitating in that world for a little while.

And if all that wasn’t enough, this past Wednesday saw the release of Last Flight Out #2.

I continue to be blown away by how well this series has been received. Superpoweredfancast.com was kind enough to say: “Guggenheim fills this story with tension from start to finish. … Ferigato delivers some stunning art throughout the issue. The characters are the standout because of the personal nature of the story and they look fantastic.” (And Comicbook.com rated it 4 out of 5.)

Speaking of nice reviews for Last Flight Out, The PCG’s review of Issue 1 was particularly kind.

And speaking of Issue 1, I’m excited to announce that it will be going back for a second printing that will drop on Wednesday, October 20.

And speaking of Last Flight Out, the FOC (Final Order Cutoff) for Issue 3 is this coming Monday (10/11) so please consider ordering ahead. This is clearly a series that tends to sell out. Here’s a not-so-little tease from the incomparable Eduardo Ferigato and Natália Marques:

Oh boy are things starting to heat up.

We’re obviously kicking off pre-production on LA Law and my co-writer Ubah Mohamed and I have some rewriting to do. I also need to finish up the new draft of PROJECT ARTERY. In addition, [REDACTED] has been blazing through PROJECT CRACKERJACK and I’ll need to feed him (at least) pages for Issue 4 by the end of the week.

This is the last of the Arrow rarities I have in my virtual vault. It’s a card I made for some party we threw during Season 1. I don’t remember what exactly the party was for, however. I think it was Christmas-related, but the specifics have long since fled from my mind.

This is a panel from the first issue of PROJECT CRACKERJACK. We finalized the issue earlier this week. Announcement forthcoming — soon, I hope.

Well, that’s it for this week. Have a great weekend.

And be good to each other.

Best,

Marc

Encino, CA

10.8.21