Howdy!
Man, it’s been a week.
I just finished spending much of my day providing information about my novel (a/k/a PROJECT FROST) to my editor at Lake Union. This involved filling out two fairly detailed questionnaires. It’s a pretty great — albeit time-consuming — process which allows me to weigh in on things like cover design and even casting for the eventual audiobook. The exercise definitely had me thinking about aspects of the book I’d never considered before. Fun stuff.
PEOPLE AGREE WITH ME
A couple of weeks back, I wrote an edition of this newsletter that suggested that what was really behind the current writers strike was the fact that writers are just fed up with the way they’ve been treated in recent years. (You can read the piece here.)
Well, sure enough, there have been a couple of other pieces written since which articulate what writers have been suffering through as a creative matter far better than I did.
The first piece, written anonymously by a “Well-Known Creator” for The Hollywood Reporter describes the new circles of development hell which have become an unfortunate part of the Hollywood landscape. You can read it here.
(My agents think I wrote this piece. I didn’t. But I wish I had.)
The next piece is a Substack written by Julian Simpson, “On the Importance of Writers.” I similarly commend it to your attention.
I guess Julian had some regrets about what he described as his “punching down” in this piece. I disagree that that’s what he was doing, but he followed up with an equally compelling essay about the way development is equally hell for execs and I found it to be as accurate as his piece on the plight of writers. You can read that one here.
THE DGA DEAL
In addition to being a member of the WGA, I’m also a member of the Directors Guild of America. As you may or may not have read, late Saturday night the DGA arrived at a tentative agreement with the DGA. What’s my take on the agreement? So glad you asked…
I think it’s a solid deal. A decent deal. I certainly don’t think it’s a bad deal. At the same time, however, it’s not the “groundbreaking” agreement that Jon Avnet proclaims it to be. It’s neither revolutionary nor historic.
The only problem is that we’re clearly in a historic and critical moment for labor, if not nationally, then at least certainly with respect to the entertainment industry. And the DGA deal, while solid, fails to meet that moment. Put another way, if this were an ordinary negotiation cycle, this deal would be fine albeit unremarkable. But we’re not in an ordinary negotiation cycle, as anyone can see.
To be clear: I don’t think the DGA’s Negotiation Committee “capitulated” or “folded” or did anything Vichy-like. I do, however, think they underestimated both the membership’s hunger for a deal that was truly groundbreaking and the leverage conveyed to them by the WGA’s labor action, SAG’s imminent strike authorization, and the significant power of strike threat by the DGA.
The deal is fine and I will likely vote in favor of it. But I’m left with wondering what could have been.
SPEAKING OF SAG
The other day I was quoted in a new Vanity Fair piece as saying, a potential actors strike is “incredibly important, because without actors you definitely have no production. And once you shut down production all across the board, it really does change the game. It’s a lot of money to be hemorrhaging on a daily basis for the studios.”
Say what you want about me, I’m not afraid to state the obvious.
STAR WARS
Oy, I really have to get better at this whole “self-promotion” thing. This past Wednesday saw the release of the second Han Solo & Chewbacca trade paperback and the second of my three issues of Yoda and I forgot to publicize either release in last week’s newsletter.
But they’re out there and I’m excited. Han & Chewie Volume 2 not only completes the Crystal Run story, it also lays the foundation for threads that are picked up in Revelations and Dark Droids.
And those of you who read Revelations will definitely see a connection in Yoda #8. I’m a fan of reading and writing things with “invisible tapestries” — connections between different stories that aren’t “required reading” but, rather, just there in the background for you to notice and enjoy if you so desire. Star Wars in particular lends itself to that kind of storytelling and I’m grateful to be able to play in that sandbox.
DREAMWORKS ANIMATION
It was a pleasant surprise to see my name mentioned in this Hollywood Reporter article about “How DreamWorks Animation TV Changed Children’s Programming.”
Q & A
Last week, in the comments, Blitz asked:
In [ARROW] 5X17 Adrian Chase makes Oliver admit that his crusade was an excuse to kill people, I feel this might be projecting on chase's part as he is the one using his father's death as an excuse to kill people for something "so much more than revenge" as he puts it. Would you say this could be an accurate reading of that scene?
It absolutely is. And I’d also add that you’ve hit upon the perfect description of what we were trying to do with that episode. It was very tricky to write and for the cast to produce, but it’s one of my all-time favorites because of the audaciousness have getting your main protagonist to admit, on camera, that the entire show — at the time nearly five seasons long — that the entire premise of the series is built on a lie. Crazy, powerful stuff.
Thanks for the question, Blitz!
Be good to each other.
Best,
Marc
New York, New York
6.9.23
Would argue that 5x17 gambit works so well because Diggle immediately calls BS in 5x18. These two make up another great mini-arc like 3x10-12
That scene in Arrow certainly was crazy, powerful stuff. And I love the invisible tapestries description - I hope someday I can add my own thread to that galaxy!