Howdy.
An off-Friday newsletter for this week so that I can share with you previews of some comics that are coming out this week. But first:
FEEDBACK
Chinyere writes:
Great notes on notes, Marc. đ It's my tendency to be the logic police, but I learned to give better reads by getting a lot of crappy notes. I learned to read the PAPER script twice (vibes first, then technical) toward two ends: what's the goal, and did the writer accomplish it; and how, if requested, I might assist them with that goal. Macro to micro. Keeps me more objective.đđ˝
I think thatâs a brilliant adjustment. I really wish we could get execs and producers to read a piece of material more than once. But just getting them to read it at all feels like a miracle in and of itself. A friend of mine once heard back from a producer who read his script and said, âYour script was so funny, I had to pull over.â
William N. Fordes writes:
I am gonna name drop. Was working with Marc Pedowitz on a project. At ABC at the time, now the CW maestro. Best exec I have ever worked with. His notes were specific, simple, direct and given with a sense of collaboration. They were ALWAYS helpful.
Giving notes can be great fun; even getting notes can be fun, or at least helpful. I learned how to take notes from watching Dick Wolf get notes from NBC execs. He played them like the cheap, untuned, tone-dear violins they wereâŚ.
Compare Pedowitz with a former Bruckheimer exec on a show I was working on. This guy was a loon. One day he came screaming into a writers room to tell me, in charge of the room, that I had ignored his notes, waiving an outline at me. I pointed out that the outline in his hand was almost two weeks out of date, that the notes on that outline had been executed, that the teleplay was almost ready and suggested we might wait for the tp to come out to get further notes. He insisted on giving notes on the outdated outline. He then insisted that a teleplay and an outline were virtually the same thing. I demurred. He objected. I suggested that, had they â the outline and teleplay â been the same thing, there would be only one word for them/it, not two. He then said that his notes were not suggestions, but orders. I suggested that I took orders from the head writer, who was not in the room, but that he might want to take it up with said head writer. He took umbrage. I was fired soon thereafter. I asked that they send my remaining checks for the next 9 episodes to HawaiiâŚ.. VERY WELL PAID vacationâŚ..
Mark (former head of ABC Studios, former president of the CW) is a gentleman and a scholar and, yes, always gives FANTASTIC notes. Example: Mark called me up after watching the first cut of Arrow Ep. 114 (âThe Odysseyâ) to praise the episode for all of its intense action, but that we shouldnât forget to âinclude something for the ladies.â
Anyway, later that same day, I got the broadcast standards and practices (BS&P) notes back for that same cut. In the present day portion of the episode, Oliver Queen (played by Stephen Amell) has been shot and spends much of his time lying on a gurney. BS&P asked us to â direct quote â âexplore the use of different camera angles and VFX to reduce the size of Stephenâs bulge.â
I forwarded the note on to Mark with a remark of my own: âIn light of our conversation this morning, should I push back on this note?â
Without skipping a beat, Mark told me to do so.
But BS&P wound up winning that (incredibly surreal) fight.
THE ADVENTURES OF ULYSSES MONARCH
Issue 3 of The Adventures of Ulysses Monarch drops on Comixology tomorrow (Tuesday, 6/24) and Monkeys Fighting Robots has a preview (which Iâve repurposed below):
You can check out the issue here.
SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE
The second issue of Spider-Man & Wolverine drops this Wednesday (6/25) and it is easily the most bonkers single issue Iâve ever been involved with. Once again, my friends at AIPT have a preview:
Art by Kaare Andrews. Color Art by Brian Reber. Letters by Travis Lanham.
PROJECT VISTA PLAYLIST
One of the writers on the PROJECT VISTA staff asked if I would have each title be named after a Billy Joel song. I, of course, wouldnât do that to them.
But it did get me thinking.
And so, without any useful context whatsoever, I present to you the PROJECT VISTA Billy Joel playlist:
Ep. 101 - Only The Good Die Young
Ep. 102 - I Donât Want To Be Alone (Alt: Code of Silence)
Ep. 103 - Modern Woman (Alts: No Manâs Land, Uptown Girl)
Ep. 104 - An Innocent Man (Alt: Temptation)
Ep. 105 - Honesty (Alt: Big Shot)
Ep. 106 - House of Blue Light (Alt: A Matter of Trust)
Ep. 107 - Storm Front (Alts: I Go To Extremes, Worse Comes To Worst)
Ep. 108 - Turn The Lights Back On (Alt: Everybody Loves You Now)
CAMPAIGN SEASON (for writers)
Today, the WGA West announced that current Vice President Michele Mulroney is, at present, running unopposed to be the Guildâs next president.
She would replace the current president, Meredith Stiehm, who is prevented from running for a third term.
Itâs worth noting, however, that Meredith also ran unopposed when she was initially elected in 2021.
Itâs virtually an open secret that WGA West elections favor the candidates selected by the Nomination Committee, but in Russia, they at least find some poor schmuck to run against Putin.
Donât screenwriters deserve the same head fake towards democracy?
Be good to each other.
Best,
Marc
Encino, California
6.23.23
COMING ATTRACTIONS
A regularly-updated list of upcoming releases and events:
THE ADVENTURES OF ULYSSES MONARCH (June 22, 2025)
SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE #2 (June 25, 2025)
STAR WARS: JEDI KNIGHTS #5 (July 2, 2025)
BRING ON THE BAD GUYS: GREEN GOBLIN (July 2, 2025)
BRING ON THE BAD GUYS: ABOMINATION (July 16, 2025)
BRING ON THE BAD GUYS: LOKI (July 29, 2025)
SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE #3 (July 30, 2025)
JUSTICE LEAGUE: DARK TOMORROW (July 30, 2025)
STAR WARS: JEDI KNIGHTS #6 (August 6, 2025)
BRING ON THE BAD GUYS: RED SKULL (August 13, 2025)
BRING ON THE BAD GUYS: DORMAMMU (August 20, 2025)
BRING ON THE BAD GUYS: MEPHISTO (August 27, 2025)
STAR WARS: JEDI KNIGHTS #7 (September 9, 2025)
GALAXYCON DES MOINES (September 12-14, Des Moines, Iowa)
NEW YORK COMIC CON (October 9-12, 2025)
X-MEN BY MARC GUGGENHEIM Omnibus (October 14, 2025)
STAR WARS: JEDI KNIGHTS Volume 1 (November 4, 2025)
Yay! Excited to read the next UM!