BEST WRITTEN TV SERIES

101

BEST WRITTEN 

ENGLISH-LANGUAGE
(meaning eliminating most of the world)
TV SERIES 

OF ALL TIME
(meaning 60 years)

Chosen by WGA Members 

[Writers' Guild of America],

the professional association 

which every film/television writer joins 

(voted by internet, 6/13).....

Some great series were left out, 

but (as writer/director/teacher)

I agree with 95% of these choices. 

Every film and television student and writer 

should watch ALL of these. 

Really!

GIVING UP THINGS WE LOVE

STANLEY FISH May 27, 2013, 9:00 pm 414 Comments

Moving On

By STANLEY FISH

Stanley Fish on education, law and society.

I have sold my books. Not all of them, but most of them. I held on to the books I might need while putting the finishing touches on a manuscript that is now with my publisher. I also kept the books I will likely need when I begin my next project in the fall. But the books that sustained my professional life for 50 years — books by and about Milton, Spenser, Shakespeare, Skelton, Sidney, Herbert, Marvell, Herrick, Donne, Jonson, Burton, Browne, Bacon, Dryden, Hobbes — are gone (I watched them being literally wheeled out the door), and now I look around and see acres of empty white bookshelves.

DESERVED FILM AWARDS

Taiwan gave out awards for best student scripts and films....

Taiwan has some of the most creative filmmakers, who all need much more support from the government, society, and Taiwanese audiences.

CONGRATULATIONS,  MICHAEL WU CHIA-HSU !

http://blog.sina.com.tw/movieseeds/article.php?pbgid=122285&entryid=628764

FILM DIRECTOR FRED TAN

Personal antagonism by certain key Western Taiwanologist film writers have made Fred Tan Han-chang semi-disappear from film history....It is time for Taiwanese and International cinema lovers to rediscover this unique director, who was as important in the 1980s as Ho Hsiao-hsien and Edward Yang Teh-chang.

1st ENGLISH TAIWAN FILM DICTIONARY-ENCYCLOPEDIA

DEAR MARGO ®

Margo Howard is (by far) the best, most psychologically astute, mentally healthy "advice" columnist in the international English media. Her wise advice is not always 100% correct, as she is not a mind-reader or God, but it is as close to constructive and useful reality, (not self-help dogma or nice-sounding politically-correct platitudes), as humanly possible. 

If your newspaper doesn't have it, you can read her column at no charge on the net, from Creators.com [This is not a paid endorsement.]

SCRIPT PROCESS

There are NO rules in scriptwriting, filmmaking, or art.

Art is not science, mathematics, technology, or academic theory.

(Even in science, mathematics, technology, and academic theory, rules always change.)

Art (including film) comes from the always-changing human spirit and heart.

Books and teachers only give you opinions.

Sometimes the opinions are stated very strongly, and you may feel intimidated.

Think deeply about the opinions, use the opinions that are useful, and forget the rest.

The following are not rules, but only suggestions.

These suggestions are based on my personal experience, and that of other professionals.

They can be very useful.

IMPORTANT:

Give your imagination complete freedom.

Do not try to judge your own work.

Artists are usually the worst judge of their own work. They are too emotionally close to it.

Do not show your script drafts to anyone (except good teachers)….

Normal people do not know how to read scripts, or how the films will look.

Classmates opinions may be too limited, or they may feel jealous.

Friends don’t want to hurt you.

Parents want you to quit being a writer and get a good job.

Bad teachers want to prove they are smarter than you.

Do not edit your script until after the Rough Draft is completely written.

Show the Final Draft of your script to carefully selected people whose opinions you respect.

CHARACTERS

Every major and minor character in your script should be a real human being, with a past and a childhood.  (Even animals and animated characters should be real in their own worlds.)

It is very important that YOU know these things about your characters, even if it is not used in the script.

Create a short history for each of your characters.  It may seem like a lot of work, but I promise that your script will be MUCH better if you do this. Use these ideas as a guide……..

TV IS SERIOUS

One of the greatest moments ever on television.

Not 100% true about "old" glorified America, 

but as close to the political Truth as you can find on TV.

(The Wire" was even closer social truth.)

Pilot: "THE NEWSROOM" (2012, HBO). 

Created and written by Aaron Sorkin ("Studio 60").

Starring Jeff Daniels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16K6m3Ua2nw&feature=youtu.be

GOALS-DREAMS-FANTASIES-POWER-FAME-LEGACY

Hillary Clinton has been starving to be President for 20 years. Finally, she was ready for 2016. Then she had food poisoning, fainted, hit her head, got a blood clot, and could have died, or been in a coma forever.....Life and dreams are so temporary and as fragile as snowflakes. Plan for the future. if all goes as you want (which it won't), but live in the moment (because that is all we really have)....If you don't love, create, experience, and contribute something positive to society now, there may not be another chance....and if there is another chance later, you will be a different person.

IS ANYONE THERE?

Dear Readers, whomever you may be,
if there are readers,

I've experimented with the 21st Century for 12 years,
and I still don't get the point.....

HISTORY VS. TRUTH

History and truth are in the hands of the person in temporary power, subject to be changed at any moment by some writer who wants to win an award, secure tenure, sell books or a script. History and truth are relative.