10 Years of Bitter Posts - Video Interviews with Liz Tigelaar, Franklin Leonard, F. Scott Frazier and Jeffrey Lieber

When I created the Puppet to give me a way to be a little more public, the thing I was most interested in doing was interviews with writers. This shows I hadn't considered two things: 1) how much harder it is to operate a puppet than it looks and 2) most writers HATE going on-camera.

Despite that, I found a few VERY patient writers willing to spend up to an hour talking to a puppet with all the gravity they would give an NPR interview - while also basically assuming ALL the risk of looking ridiculous.

What I'm saying is, Liz Tigelaar is a saint for trusting me enough to be the first one on deck. You might be watching this 13-part interview and wonder, "Is Liz Tigelaar as nice as she seems?" No! She's nicer!

In this conversation with Liz, we trace through how she got her start as a writers' assistant, working as a staff writer, creating Life Unexpected and much, much more.



Equally patient was Franklin Leonard, who sat for two interviews, one about the history of the Black List in general and one announcing the launch of the Black List website.



Speaking of the Black List, multi-Black List writer F. Scott Frazier also endured questions about how he broke in and gave us some insight into being a working feature writer.


And after that I had a fun interview with TV showrunner Jeffrey Lieber. Jeffrey got his start in features, wrote the original pilot that became LOST, and then created MIAMI MEDICAL. After our interview he ran NCIS: NEW ORLEANS and was a Consulting Producer on THE ORIGINALS. If you're on twitter, you probably also know Jeff from his "Showrunner Rules."



Original posts:
Liz Tigelaar interview
Franklin Leonard interview
F. Scott Frazier interview
Jeffrey Lieber interview

10 Years of Bitter Posts - The Puppet and 12-Step Screenwriting

After this blog had been established for a few years, a friend suggested to me that I should find a way to expand my audience to YouTube. At the time, it was enough of a novelty that it wasn't unreasonable for someone with an existing following to have a shot at reaping some extra coin vial ad revenues.

There was just one problem - having been concerned from the start that such blunt criticism could hurt my employability (remember kids, the internet is written in pen), I wasn't keen on throwing all that away so soon and subjecting the internet to my face. In pondering this dilemma, the solution arose initially as a joke - what if I used a puppet and HE became the face of The Bitter Script Reader?

If I thought merely being anonymous added a level of mystique to my writing, speaking through a puppet only inflated that novelty. I don't think anyone would have sat for screenwriting lessons delivered by the "real" me on video - but put that stuff in a puppet's mouth and it becomes almost surreal enough to get the audience more engaged.

We first introduced the puppet in "Shit Script Readers Say," figuring it couldn't hurt to tie into a then-popular internet meme. Alas, I learned very quickly I was no Jim Henson and there was quite a learning curve involved in making the puppet come alive. It's a very subtle thing, giving a puppet life on screen and I came out of the experience with a new respect for real puppeteers.



After that video, we soon transitioned to basic screenwriting lessons. I tried to offer my own sort of MasterClass (before there even WAS such a thing as MasterClass) via 12-Step Screenwriting. It was a weekly series that took you through the broad basics of writing a screenplay, act by act.


I tried hard for this series to be a guide rather than a list of "rules" and mandates that things MUST happen by particular page numbers. Hopefully it was taken in that spirit. I try to be a guide more than a guru. People have told me that this helped them understand some of the basic concepts of screenwriting and I'm always flattered to hear people got something out of this.

For now, the puppet is retired. A big factor was that it was a lot of effort for very little reward. I found it limiting to always have to stick the puppet behind a desk and I feared the audience would become similarly bored too. We considered a couple sketches, more elaborate pieces that would have the Bitter puppet interacting with people and other puppets, but the simple fact was that the effort of producing those videos on a weekly basis was greater than what we were getting out of it.

This reminded me of something that occasionally slipped my mind - my goal was to be a professional writer, with blogging being sort of my side hustle. The more I put into YouTube, the more I was working harder at being The Bitter Script Reader than actually writing screenplays and spec episodes. When I've got something to say, I can dash off a blog post pretty quickly, but a video? That's at least an entire afternoon of shooting and then editing.

If you consider Bitter self-promotion, then then lesson I learned here was to not let self-promotion eclipse the product. As important as it is to market yourself and network with others in pursuit of work, all of it is meaningless without product to show for it.

That's the screenwriting lesson no one ever gives you - you only get to spend each moment once, so make sure you're putting enough of those moments into your pages.

The Puppet returns to YouTube on Future World!

As promised, my appearance on Future World's New In Box is here!

The hook of the show is that host Chris Waild asks people what childhood toy they always wanted but never got. With that list in hand, this taller (seriously guys, Chris is a giant), thinner Santa Claus takes to the internet and supplies the toy, which is then unboxed on video before its new owner.


When the invitation was extended to me to appear on New in Box, the obvious question was "What to ask for?" My instant impulse was "Castle Greyskull!" I owned a lot of He-Man action figures (and even a She-Ra, which I got no end of shit for when I was a kid), but never had the coveted playset. However, that thing is huge and I knew there was no way my wife would let me bring it in the house. Ditto for my second choice, the Ghostbusters Firehouse. This led me to the next most obvious toy: Optimus Prime.

None of you will believe this, but I swear I didn't think about the straight line from Optimus Prime to the Michael Bay Transformers films to my book about Michael Bay. For one thing, I had no idea that Chris was going to purchase my book and become perhaps its biggest fan. When you watch the video, I know it looks like this was a brilliantly Machiavellian scheme on my part to turn the whole thing into a commercial for MICHAEL F-ING BAY: The Unheralded Genius in Michael Bay's Films, but I wish I was that clever.

Nor did I expect Chris to give such a passionate plug. My assumption that the mention of the book would be limited to a passing mention in my introduction. The effusive praise for everything about the book? That's all Chris, and in fact, the uncut version of that was probably almost twice as long!

But he's a smart guy, so you should go here and buy my book. It's only $4.99 on Kindle!

I really, really enjoyed appearing on the show. Chris and his team were a delight and it was some of the most fun I've had shooting a video with the puppet. I even got a cool toy out of it!

Future World's YouTube Channel can be found here.
Future World's Twitter: @ftrwrld
All episodes of New in Box are collected in this playlist.

Promos for the Puppet's big return on FUTURE WORLD!

Several of you have asked me in both emails and Twitter if we're ever going to see the puppet again. I don't see any permanent sort of return in our future because those videos eventually became a drain to produce with just a two-man team.

However, that doesn't mean he's gone forever. Tomorrow, I'll be making an appearance on the latest NEW IN BOX from Future World. Future World has several running series, including a very funny series called LEGO ADULT, which consists of promos for fake Lego sets that are relevant to adult situations, such as Soul Sucking Day Job and TV Shippers Survival Kit.

In NEW IN BOX, host Chris Waild asks people to name the childhood toy they wanted the most but never got. Then he goes online and buys it, with the unboxing of the cherished toy being the centerpiece of the video. You can find all the videos here and they include items such as Crystal Pepsi, a Ghostbusters Ghost Zapper, and a Hey Vern! It's Ernest! Talking Doll.

My episode debuts sometime tomorrow. Here are some fun promos:

Optimus Prime and @BittrScrptReadr have our crew a little too excited! On the next NEW IN BOX: pic.twitter.com/kIMD7QDduE

— Future World (@ftrwrld) May 29, 2016

This Transformers/Pixar's Cars shared universe theory changes everything! On tomorrow's *ALL NEW* episode: pic.twitter.com/MaAjBRGruh

— Future World (@ftrwrld) June 1, 2016

On Thursday's ALL NEW episode, @BittrScrptReadr drops a cartoon truth bomb! Get ready to debate, fanboys...#NiB pic.twitter.com/hh1eQ92dgX

— Future World (@ftrwrld) May 30, 2016

On Thursday, @chriswaild will be Whoopi to the Swayze of @BittrScrptReadr. Here’s your NEW promo clip of the day: pic.twitter.com/01M2nptrdr

— Future World (@ftrwrld) May 31, 2016

And check out one of my favorite NEW IN BOX episodes here:

Webshow: How much of a twist to reveal?

I'd be shocked if there's anyone reading this who hasn't wrestled with this question - when pitching someone your story, should you lay the major twists on them?  Or is it better to let them discover those twists when reading the script?  There's a pretty good case for both options, which means there's not an obvious right answer.  So we'll delve into that question in this week's video.


The videos are going on a brief hiatus, but don't worry. The Puppet will be back soon!

Webshow: Using a spec pilot to break into TV writing

This week's video answers a reader question about how viable it is to break into TV writing using a spec pilot.

Webshow: Voiceover

Going in concert with a Scott Myers post that goes live later today, today's video deals with when and when not to use voiceover.  There's conventional wisdom that voiceover is a lazy crutch that good writers shouldn't use. Is that accurate?

Webshow: Flashbacks

So how true is the "rule" that writers should "never" use flashbacks.  In this week's video, we'll explore that question.

Webshow: "Do I need to move to LA?"

Another question a lot of you guys are fond of asking is "Do I need to move to LA?"  Take it away, puppet...

Webshow: "Lies about guru beat sheets"

There's a frequent perception that script readers base all their evaluations on the tenets discussed in Blake Snyder's "Save the Cat."  So is there any truth to this?  Hear what the Bitter puppet has to say.

Webshow: "How to be a Reader"

One of the most frequent questions I get is "How can I be a script reader?"  Having just walked away from my reader jobs, this seemed like a good time to address that question on the YouTube channel.

Webshow: Worst Query Submission Ever

A fairly popular question when people find out what I do for a living is "What's the worst script you ever read?"  Honestly, after a decade in L.A., the vast majority of scripts I've read have faded far from memory.  There are the ridiculously awful ones that are impossible to erase, though.  This is the story of perhaps the most memorably awful of those.

Webshow: Casting

This week we turn our attention to something that I suspect a lot of writers fail to consider when they start writing: casting.

Interview with film and TV writer Jeffrey Lieber - Part 6: The Bitter Questions

Parts 1 and 2 - How did you get an agent? and First sales and going into TV.
Part 3 - The early genesis of Lost
Part 4 - The process of developing a show
Part 5 - Cable TV vs. Network TV

Our week-long interview with Jeff Lieber (Lost, Miami Medical, Tuck Everlasting, Crash and Burn) concludes as Jeff takes his turn in the hot seat with "The Bitter Questions."  Learn what Jeff considers his proudest and his most self-indulgent moments in writing, among others.


And if you're curious about how other writers handled the same questions, check out this handy playlist that houses all of those segments.

Interview with film and TV writer Jeffrey Lieber - Part 5: Cable TV vs. Network TV

Parts 1 and 2 - How did you get an agent? and First sales and going into TV.
Part 3 - The early genesis of Lost
Part 4 - The process of developing a show

Our talk with writer Jeff Lieber (Lost, Miami Medical, Tuck Everlasting) continues.  In this segment, Jeff talks the difference between developing a show for network TV vs. cable networks.  He also discuses how he goes about developing a show that draws on real life events and people versus shows with more fantastical elements.



Find Jeff on Twitter at @JeffLieber.

Part 6 - The Bitter Questions 

Interview with film and TV writer Jeffrey Lieber - Part 4: The process of developing a show

Parts 1 and 2 - How did you get an agent? and First sales and going into TV.
Part 3 - The early genesis of Lost

In this segment, Jeff Lieber discusses the process of pitching a TV series and what he feels goes into making a successful pilot. By way of explanation, he tells us a little about his new series "Crash and Burn," coming soon to FX.


Follow Jeff on Twitter

Part 5 - Cable TV vs. Network TV
Part 6 - The Bitter Questions 

Interview with film and TV writer Jeffrey Lieber - Part 3: The early genesis of Lost

Parts 1 and 2 - How did you get an agent? and First sales and going into TV.

If you look up Jeff Lieber's credits, it will probably leap out at you that he's credited as a co-creator of Lost.  However, not only did Jeff never write for the series, he never worked with fellow co-creators J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof. So what was Jeff's role in the genesis of the series?  What did his version of the Lost pilot contain?  Click on the video for the answers.



Find Jeff on Twitter.

Part 4 - The process of developing a show
Part 5 - Cable TV vs. Network TV
Part 6 - The Bitter Questions 

Interview with film and TV writer Jeffrey Lieber - Part 1 & 2: "How did you get an agent?"

This week, it is my honor to be interviewing Jeffrey Lieber, a writer who's been very active in both film and television.  To some of you, his name might be most familiar as a co-creator of Lost.  Others of you might know him as the writer of the film adaptation of Tuck Everlasting.  For many years now, Jeff has been a working TV writer.  In addition to creating Miami Medical, he's also worked on The Whole Truth, Chase, Pan Am and Necessary Roughness.  His latest project is an FX drama called Crash and Burn, which is centered on the lives of stuntmen in the pre-CGI era of filmmaking.

Jeff is also known around the blogsphere for his list of 200 "Showrunner Rules," which are handily archived here thanks to fellow blog warrior Scott Myers of Go Into The Story.

And don't forget to follow Jeff on Twitter.

In our first segment, I dive right in and ask Jeff how he got his first agent.


In our second segment, Jeff discusses his first script sale, his first produced film, and his shift from features into television.



Come back every day this week for the remaining parts of the interview!

Part 3 - The early genesis of Lost 
Part 4 - The process of developing a show
Part 5 - Cable TV vs. Network TV
Part 6 - The Bitter Questions 

Webshow: "Reader question about rewriting screenplay as a pilot"

A reader recently asked me if it was a good idea to rewrite his screenplay as a pilot.  Assuming he did this, he also wanted to know if people in the industry would be interested in reading both versions.  Here is what I had to say:

Webshow: "Gross-out Gags"

Today's video deals with a trope that can be hilarious when used correctly, but quickly repulses me when done badly.  I speak of gross-out gags involving bodily fluids.