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

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 

Interview with Franklin Leonard of the Black List - Part 3 - The Black List Statistics

Part 1 - The Origin of the Black List
Part 2 - Criticisms of the Black List

In this final segment of my interview with Franklin Leonard, we discuss some of the statistics of the Black List.  Also, I pitch Franklin an idea for notifying the Black List winners that's even more unexpected than the Twitter announcement this year.  His response may surprise you.

Franklin also explains what he looks for as a development executive when he reads a script.


Thanks again to Franklin Leonard for being my first guest to return to the show!  I hope you guys enjoyed the interview.

Interview with Franklin Leonard of the Black List - Part 2 - Criticisms of the Black List

 Part 1 - The Origin of the Black List

So the new Black List is out!  You can find it on their website here or you can just mosey on over to Go into the Story for the details.

Every year, the release of a new Black List is accompanied by some familiar complaints (and if I'm being frank, some misunderstandings) about the selections.  While I had the list's creator, Franklin Leonard, in the hot seat, I couldn't resist asking him about this.  So if you are suspicious that agents and managers try to manipulate the list, or you hate the fact that so many established writers are on it instead of undiscovered ones, you probably should take a look at this.


The final part will come tomorrow!

Interview with Franklin Leonard of the Black List - Part 1 - The Origin of the Black List

Today at 9am PST, The 2012 Black List will be announced via Twitter at their handle @theblcklst.  It's the highly-anticipated list of scripts in Hollywood that have been voted "most-liked" by a survey of Hollywood industry professionals.

But while we wait for that, perhaps you'd be interested in hearing the origins of the Black List, which is explored in the first part of my three-part interview with Black List creator Franklin Leonard.  I've talked with Franklin before about Black List 3.0, but this time we're talking about the colonel's original recipe version of The Black List.



Part 2 - Criticisms of the Black List

Interview with screenwriter F. Scott Frazier: Part 4 - The Bitter Questions

Part 1 - His stats and process
Part 2 - "How do you get an agent?"
Part 3 - The Working Writer.

And now we come to the conclusion of my interview with F. Scott Frazier.

As I've said before, I'm a big fan of Inside the Actor's Studio.  It's my goal with these interviews to hopefully explore the craft of writing as well as James Lipton probes his subjects on the craft of acting.  To that end, I plan on concluding each interview with "The Bitter Questions," a series of serious and silly questions that will hopefully allow the writers to reveal something unexpected about themselves.


If you're interested in seeing how Liz Tigelaar handled the same questions, you can find that segment here.

And that's a wrap on F. Scott Frazier!  Thanks again to Scott for stopping by to chat.  Keep sending in follow-up questions today and I'll pass them on to Scott.

Interview with screenwriter F. Scott Frazier: Part 3 - "The Working Writer"

Part 1 - His stats and process
Part 2 - "How do you get an agent?"

Our chat with screenwriter F. Scott Frazier continues with a discussion of some of the realities of being a working writer, including going on meetings, dealing with notes, pitching for assignment work and dealing with rewrites.




As I said yesterday, feel free to submit follow up questions and I'll forward them on to Scott.

Part 4 - The Bitter Questions

Interview with screenwriter F. Scott Frazier: Part 2 - "How do you get an agent?"

Part 1 - His stats and process

In this segment of my interview with screenwriter F. Scott Frazier, I ask him the question every writer gets from aspiring writers: "How did you get your agent?"


I've talked to Scott and he's agreed to answer any follow-up questions you guys have.  Just leave them as comments or email them to me and I'll pass them on for Scott to answer in a post sometime next week.

Part 3 - The Working Writer.
Part 4 - The Bitter Questions

Interview with screenwriter F. Scott Frazier: Part 1 - "His stats and process"

The new Black List is upon us and what better way to celebrate that fact than a chat with one of the honorees on last year's list, F. Scott Frazier.

Scott landed on last year's list with Line of Sight, which is currently in development over at Warner Bros., but Line of Sight was actually his third sale, and he's had three subsequent sales since then.  Yes, that means that Scott has sold six projects in about a two-year period.  A guy that successful might be someone you'd be interested in learning from, no?

In the first part of our chat, Scott and I run down his stats and talk a little bit about his creative process.


Many thanks to Scott for sitting down for our chat!  Come back tomorrow for more with F. Scott Frazier.  And I highly suggest everyone follow him on Twitter at @ScreenWritten.

Part 2 - "How do you get an agent?"
Part 3 - The Working Writer.
Part 4 - The Bitter Questions

Interview with TV writer Liz Tigelaar, creator of "Life Unexpected" - Part 13: The Bitter Questions

Part 1 - Breaking in as an assistant
Part 2 - First Staff Writer Job on "American Dreams"
Part 3 - How Do I Get an Agent?
Part 4 - Selling a Pilot
Part 5 - Personal Themes in Writing
Part 6 - Genesis of "Life Unexpected"
Part 7 - First-Time Showrunner
Part 8 - Developing the second year of LUX
Part 9 - Dealing with network notes
Part 10 - Controversial LUX storylines
Part 11 - LUX lives on
Part 12 - Network overall deal, working on Once Upon a Time and Revenge

I confess, I'm a big fan of Inside the Actor's Studio.  It's my goal with these interviews to hopefully explore the craft of writing as well as James Lipton probes his subjects on the craft of acting.  To that end, I plan on concluding each interview with "The Bitter Questions," a series of serious and silly questions that will hopefully allow the writers to reveal something unexpected about themselves.

This segment also has what might be my favorite moment from Liz Tigelaar.  See if you can guess what it is.


And that's a wrap on Liz Tigelaar!  I hope you enjoyed this interview as much as I did.  Huge thanks goes out to Liz for being so generous with her time AND being willing to put up with being interviewed by a puppet.  You can follow Liz on Twitter at @LizTigelaar.

Also, I highly recommend two Nerdist podcasts on which Liz appears.  There's a little bit of overlap in the discussions there and in this interview, but because I'd heard one of these and saw a report on the other before I interviewed Liz, I made a conscious effort to not ask Liz too many of the same questions.

This podcast also features writers Robert Hewitt Wolfe (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Alphas) and Dana Gould (The Simpsons.)  There's a lot of great writing insight, but also a lot of funny moments among the group too.  It's an hour and twenty minutes, but it feels like half that.

Meanwhile, this podcast is a recording of a panel from the ATX Television Festival earlier this year and in addition to Liz, it features Jane Espenson (Once Upon a Time; Husbands; BSG; Buffy) and Erica Messer (showrunner, Criminal Minds).  The topic: "Women on TV."  Yes, they wade into the issue of gender politics in Hollywood.

Interview with TV writer Liz Tigelaar, creator of "Life Unexpected" - Part 12: Network overall deal, working on Once Upon a Time and Revenge

Part 1 - Breaking in as an assistant
Part 2 - First Staff Writer Job on "American Dreams"
Part 3 - How Do I Get an Agent?
Part 4 - Selling a Pilot
Part 5 - Personal Themes in Writing
Part 6 - Genesis of "Life Unexpected"
Part 7 - First-Time Showrunner
Part 8 - Developing the second year of LUX
Part 9 - Dealing with network notes
Part 10 - Controversial LUX storylines
Part 11 - LUX lives on


How about some more business oriented questions? In this segment, Liz explains what it means for a writer to have an "overall deal" with a network.  If you read the trades, you may have seen that term crop up a lot.

The other interesting apsect of Liz's answer is the way she explains how a show can evolve beyond its original conception as other members of the writing staff contribute their voices and imprint their perspective onto the show's voice.

Further, Liz explains the difference between writing on Once Upon a Time and writing on Revenge, and how working on both shows forced her to come at stories in a way unlike her usual process.



Part 13 - The Bitter Questions

Interview with TV writer Liz Tigelaar, creator of "Life Unexpected" - Part 11: LUX lives on

Part 1 - Breaking in as an assistant
Part 2 - First Staff Writer Job on "American Dreams"
Part 3 - How Do I Get an Agent?
Part 4 - Selling a Pilot
Part 5 - Personal Themes in Writing
Part 6 - Genesis of "Life Unexpected"
Part 7 - First-Time Showrunner
Part 8 - Developing the second year of LUX
Part 9 - Dealing with network notes
Part 10 - Controversial LUX storylines


This was one segment of my Liz Tigelaar interview that very nearly didn't make the final cut, but the more I thought about it, the more I realize it speaks to one element that every writer should strive to bring to their work: passion.

I've followed Liz on Twitter for a while, and one thing I noticed is that in the year that followed LUX's cancellation, Liz and the cast tweeted each other frequently, often referencing the fun they had on the show, or lamenting that they weren't still working together every day.  It was a little like seeing an incredibly close-knit group of high school or college friends dealing with the fact that they all had to go off and live their own lives now.

My own observation is that that sadness underscores the really deep connection that all involved had with the material and with each other.  I don't get the sense that this was "just a job" for any of them.  Sometimes writers and actors tire of their material and when the end comes, they're ready to move on.  Or there may be writers who can churn out episode after episode with the same characters, but are dispassionate about the show.  Maybe they're good at figuring out what sells, or what people are willing to watch and they

But the best writers give all their heart to the material, whether it's a series, a feature film, or even a short film.  When you talk to Liz Tigelaar about Life Unexpected, there's no doubt that she loved that show.  In fact, as I say to her at the start of this clip, I wouldn't be surprised if the show still lives on in her head, with seasons full of untold stories about those characters.



I hope that every one of you gets the joy from your writing that Liz clearly did from hers.  And if you don't, ask yourself why.  If you can't connect to your own work that deeply, how is anyone else going to be able to?

Part 12 - Network overall deal, working on Once Upon a Time and Revenge
Part 13 - The Bitter Questions

Interview with TV writer Liz Tigelaar, creator of "Life Unexpected" - Part 10: Controversial LUX storylines

Part 1 - Breaking in as an assistant
Part 2 - First Staff Writer Job on "American Dreams"
Part 3 - How Do I Get an Agent?
Part 4 - Selling a Pilot
Part 5 - Personal Themes in Writing
Part 6 - Genesis of "Life Unexpected"
Part 7 - First-Time Showrunner
Part 8 - Developing the second year of LUX
Part 9 - Dealing with network notes

Regular readers of this blog will know that I've watched many a teen drama in my day.  They'll probably also remember that there are certain tropes of those shows that drive me nuts.  And one that really, really gets under my skin when it turns up is when one of the teen characters has an illicit affair with one of their teachers.  Considering how repugnant such an act is in the real world, it always disturbs me when television aimed at teen viewers romanticizes such an act.

I didn't mince words when I discussed my feelings about Life Unexpected's foray into that territory.  But it's important to remember that that post was written mid-season.  Liz Tigelaar hadn't shown all of her cards yet.  We somewhat explain this in the interview, but I want to make sure that everyone's clear on the context.  After several episodes of exploring Lux's attraction to her teacher, the storyline veers into exploring the abuse Lux suffered in one of her foster homes.

Without getting too deep into the plot complications, I'll just explain that at one point, Lux is being pressured to take the stand against her former foster father.  If she doesn't, her friend could end up facing assault charges.  Lux resists for a while, but when she does eventually testify, she drops a bombshell on the courtroom.  Her foster father (whom her friend is accused of assualting) sexually abused Lux when she was in his care.  The result is one of Britt Robertson's best-acted scenes in the series.

There's also a wonderfully nuanced reaction from the actor playing the teacher, as he silently realizes that Lux's attraction to him is very likely the result of what was done to her.  He realizes how wrong this affair is before she does. To my recollection, I've never seen the student/teacher affair plot handled that way, with the romantic fantasy suddenly ripped away to expose the sordid, horrifying reasons why this kind of thing happens in real life.

In this segment, Liz talks about arriving at that plot.



Part 11 - LUX lives on
Part 12 - Network overall deal, working on Once Upon a Time and Revenge
Part 13 - The Bitter Questions

Interview with TV writer Liz Tigelaar, creator of "Life Unexpected" - Part 9: Dealing with network notes

Part 1 - Breaking in as an assistant
Part 2 - First Staff Writer Job on "American Dreams"
Part 3 - How Do I Get an Agent?
Part 4 - Selling a Pilot
Part 5 - Personal Themes in Writing
Part 6 - Genesis of "Life Unexpected"
Part 7 - First-Time Showrunner
Part 8 - Developing the second year of LUX

Network notes.  Is there anything that a writer dreads more?  After all, we've been conditioned to think of everything that went wrong with our favorite shows as being something that was forced on the creators by a meddling network.  Specifically in the case of Life Unexpected, it seems that there were concessions that were forced on Liz Tigelaar and her team.

Interestingly, when I asked Liz about the process, she chose to focus on the positive.  And in some ways, maybe that's a saner, healthier way to look at it rather than grumble over all the things that got ruined.



Part 10 - Controversial LUX storylines
Part 11 - LUX lives on
Part 12 - Network overall deal, working on Once Upon a Time and Revenge
Part 13 - The Bitter Questions

Interview with TV writer Liz Tigelaar, creator of "Life Unexpected" - Part 8: Developing the second year of LUX

Part 1 - Breaking in as an assistant
Part 2 - First Staff Writer Job on "American Dreams"
Part 3 - How Do I Get an Agent?
Part 4 - Selling a Pilot
Part 5 - Personal Themes in Writing
Part 6 - Genesis of "Life Unexpected"
Part 7 - First-Time Showrunner

And we're finally here.  Some of you may remember a long piece I wrote about Life Unexpected when it was midway through its second season.  I had really been a fan of the series and its potential during the first season, but upon its return, I couldn't help but feel that some of my favorite aspects of the show had been shunted aside.  At the same time, new elements left me... well... disappointed.

So I wrote "An Open Letter to the CW network and Liz Tigelaar," where I detailed a number of my issues.  Mostly I laid the blame at the CW's feet for taking a really sweet and original show and trying to force it into a mold akin to several other shows they were already making.  Looking at it now, I can't help but notice that this post was longer than my average writing, though perhaps even more blunt than normal.

In case you're wondering, Liz saw that post.  In fact, it's probably not unfair to say it played AT LEAST an indirect part in landing me this interview.  For a lot of reasons, I wanted to touch on the challeges of season two, the compromises and network-mandated changes that they had to make.  Those topics are spread over a few interview segments with the first being this one.

I think this offers an interesting window into the give-and-take of producing a show for network TV.  And it's not all bad.  Liz also reminisces about her favorite moments from season two.



Part 9 - Dealing with network notes
Part 10 - Controversial LUX storylines
Part 11 - LUX lives on
Part 12 - Network overall deal, working on Once Upon a Time and Revenge
Part 13 - The Bitter Questions

Interview with TV writer Liz Tigelaar, creator of "Life Unexpected" - Part 7: First-Time Showrunner

Part 1 - Breaking in as an assistant
Part 2 - First Staff Writer Job on "American Dreams"
Part 3 - How Do I Get an Agent?
Part 4 - Selling a Pilot
Part 5 - Personal Themes in Writing
Part 6 - Genesis of "Life Unexpected"

Though Liz Tigelaar had worked in television for many years, it wasn't until 2010's "Life Unexpected" that she had worked her way up to the coveted position of showrunner.  For those who don't know, a showrunner is the person setting the creative direction for the series.  They're the final say (except for the network), they hire the writers and directors and it's their vision that everyone works to implement.  Usually (but not always) this person is the creator of the show as well.

In this segment, we touch on the development of the long-term arcs in the first season and some of the many things that Liz was faced with during her first year as show-runner.  You could probably spend an hour just talking about this element of television production, but Liz's answer here presents an overview of the things she and her writing staff developed during that season.



Part 8 - Developing the second year of LUX
Part 9 - Dealing with network notes
Part 10 - Controversial LUX storylines
Part 11 - LUX lives on
Part 12 - Network overall deal, working on Once Upon a Time and Revenge
Part 13 - The Bitter Questions