My articles for Screenprism are now part of The Take

In 2016, I had the pleasure of contributing to a site called Screen Prism where I conferenced in with the creators of the site and they spoke with film writers to create content that answered an FAQ  about film or television with a deep dive. The essays were a great mix of academic and popular in style and I'm extremely proud of my articles for them.

The site morphed into The Take and eventually focused solely on video content so some of my work got buried under the new site design.

Were Movies in the 1950s as White-Washed as Pleasantville Suggests?

https://the-take.com/read/were-movies-of-the-1950s-as-white-washed-as-later-films-like-pleasantville-suggest

Hint: No. This essay was precipitated by noticing that films in the 1940s and 1950s were extremely risque. I often say "Duck Soup" or "Double Indemnity" are great exhibits for how classic movies used to go places that screenwriting often can't today.

How does Mozart in the Jungle Reflect Amazon's New Business Model?
http://screenprism.com/insights/article/how-does-the-pilot-of-mozart-in-the-jungle-reflect-amazons-business-model

I noticed when watching this show that the pilot and the second episode had inconsistencies that got me thinking of Amazon's cross purposes in the creations of the pilot and the rest of the season.

Why don't Characters Never Change in Arrested Development and Seinfeld?
http://screenprism.com/insights/article/do-the-characters-of-black-comedies-like-seinfeld-and-arrested-development
This one explored the concept of black comedy. I had never seen "The Peep Show" but the editor kept wanting to add that in.

What is the real-life story of the Hollywood Blacklist Depicted in Trumbo?
http://screenprism.com/insights/article/how-did-the-real-life-hollywood-blacklist-shown-in-trumbo-affect-the-histor

As a student of film history, this one was fairly simple to write up and topical because of the release of the film at the time

Did the Writers Initially Intend for Mac of It's Always Sunny to be Gay?
http://screenprism.com/insights/article/has-the-character-of-mac-on-its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia-always-been-ga

There have been long discussions on message boards that inspired me to want to talk my own stab at writing this with both my own pet theory and a collection of what a lot of internet contributors were saying about the topic.

How does Ball of Fire Reveal the Themes of a Classic Screwball Comedy?
http://screenprism.com/insights/article/how-does-ball-of-fire-reveal-the-themes-of-the-classic-screwball-comedy
I was recently reading about screwball comedies and class in an old college textbook so this fit right in.

Who really wrote Citizen Kane?
http://screenprism.com/insights/article/who-really-wrote-citizen-kane-why-was-there-controversy-over-the-screenwrit
I was fascinated by the fact that Herman Mankiewicz's descendants felt the need to take up the mantle in defense of him decades later. I checked out three books from the library and wrote an article for Nostalgia Digest and reused some of the material here.

How did Cleopatra Destroy a Director and a Studio?
http://screenprism.com/insights/article/how-did-hollywood-disaster-cleopatra-almost-destroy-its-director-and-20th-c
This was from the same Mankiewicz brothers article as above as it was Joseph Mankiewicz who directed "Cleopatra".

My Response to 6 AV Club Q & A Prompts

The pop-culture website AV Club has a fun Friday feature where they ask their writers a broad question and have them riff on pop culture with differing answers and writing styles. I noticed that I have some pretty detailed answers from the comments section, so I thought I'd elaborate a little and paste some of them over here. 

What Pop Culture Screams 1997 to You?

The summer of 1997 reflects a time when the Summer blockbuster was trying to transition into the tent pole (so called because they hold up the profit line from all the riskier projects) industry we know today. Natural disaster films like “Volcano” and “Anaconda” and the annual film starring Harrison Ford as a gruff hero of sorts (i.e. "Clear and Present Danger", "The Fugitive", "Patriot Games"), “Air Force One” took up their spaces on the calendar. Efforts to sequalize big hits were burning into the ground with epic failures like “Lost World” and “Batman and Robin.”

It was at this time when the formula was more of a prototype than a sure thing that Barry Sonnenfeld released "Men in Black" from a comic book that was not a well-known existing property. Carrying the biggest budget of the year on a movie this (for lack of a better word) weird might not make sense in retrospect, but it was on the heels of a time when visually idiosyncratic film makers Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton had their biggest commercial successes ("12 Monkeys" for the former;  Batman series and "Edward Scissorhands" for the latter). It was as good a time an effort in the vacuum of a working formula to try a blockbuster that was visually weird and stylistically unique. It also had Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones who always seem to epitomize the 90s for me. 

Which Pop Culture Party Would you Like to Attend?

I like to think of myself as a reluctant extrovert, although I am likely not the only person with a duality between getting energy from personal interactions and being exhausted by all the complications therein. As a human-interest journalist, I love the opportunity to dive into unique subcultures what's the luxury of not having to declare myself a part of any of them. That's why being a caterer on the "Party Down" crew seems like a perfect fit. Every gig I take will, at the very least, be eventful for starters. I will be at liberty to partake in the event (the show's in-universe rules will find a way to stretch my fifteen-minute break into full-on party mode) should I desire, but if I'm feeling reticent, my uniform will allow me to stay in wallflower/observer mode without fully committing to being part of the scene. I would also get a lot of enjoyment out of watching my slightly depressed coworkers alternate between flirting with each other and destroying one another's egos.

What Romantic Comedy Couple Shouldn’t Have Ended up Together?

Credit: Rogerebert.com

Romantic comedies are a viable genre when handled with care, but there is no narrative trope that is more sorely in need of reexamination than the penchant to romantically pair off any two characters who make googly eyes at each other as the standard happy ending. Aside from how it bears little  resemblance to real life and encourages unhealthy expectations, it really dilutes the magic of a romantic ever after if it’s already a foregone conclusion. Nowhere does this seem more of an egregious mistake than the 2012 indie film “Safety Not Guaranteed.” Aubrey Plaza plays emotionally detached young adult Darius (in other words, Aubrey Plaza in full snark mode), on a quest with two other journalists to uncover the truth behind a strange man (Mark Duplass as Kenneth) who thinks he can time travel. Darius’s casual cynicism gets put through the blender, as she makes her way into Kenneth's circle of trust only through empathizing with him. In and of itself, this should be enough to make a great story. Furthermore, because it’s an indie film, it would have been a great opportunity to buck the oldest trend in the book and not pair the characters up. After all, they have no chemistry, the age difference between the two characters borders on gross, and it’s quite possible that Kenneth is mentally ill. Instead, the predictable end result takes down the movie a couple pegs to forgettable.

Which Film do You Wish You’d Seen When it First Came Out?

The easiest way to answer this question is to scroll down my all-time list of favorite films, cross-reference with the proper time period, and voila! But watching a brilliant movie I know will be brilliant and that I also know (with a few exceptions) my fellow movie watchers will also appreciate, will be a foregone conclusion.

Therefore, my criteria has to be brilliant yet baffling: Trying to predict audiences’ conflicting reactions to something as full of raw anger and as adeptly staged as “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolff” would be a hoot. Films like “Five Easy Pieces” or “The Graduate” are great films I have trouble fully grasping the thematic context of because of my distance from the counter-culture movement and experiencing these films during their times could be enlightening.

The one that keeps sticking in my head is “Brazil." Terry Gilliam’s dedication to visual purity often overshadows his extremely inventive storylines and this is one where the balance between the two really shine. Opinions will vary, but this is his first film which could be considered a classic and I would enjoy seeing people discover the idiosyncratic storyteller ascending to a new level of coherence, appeal and complexity in his work. It’s also a film that takes a while to get so the post-film discussion would consist of a lot of “huh”s but it would be a lot of fun piecing the puzzles and symbolism of the film together.

What TV Series do You Love but will Never Revisit?

I get confronted with this question every time I desire some comfort TV and tune in to find “Seinfeld” and “The Simpsons” (who the Gods of syndication have been eternally kind to) are pretty much always on. While this wouldn’t be an unpleasant use of a half-hour,  I have some strange resistance to revisiting either of the series that came to culturally define the decade in which I came of age. Maybe, it’s an act of rebellion against the perceived quality of these shows: While I tend to rail against hipsterish attitudes of consciously defining your tastes against the mainstream, I can’t help admitting that the high placement of both these shows on best-of-all-time lists drives me to want to define my tastes from this decade differently.

Beyond that, there’s plenty of pedestrian reasons to resent these shows. How can I not resent The Simpsons like a privileged child for being cancellation-free when every other show (including superior sister show “Futurama”) has to contend with the axe? How can I not blame the show’s success for Jerry Seinfeld’s leverage to get away with passive-aggressive behavior or Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s frustrating lockhold on lead actress awards in the present day? There’s a myriad web of reasons not to like these shows and while I find it difficult to put my finger on exactly what keeps me from turning to channel five, I know that I’ve been able to resist the urge for a decade.

What Pop Culture Becomes More Meaningful as You Get Older?

 Credit: Readthespirit.com

I've gradually gone from liking "Dead Poets Society” but not understanding the ending, to thinking it is a perfectly realized film. As a child, Robin Williams’ character of John Keating was so right and the stuffy administration so wrong that I found the film’s “Oh Captain, My Captain” scene to not make up for all the tragedy that had been happening in the third act. As I’ve grown into adulthood and learned firsthand the myriad of ways in which an employer can screw you over (including some not particularly well-received stints in the education sector), I’ve come to appreciate the “Oh Captain My Captain” scene as a pretty solid outcome for an anti-establishment type in an employment landscape that discourages such free thinking and isn’t necessarily fair. Besides, what is the job of a teacher other than to impart a lesson onto his students? He might not have stayed until the end of the school year, but he can rightfully say "Mission Accomplished".

Is Arrested Development a Show Where the Chracters are Meant to Grow

This article now appears at ScreenPrism. 

The fact that "Arrested Development" is still on the air at all is a gift so I'd have trouble complaining about the fourth season whether it fell below my expectations or not but there was plenty to like about it.

What was generally lacking in the humor department was what I call the medium range jokes. The long-term jokes-- running gags, jokes emanating from serial arcs (generally called brick jokes), and character beats-- short-range jokes (witty lines of dialogue) were both there in fine form, but "Arrested Development" had little interest in form-fitting any of its Season 4 episodes into a Seinfeldesque plot.

The show chose instead to tell one large arc and while the payoffs were satisfying throughout, the anticlimactic nature of the season finale felt a little disappointing and brings me to two big questions: Is the Bluth clan going to move in any direction along the success-failure dichotomy? Does the show need its characters to grow or does it work best when they're in purgatory?

See the rest of the article at Screen Prism

Looking at Guest Star rosters: comedy edition, pt II

Seinfeld: Phil Morris, Teri Hatcher, Armin Shimerman (Star Trek), Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle), Paula Marshall, Bob Balaban, Patrick Warburton, Marrisa Thomei, Jerry Stiller, Kristin Davis (Sex and the City), A.J. Langer, John Voight, Debra Messing, Lloyd Bridges, Janeane Girafolo

Highlights: Seinfeld has a longer list of guest stars that I could possibly make room to mention here or would even know of without far more extensive research, but it is interesting to note that many comic actors like Phil Morris, Jerry Stiller, Patrick Warburton, and John O'Hurley are most recognizeable through their Seinfeld guest roles. Seinfeld was also lucky to have some of the most attractive ladies in Hollywood (i.e. Paula Marshall, Teri Hatcher, Kristin Davis) playing opposite him. John Voight appeared as himself in one episode and bit Kramer's hand.

Newsradio: Bob Costas, David Cross, Patrick Warburton, James Caan, Brian Poehnson (Sara Silverman Show, Just Shoot Me), John Stewart, Lauren Graham, Jerry Seinfeld, Tiffiany Amber-Thiessen (Saved by the Bell), Kevin McDonald (Kids in the Hall), Scott Adams (creator of Dilbert), Janeane Girafolo, Bryan Callan (Mad TV)

Highlights: Without a doubt, Patrick Warburton and Lauren Graham made the most of their recurring roles. Warburton, in what I think is a very typecast role, plays an extremely affable and friendly evildoer (it all makes sense in Newsradio's bizarro world) and later plays a homeless bum and Lauren Graham plays a prissy efficiency expert who is more concerned with her "best friend" status with Lisa that she conjured than anything else. Before John Stewart was an intellectual icon to college students nationwide, he was Andy Dick's brother on Newsradio in a mismatch of the ages. Lastly, let's not forget that media outlets claiming 30 Rock was Seinfeld's first guest appearance on a sitcom were incorrect. He also played himself on an episode of Newsradio.

My Name is Earl: Giovanni Ribisi, Christain Slater, Norm McDonald, Amy Sedaris (Strangers with Candy), Katherine Kinney (Drew Carey Show), Mike O’Malley (Yes, Dear), John Leguazimo, Ben Foster (X-Men: The Last Stand)

Highlights: Not a lot of stunt casting has taken place on My Name is Earl, because the show doesn't neccessarily need it. Christian Slater is the most high-profile star to appear if this list is as complete as I think it is. Norm McDonald, who can out deadpan anyone on the planet, was incredibly well-used as a bar owner who transforms through the episode from cruel to benevolent and back again without much change in facial expression.

The Office: David Koechner, Conan O’Brien, Amy Adams (Junebug, Talladega Nights), Rob Riggle (SNL, Daily Show), Tim Meadows, Nancy Walls (SNL), Chip Esten (Whose Line is it Anyways)

Highlights: The Office is pretty vehement about avoiding stunt casting because it would take away the reality of the show. When Conan O'Brien appeared as himself in a very brief non-speaking cameo, the only self appearance on the list above, it was because Michael Scott was in New York and the documentarian caught Conan in his lens. However, aside from up-and-comer Amy Adams, and SNL alumni David Koechner and Nancy Walls (Carrell's real-life wife) in recurring roles, guys like Rob Riggle as a fun cruise captain and Tim Meadows as a respective client have added a little bit of star power in one-episode roles.

3rd Rock from the Sun: Wayne Knight, John Cleese, Cindy Crawford, Kurtwood Smith (That 70’s Show), Jan Hooks (SNL), William Shatner, Laurie Metcalf (Roseanne), Phil Hartman, Dennis Rodman, Mike Ditka, Kevin Nealon, Bryan Cranston

Highlights: Cindy Crawford probably tested her acting chops more than ever before as Harry's romantic interest and Wayne Knight enjoyed life comfortable after Seinfeld in this heavily recurring role as Sally's long-time boyfriend.

"Twenty Good Years" as NBC's annual fall guy

"Twenty Good Years," the NBC comedy that commericials on NBC advertised as the great new sitcom to come along pairing comedic legends Jeffery Tambour and John Lithgow, brought to you from the creators of Friends and the screenwriters of Will and Grace (or something like that) is not being renewed by NBC. Why am I not surprised? I was fairly sure Twenty Good Years would not make it through a first season when I saw the promotion for the fall season with its line-up of the two new comedies: the above-mentioned sitcom and 30 Rock.

Why? Because NBC does this practically every year. They always bring in some sitcom without a laugh track (i.e. 30 Rock, Scrubs, The Office, My Name is Earl) and one with a laugh track, and the one with the laugh track is pulled by the network and proclaimed as an embarrassment everyone at NBC Headquarters would like to forget about, before anyone's ever seen it. Before the show comes out, every person associated with the network talks about how great the show will be and how it's truly quality programming. People like Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence work into blog chats who lucky his show is to be alongside Twenty Good Years. Than once the ratings are low enough and they back the winner (this year it was 30 Rock), they discard the bad show out the window.

It's so disorienting: one minute Conan O'Brien is lavishing Matt LeBlanc about his new "hit" sitcom Joey during an interview and within a few months Conan is using the show as joke material for his opening monologue. The problem is that the network usually doesn't give the shows a chance to gel to the audience. Over on CBS, they practically never cancel anything. Mediocre shows like Yes, Dear and Still Standing stay on for years and a relatively decent show like Two and a Half Men and New Adventures of Old Christine are considered humongous hits when they are in fact nothing THAT special. The truth is that I prefer CBS's method. There are two things I want when I look for a sitcom: familiar/interesting characters and laughs. If a show is on long enough the characters start to get familiar which can easily replace interesting after a while and there are usually at least a few laughs per episode. So what happens is that when it's one in the afternoon and there's virtually nothing on TV but Yes, Dear and I feel like watching TV at one, then I'll turn on Yes, Dear. I don't particularly like it, but I can live with it and the more I watch it, the more I get accustomed to it and eventually enjoy it. So what I'm essentially saying is: keep something on the air long enough and the audience (at least from the experiences of this audience of one) will grow to it.

That rarely ever happens with NBC. They prop it up to such high expectations and expect it to perform to the level of their classic sitcoms like Friends and Seinfeld. NBC is all about quality and they have high standards but the truth is that some of these cancelled sitcoms like Happy Family, Good Morning Miami, Whoopi and Twenty Good Years are easily better than what CBS and ABC offer on the average. It also alienates viewers when programs are cancelled too quickly. Nothing is more frustrating to me as a viewer then when a show I'm liking gets cancelled.

Usually, these shows feature established stars like Jeffery Tambour and John Lithgow in 20 Good Years, John Laroquette and Christine Barinski in Happy Family, Whoopi Goldberg in Whoopi, Michael Richards and Tim Meadows in The Michael Richards Show, John Goodman in Father of the Pride, Nathan Lane in Encore! Encore!, Christina Applegate in Jessee, etc. The good news is that these short-lived failed sitcoms are treated as something equivalent to a stint in rehab and referenced to as an example of self-deprecating wit when the stars need to poke fun at themselves (aka "remember when I did Encore! Encore! hahaha).