REMEMBER, WE’RE NOT HERE update

The little documentary project I couldn’t get out of my head has already conducted half a dozen interviews this month and continues to move forward after a multi-year lull in production, and I couldn’t be happier. REMEMBER, WE’RE NOT HERE is a tongue-in-cheek exploration of how reality professionals feel about their place in the entertainment

Pro Tip: What’s Your Take?

If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you know that the notes process is generally one of my least favorite things about working in television. Why? a) Because some execs enjoy creatively thumbprinting the clay rather than just correcting / clarifying / asking for alterations that satisfy network quality standards, marketing, and

September? Already?

Holy Earth, Wind and Fire… it’s already September?  I can’t believe I haven’t posted since July.  How’s everything with you? On August 17, YouTube Red launched FIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD: EXPERIMENT 88, an original series I served on as Supervising Producer earlier in the year. Just last week, I started work on a new show

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Critics

I’m a basically happy guy, and only a couple of things ever really get to me in a way that messes with my default mood. Dealing with the occasional insecurities of other people who need to tear others down to fulfill their own power fantasies is one of those, but what are you gonna do?

Consulting: What It Is, What It’s Not

When I first moved to California, long before reality television seemed like a real career, I was hell-bent on writing for sitcoms and films.  I shelled out what I could afford (and what I couldn’t afford) on pitchfests, consultants, and anything that I thought would help me get a leg up in the entertainment universe.

Dumbth

Just posted my interview with fellow reality producer Jon Collins today and wanted to make special mention of the podcast in that it deals with a situation Jon and I have found to be a sticky one over the years: the nagging presumption that reality television viewers are somehow dumber than people who watch regular

REMEMBER, WE’RE NOT HERE podcast preview episode launches today at 12N PST

It’s my pleasure to announce the very first REMEMBER, WE’RE NOT HERE podcast launching today at 12 noon PST.  My inaugural guest is the funny and charming Joey Ortega, Manager of Development at Howie Mandel’s Alevy Productions, the folks behind content like MOBBED and DEAL WITH IT, currently airing on TBS Wednesdays at 10:30/9:30C.  Joey’s

On Flexibility

When I was young, I wanted to be a cartoonist more than anything.  I went to college, put out a couple of books that only did so-so in the marketplace, and came home one Christmas break to find an offer from an old friend to write a few commercials for Woody Woodpecker’s 50th Anniversary merchandise.

Pep Talks with Eddie Pepitone #15: Troy DeVolld

A one-hour podcast with my pal, comedian Eddie Pepitone (late of Conan, Arsenio and the Steven Feinartz documentary THE BITTER BUDDHA) and his wife, Karen Simmons, one of my frequently recurring reality television coworkers. Topics include reality television, pop surrealists, Allee Willis, Jennifer Pozner, tea at Harrods with my mother, and more.  

Gardening Your Resume

A job is a job is a job, unless the job is a non-job in the long run. What the heck do I mean by that?  Let me explain. In your early years as a reality television pro, you may be in a position where you have to take what comes. Obviously, you’d rather be