 "Photo: Emily Corkery")
Tuesday evening at the "Kings of TV" panel discussion, two of Hollywood's most accomplished producers charmed UCR with their presence: Howard Gordon, an executive producer of FOX's "24" and Matthew Weiner, the creator and executive producer of AMC's "Mad Men." You may not know them by name, but chances are you've seen, or at least heard of, their work.
Moderated by Professors Robin Russin and Stu Krieger of the UCR Department of Theatre, the Q&A was delayed due to the rain and freeway traffic, but as the saying goes, "the show must go on."
To start things off, the event coordinators played for the audience the full-length pilot episode of the drama series "Mad Men," "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes."
When the credits rolled, Prof. Russin gave a brief introduction of Gordon who had just arrived. Growing up, Gordon said, Hollywood was a mere fantasy and his reason for chasing his dream was: "I didn't want to be broke." After graduating from Princeton University in 1984, he and fellow filmmaker Alex Gansa came to Los Angeles to pursue careers in writing for television.
As the guiding force behind a show like "24," Gordon said, "I take all the credit, and all the blame." After eight seasons writing for the same show, "it becomes increasingly difficult to create the story and continue in an interesting way. When you start losing respect for your writing, your show and/or your audience, you're doomed [...] Writing is like mining for coal with your fingers."
"Television is the infantry of the entertainment industry." Gordon went on to say. "And it's shrinking and expanding all the time. At first there were only three major networks: NBC, CBS and ABC. Now, there are so many other options with social media websites like YouTube in order to get your ideas out there to the public."
Gordon's other credits include work on "The X-Files," "Angel," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Beauty and the Beast," "Spencer: For Hire" and "Sisters." He was also the creator and executive producer of the innovative drama "Strange World."
At last, Weiner arrived and professors Russin and Krieger turned the focus onto him. When asked for thoughts or encouragements on breaking into the industry, Weiner had this to say: "My concise advice, don't give yourself a time limit to write. Don't try to gauge what everyone else is doing in the industry. And thrive on rejection."
Weiner began his career writing jokes for FOX's short-lived sitcom "Party Girl" (though he received no credit for it). He was also a writer and producer on "The Naked Truth" and "Andy Richter Controls the Universe." While working as a staff writer on "Becker" in 2000, Weiner wrote the pilot of "Mad Men," a spec script. David Chase, creator and executive producer of "The Sopranos" offered Weiner a job as a staff writer on his show after reading the script.
Weiner also sent the script in to HBO and told them, "This is the best script I've ever written"; words, he says, you should never say to a possible employer. "To this day, I don't know if my script was ever read," he said.
Eventually, Weiner finally got the chance to make his vision a reality. Although AMC tried to tweak his ideas, he told the company he needed its cooperation or things would not work out. "It will just make me cry," he said.
With little time left, the floor was then opened to questions from the audience, which was filled with aspiring screenwriters.
In closing, Gordon and Weiner gave some last words of advice. Gordon said, "This job is work. Be willing to work hard. Pick a mentor to admire, even if they're dead, and pick your critics wisely; don't just give your script to anybody."
Weiner said, "You're an artist, so perceive it that way. Selling your work comes second. Just know that everything you write, whether you sell it or not, will make you a better writer. It's a learning experience."
This event was the first presentation in the CHASS Leadership Series, and was made possible through the generous support of the UC Riverside College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. Hopefully, with these professionals' words, some of UCR's own will be inspired and encouraged to become Hollywood's next big thing.
Be the first to comment on this article!