![]() “ NONE OF IT would have been possible, if not for the things I learned on Twilight Zone as a Staff Writer and Story Editor,” he continued. ![]() ![]() “There is no film school in the world that could have taught me as much about television production as I learned on Twilight Zone during that season and a half,” continued Martin while describing his first 10 years of TV - “long before HBO and Game of Thrones.” After the episode was in the can, I sat in on some post-production, and watched the editors work their magic. I learned from them too.” I watched the stuntmen rehearse the climactic sword fight (in the lobby of the ST ELSEWHERE set, as it turned out), and I was present when they shot that scene and someone zigged when he should have zagged and a stuntman’s nose was cut off… a visceral lesson as to the kind of thing that can go wrong. With Phil and Jim and Harvey Frand (our line producer, another great guy who taught me a lot), I watched dailies every day. I worked with the directors. I was present at the table reads. “The Last Defender of Camelot” was the first of my scripts to go into production, and I was on set every day. I did not just write my script, turn it in, and go away. I sat in on the casting sessions. I learned about production as well. The moment I arrived, Phil threw me into the deep end. I wrote five scripts during my season and a half on TZ, and I was deeply involved in every aspect of every one of them. O’Bannon, the incredible Alan Brennert, Michael Cassutt, and a bevy of fantastic freelancers. And not just about dialogue and structure and the language of scriptwriting. “What I knew about television production when I got off that plane at Burbank was… well, so minimal I can’t think of a pithy analogy. But I learned. I learned in the writers’ room from Phil himself and the amazing staff he had assembled for TZ: Jim Crocker, Rockne S. (In the 80s, Staff Writer was the lowest rung on the ladder. You could tell, because it was the only job with “writer” in the title).” ![]() “For the first fourteen years of my career, I wrote only prose a few novels, and lots of stories for Analog, Asimov’s, and various other SF magazines and anthologies. Much as I enjoyed television, I never dreamt of writing for it until 1985, when CBS decided to launch a new version of The Twilight Zone, and executive producer Phil DeGuere invited me to write an episode for them. A freelance script that was how you began back then. I decided to give it a shot… and Phil and his team liked what I did. So much so that within days of delivery, I got an offer to come on staff. Before I quite knew what had happened, I was on my way to LA with a six-week deal as a Staff Writer, at the Guild minimum salary, scripts against. 'Game Of Thrones' Dunk & Egg Prequel 'Knight Of Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Night' Gets HBO Series Order Martin Didn't Want 'Game Of Thrones' Spinoff Title For 'A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight' To Sound Like 'Beavis & Butthead' 'Game Of Thrones' Spinoff 'A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight' Shuts Down Writers Room For Duration Of Strike, Says George R.R. Had it not been for the old system where writers worked their way up, he never would have learned how to actually make a series. In his latest blog post, the author talks about how he got his start in TV by writing for The Twilight Zone in 1985. Martin has no patience with mini-rooms and how they make it impossible for new writers to succeed.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |