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Here are Friday Questions for a hungry global society.

jcs starts us off:

Did you encounter actresses or actors during your career whose solid professionalism just blew you away (i.e. who were always on time, courteous and accommodating or who shined in the face of adversity)?

I was very lucky in my career. Most of the actors I worked with were consummate professionals.

Michael Douglas used to say that the lead actor in a show or movie had to “take responsibility as the star.” In other words, the whole tone of the set is determined by the star. If he’s a real cheerleader the set can be a pleasant environment for all concerned. If he’s an asshole there is a level of tension that is palpable.

I worked with cheerleaders. Alan Alda, Ted Danson, Kelsey Grammer, Tom Hanks, Adam Arkin, Nancy Travis.

I remember one time on ALMOST PERFECT with Nancy that we had a very complicated episode. After the audience was released there were hours of necessary pick-ups. We would be shooting until well after midnight. Other stars might’ve balked or been impatient or just generally unpleasant. Not Nancy. She was gung ho and as a result everyone involved got their second wind. I thought to myself, “THIS is a star.”

From Bart:

What do you do when you have an actor who requests a scene in which they sing? I'm thinking of the episode of Halt and Catch Fire, where, for no real plot reason, Boz (played by Toby Huss) sings Frank Sinatra. Wasn't really a part of the story, and could be done without. I'm guessing the actor asked for it? Has this happened to you?

That’s never happened to me personally, but I know when Cybill Shepherd had her sitcom she forced her writers to give her a song to sing, which would still be okay if she could sing.

Not sure what I would do. I guess it depended on the star and the show. I wouldn’t want to turn CRIMINAL MINDS into COP ROCK.

More often than not however, it’s the writers who ask the stars to sing. If you have a star who has a real gift you try to find a way to showcase it. Case in point, when David Isaacs and I were doing that series for Mary Tyler Moore we learned that series regular Katey Sagal had been one of Bette Midler’s Harlettes and could really sing. So we wrote a scene into an episode where she got to sing. It was a fun surprise to the audience. They were blown away and had no idea what an exceptional singer she is.

Now without naming names, there have been a few times when we wrote something into a script requiring an actor to sing (even a few lines) and learned at rehearsal that they just couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket. To avoid embarrassing the actors in question we always cut the singing parts.

And finally, from Brad Apling:

Has any TV writer career-wise successfully written for both comedy and drama (e.g. Cheers and Crime Story)? Granted that it's different style of writing & you're likely chosen based on writing a similar style before).

Several of them have. I know I’m leaving out more than I’m naming, but just off the top of my head: Matthew Weiner, Stephen Nathan, Steven Moffat, Phoef Sutton, Janet Leahy, Dave Thomas, Tom Straw, Dan O’Shannon, David Goodman, Jane Espenson, Geoffrey Neigher, Jenny Bicks, Karen Hall, David Fury, Michael Saltzman.

What’s your Friday Question?

from By Ken Levine http://ift.tt/2A4YCCu
Breaking News: Friday Questions - News Paper