Shawna Benson

TV Writer. TV Geek. Possibly an actual TV.

[shawnambenson]

The 100 3x08 BTS Photos

I wanted to get a few photos out there for people who were asking for them. Sorry I couldn’t tweet them during the show this week. I have a lot more set dec photos, but I’ll probably tweet out a few of those during other episodes, where they are relevant. 

A close up of the map in the Chancellor’s Office. This is for you, geography buffs!

A close up of the close up. I particularly like how the ‘Sighting of Pauna’ made it to the map.

A lamp in the Chancellor’s Office. #ILoveLamp

Director John Showalter (center) works with Ian, Bob, Mike and Donna on blocking for Kane’s interrogation scene.

You wouldn’t recognize these two guys, but they are the stand-ins. After a scene is blocked with the actors, the stand-ins are there to be on their marks so the lighting and camera guys can run through their paces and make adjustments until it is time to bring the actors back to set.

Director John Showalter at Video Village, waiting to shoot a scene.

Bloicking with the actors up in the Observation Tower overlooking Arkadia.

Alie tries to recruit Jasper! Or, maybe Erica and Devon are just chatting (while Steve Oben, set super joins in.)

Showalter discusses the scene with Isaiah.

This was the last night of shooting episode 308, which happened to coincide with some pick-up shots Dean White was shooting for 301, which had Ricky on set with us. I guess he saw someone he loved or hated and tackled him.

Jarod, Jonathan and Chelsey wait to shoot their montage piece at the fire pit. It was pretty cold that night, so I imagine they ended up being warmer than anyone once the fire was lit.

[nprglobalhealth]

This Oscar-Winning Film Could Help End Honor Killings In Pakistan

Louis C.K. tried to bring some respect to the best documentary short Oscar last night: “You cannot make a dime on this [category]. These people will never be rich for as long as they live. … All they do is tell stories that are important.”

But the winning film may do something more important than make money — it could save lives.

The Oscar went to Pakistani director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy for A Girl In The River: The Price Of Forgiveness in the best documentary short category. (She had won previously, in 2012, for the film Saving Face.)

Her new 40-minute documentary tackles the tough topic of honor killings in Pakistan, from a rare point of view: a survivor’s. Saba, an 18-year-old girl, was shot and thrown in a river by her own family for secretly eloping with her lover — and lived to tell the tale.

The film also examines the interpretations of Islam that allow this brutal practice that claims the lives of more than 1,000 girls and women each year, and the human rights groups lobbying for new laws to protect them.

In her acceptance speech, Obaid-Chinoy said that after Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif watched the film, he said he would change the laws on honor killing.

“This is what happens when determined women get together,” she said. “That is the power of film.”

Read the full story here. 

Image: Courtesy of HBO

[npr]

An amazing story on women who are fighting to end honor killings. -Mabinty 

[okbjgm]

I'm wondering something and I hope you won't mind offering up a little bit of introspection. To what extent do you think you've been changed by this experience? Not just in the "if i could change what's been done, I would" way but in some sort of way that may effect your future work? Do you think you will keep this event in the back of your head in the future when writing for underrepresented and vulnerable audiences?

i have learned that no matter how much you know – or think you do – you don’t know nearly enough about the difference between how you believe your principles, and think you stand by them, in the abstract versus how the work is received in the real world. 

what has happened here is a huge lesson for me: it tells me that no matter how ultra-liberal i may be in my own mind, i was still a party to something that wounded a lot of people with whom i sympathize politically. 

this experience has been a massive blow and a revelation that even a well-meaning lefty can get complacent. it informs everything, but i don’t expect anyone to take my word for it, but rather to judge what i do moving forward. 

[shawnambenson]

I’ve had a similar revelation. Life changing, really. I hope to write about it soon, but for now I am going to quietly read and listen, really listen to all the fans.

To say I had an epiphany yesterday would be an understatement. My mind blew open. And it will change my view of story and fans forever.

[okbjgm]

Plot question: If Becca came down 2 years post cataclysm, why would the surviving humans, who lived as adults with technology, treat her as a religious figure? I'm curious how the grounders began the new faith.

the religious interpretation of becca’s coming was probably not something the first survivors came up with. our idea is that generations probably died off early in the post apocalypse, and in the absence of formal schooling, long term familial attachments, recorded history, and so on, the language and customs degraded quickly. it’s not that the first grounders saw becca as a goddess, or spoke trigedasleng, but rather that a few decades in – with people dying so young and so quickly and society so unstable, the collapse in language, the degradation of tradition, and the transformation of the language into a primarily spoken pidgin of english – the world had quickly degraded into something beginning to resemble the grounder culture seen in the show. like the message in a game of telephone. we do not think becca lived very long on the ground because of the radiation… and a few generations in, well, as arthur c. clarke put it, any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

[okbjgm]

Basically what happened is that two writers from the 1OO held a periscope where they said that Clarke was Lexa's soulmate but Lexa wasn't Clarke's. I know you can't confirm or deny this, but it still hurts knowing that it happened. They then proceeded to talk about how Bellamy might be in love with Clarke because of the way he looks at her. At this point it just feels like rubbing salt in my Lexa shaped wound. I miss her so god damn much.

i answered a question like this in another ask – here is what i posted:

“i understand that some of the other writers of the show did a periscope today discussing the relationship – there are a lot of opinions in a writers room, the only one who makes canon is the showrunner, and the showrunner decides what’s onscreen. ultimately, we all – because there are twelve of us in a room working these stories out at the showrunner’s direction – have different ideas of what is really happening, but at the end of the day, only what’s onscreen matters.”

[okbjgm]

As someone who is bi and has been shunned from my "community" and bullied, told I'm not "gay enough" told my bisexuality was "just a phase" I would like to say that there is nothing wrong with a bisexual woman ending up with a man. Anyone who thinks otherwise is contributing to bi erasure and bi phobia that is already so prevalent and hurtful in this community that is supposed to be accepting. I am bisexual and I fell in love with my husband and that does not change my sexuality. - 1

My previous relationships with two women were not a “phase” but they didn’t work out. It happens and you move on, and I fell in love with someone else who just happens to be a man and for that the biphobia and backlash that I faced from some of my own lgbt “friends” was disgusting. Bisexuality is not a phase, that is not what I believe anyone was trying to insinuate, and more importantly my sexuality is not dictated by the gender of my partner. This mindset is hurtful and needs to stop - 2

i do not believe that bisexuality is a “phase” and would not endorse work that espouses that world view.

[okbjgm]

I the whole ALYCIA WANTED TO COME BACK thing true, did she actually want to come back but Jason said no? I think this needs to be cleared up as theres a lot of roumers that are tarnishing the show

the problem is not whether anyone loved the show enough to return, or didn’t love alycia (and i keep saying this, she is absolutely blameless in all of this) enough to have her back. the problem is that FTWD is made by a different studio than the 100. basically, the competition has her under contract. to have continued the character would have put the hundred and the corporation that makes it in the very difficult position of having to request that a competitor pass onto us one of their prized actors, in whom they themselves have invested a great deal. it was possible for us to negotiate to get six episodes to wrap up her arc – and i wholly understand how unpopular the decisions we made have been – but to try to continue with the character having absolutely no right to her time and effort because of the restrictions of her contract in another series would have been impossible.

[okbjgm]

thirteen

over the last 24 hours, the response to episode 307 of the 100 has been staggering. i have handled the response in a number of ways - many of which have only made some angrier - but through it all i have stayed on social media trying to fully absorb the overwhelming tide of opinion.

if my retweeting/reblogging, or trying to explain the show’s creative process, or expressing my belief in the integrity of our work, or even the occasional attempt at levity – or any of the other responses i have posted so far – came across as an attempt to mock or diminish the loss you feel at the death of a beloved character (and what that death means in the broader context of a difficult reality outside the show’s creative bubble), i am truly sorry.

moreover, the reason i have stopped offering explanations is that i understand that your pain is real and – at this moment – other considerations are secondary. 

the reason i will keep reblogging/retweeting your communications is to acknowledge that i am receiving you and to make it clear that i am still present - reading, listening, and engaging.

if you were hurt by our dramatic choices – and those choices brought to you a bitter reminder of the all-too real cruelty of our world – please know that i acknowledge your grief, respect your right to anger, and believe that you should be heard.

because of that, i am taking your words regardless of how you come at me. my name is on the episode. while many have taken my ongoing claim that i stand by the work as a form of defiance, part of standing by the work is accepting, and learning from, its reception for better and worse.

i love the 100. i cherish the cast, crew, writers, and all of the fans. just as i was here when everyone was cheering, i remain now that some are hurt by our choices, and i will continue to listen, and, in doing so, to understand.

[shawnambenson]

Javi is a great role model. I only hope when I am at his level or if I write something that causes pain in others, that I will be able to follow his example of empathy and grace.

I’m doing my best, seeing as how I too had a role in this show. I have always made myself available to fans, because it is what I would have wanted as a fan of a show I loved. I will continue to read all of your tweets and tumblr questions, but I apologize that I cannot possibly answer them all (and I believe my answers would never be satisfactory) and yes, it is very painful for me to see how much hurt many of you feel.

I never meant to provide false hope or cause any pain. I am truly sorry if anything I’ve said or done has led you to believe that my intentions were anything but earnest desire to provide a means for your feedback and questions.

As I said on twitter yesterday, I have learned a great deal in my very first TV writing job, more than I could have ever expected. And as someone who suffers clinical depression and has dealt with very dark periods of my life, I am particularly affected by some of the grief and hopelessness I have seen in the last two days.

All I can say right now is I hear you and I am sorry for your pain.

[artistalleypod]

Visit Original Link

In this episode: Merrill sits down with screenwriting sisters Shawna and Julie Benson to discuss tough love, access and the creative war of attrition.

Download this episode

Recorded: February 10th, 2016

Music: “Black Sweater Massacre” and “It Might Be Perfect Right Now” by The Reigning Monarchs

[shawnambenson]

Julie and I talk about stuff. Not very much #the100 talk, but we do talk about writing and our journey to become writers.

[shawnambenson]

did you guys deliberately (knowingly) go all Star Trek 1 with Polis? was it an accident? was it a beautiful nerdfest? It was awesome.

What, you mean VGER? No idea what you’re talking about. ;-)

[okbjgm]

so the village from last night’s episode of #the100 had a tree that bled acid and burned with poison gas - we christened it “the asshole tree” and based on that, and the grounder penchant for naming things after pre-apocalyptic word fragments, the village was nicknamed “shole” … it’s pronounced “show-lay” by the way.

[shawnambenson]

This was the one doodle I tweeted about last night that I was hoping Javi would post. AND HE DID.

The Asshole Trees!

[okbjgm]

i frankly think pike would have been a better leader had he been the “mirth skills” teacher… and this would have been his textbook. #the100

[shawnambenson]

I just realized the reason most fans are missing out on Javi’s wonderful doodles from our time in the writers’ room this season is that he’s tagging it in Instagram for twitter, but on Tumblr everyone tags ‘the 100′ with a space between the word and number.

So here’s me, retagging one of them and saying GO FOLLOW JAVI AND ENJOY ALL THE DOODLES!

[pemberleydigital]

Looking for Writer Interns

We’re looking for writer interns for some upcoming projects. Email pemberleydigital at gmail. Position is paid. Must be located in LA - do not send samples.

[shawnambenson]

If you live in LA and are interested, email them. They are good people and you will learn a lot!

[okbjgm]

how’s that xena going?

so i keep being asked how this project is going, which is AWESOME and makes me grateful.

so, in order to make sure i am always giving you the best quality of information, here are some facts and a timeline…

right now, this is a script order: that means we are not yet green-lit to film, but rather, i have to write a script that convinces NBC network to:

a. let us shoot a pilot to see if they want to make a series or…

b. give us a straight-to-series-order series.

because we are not yet in production, we do not have any of the following…

a. a casting director – or plans for casting until we are given an order for production.

b. jobs for writers, directors, assistants, or any staff on any level.

there are three entities involved in this thing in addition to myself right now… 1. rob tapert, sam raimi & company, 2. NBC international studios, and 3. NBC network. 

we are all working together on the project, but the way the creative goes is that i work things out with tapert and co, then that all gets approved by NBC international studios, and then finally by the network. 

the network is who makes the call as to whether or not we make the pilot or go to series.

THE STEPS TO A XENA SERIES…

1. i meet rob tapert and convince him that i am the guy to write/executive produce with him and company….ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED in september of 2015

2. we work together on a pitch to take to NBC international… ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED in october of 2015

3. NBC international hears our pitch, agrees that our pitch is righteous and correct – they give their feedback, we address feedback, finalize the pitch and take it to NBC network… ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED in november of 2015

4. NBC network hears our pitch, agrees that our pitch is righteous and correct and orders a script… ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED in december of 2015

5. i write a detailed story outline based on the pitch, and work with tapert & co. to make sure the outline is righteous and correct… ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED in january of 2016

6. NBC international agrees that the outline is righteous and correct and gives their feedback, i address their feedback… ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED in february of 2016

7. we send the resulting outline to the network… LEVEL IN PROCESS

THE NEXT FEW LEVELS…

8. the network gives feedback, i address the feedback… 

9. NBC network approves the outline and sends me to script…

10. i write the script!

11. tapert & co read the script, they give feedback, i address the feedback, they agree that the result is righteous and correct, and the script goes to NBC international studios…

12. studio gives feedback, i address the feedback, they agree that the script is righteous and correct, and approve it to go to network…

13. network gives feedback, i address their feedback with the input of tapert and co. and nbc international studios…

14. the network agrees that the script is righteous and correct and gives a pilot or straight-to-series order…

depending on that, our process becomes a garden of forking paths… so let’s stick with these fourteen steps for now, and as we level up, i’ll let you know!

battle on, xenites!

[shawnambenson]

This is why things in Hollywood move S L O W L Y and then speedupreallyfast.

Lots of steps.

[ofhouseadama]

Hello! So as I started delving into working on my own fic for The 100 I found myself in need of a map of the 12 clans… largely because as a huge fantasy/ASOIAF nerd, I do love me some maps and family trees. So I did my best to create my own map of The 100′s world. All borders and locations of the clans have been estimated using the current geography of the United States (mountains and rivers and valleys) and context clues from the show. Click on image for full size. 

[1] The starting point of the map was Mt. Weather, one of the solid locations we are given. From there I estimated the 20 miles between Mt. Weather and the drop ship based on the assumption that the drop ship landed to the east, further down the Blue Ridge Mountains, and Arkadia/Camp Jaha was established even further South than that, since it is stated that Arkadia is an 8 hour walk from Mt. Weather.  [2] TonDC is estimated to be in the DC metro area, and Polis to be in the Baltimore area. ALIE’s mansion and Murphy’s lighthouse I guessed to be in the Cape Cod area, since we know it is probably (due to the Statue of Liberty being seen in the Dead Zone) across the Long Island Sound on what was a pre-existing body of water.  [3] Lincoln states that the Boat People are “to the east and across the sea” so I estimated that their lands are on the Chesapeake Bay, Northern Neck, Delaware, the Delaware Bay, and southern New Jersey. [4] The Rock Line, Shallow Valley, and Blue Cliff clans are situated in Appalachia among the mountain tops, the Graveyard Fields, and Blue Ridge Mountains.  [5] The name “Broadleaf Clan” connotes a tropical location, and using the Roanoke River as a natural border, I situated them in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. For the “Glowing Forest” clan I chose the Ozarks. The Plain Riders provided the obvious choice of the most eastern Plain states after one crosses the Mississippi, and in a similar vein I placed the Lake People up near the Great Lakes.  [6] The Delphi clan was the hardest to chose a location for, and after deliberation I concluded that they could take their name from the city of Delphi, Indiana, located in Northeastern Indiana.  [7] I know that this map is much larger than I think most of us headcanon the 12 clans taking up. I most enthusiastically concede that the geography of the United States has changed vastly since the nuclear apocalypse that pre-dates The 100 but based on what we know now, I think my conjecture of the general locations of the clans is sound. 

I hope this map is helpful to other fic writers and The 100 fans. Please feel free to save it for personal use, but please do not remove the URL watermark in the bottom left corner or claim as your own. If you do decide to repost somewhere, please credit. Thank you! 

[the100theories]

This might help you visualize The 100 universe and place all the clans.

[shawnambenson]

Helpful hints: "Delphi" is derived from 'Philadelphia'. Other than that, pretty good! Don't know if we will be able to release a map, but you may catch glimpses of one in the Chancellor's Office...

[shawnambenson]

Hey !! Enjoying the season 3 so far ! Nice work ! But I've one question though : when Kane got the result of the election, and he gave Pike the chancellor's pin, why didn't he warn Indra (through walkie-talkie) about that threat ??

We discussed this in the room and concluded that if Indra was using the walkie talkie to contact Kane, she likely would not have had it on as she would not have expected him to contact her. And by the time they were attacked, it was too late. No one could leave camp to warn her since it was locked down.

[shawnambenson]

Hi Shawna, I have a 305 question, if you could explain the show's angle here: Clarke and Lexa are in favor of peace and ending the cycle of violence, which is great (and it shows why they are the visionary leaders). But shouldn't they also want justice? Pike, Bellamy and the Farm Station group that massacred a peacekeeping army in their sleep need to pay for what they've done. The same way Nia did, or Finn. Is this something that will be explored in upcoming episodes? (1/2)

I feel like this angle was missing from the final scene with Indra, Lexa and Clarke. Once they agreed that war against all of Arkadia isn’t the answer, why didn’t Clarke argue for justice the same way she argued for it in 304 over the MW explosion? The 300 soldiers are her people too. There are interesting parallels to real world events: police brutality, mass shootings, xenophobia. The people committing those acts should be tried for their crimes - that perspective seemed to be missing. (2/2)

Well, you saw the decision, but you haven’t seen past that yet. Stay tuned.