#2005 interview

[perry-fics]

Check out this plot twist!

Steve wanted to see Gregg during the star ⭐ thing. He obviously didn't want to see Herbie tho lol

[fragenherrdoktor]

Shit Hirano says.

[de-cheval-et-chasse]

Stephanie SenGupta on television writing

Stephanie SenGupta wrote for the tv show Law & Order: Criminal Intent from 2002-2007, well before she became the co-creator* for Reign. She gave two lengthy, written interviews for a CI fansite** back in 2005 and 2006. These are some of the quotes I found most interesting and illuminating:

“I guess the thing I most dislike about American pop culture, specifically, is the way it tends to worship youth/inexperience and denigrate age/wisdom. Not that I have anything against youth and inexperience, but pop culture does take it to the Nth degree.”

“I’ve never really understood the whole idea of targeting demographics. I believe that young, old, men, women, rich, poor, etc… will tune in to watch good stories.”

“To me, the most important thing is that the actions of the bad guys, and those around the bad guys, make some kind of psychological sense from their pathological points of view. As long as I have a clear handle on why they’re doing what they’re doing, and why they need or want the things they do, I’m good.”

“My feeling about graphic depictions of violence in any script I write, whether for Criminal Intent or not, is that it should be evaluated in the context of the story being told, the medium, and the purpose of the violence within the scene and/or piece. What may be appropriately graphic in one script can be inappropriate in another. Where Criminal Intent is concerned, graphic depictions of violence aren’t always necessary to tell psychologically dense stories. It can be just as ghastly to show the devastation resulting from the violence. That’s not to say that there’s no place for violence on the show. Murder is a bloody business, and sometimes the violence shown is relevant to the story and its themes.”

“Generally speaking, when I create a new character, I might start with a prominent character trait or traits, or an image of the character in my mind, or some small detail about how the character speaks or walks or kisses or whatever, and then conjure a past, family history, hopes, dreams, disappointments, basically a life for that character so that I can imagine with some kind of psychological and emotional accuracy, how this person would behave in various situations. With a show like Criminal Intent, when bringing new recurring characters onto the canvas, it’s also important to consider what type of person would interact in interesting and dramatic (but authentic) ways with the existing characters.” “[O]nce cast, I do try to write to the actors’ strengths – but always keeping in mind who the character was conceived to be.”

“It’s always my goal to make the characters’ actions psychologically authentic and understandable, no matter how outlandish the behavior. Rewriting and listening to comments from my colleagues, the actors, etc… is a vital part of that process. Sometimes, something that works in my head just falls flat in the script, or doesn’t work the way I intended. For me, it’s invaluable to hear the script read during preproduction. That’s when the script becomes something that doesn’t just belong to the tips of my fingers, but actually exists out in the world. And that’s when it becomes painfully obviously when something just doesn’t work. But it’s also the point in the process where there’s the most potential for me to grow as a writer. Rewriting, solving the script’s problems, that’s where I find myself slamming up against my own limitations as a writer and where, if I’m lucky, I’m able to push those limitations back a tiny bit.”

“I believe a good writer has a clear voice and point of view and that those qualities manifest themselves in recurring themes, images, quandaries, etc… even when the writer may be too drunk or too busy chasing damsels and maids to be conscious of those recurring tropes. Or even when the writer is just too close to his or her own material to consciously discern patterns or design. That’s not to say that writers are blind to all of the subtext and meanings they layer into their work. That kind of layering is part of good craft. And a certain amount of detached self-awareness kind of comes with the writerly territory. But sometimes it takes the interplay of audience and material to uncork the full panoply of meanings. Of course, audiences don’t come to the material as blank slates. They have their own points of view, and that also influences interpretations.”

“I try to write characters that are individuals and not just the broad strokes of headlines. Individuals have specific personality quirks, mannerisms, habits, creature comforts, etc… and tend not to be stereotypical even when they fulfill certain aspects of a stereotype (which, after all, exist because there is an accuracy to them).“

“As a writer/teacher of mine at Tisch used to say, “Good lines are for postcards, not scripts.” If it doesn’t serve the scene, it doesn’t belong in the script, no matter how fun or provocative or pithy I find it.”

I think The CW was probably not a good fit for SenGupta, but I’m now more curious than ever as to how Reign would have developed had she stayed on and/or Laurie McCarthy had left instead, and how much of what appeared on screen can be attributed to her.

Regardless, I think these are very good interviews, both in questions and in answers, and I wish someone currently on the Reign writing staff would provide such insights for their show. Even if you’re not familiar with Criminal Intent (I’m not particularly), it’s a good read just to get a better idea of the approach and how everything comes together behind the scenes.

* I’ve read that Reign was SenGupta’s baby to start, but I don’t know if that’s been confirmed. ** Apologies for the c/p when the site asks people not to, but this isn’t about CI, so I went ahead.

[dissensus-japan-blog]

2005 Interview with the Current Head of Japan's Nuclear Policy: "Nuclear Power Is Profitable"／斑目春樹氏2005年の驚愕発言

Haruki Madarame, currently the head of Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan, is famously mocked as "Haruki DETARAME (Haruki the FALSEHOOD) because of his many questionable remarks in the past, including the ones in this video. This video shows an interview with him back in 2005 when he was still a professor in nuclear engineering at Tokyo University and a member of the Commission.  Translation by EX-SKF blog (http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/) and captioning by tokyobrowntabby.  If you want to know more about him, please visit EX-SKF blogposts: http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/search/label/Haruki%20Madarame

[mugenmine]

Martin Freeman: "Nothing's going to take me to Hollywood"

Do you think 'Hitchhiker's' is the movie that is going to 'Mackenzie Crook' you and take you into Hollywood?

"No. Nothing's going to take me to Hollywood, rest assured of that. I don't equate it with being a meritocracy in that way. It's like when people say 'It's a compliment; you're famous.' That's not a fucking compliment – Himmler was famous as well. I think it's just a fact of life – people have either heard of you or they haven't and that's not interesting. My interesting journey is to try to be good in good things. And Mackenzie is an absolutely delightful and very talented person, but he's got his tastes and I've got mine and they're not necessarily the same. So I don't particularly just want to do film to validate myself as an actor." - Martin Freeman (2005)

Things have changed in the past 7 years! Perhaps Martin's not going to Hollywood, but he's been to New Zealand definitely... Himmler was famous as well!  Ah Martin's wit slays me...

[iwannabeaphantomrider-blog-blog]

THE SMART THINKER, THE COOL REBEL, THE QUIET CHECKER AND THE CRAZY FREAK