The Scripts You Should Read If You Want To Be A Writer

For the most part, my posts focus on how to break in to the industry and offer a behind the scenes look at the television industry; I rarely...

A Recap for 2009

Perhaps the biggest story of 2009 for the UC system is the way a fake fiscal crisis has been used to consolidate the president's powers...

Video of the (Satur)Day

We watch this at least once a week in my house.  It's my 11 year-old's favorite scene of all time.  We're either the best parent...

Video of the (Thurs)Day

I really can't express how happy this makes me:  Grease Lip Sync - Watch more Funny Videos

Blogroll: Neely Swanson

As I've said before, there are countless blogs on scriptwriting, but I link only to those I believe will be most helpful to young writer...

Correction: COPYRIGHTING YOUR SCRIPT

Last weekend I received an anonymous comment about my post, COPYRIGHTING YOUR SCRIPT, which questioned the wisdom of my advice.  First, let ...

The New UC Mega Scandal? The U.S. Senate Investigates the UC Budget

In 2007, David Kessler, the Dean of the UCSF Medical School was fired after he complained that the campuses had provided him with false and ...

Blogroll: Kung Fu Monkey

Here's a wonderful post from Kung Fu Monkey regarding whether to write a spec of an existing series or a spec pilot .

Blogroll: Ken Levine

I love reading Ken Levine's blog .  Here's a wonderful post on how your life is not the making of a good sitcom . I'm significa...

HU Networking Forum

Join the HU Networking Forum and start a conversation.

Blogroll: John August

Most of you probably already read John August's blog ; if you don't, you should. It's wonderful. Thank you, Mr. August, for ta...

Blogroll: Fresh Hell

Here's an excerpt from Kira's blog, Fresh Hell, regarding general meetings: Generally Speaking TV staffing season is upon us! Shor...

Blogroll: Lisa Klink

Lisa Klink can teach you things. You should read her site and blog . Go. Now.

Blogroll: Complications Ensue: The Crafty TV and Screenwriting Blog

Thank you to Alex Epstein for the shout out on his blog . If you haven't visited his site, do so now.

Blogroll: The Thinking Writer

I've been very, very, VERY slowly compiling a blogroll (I hope to be done by 2011).  From the countless number of blogs about screenwrit...

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year?

By Warren Bell The only place busier than a shopping mall in the final weeks before Christmas is the comedy development department of any ma...

Video of the (Tues)Day

I can't get this song out of my head (perhaps because my teenager has it on a continuous loop)...

The Fabulous Life: The Hollywood Housewife

Forgive me for my lazy post. I'm recovering from the Hanukkah Morning hurricane that hit yesterday, and Ugg is recovering from her trip...

Only 3.5% of the UCLA Budget is Spent on Undergraduates: Where Does the Rest Go?

According to Steve Olson , the UCLA budget director, 12% of the UCLA budget in 2008-2009 came from the state, but over 50% of the core budge...

The Black List

The homecoming royalty of Hollywood has been announced.  Ladies and gentlemen, The Black List. The Black list (est. 2004) is essentially a ...

Video of the (Fri)Day

My husband's writers room had a tradition of starting each day with a must-see YouTube video. I've since learned that forcing other...

UC Pays Big Bucks for Fake Compensation Study

The UC has spent a great deal of money on hiring a consulting firm, Mercer, to analyze their compensation, and not only is the study complet...

Common Mistakes in Specs

I've had the pleasure of reading many of my blog followers specs.  Thanks to each of you who shared your material with me.  Below is a l...

Hollywood Holiday Card Giving

I've been addressing holiday cards for the past week. (I highly recommended minted.com to those of you looking for personalized cards.)...

The Ants Go Marching One Million By One Million

I've spent the last three mornings (my usual blogging time) battling an army of ants. When it rains in the valley, ants infiltrate the ...

The True Fiscal State of the UC System

If you want to know the truth about the University of California’s finances, there is no better document than the recently released (11/19/2...

Holiday Gift Idea for Editors

Any Final Cut Pro users out there?  Check this out: Keyboard Shortcut Skins for Mac from Photojojo.

Facebook Etiquette

When my friend's relationship status changes from "In a Relationship" to "Single," am I supposed to comment? (And w...

Budding Writers

Congratulations to my 11-year-old, Henry, who won first place in his school's 5th grade essay contest.  His essay is now hanging on the ...

Feedburner

I'm having a bit of trouble with Feedburner.  If you subscribe to this feed, please let me know whether the links are working for you.

The Importance of Proofreading Your Spec

You must proofread your spec before you ask someone to read it.  A reader will tolerate a handful (no more than five) typos before they stop...

E! Online Calls My Husband "A Nice Fella"

Thank you, Jennifer.   I think he's nice, too.

Getting Read

I've finished my spec.  How do I get it read by important people? First of all, thank you for referring to those of us in the industry a...

A Shout Out To My Husband

My husband recently sold a pilot to ABC Studios, has another pilot in development, is writing a screenplay, and just signed on as an Executi...

Variety Columnists

For those of you who love to read about behind the scenes Hollywood, I recommend checking out the Opinion page in Variety .  My favorite: P...

HU LOOKING FOR INTERNSHIP LISTINGS

I'm compiling internship listings for a future post.  If you know of any sites that list industry internships, please email HollywoodUni...

Why the Regents and Yudof Want Us to Blame the State, and Why We Must Resist

There are two main narratives battling to define the current crisis at the University of California. President Yudof and the Regents want ev...

Where the Money Goes in the UC System: Revisiting the Compensation Scandal

In 2006, a series of stories broke in the media documenting how the University of California regents were granting lavish compensation pack...

Using Student Fees to Pay for Losing Teams

While most people think that university athletic departments make money, it turns out that most of them lose money, and many lose large sums...

UC’s Gender Trouble

In analyzing the salaries of UC employees, I found that in 2008, out of the top one hundred earners, only 11 were women. This low level of ...

Variety Screening Series

Attention WGA members: Reserve your seat(s) for the Variety Screening Series now.  (Members are allowed one guest.)  Screenings are schedul...

Proof that We Do Not Have to Raise Fees or Cut Programs

At the last regents meeting, President Yudof said that the state reduced UC’s funding by $1.2 billion during the last two years. It turns o...

More On Executive Growth

In a series of studies on administrative growth, Charles Schwartz has discovered some important facts that explain why and how administrator...

UC's Fiscal Health

At the same time that UC President Mark Yudof declared a fiscal emergency this summer, the UC was reviewed for a new set of bonds by Moodys,...

A Regents Meeting Recap

I want to congratulate all the unions, workers, and students pulling off a great protest under difficult conditions. We had over 2,000 prote...