Mom & Pop Culture

more on "the sitcom room"

I made the paper! The Star-Ledger's TV critic, Alan Sepinwall, wrote about Ken Levine's "The Sitcom Room" seminar that I participated in back in July. I was one of four participants that Alan interviewed (and whew, I don't sound like a complete idiot!).

The story ran in today's Sunday Ledger, and you can read it online.

simon cowell luvs me

Well, at least in my dreams he does. Yeah, I admit it -- I dreamt about Simon Cowell the other night. That's what happens when you're paid to watch 75 million hours of American Idol. The damn show starts to creep into your subconscious.

Anyway, I dreamt that Simon Cowell and I were dating. But here's the thing, my screenwriting mind immediately took over the dream and began consciously retooling the dream and creating a romantic comedy.

tabloid poetry

Title: Britney's Boys

HELP!
Soda in baby bottles,
Mommy's many men,
Nighttime cries
for Daddy's love.
Kevin battles
for SEAN & JAYDEN
as Britney grows
more dangerous...

(Taken verbatim from the cover of US Weekly, August 13th, 2007)

but enough about me

Looking for some good and easy summer reading? Then pick up Jancee Dunn's quick-paced, humorous memoir, But Enough About Me...

I devoured the book in about a day and a half. And yes, when I got to the last page I wanted MORE. But better than that -- I wanted Jancee to be my BFF. What's not to like? She's a Jersey Girl (like me), who came of age in the 1980s (like me) who writes (like me) and who meets all these incredible celebrities (okay, not like me).

But that's what's most fun about Jancee's recollections as a writer for Rolling Stone magazine. She invites all us regular folks in as she shares her firsthand accounts of what it's like to interview surly, hungover rockstars (and avoid taking drugs offered) and how not to flip out when interviewing icons such as Madonna or Brad Pitt.