The need for media literacy — understanding the media we consume and how it gets made — remains acute, and three recent books explore different aspects of the TV business from the perspectives of a writer, director and young stars.
$29, Holt
TV writer/cartoonist Bruce Eric Kaplan (“Six Feet Under,” “Girls,” “No Good Deed”) shares his collection of journal entries that stretch over seven months in 2022 that depicts in absurd, granular detail the sluggish pace and banging-your-head-against the wall frustration of trying to pitch and sell a TV series in Hollywood today.
It’s a lot of hurry up and wait. Pre-meetings for meetings get scheduled, canceled and rescheduled (or not!). A script pitch is going to go out to a network next week or the week after or the month after and finally gets sent out many months later.
At first I wasn’t quite sure why I was reading Kaplan’s account of all the recipes he made in his kitchen while waiting for a project to happen or his chronicle of the HVAC system in his home breaking repeatedly, but after about 20 pages it became clear: All those mundane details in “They Went Another Way” make this book the literary equivalent of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” if Larry David was kinder and capable of bursts of optimism (Kaplan was a writer on the final season of “Seinfeld”).
What’s most appealing about these journal entries is Kaplan’s honesty. He doesn’t hide his disdain for some TV shows (“Minx,” “Life & Beth,” “Reboot”) or narcissistic actors who only concern themselves with their schedules and no one else’s. He’s particularly peeved at Glenn Close after she tries to change the whole premise of the series he created that she’s attached to star in; then Close disses Kaplan’s second script for the proposed series, leading him to sour on the prospect of working with her altogether.
By the end of the book, neurotic Kaplan realizes the “profound experience” he sought at the book’s outset has everything to do with everyday moments with his wife and children and nothing to do with making TV shows.
It’s a good reality check for anyone contemplating a career in the business of show.
‘Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time: True Stories from a Career in Hollywood’
$30, Hachette Books
In a follow-up to his 2020 memoir “Barry Sonnenfeld, Call Your Mother,” TV/film director Barry Sonnenfeld recounts his Hollywood experiences largely in chronological order, introducing readers to his experiences with anger-fueled jerks (Gene Hackman, Tommy Lee Jones), lazy narcissists (John Travolta doesn’t bother trying to memorize his lines) and actors who are just mean (Tim Allen, Kevin Spacey).
Sonnenfeld spends less time on his TV work, unfortunately, with only passing mentions of his excellent 1998 ABC drama “Maximum Bob” and a failed 1998-99 ABC “Fantasy Island” reboot. The author gives more attention to Fox’s winning 2001-02 superhero comedy “The Tick” and 2007-09 ABC fantasy-drama “Pushing Daises,” including the revelation that ABC’s then-entertainment chief wanted to fire its female star, Anna Friel, after the pilot episode’s table read.
Sonnenfeld also spends some (re: not enough) time on his most recent projects, Netflix’s “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events” and Apple TV ’s “Schmigadoon!” He calls the Lemony Snicket show his best creative professional experience ever thanks to Netflix’s hands-off approach to oversight.
Sonnenfeld writes in a breezy, entertaining style that illuminates both the reality of working with entitled Hollywood egos (and how to handle/manipulate them into getting the performance a director wants) and the minutiae of production, particularly around camera work and lighting.
‘Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel’s Tween Empire’
$30, St. Martin’s Press
Kudos to journalist Ashley Spencer for this entertaining deep-dive exploration of Disney Channel’s cultural ascendance through the early 2000s.
Disney is notoriously controlling when working with the press, so this was no doubt a tough subject to research. Even if you didn’t grow up on “Lizzie McGuire” (created by Mt. Lebanon native Terri Minsky), “That’s So Raven,” “Hannah Montana” or “High School Musical,” “Disney High” pulls back the curtain for an insider’s view of the pressure on Disney Channel’s tween stars, their parents (some good protectors of their kids; others who mooched off their children’s fame) and producers under the gun of executives seeking network conformity.
“Disney High” also shows the callousness of Disney bosses, where even showrunners who build hit series that garner Emmy nominations get tossed aside on a network executive’s whim.
A network exec’s lie that successful long-running Disney Channel series are not retitled as they age to save money — a new title means it’s a new show, resetting a program’s cost to season one levels — warrants the guffaws it provokes.
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And Pittsburgh Steelers alert: “High School Musical” writer Peter Barsocchini reveals NFL star Lynn Swann, who Barsocchini played basketball with in high school, told him in their teen years, “I always wanted to dance ballet, but if you ever tell anyone, I’ll kill you,” which inspired the “HSM” story of Troy (Zac Efron), a sports star who wants to do musical theater.