Great Vin Scully calls

Vin Scully will be back in the booth calling Dodger baseball for the 61st season.

Thanks to Rob Adams here are some classic Vin Scully calls.

My favorite Dharma

There always seems to be a raging debate whenever I bring up Jenna Elfman. As you know, I'm a fan. Here's an example of why; an episode I directed her in. I think she's very funny, regardless of what whacko religion she believes in.

Of the DHARMA & GREGS I directed (helmed, megged), this is my favorite. A truly novel idea for a story. It was also fun going to San Francisco and filming the crowd scene. I had scaffolding and a hundred extras and sixty-two guys on walkie-talkies. Now THAT'S what I call directing!

'63 Cadillac

not only Hot wheels, but Matchbox also released quite a lot of interesing models this year..one of it that got my interest is the '63 cadillac!



the reason is obvious, its the car featured as the Ghostbusters car!



Read More...

hope someday i can really mod it into a Ghostbusters car! surely will look cool! :)

Were there subplots on MASH you didn't know about?

Aloha from Hawaii. Taking a break from surfing those 100 foot waves to answer a Friday question or three.

From Charlotte:

I've been hearing this as a rumor for decades, that there was a C storyline written into every episode of M*A*S*H specifically so that it could be cleanly cut out to shorten the episodes for syndication without affecting the A and B storylines. People have been telling me my whole life, big a M*A*S*H fan as I am, that there are actually whole, complete storylines I've never seen because I've only ever watched the show in reruns. Is this true, Ken?

No. The shows were edited (a nice word for "hacked") for syndication but there were never pre-designed storylines for them to lift. So instead they just cut and trimmed whatever they wanted, sometimes leaving stories incomprehensible. If you're a MASH fan I suggest you watch the DVD's for the original versions. And a great new book is just out called "TV's MASH: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE BOOK" by Ed Solomonson & Mark O'Neill. It is 818 pages and has more stuff in there about MASH than anyone would ever want to know.

Mary Stella asks:

During last week's three hour commercial for Macy's and NBC, aka the parade, Al Roker interviewed several stars of NBC shows. One guy from a sitcom was markedly unfunny, even though he tried to be. When casting for a sitcom, do you try to find actors who are also naturally funny off-script or do you just need ones who can act with the comic timing, etc.?

Not all producers look for the same things but when I cast, first and foremost, I look for FUNNY people. Some people just have a natural gift or they have a funny look or voice or gait. The OFFICE and MODERN FAMILY are two perfectly cast shows in my estimation. Just looking at the cast photos you smile.

And I go for funny over good-looking. It’s amazing how much more attractive someone becomes if they can make you laugh. A great comparison of funny vs. attractiveness is the British and American versions of COUPLING. The U.K. cast is a little quirky, weird, goofy and brilliant. The U.S. cast was a J. Crew ad.

I don’t care if my cast members are good guests on talk shows. We’ll write them funny things to say. And if they want to go on THE VIEW, well, they can’t say I didn’t warn them.

blogward asks:

Today I will be attending a preliminary audition for Britain's Got Talent (my son signed me up). Do you have any suggestions for how to make the best impression on the 3rd AD who I will be trying to impress?

Wear a schlumpy house dress and sing “I Dreamed a Dream”. If that doesn’t work, sleep with somebody. Good luck. If you make it through let us know. I’d like to become the official blog of BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT.

From Rick Whelan

Whatever happened to your planned movie about the Brill building geniuses (like Ellie Greenwich)who wrote most of the rock 'n roll songs of the early 60s? I'd love to see their story told!

It wasn’t a movie. It was a planned musical. There had been several movies in development on the Brill Building but they never got off the ground. There was a 1996 film called GRACE OF MY HEART starring Illeana Douglas as sort of a Carole King character but that movie strayed from reality to the point where it could have been a western.

Having now co-written the book for a produced musical I see how incredibly hard it is to get one of these things mounted. Especially if you don’t have investors going in. Imagine writing a spec screenplay that would cost as much as AVATAR to produce. Good luck selling it. That’s how it is with a spec musical.

I’d still like to do the project one day. I have a rough outline and know just where the story is going. If someone out there has a few millions and is looking to be a Broadway producer, give me a call.

Okay, the Banzai Pipeline seems gnarly enough to surf. Gotta go. Leave your questions in the comments section. Mahalo.

Filming in Hawaii

Off to Hawaii where so many great television shows have been filmed. It’s not just BIG WAVE DAVE’S. There have been others. Speaking of “others”, LOST films there. They’re probably close to concluding the series. If I see a giant blinding light and suddenly I’m in 1945 I’ll know why.

But you forget how many great shows were filmed in America’s 50th state. I’m pretty sure HAWAII FIVE-O. And from the 50s, HAWAIIAN EYE.

But that’s just the tip of the tropical iceberg.

These other great shows went before the cameras in Hawaii:

AVERAGE JOE: HAWAII
THE NEW GIDGET
SURF GIRLS
BAYWATCH HAWAIIAN WEDDING
MOOLAH BEACH
BRITNEY IN HAWAII
JOHNNY TSUNAMI
TOO RICH: THE SECRET LIFE OF DORIS DUKES
CROWFOOT
LEGEND OF THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES
LAVA AND LIFE
TRENCHCOAT IN PARADISE
TARZAN IN MANHATTAN
ISLANDS OF THE FIRE GODDESS
THE WALLY AMOS HAPPINESS HOUR
WAR AND REMEMBRANCE
YUKI SAITO SPECIAL
MAUI JAIL BREAK
Oh yeah, and something called MAGNUM P.I.

When we did BIG WAVE DAVE’S in 1993 we did it as a multi-camera show on the Paramount lot. But the plan was, should the show become a big hit we would actually film it in Hawaii. I remember we had some preliminary discussions about what it would cost, converting a sound stage, building bleachers and sound and video booths, how many camera crews we would have to import, etc.

And then we realized, this is stupid! We’d still be inside, shooting on a dark sound stage. Who moves their entire production to Hawaii just to be filming indoors in a giant barn with no windows?

That would have been a colossal waste of money. Fortunately, CBS was looking out for us and cancelled the show before we could make such a faux pas. Thanks again, guys.

So now the Levine clan is off once again to Maui, where I can honestly say it is just as beautiful in real life as it is in HD.

Aloha.

The Tiger Woods Car Crash -- Taiwanese re-enactment.

There's Tiger's story and TMZ's story. You decide.

This is from a Taiwanese news show. It's pretty damn definitive if you ask me.

Stars I claim to have discovered even though I really didn't

Anyone who has been producing TV series for any length of time will have similar stories. They can look back at actors they worked with or hired that since became big names. Here are some of mine.

Shelley Long – played a nurse once in MASH when I was there. I don’t remember much except she looked very cute in army fatigues.

Rita Wilson – same thing. Also cute in army fatigues. Worked with her again when she starred in VOLUNTEERS. Amazingly, she remembered me. I looked awful in army fatigues.

Katey Segal – From one of Bette Midler’s Harlettes to a series regular on the MARY SHOW. We knew from day one that she’d become a star. And that’s without even hearing her sing.

Leah Remini – She played one of Carla’s many daughters on CHEERS. One of my favorite episodes (written by me and David) was “Loathe & Marriage” from the final season where Leah’s character gets married. I also directed her in FIRED UP. She was funny before she was even old enough to drive.

Tim Busfield – He’ll probably cringe but one of his first acting jobs was playing a patient on AfterMASH. Yes, it was, Tim, don't deny it.

James Cromwell – Okay, he wasn’t an unknown when I worked with him but he wasn’t on anyone’s A-List either. He was pretty much a character actor who bounced around. I knew him as Jamie then. We used him on an episode of MASH as a real goofball. Couldn’t quite tell from that role that he’d go on to be nominated for an Oscar. By the way, did you know he was in both BABE and THE BABE?

David Letterman – did a cameo on an OPEN ALL NIGHT we were involved with.

Maggie Lawson – You love her on PSYCH. I’ve loved her since writing and directing IT’S ALL RELATIVE.

David Ogden Stiers – Before he became Charles Winchester on MASH he was talk-show host Robert W. Cleaver on a TONY RANDALL SHOW David and I wrote. That was the episode that got huge laughs during rehearsal but silence during the filming. Later we learned that the bussed in audience spoke no English.

Annette O’Toole – had a small role on a TONY RANDALL SHOW. Tony didn’t like her at first. By show night he was pleading with us to bring her back. The English speaking audience loved her too although I must say she was beautiful in any language.

Lisa Kudrow – Did an episode of CHEERS. Very funny even in a small role. I was not surprised. She went to Taft High in Woodland Hills.

Sanaa Lathan – Directed her in LATELINE. I must’ve given her great notes on that three-page scene because she went on to become a movie queen. I went on to write a blog.

Willie Garson – Directed him in the stellar ASK HARRIET. When that show got cancelled he was free to take another assignment – SEX IN THE CITY. He’s now a regular on WHITE COLLAR.

Julie Benz – Another ASK HARRIET alum I directed. Currently she’s married to DEXTER. You can certainly understand the attraction considering she was also in SAW V.

Robert Pastorelli – Later to be a stalwart of MURPHY BROWN, but his greatest role was for us on the MARY show. He played sandwich guy, Mr. Yummy.

Jenna Elfmann – first cast in an ALMOST PERFECT as a whack-job secretary. She had no experience at the time and we knew it was a risk but there was something just so damn special about her. She killed in front of the audience. If ever there was someone I knew was going to make it besides Katey Segal it was Jenna.

And before I slap myself on the back too much for being such a great judge of talent, here are a few of the people I didn’t cast who once came in to read:

Martin Short, Kathy Bates, William H. Macy, Jane Lynch, Tea Leoni, Don Johnson, and Andrea Martin (although that was the network’s fault; we wanted her. They wanted Toni Tennille. Don't ask.),