Quote: SlagA @ November 10, 2006, 7:39 PM
I have to admit that i found the extended interview a bit demoralising. It only reinforced the impression that to get ahead in the biz, you have to already have links in the biz.
For example: The situation where Avalon fund Lee Mack to write a sitcom, the end result of which is a series of unrelated gags, so they then have to call in Andrew Collins (a true gentleman for giving us on the lower rung his time btw) to give it structure and character. Why are avalon funding an initial script that is totally deficient in the basic dramatic component of all sitcoms - character? Even newbies know that character and their interactions / reactions drive humour and plot. To me this screams another example of 'names' getting opportunities that other perhaps more talented writers are missing out on.
I hope it didn't come across as me getting a job because of who I knew! You would not believe the amount of meetings I've had about projects at the BBC and elsewhere that came to nothing. Occasionally they reached pilot script stage, which meant I was paid for my troubles, but often these would involve just brainstorming sessions, for which one is not paid. Before Grass came along (an opportunity that only arose because I'd worked on soaps for the best part of five years, don't forget), I'd begun to think that I'd never get anything original off the ground. It's a bloody hard slog getting on to the carousel.
Also, part of Avalon's "development" of the sitcom was getting another writer in. Lee is a highly experienced stand-up, but had never written narrative comedy before, hence the need for another writer. Avalon spent that development money with no idea that it would lead to a commission. That's the gamble, isn't it, which production companies have to take. Of course it's going to be more of a gamble getting a less experienced writer on board.
This doesn't make it any easier for those on the "lower rung", as you put it. But look at it this way: there has never been so much comedy on TV. So many channels. So much more opportunity. You've never had it so good. I don't consider myself talented, but I am a hard worker and that counts for a lot. It's grim to think that you have to work for nothing to break into TV, but it's worth it, if that's what you really want to do.