Aaron Spelling by Aaron Spelling
Pg 22 Whenever i looked at pictures of writers in Hollywood, they were always smoking a pipe. So i started pipe smoking when i moved to LA. I figured it helped make you a better writer. I also learned that smoking a pipe is the greatest crutch a writer has in the world. The producer asks you a story question, and you take your time, load your pipe, and light it. By the time you're finished, you've thought of an answer for him
Pg 44 I hate all those silly sitcoms that litter the TV screen, but if you took them off, i think the suicide rate would jump higher than anyone could imagine. Im glad those shows are on TV. I dont care who you are, but we all need to escape from something
Pg 79 Today its not the scheduling board that kills you, but the testing process. The networks love to test shows with sample audiences to, as they say, see how it plays in Peoria. The problem with that process is the minute you ask someone to see a show, theyre suddenly a critic and looking at ways to knock your show
Pg 87 Back then our cop shows followed a formula. A piece of action in the first scene showing a crime being committed, another piece of action at the end of the second act, and then the final piece of action at the end of the 4th act
Pg 112 Still, theres no denying that many of todays movie stars see television as a training ground, with their sights set on movies.
Pg 196 What exactly does a producer do? I work with our writers to come up with story lines for our shows. And then i let them loose. Then they send me an outline. I give notes on the outline. Then i get a script, and i give notes on that too. Next i look at the dailies (the raw footage of the previous days production) and i also watch the rough cuts and i make the decisions on the final cuts of each episode.
Pg 196 Casting is important. People watch TV for actors, number one. But without a good story, theyll stop watching. When i hire writers, directors and actors, i look for different things. For writers, its great ideas and concepts. With directors, its coverage. Faces are the most important thing in television. If youre not showing their faces, youre out of business.
Pg 208 The one question im asked the most is how does one become a TV producer. The answer is simple: Write. If youre not a writer and if you cant communicate with other writers, i dont think you can produce TV
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