An L.A. billboard for Citibank: ''Almost as many ATM terminals as there are unsold screenplays.'' Ouch!

I don't have her ...

I called the producer and got her assistant. The producer has had one of my scripts for a number of weeks, and I was calling in hopes of coaxing some sort of reaction out of her. Not necessarily a green light, or an, "it stinks," because no one in Hollywood is ever that direct if they don't like something. I was looking for just some sort of acknowledgment that she read the thing.
The assistant, who was rolling her calls, greeted me with the sound of instant recognition and asked how I was--I've never met him, mind you. And I wondered if it's his job to sound familiar with everyone who's ever had a meeting there.
I asked if his boss was available, and his answer typified the sort of hazy, impossible to nail down kind of talk that goes on in Hollywood.
"I don't have her right now," he said.
He wasn't saying that she's not in. He wasn't saying she is in. He just didn't have her right now.
Then he assured me that I was on the call-back list.
So, the wait goes on. And I, too, don't have her right now.

A Closer Look at 'The Closer' ...

I went to a networking breakfast yesterday morning sponsored by Changing Images in America that featured guest speaker James Duff, executive producer, creator and writer of TNT network's "The Closer." Duff is an eloquent speaker who offered great insights into the business of television as well as theater, where his career began. He's a successful actor, playwright, producer, director and screenwriter and he's got another TV series in the works. "The Fixer" will follow the exploits of a Hollywood producer who employs the services of a private detective of questionable moral integrity, reminiscent of the Anthony Pellicano scandal that rocked Hollywood in 2006.
A model of persistence, Duff wrote 17 television pilots before achieving success with "The Closer." His chief advice to actors and writers trying to make it in show business: Get professional representation, but he also warns to be careful of who you go into business with. "Make sure you're on the same page," he said.
Of new media, including the Internet and it many social networking and video serving sites, such as YouTube, Duff said that new media is not just a new delivery system but a new form, like the square becoming the cube.
"In the day of three networks we were all watching the same thing and talking about the same thing, like 'Star Trek' and 'Bonanza.' People want communities and the Internet is having an impact by building communities around these shows."
Duff revealed that he does indeed consult with LAPD detectives to make sure "The Closer" is accurate, and he opined that a good story is something that grabs him. "I'm so wrapped up in it I don't have time to think. I'm not even aware that I'm watching a story."
Duff, who was diagnosed HIV-positive in 1982, says that the uncertainty brought about by that diagnosis has helped inform his professional career. "I've never done anything I didn't want to do," he said.