Peter Tolan (Rescue Me, Outsiders, The Jim Gaffigan Show, Analyze This) talks TV pilots and his creative journey.We talk about:
creating character conflicts
balancing comedy and drama
The central idea, the nugget, the central question of what a show is and writing to it
Building character conflicts, plot in a TV pilot
Mapping out the season/seasons of a series
Episode balance of comedy and drama on Rescue me
Writers room
Using cards
Cards wall
Story checkpoints
Sequences
George Clooney
Sony Television
Pitching
Rewriting
Writing the rough draft
Writing just comedy/jokes vs. story/plot – what happens next?
The Larry Sanders Show
UMass theatre days
New York theatre exploits
Murphy Brown
Gaffigan
Playwriting to TV writing
Breaking into the business today – Youtube, shooting somethingQuotes from the show:

"You slowly put everything in place so you can get to that last moment. We knew what the last image of the first season of Rescue Me was so we could always write to it. We slowly could make our way towards that."

"Rescue Me was dealing with death all the time. As dark as it went with drama, it had to go just as light with the comedy. You had to balance the two out."

“If you're young and starting out,  you can shoot on your phone. Write something and make it. Put it on YouTube  and people will see it.”

“You write somebody who's a dick - who has outrageous behavior, but then how do you have an audience empathize with that character, care about that character? So an essential character is not the dick, it's the other guy."

Peter Tolan (Rescue Me, Outsiders, The Jim Gaffigan Show,&nbsp;Analyze This)&nbsp;talks TV pilots and his creative journey.
<h2>We talk about:</h2>
<ul>
<li>creating character conflicts</li>
<li>balancing comedy and drama</li>
<li>The central idea, the nugget, the central question of what a show is and writing to it</li>
<li>Building character conflicts, plot in a TV pilot</li>
<li>Mapping out the season/seasons of a series</li>
<li>Episode balance of comedy and drama on Rescue me</li>
<li>Writers room</li>
<li>Using cards</li>
<li>Cards wall</li>
<li>Story checkpoints</li>
<li>Sequences</li>
<li>George Clooney</li>
<li>Sony Television</li>
<li>Pitching</li>
<li>Rewriting</li>
<li>Writing the rough draft</li>
<li>Writing just comedy/jokes vs. story/plot &ndash; what happens next?</li>
<li>The Larry Sanders Show</li>
<li>UMass theatre days</li>
<li>New York theatre exploits</li>
<li>Murphy Brown</li>
<li>Gaffigan</li>
<li>Playwriting to TV writing</li>
<li>Breaking into the business today &ndash; Youtube, shooting something</li>
</ul>
<h2>Quotes from the show:</h2>
"You slowly put everything in place so you can get to that last moment. We knew what the last image of the first season of Rescue Me was so we could always write to it. We slowly could make our way towards that."
"Rescue Me was dealing with death all the time.&nbsp;As dark as it went&nbsp;with drama, it had to go just as light with the comedy. You had to balance the two out."
&ldquo;If you're young and starting out, &nbsp;you can shoot on your phone. Write something and make it. Put it on YouTube &nbsp;and people will see it.&rdquo;
&ldquo;You write somebody who's a dick - who has outrageous behavior, but then how do you have an audience empathize with that character, care about that character? So an essential character is not the dick, it's the other guy."

Outstanding screenwriters, TV writers-showrunners, directors, producers, actors, executives agents managers and other cultivators of truth and beauty discuss their creative process with Tom Benedek.

Film and TV creatives on their work methods, sources of inspiration.

TheProcess.Ink

Peter Tolan (Rescue Me, Outsiders, The Jim Gaffigan Show, Analyze This) talks TV pilots and his creative journey

Advertisement