TheProcess.Ink

Tom Benedek talks the creative process with writers, showrunners, directors, producers, actors, executives, agents, managers and other cultivators of truth and beauty.

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#13 – Ben Jacobson (literary TV agent) at United Talent Agency

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Ben Jacobson (United Talent Agency) discusses representing drama and comedy television writers, directors and producers and the nature of today’s industry

We Talk About:

  • Staffing season and the selling cycle
  • Developing and branding for a network vs. cable
  • Different kinds of working writers today
  • Breaking in with a new voice
  • What a pitch meeting is really like
  • Current trends in comedy and drama
  • Navigating and structuring deals
  • Curating digital content and its future

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Quotes from the Show:

“It really comes from an idea, a book or a format or an original idea, and it’s about where can it live in the purest form for that idea instead of trying to jam everything into one box or the other.”

“Young people grow up and they want to create something… those creative juices are now naturally gravitating towards television.”

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#17 – Peter Horton (actor/director/producer) in Santa Monica

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Peter Horton (Thirtysomething, Grey’s Anatomy) talks about his journey from musician to actor to a director and writer/producer of film and television.

We Talk About

  • Finally agreeing to act in “Thirtysomething”
  • Writing and producing “American Odyssey” for Netflix
  • Directing the pilot for “Grey’s Anatomy” and producing the first three seasons
  • The best kind of actors out there
  • A new project for Cinemax set in the future

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Quotes from the Show

“(As a director,) you can never ask for an effect because you’re just sabotaging your actor. You have to be able to say, “It feels like the stakes aren’t as high as they need to be here. Can you find a way to make the stakes higher?” So, then you’re giving it back to them, and they can give you what you need.”

“I find the best actors have a real ego about what they’re doing. The they have a real take on it, too. They come in having really done their homework, having really embodied this character, so that they know them better than I do… they go deep with their work.”

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