THIS AND THAT...

I love this new cover for The New Yorker magazine.  The writer's life.  Says it all.  

Keep writing & creating out there, even with all the madness in the world.  Find your quiet corner and get the work done. 

I received some good news this summer.

My drama spec feature ABSOLUTION made it into the Second Round at the Austin Film Festival 2018 Screenwriting Competition.  Congratulations to all those who advanced to the Second Round, as well as the Semifinalists!  AFF is one of the great festivals (and competitions) dedicated to screenwriters out there. The festival begins October 25th in Austin, Texas.    https://austinfilmfestival.com/

Actor Henry Winkler

Congratulations to actor Henry Winkler on winning the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance as the acting coach on HBO's "Barry".   Well-deserved.  One of the nice guys in Hollywood finishes first.


Summer officially ends tomorrow on the calendar.  I would be remiss if I didn't mention the passing of the prolific playwright and screenwriter Neil Simon last month.  Mr. Simon is the reason I wanted to become a writer -- I devoured his plays while in high school and watched all his movies on TV.  Seeing "Barefoot in the Park" and "The Odd Couple" changed my life. Neil Simon showed me New York (my hometown) on the big screen. I loved his urban wit (his characters sounded a lot like my family members) and there is nothing like New York timing when telling a one-liner.  I also liked the way Neil Simon described the writing life, it sounded pretty nice -- (I'm paraphrasing here) you get to work alone, on your own terms and play tennis in the middle of the day.  Wow. Sounded good to me.

The first play I ever wrote, NetFits, was an homage to Mr. Simon's "Barefoot in the Park".  I love every line in that play (his, that is).  Thank you, Mr. Simon, for all the wonderful works you wrote and shared with us. Thanks for the laughs, sir.

Playwright Neil Simon

Until next time.