June 1, 2013: Pilots, pitches, and properties! Is there a doctor in the house? Mailbag!

Looks like June is shaping up to be a busy travel month.  Yesterday, we were on the phone with our agents discussing the game plan for our L.A. trip.  We head down at the end of the month for a week of meetings and – much to our dismay – pitching.  Yes, we realize it’s a part of the business, but it’s not one we particularly enjoy.  Truth be told, we’re better on paper – which is why we much prefer to go in and discuss a script instead of some ethereal notion.  Anyone can come up with a hell of an engaging premise but, if you can’t deliver the goods in the form of a solid script, you’re not going to get anywhere.  And, at the end of the day, who are these people to know how capable we are as writers unless they’ve actually read us?  So, we reached a compromise.  We’ll be going out with two of our pilots in addition to some original pitches AND a few literary/anime properties worth pursuing.  Now it’s just a matter of narrowing that list down to a good, strong half-dozen.  Any suggestions?

What the hell did I do to my eye?  I woke up this morning to discover my right eye slightly inflamed.  I didn’t think anything of it until later today when Akemi noticed and asked: “What’s wrong with your eye?”. I checked it in the mirror and realized it had gotten a little more inflamed.  But I wasn’t feeling any pain or discomfort so I ignored it and went on with my day.  Then, later this afternoon, when I was getting my haircut, I was again asked: “What’s wrong with your eye?”. A closer look confirmed it was even more inflamed.  And, suddenly, it feels as if I have something trapped under my eyelid – some tiny grain of sand I can’t seem to dislodge.  Akemi offered me some Japanese eye drops and, as much as I appreciated the thought, I was somewhat reluctant to put something in my eye if I didn’t know exactly what it was.  According to the internet M.D.’s, I apparently shouldn’t worry about it.  Unless it starts to hurt.  Or lasts longer than two days.  I’m hoping I can just sleep it off – but that’s what got me into trouble in the first place!

I’m not quite ready to resort of home remedies, but made an exception for the chocolate chip peanut butter sandwich cookies Akemi made:

Take two of these and call me in the morning.

I know, I know.  Probably can’t help.

But certainly won’t hurt.

Mailbag:

dasndanger writes: “Joey, did you pick up the David Sedaris book because of the Daily Show link I posted back on the 9th? Just curious how much influence I have over you.   Anyhoo, how was the book? Worth the read?”

Answer: David Sedaris has long been one of my favorite writers so, while you didn’t introduce me to his work, your link alerted me to the fact that he had a new book out.  And, yes, it’s definitely worth the read although I much prefer his earlier work like Me Talk Pretty One Day and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim.

Keith writes: “I’ve got a question I’ve tried to ask a few times and have always missed the mailbag. I’ve been curious just how much thought and input goes into naming characters; ever since SGU had the character of Ron “Psycho” Stasiak turn into Ronald Greer by the time it was ready to shoot.  So how do you name characters?  Does a lot of time go into coming up with just the right name, or is it a quick “whatever pops into your head?”  Do other writers or people higher up often make you change character names, or are the first choices usually the final choices?”

Answer: Depends on the writer.  Paul used to consult the crew list for inspiration.  Brad and Rob would occasionally pay tribute to old friends by naming characters after them.  That’s how Caldwell got his name. Rodney as well.  Rob named him back when he was introduced on SG-1 and, years later, when we were considering McKay for Atlantis, we were dismayed to learn his first name.  We hated it at the time but, eventually, it grew on us.  And now, I can’t imagine McKay with any other name.  As for me – it really depends.  Sometimes a name will just come to me out of the blue while, other times, I’ll reference names from books I’ve read.  If you pay close attention to SG-1′s The Curse, you’ll notice that all of the secondary characters (Jordan, Rayner, Gardner) and the expedition (Stewart) coincidentally also happen to be the names of four Green Lanterns.

Ponytail writes: “Joe is Cas still there? What is he up to?”

Answer: Nope, Cas made his way back to his planet last week.

Airelle writes: “~Joe, how are your mom and sister doing? Loved to see moms cooking on the blog, always looks so delicious, and your sister puppies, how are they faring?”

Answer: Mom had athroscopic surgery on her knee and has been slow to recover.  Sis and puppies are doing well.  Thanks for asking.

Airelle also writes: “Do you still have the exercise regimen going? I know its how you all stay so trim, after eating the stuff you picture on the blog, or maybe you don’t always eat it like I think, and just take wonderful pictures,, more desserts please,.
thanks for sharing. Have a great day!”

Answer:  Yep.  I used to do weights in the morning and a 45 minute run every night.  Starting last week, I switched up my routine to focus more on weight training in an effort to put on some more muscle mass – in preparation for my L.A. trip!

Elminster writes: “How are the prospects of one of your shows getting developed. Or is it still “Smoooooth sailing”?”

Answer: Alas, not quite smooooth sailing.  At least not yet.  According to sources, we’ll have all our answers by end of next week.