Search Results for: blog when good writers go bad

When Good Actors Go Bad

Actor Ben Chapman was the star of the 1954 cult classic Creature from the Black Lagoon. In fact, Chapman, who just passed away this February at the age of 79, didn’t star in many movies – five altogether. Nevertheless, his best acting may have been when talking to family and fans about his military career. For decades, Chapman claimed to have won the Silver Star (given for “gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States”), the Bronze Star (given for “heroic or meritorious achievement or service”), and two Purple Hearts (given for “Being wounded or killed in any … Continue reading →

When Good Writers Go Bad

As you have probably heard, another writer was nabbed for making up the story of her latest non-fiction book. Margaret B. Jones was getting rave reviews for her book “Love and Consequences.” It was the story of how the half-white, half Native American girl grew up on the mean streets of South-Central Los Angeles. A foster child, she was forced by the Bloods to run drugs when her foster brothers, Terrell and Taye joined the gang. There was only one problem…none of it was true. Margaret, whose real name is Margaret Seltzer, was ratted out by her older sister, Cyndi, … Continue reading →

Meet a Families.com Blogger – Lisa Pietsch!

As the former Community Manager, Lisa was the first person I met when I became acquainted with Families.com, and has become a good friend. Lisa, how fun to interview you today! How long have you blogged for Families.com? I’ve been with Families.com since September 26th, 2005. I believe we had about twenty-six members back then. When management announced they would be hiring bloggers, I applied for the topics of Food, Weight Loss and Disney. When they launched the blogs here in early December 2005, they hired me for all three topics as well as the position of Community Manager. Eventually, … Continue reading →

Hollywood Writers Going Back to Work

Could it be? Is it possible? Are striking Hollywood writers really putting down their picket signs and heading back to work… so we can finally learn what happens to the ladies on Wisteria Lane post tornado? Sort of. It appears as though the three-and-a-half-month-old work stoppage is finally coming to an end. Hollywood producers reportedly caved in and agreed to give striking writers a piece of the profit that their work might make over the Internet. In exchange, the Guild had to end their fight to have their membership include animators and reality television players. Hooray! Reruns be gone! Well… … Continue reading →

How the Writers’ Strike is Affecting Viewing Habits–The Truth About “The Moment of Truth”

Now that the writers’ strike has all but obliterated your regular TV viewing schedule (no need to get the kids in bed and laundry folded before “Desperate Housewives” comes on, no need to have dinner done and dishes washed before “The Office” airs) have you noticed that you’ve been spending less time in front of the boob tube? Or have you just altered what you watch? If you are like most Americans you’ve done the latter. Take a look at last week’s TV ratings and you might just be as surprised as I was to see that more than 23.2 … Continue reading →

What’s Going On with the Hollywood Writers Strike?

While Marcia Cross was lobbying Congress and Eva Longoria was fending off pregnancy rumors leaders from the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers finally began talking to each other again this week. Their informal meetings have not yielded much in the way of good news, but at least they’re talking. An announcement made a couple of days ago said the warring parties would begin with informal bargaining and work their way to “full negotiations” in hopes of ending the nearly 3-month-old strike. So where do fans of TV and TV award shows stand … Continue reading →

What Hollywood Stars Are Doing During the Writers’ Strike

We know they aren’t shooting new episodes of their hit shows so how are the stars of our favorite primetime series’ spending their time off? If you are Desperate Housewives’ star Marcia Cross you are spending time in Washington lobbying Congress to pass the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2007. The 45-year-old mother of twins recently spent time on Capitol Hill voicing her opinion regarding “drive-through” mastectomies for women forced to leave the hospital hours after surgery. The actress tried to encourage lawmakers to give women the choice to recuperate for at least 48 hours following the invasive surgery. … Continue reading →

Striking Writers Looking to Head Back to the Bargaining Table

Thanks to Hollywood directors and their ability to reach a tentative agreement with producers striking Writers Guild of America members could soon be headed back to the bargaining table to negotiate their own deal. Last Friday the Directors Guild reached a tentative contract agreement with producers. The directors’ deal is similar to what the writers are seeking, involving pay for movie and TV content that is purchased over the Internet. So what’s the deal with the writers? According to news reports, top executives from eight major companies, including Fox, Paramount Pictures, The Walt Disney Company, CBS Corporation, Sony Pictures Entertainment, … Continue reading →

TV Good News/Bad News: Oprah Winfrey Network and Another Hit to Striking Writers

Oprah Winfrey is taking over the world… If having a hit TV show, a magazine, multiple radio shows, a website, and a multi-media empire wasn’t enough now the billionaire is getting her own TV network. Winfrey just announced that she has entered into a deal with Discovery Communications where the Discovery Health network will be turned over to Winfrey next year, becoming OWN – the Oprah Winfrey Network. No money was exchanged; rather Winfrey says she plans to turn over her website to Discovery, and in turn the communications company will make her chairman of the network, which is currently … Continue reading →

Pop Culture Updates: Harry Goes to China and Colbert’s New Bid

Potter mania is hitting China. Chinese-language publishers have printed nearly 2 million copies of the final book about the boy wizard and are considering issuing more, according to news reports. Similar to other parts of the world, unauthorized translations of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” surfaced on Chinese websites ahead of its official release last month. The Chinese translation of “The Deathly Hallows” hit stores October 20th in Hong Kong and Taiwan and October 28th in China as opposed to the English version of the book, which was released in July. The seven books about Harry, his pals and … Continue reading →