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Screenplay & Film Consulting By Susan Kouguell

Tag: GETTING ON

HBO’s “Getting On” Will Scheffer talks collaboration, adaptation, the characters’ evolution & more (SCRIPT MAGAZINE)

November 23, 2015 / / Comments Off on HBO’s “Getting On” Will Scheffer talks collaboration, adaptation, the characters’ evolution & more (SCRIPT MAGAZINE)

Susan Kouguell Interviews HBO'S 'GETTING ON' Creator, Executive Producer and Writer Will Scheffer by Susan Kouguell | Script Magazine

Mark V. Olsen (L) Will Scheffer (R) (Photo credit: Lacey Terrell / HBO)

I spoke with series creator, executive producer and writer Will Scheffer about the third and final season of his Emmy-nominated HBO series GETTING ON.  We talked about his collaboration with his husband Mark V. Olson on this series, adaptation, the characters’ evolution, and more.

Based on the BBC series of the same name, GETTING ON is created for American television by Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer (co-creators of the acclaimed HBO series Big Love), the show follows the daily lives of overworked nurses and doctors as they struggle with the darkly comic realities of tending compassionately to their aging charges in a rundown, red-tape-filled hospital extended-care wing, blending outrageous humor with unexpected moments of tenderness.
Susan Kouguell Interviews HBO'S 'GETTING ON' Creator, Executive Producer and Writer Will Scheffer by Susan Kouguell | Script Magazine

KOUGUELL: What did you learn as a writer and producer during these three seasons?

SCHEFFER: I think I always learn the same thing: “It’s about the people, stupid.” I learn it different ways, dealing with different problems and crisis and joys — but it’s about the people you collaborate with in all aspects of the production and also the people you’re doing it for. I also learned you can shoot a TV show in three days and it can still be excellent if you’re working with the right people.

KOUGUELL: Do you feel that your writing and/or collaboration with Mark has changed since Big Love and if so, how has it evolved?

SCHEFFER: It has. A lot. I used to be the first draft guy (and I still am on some or our projects) and then we’d trade drafts from there — but Mark really ran with the drafts of GETTING ON. And I felt more like I was connected to him at the hip, channeling. We talk a lot more now — before and during the drafting and we solve problems together like in a “dialogue” and then he’ll execute that in the writing.

GETTING ON developed in a special way because of time factors and other things, but I did less actual typing and more talking and feeding answers to Mark’s questions. It really felt like a good process for this show. We’ve already written three other “shows” where I did the first draft and Mark is the closer. And then I’ll get it back for some light polish. But GETTING ON was the show where I think I’d say we became a real writing team. With Mark I/we become better. We trust each other. I’ve had almost the same amount of time as a solo act and a duo 15 years and 10 years, respectively — and I know I’d have a body of work and a career without Mark, but I doubt very much I’d have this career. I’m grateful he finally pushed me into collaborating because he made me a better writer and thinker and luckily it’s made our marriage richer, too. We still write some things solo and we help each other on those. I’m a producer on some scripts of Mark’s that I never could have written and I’m just as proud of those as of our work together.

KOUGUELL: How much input, if any, do the actors have on the scripts?

SCHEFFER: I’d say they contribute. They make it better. But we hold the keys to that particular kingdom.

KOUGUELL: On the show’s trailer you mentioned that you are “digging deeper into the characters this season by introducing their family members.”

SCHEFFER: I think the whole season is about allowing the characters to become the patients, in a way. Their stories are what we’d usually call “the patient” stories.” Sure, we have a few great “guest patient” turns — but the show really comes together this year. It takes off like a plane.

KOUGUELL: How have the characters evolved from the first to your final season?

SCHEFFER: Well, like all good TV characters they haven’t evolved too much. I’d say they’ve become more themselves, if anything. Have they grown and learned why they were so f***ed up? No. But maybe they’ve admitted they were a little screwy to begin with. And they all so surprise us this year in ways you’ll have to watch to see. They’ve become more sure of who they are. They have to me, never been more of a joy to behold.

 

In a January 2014 article for this publication, I spoke with Will Scheffer about Season 1of this series in which he also offered insightful tips on pitching projects.

Learn more about GETTING ON:  http://www.hbo.com/getting-on

READ MORE HERE

‘Getting On’ Creator, Executive Producer and Writer, Will Scheffer on the Show’s Final Season (INDIEWIRE/SYDNEYSBUZZ)

November 22, 2015 / / Comments Off on ‘Getting On’ Creator, Executive Producer and Writer, Will Scheffer on the Show’s Final Season (INDIEWIRE/SYDNEYSBUZZ)

HBO’S ‘Getting On’ Creator, Executive Producer and Writer, Will Scheffer on the Show’s Final Season

In our interview, Scheffer looks back at his experiences with the show and talks about collaborating with his husband, Mark V Olsen – creator, executive producer and writer of “Getting On” and their other shows, including “Big Love.”
Mark V Olsen (left) Will Scheffer (right)

In January 2014, I spoke with Will Scheffer about his HBO series “Getting On” for this publication:

You can read that interview HERE

And now we fast forward almost two years later and the show is in its third and final season. In our interview, Scheffer looks back at his experiences with the show and talks about collaborating with his husband, Mark V Olsen – creator, executive producer and writer of “Getting On” and their other shows, including “Big Love.”

In addition to the HBO American cable channel, “Getting On” can be seen on HBO Latin America and HBO Europe and Asia, and through SKY (France, UK, Spain, and so on.)

Kouguell: With the increase of the global cable markets and increasing platforms, reaching a broader audience, how has this affected your shows?

Scheffer: It was gratifying to have read about “Getting On’s” reception in Paris (where they love the show) before the recent attacks and to know that this show speaks particularly to issues of loss and wounding and grief but in a way that enables laughter to mix with heartbreak. This season has so much more resonance to me as it is a comedy. It’s not escapist. It’s healing comedy. You can laugh and cry in the darkest of hours and to me, that’s the greatest service to provide as an artist. To allow people to experience their common humanity. Without self-importance. Experiencing and accepting the fragility of life, of being human, is a wonderful place to begin from.

"Getting On" Creators and Cast
“Getting On” Creators and Cast

Kouguell:Looking back at the three seasons of “Getting On,” what were some of the most poignant and/or memorable moments for you working with the actors and writers?

Scheffer: We felt that by choosing “Getting On” to adapt we were entering into “stewarding” function with our British team. We wrote all of the episodes and the first two seasons had a lot of material from the original series to adapt, but the final season was all original story. Still, we went to London and ran our ideas by the original creators and worked with them. That relationship, receiving their input bonded us in a way that was unique to most adaptations. The fact that Vicki Pepperdine and Joanna Scanlan appear in Episode 4 as their original characters and meet their American counterparts, and vice versa— felt so amazing. It’s something we’d never seen before and it speaks to the way the British show and the American show are so different but like siblings, so connected. We share the same blood. So that’s a long-winded way of saying, going to London for a week to work with “the girls’ was a high point.

It’s hard to single out moments because working with our actors was the greatest experience of my career. Watching Niecy Nash bloom, seeing Mel Rodriguez
and Alex Borstein prove how brilliant they are. Experiencing Laurie Metcalf’s genius (I mean she is a national treasure — beyond, beyond) and then all of
our guest and co-stars. Just this season alone: Harry Dean Stanton, Mary Kay Place, Francis Conroy, Rhea Perlman, June Sqibb, Kristen Johnson, Jonathan
Silverman, Jayma Mays, Daniel Stern, Rita Moreno, Grant Bowler, Janis Ian!!! Meeting Didi’s family — Marsha, Corey, Gloria and Scott — they felt like a
real family. Anne Guilbert as Birdie. Not to mention the other great women we were able to work with like Betty Buckley, Tsai Chin, Jean Smart, Irma P.
Hall, Alia Shawkat, Carrie Preston, Molly Shannon— I can’t even list them all, I know I’m forgetting people and not even mentioning the supporting cast who
were brilliant. These diverse, brilliant actors in just 18 episodes.

Kouguell:
This is the second show you have created for HBO, “Big Love” ran for 5 seasons and like “Getting On,” pushed the envelope in its examination
of timely, hot button issues. For Big Love, the show was not just about polygamy and the power of the church, at its core it was about family. In “Getting On,” some of the major topics/themes you tackle are ageism and the health care system. While “Getting On” is very funny, it also
strikes a major chord of realism. Truth is stranger than fiction.

Scheffer:
I think I mentioned already the theme of human frailty. And I just can’t stress enough how I believe it is an “undervalued” value in our society. I mean we
all get old and die. It’s not sexy but it’s part of life. And it doesn’t have to be shoved out of our consciousness or romanticized or treated
sentimentally or “importantly.” It’s life. And I wish people knew what they were missing by avoiding dealing with their fears about it. It’s like, do you
wanna deal with those fears now or do it later when it’s gonna be a real drag?

It was such a privilege for Mark and me to both be with our moms when they were dying. Sure it was hard, but it was incredibly layered and sometimes funny
and of course heartbreaking — but it was like I wanted to tell everyone: “Hey, you really should experience this, because it’s so amazing, even though it
hurts, too.”

Kouguell: 
The main characters (with the exception of the brilliant Patsy) focus mainly on women and their relationships with their patients and with their
colleagues. There is so much talk in the industry now about the lack of women’s roles particularly in the ‘over 40’ category. What are your thoughts on
this?

Scheffer: 
Yeah. Well. That’s always been the case. And I think it’s finally changing. The volatility in the business is palpable and I think that finally that really
big ugly fact about Hollywood is going to change. It has to. I know we’re going to keep writing great roles for women because, lucky for us, we’re good at
it, I think.

Kouguell:
What can we expect from this final season?

Scheffer: 
Well. It’s the final season. So expect big stories, some big reveals and I’d say that I think the finale is one I will always be very proud of.

Learn more about “Getting On”:
http://www.hbo.com/getting-on

READ MORE

SUSAN’S INDIEWIRE INTERVIEW WITH WILL SCHEFFER

January 26, 2014 / / Comments Off on SUSAN’S INDIEWIRE INTERVIEW WITH WILL SCHEFFER

Interview with Will Scheffer : HBO’s ‘Getting on’ Co-Creator, Co-Executive Producer and Writer…

Will Scheffer speaks candidly with Susan Kouguell about the Getting On series, adapting material, collaborations, and more.

With their fingers on the pulse — actually ten steps ahead of — societal happenings and hot button topics, co-creators, executive producers, and writers    on their Emmy and Golden Globe-winning HBO series Big Love, Will Scheffer and his partner Mark V. Olsen are fearless when tackling “difficult”     subject matters in their television and film projects. With humor and pathos, Scheffer and Olsen continue to confront timely and challenging issues with    their new series for HBO’s Getting On.

Read More:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/sydneylevine/interview-with-will-scheffer-hbos-getting-on-co-creator-co-executive-producer-and-writer-international-film-business

Perspective on Pitching Projects from Will Scheffer of HBO’s Series, ‘Getting On’ (SCRIPT MAGAZINE)

January 15, 2014 / / Comments Off on Perspective on Pitching Projects from Will Scheffer of HBO’s Series, ‘Getting On’ (SCRIPT MAGAZINE)

getting-on

Susan Kouguell speaks to Will Scheffer about his new HBO series Getting On, offering sage insight on pitching projects. 

Not ones to shy away from hot button topics, co-creators, executive producers, and writers on their Emmy and Golden Globe-winning HBO series Big Love, Will Scheffer and his partner Mark V. Olsen tackle “difficult” subject matters in their television and film projects — and their new HBO series Getting On is no exception.

 

Will Scheffer is a playwright, writer/producer and filmmaker. His plays have been produced in such venues as Playwright’s Horizons, Naked Angels, The Public Theatre and Ensemble Studio Theater. His first screenplay In the Gloaming (directed by Christopher Reeve), won five Emmys. Mark V. Olsen has written and produced several screenplays, teleplays, pilots and miniseries. For HBO, he wrote Mary Chesnut’s Civil War and Cabrina USA. Together, Scheffer and Olsen produced the independent feature based on Scheffer’s play by the same name, Easter.

KOUGUELL: As a team, you and Mark don’t shy away from edgy topics.  Big Love (Mormonism and polygamy) and now Getting On (aging, dying and the health care system).  Those must have been some interesting pitch meetings to HBO executives!  Can you elaborate? 

SCHEFFER: We like to write about “edgy” topics. It’s just who we are. We think of ourselves as “popular artists” and then we read some reviews and we think, “Oh god, a lot of people don’t want to go where we like to go.” In truth, we just want to write shows that are extremely watchable.

Getting On is largely about how we all deal with the process of aging and how we all care for the elderly. It is about relationships and the power struggles that come out of a small group of individuals that work together out of choice or necessity.

I admit that when we pitch, we know we’re pitching “difficult” material so we usually save the “difficult” part until we have the network hooked.

I’ll just use Big Love as an example. We worked up the pitch for over a year (we often do that) and we knew we didn’t want to mention the word “Polygamy” for quite a while. It went something like:

“There’s this guy and he owns a Home Depot kind of store and he’s your typical American man, right now. He’s overwhelmed by work and family. And his marriage is complicated. Actually this is a show ABOUT marriage…because he just happens to be married to three women. So this is a show about marriage times three.”

That’s kind of a thumbnail version of how we take a pitch about Polygamy or Death and Dying into the network. Luckily we work at HBO. Who else would have us, we’re beginning to realize.

The take-away from Scheffer’s Big Love pitch example:

  • Each sentence of this pitch builds to the polygamy theme without saying the word “polygamy.”
  • The pitch follows the protagonist, Bill. It first describes Bill’s situation (his job), who he is (typical American, right now), his personal issues (overwhelmed by work and family), his complicated marriage (without stating what the complication is thus building anticipation.) The pitch then continues by saying what the theme is — what the show is about: it’s about marriage.  Scheffer continues to build the anticipation of answering the question of ‘complicated marriage’ by revealing that Bill is married to three women.  And the clever hook: This is a show about marriage times three.
  • Know the company you’re pitching to and the types of projects they produce. HBO, for example, is a company that produces more risk-taking series and films, as opposed to a network like ABC, CBS or NBC.
  • Take your time developing your pitch.  For Scheffer and Olsen, they worked on their pitch for over a year.What does this mean for you? Before you pitch your project, you must thoroughly prepare; know every aspect about your project, themes, plot and characters. You must then convey in your pitch not only what your story is about and the major themes, but your main characters’ strengths and flaws, and what’s at stake for each of them.

Keep in mind that when film industry executives listen to a pitch, they are thinking: How can I sell this project to my bosses and then to an audience? And they are pondering: What makes me care about this project enough that I will put my job on the line, to get this project made?

Learn more about Getting On on HBO.

Read more:

http://www.scriptmag.com/features/pitching-projects-will-scheffer-talks-hbos-series-getting

SUSAN’S INDIEWIRE INTERVIEW WITH WILL SCHEFFER

January 2, 2014 / / Comments Off on SUSAN’S INDIEWIRE INTERVIEW WITH WILL SCHEFFER

Will Scheffer speaks candidly with Susan Kouguell about the Getting On series, adapting material, collaborations, and more.

http://blogs.indiewire.com/sydneylevine/interview-with-will-scheffer-hbos-getting-on-co-creator-co-executive-producer-and-writer-international-film-business

 

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