Obsessed with Niles Crane
Oh, hi friends!
What did you do this week?
Take a second to go through your days.
Did you watch anything that moved you? What tasks did you accomplish? Were you able to move one project forward, even just a tiny bit?
The weeks go fast. Even if this wasn’t a “WOW AMAZING NEWS!!” week, take a second to celebrate your tiny successes, too.
“I had a scene with David [Hyde Pierce] where I’m supposed to read Niles’s proposal letter to Daphne. Every day, he’d hand me a piece of blank paper, and I’d act like I read it. In front of the audience though, he hands me a letter, beautifully written in his own words, as Niles. It epitomizes how he did things. He never took a shortcut.”
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These words are from Peri Gilpin, who played Roz Doyle on Frasier. They’re from this excellent Vanity Fair oral history for the show’s 25th anniversary. (My second favorite anecdote was about Moose the dog, who played Eddie, and was apparently a bit of a rascal — he once ate a tennis ball?!)
I found this while doing background research because I’m writing a spec episode of the show?! I had an idea for a reboot so thought...why not write it? And it's good practice writing sitcoms. I’m halfway done — stay tuned for adventures from the Crane boys.
And anyway, I love the insight into the character of Niles Crane, and hearing this it's no wonder David Hyde Pierce was so excellent in the role. He truly went all in. It made me think about all the details you can add to a project that no one sees — but that you know are there.
Photo by Donald Edgar on Unsplash
We’re in prime movie season. And with the Oscars on the horizon, I love to read scripts of all the prospective winners. And whaddya know, there are (legal) scripts available to download for nearly all the nominees! Check ‘em out here. Even if you’re not a screenwriter, there’s insight to be gained from seeing how the authors portray characters — an entire world — in spare sentences. There’s Us, Little Women, Hustlers, and many more. Btw, Weekend Read is my app of choice for reading scripts on my phone.
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Thanks, as always, for reading.
Love, Kara