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Alex Levine, Stargate Atlantis Script Coordinator, photo courtesy of Joe Mallozzi's blog
August 15, 2008
Ghost Stories and Fireside Chats
Carl Binder is the king of many things, among them: ghost stories, bawdy humor, and fireside chats. You see, Carl is an incredibly nice guy (unless you're a hotel security guard), and when he has big problems with a script, he prefers to let you know one-on-one instead of waiting until other writers are around to witness the carnage. I've experienced this myself. First, you hear the gentle footsteps, and
moments later he appears at your door, script in hand, an expression on his face that says, without even a word uttered, "I hate to disappoint you, but..." And then he sits down and explains, directly but not unkindly, how your script is structurally problematic and how all the voices are off. The problem is, he's right 99% of the time, and you'd be a fool not to strongly consider every one of his notes.
Many times I've walked down the hall to see Carl engaged in one of his fireside chats with a junior writer. The look on their face a mixture of discomfort and politeness, sort of like meeting the president when you're really constipated. I guess Carl adopted the fireside chat format after listening to FDR on the radio in the 30's...
Carl Binder - photo courtesy of Joseph Mallozzi's blog
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