Screenwriter Rodney Barnes on ‘Kolchak: The Night Stalker’
Award-winning screenwriter and producer Rodney Barnes (“Everybody Hates Chris,” “Winning Time”) got hooked on genre-defying TV and film early in his life when he encountered made-for-TV films “The Night Stalker,” and “The Night Strangler” — both of which deftly combined mystery, horror, and comedy.
Strong ratings for these early 1970s movies prompted ABC to order a 20-episode series called “Kolchak: The Night Stalker,” which ran from 1974-1975. Both the films and the show starred actor Darren McGavin as news reporter Carl Kolchak, whose tenacious personality and hard-driving investigations of supernatural crimes often got him in trouble at work. The series is said to be an inspiration for “The X-Files.”
Barnes recently wrote the graphic novel “Blacula” and says “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” set him on his path to write professionally.
More: Writer Rodney Barnes on reimagining ‘Blacula’ as a graphic novel
This segment has been edited for length and clarity.
A television show that affected me deeply when I was a kid, that started me on my journey of loving genre, was called “Kolchak: The Night Stalker.”
“The Night Stalker” and “The Night Strangler” were actually two movies of the week [by Richard Matheson]. They were so well written, and it was this crime noir, paranormal-journalist investigator who would find vampires and various stories of the supernatural and macabre.
It went from a movie of the week and ultimately became a weekly series. It was also the inspiration for The-X Files from what I hear. But for me, it sparked my imagination that this was possible in some way, to have a monster of the week and have all of these different elements converge together. [It] really inspired my work to be able to have multiple voices and not just necessarily adhere to one.
Everybody else said [Kolchak] was crazy to the cops. His editor, everybody would [say], “Kolchak, you’re nuts!” He would go out on the streets and be determined to find out whatever it was. And even though he was able to solve the supernatural problem, he never really benefited from it. He would get fired; he had to move on to another city. But we loved him because he was doing good work.
Tonally, he was able to parse that here with comedy, because it came from him as a character. The way he approached the problem was in a whimsical way, but when danger happened he was in that place of acknowledging the danger. It wasn’t something that was funny at the moment. I think tonally, it was spot on.
Just love, love, love that show. It was the perfect thing to set me on a path to wanting to be a part of this community.
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Black Mask launches new comic anthology to benefit striking writers
GENERAL STRIKE: Calexit & Other Tales of The Good Fight is a new comic book anthology from Black Mask Studios — written by striking WGA workers, with proceeds going to the WGA strike fund. The book will feature stories by Rodney Barnes, a writer/producer on the Boondocks cartoon; Brian Michael Bendis, creator of Miles Morales and Jessica Jones for Marvel as well as the Powers comic book and TV show; Judalina Neira, the WGA’s NBCU lot cordinator, who has worked on The Flash and The Boys TV series; and many others.
Black Mask Studios is run by comics and TV writer Matteo Pizzolo, who has said that the company will pay all of the writers by matching page rates from Marvel/DC books, and then match all those writers’ fees with donations to the Entertainment Community Fund. All of the creators involved will maintain ownership over their own IP as well. As Pizzolo told The Hollywood Reporter:
I’m a WGA member and my wife is in SAG, so we know firsthand the cost of this strike. It’s impacting so many people–writers and actors and their families for sure, but also everyone who works in the community and culture. Hopefully we can use our comics platform to help members of the creative community cover costs during this crisis while also telling badass and inspiring stories about Truth, Justice, and Collective Action.
The campaign is expected to go live some time this week.
GENERAL STRIKE: Calexit & Other Tales of The Good Fight
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Why Winning Time Is HBO’s Next Great Drama Show
Now that Succession is over, HBO is facing some challenges finding its next hit series that will turn Sunday nights into events.
“It’s not television, it’s HBO,” has been the moniker of the prestigious television cable network for generations, and for a long time it seemed like a justified proclamation. HBO offered up dramas and comedy shows that contained better filmmaking and more interesting performances than a majority of what was in movie theaters; there were few early-21st Century dramas as riveting as The Sopranos or The Wire, and few comedies that were as relevant and uproarious as Curb Your Enthusiasm or Veep. It seemed like those looking for genuine quality entertainment were better suited to networks like HBO than they were movie theaters, which had become dominated by franchise films.
After one great show ends, HBO is always on the lookout for what could be the next potential hit. Game of Thrones was HBO’s most popular show for a long time thanks to its blockbuster qualities, and it’s no surprise that HBO aired a few shows in the midst of their George R.R. Martin adaptation that potentially could take its place. While Westworld may have failed to start an equally loyal following and His Dark Materials landed with little fanfare, HBO surprisingly found that audiences were interested in dramas that resembled real events like Succession.
Now that Succession is over, HBO is facing some challenges finding its next hit series that will turn Sunday nights into “events.” It appears that both House of the Dragon and The Last of Us, despite their positive reviews, will only run for a limited amount of time because of the stories they are based on. Reviews for The Idol do not suggest that Sam Levinson’s pop star series will take that “prestigious” mantle either, but that doesn’t mean that HBO doesn’t have another terrific show on its hands. Here’s why Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty is HBO’s next great drama show.
The Filmmaking Talent And Style
Similar to prior HBO successes like Boardwalk Empire and Deadwood, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty is based on a series of true events. The difference between the sports series and those crime epics is that the events of Winning Time are likely familiar to the audience who watched them when they occurred. Nostalgia itself isn’t a reason to watch in case the show could provide insight on why these events are worth covering, but that insight has been provided thanks to Adam McKay. Although he was once known as of the comedy titans of Hollywood thanks to his collaborations with Will Ferrell, McKay has become one of the great nonfiction storytellers in mainstream Hollywood.
Both The Big Short and Vice examined real historical events through a layered perspective; similar to Winning Time, they intercut music, news footage, fourth wall breaking dialogue, and humorous beats to explain how key political changes affected the development of the United States. McKay applied all these same skills when he became the executive producer of Succession, which became a window into reality in its later seasons. Storylines in Succession about the presidential election, the consolidation of news and entertainment media, the scandals that rocked the most powerful families in business, and the economic upheaval felt very close to true events. This prepared McKay for taking on a series like Winning Time.
Winning Time is not based on events as consequential to the future of the country as the rise of Dick Cheney or the economic crisis, but it is interesting to see how the rise and fall of the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s affected the future of the NBA. Basketball and sports media changed significantly during this era, and McKay has provided interesting insights on the relevance that the season has on today’s sports coverage. It helps that the show has also recruited several other great film directors, including Jonah Hill and Tanya Hamilton, to direct key episodes.
Any time a “historical series” tries to replicate real events, internet critics tend to focus more on physical resemblance than whether someone actually represents the person they are playing. While John C. Reilly may not look exactly like Jerry Buss, he still serves as an excellent narrator for the series. It’s important to understand that a show like Winning Time is not a documentary, but a translation of true events for dramatic purposes. Its goal is to entertain the viewer, so it makes sense that some of the historical facts may be fudged in some instances.
Unsurprisingly, the true breakout stars of the first season of Winning Time have been the actors playing their key basketball players. Quincy Isiah’s performance as Magic Johnson is a “star making” one in many ways; not only does he show how the underdog player rises to become the face of a generation, but Isiah may have just become an overnight sensation in his own right!
It was somewhat odd to see that the first season of Winning Time was not showered with as much attention from the Primetime Emmy Awards as previous HBO show; certainly, the network has a lot on its hands right now with the last season of Succession and new seasons of The Last of Us, House of the Dragon, and The White Lotus all vying for trophies. However, the next Emmy cycle may bring Winning Time better results; not only will there be less show due to the writers’ strike, but some recurring drama shows will have ended their run.
A Set End Date
An issue that many drama shows face is constructing a conclusion. Many argued that the reason Game of Thrones felt so unsatisfying was that it didn’t plan things out in advance, but having a set ending can also reduce the tension surrounding a series’ stories. Winning Time has the advantage of being based on history. Even if the show concludes the stories of the main characters in the next season, there is potential for it to follow some of the other players into their later years in subsequent installments.
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Award-Winning Creators Rodney Barnes and Vashti Harrison headline Virtual “Summer Camp” for Creatives
The Virtuous Con Summer Creators Workshop Returns for a second year with an all new lineup of virtual courses exclusively for writers and artists!
(Isstories Editorial):- Washington, D.C, District of Columbia Jun 23, 2023 (Issuewire.com) – If you’re a writer or artist looking to level up their skills, the Virtuous Con Summer Workshop Series is exactly what you need. Brought to you by Virtuous Con, the popular virtual comic book, fantasy, and sci-fi convention, this exclusive virtual program, scheduled to run from July 5 to July 30, 2023, will bring together an award-winning group of creators from fiction and graphic novels to work directly with students of all ages. The workshops will provide aspiring writers and artists a unique opportunity to learn from industry-leading talent and hone their skills in a supportive and inspiring environment.
The 2023 series launches July 5, 2023 with the workshop “Horror in Comics” taught by award-winning Hollywood producer and writer Rodney Barnes (The Boondocks, Winning Time, Wu-Tang: An American Saga) author of the graphic novels “Blacula: Return of the King” and the award-winning horror comic “Killadelphia”.
Following Barnes, on July 9,, the award-winning illustrator and writer Vashti Harrison (“Little Leaders”, “Hair Love”) will lead a “Techniques for Visual Storytelling” workshop. Harrison will also give away copies of her New York Times Best Seller “BIG” to early registrants.
Barnes and HARrison aren’t the only instructors sharing their creative knowledge. The workshop has a fantastic lineup of instructors including award-winning writers Leslye Penelope, (“Song of blood and Stone”, “The Monsters We Defy”), and Zig Zag Claybourne (“Afropuffs Are the Antennae of the Universe”). Attendees can also learn the creative ins and outs of graphic novels and comic books from creators Karla “Moon” Medrano (“Luna: Queen of the Mahru”), Tim Fielder (“Infinitum: An Afrofuturist’s Tale”), T.J. Sterling (“Joystick Angels”) and the Eisner-Award winning comic-book artist Alitha Martinez (“Black Panther: World of Wakanda”, “Nubia: Queen of the Amazons”).
The Virtuous Con Summer Writing Workshop Series will take place through virtual sessions every Wednesday throughout July. Secure your spot today by registering at the link below.
Virtuous Con Workshop Registration Here
ABOUT VIRTUOUS CON:
Virtuous Con is an entertainment company founded by Award-Winning Author Cerece Rennie Murphy. It empowers independent sci-fi, fantasy, and comics creators, offering a platform to showcase their work and connect with audiences. Committed to supporting BIPOC creatives, Virtuous Con creates virtual venues for engaging vendor experiences, live panel discussions, and opportunities for growth and exposure for artists and writers.
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