​Okay, I have an admission to make. I am on my second viewing of Master’s of the Air. And, for the record, I am just as moved as I was the first time. The story hits home for our family; my father-in-law, a gunner in the Army Air Corp, was shot down over Holland and spent most of WW2 in a Nazi Prisoner of War Camp. 
 
This series currently on Apple TV, produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, is a fitting companion to both Band of Brothers and The Pacific and is, in fact, my favorite of all three. This series shows us firsthand the sacrifice that our parents and grandparents made in serving during WW2. The bloody 100th Squadron suffered the most casualties of any air unit during the war and paid the price in death, dying, and emotional scarring that would last through the rest of their lives. 
 
Based on the book by Donald L. Miller, this series is required viewing for anyone who wishes to know the price of freedom and the cost to the Greatest Generation. 

He appeared in hundreds of films, everything from Blade Runner to Cannery Row. But very few people realize if the stars had aligned just a bit more, E. Emmet Walsh would have been in a little movie I wrote called The Touristers.
 
Mr. Walsh was part of a package of actors that included George Takei and, I believe, Victoria Pratt. Of all the actor offers that were sent, these were signed.
 
Frankly, I am surprised that pre-production had gotten this far, as there was no financial backing.
 
George Takei was to play himself, the unwitting celebrity host of an MTV-style show called Road Rules, Victoria was playing a sister named Sal, and M. Emmett was playing John, an elderly man on a mission who was searching for the healing waters of San Sebastian for his aged, ailing wife.
 
All three would have been great, but I was most excited about Mr. Walsh. First, he was playing a version of my father. Secondly, he was a man who had co-starred in some of the greatest films of the new generation. Midnight Cowboy, Ordinary People, Reds, Silkwood, Blood Simple, Back to School, his career went on and on and on and on. He was always terrific and worth sticking around for, no matter how good or bad the picture. 
 
Alas, The Touristers never came to pass. This was mostly due to a producer who really didn’t know what he was doing. But, for one brief shining moment, there was a chance that I would be working with the one and only Mr. M. Emmet Walsh and that he would be playing my dad.

​He’s a showrunner, writer, and essayist. He’s worked on some pretty big shows and has just written a book. I have to admit that I like him. He shows up on my feed, and I generally listen. 
 
However, he is one of these guys who takes money from people like you, only to tell you that some of you will fail.
 
Any fan of this blog knows that this is something I don’t care for. It’s not that some of you may never make it as a paid screen or television writer. That much is sadly true. I happen to believe there are many reasons for that. I disapprove of our general statements such as, if you have been doing it this long, give up. Or, other statements referring to age, location and so on, and so on, and so on.
 
What pisses me off is, in mostly the same breath, he will advertise his website, his service, or his book. All for money. I don’t see any difference between this guy and a fortune teller. 
 
Social Media guys will argue that their predictions are based on their careers. That’s great. But any theory, and I repeat ANY, no matter what it is based upon, is not foolproof. 
 
So, buy the book if you want, watch the funny man open his residual checks, and talk to the trolls. Believe in yourself, not him. And you do have one advantage over him: You’re not trying to sell anything.
 
One more thing. My book Fool’s Gold is still on sale. Be sure to pick one up on your way out.

I trust that everyone had a relaxing two weeks off. It is Oscar weekend. Are you watching? Do you care? This is a banner year for me as I have seen a few, not all, of the nominees. Some I have even seen in a theatre. And one, one I have seen in Imax.  
 
There is a lot to be said for this format. It has a giant screen, great sound, comfortable chairs, and a cool logo that lights up the auditorium before the movie starts. And it's bringing more people to the movies. What is there not to like? 
 
Well, there is one small snag, and that is the cost. Seeing a movie in the above-mentioned format costs more. Continuing on that logic, it will be assumed that people will only come out to movies with some specialized format that costs more, and what will get buried in the process? Independent, small, and medium-sized films. 
 
Boo!
 
Well, here is my proposal, and I will gladly sell my idea to the highest bidder. I propose a return to the Hollywood Studio system of the forties and fifties. But not for all studios. Each studio would need to specialize. 
 
The more successful studios can continue their streak of overly funded, under-creative films and present them in costlier formats.
 
Paramount would develop an RKO approach, opening up a few of its sound stages to create small—and medium-sized budget films that could be made for considerably less.
 
Leaving Warner to continue to make films that the public will never see.