/ 0
- Details
- Category: Grillings
- Hits: 94
When it comes to Writer/Producer Jeffrey Berman’s latest project he is definitely Naught for Hire.
There are two Jeffrey Bermans in Hollywood, a confusion that Naught for Hire’s Executive Producer/Writer accepts with equanimity and his typical slightly-twisted humor. He calls himself the “Not The Kids In The Hall” Berman. This humility belies the fact that our Mr. Berman has written comedy, drama, genre, topical scripts, and screenplays for Imagine Films, Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, and The Walt Disney Studio, as well as television bio-pictures for NBC and Hallmark.
Berman is also the host and producer of The Write Environment (www.thewriteenvironment.com), where he has interviewed fellow screenwriters such as Tim Minear (Firefly, Dollhouse, and Wonderfalls), Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Dollhouse, and Firefly) Tim Kring, (Heroes), and Damon Lindelof (Lost and Star Trek) about the art and craft of writing. As a self-proclaimed “fan-boy” he has learned much about the craft of writing from conducting these interviews. “Each episode is like a master class with these A-List writers,” says Berman about the series; lessons he has applied in his preparation on ”Naught for Hire”, a 13-part web series in the tradition of the old Hollywood serials, currently in pre-production.
Jeffrey and our own Rita Lewis (mayanscaper) got together on June 10th for a phone interview about Naught For Hire.
Rita Lewis: How did you and John Stith, (author of Naught for Hire) end up collaborating on an adaptation of his story?
Jeffrey Berman: John brought the story to my attention over a decade ago and I immediately fell in love with it. What initially attracted me to Naught was the unique way John had combined genres, creating an original noir science fiction detective comedy. At the time I was primarily a feature comedy writer but I recognized that with some work the story could translate into a film or TV series. So I asked John if I could step in and adapt the script with him as a co-writer, of course.
I’ve worked with many writing partners over the years but I have to confess I’ve enjoyed the collaboration process with John the most. He is an extremely clever science fiction writer, but I sometimes wonder if John realizes just how funny he is too.
The script has gone through several changes since our first pass at it, the biggest being when we adapted it as a web series. We found that the transition from a feature film with its large action set pieces to the very intimate scale of the web opened up small character moments that had been lost or hidden. Once that happened, John and I created some new characters that right from the start seemed to have lives that needed to have their stories told. And these characters aren’t necessarily human. What’s great about using the web as an outlet for this story is that it has allowed us to expand the universe in which the story is set, beyond some of the conventional limits of broadcast TV.
RL: What made you decide to turn to the web to produce Naught for Hire rather than the more conventional network route and do you see a future for web series?
JB: It was just after the Writers Guild strike while I was working on The Write Environment. During my first interview with Joss Whedon I learned about his little web project, which turned out to be Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. I started looking at some of the unproduced projects in my library that I still owned the rights to and there was Naught for Hire. So, I called John, laid out my plan for adapting the script for the series and one year later here we are.
Creating for the web will be a great proving ground for the next generation of film and TV series creators. There is a lot of creative material being produced for the web these days, the tricky part is figuring out how to monetize it.
RL: It seems this will appeal to a diverse set of fans. What are your plans for attracting viewers?
JB: We have a great team attached to the series who are brimming with plans to market the series when the time is right, so I can’t say too much about it just yet, but I like to think that if you put out a good product an audience will find it. What’s great about a project like Naught for Hire is that it appeals to a large demographic. By airing it on the web we don’t have to worry about a niche broadcast channel that only airs Science Fiction or Comedy or Drama. We can allow the story to dictate those choices and not a network.
RL: How did you end up casting Ben Browder's as Nick Naught?
JB: I’d love to give you some huge sweeping Hollywood tale about Ben’s involvement, but the truth is Ben was always my first choice for Nick Naught. Once he read the script we met pretty quickly and the deal was set. I’m very fortunate to have an actor of Ben’s caliber not only attached as the lead actor in the series, but as my producing partner as well. He brings a wealth of experience from his days on Farscape and Stargate SG1 that have already proven invaluable in the development process. Ben is a terrific actor, a fantastic writer and an excellent producer.
RL: Can you talk about some of the other actors attached to the project?
JB:We have an amazing cast that I could talk about but I want to refrain from discussing them for the moment. Suffice to say, they are all instantly recognizable when you see, or hear them…
RL: Any other teaser or spoilers you can mention?
JB: How about Naught Again. Is that too vague? Then let me just say that Naught’s first case is only the tip of a larger story that we’re already mapping out. My advice would be to keep watching our website for updates, photos and insider info. So, in the vernacular of the old Hollywood serials, Stay Tuned, because the best is yet to come.”