Ben Blacker

I WANT TO BELIEVE BELAUGH BELOVE

A newspaper clipping from 1906 that reads: "Noisy, Hungry Frogs Sadden Farmer's Life. They scare his cattle and they also eat his flannel shirt."

Still, I'm reminded things could be worse...

Newspaper clipping, 1906.

This past week, the 79-year-old president announced he’s ended six wars (some that have been going on for centuries), asserted that windmills drive whales insane, called for Beyoncé to be prosecuted, claimed Obama committed treason and complained a convicted pedophile “stole” teenage girls from him.

a man in a suit and tie stands in front of a sign that says ' must have been quite ' ALT: a man in a suit and tie stands in front of a sign that says ' must have been quite '

The movie is so good, you guys.

Always a pleasure to chat with @dangregor.bsky.social & Doug Mand for the pod. Today we discuss why Liam Neeson is integral to remaking The Naked Gun, an ungodly number of alt jokes, the real stakes of a silly movie, comedy fight scenes + lots more.
Listen: benblacker.substack.com/p/the-naked-...

Being a CEO is the best job in the world. They pay you a lot of money and you’re free from the burden of accomplishing anything

Still from the movie Jurassic Park showing a close up of Samuel L. Jackson with a cigarette in his mouth. Text reads "Hold onto your butts"

when the butt thief is in town

this is very honest from one of my favorite writers. a good essay about pushing the rock up the hill as a creator these days.

Air travel is never not uncomfortable, inconvenient, and an all around nightmare but at least it’s also wildly expensive.

If you think no one talks on phones anymore, I invite you to be shown otherwise by visiting an airport and sitting wherever I sit.

In today's Writers Panel, I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER writer/director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson + co-writer Sam Lansky discuss modernizing a morality tale, playing plot Jenga, "trauma but make it popcorn," and justifying THAT TWIST.
Listen: benblacker.substack.com/p/i-know-wha...

What if I’d posted the Epstein list?

30 of the Best Movie Taglines of All Time A great movie tagline can sizzle a movie, or even become nearly as famous as the film itself. Here are some of the best ever written.

This is a really fun list. www.pastemagazine.com/movies/movie...

Maurene Comey’s farewell note to the SDNY after being fired by the Trump administration. Yet another warning.

A fun Writers Panel today with THE PURGE writer/director James DeMonaco, who has a new movie out starring Pete Davidson. We discuss co-writing during lockdown, the movie he passed on that got The Home made, advice from Coppola + news of a new Purge movie!
benblacker.substack.com/p/james-demo...

I wish I were going to SDCC just to attend these panels that DeMatteis is a part of. Don't miss em.

@heathcorson.bsky.social @pattonoswalt.bsky.social @blumjordan.bsky.social @hannahrosemay.bsky.social @gerryduggan.bsky.social

Allston was my NEC! They were just the best folks at those stores.

Look, I am merely offering to solve all of the industry’s problems so everyone can get back to work.

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Should have been: For that, you get cable, streaming, the whole damn thing.

a close up of a man 's face with his mouth open and a bottle in his mouth . ALT: a close up of a man 's face with his mouth open and a bottle in his mouth .

I don't want no volunteers. I don't want no mates. There's too many showrunners and execs in this industry. $10,000,000 for me by myself. For that, you get the head, the tail, the whole damn thing.

a man wearing a hat is singing farewell and adieu to you fair spanish ladies . ALT: a man wearing a hat is singing farewell and adieu to you fair spanish ladies .

I value my neck a lot more than 3000 bucks. I'll sell my shows for three, but I'll fix things for ten. You've got to make up your minds. Gonna stay alive + ante up? Or want to play it cheap, watch viewers disappear til 2040.

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I'll fix TV for ya, but it ain't gonna be easy. Bad industry! Not like Berlanti sellin superhero shows to the CW in 2014. Industry will swallow you whole. Shakin'. Tenderizin'. Down you go. Now we got to do it quick. That'll bring back the viewers + it'll put all your writers on a payin' basis. But

a man sitting in a chair with the words y all know me written on the screen ALT: a man sitting in a chair with the words y all know me written on the screen

Me walking into the WGA mixer tonight.

A good Writers Panel today with @stefanieleder.bsky.social on her debut novel, LOVE, COFFEE, AND REVOLUTION, the long road of writing the book, the most important thing to getting published, why "TV is Jewish" + lots more.
benblacker.substack.com/p/tv-writern...

That description just sold me. Thanks!

On this week's Writers Panel, I chat with CHRIS WEITZ & PAUL WEITZ about Murderbot, About a Boy, American Pie, Alexander Skarsgård, who your audience is, writing and directing together after a two-decade break + more. They also give me directing advice!
benblacker.substack.com/p/chris-and-...

I host a program where famous people talk about less than fascinating things until you pass out. This week, SADIE DOYLE herself, Paget Brewster. She makes bone broth sound alluringly conspiratorial.
cc @pftompkins.bsky.social @bnacker.bsky.social @benblacker.bsky.social

It’s a terrible bill. It will literally kill people. The most vulnerable among us will suffer as the wealthiest benefit. It’s perverse. I wish there were something I could do. But alas, I am only a U.S. Senator from Alaska whose “no” vote would kill the bill. So I voted yes. You get it.

This is our favorite game when we order in. “Let’s see how many people they think we are.”