I think TV writers (Damon Lindelof)moving into film are what's screwing up movies. This has been going on for a while. If you have a passion for film, you should study and create film scripts. Not TV. If films are getting smaller that's a cause for concern. I don't want my films to become TV shows. I believe in film as an art form and I think it needs to be protected at all costs.

Just curious -- is there any confirmation on that Spielberg buying a pilot thing? Is this about Extant? cuz all I ever saw was a single story on The Wrap that was never verified and had no attributed sources. Hope it's true, for the sake of the writer, but would love some kind of confirm.

Peggy, that is an interesting perspective. To demonstrate how things have changed, when I broke in in 1987, my agents told me I had to choose: Movies or TV. Little to no cross-pollination at all back then. Completely changed nowadays. I'm going to be interviewing Jeff Lieber next week. He writes both TV and movies. I'll ask him your question, Peggy, get his response.

Alex, I haven't spoken with Tom, but I suspect that's what he's talking about. I have NOT heard any confirmation about Extant, but I do know the writer [Mickey Fisher] is a longtime GITS reader and a big fan of the blog. All the more reason to root for Mickey re Extant and any other possible projects he may have percolating. Obviously as soon as any deal goes public, I'll post it here.

I feel that one of the most important things, if one writes a TV pilot script, is that you already know how the rest of your season and your finale will be like (also how season 2 and 3 may potentially look like as well). Shows like Flashpoint failed miserably after their pilots. They had amazing pilots (Flashpoint was written by David S. Goyer) but after that, the show got super boring and was not as good as the pilot. High concept shows require long form planning. Even periodicals as well.

I'm becoming increasingly more interested in this avenue. I'd never considered TV before because I didn't think I could hack it or I thought a production of cinematic value couldn't be captured into a series or for TV, but the more I read about the future of film audiences and accessibility and price, etc, and with the current arsenal of amazing shows out there, the more I'm down for TV. I also have an idea that has so much potential for continuation and intertwining characters, locations, and events that I think it might best be suited for TV (if it's suited for anything at all, of course). And after watching all three seasons of Game of Thrones in a week, I've really seen how it couldn't really have worked as a film... or maybe it could, but it draws you in and keeps you coming back and I can get all excited about it in my own home. And there's MORE to come without having to wait for numbers to justify a sequel. One question I'd have is how are numbers and ratings determined for TV series other than fan hoopla?