Book 4 (of 52) – Just The Funny Parts

Just The Funny Parts: …And A Few Hard Truths About Sneaking Into The Hollywood Boys’ Club – Nell Scovell

Television writer and producer Nell Scovell looks back at her career in this funny and biting memoir.  She tells the story of her career, starting in magazines, moving to television and movies, and teaming with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg on her book Lean In.  Usually one of the only women in the writing room, Scovell was only the second female writer hired by Late Night with David Letterman and, following Letterman’s 2009 admission of improper “relationships” with female staffers, she wrote an essay in Vanity Fair calling his show a “hostile work environment” for women.  Besides Late Night, Scovell has written for The Simpsons, The Wilton North ReportCoachMonkMurphy BrownCharmedNewhartThe CriticNCIS, and Space Ghost Coast to Coast, amongst others.  She also created Sabrina The Teenage Witch, adapting the Archie Comics character for ABC.

Odds are good that you have seen a program written by Scovell at some point over the last 3 decades.  She tales a serious subject, the roadblocks to a writing/directing/producing career in Hollywood for women, and wrapped it in funny anecdotes of her time bringing beloved characters to life.  Hopefully this work opens more opportunities for her, and others like her.

Book 4 (of 52) – Melissa Explains It All

Melissa Explains It All: Tales From My Abnormally Normal Life - Melissa Joan Hart with Kristina Grish

Melissa Explains It All: Tales From My Abnormally Normal Life – Melissa Joan Hart with Kristina Grish

Starting right with the subtitle of her memoir, Melissa Joan Hart, star of Clarissa Explains It All and Sabrina The Teenage Witch, wants you to know that she is normal.  To prove it, she offers up what might just be the worst of these celebrity “tell-alls” ever produced.  Certainly the worst that I have read.  Which is a shame.

Clarissa debuted on Nickelodeon during my junior year of high school.  Clearly, I was not the target audience, but, during the summer, we would occassionally come across it, along with other classics like Hey Dude and Salute Your Shorts.  5 years later, Sabrina debuted, which I watched for most of its run on ABC.  I guess you could say I was (am?) a Melissa Joan Hart fan, so you would think her book would be right up my alley.  Sadly, she hardly touches on her experiences on these shows, glossing over most of her time on the shows and instead on who she roomed with or how she was out with her hairstylist.

The one big “scandal” that Hart was involved with was her racy Maxim cover, which wasn’t out of the ordinary for the magazine, but landed her in hot water with Archie Comics, the owner of the Sabrina property.  This whole thing is covered in about 3-4 paragraphs, while an entire chapter is devoted to her husband’s love of Alabama football.

In her attempt to tell us little people how normal she actually is, Hart succeeds in showing how out of touch she truly is.  She lists the 4 things that she is unable to do to this day, things normal girls learned as teenagers, like putting on makeup or making fashion choices, but she always had professionals to do them for her.  She could have listed a 5th, tell a compelling story in a way that makes a reader relate to her.

You Ought To Be In (10) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  So, given those guidelines, it is time to look at all of the actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of May 30th.

Today, we start with the 14 actors that have starred in 10 movies that I have seen.

Amy Adams

I was first introduced to Amy Adams back in 2001 via the direct-to-video sequel to Cruel Intentions.  Things were quiet until 2008, when I saw her in Enchanted, which started a four year run with at least one film per year.  2010 was big Amy Adams year for me, where she starred in 4 different movies that I saw that year.  The last movie I saw featuring her was last year’s Man of Steel.

Jessica Alba

My first movie exposure to Jessica Alba was the 2000 indie thriller Paranoid.  2004 kicked off a 4 year run of at least one film per year.  2009 was my high water mark in Jessica Alba films, when I saw 3 of them.  Her run as Sue Storm in the Fantastic Four franchise accounted for 2 of the 10 films.  2010’s Valentine’s Day, which I saw in 2011, was the last film I saw starring Alba.

Dan Aykroyd

My first Dan Aykroyd film was likely 1984’s Ghostbusters.  My best Aykroyd years were 1988 and 1996, when I saw 2 of his films in each year.  2002 was the last year I saw an Aykroyd-starring vehicle, 200’s Stardom.

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