Category: Writer's Journal - Dan Fiorella: Writer @ large

Dan Fiorella

A Writer’s Journal Journey 37

12/17/2017

I've been looking back on my adventure in Hollywood, culling pages from my journal...

Into February ’93, “my” “agent” Robbins read my Seinfeld spec and liked it enough for me to rework it a bit. He said he could get it to the Seinfeld company (“It’ll be nice getting rejected by a higher level of talent”). I even decide to take my “Dashing Dan” script and convert it into a Seinfeld episode. Nothing like over-doing it at the slightest evocation. Additionally, I decided to pull out some scripts and submit them to some comic company, two things I had co-written with John Rawlins (our radio script “Capt. Useless” and a pilot we pitched to the “Galaxy Ranger” folks, “Tech-Mech”).

A Writer’s Journal Journey 40

12/11/2017

I've been looking back on my adventure in Hollywood, culling pages from my journal...

My next journal entry is one of two made in in September. And I'm blue here.

It turns out I did send Herb Sargent the material after the whole WGAE dinner kerfuffle. He doesn't know if he got it (He gets lots of mail, doncha know). He did recall talking to the other guy, Jay, but wouldn't give me an inch or the slightest acknowledgment.

Money woes. Finishing "Closed Set" but didn't know what to do with it next. My rejection from MAD magazine finally made its way back to me after a year. I was just deeply lamenting my fate; my "break" was a non-repeatable fluke. I hadn't built off of it. Kevin Brown was now off on his own. "Bleakness envelopes me" (C'mon, the kid can write!).

A Writer’s Journal Journey 36

12/7/2017

I've been looking back on my adventure in Hollywood, culling pages from my journal...

I didn’t write in my journal until half-way into January 1993. Heard from the agent Robbins. He passed on the second script I sent him, “Dashing Dan.” But he thinks it might make a good 2-part “Seinfeld.” Oy. I decide to send him my “Seinfeld” spec, based on my “Wedding” script, “He might get a kick out of that.”

A Writer’s Journal Journey 35

11/23/2017

I've been looking back on my adventure in Hollywood, culling pages from my journal...

I didn’t write in my journal until half-way into January 1993. Heard from the agent Robbins. He passed on the second script I sent him, “Dashing Dan.” But he thinks it might make a good 2-part “Seinfeld.” Oy. I decide to send him my “Seinfeld” spec, based on my “Wedding” script, “He might get a kick out of that,” sez I.

A Writer’s Journal Journey 34

9/6/2017

I've been looking back on my adventure in Hollywood, culling pages from my journal...

At the end of October, I heard from Kevin, "my producer" again. He had spoken to Joel the producer concerning “The Kringle Project.” Joel thinks I should re-write the Pee-Wee version and keep it as the mailroom boy turned detective. Kevin told Joel he’d mention it to me. While mentioning it to me, Kevin recommended that I NOT do such a thing, as it would involve a “page one rewrite” for no dollars. Meanwhile, Kevin is back in contact with former Warner executive Kimberly Brent (huh?) who had moved to Paramount and was working for producer Howard Koch, Jr. Kevin wanted to get her “input” (huh??).

A Writer’s Journal Journey 33

8/12/2017

I've been looking back on my adventure in Hollywood, culling pages from my journal...

So, as it turns out, my big reason for joining the WGA Activities committee, to get a workshop going, was misdirected at best. I was on the wrong committee. Another committee, the Programs committee, would do something like that.

A Writer’s Journal Journey 32

7/30/2017

I've been looking back on my adventure in Hollywood, culling pages from my journal...

We reach February 1992, and I had finished and sent off “Like Magic.” I’m surprised to read that I had serious doubts about it at the time. Now, I have fond memories of it (In fact, I’m supposed to be working on it). But I was also annoyed that my Hollywood connections (Kevin, Bill and Joel) didn’t want to see any of my scripts, they just wanted to consider stuff they pitched to me.

A Writer’s Journal Journey 30

7/1/2017

I've been looking back on my adventure in Hollywood, culling pages from my journal...

September ended with nothing going on, which bled into October. No word on anything. My new Atari PC was replaced, so that meant I had to get back to work on something.

Later, word was coming out of Hollywood that Paul Ruebens was already at work re-building his career, and leaving Pee-Wee at the wayside for the time being. So, hurray for him. ABC announced it was getting out of the late night business. Not my fault!

A Writer’s Journal Journey 29

6/2/2017

I've been looking back on my adventure in Hollywood, culling pages from my journal...

As August 1991 drew to a close, things were still tumbling around. My Hollywood connection, Kevin, wanted a progress report on the re-write of “Jingle Bell Blues” (the old title of the now-former Pee-Wee Herman script) as he had a pitch meeting with William Morris coming up. He also wanted to pitch a cable comedy featuring comedy troupes (like Style Without Substance), which came out of that comedy festival he attended with me a year earlier. He wanted me to put together a list of groups for him.

A Writer’s Journal Journey 28

5/22/2017

I've been looking back on my adventure in Hollywood, culling pages from my journal...

Mid-August 1991, word comes in from Hollywood. Kevin wants to know how the “Magic” script is coming. Again. Once that’s out of the way, he remembers to tell me that “Kringle” is being sent to the William Morris Agency, as well as a couple of other places. But mostly he wants the “Magic” script.

Bill, from “Party” calls to assign me some bits to write. I note in my log that this is a good sign because the writer meetings have generally been without form. I write that some “kid” on the staff seems to have made an impression on people and might wind up as an on-screen character (“Oh, well.”)

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