Mike Sacks Interviews Veteran TV Comedy Writer Michael Jamin About the Ins and Outs of This Very Difficult Business
Doin' It With Mike Sacks!
On this month’s episode, I interview veteran TV writer Michael Jamin, someone with an incredible CV: King of the Hill, Wilfred, Just Shoot Me, Maron, Rules of Engagement, and others. Michael has a huge social media following and has a terrific video series in which he answers questions about writing for television—how to get an agent, what to do to achieve success, what not to do—that I highly recommend.
Michael is one of those rare writers who can talk about his craft and the business without sounding academic or high-brow or, worst of all, smug or superior. Recently, he wrote and self-published a book called A Paper Orchestra, which is a collected series of essays written in a style reminiscent, at least to me, of Jean Shepherd, among others.
What impressed me about Michael's new book is that writing for the page is an entirely different beast than writing for the screen—whether TV or movies. It’s a different set of tools. I’ve seen many stand-ups write books and some screenwriters (most recently, David Mamet) and one can tell that they’re not quite understanding the genre. It’s different. But Michael seems to have nailed it with his first attempt. Which says a lot about his skillset.
Beyond that, producer Rob Schulte talks with Tara Avery and Soizick Jaffre. Back in the mid 2000s, Rob met Tara and they quickly bonded over their love of graphic novels. Tara now lives in Palm Springs and operates Stacked Deck Press, an independent publisher focused on cultivating diversity and excellence in the LGBTQ+ comics publishing industry.
Tara introduced Rob to French cartoonist Jaffre who's written and drawn a new graphic novel A Good Sport, a memoir detailing her participation in the 2018 Gay Games, Jaffre’s lifelong love of athletics, and her own personal search for freedom. A Good Sport has a zoop campaign (which is like kickstarter for graphic novels) that you can find at zoop.gg/c/agoodsport.
I always love receiving emails: mikebsacks@gmail.com!
My Upcoming Book:
This Is How We Love: The Foto Novel
A photo-drenched book that’s a “tie-in” to the worst movie to have ever won the Best Academy Award, This Is How We Love, in 1994. Featuring scenes and stills from the film, as well as a detailed essay, a “Whatever Happened To” section, a feature about its 1996 porn parody “This Is How We Rub,” and an oral history about the infamous character actor Terri Sparks, who, sadly, never made it into the final cut of the film (as played by Amy Sedaris). No, “This is How We Love” never existed. It’s all made up.
Starring:
Patton Oswalt
Chris Meloni
Michael Ian Black
Jo Firestone
Tim Barnes
Jon Hamm
Paul Reubens
Laraine Newman
Amy Sedaris
Scott Rogowsky
Kerri Kenney-Silver
AD Miles
Laura Krafft
Ted Travelstead
Shonali Bhowmik
Dave Hill
Al Madrigal
Seth Herzog
Kimmy Gatewood
Jen Spyra
Jordan Carlos
Owen Kline
Paul Feig
Ambler Tamblyn
David Cross
Bobby Tisdale
Out in 5 months!
“If you don’t know who Mike Sacks is, well, you should. His writing is funnier than just about anyone’s and now he has a podcast that is excellent. I say Hooray for Mike Sacks and everything he stands for.” -David Sedaris
“He’s the best kind of comedy writer; a bona fide weirdo with virtually no interest in satisfying anything other than his own personal obsessions.” -Andy Richter
“I don’t understand a fucking thing he writes.” – Carl Simpson, Mike’s cousin in Virginia
An article I wrote you might want to check out:
Back in 2006, I wrote a piece for McSweeney’s called Whoops. It sort of predated the Black Mirror episode from 2017 called USS Callister, starring the amazing Jesse Plemons, one of my favorite actors:
A Suggestion from Me:
I worked ten years in retail, back in Maryland, Virginia and New Orleans. I had some fun moments and I’ll often dream of those years. In a few ways, I’d love to go back to working in a record store, like I did at Kemp Mill Records in suburban Virginia and Maryland. But a lot of it was drudgery and I was lucky never to have to do it after the age of twenty-five. There’s a new book out that is just terrific called Help Wanted by Adelle Waldman, through WW Norton, out March 5th, and it really hit home for me. Retail workers in a big box store in upstate New York. The bleakness of it all. The hopelessness. The unfairness. Working in one’s 50s without health care, benefits, enough hours, and all the rest of it. I recommend it highly, and I hope to interview Adelle for my next podcast.
Be well! And keep reachin’ for those stars!
One more thing: Doin’ It is produced by the best podcast producer in the world world Rob Schulte. You can find this episode and every Doin’ It episode on all major podcast platforms, including on the host’s site Sonar: