AVC: How would you describe your responsibility as a writer vs. your staff's responsibility?
TF: The pilot I wrote by myself, and then from the second episode on, the way we've done it is to work as a group talking down the beats of the story. Especially before we start shooting, when I can actually be in the room all the time. We take a few days to break the "A" story and "B" story and "C" story for each episode, and then we assign one of the more senior writers to do an outline. Then, once the outlines are approved by the network, we assign usually the same person to write a draft. And whoever writes the draft is credited for the script. But still, you bring the draft back to the table and get more jokes from everybody. It's very much a group effort.
It's funny, because my instinct is to throw everybody's name on all of the scripts, because that's what we did at SNL. If someone contributed even one joke, you'd throw their name on the script. And all the sitcom guys are like, "No, no, that's not how it works." There's a whole other protocol. Whoever writes the first draft, no matter how much it gets rewritten, that's their draft. I'm still learning about all this stuff.
AVC: It sounds like you don't necessarily care about being a comedy auteur, per se.
TF: I just want the episodes to be good. It would be overly controlling to say, "I want my name on every episode."
AVC: Do you have any desire to direct?
TF: I kind of don't. Not to say that I never would. My brain doesn't quite work that way: the whole picture at all times. I'm pretty happy being a writer. Yeah, it's a little bit of a grind. But we're lucky in a bunch of ways. One, because we're here in New York. I imagine we're a little less scrutinized on a day-to-day basis than we'd be in Burbank, which is nice. And we also try to get as far ahead, story-wise and episode-wise, as we can before we start shooting. Because once you start shooting, it's about dealing with minutiae, and it's hard to be creative at the speed you were before.
AVC: Do you feel like you have a sense of authority, having been the head writer at SNL for so long? Do you feel comfortable being in charge?
TF: I do. I feel comfortable. I also feel like I hire people that are good, and aren't fucking crazy. Or assholes. Because that takes up too much time. There are just as many good people who are not crazy. It's a very lovely, positive group. And the crew. It's a very good feeling over here.
AVC: People have reportedly had trouble dealing with Alec Baldwin in the past. You haven't?
TF: No, no, we've had a great time with him. He likes and respects Lorne Michaels so much. He trusts Lorne's judgment, and since Lorne is once of our executive producers, I think he feels pretty at home with us. He's been delightful. He elevates anything you give him. He's so good.
I also love seeing Tracy every day, and I love that we're going into this with the notion that we're not going to sanitize him too much. We're not going to clean him up for America's protection. It'll be a little bit more of the real deal
AVC: Did you feel that Tracy Morgan was underused on Saturday Night Live?
TF: Not necessarily. Because you get used on SNL as much as whatever you bring each week. But I think maybe he's finding that this form might be better for him. I think that film might be better for him.
AVC: Do you still keep in contact with the Saturday Night Live people?
TF: Well, my husband still works over there, and a bunch of my friends obviously still work there, so I talk to those people all the time. But I went over and visited one Saturday afternoon last week, and it was pretty nice to be like, "Okay, bye! Good luck!"
AVC: Do people still call to ask where you put your old files, or anything like that?
TF: No. I thought the phone would ring more. I sort of eased out of there slowly over the course of two years, and started delegating more. Seth Meyers, this is his second year as head writer, and I think he's doing a great job with that. It was a smooth transition.
AVC: Do you feel relieved at not having to worry about what's going on over there, or do you feel a sense of responsibility?
TF: I feel relief. I don't feel any responsibility. I sort of went through it when I was on my very, very brief maternity leave last year. I had that experience of watching the show from home and feeling weird, like I should be helping. So that kind of cured me. Now I feel perfectly fine leaving them to their own devices.
AVC: Do you know yet whether 30 Rock will be picked up for a full season?
TF: Right now, our order is for 13 episodes, and I don't know when we'd normally find out whether we get more. I also don't know what a full order even means anymore. I know that The New Adventures Of Old Christine, their whole first-year run was 13, and then Julia Louis-Dreyfus won an Emmy. And The Office, their first year was six, then they got picked up for a full second season. So I'm not sure how it really works any more.
AVC: Is it affecting how you go about your business on the show?
TF: Not really. We have outlines and scripts almost up to our full order now. We've just started trying to break stories beyond that, in case we need them.
AVC: Hey, what else can NBC put on?
TF: I don't know. They sort of dropped, or moved, Kidnapped so early. And I was like, "Really?" That show was supposed to be good. Yeah, who knows? I guess it depends on whether 30 Rock costs more to do than a game show. But NBC could potentially give away a million dollars a day on a game show.
AVC: Maybe you could integrate some game-show elements into 30 Rock.
TF: We could have a phone number that comes up in the middle of the show. Call up and prove that you're watching, and you get a million dollars.
« Previous | 1 | 2 | 3
- Comments