TV WRITER PODCAST 086: Bill Taub (Automatic Pilot)
Veteran TV writer Bill Taub distilled the system he created and developed for his UCLA Extension Writers’ Program Workshop into the book Automatic Pilot.
Bill Taub has written and produced hundreds of hours of television over several decades, including many pilots that have gone to series. His new book on TV pilot writing, Automatic Pilot, is an indispensable tool for your arsenal!
Bill Taub is a native New Yorker who's gone from Forest Hills to Beverly Hills. He has been obsessed with television since he was five, and considers himself a student as well as a participant in the medium. He came to television writing through advertising, as a writer-producer, Clio winner, and creative trouble shooter at several New York agencies.
His decades of experience in the industry have included both drama and comedies, including such hits as Barney Miller, Hill Street Blues, Newhart, and Cagney & Lacey. Pilots he has written that have gone to series have included Friday the 13th: The Series, The Odyssey, and Relic Hunter.
The more he studies the work of those he admires most, the one thing that becomes apparent is they either didn't know all the rules, or they ignored them. It's their originality, their uniqueness, that have made their work such a tremendous success. Whether it's the work of David Shore, David Kelley, David Milch, or Larry David (the confederacy of "Davids" as he calls them), they didn't know what they weren't supposed to do -- or didn't know what they didn't know.
Recently, Bill distilled the system he created and developed for his UCLA Extension Writers' Program Workshop into the book Automatic Pilot.
Bill splits his time between Los Angeles and Toronto, where his wife's family resides. He keeps himself busy with half a dozen other projects, pilots, web series, consulting, as well as occasionally teaching online thru the UCLA Extension Writers' Program and the Laugh Factory.
Follow Bill on Twitter: @BillyTaub
Buy Gray’s book for only $4.99! Look for it on Amazon - How To Break In To TV Writing: Insider Interviews.
Didn’t get your questions asked? Make sure you follow Gray on Twitter (@GrayJones) so you can get the scoop on who is being interviewed and how to get your questions in. Also check out our TV Writer Twitter Database to find Twitter addresses for over 1,000 TV writers. Find our previous episodes and other resources at www.tvwriterpodcast.com or on Gray's YouTube channel.
Subscribe: iTunes (Video) • iTunes (Audio) • PodBean (Audio)
Hosted by Gray Jones, the TV Writer Podcast is devoted to interviews with working TV writers. It is brought to you by Script magazine and Scriptmag.com, the leading source for scriptwriting information on the web.
Learn how to write stand-out scenes in the upcoming webinar
Writing Great Scenes
In his podcast, TV editor/writer Gray Jones profiles television producers and writers, authors, educators, and other industry personnel of interest to TV writers. The purpose of the interviews is to educate and inspire writers of all levels, to raise the profile of existing television writers, to introduce helpful resources, and to aid in career development. Gray's also the author of the book How To Break In To TV Writing: Insider Interviews. His podcast is released in video format, though an audio-only version is available through Podbean and Spotify. The podcast website at www.tvwriterpodcast.com has many helpful resources, including links to free scripts and a Twitter database. Twitter: @GrayJones - Instagram: @grahamajones and @tvwriterpodcast
