“Over My Dead Body” Writer’s Guide
“Over My Dead Body” was conceived to be an actual talk show featuring famous people in our history and culture who have been out of the loop for a while. On first blush, one might think it deals with death, skeletons, ghosts, heaven and hell, etc. Nope. We rarely mention death at all. As far as we’re concerned, our guests are still alive. That’s what makes the show funny.
We also shoot on location at their graves. We want the viewer to believe we’re really there, even though our episodes are produced in a studio. I’ve had many people ask if we ever got chased out of a cemetery.
OMDB is pretty much straight-ahead Q & A with some comedic business thrown in -- such as the O.J. jokes being told by Robert Kardashian, or new predictions from Nostradamus. Our series is a blend of “The Tonight Show” and “Ellen.” We get an overview of the person’s life, what they were famous for, what they’re up to now, their thoughts and clarifications of past events, their opinions of current ones, their outlook for the future.
I’ve written six scripts so far. The first thing I do is read and make notes from the subject’s Wikipedia page. Then I search the web for other info -- little-known facts, famous quotes, interviews they may have given, controversial incidents from their life, stuff like that. I also order a few used books from Amazon on the subject and pore over them for items of interest. I spend a good deal of time learning about every guest before I even consider what questions or subject(s) I’ll cover.
Then I try to put in order a list of questions and areas of interest. And then I just write the questions and answers, and I try to be as funny as can be without getting too stupid. As Hemingway once said, “The first draft of everything is shit.” But at least I get a first draft, which is better than no draft at all. Then I rewrite and polish it.
The script should be no more than 30 pages when all is said and done. (Our episodes run between 17 and 24 minutes.) If you are reading this memo, it’s because you’ve told me you would like to write an episode of OMDB. So...you now have in your possession six scripts to look over (Robert Kardashian, Nostradamus, Steve Jobs, Mae West, Tupac Shakur, Richard Nixon) and those should afford you everything you need to know about what’s required for an episode. Plus four of those scripts have been produced and you can watch them on-line, either on Amazon Prime (www.amazon.com/v/overmydeadbody) or on our website (www.overmydeadbody.tv) by clicking on the Episodes link at the top of the page.
Don’t worry about listing images or videos, we will add those later, based upon what’s in your script. It’s the questions and answers (and research) that are most important. Don’t worry if it sucks initially, we can always punch it up. But as you can see from the scripts, they’re pretty funny, and they are NASTY. Yet for the most part, everything in them is true.
My friend Tom Shales was the TV critic at the Washington Post for 39 years, during which time he won the Pulitzer Prize for his TV column. He told me that OMDB is “funny and mean –- his favorite combination.” I originally conceived the show as merely being funny, not just through the writing but because of its concept and cemetery location. But a friend of mine who’s a cinematographer suggested I should add some telephone calls from viewers to break things up a bit, and maybe have some viewers be nice and then have an irate viewer who talks shit. So that sort of became our signature, to end the episode with a caller talking shit to the guest, having him/her fight back and then have a breakdown.
With all the competition for viewers out there, we need everything we can muster to catch people’s attention. Filming at a cemetery with a mic connected to a famous dead person’s headstone is certainly an eye catcher. Talking shit to them is FUNNY! And as you can see from the four episodes we’ve done so far, the research adds to the show. It’s really a perfect combination -- unique concept, offbeat, dark, cemetery location, lots of stills and video, calls from viewers, and some comedic business thrown in (i.e., family recipes, games, jokes, songs, etc.)
“South Park” does some extremely offensive material and they’ve been on FOX for many years. Nothing in our series has come close to the offensive things I’ve seen them do. In one episode, they had George Lucas and Steven Spielberg ass-raping a young writer who accused them of stealing his idea.
Above all, “Over My Dead Body” is done as a straight talk show, so no goofy faces from the host. It’s pretty cut and dry, right up to the end, when the last viewer rant occurs. We keep things “busy” by cutting between the host and the headstone (for shot choices we use two cameras on the host and three cameras on the headstone, mic and speaker) and inserting MANY images to break things up. I feel we’ve done quite well considering there’s only one on-screen person (the host) in each episode.
So that, as they say, is that. If this is something you think you can do, please let me know. There is no upfront money involved since our show has yet to earn a dime, but I will sign a deferred writer’s agreement in which you’re guaranteed $1,000 once we see revenue. And the writers and actors will be at the top of the list to receive payment for their work before anybody else is paid. You will also receive a writer’s credit at the beginning and end of the episode, and you’ll have a produced TV credit to your name. You’ll be able to watch the episode on-line anytime you want and brag to your friends. Plus, you’ll be listed on the IMDB “Over My Dead Body” series page.
I’d very much like you to write the [BLANK] episode. I think it’ll be a great addition to our show and that you’ll do a helluva job. In the meantime, I’ll prepare a writer’s agreement for your review.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or require additional information. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Steven Kunes
Executive Producer
“Over My Dead Body”