Post by annabelleleigh on Aug 14, 2008 9:33:50 GMT -5
What can you say about a high-profile show business veteran who doesn’t have his own Wikipedia page? Or more than an incomplete filmography in the databases of both Variety and The New York Times?
When Law & Order: Criminal Intent resumes filming G/E episodes, Michael Chernuchin is expected to play a major role in shaping them-- creating stories, writing and/or refining scripts.
Showrunner Walon Green’s new co-EP (and second-in-command) is a seasoned L&O franchise producer and scribe, as well as a one-time script writing partner of CI creator Rene Balcer. Yet the only place on the Internet I could find anything like a comprehensive biography was this 2007 prose, from the Dartmouth Alumni Association:
“Michael Chernuchin was the Executive Producer and head writer of NBC's long running LAW & ORDER as well as CBS's MICHAEL HAYES (starring David Caruso) and BROOKLYN SOUTH. He also created and Executive Produced the CBS Drama FEDS as well as TNT's first prime time drama, BULL.
For his work he has been distinguished with numerous awards including the Peabody Award, the Edgar Allen Poe Award given by the Mystery Writers of America, The People's Choice Award, four Emmy nominations, two Writers Guild nominations for Best Dramatic Episode, a nomination for the Humanitas Prize for Best Dramatic Episode, the Angel Award for Best Dramatic Episode, the Jewish Televimage Award, the American Psychological Association Award, the American Cancer Society Award, the George S. Felton Producer of the Year.
Chernuchin served as Consulting Producer on the first year of Fox's 24. He is currently a Consulting Producer on Fox's new drama CANTERBURY’S LAW starring Julianna Marguiles and is developing several new series. In addition to his television work, he co-wrote the feature film ERASER starring Arnold Schwarzennegger and has also completed a feature film for Kevin Costner's TIG Productions.
Prior to becoming a writer, Chernuchin was an attorney practicing in New York City. He received his J.D. from Cornell Law School where he served as an Editor of the Law Review, his M.A. in English Literature from the University of Michigan and his A.B. from Dartmouth College.”
Impressive credentials -- and yep, he's a lawyer!-- but they don’t exactly address concerns from CI fans about where the new creative team will take our Major Case heroes.
- How well does Chernuchin understand the Goren and Eames characters?
- Will he push to excise the personal backstory shows?
- Is he solely a “ripped-from-the-headlines” storyteller?
- Will he (and Walon Green) turn Balcer’s already-altered baby into a straight police procedural?
Here are some additional, possibly relevant facts:
- First and perhaps foremost, both Michael Cherenuchin and Walon Green reportedly have Rene Balcer's endorsement. Balcer is said to be very confident in their ability to write for CI.
- Michael Chernuchin is credited with creating one of the seminal L&O franchise characters, Jack “Hang-em High” McCoy. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_McCoy
- He appears to like the character stuff. In a 2003 New York Times Magazine feature on Dick Wolf and the L&O franchise, Chernuchin is quoted as saying: “On other shows I used to riff on character stuff for five or six pages…” (adding that this approach “can’t happen” on L&O.)
See www.nytimes.com/2003/09/21/magazine/21LAWORDER.html?
- Chernuchin describes his first mothership term in these words: “I wrote a ton of episodes. I did the first six years, killed off Jill Hennessey, and then it was time to go.” archive.salon.com/business/green/2000/08/14/moneyshot/index.html (Where did he go? Off to oversee production of his own creation, the short-lived 2000 TNT Wall Street episodic “Bull” which starred Stanley Tucci and Elisabeth Rohm. )
- After stints as a consulting producer for “24”(first season) and other TV dramas (including CI), Chernuchin returned to the mothership as showrunner in 2002, and introduced the new, post 9/11 D.A. character Arthur Branch.
- He and Rene Balcer have written an estimated 20 scripts together, two of which won Edgars: in 1993 for the L&O episode “Conspiracy” and in 1994 for an NYPD Blue episode called “4B or Not 4B.” Chernuchin and Balcer have also shared credit on other award-nominated TV scripts.
- 1994 was a big year for Chernuchin, and for the L&O colleagues who now comprise CI’s top creatives. That year he shared a “Television Producer of the Year Episodic” Emmy Award for L&O with Dick Wolf, Rene Balcer, Walon Green and new Goldblum/Nicholson showrunner Robert Nathan (et al)
- Chernuchin's working relationship with Walon Green is long. Besides their work for the mothership the two collaborated on the screenplay for the 1996 film "Eraser."
- In all Chernuchin created the story and/or wrote the teleplay for more than 50 L&O shows, from 1993 to 2007.
Find a complete list here: www.imdb.com/name/nm0155961/filmoseries#tt0098844 along with dates for the current month in which some will be aired on TNT.
- As previously posted, Chernuchin wrote the 2002 CI teleplay "Malignant" and has a consulting producer credit on these Classic Goren episodes: "Anti-Thesis," "Chinoiserie," and "Bright Boy."
- Like Wolf and Green, the 54-year-old Chernuchin lives, golfs, and will work on CI from California. (In New York boots-on-the-ground producer -- and presumed VDO-wrangler -- will be John Coles. Coles has a history with CI and most recently directed the episode "Legacy.")
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Does anyone else find any of the above interesting? Useful in contemplating the future of Goren and Eames?
Also, if any one else can scrape up more about Michael Chernuchin, please post it. My eyes and fingers are weary from Internet searches.
AL
When Law & Order: Criminal Intent resumes filming G/E episodes, Michael Chernuchin is expected to play a major role in shaping them-- creating stories, writing and/or refining scripts.
Showrunner Walon Green’s new co-EP (and second-in-command) is a seasoned L&O franchise producer and scribe, as well as a one-time script writing partner of CI creator Rene Balcer. Yet the only place on the Internet I could find anything like a comprehensive biography was this 2007 prose, from the Dartmouth Alumni Association:
“Michael Chernuchin was the Executive Producer and head writer of NBC's long running LAW & ORDER as well as CBS's MICHAEL HAYES (starring David Caruso) and BROOKLYN SOUTH. He also created and Executive Produced the CBS Drama FEDS as well as TNT's first prime time drama, BULL.
For his work he has been distinguished with numerous awards including the Peabody Award, the Edgar Allen Poe Award given by the Mystery Writers of America, The People's Choice Award, four Emmy nominations, two Writers Guild nominations for Best Dramatic Episode, a nomination for the Humanitas Prize for Best Dramatic Episode, the Angel Award for Best Dramatic Episode, the Jewish Televimage Award, the American Psychological Association Award, the American Cancer Society Award, the George S. Felton Producer of the Year.
Chernuchin served as Consulting Producer on the first year of Fox's 24. He is currently a Consulting Producer on Fox's new drama CANTERBURY’S LAW starring Julianna Marguiles and is developing several new series. In addition to his television work, he co-wrote the feature film ERASER starring Arnold Schwarzennegger and has also completed a feature film for Kevin Costner's TIG Productions.
Prior to becoming a writer, Chernuchin was an attorney practicing in New York City. He received his J.D. from Cornell Law School where he served as an Editor of the Law Review, his M.A. in English Literature from the University of Michigan and his A.B. from Dartmouth College.”
Impressive credentials -- and yep, he's a lawyer!-- but they don’t exactly address concerns from CI fans about where the new creative team will take our Major Case heroes.
- How well does Chernuchin understand the Goren and Eames characters?
- Will he push to excise the personal backstory shows?
- Is he solely a “ripped-from-the-headlines” storyteller?
- Will he (and Walon Green) turn Balcer’s already-altered baby into a straight police procedural?
Here are some additional, possibly relevant facts:
- First and perhaps foremost, both Michael Cherenuchin and Walon Green reportedly have Rene Balcer's endorsement. Balcer is said to be very confident in their ability to write for CI.
- Michael Chernuchin is credited with creating one of the seminal L&O franchise characters, Jack “Hang-em High” McCoy. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_McCoy
- He appears to like the character stuff. In a 2003 New York Times Magazine feature on Dick Wolf and the L&O franchise, Chernuchin is quoted as saying: “On other shows I used to riff on character stuff for five or six pages…” (adding that this approach “can’t happen” on L&O.)
See www.nytimes.com/2003/09/21/magazine/21LAWORDER.html?
- Chernuchin describes his first mothership term in these words: “I wrote a ton of episodes. I did the first six years, killed off Jill Hennessey, and then it was time to go.” archive.salon.com/business/green/2000/08/14/moneyshot/index.html (Where did he go? Off to oversee production of his own creation, the short-lived 2000 TNT Wall Street episodic “Bull” which starred Stanley Tucci and Elisabeth Rohm. )
- After stints as a consulting producer for “24”(first season) and other TV dramas (including CI), Chernuchin returned to the mothership as showrunner in 2002, and introduced the new, post 9/11 D.A. character Arthur Branch.
- He and Rene Balcer have written an estimated 20 scripts together, two of which won Edgars: in 1993 for the L&O episode “Conspiracy” and in 1994 for an NYPD Blue episode called “4B or Not 4B.” Chernuchin and Balcer have also shared credit on other award-nominated TV scripts.
- 1994 was a big year for Chernuchin, and for the L&O colleagues who now comprise CI’s top creatives. That year he shared a “Television Producer of the Year Episodic” Emmy Award for L&O with Dick Wolf, Rene Balcer, Walon Green and new Goldblum/Nicholson showrunner Robert Nathan (et al)
- Chernuchin's working relationship with Walon Green is long. Besides their work for the mothership the two collaborated on the screenplay for the 1996 film "Eraser."
- In all Chernuchin created the story and/or wrote the teleplay for more than 50 L&O shows, from 1993 to 2007.
Find a complete list here: www.imdb.com/name/nm0155961/filmoseries#tt0098844 along with dates for the current month in which some will be aired on TNT.
- As previously posted, Chernuchin wrote the 2002 CI teleplay "Malignant" and has a consulting producer credit on these Classic Goren episodes: "Anti-Thesis," "Chinoiserie," and "Bright Boy."
- Like Wolf and Green, the 54-year-old Chernuchin lives, golfs, and will work on CI from California. (In New York boots-on-the-ground producer -- and presumed VDO-wrangler -- will be John Coles. Coles has a history with CI and most recently directed the episode "Legacy.")
####################
Does anyone else find any of the above interesting? Useful in contemplating the future of Goren and Eames?
Also, if any one else can scrape up more about Michael Chernuchin, please post it. My eyes and fingers are weary from Internet searches.
AL
Patrick Roy, 2006 inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame