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Post by filmnoir5 on Jun 4, 2006 19:14:38 GMT -5
Hey filmnoir5, I'm glad to see your name back on the boards I'm pretty sad about RB leaving the show, but I hope that we can keep this thread going with updates about what he's up to next. The "silver lining" would be for Rene Balcer to do some interviews and commentaries for the L&O:CI Season 2 Box set. Since USA has been able to run the episodes for a year it would be nice for Universal to at least release the season 2 DVD set by September. Since Warren Leight came on board during season 2, I am hopeful that he is part of the reason that season 2 was for many viewers the most popular and was the highest rated season of CI. I hope season 6 is like season 2, and NBC airs all 22 episodes.
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Post by filmnoir5 on Jun 4, 2006 22:12:46 GMT -5
Here is an article that I found that had a quote that is ironic now about a year after it was published.
Quote : But overseeing each script is demanding, and after 15 years, Balcer says the end is nigh – for him not the show. "It'll be sooner rather than later," he says.
Source : The Courier-Mail.
"Crime that pays
11aug05 THE idea of stepping inside Rene Balcer's mind is a little scary. After all, the man has carefully planned out literally hundreds of murders and serious assaults in his time.
But this Sunday, the award-winning writer and executive producer of Law & Order: Criminal Intent will share his thoughts on crime and creativity when he speaks on the opening day of the Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA) Conference at the Sheraton Mirage on the Gold Coast.
The conference brings together national and international players in the film and television industries to debate trends and problems.
As keynote speaker Balcer will share a vast knowledge of the industry gained through years as the driving force behind one of television's most successful crime franchises.
A former journalist and documentary maker, Balcer joined the original Law & Order production during its first season in 1990 and remembers the pressure of that period well.
"I look back and I remember that back then we were like, 'How are we ever going to get 22 episodes out of this?' Balcer says. "Now it's 350 episodes later with Law & Order and 93 episodes later with Criminal Intent."
Balcer left Law & Order five years ago to develop, Criminal Intent the highest rating show in the stable here in Australia. The show has spawned two other spin-offs, Special Victims Unit and Trial by Jury, although the latter was dropped by NBC earlier this year.
So is there actually a limit to expansion of Law & Order? "Well, one of the problems is that the crime rate in the US has dropped, so we're all picking over the same crimes and there's some danger of duplication.
"Ultimately, I don't know how many variations of the franchise can be sustained. But certainly two or three . . . because the storytelling is fairly complex . . . and it's not just about solving crime, the shows are about human nature and the complexities of psychology behind the crime."
And that's where, according to Balcer, the shows have an edge over the various CSIs, which he does not hide his disdain for. "CSI only has one permutation, they just change the city. I'm not a fan. It's kind of empty calories, " he says.
At present Balcer says he still plays a major role in developing every Criminal Intent script.
But overseeing each script is demanding, and after 15 years, Balcer says the end is nigh – for him not the show. "It'll be sooner rather than later," he says. The SPAA conference runs from Saturday to Tuesday, with The Simpsons producer and writer Mike Reiss speaking on Monday. "
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Post by trisha on Jun 5, 2006 9:11:08 GMT -5
That last statement makes it sound like he doesn't want to write scripts anymore. I know any show he puts his name on will be quality, but I'll be really sad if CI will be the last show he actually writes for. I love his sense of humor and the way he explores morality and justice through his characters and stories.
I trust WL and SS to keep CI honest, but I know it won't be the same show without RB. I'm really sad about that, but I had hoped that his leaving CI might lead to a new set of characters and stories to obsess over.
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Post by filmnoir5 on Jun 5, 2006 11:47:01 GMT -5
I was hoping we would get to see Balcer become a regular writer on another series like he was during many seasons of L&O and L&O:CI. At least viewers get to go from one David Kelley or Steven Bochco series to another. However, in the case of Bochco, it looks like none have been as successful as Hill Street Blues or NYPD Blue.
During the last season of Frasier they brought back a couple of the former producers/writers. I hope they will do that with L&O:CI if they know ahead of time. I would like to see him write the series finale or at least write a few movie episodes.
I remember the 1970s where they had Mysteries on Sundays like Columbo, McCloud, etc.. I wish if L&O and other NBC shows can not keep the talent or in NUTS case afford talent for 22 episodes each that they would rotate 2 hour L&O, L&O:SVU, L&O:CI, Crossing Jordan, etc... as mystery movies. The ones with Tom Selleck as Stone have done well on Sundays.
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Post by trisha on Jun 5, 2006 15:00:58 GMT -5
It seems like the reason he actually left CI is because NBC was cutting the budget and he wouldn't stay on if they did that. So, the NUTS are obviously willing to sacrifice talent/quality to save money -- which is stupid because the only reason this show has such a solid fan base is because of the talent/quality. That makes me doubt they'd spend anything to make L&O movies. Why do that when they can just plug in a rerun? They're famous for that.
It's really too bad that NBC got their hands on L&O in the buy out of Universal. They made it seem like L&O was one of the top reasons they wanted Universal, but ever since they got control, they've been running the shows into the ground.
This is why it disappoints me that RB still has a deal with them. No matter how great his new project(s) will be, NBC will still have their stupid, greedy, and unimaginative mitts on it.
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Post by filmnoir5 on Jun 5, 2006 18:49:49 GMT -5
According to the L&O book that covers seasons 1990 - 1999. Michael S. Chernuchin worked on the show in the early years with Rene Balcer and later returned in the early 2000s. He left a couple of years ago but he recently worked on a 2006 episode.
Another L&O producer from the early years, Walon Green (known for working on the movie Wild Bunch) worked on L&O in the early years, then worked on NYPD Blue and later returned to work on both Trial By Jury and Conviction.
Since Balcer said he would work again with Wolf, I am hopeful that will happen at some point.
I agree that the NBC purchase of Universal has hurt L&O more than it has helped the shows. I think the problem is that NBC wants to use the shows to generate as much revenue as possible without paying extra for talent that in turn helps the shows gain viewers and in the long run would generate more revenue than NBC is currently getting from the shows.
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Post by filmnoir5 on Jun 6, 2006 10:51:14 GMT -5
www.sun-sentinel.com/features/booksmags Talk with Jim Roberts article Sleuthfest 2007 information, guess who one of the guest speakers is? Planning for 2007 OK, so there's just not a lot going on this month. Maybe it's time to get a jump on 2007. Yep, I said 2007. Scary, isn't it? What isn't scary is that the Florida chapter of the Mystery Writers of America are on the ball and have started to organize next year's Sleuthfest, the annual writers' conference. Sleuthfest 2007 will be April 19-22 at the Miami Beach Hotel & Spa. Guest speakers will be Linda Fairstein, who writes an excellent legal thriller series, and Rene Balcer, executive producer of Law & Order. The pairing is fitting as Fairstein had a 25-year career as a prosecutor and head of the Sex Crimes Unit of the District Attorney's Office in Manhattan. (Her high-profile cases included the Preppy Murders.) For more information on Sleuthfest, contact bob@bob-williamson.com.
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Post by filmnoir5 on Aug 6, 2006 18:29:58 GMT -5
"Star Trek: The Next Generation" ... aka Star Trek: TNG (USA: promotional abbreviation) - Power Play (1992) TV Episode (teleplay) I found this episode on www.imdb.com credited to Rene Balcer. He wrote the teleplay and it will be airing on August 9, 2006 at 5 p.m. Eastern on Spike.
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Post by trisha on Aug 9, 2006 16:43:31 GMT -5
I miss RB so much that I'm actually watching this ^ right now. Heh, I forgot how cheesey this show was ;D
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Post by filmnoir5 on Sept 24, 2006 18:44:27 GMT -5
I just watched the season premiere and Rene Balcer has a credit for "consulting producer" which is the credit he had in the early years of L&O original.
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Post by Techguy on Dec 26, 2006 1:04:06 GMT -5
ArtRICHMOND, VA.- A spectacular array of...327 Japanese 20th-century woodblock prints...have been added to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts collection.
...The [327 Japanese woodblock] prints given to the museum by collectors René Balcer and Carolyn Hsu-Balcer include 50 made before the great Tokyo earthquake of 1923.
...René Balcer and Carolyn Hsu-Balcer live in New York. Carolyn Hsu-Balcer was raised in Richmond, where her parents, Y.K. and Cecilia Hsu, still live. René Balcer is best known as the creator of the television series "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" and as a producer of the Emmy Award-winning original "Law & Order" series.
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Post by Sirenna on Dec 26, 2006 7:46:19 GMT -5
thanks for finding this Techguy!
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Post by Patcat on Dec 26, 2006 13:01:04 GMT -5
Yes, thanks Techguy. I always wondered if Mr. Balcer had a life outside of his work.
Patcat
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Post by gibbsfandan on Feb 19, 2007 22:15:04 GMT -5
Does anyone know if RB is still contractually tied to NBC? If what I've read recently about NBC's "pinch-penny sacrifice-quality" tendencies is true, that would be unfortunate. Whatever the situation is, I really look forward to seeing what Balcer comes up with next. The guy has such an incredible mind, and is an amazing storyteller (as everyone here already knows).
Does anyone know of any interviews Balcer has given that talk about his years spent as a cameraman and a reporter? In the CI Season One DVD's, he makes a brief and nonspecific reference about what his background made him able to bring to the mix, and I'm wondering if he covered crime for a big-city paper after having been a cameraman during the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
Techguy, thanks for posting the article about the Balcers' donation of Japanese art to the museum in Richmond. It's always interesting to learn some things of a slightly more personal nature about people you admire. Learning of the donation increases my admiration, since if I had those woodblock prints in my possession, I think I'd be hard-pressed to give them up, even though my conscience would be nagging me about the issue of making exceptional art available to all.
Some really fascinating personalities behind CI, but no surprise there.
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Post by Techguy on Feb 20, 2007 1:52:15 GMT -5
You're most welcome Gibbsfandan.
I don't know if you've had the chance to peruse all our threads, but there's a link to a Youtube Rene Balcer interview in Articles & Interviews Here you might be interested in.
RB also agreed to do an interview answering questions from board members on this site. The Q&A is also in Articles & Interviews Here.
BTW, I've seen RB listed in the credits of some CI episodes as a consulting producer or producer consultant. I'm not sure what it means or how much creative input he has now that Warren Leight is showrunner.
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