Bob & Rob "Professional American Screenwriters"

New Project At Disney!

2011-11-07T10:36:00.000-08:00

We're working on a big, female driven feature comedy with our good friend, "Superstar!" Molly Shannon!

DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD - EXCLUSIVE: Molly Shannon teamed with veteran scribes Rob Muir and Bob Hilgenberg to sell an untitled comedy feature pitch to Disney. They will write the script together for a film that could be a star vehicle for Shannon. It’s based on their own experiences as parents, and the comedy focuses on the social world of motherhood. The film will be produced by Andrew Panay (Wedding Crashers), and Shannon will be exec producer. Hilgenberg & Muir are currently scripting a live-action version of The Family Circus for Fox and Walden Media. Shannon’s repped by Gersh and Framework Entertainment, the scribes are repped by Summit Talent & Literary.

It's a far cry from the days when we were knockin' around comedy clubs in LA with Molly. The Rob & Molly Show was a showcase that led directly to getting Molly on SNL! After that, Rob was stuck with Bob.

Below, Molly tells the kind of stories that led to the three of us coming up with the idea for this project.

Glee's Jane Lynch and ABC's Man Up! Christopher Moynihan in "Scribes"

2011-10-21T14:02:00.000-07:00

You'll see in this "sizzle reel" that actress Jane Lynch ('The 40 Year Old Virgin', 'Glee') plays the part of a studio head that we actually pitched and sold a film to. Everyone has their guesses as to who the character is based on...(in the real meeting, Diane Keaton was in the pitch with us, as she was attached as actress and producer). The dialog in the short film "Hiding In Walls", which "Scribes" is based on, was almost verbatim!

When we sold the pitch, we were baffled by what the studio head had liked, as he/she hadn't really understood the story we were telling AND had odd interpretations about the whole idea. As we stood outside in the parking lot, Diane lamented, "I don't know what they just bought...I'm just glad I don't have to write it!" As it turned out nobody did and the project crashed and burned just about the time the studio chief was fired. Look for our buddy Machete star DANNY TREJO turning in a comedy cameo, as well! You can watch the entire short film "Hiding In Walls", here http//www.outofpocketfilms.com/home.html

Grown-Ups (PART 1)

2011-06-30T18:26:00.000-07:00

This is a pilot we created and wrote for Columbia/Tristar Television, a number of years ago. In a perfect world it would currently be running in syndication after a seven year network run! But, this was the year Reality TV took center stage...woo hoo! At any rate, we had a great cast and a great time producing this little four-camera-comedy. Enjoy Grown-Ups, the Bob & Rob version. (click-through to watch on Youtube, there are four parts).

Toy Story 3 -a little more.

2011-06-02T14:02:00.000-07:00

Some people have asked about the ending of our TS3 script. That's a pretty complicated question if you haven't been able to read the entire script. BUT, here's a quick thumbnail version of what we did and how the toys fared in our version.

After escaping the nightmarish Daycare center, Woody and gang find and help save Buzz at the factory. But, ultimately get trapped by some evil NEW toys who see them as a threat. In a HUGE climactic set-piece, Buzz, Woody and gang, along with all of the other recalled and defective toys, are being sent down a conveyor belt to be destroyed by a HUGE crushing machine.

In a heroic move, they risk their lives to save other toys who are ready to be crushed. Seconds before our gang slides down the conveyor to their death, Woody rips off his old "broken" arm and flings it at the crusher and successfully shorts-out the machine!

They escape, (along with a couple of toys who were trapped in an experimental prison in the factory) and bring them back with them to the states and Andy's room! Just in time, of course:) There's also a cool scene where Rex must perform an Operation Game in a REAL operation on Buzz to reinstall his chip. Rex-"I'm good at the game, but this is too much pressure!!!" BTW-Buzz does speak Spanish, (and some other languages in our version). Fun and funny.

In fact, earlier, Buzz is reunited with his toy designer/creator who has been pushed aside by the suits, and is now just a figure head at the Toy Factory. He's an old American-Asian man, a cross between Jerry Garcia and Gepetto!) Really cool reunion.

Hope this in interesting!

Monsters Inc. 2 "Lost In Scaradise"

2011-03-07T16:41:00.000-08:00

We just came across some of the artwork that was put together based on our Monsters Inc. 2 script. This was back at Circle 7 Studios and was the original project we worked on until we started on Toy Story 3. We have absolutely no idea what Pixar is doing with their version of MI2 (due out in 2012), but we thought it might be cool to show a little of what we were doing back then. The MI2 characters were really a lot of fun to work with...a writers dream, frankly. Keep in mind our story was taking place years after the original and we aged Boo up accordingly. Enjoy! Also, here's a link to a Jim Hill article on the project. http://tinyurl.com/7ml8xgm

The Family Circus - Casting in our heads.

2011-02-09T13:49:00.000-08:00

When we write screenplays we like to have some of the characters already "cast' in our minds...it helps us keep the voices consistent. On this project we have what we consider a "dream cast" as a starting point! Kevin James as Bill, (Dad) and Tina Fey as Thelma, (Mom). Having just completed the first draft, we want to thank Kevin and Tina for their help!

More 'Toy Story 3', Circle 7 Version

2010-12-03T10:13:00.000-08:00

We always thought this was a great image of Woody and Bullseye! Again, Ric Sluiter working his magic.

Thanks for all the great comments and questions. We love going back in time and recalling all of the great times we had at Circle 7! Fun Fact - The producer on our TS3 was none other than Tangled producer Roy Conli! We have always said, the almost two hundred employees at C7 were basically an all star team of the animation business. The "cheapquels" and Pix-arent" labels really could not have been further from the truth. Funny how the production of sequels have become such an accepted and integral part of ALL the major animation studios. Who would've ever thought that we'd be seeing Pixar working on their third, (Cars 2) and fourth (Monsters Inc. 2) sequels. Our belief is when you create such amazing characters and worlds for them to play in, it's almost impossible not to want to let them play in that animated sandbox, again.

"Toy Story 3" Disney's Circle 7 Style

2010-11-24T15:46:00.000-08:00

With the new release of Pixar's "Toy Story 3" some of the original artwork from Disney's Circle 7 Studios has surfaced. While working for Disney's Circle 7, writing the Monsters Inc. 2 script, we were asked to come aboard the TS3 project and rewrite the script. They were in a pretty serious time crunch and we had only a couple of months to rework a lot of the story. It was our first time writing in animation and when we took the job we were pretty clueless as to the politics that were driving this and all of the other sequels at Circle 7. We eventually began to learn about the battle going on with the potential buyout, etc.

In spite of that, they were very serious about these films and we certainly didn't want to be the guys who messed up the classic Pixar films we were being asked to write. Long story short, we finished the draft of TS3 late 2005, only to have the whole thing tossed out with the merger/buyout of Pixar. "They will never read your drafts,” we were told. We've had projects shelved before, so even though we had put our hearts and souls into the two films, we just moved on. (Ironically, we would end up working for John Lasseter and many of his Pixar creative staff a few years later on Tinker Bell And The Great fairy Rescue". An amazing experience, as we went up to Pixar and were teamed with a power trio of very talented women, Mary Coleman, Karen Paik and Kiel Murray, who over saw the film for Pixar and JL.

So, with the release of artwork on TS3, we thought it might be fun to talk about some of the images and the story we were working on. Keep in mind the opening of the TS3 that we wrote was a contemporary version of the opening scene they would use in the final TS3.

We thought it would be cool to open the film with a glimpse into the imagination of Andy while he played with Woody and the gang. In our version, what we liked (as obviously did Pixar) was opening with an intense, realistic action movie sequence...a fun way to throw the audience off balance, much like TS2. You're in the middle of this intense chase scene, only to be sucked out of that world when his mom calls him for lunch. It's there we find we are really inside Andy's mind as he plays with the toys. The idea was such a hit with the director that they immediately began boarding the sequence and hired David Lowery, a Storyboard Artist famous for his action sequences in "Spiderman 2", Iron Man, etc. We even had the same bit with the semi-truck shooting off of a bridge only to be saved by Buzz, which TS3 did with the train.

The story itself was beginning to take shape and we too had a lot of fun with a scene where the toys get trapped in a daycare facility. This was a scene originally written by Jim Herzfeld that we punched up. Ken even made a brief appearance in our draft, (back at Andy's house Ken wandered into Andy's room looking for Barbie who had recently dumped him).

The most fun we had was playing around with the different languages and characters from the other Buzz toys shipped back from around the world. They had all been recalled and were in various states of disrepair/insanity. A quite insane Zurg was the first one to introduce Buzz to his ultimate fate of not being repaired, but sent to the toy crusher. Much easier to just ship out a new one, than actually repair the recalled toys.

Finally, world class Art Director, Ric Sluiter's Viz Dev work is featured here. Ric landed on his feet after the project was shutdown, and now works his artistic miracles at Blue Sky Animation. Pretty obvious why, when you see his work, see more at his blog - http://ricsluiter.blogspot.com/

Maybe we'll get around to putting up some of our "Monsters Inc. 2 Vis Dev, when that film has its Blue Ray release!

Finally, some lessons we've learned along the way are that things do have a way of working themselves out. Pixar's Toy Story 3 has turned out to be exactly what it was meant to be and made by the people who were meant to make it...nice to have that perspective some four and a half years later.

The Family Circus!

2010-10-19T15:37:00.000-07:00

We have sold the pitch and have been commenced by Twentieth Century Fox and Walden Media to write the screenplay for this classic comic! John Baldecchi and Stacy Maes are producing. We're really excited about writing this live action film with lots of CG elements. Over 70 million people a day read this great family comic, which is still written by its creator Bill Keane along with his son Jeff. More here... http://www.deadline.com/2010/10/fox-walden-media-win-the-family-circus/

Bob & Rob (us) at the Tink screening with Brad Raymond and John Lasseter.

2010-09-13T18:30:00.000-07:00

After a lot of work the Tinker Bell film is ready for launch! We had a really nice day at the Cast and Crew screening of the film on the Disney lot. Especially cool was that our offices are about twenty feet away in the Old Animation Building. As mentioned multiple times on this blog, we are incredibly proud of this film and feel honored to have been a part of it. Sometimes you get lucky and catch lightning in a bottle...we think we did just that with this classic Disney tale.

"Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue" Premiere

2010-09-01T13:31:00.000-07:00

"Tinker Bell" Red Carpet, left to right, Producer Helen Kalafatic, Writer Bob Hilgenberg (of Bob & Rob), Director Bradley Raymond and his wife Mayada.

What an amazing night we had out under the stars watching the premiere of our film, "Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue"! Held at a park in Beverly Hills, Disney pulled out all the stops for this "Picnic In The Park" party and screening of the film. A HUGE screen displayed Tink in all of her magical glory. Guest included cast members, actor Michael Sheen, (Dr. Griffiths), Mae Whitman, (Tinker Bell), Raven-Symone, (Iridessa), Pamela Adlon, (Vidia) and Jeff Bennett, (Bobble). Tons of other celebs and their families were in attendance as well...former Laker turned actor Rick Fox even donned a pair of fairy wings for the entire night!

The film opens this weekend at The El Capitan Theater in Hollywood! If you get a chance see it on the big screen, it's stunning! Oh, we should add Rob was there, he just left the photo ops to Bob...he couldn't tear himself away from the free gourmet food!

"Toy Story 3" Terrific film!

2010-06-28T18:57:00.000-07:00

We especially LOVED the opening sequence. As one reviewer put it, "Toy Story 3 explodes out of the gate with an opening sequence that would put a James Bond movie to shame -- and then a clever pullback that reveals that the best toys are powered not by batteries but by imagination."

Congratulations to ALL involved!

"Meet the Haunteds"?

2010-06-09T14:36:00.000-07:00

We're working with some really talented guys over at director Steve Carr's Rumpus Entertainment. In the early stages of development on the "Meet the Haunteds" pitch, but the story is filling out very nicely! We'll post more about this film that will be live action with a lot of CG as well. We jumped at the chance to work on a project that can straddle two very funny eras, the 70's and NOW!

New "Tinker Bell" Trailer!

2010-04-07T10:49:00.000-07:00

Here's a trailer for the new "Tinker Bell" film we wrote for Disney and director Brad Raymond. We're very proud to have been a part of this magical film. Here's the pretty incredible cast list...

Michael Sheen,
Mae Whitman
Jesse McCartney
Kristin Chenoweth
Lucy Liu
Raven-Symoné
Pamela Adlon Faith Prince
Angela Bartys
Lauren Mote

Michael Sheen Talks "Tink"!

2010-04-06T16:03:00.000-07:00

If you're a regular reader of our little blog here, you know we recently wrote Disney's 'Tinker Bell And The Great Fairy Rescue'. We were fortunate to have been present at a number of the recording sessions with Michael Sheen. Not only is he a great actor, he's a really nice guy. Take a look at this interview, where he talks about his role in "Tink" and how it resonated with him as a parent.

Click here for the interview.

Sony Animation Project

2010-02-14T20:45:00.001-08:00

Working with Director Stephan Franck is what one might call...intimate. The man does know what he wants and we are more than happy to oblige! Seriously, this is one great project and if it took Stephan sitting on Rob's lap to get the results we all want, we'd do it! UPDATE: Later that day Stephan actually did sit on Rob's lap...they enjoyed the experience so much, they now sit that way in the commissary during lunch!

"Scribes" Who is Jane Lynch's character based on?

2010-01-21T13:45:00.000-08:00

You'll see in this "sizzle reel" that actress Jane Lynch ('The 40 Year Old Virgin', 'Glee') plays the part of a studio head that we actually pitched and sold a film to. Everyone has their guesses as to who the character is based on...(in the real meeting, Diane Keaton was in the pitch with us, as she was attached as actress and producer). The dialog in the short film "Hiding In Walls", which "Scribes" is based on, was almost verbatim!

When we sold the pitch, we were baffled by what the studio head had liked, as he/she hadn't really understood the story we were telling AND had odd interpretations about the whole idea. As we stood outside in the parking lot, Diane lamented, "I don't know what they just bought...I'm just glad I don't have to write it!" As it turned out nobody did and the project crashed and burned just about the time the studio chief was fired. You can watch the entire short film "Hiding In Walls", here... http://outofpocketfilms.com/home.html

"The Family Circus" Dream Cast!

2010-01-11T18:42:00.000-08:00

We're close to getting started on this script. The studios producing this film are Twentieth Century Fox and Walden Media. When we write screenplays we like to have some of the characters already "cast' in our minds...it helps us keep the voices consistent. On this project we have what we consider a "dream cast" as a starting point! Kevin James as Bill, (Dad) and Tina Fey as Thelma, (Mom).

Homage To "TS3"

2009-12-28T11:06:00.000-08:00

Although control of the "Toy Story 3" project was rightfully given back to Pixar (after the '06 Disney buyout), some really great Concept Art/Set Design, still remained. Here are a couple of images from the "Disney" version of TS3, by friend and world class Art Director, Ric Sluiter ("Lilo & Stitch", "Mulan", "The Lion King") www.ricsluiterblogspot.com. If anything, for us at least, this artwork just adds more excitement to the quickly approaching release of Pixar's TS3! We present it as an homage to the ground-breaking franchise.

"The Family Circus"

2009-12-17T14:04:00.000-08:00

We have sold and are in negotiations with Twentieth Century Fox and Walden Media to write the screenplay for this classic comic! John Baldecchi and Stacy Maes are producing. We're really excited about writing this live action film with lots of CG elements. Over 70 million people a day read this great family comic, which is still written by its creator Bill Keane along with his son Jeff.

Sony Animation Project

2009-12-02T12:50:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of Bob, Rob and Director Stephan Franck right before a story pitch to the studio heads. We just by chance all wore black shirts...it's a look we're going to keep for all pitches as it went quite well! We should mention this is an unannounced project that is very cutting edge and cool. As soon as Sony makes it official, so will we.

"Tinker Bell And The Great Fairy Rescue"

2009-10-28T18:33:00.000-07:00

This trailer is just the tip-of-the-iceberg of what this film has become! We're really looking forward to having it released this time next year! We knew when Award winning actor, Michael Sheen ('Frost/Nixon' and 'The Queen'), joined the already all-star cast, this would be a special project. Thanks to John Lasseter, Andrew Millstein, Brad Raymond and all of the incredibly talented people at Disney...and of course Pixar! Release date, Fall 2010!

We've just begun work on an amazingly cool project for Sony.

2009-10-21T18:32:00.000-07:00

Sony Pictures Animation is really making a name for themselves and we're thrilled to be a small part of it. We'll let Sony take the lead in releasing info on this film:)

Script to Screen...sometimes we actually have fun!

2009-10-12T12:22:00.000-07:00

Having just about finished our work here at the Walt Disney Company, we wanted to say what a great experience it has been. Getting a chance to work side-by-side with John Lasseter and his amazingly talented group up at Pixar, was quite cool. The experience of working with our old friend Disney's Andrew Millstein and his crew, was really great. We go away feeling we've been part of a very special film.

On this project we were lucky enough to work with people we liked, while at the same time being on the same page creatively.

When we were leaving, a legendary Disney/Pixar animator sent us off with this very nice note... "As a writing team, you guys (Bob & Rob) are uniquely dedicated and collaborative".

Thanks, but that seems like the easy part for us, especially on a project like this!

Bob & Rob

.

The "new" Darin enjoyed hittin' the bottle...Ba da ding!

2009-10-01T18:58:00.000-07:00

For the kids out there, (who visit this blog by the...millions, ya, millions I tell ya), you're just gonna have to Google these characters.

"The Family Circus"

2009-08-24T11:50:00.000-07:00

We have sold and are in negotiations with Twentieth Century Fox and Walden Media to write the screenplay for this classic comic! John Baldecchi and Stacy Maes are producing. We're really excited about writing this live action film with lots of CG elements. Over 70 million people a day still read this great family comic, which is still written by its creator, Bill Keane along with his son Jeff.

New writing gig..."Tinker Bell 3"

2009-05-06T18:40:00.000-07:00

This is a very special character that has a lot of history and expectations to uphold. We're having a blast already.

Disney Recycling

2009-04-24T11:44:00.001-07:00

This is what we'd like to do with some of our scripts...you get a lot more bang for your buck. "Scared Guys"....recycled version, "Frightened Gals"!

Lost in America (Clip)

2009-04-18T01:35:00.001-07:00

One of the best scenes ever.

"Hey Mike"

2009-02-11T12:14:00.000-08:00

"Hey Mike" is an award winning short film that grew out of a comedy sketch, which was developed and performed live at The Groundlings and Second City LA. Shot in the early '90's, the bit still seems to hold up today...at least we think so. Note: Bob, who plays the lead in the bit, went by the "stage name" of Bob Destri, back then...he's not sure why.

Scribes

2009-01-23T13:35:00.001-08:00

Our Friend Billy Riback is FUNNY!

2008-10-29T21:18:00.000-07:00

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

PRE-SCRIBES

2008-04-07T23:02:00.000-07:00

Pre-Scribes!

A weekly look back at the heralded careers of former thespians, Actor Bob & Actor Rob.

This week: Actor Bob's First Big Break!

The A-Team: Episode - "Recipe for Heavy Bread"

In a riveting, acting tour de force, Bob played a "Parking Attendant" Opposite "Mr. T",(B.A. Baracus).

The scene opens as Bob, approaches "Mr. T", who pulls the van up to the curb. While the rest of the "A Team" exit the van, Bob tries to get into the drivers seat...

Parking Attendant: Good afternoon, sir, may I...
B.A. Baracus: May you what, sucker?
Parking Attendant: Eh, may I park your vehicle?
B.A. Baracus: Are you crazy? Nobody drives my van but me. Get outta here!

As Mr T peels-out, Bob joins George Peppard and the rest of the gang. After some witty banter, Mr. T marches up the sidewalk towards Bob...he points his finger in to Bob's terrified face...after some more verbal threats about touching the van, Bob watches Mr T and the "A Team" walk into the restaurant. The camera stays on Bob's confused, slightly conflicted gaze...over-acting, maybe...but, Bob later recounted that he felt every emotion honestly.

So, this was Bob's introduction into prime time network television...sure, he milked his part a little, and maybe he hung around the set a little too long after he was released for the day...but, he did get his own Star Wagon, made "Mr. T" laugh, (by throwing a mock punch at him )and thanks to a confused, slightly star struck ten year old boy, was asked for an autograph...the first of Bob's career...a much bigger moment for Bob than for the young boy.

Bob thanked the kid so vociferously that the mother had to whisk the boy away, as she must have perceived danger. Just when Bob thought the gig couldn't have gone any better...a week later he got called-in for a "looping"session! None of the other regular cast members were at the recording studio that day. But, Bob did meet another "Guest Star" from the episode...Mako, a well known Asian character actor. They shared a couple of laughs and Bob even gave Mako a quarter so he could feed the parking meter...man, showbiz is so sweet!

A few months later on a jogging path in Beverly Hills, Bob spotted Mr. T on the same path. Great fortune, thought Bob..."I'll go say hey"...but, as Bob approached Mr T, who was doing push-ups, he was stopped by three large body guards..."but, I know "T" we worked together"! As they hurried Bob along, he shouted out to "T"...hey remember I'm the guy who pretended to punch you, ha, ha, ha..." He never looked up...Bob was a hundred yards away before he realized he had been literally carried away, feet dangling like an idiot...yeah, showbiz...so sweet.

Next week "Actor Bob",finds Bob himself in a scene with a young, unknown...George Clooney! While "Actor Rob" takes a gig as singing telegram guy, "Mr. Wonderful", only to discover that a street gang downtown, doesn't think he's so "wonderful"!

'Keep pitching, I can hear you!"

2008-03-21T23:49:00.000-07:00

Early on in our writing careers, we had finished a spec script that a lot of the studios liked, but, didn't think was commercial enough. Still, they were open to hearing our ideas, so our agent sent us out with our first feature pitch. The idea was that we would meet with lots of the big players at the studios, and maybe we'd get lucky and sell something.

With pitch in hand, the Bob & Rob corporation started off on a pitch tour. We were very well prepared with our little comedy idea as we had carefully worked out all of the finer points of the story...it was pretty close to "bullet proof", at least in terms of story and logic. Whether or not anyone would get excited about the idea was any ones guess. So, keeping in mind that we had very little experience with real "behind the gates", show business, (we had been struggling actors before discovering writing, a story for another blog), we prepared to take the plunge.

So, as would become our routine on pitch day, we car-pooled together to the meetings. Another part of that routine was to sing "show tunes"! We used it as a vocal and energy warm-up. Yeah, two "straight" guys toolin' around Hollywood harmonizing songs like, "Sit Down, You're Rocking The Boat" from "Guys and Dolls". We should add, it was a routine we would continue for years, until we both got really nice cars and wanted to drive to meetings separately...the singing just wasn't the same without the harmony, so Sports Talk radio replaced "Happy to Keep His Dinner Warm", from "How to Succeed in Business". As it turns out, a can of Classic Coke just before a pitch serves as a perfect pre-pitch warm-up.

Back to pitch week...this particular event occurred on our second or third professional motion picture pitch. It was at MGM, (pre-Sony). Big lot, big sound stages, big pitch...with valet parking by the way. Picture two guys rollin' up to the MGM gate, in a Camry, singing at the top of their lungs...seriously. We liked to time out the show-stopping numbers right as we got out of the car.

We made our way to the main executive building and signed in at the front desk. Moments later we were inside the offices at the studio comfortably sipping our Classic Cokes and running lines for the pitch, (in the early days we had the outlines for the pitches memorized as if on stage waiting for the curtain to be raised). After a brief wait, we were guided back to the offices of the exec, we'll call him "Jimmy Pee" Nice office...lots of leather...not a lot of eye contact with Jimmy Pee, as we were introduced. "So, your agent says you guys have a pitch I just have to hear, he grumbles" We performed some form of idle chit-chat and soon enough it was "showtime."

We start pitching our guts out...(we should mention that this pitch sold the next day to another studio, so we weren't just doing a dog and pony show, we had a pretty good story here...not that we're above a good "smoke and mirrors" pitch from time to time... they sometimes lead to great scripts.) So, we're going along pretty well, hitting all the act breaks nicely, tracking characters and dolloping in the funny as needed. We were buzzing along at a brisk pace, when suddenly, Jimmy Pee abruptly stood up and strolled over to the other side of the room...he gestured for us to keep talking as he opened a door in his office...he flicked on a light and stepped into the little room...a little RESTROOM! Then, without hesitation, and the door wide open, he unzipped and began to unleash his high-six-figure urine into his MGM toilet!

To be clear, let's reset...Jimmy Pee was pissing in his private toilet not five feet away from two guys pitching him a movie! We could hear every squirt, drip and drop in this well insulated office. But, in spite of the fact this was our second showbiz meeting, we still knew just what to do...nothing! We fell silent for a second and looked at each other, we may have held hands to comfort one another, it got pretty blurry at that point...then, without missing a beat and with the sound of urine splashing into the toilet bowl, Jimmy Pee yells out angrily..."keep pitching, I can hear you"! And we did, like a couple of desperate Willy Lomans, we raised our voices and pitched like nothing was wrong..."Yes, so, the second act twist is when the father and son reunite after 20 years"... FLUSH!...and he was back in his seat.

Minutes later the pitch was over...if we're not mistaken, we shook his hand...not sure he took the time to wash, (actually we know he didn't, but to admit that just makes us sound that much more desperate, if that's possible!). As we headed home that afternoon, there would be no singing...we had been violated, we even had a hard time making eye contact with each other.

A little later we got a call from our agent, "Jimmy Pee liked the first part of your story, but he felt it fell apart at the end"...Oh, really Jimmy Pee...Ya think!

Now, if that were to happen to us today, we would never stand for that kind of treatment...we'd voice our displeasure and...oh, who are we kidding, we'd do the same thing, but maybe have a better third act, one that could withstand a guy urinating through it!

Years later we did see Jimmy Pee again...he was on a panel at a producers seminar. When it was his turn to speak at the podium, we thought about climbing up on stage and relieving ourselves in front of him... but, we decided to take the high-road and not get kicked out of showbiz...besides, outside we'd just relieved ourselves on a really nice Jag, with the license plates "JimmyP"...at least that's the writers ending.

About the blog name...

2008-03-06T12:04:00.000-08:00

Not long ago we were approached to do a rewrite on a film being shot in London...the studio execs, based in LA, were apparently frustrated by the work they were getting out of some of the "non Hollywood" writers. Our agent sent them a sample of our work and since our style was close to what they were looking for in their project, they wanted to hire us. The story got back to us that after the exec read our sample script, he called the producers in London and shouted..."I want to hire these guys...I want to use "Professional American Screenwriters"! Ha! We've been called a lot of things in this business, at times we may be professional, and yes we are Americans who get paid to write screenplays...but rarely, if ever, do those words all collect together as a description of who we are. Come on, look at our names, Bob & Rob, nothing flashy there. But, there was something sexy about being referred to in such a grown-up, almost regal manner...and we are ex-performers so we do enjoy the accolades, (Bob more than Rob) and it does kind of roll off the tongue. So, somewhat reluctantly, we have accepted the unofficial title...Bob & Rob Professional American Writers! Or, if you prefer - "Just A Couple Of Hacks Who Sit In A Room And Argue A Lot!"

What we thought we'd do with this blog would be to post some of our most bizarre and ridiculous screenwriting stories. Our short film "Hiding in Walls" was so well received, we thought we'd continue with the same basic theme of "you won't believe what happened to us today". Welcome to our strange little world of being Hollywood Screenwriters...the Professional, American version.