A Conversation with Greg Daniels - Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008

Perhaps it’s human nature to want to sit at the foot of the successful and try and ascertain how they did it and see if there is something in their story you might be able to mimic. When it comes down to it, everyone makes it in their own way, as TV writer Greg Daniels revealed. Daniels with this year’s recipient of the Outstanding Television Writer Award given by the Austin Film Festival. He, along with fellow honoree Danny Boyle (recognized for extraordinary contributions to filmmaking) were the guests of honor at the AFF's annual awards luncheon. Afterwards, Daniels took center stage for one of several, "A Conversation With…" presentations to share his story and reflect on his career.

The creator of the U.S. version of The Office developed his writing chops writing for Not Necessarily the News, Saturday Night Live, The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and various other jobs along the way, paying his dues and learning as much as he could — even from the not so hot jobs (anybody remember Let’s Party starring Cheech Marin?) But even the wrong turns and dead ends were opportunities Daniels appreciated.

“I’d seen enough of how Hollywood shouldn’t work,” Daniels said. “Writers and actors have no awareness of how the other works.” It was this realization that made him decide to close that gap when it came to work on The Office, casting several performers who also serve as producers/writers. This way, they have a higher stake in how the show turns out because they have “to [also] deliver what they write,” Daniels said. The downfall is that when the writers are on set, they are not working in the writers’ room. But maybe that’s not entirely bad.

“The best way to write in a group setting is when you’re the boss,” he cracked, when speaking of the communal nature of writing for a comedy series. At the same time, some of his fondest comedy writing memories were from writing The Simpsons. “There were times when the staff was on a roll and the story was getting to a place that no one person could have thought of,” he said. “Everyone working off each other like jazz.”

With several Emmy’s under his belt and a critically loved series that is gaining momentum, Daniels does not appear to be slowing down any time soon. While The Office is in production, he is currently at work on a couple of new projects, including unnamed project starring Amy Poehler.