Reposted in honor of Dean’s Birthday!
One of the top mentors of young television and screenwriters in Hollywood points to the influencers who influenced him
One of today’s most articulate voices for faithful engagement in culture, Dean Batali, is best known for his work on That ‘70s Show, where he served as a writer for seven years and as an executive producer for the show’s final season. Dean also wrote for the initial two seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as for a number of other successful shows (Duckman, Hope and Gloria, The Half-Hour News Hour, and The Adventures of Pete and Pete) and has been key in the development of many young TV writers in Hollywood today.
Always the stickler for precision, Dean took EXACTLY 15 minutes to complete his list and added the following caveat: “I’m going to assume that the Bible is ineligible, but it should go as #1. Sheryl (Anderson) only listed writers, which I would be happy to do, in which case it would be “Preston Sturges” instead of Sullvan’s Travels and “Tom Fontana” instead of Homicide and “Jerry Zucker, David Zucker and Jim Abraham” instead of Airplane! and Peter Jackson instead of Lord of the Rings… etc. But if I were doing just an author list, I’d have to get into names like Bob Briner, and maybe A. Scott Berg.
Here’s Dean’s “Fab 15” list of the greatest influences in his life.
St. Elsewhere (TV Show)
The Lord of the Rings (film) trilogy
Buffy helped launch the careers of both show creator Joss Whedon and staff writer Dean Batali
Homicide: Life on the Street (TV Show)
Ordinary People (movie)
What’s on your “Fab 15″ list?
Dean . . . Keith Green wasn’t in your top 15. I know you better than that!