Tom Maier
From Print to TV Hit — Thomas Maier Shows How He Did It
By Aileen Jacobson
Tom Maier, a longtime investigative reporter and now a columnist for Newsday, brought along a few video clips to illustrate how this is increasingly “a multimedia world” for journalists.
At first loathe to write about two scientists who, Maier said, were “studying love and sex, not necessarily in that order,” the more he learned about William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the more intriguing the possibilities: Masters and Johnson “got married, and then they divorced – and nobody knows why.” The article expanded to a book, then to an Emmy-winning fictional HBO TV show, “Masters of Sex.”
He showed snippets of the show during his Feb. 21 talk. Though he wasn’t allowed to write for it because he wasn’t in the union, he eventually became a producer.
He learned about the importance of “IP,” or intellectual property, and that in Hollywood, producers always ask, “What else have you got?”
Turns out, Maier had a lot. The author of seven books, with topics ranging from Dr. Spock to the Kennedys and Churchills, he is now about to debut a six-part docuseries based on his latest, “Mafia Spies.” The contract was signed before he even wrote the book, so it said something like “book TK.” He brought a jazzy promo made by Paramount +, which will stream the show later this year.
Streaming, he said, is a “whole new world,” and producers are “flying by the seat of their pants.”
A key to pitching a story these days, he said, is explaining how it can be turned into a multi-part series. “Framing” the story is another important element, he imparted. The story of two gangsters hired by the CIA to kill Fidel Castro had been told before. But Maier brought in Marilyn Monroe, JFK, Frank Sinatra, the Rat Pack and other players. Maier also counseled writing “visually” with lots of color and description—good advice for writing books, too.
Adding to wide-eyed admiration for how much he works every day, he threw in another tidbit: There’s talk of making a “Masters of Sex” musical.
