In less than 2 days Prison Break will come to an end.  It seems like yesterday I walked into the writers' room for the first time and met a group of writers I hadn't know prior to that moment, a group of writers who would become some of my best friends in the business.  I can say, without hyperbole, that I am a better writer and person for having known them and worked with them.  I am blessed to have spent the past 4 plus years with them.  Additionally, the producers, actors, post-production team, office-staff, and studio and network execs were also so incredibly talented at what they did.  The show was an incredible team effort.

We are all so thankful for the support the show received and are so proud to have been part of this fun ride.

It has truly been a once in a lifetime experience for this writer.  It just ended and I already miss it.

Best,

Nick Santora

Hi.
So I just wanted to reach out and say thank you to all of the PB fans who have been supporting the show the past 4 seasons. There has been a lot of talk about whether this will be the last season or not. (sorry I can't confirm that yet because the writers have not been given a final decision from Fox).
But, as a result of all of the curiosity, I have been getting more messages (myspace, email, facebook, etc.) than I've ever received before from PB fans. That's great - that means people really enjoy the show.
But I am just having a next to impossible time keeping up with all of them ... it's gotten to the point where I can't come close to responding to all of them.
And as I've stated before, I don't want to seem unfair by only responding to some.
So I'm going to go on an internet-break for a while.
I'm going to wait until the end of the season ... if the show is still going on to another season, I will blog again and thank everyone for helping us get a season 5!
If the show has reached its end, I will blog again and thank everyone for watching the show for 4 great years!
Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving,
Best,
Nick Santora

Hello all.
I have received a lot of emails about a couple of things lately:

1) people have been a bit confused about when we air ... Season 4 starts Sept. 1 -- this past week and the next few week PB will air reruns from the end of last season so fans can get caught up on how last season ended. We have all been working so hard on the season ... the actors have been kicking ass -- our post department is always awesome ... the stories are compelling ... I think you'll really enjoy what we have in store.

2) alot of emails are asking about why my production company is called Blackjack Films (which has a movie, "The Longshots" starring Ice Cube, coming out in one week -- August 22nd.) Blackjack Films is named after my late dog, a boxer, named Blackjack. She was a great friend, a beautiful sweet little creature and I got her when I was 21 and in college. I had her for 9 years. She was one of the best pals I'll ever have. I named my company after her to honor her.

So there is a funny (and sad as hell!) interview I did on bitterlawyer.com -- a great new site. Here's the link: http://www.bitterlawyer.com/index.php/interviews/nic/?entry_id=141

So we are well into shooting Season 4 and it is, as always, an exciting and interesting process.  We are all having fun, working long hours, writing and producing like crazy - it still is, and always will be, the best job I've ever had.  This upcoming season has a lot of surprises and many are top secret, though the internet makes it hard to keep those secrets, so I am really limited as to what I can divulge.  I can tell you this -- our sets are AMAZING.  Wait until you see how great of a job was done.  We have such a talented group of people working on this show - they are amazing. 
Best,
Nick
(ps - this weekend, the New York Times ran an article about me and my writing and some film and tv projects I've been involved in ... it mentions PB briefly.  If you want to see it, here is the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/29writerli.html?_r=1&ref=nyregionspecial2&oref=slogin

So we got word on Wednesday that we are officially picked up by the network for Season 4. This is great news. We are all very excited. We are moving offices onto the Fox Studio Lot next week and we had to say goodbye to the offices that were our home for the past 3 years ... not really that sad because, well, c’mon, it’s just a frickin’ building. But my new office is about half the size with just a tiny window which normally would suck except for one thing ... I get to go to work everyday with people I love and respect and I get to be creative. So I don’t really give a rat’s ass what our new offices look like! For those of you who celebrate Easter, have a great one. I will be at my home having Easter dinner with family (visiting cousins) and friends (including Prison Break writer Kalinda Vazquez) -- it should be a nice weekend leading into an even better week of diving head-first into Season 4! Best, Nick
(ps -- I am WAY behind on answering myspace messages but I am getting dozens a day and have been so busy with PB, it is impossible to keep up with all of them, plus I get scores of emails to my website, so I am sorry if I didn’t get back to everyone, please don’t take it personally.)

So after 3 1/2 months, I am finally allowed to go back to work and start writing Prison Break again!!!! Yes!!!!!
This does mean the work stoppage is temporarily over, but it could start again if the studios try to change the terms they agreed to with the Writers' Guild while the terms are being formalized in writing. Also, once the terms are formalized in writing, there is a chance the Writers' Guild membership would vote to not approve the agreement.
The chances of this happening are almost non-existent. The vast majority of members of the WGA will vote for the proposed contract and it will be pass with ease and then it will be 3 1/4 more years of labor peace.
I, personally, am not a fan of the deal that has been worked out. There are lots of reasons why I feel this strike was not a success, but they are too numerous, complicated and, frankly, boring to discuss here. I will refrain from discussing the strike anymore because I am just sick of the subject and just want to get back to doing what I love to do ... writing.
So why am I shouting "Hooray!" that we are going back to work even though I don't like the terms of the deal?
Easy answer: I get to go back to work with the most creative and talented people in the business.
I get to go back to the Writers' Room ... the magical land of immature jokes, remote control whoopie cushions and spitballs.
I get to make fun of Trokey's resemblance to Michael Douglas in "Falling Down." We get to call Zack "Scatman Curuthers" and Matt ... we'll we don't call Matt anything but Mr. Olmstead because he's the boss and he's mean as hell. We all get to mock whatever Seth is wearing on any given day. Usher will have to deal with the antics of the 5 unwanted "brothers" she never asked for and we'll make her tell the $20 bill story over and over again (for those of you who don't know this story, you have to listen to PB commentary for Season 2). And Kalinda will be called a different synonym for "nerd" once an hour just to keep her honest. I will be subjected to 15 bald jokes a week (3 per day) -- all of them hurtful and uncalled for. ("hey Nick, is that your head, or did you neck puke up a watermelon! ... that is one of the nicer ones)
I missed working with these assholes. I missed hearing their stories about their family and friends. I missed hearing their creative ideas. Hell, I haven't even SEEN Kalinda in over 3 months. (she moved back to NY during the strike) I don't think I'd gone more than 2 days without seeing her in 2 years. (I'd never tell her, or any of these guys, how much it sucked not working with them every day, and since none of them read this blog, they don't get to hear it from me. They make fun of me for blogging anyway, so they'll get nothing but scorn from me when I see them.)
Tomorrow, I get to go back to work at the greatest job in the world.
I have my whoopie cushion ready. Let the games begin.

Brooke, a big Prison Break fan and "myspace friend", scolded me today for always making fun of myself in my posts. Truth be told, I am a pretty goofy guy (I have a strange sense of humor and I know I'm never gonna win a beauty contest) and my posts reflect my sense of humor, but she challenged me to list 5 positive things about myself, so here it goes:

1) I'm nice to animals and writers' assistants.
2) I love my family, even when my daughter recently poked me in the stomach and asked me if I "had a baby in there."
3) I am super polite to people on airplanes, but that is mostly because I am scared to fly and I figure if the plane might crash I should be on my best behavior to increase my chance of going to heaven.
4) I am a Giant Fan and THEY JUST WON THE FREAKIN' SUPER BOWL!!! GO BIG BLUE!!!
5) I am a really good typist and NEVER, EVER make spellng erors.

There have been rumors that the Writer's Strike might be coming to an end.  All I can say is I hope our negotiating team has been able to get fair and reasonable terms that will be approved by the Guild membership.  We'd all like to get back to work!

But while we are bombarded by crappy reality all day, why not take a look at a really entertaining show based on real events starring an Uncle Fester lookalike - okay it will be starring me, but if you've ever seen Uncle Fester from The Addams Family, then you know he and I could be long lost brothers.

The show is called "Murder By The Book" and it is on Tru TV (the network that used to be called Court TV).  It is on Monday night (the day after the Super Bowl) at 10pm EST.   Each week a different Best Selling Author hosts the show and talks about a real life murder and investigation and how it all played out. 

Look, I hate being on camera.  It is very unnatural for me to speak to a teleprompter and try to tell a story.  Those of you who know me and my work know that I like to do my story-telling from behind a laptop, not from in front of a camera!  Also, the camera does not add 10 pounds -- it adds 140!  But "Murder By The Book" is a quality show and the crew I got to work with was great!  And it lets people get to know me and my novel, "Slip & Fall", and hopefully I won't look like such a goof that people won't be turned off and will actually give "Slip & Fall" a chance.

Either way, if you have a moment, take a look at the show and hopefully you will enjoy it.

Best,

Nick Santora

Unemployed, bald and getting uglier by the day, but still I am, in no particular order, (though those about family & friends are clearly the most important) ...

1) Thankful for having been able to live my dream to be a professional write for about 7 years now.

2) Thankful for living in a country that enables a regular guy from a regular family to still be able to achieve those dreams.

3) Thankful to live in a country where you are free to support and/or criticize that nation and its leaders however you see fit, often to make sure the nation remains free.

4) Thankful for the gift "Prison Break" has been to my life - an incredible journey with incredible people and I've loved every step of it. Also, thankful for the great Prison Break fans who have supported our creation and been so great to the show.

5) Thankful for having been born into a wonderful, loving family.

6) Thankful for my amazing wife and the beautiful child she gave me. Also thankful for my wife's horrible eyesight that allowed her to not really get a good look at what she was marrying.

7) Thankful for our second beautiful child that is growing inside my wife as I type this.

8) Thankful for the good people in the world, people so much better than I will ever be, who do selfless things every day for others.

9) Thankful for every friend I've ever had, met or made.

10) Thankful for every day I get to live with the people in my life - my family, my neighbors, my friends, my co-workers.

11) Thankful for this amazing life I did nothing to deserve.

I wish you all, whether you celebrate Thanksgiving in your nation or not, a wonderful day tomorrow where, even if things might be rough for you right now, you hopefully have the opportunity to see all that is wonderful in you life and all that you have. I know sometimes I get caught up in the daily grind, and I forget how truly blessed I am. And then I sit down to write this list of things I am thankful for, and I realize that I am the luckiest guy in the world.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Nick