Shorts for TV?

Had my first non-pitch network meeting last week. Cindi and I met with a friend of hers, an exec at G4, to discuss producing some short comedy to air as part of one of their shows. If you don't know, G4 is the video gamer geek channel, and wants comedy in its programming, so it seems like a natural fit. So over the past couple weeks, I'd been writing quite a few geek comedy shorts and sketches, standalones and serials, to throw their way. Cindi sent the material to the exec and we got a meeting that week.

The meeting went well, though I couldn't tell at first. Cindi actually called me afterward to confirm that it was "not a bad meeting," because I apparently looked like someone had drowned my cat. No, the meeting wasn't a homerun -- initial meets usually ain't -- but the exec liked some of our ideas and despite development budget problems still wanted to make something. She promised to read the 21 shorts and sketches (had to go with a lucky number) over the holiday weekend -- which I wouldn't hold anyone to, not with family barbecues and random explosions all night long. With luck, me might soon be shooting something that will air on network TV. Which, I don't have to tell you, would land firmly in the "Nifty" column. So here's hoping.

Earth Force 5 Photos

As promised, here are some pics from Earth Force 5, the new comedy web series produced by Epic Level Entertainment and written by yours truly. I'll leave you to speculate on the plot.
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An EF5 agent in trouble. Yes, that's Jason Marsden.

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Chelsea in one of the tunnels
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Nefarious, who is his name. And yes, that's Nathan Rice.

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Nina and Gaius. I mean Frank.

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Chelsea futzes with some sciencey thingamajig
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A normal day at Earth Force 5

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Steve and Superbios need a vacation
..Nina returns from an encounter with Clancy

The EF5 team in trouble. Not pictured: Clancy.

Earth Force 5

This weekend, we shot the pilot webisodes for Earth Force 5. It deserves a detailed report that I will give you once I have pictures. In the meantime, I can say this: it went very smoothly, almost without a hitch. Having two cameras works wonders. If we'd had just the one, there's no way we would have finished on time. When you can nab two shots per setup, the day can fly. As it must when you're attempting to shoot fourteen pages in twelve hours, not counting your lunch break.

Auditions, Bumpers and Demons

Quick rundown of the goings-on and the happening-whats:
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Last week were the auditions for Earth Force 5, the webseries pilot I wrote for Epic Level. I love auditions. They're the first time the I get to hear voices for the characters other than the ones in my head. Which can be a weird experience, especially when an actor's interpretation is quite different from mine -- and the actor is right. I got to read the parts across from the actors. But after twelve hours of reading out loud, I was starting to phone it in. The actors, however, did not. The group we cast is strong and copiously talented, and includes at least one guy you'll recognize. The sad thing is that we didn't have parts for everyone. We saw no dearth of talent.
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I'm writing a series of two- to three-page sketches that will potentially show up on TV. I don't know how transparent I can be on the subject, so I'll steer towards opaque. There's a TV station out there that specializes in fan genre programming. And it just so happens they've recently had a regime change, and the new lady in charge is a good friend of a good friend of mine. And while the new exec isn't looking for show pitches right, she is looking for bumper material to fit between the network's existing shows and segments. And any bumpers that get popular enough could potentially spin off into something larger.
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I pitch-chained a few ideas for bumpers up to the exec through my friend, and the result was positive. So I'm downshifting from long arcing narratives to one-off jokes. It's nice to be working short form again, as a change of pace at least. And if any of these shorts get made, there would be pay involved. Which is good. And that's not my only project that might be headed towards a paycheck.

As a student at AFI, I co-wrote a thesis film submission entitled History of Demons with director Nathan Atkinson. AFI gave the project a red light, so Nathan and I decided to redo it as a feature. Three some years later, we're on the verge of optioning the script to a producing team that already has financiers interested. And the budget they assure us they can get is in the $25 million range. If that happens, I'll make more in a day than I ever have in a year, and will get into the WGA to boot. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed. If you wouldn't mind keeping your fingers crossed as well, I'd appreciate it.

Another Cookie Prophecy

Tonight's fortune cookie: "You will be successful in a business of your own." Jives pretty well with the last one.

Fred, PoD: Skeezix and the Imps

More of Martin Abel's conceptual art for Fred, Prince of Darkness.
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In Hell, the Imps are the worker demons, the blue collar joes who do the actual tormenting of the damned. It's a thankless job with no overtime and no benefits -- or at least it was before the regime change. With Satan gone, the Imps elect Skeezix head of their union (despite his rather loud protests) and go on strike, figuring Fred must be easier to negotiate with than Satan. And if he's not, well ... they're only down Skeezix.

Fred, PoD: Minnie and Uriel

A twofer today. Minnie is the career succubus longing for a life outside of seduction. She and Fred hit it off immediately, and puppy love ensues. Nothing more than that ever can, though, because the moment they get carnal, Fred loses his soul. The downside of dating a succubus. Uriel is Heaven's clueless ambassador to Hell. He's utterly convinced that Fred is some sort of trick and that Satan's still in charge. Thus he tirelessly pursues Satan from pointless job to pointless job, striving to uncover a conspiracy that doesn't exist.

I really dig this art. Really gets to the core of the characters. Minnie's gorgeous and alluring without being slutty. "Intimidating beauty" is how I'd put it. And I love how there's nothing behind the eyes of that lantern-jawed angel. Looking at Uriel, I'm reminded of Dark Helmet's words to Lone Star in the climactic duel of Spaceballs: "Evil will always triumph, because Good is dumb."