Guess the Pilot

Pilots are out and as an employee I get to watch all the new ones that our Television group makes. It’s actually really fun to see shows you know won’t be on TV for at least another couple of months. Needless to say there are my favorites and then some I am not so enthused about. I will try giving you a breakdown of what they are about and what I though of them without getting in too much trouble (like giving out the name). So put on your thinking caps, and your internet research skills as I present clues as to what the “New Show” is and you send me your best guess as to which one I am describing. All the shows have been picked up by major networks so there is a possibility of actually finding out which ones they are. Good luck!!!

Pilot 1: A devoted family man turns out to be a career criminal specializing in high stake robbery's. His team of thrill seekers includes cold blooded murderers, wise cracking show girls and ex-cons. In the pilot, a major robbery of rare works of art goes awry and the lead questions the depth of his involvement in the underworld. The show had great special effects (explosions) and was directed beautifully, but the story was too disjointed and slow-moving for me to be completely engaged. I would give it an OK rating.

Upfront Mother

Mother’s day came and went and I tried as hard as I could to make it worry free fro my wife. It was tough as our littlest is pretty sick right now. The best part was watching old home movies of when she became a mom with our first. It’s always nice to remember, and made me so thankful all over again for everything that she does. On the professional front, all the execs around here are in New York for the Upfronts* It makes it a little quieter for everyone else, but since my boss is the executive director, and we are in charge of the executive affairs, we have to handle all the little things that come up like “so-and-so doesn’t have a room”, “I forgot my scissors”, “Where are we eating?” and we have to take care of it all here in LA. So far the Upfronts have been uneventful, but that’s because only the struggling NBC has announced their line-up** I am excited for Heroes though.

*Upfronts – when the individual networks announce what shows they will be picking up for the coming TV season and they are usually accompanied by last minute deals, lots of brown nosing and huge Dog-and-pony shows.

**Line-up – A networks TV schedule for the upcoming fall; what days and times different shows will be on.

San Diego

This picture didn't turn out half bad. But try to take pictures of dolphins jumping around the boat and this is what you get. Lots of splashes. I feel so inept. I guess I was never destined to become a nature photographer.On a side note, the president of our company was speaking about films and how they're made and why they're made and his exact words are "The goal of the Studio is to make money for our shareholders." Wow, he had no qualms in saying it. Forget entertainment value, artistic expression or even the employees for that matter....movies are all about the money.

The Slate

Last Thursday I went to "The Slate" where we got the inside scoop on the movies that are coming out. The best part was watching extended trailers of the movies and some that haven’t even come out yet. Poseidon looks a lot better than I had initially though. I’d been to all the sets and watched them film it last summer, but it came together really well. Definitely one to watch in the theaters. Happy Feet looks hilarious. It’s about penguins and their mating rituals which involve singing. However, the hero can’t seem to sing a lick, but can tap-dance up a storm. The Reaping looks a little to satanic for my taste and The Lake House could turn out to be a very promising romantic drama. The Lady in the Water pre-vis* trailer renewed my hope in the movie. Not only does some water-nymph end up in a pool, but supposedly, the door to “fairy tale land” has been thrown wide open letting in all the fairy tale creatures…which include the big bad wolf and other things that go bump in the night. In all it was good to get psyched about upcoming titles as well as for the studio. Other great titles that look promising are Fred Clause, We are Marshall, The Good German, The Departed and The Blood Diamond. I also found a great article about what it’s like trying to make it down here. Pretty insightful stuff, considering how mean it really is.

*pre-vis: meaning a very, very rough cut of film. Usually characters are not fleshed out and it has time code all over it, hasn't been color corrected and the sound hasn't been done.

Easter Beauty

Could he get any cuter! I love my squish. On the Hollywood front, I will be attending a "slate" meeting today where they overview the upcoming summer movie releases for the studio. I will be sure to report back any pertinent information.

Public Safety

A great part about my work is that they allow for emergency warden training. This involves First Aid, CPR, disaster relief and all kinds of things. We even got to dress in fireman's gear and put out some small fires. My wife thinks I look pretty hot as a fireman. The class was really good and was especially fascinating / morbid when we went over triage in mass accidents with multiple casualties. In all it was a great refresher course from my Boy Scout days. Yes, I was in Boy Scouts. Don’t laugh, I was pretty hot in a scout uniform too, just ask my wife.Another class member fighting the fire!

a common serf

I have decided to write, and to do so more frequently. My new job affords loads of possibilities for quirky stories as I am not dealing with the mundane tasks that I had before. I am now with the Television company under the studio and my job has become more…shall we say, secretarial. It’s because my boss is pretty old-school studio minded. She has me make coffee and get people on the phone for her. You heard me right; I make someone else’s coffee. I don’t even drink the stuff, it smells like burnt dirt. Oh well, I’m hoping this leads somewhere. It was a raise in pay and despite the eccentricities of the dept. I like what I do. If this doesn’t pan out, I am planning on being on Steven Spielberg’s new reality show that is attempting to find the “next big Hollywood director” Booyah!