Back from NYC and Web-series news...

I got back from my trip to New York City just a few days ago. As always, I had a blast there in the Big Apple. Yes, it was cold and rainy, but hey, I love that sort of thing. I met with some friends, ate some good food, did a LOT of walking, took pictures, and just soaked up the atmosphere of that great, great town. (Nothing like NYC just before the Christmas holidays!) I also brought along a script I've been polishing and got most of it done. So, a truly fab trip.

Web-series news:

So I met a young actress this past summer. She told me how she wanted to do a project that could showcase her talents. I told her a Web-series might be a good way to go. I figured I could write up a handful of episodes, then we could shoot them and put them up on the Net and see what kind of response we got. If people seem to dig it, then we could do more episodes. If nobody watches (a very distinct possibility), then we haven’t wasted much time or money getting those initial episodes created. My young actress friend agreed.

I saw this young lady as the cute, comedic type. Not glamorous, not necessarily “hot” and sexy (though she’s certainly attractive and cute); no, I definitely saw her as more of the funny, quirky type. So I pitched her an idea that I (coincidentally!) had kicking around in my brain for a few months. There just happened to be the perfect role for her. She’d play the quirky, funny best friend of the male lead. She really liked my pitch, loved the character I had in mind for her, and said she’d love to read the script when I had it completed.

So I took a few weeks and wrote several episodes. The actress loved what I wrote. She then contacted a young (well, younger than me) director/producer she knew and sent him the script. He really liked the script, too. The three of us had a meeting. Good meeting. Lots of great ideas tossed around, each of us in total sync. So we all shook hands and the director started putting a crew together. He also started the casting process. In fact, we’re having auditions all day tomorrow. From what I’ve been told, the response to the casting notice was quite high, so it should be a fun and interesting day. Always a thrill having actors bring on-the-page characters to life.

I’m not sure where any of this will go. I’m hoping people respond to this Web series once we put it out there. If not, well, I’m really enjoying the process, really enjoying working with smart, enthusiastic, talented people. For me, that’s a big part of why I’m in this business. I’ll keep ya posted.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Funnily enough, I am in the process of working on a similar project. We just filmed the first four episodes, and will be looking to release it sometime in the spring 2009. I'd been meaning to contact you regarding it after your last post; I gave up my job to pursue writing in the summer, so it's the first big project that has come from my writing. Going through the process of casting and shooting has been brilliant so far ...

Jim Vines said...

Great, Mike! Keep us posted on your Web-series. Best of luck!