decisions-decisions!

With just 2 1/2 weeks to go before the NETWORKS announce NEW SCHEDULES for 2012-2013 Primetime at the New York UPFRONTS, industry insiders are waging their bets.  This year it’s all about Soaps, Fish-out-of-Water-Starting-Over Themes, Workplace Comedies, Dysfunctional Families, Medical Settings, Cults, Westerns, Whatever… Now’s the time when Actors, Agents, Managers and Producers tune into the latest Gossip and Google News.

Wishing, Hoping and Watching –

Everyone has his/her own agenda, obvi – so you can’t really know if what you read and hear is accurate. Plus some pilots are just wrapping up now, so the jury’s still out. But, if history serves us right, some of the frontrunners will likely be on the new schedule. And sources like Nellie Andreeva at Deadline Hollywood do have a pretty good sense of what’s happening at this point, so I tend to pay attention to PRIMETIME PILOT PANIC: Early Buzz and PRIMETIME PILOT PANIC: Early Buzz Update.

BUZZ-WORTHY DRAMAS –

Drama contenders that keep showing up on all of the lists:  NBC’s  COUNTY (I’d love any project that includes Jason Katims and Jason Ritter); FOX’S KEVIN WILLIAMSON project with Kevin Bacon,; CBS’s ELEMENTARY; ABC’s THE GILDED LILYS; CW’s CULT, CARRIE DIARIES and ARROW.

FRONTRUNNERS IN COMEDY –

HA-HA Half-Hours: NBC’s ANIMAL KINGDOM, 1600 PENN, FRIDAY NIGHT DINNER; FOX’S REBOUNDING (Steve Levitan/Jason Winer – a winning combo), MINDY KALING medical office comedy, EL JEFE (Mercedes Ruehl /Ryan Hanson); CBS’s PARTNERS (3 X’s the charm for Mutchnick /Kohan); ABC’S HOW TO LIVE WITH YOUR PARENTS (Sarah Chalke), AMERICAN JUDY (I always love Judy Greer!)

Some shows are probably getting the message (wink-wink) that they can start staffing. Others have already gotten Early Season’s Orders like NBC’s Matthew Perry GO ON and ABC’s MISTRESSES.

Sooo many factors play into the decisions of the Network Execs –

• Star Power
• Producer Power
• Director Power
• Writer Power
• Diversity
• Studio Connection
• Audience Testing

Formal Announcements happen next month in New York. We’ll find out then which shows will be cancelled, which ones will get another chance and which new ones will be included in the lucky few.

2012 Broadcast Network Upfront Meetings

I’ll be secretly rooting for a Pilot I’ve got a guest role on, but I don’t want to jinx it, so I’m not going to say. We’ll all find out soon enough. Fingers crossed!

(For more on the contenders, check out “dev watch” on FUTON CRITIC!)

What kind of shows are you rooting for?

Friday 4-27-12 JUST IN….

Pilot Panic: 2nd Hot List Update  (my predictions are still tracking)

Thursday 5-3-12 As of today ….

Pilot Panic 3rd Hot List Update (many of my predictions are still looking good)

Monday 5-7-12 This week speculation will turn into actual news…

 PRIMETIME PILOT PANIC: Pre-Upfront Week Update

Liked that? Check out:

• Actors Keep Track: Pilot Season 2012
• Resolutions Revisited
• Programming My LIfe

Check out Ken Levine's Assessment: http://bit.ly/xV5Xfx

ACTORS! We’re insecure and yet we gravitate to the most insecure industry of all. Crazy!  And there’s so much to stress about  –

Aging | Looks | Relationships | Who’s Hot when you’re NOT | Keeping our Cool | Staying in the Mix | Timing.

PILOT SEASON: The ULTIMATE Test!

Well, here we are again at the beginning of Pilot Season. And this one is getting off to a slightly late start because Networks are still picking up Pilots… every day (and it’s almost February!) Nine Pilots were announced Friday! Half-hour Comedies are especially late — and I predict we’ll hear about a lot more pick-ups in the next couple of weeks, now that Comedies are back in a BIG-RATINGS-WAY.

I like to stay on top of what’s happening because it gives me something to discuss with my Agent before it’s too late.

PILOT PICK UPS – STAYING IN THE KNOW:

TV Tracker
It’s awesome! Expensive, but AWESOME, I subscribe to the daily alerts so I know when a Pilot has been picked up. I get an email alert with the logline, network, writer, producers and director for each project.

Deadline | Hollywood
They send out the emails for FREE, but they don’t contain all of the info in a concise way. Still, FREE is a big PLUS!

Futon Critic
You can go to the site to get the news releases.  But, I miss the old Futon Critic where they’d have Development Season Info by Network. I guess that’s a thing of the past.

To Know or Not To Know –

I love knowing that Great Minds I really respect (and would give anything to work with) like Jason Katims, Dick Wolf, David Kelley, Ryan Murphy, Greg Malins, Greg Berlanti, Kari Lizer and others are creating new shows that haven’t been cast yet — and that all of the Networks and Cable stations are looking for TALENT.

Look my way — please — I’m over here!

Some Actors stress about knowing. I can horriblize with the best of ‘em — TRUST ME —  but I actually like to know — especially at the beginning of Pilot Season because Opportunities give me hope – and I’m really big on HOPE!

I’m hoping to FIND THE FUNNY in front of a live Audience that laughs hysterically for 22 episodes… and then the HIT Series will be picked up again next year and the year after and the year after that… (and then I won’t have to go through Pilot Season again! ahahaha!)

F I N G E R S      C R O S S E D !

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• INFOLIST: Oh, the possibilities…

stay open to possibility

Yesterday I got a DM from a Twitter Follower asking why I didn’t do a “Happy New Year Resolution Post” again this year. Oops! What did I write last year? Feeling brave I took a look at my lofty 2011 goals to DO, BE and GIVE more!

So much easier said than done –

I won’t start with excuses. I really did try. Some things went better than others. You’ll see. Um, maybe we should go in reverse order:

GIVE MORE –

I’d say I’ve earned a B or B+ in Giving, because this is where I’ve made the biggest strides. I clocked sooo many extra hours in the ER as a Volunteer and I really showed up with my best attitude (seriously!) Okay-okay, so for those of you who can see right through me, yes, there’s an advantage to showing up more in the ER when a certain Dr. Crush is around. But still – I’ve really really committed to helping the people I’m supposed to help whether he’s there or not. Swear!

BE MORE –

This one’s rough, because I actually was a Working Actress (today I got The Descendants screener — so there!) but I haven’t worked in over a year (truthfully longer) so I feel like I’ve totally failed in this area. Sadly, in Acting, if you’re not working you feel like a Wannabe, and that’s kind’a where I’ve been residing for awhile… very unfortunately.  So in this department, I’d say I deserve a C-  and not an F because several very supportive Casting Directors are still calling me in. For some unknown reason, they still think I’ve got it (even though I’m afraid I’ve lost it.) I hope they’re better at convincing the Producers than I am. Sigh…

DO MORE –

I’m trying to be all about the DOORS: keeping them open – and walking through Doorways I’ve never walked through before. So I promised a Commercial Director (in my Sunday Yoga Class) that I’ll be in the edgy short he’s writing|directing|producing. Normally I’d be a little leery, because once it’s been shot, you wanna make sure it won’t shoot a hole in your career (what career?!) But I’m gonna keep the faith as I walk through that Doorway. And then there’s this Music Supervisor (a friend of a friend) who’s gonna teach me what he knows, since I’ve always loved music. Maybe I’ll intern for him if Pilot Season doesn’t work out the way I’m hoping.

But speaking of Pilot Season – I’m going to try really hard this year to NOT second-guess my Audition opportunities. If my representation thinks I can be a separated Siamese-Twin-who-becomes-the first-one-armed-Astronaut, I’ll totally commit. If they call me in to play an 18 year-old Coed, I’ll enthusiastically cheer. Or if they want me to be a mother-of-three, I’ll find that instinct. Whatever opportunities come my way, I’m going for them and NOT LOOKING BACK!

Because next year I want to be able to look my Resolutions squarely in the face and go –

Hoo-ah!

 (What resolutions did you follow through on? C’mon be honest now…)

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it'll take more than reading a book

My brain has been stuck on COMPUTERS this week. It started with the news reports about the high-tech-intelligence-gathering-Drone that ended up in Iranian hands, freaking everyone out!

JAMES BOND would know what to do –

What I don’t get is why in this day and age there isn’t a button the CIA can press that makes the Drone self-destruct. I’m certainly not a techie (obv!) but it seems very 007-101 to me.  And even if our team doesn’t want the Drone to explode in someone’s face, can’t they make it melt or something?

I mean — EVERYTHING seems do-able in computers these days… EVERYTHING! Our entire WORLD is computerized — everything except for MY LIFE – which gets me thinking…

What If…

… I could program MY LIFE like a MAC ?

I would -

• FORMAT my career, starting with me starring in a feature, directed by Jason Reitman, written by Diablo Cody!
• ZOOM IN on the best night of my life (before the “until…”)
• ZOOM OUT on the worst (after the “until”).
• INSERT myself into the cast of MODERN FAMILY (hint-hint, Steve Levitan).
• EDIT myself before I say a less-than-witty-thing in an Audition (like the one last month where the Casting Director actually turned RED after I spoke).
• PARENTAL CONTROLS I’d censor myself from some of my impulsive choices —  like doing-the-wrong-thing-in-the-wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time.
• UNDO my mistakes: like the career faux pas that sucked me into hospital hell!
• REBOOT – and get everything back to the way it was…

BUT… if I could control everything, some of the GOOD THINGS that come out of the bad would no longer be possible – like meeting Dr. Crush in a place I’d never go if I’d ever had a choice in the matter.

Maybe what MATTERS is what we make of the moments that don’t go RIGHT.  Sigh…

Oh well, I guess it’s a blessing I can’t channel STEVE JOBS,  ahaha!

(How would you computerize your life if you could?)

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• Finding our Way (with a little help from our friends)
• APPRECIATION Goes A Long Way

Am I in or out?

As an Actor my sense of self-worth is unfortunately tied to the attitude of the last Casting Director I’ve seen. Right now I’m not exactly in the find-the-funny-frame-of-mind, because in November and December when Auditions are so few-and-far-between, a low self-esteem period can seem endless and hopeless

VIBES FROM CASTING DIRECTORS

A lot of Casting Directors tend to put out negative vibes. I get the sense that if they could’ve been actors, well…they would’ve.  I don’t get a hugely creative vibe from the majority — which is kind of crazy, considering the job they’re setting out to do. Of course there are EXCEPTIONS, and once you do a good job for one, it’s likely that his/her attitude will shift from unnerving to something more encouraging.

WAITING FOR A SIGN

I always look to the CD after I’ve finished my read to see if I get silent feedback like a nod or a wink or a thumbs up, which does actually happen. They’re not really allowed to speak once the producers are in the room. It’s almost as if they’re also on trial at that point. So I find that I’m not the only one trying to impress the people in the room. And I feel this responsibility to the CD to show him/her off, in return for bringing me into the room in the first place.

At a recent Audition for a rather large role in a big studio comedy, I walked in, smiling enthusiastically –

I would love to play this part!

Then, from the Head of Casting  –

“Well, here’s your chance, with this tone in her voice that implied, It will NEVER happen!

That was fun.

Afterwards I mentioned to my Agent, that it was a really weird room and the next day we found out that the miserable woman had been fired.

So I’ve learned that it’s really not so much about me.  Of course when I get a good response from a CD, I’m elated all day. The next day however, when I haven’t heard any word about getting the job, well… that’s a different story.  Sigh…

(Now remind me again —  why did I think that becoming an Actor was a good idea?)

Liked that? Check out:

• Actors Keep Track: Pilot Season 2012
• Resolutions Revisited
• Programming My LIfe

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzI1hKz9i9E

Please don’t squash our egos. It makes us feel pretty rotten.

Ahaha!

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• Actors Keep Track: Pilot Season 2012

yess!

Two hours and fifteen minutes from now I’ve got a callback. It’s for a small, potentially pivotal part in good film. I love this script. I need this to happen. I’m prepared. Trying to psych myself up. Trying really hard to NOT think about how I’ll feel if I don’t get this. No. It’s time for some GOOD LUCK. I’ve done the work. I’ve gotten positive feedback. My agent says the CD is rooting for me.  I’m prepared. I’ve coached, rehearsed, centered myself and I’ve been a good person in the ER – that should count for something. Right?

For the last half hour I’ve candle-wished and distracted myself by researching “Good Luck Quotes” –

THINKING POSITIVELY –

•  “The day You decide to do it is your lucky day.”~ Japanese Proverb
• “Luck is believing you’re lucky.”~ Tennessee Williams
• “When it comes to luck, you make your own.”~ Bruce Springsteen
•  “Luck is what you have left over after you give 100 percent.”~ L. Coleman
• “I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.” ~ Thomas Jefferson
• “Luck is believing you’re lucky.”~ Tennessee Williams

Yay. It took me thirteen minutes to write this. Now it’s in two hours and two minutes. Think I’ll run through it again before I get dressed.

Fingers Crossed! Wish me luck!

Sigh…

Liked that? Check out:

• Resolutions Revisited
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• Finding our Way (with a little help from our friends)

What’s the meaning of MEANIES in our lives? We’ve all got ‘em. What do we do with them?

Mine is Briana the Bitch (the frenemy from hell) a resident in my ER who tells anyone who’ll listen not to trust me because I’m a “Man Eater!” Briana is stuck in the past. She may have a high IQ, but socially she’s still stuck in high school. Move on, girl, it’s 2011. Life doesn’t have to be AWKWARD! for the rest of our lives. Does it?

Today I hear about an even worse MEANIE from “Hottie,” an out-of-work TV Actress whose name I can’t divulge.  Hottie’s long-term Acting Coach, “Pushy” just turned into the DEVIL (the meanest of MEANIES!)

After the boundary-less Pushy’d wormed her way into Hottie’s professional and personal life, acting like her Coach/Mom/BFF/Therapist, she pushed Hottie too far when she told her to break up with her boyfriend.

“ENUFF! Hottie said, ” I’m going to break up with YOU instead!”

So Pushy, like a scorned lover, goes ballistic with 24/7 over-the-top, calls, texts and emails. Hottie blocks her. And Pushy takes it up several notches. She spreads RUMORS throughout the Industry that Hottie’s no longer acting because she had a NERVOUS BREAKDOWN! (F@#k!)

I ask Hottie if she’s gonna sue Pushy or at the very least have some hotshot Entertainment Attorney write a cease-and-desist, but Hottie doesn’t want to fan Pushy’s fire.  Hottie’s Manager says she’ll  “manage the situation.” So Hottie’s gonna take the HIGH ROAD. She’s focusing on being an Awesome Actress and getting LOTS OF WORK so she can prove Pushy wrong!

THE GOSSIP MEANIES IN OUR LIVES

Are they Insensitive or insane?

On medication or should they be?

Narcissistic or Nuts?

IS IT BETTER TO ENGAGE OR IGNORE?

Is their GOSSIP destructive or do others see it as “DRAMA?”

Gossip Meanies mess with our heads, our reputations and our ability to focus on what’s important.  Avoiding the DRAMA might be the best way to deal with these HEARSAY HUSSIES!

People seem turned-off by DRAMA these day, anyway.  TV Dramas are getting cancelled all over the place and COMEDIES are where it’s at.

So let’s all try to FIND THE FUNNY when it comes to the Meanies in our lives. If we can laugh at these LOSERS  the PATHETIC PUSHIES  of the world will lose their POWER!

(What Meanies mess with your life? What do you plan do about it?)

Liked that? Check out:

• Finding our Way (with a little help from our friends)
• APPRECIATION Goes A Long Way
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SOOOOO many shows! Not enough time to watch them all. But here are two getting a lot of BUZZZZZ…

funny femmes

TWO BROKE GIRLS

With the exception of THE GOOD WIFE, CBS isn’t a network I usually watch a lot. But this season I’m tuning in more now that Ashton has gotten me hooked on TWO AND A HALF MEN, followed by a new fave-in-the-making: TWO BROKE GIRLS. 

Watching Kate Dennings (Max) and Beth Behrs (Caroline) bounce lines off of each other is like watching a great game of tennis, with both athletes playing at the top of their game.  Max’s tough cookie with a heart of mush takes pity on Caroline the homeless heiress with a passion for positivity (my mom would love her!)

The writing from Michael Patrick King and Whitney Cummings is smart, fresh and racy without making you go Euuww!! (“If she were a les, she’s be the last les-I’d–be-in”) It’s very modern and real. And with the exception of the horse jokes (which might get crappy – 2^nd show spoiler alert!) this show has REAL STAYING POWER! Yes!

I give it  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

too much quirk?

NEW GIRL

I really couldn’t wait to watch NEW GIRL, because I love  Zooey Deschanel sooo much (500 DAYS OF SUMMER is in my top 10!) And I’m usually pretty crazy about Liz (she’s apparently calling herself Elizabeth now) Meriwether’s writing.

I read for Liz Meriwether’s NO STRINGS ATTACHED (when it was called FUCK BUDDIES) and I loved the pilot SLUTS,  both of which were more BRIDESMADE-ish and female Appatow-ish in humor than NEW GIRL (the pilot at least).

My guess is that the network and studio execs had a lot to do with the final cut of the NEW GIRL, because it seemed much tamer and set-up-set-up-joke-y than Meriwether’s previous scripts.

Deschanel as “Jess” is lovable as expected. The GUY characters however seem over-the-topish-big and dumbed-down to me, but maybe my expectations were too high (that tends to happen when it comes to guys in general.)

Still,  Zooey Deschanel rarely gets it wrong, so I’m gonna stick with this show to see where she takes it.

I give it  ♥ ♥ ♥

TWO BROKE GIRLS and NEW GIRL were in the top six rated shows for 18-49 during premiere week. So audiences are FINDING THE FUNNY in female-driven comedies and that’s VERY GOOD NEWS (especially for female comedy actors— like me for instance). Uh huh, uh huh!

Which shows make you laugh? Which make you barf? Please share in the comments, thanks : )

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Emmy - What if?

Here’s the deal. I (like probably every Actor on earth) have an AWARD SPEECH playing and rewinding in my brain, ready for the BIG MOMENT.  Revisions occur regularly after the OSCARS, EMMYS and SAG AWARDS  each year and of course any time I’m about to get a BIG BREAK that’ll TOTALLY CHANGE MY CAREER! (Sound familiar fellow-Actors?)

Naturally I pay close attention to what works (luv’d Ty Burrell‘s “Tight Genes”speech) , what falls flat and what touches people (hi-five to Guy Pearce for inserting the raciest touch!) If the acceptance speech elicits laughs and tears it’s probably a good one, right?

Here’s my current list to thank, but I’m still working on it. Luckily or unfortunately (depending on how you look at it, MOM!) I’ve got time to tweak it, revise it and hone it. And FYI I think it’s a total waste of the clicking clock to keep repeating the words, “And I want to” thank…  So I’m planning on keeping it in the present tense, to reduce my word count and show more appreciation.  Also, if we’re talking about peeves, I’m getting a little bored with “I didn’t think I’d win, so I didn’t plan a speech” — Come on! Everyone imagines “what if?” otherwise YTF are we waxing,  juice cleansing, botoxing, highlighting, training, boxing, running, spinning and ohmming?

Who I’d thank in my Emmy Award Speech

T H A N K    Y O U:

• SUPER DAD for cheering me on every step and for believing in me when I didn’t believe in myself –
• JOSH – for sticking with me when everyone else thought I’d blown it –
• WILL Wannabe — if you hadn’t left me when I was down, I wouldn’t've learned how to reach higher –
• CHARLAYNE for forcing me to get my real act together –
• MIRA for selfless lessons, you rock! –
• NILES – OMG – for being my girlfriend, hairstylist and therapist–
• OLIVIA – for knowing there was so much more and teaching me how to access it — and…
• DR. A — Well you know, why you’re on this list –Oops!  Okay, I’ll keep it private (wink) –

Noooo! STOP the music!  I’m not done yet — Really! PLEASE STOP!

Thank you… Mom… for all of your signs to FIND THE FUNNY through the madness and missteps and for giving me COURAGE (gulp!) to deliver the MAGIC –

Mom, this one’s for YOU!

(If you got an award who would you thank? Please let me know in the comments.)

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