MEETINGS WITH MAJOR TV COMPANIES & THE EMMYS

Hey all,

I've been to LA from 8-23-06 to 8-28-06. Now I'm resting and getting back into the groove.

I gained a lot of good info about filmmaking in July and now the TV biz in August. But the organization and professionalism (or lack thereof) of the Sherwood Oaks Experiemental College that offered the meetings leaves a lot to be desired. Speaking for myself, I won't contract Sherwood Oaks' services again.

Day 1
I arrived in LA and explored Little Tokyo for a bit before bunking down in my cousins' place in Van Nuys.

Day 2
I met with my group in the Cyber Cafe in Hollywood at 9:30 A. It was a mix of ScriptForSale and Sherwood Oaks people: a range of serious writers and raw newbies.

At 10 A, we met with a manager at the Wilshire Screening Room, who told us her take on dealing with film & TV clients. Nice person.

From 11 A to 5 P, we were at Fox Studios, where a bunch of execs talked about everything from show development to staffing season. Very enlightening. A random person snagged into speaking to us was Hugh Laurie of HOUSE. Funny guy. I'll have to watch his show some time.

We ate for a bit at the Kate Mantilini Restaurant before going to the WGA Primetime Emmys at the WGA Theater. It went from 7 to 9:30 P or so. Dennis Miller moderated the writers' panel. He was a pistol.

Day 3
My group went to Universal Studios, where we met with writers from a few shows. Michael Reaves was supposed to come, but he didn't.
:-(

Bradley Thompson and David Weddle from BATTLESTAR GALACTICA were great. If there was one show that would tempt me to enter TV, that would be it. But I'm sticking with fiction and feature film.

It was a short day from 10 to 4 P. :-)

I invited a few people to join me in a salsa club, but they wanted to stay in their hotel rooms and write. I went alone and learned some steps with a couple of partners before calling it a night. Ole!

Day 4
Before heading off to my meetings, my cousin unexpectedly gave me 2-3 copies each of the June 26, 2006, Hollywood Reporter and July 7, 2006, Variety Entertainment magazine editions. She got 'em through her Universal Studio events planning office becuz they both contained press releases announcing the results of this year's UCLA screenwriting contest in which my Chinese Joan of Arc script was a winner. Nice doesn't begin to describe my cousin.

After I picked up some people, who needed a ride, we joined the rest of the group at the Four Seasons Hotel, where we met with agents and managers, who gave us more of the same information. I saw Marshall Flinckman of ALIAS chatting in a lounge. The actor didn't seem as interesting as the character.

Some people were crashing from information overload and/or jet lag. But I was OK.

Things lasted from 10 to 6 P. We could've gotten out earlier, but Gary Shusett, the Sherwood Oaks organizer, was obsessed with cramming as many people into the meetings as he could. He also tried selling tickets to an HBO Emmys party on the spot, asking for $300 and then $250 in cold cash.

No one had the extra money to spend.

Day 5
Several, but not all of my group gathered in the hotel lobby to go to the Emmys via limo. Other people showed up, who were there just to go to the Emmys.

Two limos came, but one was a humvee model that was too big to enter the drive thru of the theater hosting the Emmys. Gary asked some people to forfeit a spot on a limo to ride in a person's car because there wasn't enough space. Eventually, some one day people volunteered.

Most of us who'd gone to the conferences got into the regular-sized limo and were driven to the Emmys. The rest went into the humvee and were stopped 4-5 blocks away at which point they walked the rest of the way to the theater.

As my group entered the theater, we went by crowds of fans who were screaming everytime they saw an actor or other celeb. Entertainment Tonight and E reporters were about with their mikes and camera crews. I can't say I was caught up in all the celebrity worship.

We made our way to our seats high up in the theater. Conan O'Brian started things off with a skit going through LOST, THE OFFICE, 24, SOUTH PARK, and some other shows, topping it off with a vaudeville dance routine.

Things dragged from there for the next 3 hours.

The award presentations were stretched out with commercial breaks for TV. People stepped out to buy food and drinks and/or gaze at any stars walking about randomly.

From what I learned afterwards, hardly anyone watched the Emmys on TV. I can't blame 'em. It's an event for TV insiders being foisted on the general public.

When the Emmys finally wound down at about 9 P, most of my group reassembled outside and called up the limo driver to pick us up. Gary found us, though, and had us cool our heels outside the theater for another hour while he went into a party to give us the opportunity to chat for a few seconds with some stars. About 2-3 came out eventually, and a few rushed to have their pictures taken with 'em before they hurried away. Gary finally said it'd be OK for us to leave. It was after 10 P by then.

A person in our limo, who had the driver's cell phone number, organized the limo recall. We went in the regular-sized limo to where the humvee limo was waiting, then piled into that and went back to the hotel. The regular-sized limo went to retrieve the rest at the theater.

After snacking at the hotel, I went back to my cousin's at 11 P to pack up and catch a lil' shut eye for my flight back.

The Emmys was certainly an experience. Just not the kind I'd expected and will not repeat.

Anyhow, I'm back and wiser.

A tout a l'heure as they say par francais.