Here's my advice to my friends at HBO.
Yes, we pitched Sons of Anarchy to you first.
Yes, we left your pitch meeting scratching our heads, wondering if the executive who was yawning, staring at her watch, putting her feet up on the table, and sighing exasperatedly was somehow testing our resolve; seeing if we were indeed more than just TV, were we HBO?
Yes, we sold the show to FX.
Yes, you liked our pitch so much you went out and found your own.
Yes, you made a pilot and ordered scripts.
Yes, we will be on the air months before you.
Many people are wondering -- what you will do?
Is there room for two outlaw motorcycle shows?
Should you make 1%?
I say -- yes, yes, yes.
It's a big, rich fascinating world.
Spend some of that endless HBO coin.
Join the motherfuckin' ride.
I don't know much about your show other than what I've read in the trades ( really good things) and what I've heard in certain MC circles (really bad things). I know you have an extremely talented cast. I love Donal Logue. Wanted him for our show. Didn't have the money and clout to get him out of his previous deal. You did, you're fucking HBO, man.
Based on the loglines I've read, it sounds like the bikers of 1% are a group of meth-cooking under-achievers, a pack of Hells Angels Sweat Hogs and Donal Logue's character is the bad-ass Mr. Kotter. And with the great comic power of that cast -- Logue, Abe Benrubi, James LeGros, Kim Dickens, W. Earl Brown and Lucy Punch -- I'm assuming the series will have a more comedic bent.
It's really a win-win situation for you folks at HBO. If our show is a success, audiences will be excited about the world. There will be buzz and an appetite for outlaw motorcycle culture. As long as 1% delivers a unique tone and a different POV of the world, HBO wins. And if our show tanks, 1% has the opportunity to be the take on the MC world that works. And if both shows are successful we feed off of each other. We all win.
I smell a season three cross-over episode.
All snarkiness aside, I do believe that audiences will be open to multiple shows on the genre. They always have been. People don't fall in love with a show, they fall in love with the characters. If you populate shows with rich, complex characters, people will show up to watch their journeys. It doesn't matter how many other shows visit the same theme, doesn't matter if their riding Harleys or Vespas, doesn't matter if they're on FX or HGTV.
In fact, I'm sure Fox, ABC, NBC and CBS all have outlaw motorcycle projects in the works. Can you say CSI Sturgis?
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
WHY HBO SHOULD MAKE ONE PERCENT
Here's my advice to my friends at HBO.
Yes, we pitched Sons of Anarchy to you first.
Yes, we left your pitch meeting scratching our heads, wondering if the executive who was yawning, staring at her watch, putting her feet up on the table, and sighing exasperatedly was somehow testing our resolve; seeing if we were indeed more than just TV, were we HBO?
Yes, we sold the show to FX.
Yes, you liked our pitch so much you went out and found your own.
Yes, you made a pilot and ordered scripts.
Yes, we will be on the air months before you.
Many people are wondering -- what you will do?
Is there room for two outlaw motorcycle shows?
Should you make 1%?
I say -- yes, yes, yes.
It's a big, rich fascinating world.
Spend some of that endless HBO coin.
Join the motherfuckin' ride.
I don't know much about your show other than what I've read in the trades ( really good things) and what I've heard in certain MC circles (really bad things). I know you have an extremely talented cast. I love Donal Logue. Wanted him for our show. Didn't have the money and clout to get him out of his previous deal. You did, you're fucking HBO, man.
Based on the loglines I've read, it sounds like the bikers of 1% are a group of meth-cooking under-achievers, a pack of Hells Angels Sweat Hogs and Donal Logue's character is the bad-ass Mr. Kotter. And with the great comic power of that cast -- Logue, Abe Benrubi, James LeGros, Kim Dickens, W. Earl Brown and Lucy Punch -- I'm assuming the series will have a more comedic bent.
It's really a win-win situation for you folks at HBO. If our show is a success, audiences will be excited about the world. There will be buzz and an appetite for outlaw motorcycle culture. As long as 1% delivers a unique tone and a different POV of the world, HBO wins. And if our show tanks, 1% has the opportunity to be the take on the MC world that works. And if both shows are successful we feed off of each other. We all win.
I smell a season three cross-over episode.
All snarkiness aside, I do believe that audiences will be open to multiple shows on the genre. They always have been. People don't fall in love with a show, they fall in love with the characters. If you populate shows with rich, complex characters, people will show up to watch their journeys. It doesn't matter how many other shows visit the same theme, doesn't matter if their riding Harleys or Vespas, doesn't matter if they're on FX or HGTV.
In fact, I'm sure Fox, ABC, NBC and CBS all have outlaw motorcycle projects in the works. Can you say CSI Sturgis?
TCA
Television Critics Association. I think the panel went well. Reporters and Bloggers asked pretty insightful questions. Bunch of links below. My favorite is the guy who said I looked like one of the Hanson brothers from Slap Shot. Who, interestingly enough are my fashion role models.
Daily News
Boston Herald
Out in Hollywood
Diane Werts
Star Telegram
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