Lessons from The Big Guys

Its been a crazy year with lots of pitches. I am finally seeing some results from my hard work. I have pitched my way all over Hollywood - meeting with some of the best and brightest Executives in town. We pitched last week in NYC at A&E and TruTv and LA for NBC. Now, its back to LA and set for another two big meetings today and tomorrow.

One great lesson that I learned this past month. I've created lots of shows over the past two years and learned a lot from the Talent. When creating a show around a talent you MUST make sure you do one thing with your Shop and Pitch Agreement...make sure that you have your talent sign an agreement that is longer than three months with a clause that will cover you when you are in the middle of pitching!

See the problem with Reality TV is you are dealing with newly found talent and they don't necessarily know our industry. They might think they know. They don't realize that any pitch takes time to move up the ranks and get a green light to start production. There are so many roadblocks, that you could never imagine. Russell Simmons has a great story about this very subject. I have blogged about him in past blogs. He states in his book "Do You!" how long he fought for MTV to take a chance with "Runs House," which did end up on MTV. BUT they told him NO over and over again - and he fought hard for his project and he believed in it 100%. He worked hard to get the end result - a show on the AIR!

What I got was "something should have happened by now." Mind you we pitched two weeks ago. Sometimes people are their own worst enemies. This business is all about who you know, who likes you and is your stuff good and LUCK! Glenn Larson, who had like nine series on the air at once once told me that there are so many factors that go into getting a show on the air. (From IMDB: Glen A. Larson is the man behind some of the world's best known primetime shows. His highly successful productions (successful both financially and popularly, less often critically!) include "Knight Rider" (1982), "The Fall Guy" (1981), "Battlestar Galactica"(1978), and "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century", "Knight Rider" (1982) and "Magnum, P.I." (1980). His venture "One West Waikiki".) He said "There are lots of office politics and you have to have LUCK on your side! It isn't just one factor like a good show that will get it on the air." So, for anyone who thinks that they will land a show with one pitch is crazy. You have to pound the pavement and you are going to get a lot of Passes or No's before you get a YES. And look - you can even get a YES and then someone up above changes their mind and says NO! You could even have a check in your hand - and shows in the can - and they still cancel it!

Everything takes time. Nothing happens over night in Hollywood. Patience is your friend. Having good Producers pitching you is also key. And Producers who know everyone in town is even better!

Is Success is a Formula?

I got to thinking about Success and what makes people successful. I feel like its a formula. There is a big difference between people who achieve and people who don't. People who achieve approach things differently than those that don't. They also use lots of common sense, are consistent, have confidence and most importantly - they have PERSISTENCE. And they won't be defeated.

I think about what I am doing and how persistent I have been with my pitching, development of a concept into a show, networking, meetings - and then there is TIMING. I am a true believer in being in the right place at the right time with the right idea. I am also a big believer in listening to your inner voice; its telling you something. If you feel you should jump on something you should do it right away. For instance, when Sony asked me for a my Promoter package and said on a Monday that they needed it for their next week's Monday meeting, I jammed to get it all together. I had it in their hands at 5:45 PM Friday night. Hand delivered. If you feel you should hold out for a better deal, then hold out for a better deal. For instance, one of my partners and I pitched a great show (which seems to be a popular concept) and we made a deal. The deal went through our lawyers and the production company's business affairs department only to come back with a number that was insulting. As a Producer, I could have worked on a show as a Producer and made better money. So we decided to hold out for a better opportunity. Look at us now, we have OWN interested.

Winners are made. I mean look at Oprah. Her first job was a reporter for radio in Nashville, TN. Martha catered a party for her husband's publishing company. After the party, they offered her a book deal - for a book about catering! We all start somewhere. Oprah and Martha kept going, they were persistent. If you have a good product or a good idea or a good show or a great brand, people will tell you. And if you don't believe in you who will?

The company Lillian Vernon, was started in 1952 by a woman named Lillian Hochberg. It sold for millions and millions of dollars. Lillian said that she was persistent and she never listened to the naysayers. Lots of successful people make the same claim. I have talked about it in past blogs. If you have good ideas and people tell you, keep at it. Keep going. Sometimes it gets bad before it even gets good.

I would love to hear about success and if you think that there is a formula to it? I know that its just a matter of time with all of my great meetings and great ideas and great talent - that a show will be sold. Its hard work. Its a lot of time. Its a lot of networking. Its a lot of meetings...in an uncertain economy too but I know my team will make it happen!!

The State of Hollywood

Most people in Hollywood right now are seeing RED. I'm not talking about the pretty red tulips above either. After weekly pitching for the last year, what I'm finding is that Networks don't want to spend money right now.

We have lots of interest in our projects but no real money offered up front at all. We have development deals with no money, and I think those days of getting money up front are over. Networks are really going to be very careful about what they pick up from here on out. There are fewer and fewer pilots being shot and even fewer reality shows being picked up as well. BUT there is work out there. And there are Networks still buying concepts and shows! Until I have a solid contract and check in my hand I am going to continue to pound the pavement and pitch!

I recently did a great Media panel in front of members of the National Speakers Association. I got to hear lots of pitches. These pitches ranged from experts pitching themselves, people with a new product pitching the product, and people pitching ideas like reality shows. In general, I really feel like people think that pitching a reality show is easy. Its not. And there is a lot of competition out there. And not to mention the fact that if yours isn't clever and different, its probably already been pitched a hundred times already!

From what I have seen - people just don't do their homework. There is no hook, no substance, and it doesn't differ from anything else on the market. I had a gentleman show me his three pitches on reality shows that centered around the job market. He told me he went out pitching them with a known producer in town and wondered why he got a no thank you. I was shocked that he hadn't done any homework to see if there was anything else currently out there like it on the market. I was also horrified that within his three paragraphs about the show, I still couldn't figure out exactly what the show was about! Really?

When we put our shows together we research, test, talk about, discuss with networks about what they are looking for, finding something unique every time we even think about taking something out into the marketplace. I consistently coffee with key players in the industry and run new ideas by them, if I don't get a "that's fresh," I know there won't be an interest to take it further.

Red Flags

Red Flags. In this business you have to learn quickly just when to say when. A red flag may pop up at any time and you don't even realize that it is and its TOO LATE! What is a red flag?

I am glad you asked. A red flag is a warning. A red flag alerts one that danger is ahead, looming, very close and for the body and mind to take notice and fast. One should take note when more than one flag waves. Red flags have been used since the 15th century when the "red flag" was used as a "flag of defiance."It was raised in cities and castles under siege to indicate that they would not surrender. The color red became associated with patriotism early in the French Revolution. Did you know that the United States has some state laws that forbid flying a red flag (OK, MN, SD), where it is a felony with a possible 10 year prison sentence and a $1,000 fine to fly one.

A red flag in motor sports is used to stop either a practice session or a race due to conditions been considered too dangerous. A red flag waiving while someone is boating and taking part in water sports signifies "man down in the water." There are also red flags that a therapist will talk about when "sensing danger within relationships."

You are probably wondering what the hell it is I am getting at about "Red Flags and Pitching TV Shows." I am so glad that you asked. A red flag in the pitching process always raises "questions" and is a good indication that things are not right or there will be some sort of problem that WILL come up - if you don't do something about it and fast! You really have to have a trained ear to listen to what people are saying and doing, these are clues and are a good indication of RED FLAGS, waving all over the friggin place!

Here are two big things to consider up front to spotting red flags in the starting stages of the pitching process.

1. Talent. If you have trouble right off the bat with talent who won't sign a basic pitching agreement or can't commit to meetings or doing the work that it takes to be part of a team...then you better think twice about going out to pitch a show with them attached. Lots of changes to a basic agreement up front can signal huge troubles, later down the road. I say really consider the talent as a whole and assess whether or not making a show with them will be effortless and easy. If you get a red flag up front, follow your instincts and cut the cord.

2. Body Language. This is good to observe during a pitch. You can tell a lot about the mood of the executive and the room just by observing the way they are sitting in the chair, expressions on their faces, are they tense, bored, happy...take notes and adjust your pitch accordingly - you only have a small window of time to blow them away, so if you see "funny body language" its a red flag.

3. No's. If two or more companies give you a NO, its a red flag. Find out why. Was it because it was a bad idea? Good idea but they didn't like the talent? Loved the pitch but have something similar in development? Its in your best interest to find out more details than the NO. Then you can decide whether or not to continue pitching or not. If you do continue and decide that its just your pitch you need to refine then OK. BUT its a good idea to get all the red flags out of the way before you hit any of the big players. If you are not sure about the pitch, pitch some of the smaller companies and use their feedback to get all of your red flags out of the way!

Learn to spot your red flags quickly.

I have learned that projects that are effortless, are usually the projects that GO...