Week one of the new TV gig is slowly coming to an end.
Yesterday was one of the craziest days this week — sitting in a room for over 13 hours with our Executive Producers, developing the entire series of the show in preparation of today’s pitch to the network. I was extremely pleased that (a) our Executive Producers are both friendly, generous and creatively-smart and (3.4b) that they’re open and courteous to other people’s thoughts.
I have had a lot of different experiences in entertainment jobs over the last few years and I have come to one conclusion about how I like to work. I like to work in situations where I have not been hired as a “Yes-Man” who agrees with every idea the Executives and the Network come up with. Instead, I have been lucky to work with people who hire me for my unique creativity and ideas and welcome an alternative point of view that sometimes challenges them. I don’t think I could work any other way.
In the end, you gotta be able to express your honest opinions or you’re gonna be annoyed all day long that you’re working on something that sucks the big one.
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I am looking forward to this weekend.
Tonight, I suspect I will end up collapsing on the floor and allowing my narcolepsy to take over. Tomorrow I’m heading out to a thing called The Paley Festival at the Director’s Guild Theater — Saturday night’s guests are the cast and producers of Joan of Arcadia. They sit up on stage and answer questions, tell you about their process and screen never before seen footage from the show. It’s a good learning experience, and someone I know happens to be involved in the show so I’m swinging by.
Sunday night is the Premiere of the 5th season of The Sopranos. Some of my friends actually cater this huge event every time the series premiere’s with tons of Italian food and TV’s everywhere – and you just show up and stuff your face with baked ziti and watch people get shot. It’s really the perfect marriage of tomato sauce and hemorraging.
Then Week Two begins. God help my soul.