TV Animation pitching

Sorry I haven't written sooner, been a busy year. But busy is good, right? So this year I've gotten to pitch to a Cartoon Network producer. Being that I have a 9-year-old son, the thought of writing cartoons is awesome to me! Maybe it would be awesome to anyone. But especially to me because I watch them more frequently at this point in my life than probably...ever. So, last year a Cartoon Network producer came up to me at a chamber meeting for our area after I mentioned I was working with a high-profile producer. She said she'd love to meet and hear ideas. So it took all year to finally get together. I thought I'd pitch her rough ideas, sort of like what I do when I have a general meeting with feature film producers. Well, guess what. That's not how the cartoon world works! At least not in TV. So I'm going to share with you what I learned, so that if you're ever in this position, you know what to pitch. Luckily the producer I met with was so nice and happy to school me in what I should have pitched. She told me that the lead character is king in the TV animation world. A logline is fine, but they really want to hear who that lead character is and why we would spend week after week with that character. Makes sense. They also want to know the world they're in and how it's unique. And, it's got to be a boy lead character. No boys want to watch girl leads. My son is living proof of that! And the idea has to be out there. Way out there. Some ideas that are doing well right now are Regular Show and  Adventure Time. Anything like that, kind of different and funny will do well in today's market. So, now I know that. And now you know. So I'm coming up with more ideas and then pitching to the producer again. I have come up with a bunch of ideas I'm already loving. Hoping you can too!

Do you push past your fears?

You may not realize it, but every single person in power has most likely faced their fears. I don't know each and every one of them. But I do know what it feels like when I get past my comfort zone and push past my fears. From what I've read in books on people who reach their success, they all go through that. So are you pushing past your fears or are you letting them take over and filling your life with regret? My feeling is that life is too short. That if we don't go after the dreams we have for our life, then what is the point? I got a message email today from one of my favorite spiritual authors, Neale Donald Walsch, about fear and this was his take. "...that fears are nothing more than states of mind. Napoleon Hill said that, and he was right. The moment you move into fear over something ask yourself, "Why am I making this real? What is there inside of me that drives me to do this?" There is a huge difference between fear and caution. Caution moves forward with care, fear stands still, paralyzed. Avoid paralysis at all cost. It is not good for the soul -- and it gets you nowhere". So if this is true, then when we fear having a meeting with a high-powered producer, even though we may feel paralyzed with fear, nothing bad is going to happen to us. It's not like we're putting ourselves in danger or harm's way. So we just need to push past that. Even just this weekend a friend of mine at one of the TV studios wanted to ask for a promotion. The person she was approaching was kind of outside of protocol. But in order to get the promotion she was going to have to do this if she really wanted to succeed. She risked getting fired if the person she went to also agreed what she did was not kosher. There were people at her work warning her it was a mistake. But my take was that these people were jealous. Because they were making her feel insecure. (Remember a previous post about when writers are jealous? This has to do with that, even though it wasn't a writer). This whole ordeal was making my friend sick to her stomach and she almost decided not to do it at all. She felt paralyzed by her fear! But I let her know, it was nothing but fear. It wasn't a real danger. That she was meant to go after this career or she wouldn't be having the passion for it. So I told her, she had to have the meeting. She did. And the head person could not have been happier! She's open to hearing exactly where she sees her career going. It's going to turn into a discussion about what my friend wants, but she's on her way! I've had my own numerous times of fear, each and every time I've had pitch meetings, or phone calls with producers, or lunch meetings. Each time they get easier and I'm sure eventually they won't be a big deal. But right now, to me, they are. But I acknowledge my fear and I push through it. I just say, okay, there's that fear trying to stop me. I'm not going to let it! And then I go on my way. I've seen other writers who have let it get in the way. They don't know they are. But they sabotage every opportunity that comes their way. They end up spinning their wheels for opportunities that are easier and don't lead any where. And they can't understand why they don't have true success. But it's fear! They would much rather do something with less success possibility because it keeps the fear at a minimum. But then they will be living life with regret. And that's no life! So go after what you want. Face your fear! And before you know it, you'll be living you dreams!

Tonight I stumbled upon an article by Lisa Selow on the website healyourlife.com. She talks to women about following their own destiny, but really, as writers, I feel like this can be meant for all of us. This was the year that I decided not to care as much if my friends didn't see me. This was the year where I finally said "no" to volunteering for everything my son was signed up for. This is the year where I put my writing first! Because that's my destiny and if I don't put it first, no one else will. A lot of what Lisa writes about is being a really positive person in all aspects of life and well, that's who I am too. But I think when you decide to be that way, you're already feeling so positive about the world, that it's easier to be self-loving and treat yourself better. I'm sure I have more wiggle room to keep putting my writing first. I do fall back into old ways where my mommy guilt gets in the way and I start to feel like I need to entertain my son instead of write and let him be the self-sufficient 9-year-old that he is. But it's a balance. Being a writer and having personal relationships isn't easy. The right amount of time we balance between spending it with our fictional characters and the real ones that love us. It's not easy. But I'm guessing the more we work at it, the better we'll get. So here's Lisa's article for anyone who's interested. I hope you enjoy it like I did. http://www.healyourlife.com/author-lisa-selow/2012/11/wisdom/personal-growth/rebel-with-a-cause

The Power Really works, again!

Okay, this is my third post about listening to the book The Secret: The Power. I've been waiting to get notes from a really powerful film producer for a couple months. We've been in touch, but he's been busy on productions. But I've been in gratitude and "love" for everything in my life this whole week. And so, guess when I heard from him? Today. Because I've been in gratitude -- all week! Okay, again, you might want to say no, that isn't why. But so far, I've had several freelance gigs come my way. And the producer I want to get notes from, is ready to talk to me about a new idea I have. All I'm saying, is it's looking like this whole gratitude thing is working for me! Sorry if I sound like a broken record. But I'm really hoping you already bought this book already! If not, what are you waiting for???

The Power works!

Okay two posts ago I mentioned that I was listening to the CD The Secret: The Power, but the author of the Secret. In it it says you must or should say all the things you love all day long in order to manifest success and money. So, today was my first day to do it. And guess what? I booked two freelance writing gigs! Both back-to-back calls! They both wanted me tomorrow, but one was willing to wait till Friday, the first day I was available. Okay, so, let's pretend it wasn't the book. Let's pretend. But I don't know. My first day and I book not even one gig, but two! All I'm saying is you must try it. There's no down side to being thankful for all the great things you see in your world. And perhaps, it just might manifest the success and money you are looking for. I wish you well!

Who's making a kids movie???

I have a nine-year-old son. So we see a lot of the animated movies that come out. For the most part, they're really good. The occasional stinkard comes out and we pass it up. But once in awhile a kid's movie comes out and it's directed/produced/written by the last person on earth that should be directing a kid's movie. Now I know, if you have power in Hollywood you can do anything you want. But I really do think someone needs to tell these people, "You can't direct this movie! You don't understand kids!" For instance, Speed Racer. Yes, I love the Wachowski team. I was mesmerized by the Matrix and left the theater in awe of them. But Speed Racer? I took my son when he was six years old. It was rated PG so I thought, how bad can it be??? There was nothing resembling the Speed Racer TV show I loved. It was all CGI effects with not much of a story line that was worth following. I'm sure in their mind it was exactly what they had hoped for. But the fact that it was aimed at kids too. Really??? The amount of cursing. The amount of violence. Please, make it a PG 13! My son was bored out of his mind and asked to leave 20 minutes into it. I was more than happy as no way did I want to subject my son to this. And if the story line was good, if the effects at all resembled my favorite childhood cartoon and not some futuristic race car world, then yes, I would have kept him and covered his eyes. Now this year is the holiday movie Rise of the Guardians, directed by Guillermo del Toro. He wrote Pan's Labyrinth which was one of my favorite dark movies of all time! Brilliant from start to finish. But Rise of the Guardians? Taken from the article written on deadline.com "$32.6M domestic box office for the five-day Thanksgiving holiday made it, in Janney Capital Markets’ Tony Wible’s words, “one of the most disappointing releases in the company’s history.”" Okay, my son could have predicted this. And in fact, did. When he saw the previews he said, "We are not going to see that. That does not look good." And when I saw the animation for it, I agreed. I could tell it was not geared toward any children I knew. So what gives? Yes Guillermo also worked on Kung Fu Panda 2 which my son and I loved. But maybe because it was already a strong franchise, he handled that well. But he also did Puss And Boots which again, my son had no desire to see! So what gives Hollywood? Why do you allow people like Guillermo and Wachowski to do children's movies when there are obviously so many other talented folks in Hollywood that will know how to appeal to kids? I'm not sure what the answer is. Other than to have Hollywood stand up to these successful powerhouses and say, "Nope! You don't get to work on this film!" Or if they can't do that, they just invite a room full of your target audience to see the storyboards and see if it even interests them! I guarantee you'll save the studio millions of dollars. If you're not sure who to find, I have a 9-year-old that so far has never been wrong. Luckily my latest holiday script I want to write he's given a thumbs up.

What do you love?

So I'm listening to the CD set of The Secret: The Power, which is the one of the books from the author The Secret, Rhonda Byrne. In it, she claims that if we are thankful and acknowledge what we love, then the things we want will easily come to us. If we have not be hugely grateful, then we will not see huge success and rewards come our way. When I read The Secret years ago, it really did open my eyes to a way of thinking that I do believe has brought many successes in screenwriting my way. So now I'm listening to this and feel, why not? So I plan to start asap and be thankful and remind myself how many things I love on a constant basis. She tells us it must be all day long, to be aware of all the good that is in our lives. For instance, I love that I wake up to a nice song on the clock radio. I love that my son cuddles me in the morning. I love that my husband helps our son get ready. I love that I see my gym friends in the morning. I love that my dog is happy to greet me when I come home. And on and on and on. It can't hurt and definitely makes us appreciate what we have. And it's possible that by being this grateful, being this in love with things we forget to acknowledge, we are bringing rewards our way. So why not try? As a writer, I am looking for more success to come my way. So I'm more than happy to try. What about you? I look forward to reporting the riches and success that comes its way. I hope you will too!