March 5, 2003
So, the theme for the week is reading for shows that center around people I know. Nicole has been a friend for a long time. We met 8 or 9 years ago doing a collection of one-acts at a theater in Hollywood. Five years on MAD-TV and supporting roles on a few sitcoms later, Nicole is the central character in her own relationship sitcom, and I am lucky enough to be in a position to read for one of the characters.
The two scenes went well. After I finished, the writer, Susan, said, "Very funny and very sweet." I thought that was a great compliment.
March 6, 2003
The following is an exceprt from an email I wrote to a friend
regarding the pilot situation I find myself in...
Nicole's pilot tests tomorrow and they want me to test for the role of WES, the brother of the lead. The whole cast is Nicole, her husband, her husband's three brothers, Nicole's sister, and one of the brother's wife. That's a lot of folks. The order of importance of the characters, from the pilot anyway, appears to be
Nicole
So I would be in a race for fourth, maybe third depending on how the show unfolds.
The other pilot is called Coupling, and is about 6 early-30-something friends who all hang out as friends. Think Friends. The order of importance of the characters appears to be a 6-way tie for first. Think Friends. Are you thinking Friends? OK, stop thinking Friends and pay attention.
Both shows are offering the same amount of money. But not really. Both shows are offering, let's call it, "10" for the pilot and "5" per episode. But not really. The second show, Coupling, is a pilot for Universal and they have a non-negotiable policy of paying half of the pilot fee for making the show and half of the pilot fee if they hold the actors past June. Of the two pilots I have done that did not go to series, both shows released their actors on the day they announced their fall line-ups, i.e. late May. So the chances of seeing that money are slim. UNLESS the show goes to series, then you see lots of money, of course. So is it 10 vs. 10? Or 10 vs. 5? I don't know.
Which show will get on the air, if either? That is a great question, I am glad you finally stopped thinking about Friends. The answer? I don't know. That is a crappy answer.
Nicole is a "CBS Star" these days because she is currently on and under contract to King of Queens and Les Moonves is a fan of hers. It certainly could become part of CBS' Monday night line-up very easily. Then again, the number of holes in CBS' Monday night line-up is somewhere between zero and one. The night does fine, but you have to think they would try to launch a new show on Monday in the fall to take advantage of the strength of the night.
Coupling is a relationship show about 6 urbanites. NBC has a show like that but it is in its final season. They would love to get something like it to take its place and rule Thursday night. The odds of that actually happening? Also, somewhere between zero and one. But the odds of them TRYING to accomplish that are considerably higher. If this show has potential, it seems like a great candidate. That would be a very good show to be on, especially since they would probably plug it into the Thursday night line-up somewhere.
Which show am I likely to get? Well, the odds of me getting Nicole's show are pretty good. I would say I have front-runner status. So testing for that would be the safer bet. Still, at the end of the day, you never know what the network is going to respond to, despite what the producers and one of your good friends might think. The odds of me getting Coupling are not as good, but they said they are taking 5 people to test, 3 of whom are the real contenders, including me. So, somewhere around a 33% chance?
Can I do both? I am trying to figure that out right now. Nicole is discussing things behind the scenes and I am awaiting her call. It may not be possible, though, and that means making a decision between the two. That will not be an easy decision.
So that's where things stand.
Go on to the Studio Test.