Jeff Mitchell casts for film and television with Jennifer Rudolph at New York's Mitchell/Rudolph Casting. His film credits include "GI Joe," "Transformers," "Disturbia," "The Grudge," "The Grudge 2," "The Exorcism of Emily Rose," "Hostel," "American Pie 4," "Miss Congeniality 2," and "Spy Kids 2." TV credits include "Grounded for Life," "Racing for Time," "Wifey," "The Virgin of Akron, Ohio," "Mad TV," "American Family," "Weeds," and "The Suite Life." Mitchell also teaches The Business Blast, a three-and-a-half-hour session dedicated to preparing for a film and television career. Email businessclass@mitchellrudolph.com for more information.Go-To ActorsSome actors get jobs over and over and over again. Actors complain that casting directors never want to see new faces and don't want to open their doors to unrepresented actors. So few unrepresented actors really understand where the bar is. And the reason why the same people get hired is because they're doing something amazing and special.
- 1/7/2010
- backstage.com
VH1 and BET have found a show they want to split in hopes of a hit.
In an unprecedented collaboration between a pair of TV networks, the Viacom-owned duo are jointly developing a scripted-series pilot that, if picked up, would air in the same time slot on both channels throughout its first season. VH1 and BET are evenly dividing production costs.
The cable networks have ordered a one-hour pilot that will count Queen Latifah as one of its executive producers under auspices of her production company, Flavor Unit. Production will begin in March on Wifey, a drama set inside the hip-hop music business.
The first-of-its-kind arrangement reflects a newfound flexibility in the TV industry to bend existing business models, particularly in cable, where the pressure is acute to add viewers without breaking the bank.
With a budget sources peg at less than $2 million per episode, Wifey carries obvious risks, not the least of which is that one network will become a much bigger draw and weaken its partner. But if the series makes it to air and finds an audience on two fronts, it could call into question the conventional wisdom on programming strategy and branding.
"This is absolutely an experiment, a gamble," said Michael Hirschorn, executive vp original programing and production at VH1. "These kind of seemingly counterintuitive leaps are the kind of leaps linear networks need to make these days."
In another unusual twist, the pilot will be directed by the president of entertainment at BET, Reginald Hudlin, who was known primarily as a helmer for both film (House Party) and TV (Everybody Hates Chris) before joining the channel more than two years ago.
"It was a hugely important priority for us because I like scripted shows and there was a huge audience demand for scripted programming on the network," Hudlin said.
The rationale for putting one show on two networks is to maximize its exposure in an increasingly cluttered media landscape while minimizing the financial blow should it fail to catch on.
While the channels would synchronize premiere airdates of Wifey, they still would be free to repeat episodes independent of each other's schedules.
Both channels have dabbled in shared programming ventures with other partners before but never to the point of simultaneous airings. In 2003, BET and Oxygen co-financed production on an animated series, Hey Monie, but its runs were separated by several months. Last year, VH1 and Sundance Channel shared a four-part documentary, The Drug Years, but the latter channel aired the program four days after VH1's premiere.
The BET-VH1 collaboration also marks the first between an MTV Networks asset and BET, which largely has operated as a separate fiefdom despite their common corporate parentage.
In an unprecedented collaboration between a pair of TV networks, the Viacom-owned duo are jointly developing a scripted-series pilot that, if picked up, would air in the same time slot on both channels throughout its first season. VH1 and BET are evenly dividing production costs.
The cable networks have ordered a one-hour pilot that will count Queen Latifah as one of its executive producers under auspices of her production company, Flavor Unit. Production will begin in March on Wifey, a drama set inside the hip-hop music business.
The first-of-its-kind arrangement reflects a newfound flexibility in the TV industry to bend existing business models, particularly in cable, where the pressure is acute to add viewers without breaking the bank.
With a budget sources peg at less than $2 million per episode, Wifey carries obvious risks, not the least of which is that one network will become a much bigger draw and weaken its partner. But if the series makes it to air and finds an audience on two fronts, it could call into question the conventional wisdom on programming strategy and branding.
"This is absolutely an experiment, a gamble," said Michael Hirschorn, executive vp original programing and production at VH1. "These kind of seemingly counterintuitive leaps are the kind of leaps linear networks need to make these days."
In another unusual twist, the pilot will be directed by the president of entertainment at BET, Reginald Hudlin, who was known primarily as a helmer for both film (House Party) and TV (Everybody Hates Chris) before joining the channel more than two years ago.
"It was a hugely important priority for us because I like scripted shows and there was a huge audience demand for scripted programming on the network," Hudlin said.
The rationale for putting one show on two networks is to maximize its exposure in an increasingly cluttered media landscape while minimizing the financial blow should it fail to catch on.
While the channels would synchronize premiere airdates of Wifey, they still would be free to repeat episodes independent of each other's schedules.
Both channels have dabbled in shared programming ventures with other partners before but never to the point of simultaneous airings. In 2003, BET and Oxygen co-financed production on an animated series, Hey Monie, but its runs were separated by several months. Last year, VH1 and Sundance Channel shared a four-part documentary, The Drug Years, but the latter channel aired the program four days after VH1's premiere.
The BET-VH1 collaboration also marks the first between an MTV Networks asset and BET, which largely has operated as a separate fiefdom despite their common corporate parentage.
- 2/14/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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