Saturday, May 31, 2008

Next Zicree Supermentors Class & Special Weekend Class

Passing this along for Marc Scott Zicree. Of note is the special weekend session with showrunner guests Tim Minear (BUFFY), Joe Dougherty (SAVING GRACE) and Michael Nankin (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA) being held at the end of June. More details can be found at the Supermentors page at the Zicree/Simkins Podcast.

SUPERMENTORS CLASSFOR ACTORS, WRITERS, DIRECTORS, PRODUCERS
GET TO THE NEXT LEVEL!
What's your goal, your big dream?
To create your own TV show?
Write big features?
Star in your own series?
Create a one person show?
Direct powerful, successful films?
Team with the top people working in the Industry?
Or maybe just have a financially successful career in film and TV…You're trying to carve your niche in the Industry, make a name, get established, earn a living – and it can be pretty challenging.

Well, imagine what it would be like to be mentored by someone who has triumphed in all the areas of the Industry you want to succeed in.

Not just sold one script but over a hundred, with hundreds of produced credits on many of the hit shows of the last few decades, someone who has personally hired lead and guest actors for numerous series and pilots, who has written bestselling novels and non-fiction books that have changed and influenced film and TV greatly. What if every question you had could be answered? What if every step of the way you had someone guiding you, rooting for you, giving you real answers YOU could apply? Showing you how to get your work in shape to where it will blow people away – and helping you get to the people with the power to say YES. Marc and Elaine Zicree, the Supermentors, are that someone. Successful writer-producer-directors, they've worked for all the major studios and networks, and their work has been nominated for the Humanitas Prize, American Book Award, Writers Guild Award, Hugo and Nebula Awards, and they just WON the TV Guide Award! "Great, that's them - what about me?" Every month, over a period of years, their students have landed leads and guest star roles in features, series and pilots, gotten films produced, sold pilots, episodic TV scripts, novels, landed on TV writing staffs, launched and advanced thriving careers.

Six Week SuperMentors Class Beginning Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 for six consecutive weeks in West Hollywood.
Six-Week Teleconference Class Beginning Monday, June 2nd, 2008 for six consecutive weeks (for those not in the Los Angeles area)

SPECIAL ADDED NOTICE!

How to Create, Pitch, Sell, and Run a Network ShowJune 28-29, 2008With showrunner guests Tim Minear (BUFFY), Joe Dougherty (SAVING GRACE), Michael Nankin (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA) and many more - details are below! Don't wait any longer, feeling clueless or hopeless. It's all possible, just by starting now. But the six-week classes are limited to only ten students each, so they'll fill up fast!

SPECIAL DISCOUNT!!
Mention this email when you register for the Supermentors Six Week Intensive, or the Teleconference Class, and get $200 OFF!! Classes are normally $799 but THE SPECIAL DISCOUNT PRICE IS JUST $599! How to Create, Pitch, Sell, and Run a Network ShowAlso sign up for this special weekend class, and get $226 OFF!! For just an additional $199 (normally $425!), get a bonus two-day weekend class (June 28-29) on how to create, pitch, sell, and run a network show, with showrunner guests Tim Minear (BUFFY), Joe Dougherty (SAVING GRACE) and Michael Nankin (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA)! Class will be held in North Hollywood.TO REGISTER, or for questions or more information, feel free to call (323) 363-1259 OR email
marc@zicree.com

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Catching Up a Bit, TV & Doctor Who News

Catching Up

I'm getting caught up a bit, between LepreCon 34, going back to Kansas for my father's funeral, and bringing a nasty cold back from Kansas, I've not been keeping up with a lot of stuff, including the SFTV Blog.

I have gotten the SFTV Schedules updated, including schedule information for the new NBC series Fear Itself, the new ABC Family series The Middleman (and the fan site, Middlefan), and new to SciFi series Charlie Jade (more details at the Wikipedia Charlie Jade web site). Check it out on the SFTV Schedule links to the right of the blog. I'll have some more details on the new stuff as well as information on the broadcast networks Up Fronts soon (highlights are in the SFTV Schedules News section if you can't wait).

Doctor Who New Executive Producer - Steven Moffat
The BBC announced that writer/producer Steven Moffat will take over as Executive
Producer and Head Writer of Doctor Who starting with Series five in 2010. Russell
T. Davies will step down after producing the four planned specials in 2009. Moffat has been the writer of the Hugo award winning episodes The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances and The Girl in the Fireplace (and is also nominated this year for Blink) and the upcoming Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead two-parter is highly anticipated). It is good to see another well-respected writer/producer who is also a fan take on the show. I've had a chance to talk with Moffat at the Gallifrey One conventions and, while he indicated last year that he wasn't interested in the job, being much too busy doing things like scripts for Tin Tin movies for the likes of Steven Spielberg, I have a feeling it was already in the works and he was just trying to avoid the question. I'm looking forward to seeing what he will do with the series as well as who he might bring in to write an episode or two that hasn't yet had the chance. The only downside I can see is that he may no longer be able to join us at Gallifrey One now that he is the person in charge. But, since he is the person in charge, he may be able to change the current BBC policies.

Other Doctor Who Writer News
Paul Cornell recently survived a nasty car crash which he documented quite thoroughly on his blog. I'm glad to hear that Paul and his wife, Caroline, both escaped with relatively minor injuries when it sounds like it definitely could have been a lot worse. Paul has been a fun guest at Gallifrey One for the last ten or so years and it has been fun hanging out with Paul and Caroline occassionally at WorldCon and World Fantasy recently. Besides some of the better received Doctor Who episodes (including Human Nature/Family of Blood, also nominated for a Hugo this year), Paul has recently written for Robin Hood and Primeval and has been working on pitching his own series to the UK production companies. He's also started doing comics for Marvel, having done a Wisdom miniseries last year and having just launched a new series, Captain Britain and MI-13 with a Fantastic Four miniseries on the way (and who knows what else is coming up that he can't talk about). Here's a nice list of all of the recent and upcoming comics Paul has done for Marvel. Paul has also published a few novels as well, including British Summertime, recently published in the US by Monkeybrain Books. He'll be at WorldCon in Denver in August, hoping to take home his first Hugo award for Doctor Who.

James Moran has been writing about his experiences writing for TV on his blog. He's started a series of posts on his experience writing for Torchwood and promises a detailed report on his experiences at Gallifrey One. He wrote The Fires of Pompeii episode for the current series and has episodes in the new series of Primeval as well as the new UK version of Law and Order. He's also got several other things in the works that he can't yet say what it is. James was a big hit at Gallifrey One this past year with the fans and he is already scheduled for a return visit next year.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008