It has been a while since I spoke to many of you but you are all still on my mind. San Francisco Values is still in the process of being pitched and we have gotten a good deal of interest, which we should all be proud of.
As many of you know, we entered a 7 minute piece of the show into a myspace/fox competition. We ended up in the top 6 projects out of 750 and I got a chance to pitch the show to a couple VP’s at fox. Unfortunately we were ultimately passed on, but I don’t know if you can attribute that to any weakness on the project. I was disappointed in the fact that I could not bring any others beside myself to the meeting and they would not look at anything more than the 7 minutes that we used in the entry. One of the few critiques that I received was the show resembled the office too much, though if they had seen our full episode, I think it was clear our show dealt with much more than typical office happenings. As it turned out the shows that did win the 25 grand were very high concept, easy to describe ideas.
Since the contest, we have received a few emails from start-up websites looking for content and inquiring about adding SFV as an exclusive piece to their website content. Unfortunately up-front money isn’t readily available with these sites and the money that some are offering is much too low.
San Francisco Values still has a few avenues to explore before throwing in the towel. Our lead and co-producer, Drennon Davis, has had success in gaining a managing rep and he has passed SFV to him in hopes of developing the show further.
I promised everyone at the beginning of this project that I would get DVD copies of the project out to everyone and after a bit of a delay I finally have them ready! The copies are totally clean without watermarks and are on high quality dvd’s that should last a long time. Please send me your name and address and I will get these out immediately to you. I also ask that everyone who receives a dvd to please refrain from adding the show to any websites. I do reserve all the rights to SF Values and I would like to keep the full show off the internet for the time being, until we exhaust all avenues of trying to get this show on a network.
Lastly, I do know that there are other fans of the show out there that have asked for copies. If you would like a copy, I am happy to send them along. Since the cost of making these dvds is close to 5 dollars, I would ask that anyone not connected to the project who wants a copy, send me an order on paypal and I will get it to you right away. (For those who worked on the project, the dvd is free)
Introducing our first clip to reach the internet! This clip is a swift 7 minute piece with a focus on the video game designing storyline. While the show will follow our characters all over San Francisco, the video game industry will be a major component to the show. This is a relatively new industry centered around youth and has not been explored in a major tv show yet.
We have submitted this clip into the Myspace/FOX storyteller contest in hopes to get more people to view us. Unfortunately we have run into the catch 22 for getting anywhere in LA. Without representation, networks and cable channels are unable to view what we have… and without interest by networks/cable channels, potential representation is VERY difficult. So we will be going to the internet to try to get as much attention as we can to hopefully find an agent that wants to help shop us around.
Lately, quite a few series have made its way to youtube with some success. “We need Girlfriends” and “Chad Vader” are examples of well made web shows that have garnered major representation. The more views that we get, the better chance that we will be seen by someone who can help us get this show funded. So please, if you enjoy the clip, pass it to some friends and give a it favorable ratings.
Also continue to check in, as we will soon be releasing the completed pilot episode of “San Francisco Values.” If you have any questions or have interest in assisting us, feel free to write me at Matt@adroitfilm.com
We have completed the Pilot and it looks really good. I am pleased with how the show turned out. Now we get into the part of the process that I don’t have as much control over. I need to find people to watch it and hope they see the same potential that I see in this series.
The story is pretty straightforward. Two guys (Darren, Grady) from America’s Heartland move out to San Francisco when one is offered a dream job with the most controversial video game company in the world. The guys quickly meet their neighbors, including their gay republican landlord, a trust fund baby looking for her niche, and a burned out 40 year old wannabe hippie. Most importantly, the show will feature San Francisco prominently and provide a perfect backdrop to a comedy where anything can happen.
The show is shot in a faux-reality MTV style (think somewhere between newlyweds/laguna beach) with some 1980’s sitcom conventions thrown in. This project is truly original, in look and spirit, and I know it has all the elements to be one of the better comedies on television.
We are now looking for any and all people who might have interest in this project. This show would be perfect for MTV/Comedy Central/FX or an up-and-coming internet site that is looking for an original sitcom that will bring a buzz.
Please email me at Matt@adroitfilm.com if you would like to hear more about SFV or know someone who might.
So mark up the calendars folks. San Francisco Values is having its premiere on September 17th at the Punchline in San Francisco. It should be a great night. We will be having comedy from the cast of the show including… Drennon Davis, Kurt Weitzmann, Moshe Kasher, Arthur Gaus, Alex Koll, Samantha Chanse, Kevin Avery, Lynn Ruth Miller and Matthew Sloan.
Then we will have the first public viewing of San Francisco Values!
It’s been awhile since the last post, many apologies… Don’t fret though, the show is continuing on and looking very good.
We completed shooting on our video game office scenes last weekend and the performances were AWESOME! Going through the footage this last week was a great experience… there are so many funny moments we really have to work at finding what items to cut out. We could easily make a great 45 minute project with all the improv and additional scenes we shot. Perhaps we will do that for a possible dvd…
As for the pilot that we pass around down south, we will still be shooting for a 23 minute project.
In other news-
-we are now in the middle of editing… we will need music to add in the next week so if i talked to you about checking out your music for possible inclusion into the show, please contact me. Again my email is Matt@adroitfilm.com
- We would like to shoot one last scene for our introduction and we are looking for children who look like Drennon and Arthur. If you know of any children 6-11 who might be interested doing a small scene for the show, please tell them about us. This would be great experience and a good credit for a young actor.
- Finally I would like to thank all the cast and crew that helped us get to this point. Drennon and I were counting up all the individuals who helped make this project happen during this weekend. Over 40 people donated time and resources to help put this sitcom together. I cannot thank all of you enough and I hope this show is successful so we can work together on a dozen more!
So I decided to take a little time away this week and focus on developing storylines for the future season. The more I get into this, the more excited I am about where this show is going. I really think we have a project that is not only good enough to be sold, but one that has the potential to be one of the better shows on television.
Infamous muni-metro shoot!
So last weekend (7/7, 7/8) we completed our second weekend of shooting without too much trauma… actually I did receive a noise complaint from the owner of my apartment building, and there was a warning about eviction… But other than that, things went SUPER! We have shot the majority of the script and have only our video game office scenes left to shoot.
Yeah, that is a boom made from a swiffer mop! What, bitch, what?
In other news…
-We have an editor! I want to thank all the editors that applied and I found a guy who i think fits in with the project perfectly. He really enjoyed our script and sees the same amount of potential in the show as I do. Unfortunately he is out of town currently, so we will start on the editing on the 23rd. We are now on schedule to complete the pilot by the middle of august.
-We have an artist attached to one of the three video game posters that we are developing. We still have two posters that need someone to tackle. Please if you are an illustrator or know someone who is, please have them write me at Matt@adroitfilm.com. This show is going to be quality and I really think this is a great experience for a student looking for resume fodder.
-Finally, I want to thank all the local musicians who have starting sending me their music. I have gotten a good mix of stuff and looking forward to receiving more. If you have a local band and could use some exposure, please send me an email. Our editor will choose the music that works with the show the best. If we choose your stuff, we will provide credits and links on the site to try to get you more notice.
We did EXCELLENT work over the last weekend. We got some awesome performances and really good looking shots over the last couple days. It is really exciting to see this project slowly coming together. I am really excited at how our footage has looked thus far. Jon Bowerbank and Brooks Knudsen have really done an awesome job with all the shooting.
The only glitch that we had was at the beginning of the shoot. We failed in getting our Haight/Ashbury scene complete. I am hoping this weekend we will get everything done besides our Gamer office.
- In other news, I have been meeting with a few potential editors during the last couple days. I am continually impressed by the calibar of talented people we are coming across as this project comes together. I am really hoping that this turns successful so we can utilize all these creative people. If you are an editor, looking to get the experience of cutting a cool looking comedy please contact me immediately. I am looking to get someone early next week to get start on the editing.
- We are now trying to round up ALL the music choices we can for the pilot episode. If anyone knows of some really talented, up and coming, independant musicians who might be willing to lend their music to our show… please write me!
I would like to make this show music heavy and I am totally down for promoting local and indie music. I believe that there are tons of quality bands out there that just dont get the proper attention because the music industry is so concerned with stuffing the britney spears and Justin timberlakes down our throat.
- We will be needing extras this weekend for a couple shoots, if you are interested in being in the background, please let me know. Who knows, if we like ya, we may consider you for some of our future roles.
Moshe Kasher is one of the hottest young comics in what has been called a new wave of bay area comedy. He is original, brash and smart combining energetic performance with viciously funny writing.
As a native of Oakland , California he has a decitedly urban observation on the world around him. This led him to perform at Jamie Foxx’s International Urban comedy festival Laffapalooza. While the urban perspecitive is a definitive factor of his comedy, it never gets in the way of smart, sophisticated material. His comedy lives somewhere on the edge of the streets and the cerebral.
In 2005 he and his sketch troupe Boomtime were asked to headline the San Francisco Sketch festival. That marked two major comedy festivals in two years. He has also worked with the best in the business inluding Dave Chappelle, Colin Quinn,Patton Oswalt, Dave Foley of Kids in the Hall and many more.
In addition to stand up comedy, Moshe is a published playwright and has had his monolouges performed at festivals around the country.
