ABC Said No, But I’m Not Bummed
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 | No Comments »Two weeks ago, Bob and I pitched four comedy concepts to the ABC comedy development team. It went well, to be honest. We dropped off four spec scripts for them to get a sense of our work… and we crossed our fingers.
And yesterday, they called and passed.
I am not, however, sad. Let me shout it from the mountaintop that Kelly Luegenbiehl is one of the nicest executives I’ve ever worked with. She took extra time to give us some feedback and welcomed us back anytime to pitch new pilot concepts. She deserves all the accolades she’s getting right now for the ABC Wednesday night comedy line-up (sans Hank, of course).
It reminds me of a related funny story.
I’ve been in to pitch ABC three times now. The first time, the floor receptionist asked us if we wanted any water. We said yes, and she offered either chilled or room temperature. Giddy like unpopular schoolgirls asked to sit at the A-Group’s lunch table, we asked for chilled water. We received a pair of perfectly cool Fiji water bottles. It was a good meeting. We sold our project.
Our second trip, right around the Writer’s Strike, we came in to re-pitch a few ideas, and were again offered water. The receptionist didn’t ask our temperature preferences, so we assumed that she remembered! What joy! We had made it. We were important producers! Then the receptionist handed us some room temperature Arrowhead bottles.
Then, two weeks ago, we again approached the receptionist desk, and, this time, there was no mention of water. Not even a look towards the mini-fridge under her desk. So we grabbed a seat… right next to the self-serve Arrowhead water cooler.
Tough economic times have forced us all to scale back… even ABC!
It just goes to show you that no matter how far you’ve come, you shouldn’t take yourself too seriously. It’s just drinking water, and it’s just doing work. Keep on doing both.
(PS — During all of our visits, Kelly’s assistant offered us water, coffee, and candy!)