I sold a TV pilot. Here’s how it happened.
I sold a drama pilot to CBS. Although this happened in early September, it didn’t seem totally real until this past week, when I was out in L.A. and people shook my hand. Here’s how it happened. Not...
View ArticleMy CBS pilot was inspired by my dad. This is him.
In case you haven’t heard me hollering, CBS ordered my drama pilot, THE ORDAINED. Here’s the write-up in Deadline by Nellie Andreeva (“The back story of Cullen’s project is the kind aspiring writers...
View ArticleWhat happens when a network orders your pilot
So I’m sitting on the couch at 8:30 on Friday night, reading. The kids are in bed. My husband is beside me, K.O.’d by the flu. The phone rings. It’s my manager. I know it’s not going to be about my...
View ArticleLocation scouting for my pilot
I spent the last two days in a van driven by a Teamster with eight other people, scouting locations for my pilot. It was raining. The van kind of smelled. It was a total blast. The view from a location...
View ArticleCasting a TV pilot is no picnic
You’d think this would be the fun part. My emotions thus far in casting our pilot: bemused > tickled > confused > fascinated > overwhelmed > tired > baffled > frustrated >...
View ArticleWe’ve prepped. We’ve cast. Now we shoot the pilot.
We just wrapped six weeks of prep for our pilot. We’ve cast the actors, scouted the locations, built the sets, selected the wardrobes. I watched our stars sit around a table and read my script aloud...
View ArticleWhat it’s like to shoot a TV pilot in New York City in March
Cold, is what it’s like. Cold. It’s cold. We just wrapped three weeks of shooting our pilot, “The Ordained,” for CBS. We’re about to tunnel into post-production, or editing. Here are some images from...
View ArticleOur CBS pilot is finished. Now we wait.
The pilot for “The Ordained” is edited. It’s been cut and tightened, sound-mixed and color-corrected, tested and noted. It’s possible I’m slightly biased, but it. Looks. Great. Now, we wait. Some...
View ArticleWhat it’s like when the network doesn’t pick up your pilot
On Friday night, I drove an hour down the New Jersey Turnpike for a book event. I have a brand new book out, you see, my first novel, titled “Pastors’ Wives” (buy it today!). I parked and checked my...
View ArticleWhat it’s like when the network doesn’t pick up your pilot
My network drama pilot died last month. It was 11:30 p.m. We had just finished watching “The King and I,” the Yul Brynner/Deborah Kerr original. My husband is playing one of the clarinet parts in the...
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