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Update
- #48
October 8, 1998 Hi all. Hope everyone has had a chance to try out some of the neat links in the last update. Below ( if you are reading this from the site) you will find the image that I mentioned of the old Hollywood studio. Hope you enjoy it. As always, if you are reading this from a message board or email, be sure to check out the campaign site for the images and the easy to use links in each update. Our campaign URL http://start.at/prey
1. Well, just to prove that I am indeed human, there are a couple of corrections to the last update. With our numbers growing, I sometimes forget to add last initials to keep us correctly identified. It is Diane S who is heading up the Farpoint convention representation, not Diane G ( who has worked conventions for us in CA). Sorry for any misunderstanding :-) . Also, if you would like to contact Diane S. her correct email is DI952@aol.com. I had it as D1952@aol.com Sorry Diane :-) 2. As I mentioned last week, some of our Preymates were at the VQT convention this past weekend and our very own LeeAnn got to ask questions of and meet Ms. Messing. LeeAnn shared her experience with me and I could never improve on her own words, so here they are. Enjoy: "Ok, here goes the story as best I can remember. Mind that I was on cloud 9 to begin with so I will do my best?! First things first.....Friday the annual fundraising auction was held during the convention. The staff of VQT collects tv memorabilia, etc. to raffle and auction during the convention. This is the main way to raise money for the organization. Needless to say, the raffle area normally has a number of photographs for various shows provided by the networks. One of the many photographs was a cast photo of Debra with her co-stars from Will & Grace. I, of course, only had my pictures from the Prey portfolio with me (in the hopes I could get her autograph the next day). I decided to buy lots of raffle tickets and take my chances at winning the photo. Fortunately, my name was picked and I won the cast photo of Debra and her co-stars. I was one step closer to my goal! Saturday the panel discussion started on time and Debra was actually there. Dorothy, VQT's President, sits up on the stage with the guests and does a question/answer session with them. After the first hour is complete, Dorothy allows the audience to ask questions. During her hour of talk with the panel, she brought up to Debra about the Prey campaign. Debra was aware of it and spoke about what she knew on our group. She also mentioned getting "a birthday card from the president of the group." I knew once that area was out in the open, I had a better opportunity of bringing the subject up during the audiences' turn at questions. Debra's co-star Eric McCormack was there and he mentioned about 10 of his fans had attended one of the Will & Grace tapings and that they all had met online and came to the taping to see him and to meet each other. His saying this was ironic because Carol Hallenbeck and Diane Golomb were coming to the hotel that same day to meet me because we all meet online thanks to the Prey MB (and Carol was my benefactor when I needed the first 6 Prey episodes on tape). I was about the fourth audience member to speak and I must say I was extremely nervous, but I had been practicing my "speech" for almost two months, since Dorothy told me via email that Debra was scheduled to attend the convention. What I said, as best I can reword it, is... "I want to digress back to something you brought up earlier Debra about the Prey for Us campaign. I am a part of that campaign." At this point she smiled and said "Oh, hi!" (I don't believe she had met any of us face to face before). I proceeded to tell her "I don't really have a question to ask, but more a statement. I wanted you to know how much all of us in the campaign loved the show. That the chemistry you and Adam Storke had in the show was incredible and that we were all glued to our sets each time the show aired." I then directed my statement to what Eric had said about the online friends meeting at their taping. I told everyone that I had 2 Prey friends coming that afternoon and it was all due to the show that we were getting to meet. I then said "I guess I do have a hypothetical question to ask you Debra." She was smiling the entire time I talked and looked directly at me and thanked me a number of times when I made the compliments to her, Adam and the show. The question was somewhat worded like this "If you had the opportunity, would you consider reprising your role in Prey if it were done as a two hour movie perhaps during your summer hiatus?" Without hesitation she said yes that she would because she enjoyed doing the show. Prior to the audience asking questions, when Dorothy brought up about Prey, Debra explained that she had just finished filming the episodes of Prey when she was offered to do the pilot for Will & Grace. She said she explained to NBC that she was still contracted to ABC for Prey and if it got picked up for a second season that the role of Grace would have to be recast because she would go back to Prey. Since it wasn't picked up that is why she went with the Will & Grace show. However, she said she was very committed to her role on Prey while it was a part of the ABC line up and she even mentioned the fact the show premiered as a mid-season replacement and had stiff competition from Friends and "then the Olympics started and the show suffered because of that." She said she felt the show was never given a fair chance to succeed. At the end of the panel discussion, Dorothy asked the guests to stay for a few moments to get "official" photographs for our newsletter. When Dorothy got her picture done with Debra and Eric, I saw Debra and Dorothy talk briefly then all of a sudden, Debra was saying my name into the microphone and was waving me to come up to the stage. Needless to say, I couldn't get past my friend Cathy fast enough. She reached out her hand and said she was SO glad to meet me and she introduced me to Eric McCormack. Before we really started talking one of the VQT photographers, who happens to be my friend and was one of my roommates for the entire convention, said do you want to get your picture taken with Debra. I, of course, said "would you do that for me?" and looked to Debra to see if she minded. She said "Of course, come on up here." I quickly walked up the steps and proceeded down to the middle of the table where she was sitting. She scooted over and allowed me to sit on her chair with her and my friend took two pictures of us. I sat on the stage with her for about 10 minutes and I explained to her that I won the photograph the day before and wondered if she would mind autographing it for me. I told her I would put it on the wall in my office and remember this day forever. I also told her a little about what our campaign has been all about and explained, briefly, about the weekly gifts. I told her about the Flu Prevention Kit sent to the executives and she looked at me with a big smile and a slightly shocked look on her face. But she did say she was very impressed by what I told her. I thanked her repeatedly and got a hug. I then left the stage because many of the other convention attendees wanted to meet with her. I went down to the main floor and thanked Dorothy for allowing me to go up on the stage. Dorothy said she knew how much it meant to me to meet and speak with her that it was quite all right. She also told me that I had done well when I spoke to her during the audience Q&A. In fact I did so well that Jamie Widdoes, who is the Executive Producer of the new ABC comedy Brother's Keeper complimented Dorothy on the well spoken member (me) while I was talking to Debra during the Q&A session. He said he was impressed that I didn't say "Uh! Umm! or You Know!" at any point in my speech. I was flabbergasted to say the least so I approached Mr. Widdoes and thanked him for the compliment at the end of the discussion. By that time we were all in the lobby waiting for the guests to leave the hotel. While I was talking to Mr. Widdoes, Debra approached to shake his hand and tell him she admired his work and wanted to have a chance to tell him that. She gave me a quick hug and another VQT photographer, another of my friends, took a picture of us (his camera does the kind of picture you can put directly online) and she, again, said she was so glad to meet me and I, of course, thanked her for being so kind. She was very, very pretty in person and so slender it made me sick, but most of the actresses in CA are that size. Regardless, it was an extreme pleasure to meet her and I wrote her a small letter thanking her, again, and I typed up a four page letter to accompany my hand written one telling her all about the weekly reminder gifts we send the executives because she seemed so impressed with the small tidbit of information I gave her while we were on the stage talking. I plan on purchasing the video tape of that panel discussion. The VQT staff always has the main events of our conventions taped and I definitely want that one because of Debra and because this was the first time I stood up and asked a question during a panel discussion. It was a wonderful opportunity. I can at least say she seemed somewhat interested in what the campaign was doing and, most important of all, she wasn't against becoming Sloan again. I figured if I asked her if she would give up Will & Grace completely to do Prey again as a regular series that that question might not have gone over well in light of the way I actually worded it. All in all, it was a wonderful day for me and one I will never forget. She autographed my photograph as follows: Lee Ann ~ (she asked me specifically how I spelled my name because she wanted to get it right - my name, of course, can be spelled SO many ways I was glad she chose to ask) What a pleasure (with pleasure underlined) to meet you!!! (yes, three exclamation points). Thank you for your support and commitment. Love, Debra Messing and at the very bottom of the photo she wrote "Sloan and Grace" I plan to write her every two weeks and let her know what I think of the show (Will & Grace) and update her on the campaign. I, of course, asked her in my letter if she would mind my doing this and that I promised not to become a pest. I also informed her I would include a self-addressed stamped envelope with each letter I send her in case she would have any questions about the campaign or if she would like to respond to me in any way, shape of form. I can only hope they end up with her and that she would at least consider responding to my letters. I will definitely keep you informed if I hear anything from her. I provided her with the We Are The Prey MB address as well as your campaign info site if she would like to learn about our work that way. Plus, Carol gave me one of your Prey business cards so she would have your email address. Sorry to make this so wordy, but it was a great experience for me. Lee Ann" Lee Ann, don't apologize. We THANK YOU for sharing in such wonderful detail your experience! 3. Please remember to vote at both the Celebrity 1000 and Cybersoup polls. We want to continue to show the networks that PREY is a show with strong support.
4. For those of you who might not have seen Carol's wonderful idea on the We Are The Prey Message Board, she has reminded us about the month- October, the time that Kewley's Comet was to return on PREY with ominous results. Of course Kewley's comet is fictitious, but our cause is not. It is time for PREY to return and Carol has suggested linking the comet and PREY. I will use the comet theme in one of the weekly reminders this month ( next week or the week after depending on what I can find for an appropriate reminder gift). Of course, the other networks may not be as aware of the plot themes as we or WB might be, so we will need to set up any cards or letters we send them with some background info. I will do that in the card I send with the gift and will of course post it for all to see/use. If you are looking for pictures or info on comets, I have some good links at my Prey Pursuits site http://members.aol.com/gevers3/preypursuits ( see astronomy page). Carol also reminded me of the Prey Postcard site that we might want to use for letters or reminders. See the link on the resources page of the campaign site. 5. Our weekly reminder this week is another unique one. As I was browsing through some antique shops I came across some old postcards of California and after some delightful digging, came up with 14 that were Hollywood/ LA related. The scenes and cards date from the 1920s-40s and are quite nice. Some were actually used and have comments on them ( my favorite said "Our neighbor took moving color pictures a week ago- will show us tonight"). The image below was from a film studies class. They could not identify the studio ( amazing how much info has slipped away from us in what is such a relatively short period of time). Perhaps one of the network executives will be able to identify the site.
Unidentified Hollywood studio, circa 1915 It is fun to look back, but it is imperative to look ahead! PREY- programming that not only looks forward, it gives you something to look forward to!
Inside of card: Dear ___________, People love to look back. When I first saw the image on the front of your card, I was amazed at how primitive it looked, while at the same time realizing that its proud builders were looking at state of the art in their time. Most of us find delight in examining how far we have come in an industry or a profession, but also experience a great deal of trepidation in trying to predict where we need to be 1, 5 or 10 years down the road. Sadly, mankind has yet to invent hindsight glasses! However, if any trend was ever clear in television programming, the desire to examine human relationships, to explore what makes us tick as people, is certainly a theme that has never lost its appeal. It may appear in a variety of formats, some humorous, some serious, but people have always sought to explore themselves and their relationships to others. PREY explores relationships on a wide scale. The developing intimate relationship between the main characters is an intriguing one given the unusual variable of one partner discovering emotions for the first time. How does a person love who first discovers "human" connections at age 30? However, PREY goes far beyond this one relationship to explore male/ female friendships, the relationship between people and their government, and even the relationship between groups of people who see themselves as fundamentally different from each other, as different species, if you will! I hope you will enjoy the enclosed postcard, a bit of old LA/Hollywood. Each card is a unique moment in time. PREY is also a unique creation in time, however, unlike the postcard, it represents the future- unique, fresh and captivating programming. Gina Evers
As we always do, let's follow up with the executives to let them know that PREY continues to have support. A listing of network executive addresses is at the site for your convenience. Be sure to mention the large number of messages at the WB message board. For those of you reading this as an email, I have attached a list of the addresses at the bottom of this that you might like to print out for reference. If you are reading it as a message board posting, I will also create a separate topic for network executive addresses. Of course if you are reading this from the site, simply click on the blue link above to go to the list. 6. More convention info- Celine, Liz, Maggie, Mary Ann and Patricia will be attending the Primedia convention in Toronto on November 6th-8th. They will be sharing ideas and info with Diane S for the following week's Farpoint convention in Baltimore. For further info on the Primedia convention, please contact Celine at celine.grenon@sympatico.ca You can also get info about the Primedia convention at their web site http://www.interlog.com/~kcozens/primedia/index.html 7. Moving UP!!!We are number 4 on the WB message board out of 31 boards. As of Oct.8th:
A major part of our campaign strategy is weekly PREY reminders going out to many network executives from all networks. We hope to keep them thinking and talking about PREY through our regular reminders and follow-up letters. The following people receive our weekly reminders: (Ms.) Jamie Tarses/ Entertainment President-ABC/ 77 West 66th Street/ New York, NY 10023 (Mr.) Leslie Moonves/ CEO- CBS Television/ 7800 Beverly Blvd./ Los Angeles, CA 90036 Peter Roth/ Entertainment President-FOX/ 10201 W. Pico Blvd./ Los Angeles, CA 90035 Warren Littlefield/ Entertainment President-NBC/ 3000 W. Almeda Blvd./ Burbank, CA 91523 Tom Nunan/ Entertainment President-UPN/ 11800 Wilshire Blvd./ Los Angeles, CA 90025 Tony Jonas/ President-Warner Brothers TV/ 300 Television Plaza/ Building 140, Suite 229/ Burbank, CA 91505 (the individual with a great deal of influence about what happens to PREY) Eric Timm/ Director of Current Programs- Warner Brothers TV/ 300 Television Plaza/ Burbank, CA 91505 Bonnie Hammer/ Vice President of Programming-Sci-Fi Channel/ 1230 Avenue of the Americas/ New York, NY 10020 Barry Diller/ Chairman-USA Network/ 1230 Avenue of the Americas/ New York, NY 10020 Julie Weitz/ Head of Series-TNT/ 1888 Century Park East/ 14th Floor/ Los Angeles, CA 90067 Stephen Chao/ USA Network/ 2049 Century Park East, #2550/ Los Angeles, CA 90067 David Eich/ USA Network. 2049 Century Park East, #2550/ Los Angeles, CA 90067
Let me close with a quote that I like: "Those at the top of the mountain didn't fall there." Here's to continuing up our mountain.
Gina
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