jamesmurraynews

James looks like the proverbial cat that swallowed the canary here in Cutting It, Series 2. What captions come to mind?




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Enjoy your holiday weekend!

This one is full of possibilities: shirt diving, s'mores, and do I see Pinky & Perky straining to be released from his shirt?  Captions welcome for this screen cap from Krod Mandoon:


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Enjoy!

If you're interested in a campaign for NBC to release the Beautiful People pilot to another network, I've listed contacts below. The best strategy is to email NBC requesting that NBC release the pilot to another network. 


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NBC President Ted Harbert had some interesting comments regarding ratings and the use of a recent DISH Satellite TV DVR tool called Ad Blaster.  Some of what he says captures things we've said...others talk about how the tool is damaging to the network broadcasting model.  You can read the article here:

deadline.com/2012/05/nbc-exec-calls-dish-networks-dvr-ad-blaster-an-insult-to-tv-ecosystem/

You'll have to add the http:// and www. prefixes to the above link to view it, since deadline.com has blocked access to its site from LJ.  I added a couple of comments, about which I encourage discussion here if you want, plus a comment from a person using "TruthMonger" as his/her handle.  They are listed below:

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From It's Alive, JM in the forest, wrestling with a decision:


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Enjoy & have a great week!

From Nellie Andreeva at deadline.com:

NBC Cancels Four Series, Passes On Remaining Pilots

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday May 11, 2012 @ 1:07pm PDTTags: Are You There, Awake, Bent, BFF, Chelsea

After the steady stream of new series pickups and renewals over the past five days, NBC cleaned house, canceling the bubble series that had not been renewed yet and passing on the pilots that had not been picked up to series yet. The series getting axed officially include comedies Are You There, Chelsea, BFF and Bent as well as drama Awake, which showed some spunk with a ratings increase last night. It proved to be a case of too little too late.

A/N: A rare event occurred when NBC released a comedy pilot to ABC earlier.  This might be one option we can advocate for...maybe a release to sister network USA or to SyFy?  Those two networks seem to be the best fit.

Upfronts, when the networks announce their fall schedules, are Monday.  For those who still want to send an email to NBC programming executives, here's the body of what I sent to Jennifer Salke and Robert Greenblatt:

I’ve noticed that NBC is ordering “Revolution” to series but have yet to hear word that “Beautiful People” is being ordered to series.  I hope that “Beautiful People” will be ordered to series as well.  It offers NBC several revenue generating advantages:

 

1. Grimm, Revolution, and Beautiful People would make an excellent block of programming for a fantasy/sci fi theme night.  Intelligent, dramatic science fiction shows are badly needed to attract a significant block of viewers long ignored by the Big Four networks.  Fox’s Terra Nova offered a glimmer of hope to this audience, but frankly, the character development and story lines could have been better executed with a stronger cast.  Beautiful People has one of the strongest casts for a sci fi show, well known to viewers both inside and outside of sci fi circles.

 

2. Beautiful People, especially if coupled with Revolution, opens up the opportunity for strong advertising revenue from tech manufacturers and resellers.   For your spot sales departments and partners, this is a wonderful opportunity to offer block packages at attractive prices.  In my days working with independent TV programming, this proved to be a highly successful sales strategy and allowed the station to compete well and gain shares against local network affiliates. 

 

3. If I were a last-place network or station, I would consider using the audience segmentation strategies that cable networks have been most successful using.  The Baby Boomer market is no longer in the 18-49 market segment and remain the largest segment of TV viewers.  I’m not saying target towards this older market; I’m saying it might be a good strategy to change one’s definition of profitability and success to a more general audience success standard.  Baby Boomers’ buying patterns and interests align more with the 18-49 year-olds than their parents’ tastes did.  Both generations grew up on quality sci fi and drama, and both want the same products and services.

 

4. Beautiful People’s cast appeals to all age groups, but most notably the 18-49 year-old audience.  James Murray, for example, became recognized in the US through his role in Primeval’s first two years, on BBC America and later on SyFy.  He has a strong US and international fan base; his international fan base offers wonderful syndication opportunities for the future.  Patrick Heusinger is also well-known to this demographic, especially in the US, and Frances Conroy and Ernie Hudson are widely known to all age groups from their past work with strong fan bases that would attract a good initial audience to Beautiful People.  Michael McDonald’s writing and excellent work for series television brings another strength to the show.

 

5. From the information available about the initial pilot script, Beautiful People appears to be intriguing drama with an almost endless source of potential plotlines.  The ensemble cast certainly offers strong potential for character storylines.  If I had one suggestion, the show’s title isn’t a good initial draw to a viewer making choices on what to watch that night.  With a changed title, that would certainly enhance the show’s ability to attract an initial audience.   Terra Nova and Revolution both are intriguing titles and would attract most viewers to give those shows an initial look, at least.

Hope this helps some of you who plan to email NBC or make a comment in NBC's contact page.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that my email to Robert Greenblatt bounced, but the one to Jennifer Salke did go through.  Latest insider buzz from deadline.com is that NBC is focused on renewals right now and seems to be pretty well finished with order to series.  Beautiful People, as you know, has not been on the greenlight list for fall.  So, any emails should address the balance of the 2012-2013 season for Beautiful People.

This is a request from kristen_mara to all fangirls!  Please respond to her. I've read the draft, and her premise and playfulness with this concept is really quite good!

Here's her PM:

"I decided to try writing a Primeval crackfic based on some of the wonderful comment threads in the weekly pic posts in jamesmurrayfans and jamesmurraynews, and managed to do so, but before it is posted I wanted to check that you ladies were all right with me using your comments and/or good selves *G*.

"It’s probably best if I explain a bit more. Hee. I know it sounds crazy!

"The ‘plot’ of the story involves a number of fangirls who have ‘shirt-dived’ and are so carried around by Stephen on some adventures. I give their LiveJournal names and accents, along with their comments.

"As an example, here’s some excerpts, which include people I’ve already received permission from:
Kristen_Mara’s Australian tones declared: “Call Nick!”
…
" “Absolutely!” came Fredbassett’s voice, which was an interesting mix of North and South.
…
"Smokeygirl19 quickly took up this idea. “*Repacking gear after sweet sojourn at the Pinky and Perky rest stop* My compass is pointed due South, and I am on my way...mapping as I go....”

"I’ve mainly taken the comments from five comment threads in particular and will put them at the end of my post. So if you commented in those threads, you’re most likely in my fic, along with some of your comments. And this was the quickest and easiest way I could think of to ask for permission ;)

"If you could message me back (either by commenting to this post or PMing me) and let me know if you’re happy for me to use your comments, LJ name and accent (if you wish to give it, otherwise I can just keep it vague), please let me know. If you want to check out the fic first, I can email it or PM you the comments of yours which I’m using.

"And if you’re curious, the main sources of the comments are these threads:

"Main sources of the comments (a few are ‘NSFW’ with bare skin/blood):
http://jamesmurrayfans.livejournal.com/111641.html
http://jamesmurrayfans.livejournal.com/65633.html
[Bare chest photo:]
http://jamesmurrayfans.livejournal.com/113648.html
[From It’s Alive:]
http://jamesmurrayfans.livejournal.com/114389.html
[Bare behind one from Cutting It:]
http://jamesmurraynews.livejournal.com/62022.html#cutid1

"Thanks! Sorry for the ramble, but it’s hard to explain briefly."

From Nellie Andeeva at deadline.com, a paragraph from a longer article announcing comedy pilot orders to seres:

"NBC is expected to launch a number of series in August, following the coverage of the Summer Olympics, with several newly picked up comedies, including Go On, Save Me and The New Normal, among those eyed for an August debut. NBC is expected to give short orders to its returning comedies, and word is the same may apply to at least some of the new comedy series, which normally start with 13 episodes and, in success, get picked up for 9 more. With an unofficial August start of the season, NBC’s schedule could resemble that of a cable network, with (almost) a year-round original programming and shorter series runs.

Never bet against J.J. Abrams. Despite the massive penalty attached to his NBC drama project Revolution, it was the second to last one to get a pilot order at the network in early February. Then the pilot, written and executive produced by Eric Kripke, had a great difficulty casting, in the end moving Billy Burke from a supporting role to the lead, and was one of the the last NBC drama pilots to go into production. But today, like in the “last will be first” Bible verse, Revolution became the first NBC drama pilot to receive a series order. It brings Abrams back to the network where he most recently fielded the short-lived spy drama Undercovers. The pickup also assures that Abrams will have three series on the air next season: Revolution and the recently renewed Person Of Interest on CBS and Fringe on Fox (for final season). Revolution was one of two pilots Abrams’ Bad Robot had this season. The other, the CW’s Shelter, is not expected to go forward."

Please note the italicized sentence.  If NBC adopts the programming strategy of its sister nerwork, USA Network, then, there is a chance that Beautiful People could be a series that gets picked up as a short series order for late this year or next year.  Keep those mantras flowing, and US fans, do your best to email NBC programming brass!

Apparently, there's a good chance that NBC will pass on Beautiful People, according to deadline.com.  Next week are the Upfronts, when the networks announce their pilot orders to series. According to the article, NBC has not granted permission to make staffing orders to Beautiful People. And Beautiful People is not even mentioned in the list of potential contenders, usually a sign that a pilot's chances of getting an order to series are very remote. 




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NBC Programming executive contacts:
EVP Primtime and Daytime Programming: jennifer.salke@nbcuni.com
Head of Primetime Programming: robert.greenblatt@nbcuni.com

It's nietie 's birthday, and today's screen cap is one with a bit o' angst plus a look that says, "Uh oh...know where this is going...." As usual with JM's acting, Billy's expression says a lot of things!  Happy Birthday, nietie !


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Enjoy!

Here's the latest deadline.com Pilot Panic insider update.  Beautiful Poeple is not mentioned.  With the network ordering recuts, those recuts may not be available yet for further executive & test audience review.  See my earlier post for email addresses to key NBC programming executives...the network will be most concerned with US audience comments.  So, we need all the US support for JM's pilot we can get!


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Here are links, by popular request, of what I posted about how the industry works and the suggestions that we used for getting Chaos on the air:

How the industry works:
Part 1: http://jamesmurraynews.livejournal.com/36917.html
Part 2: http://jamesmurraynews.livejournal.com/37128.html

Suggestions for emails to network execs & supporting Chaos:
http://jamesmurraynews.livejournal.com/35859.html

Email topic suggestions & ideas that get a network exec's attention:
http://jamesmurraynews.livejournal.com/34639.html
http://jamesmurraynews.livejournal.com/31940.html

If you want to contact NBC programming executives, I have the following email addresses, but I can't guarantee they'll work.  They're about a year old, and with the ComCast merger, the domain could have changed.  Let me know if there are any problems, and I'll continue researching:

EVP Primtime and Daytime Programming: jennifer.salke@nbcuni.com
Head of Primetime Programming: robert.greenblatt@nbcuni.com

Otherwise, you can use the contact form at nbc.com as nietie did.

This week's post is from Keen Eddie, a series James Murray guest starred in.  Gotta love those long lashes!

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Enjoy!

Things are not particularly optimistic for Beautiful People, according to deadline.com's latest report:

Primetime Pilot Panic: 2nd Hot List Update

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday April 27, 2012 @ 5:53pm PDT

The Dick Wolf-produced drama CHICAGO FIRE seems to be catching, well, fire, as it is tracking strong. Jason Katims’ medical drama COUNTY also appears to be a real contender as is another medical drama, this one with a Jekyll and Hyde twist, DO NO HARM, which has lost some momentum but is still very solid. Another early frontrunner, mystery drama MIDNIGHT SUN, has cooled off a bit. I hear Western-flavored FRONTIER is well liked among NBC brass despite mixed testing results. I also hear NOTORIOUS, a late pickup which was just completed, came together well. Off-cycle pilot BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE is cold. Comedy-wise, the Ryan Murphy-Ali Adler blended family single-camera project THE NEW NORMAL has been eying an early pickup to join recently ordered to series GO ON starring Matthew Perry. Other single-camera pilots in serious contention to join Go On are White House family comedy 1600 PENN, which tested very well, as well as FRIDAY NIGHT DINNER, which didn’t test well but comes from Greg Daniels and stars Tony Shalhoub and Allison Janney. Another single-camera comedy that is getting positive buzz are SAVE ME and ANIMAL KINGDOM, while UNTITLED HILARY WINSTON and SARAH SILVERMAN are not doing that well and NEXT CALLER has been quiet. On the multi-camera front, DADDY’s GIRL and DILFS are strong, with UNTITLED KARI LIZER and DOWNWARDLY MOBILE also in contention though the latter seems to be cooling off.

Great news! After just over a month offline, squeezynz's website is back online! Some of the pics we've been able to post she has generously shared with us, like JM's 2003 photo shoot. And her site was the first James Murray fan site, and for a period of time, the only source of legitimate information until cordeliadelayne (joined by lukadreaming) began the jamesmurrayfans site, followed by jamesmurraynews.  


Please check out her latest posts: http://peterpan-movie.co.uk/Primeval/JM/index.html 

From Cutting It Ep 3...another one calling for a caption and some group "Awww" responses:


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Enjoy and try not to fog your screens!

Because direct links to deadline.com don't work, I cut and paste the relevant paragraph:

PRIMETIME PILOT PANIC: Early Buzz Update

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday April 19, 2012 @ 1:39pm PDT

Return to the glory days of Friends, Seinfeld and Frasier? It is shaping up to be a strong year for multi-camera comedies at NBC, which was already high on the format in the pilot pickup stage. Early standouts, the untitled KARI LIZER and JIMMY FALLON projects continue to look good (through reaction to FALLON has been more mixed) with two other multi-camera comedies, TABLE FOR THREE and DOWNWARDLY MOBILE, also tracking well early on. Among single-camera offerings White House family comedy 1600 PENN, Greg Daniels’ FRIDAY NIGHT DINNER and SAVE ME are hot, with ANIMAL KINGDOM, GO ON and NEXT CALLER in contention. Ryan Murphy and Ali Adler’s much anticipated THE NEW NORMAL is yet to be delivered, while early pilot ISABEL is a rare family-friendly comedy that NBC could air at 8 PM. Along with HANNIBAL, which has a straight-to-series order, drama pilots DO NO HARM, COUNTY, MIDNIGHT SUN and CHICAGO FIRE are garnering solid buzz. No much chatter about early entry BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE though the network was intrigued enough to order re-cuts. I hear THE FRONTIER looks stunning visually, but will NBC pick up a Western (albeit an  unconventional one), especially with CBS on track to greenlight a period drama with a 20th Century cowboy as its lead, Ralph Lamb?

A/N:
Initial presentations for review are occurring.  It's a hopeful sign NBC ordered re-cuts...at least, they haven't rejected Beautiful People in this initial phase.  Upfronts are next month....that's when the real review begins!

While we wait on word from NBC on Beautiful People, here's a flashback to the production days of Chaos: a snap of the main Chaos cast on set:



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Let's hope the production of Beautiful People as a series goes forward and that the experience for James is as wonderful as the Chaos production experience was!


Enjoy!

Just an update. There is now a Twitter account for Beautiful People that promotes a fansite for the show. Links below after the usual caveats:

1. The site is a fansite & implies that Beautiful People is already on the Fall 2012 schedule.  So far, it has the same compilation of news you've received here and at jamesmurrayfans.  As you know, Luka, Cordy, Squeezynz, & I post updates from official, verifiable sources on our sites.  To date, there has been no official word that Beautiful People has a slot on the fall schedule; pilot screening has just begun...and most pilots haven't even hit the test audiences yet.  Use your own judgment.

One TV exec likes the concept...so that's hopeful.  But remember that execs aren't in the habit of saying negative things about a pilot that may end up on their network schedules...if they select it, they want to create a positive image for the show to get as big an audience as possible and win the time slot.  I'm not being negative or a downer here...just stating the realities of the business.  Keep your positive energy and thoughts flowing for success for James' latest project!

2. The Twitter account is from the fansite.and promotes it. However, I'm posting the links so you can follow yourselves if you wish.  Of course, we'll continue checking for news daily and posting news from trustworthy and verifiable sources.  And as usual, I'll check these new links and thoroughly vet any new reports to make sure they're accurate. 

If I seem picky about accuracy, it's my journalism training and standards at play.  The entertainment business is quite fickle...things change really rapidly, and a sure thing can be abandoned tomorrow or a no-go suddenly get the green light!  We saw some of that with Chaos. I'd rather be a bit late & accurate than early & wrong.

Here are the links:

www.beautiful-people.net -- fansite

@BeautifulonNBC --- Twitter account tied to fansite.

If Beautiful People makes the fall schedule, this site and Twitter account will be a good source of information, I'm sure...and I will be posting any and all updates (vetted as accurate) from them.

And finally...and most importantly...keep those positive energies, thoughts, and support flowing for James' latest project, Beautiful People!  If the show airs this fall, show your support by watching it.  If you can't watch it, record it, and/or watch it within 24 hours by logging into your local cable provider's delayed viewing site (or going to the delayed viewing channel) or NBC's delayed vewing site within 24 hours.  Those views count in the ratings.  If Beautiful People makes the fall schedule, James Murray fans and supporters are strongly urged to spread the word about the show to US friends and encourage them to watch the show regularly.   

For Easter, here's the public post of James Murray from Ep 4 of Cutting It.  It also looks like it wants a caption:



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His expression is priceless!  Enjoy & may your Easter or Passover be most wonderful.