Feb 1, 2007

Hopeful production partners pitch four shows at NATPE with good chance of selling at least one

Tim Kazurinski

With the hope of beating the odds and selling shows to television, Rick Roberts, his Pixel Brothers producing partners, and entertainment attorney Linda Mensch spent three hectic days at the recent NATPE conference in Las Vegas.

Consultant Carey Lundin who pitched the shows believes “one is definitely a winner.” Lundin led the team pitching their four shows to 30-plus television and mobile programming and development executives.

Roberts’ Horizons Communications Group teamed with The Pixel Brothers’ Mike Torchia, Andrew Ryann and David Moravec to produce pilots on the four shows over several months.

“There were definitely bites from the people I pitched,” said Lundin, who feels “’What’s on Tap’ is a winner and has a good chance of selling.”

“What’s On Tap” is a half-hour show exploring the characters and stories that live in AmericaÕs eccentric bars, pubs, and lounges. If the show finds an outlet, Horizons/Pixel will create a series exploring bar life in cities across the country.

The pilot features former “Tony and TinaÕs Wedding” star, Jess Iovinelli, sharing a beer with comic Tim Kazurinsky.

It was filmed at the Old Town Ale House, Kazurinsky’s regular hangout when he was with Second City. Kazurinsky regaled the Old Town regulars with his candid stories about Eddie Murphy, Elton John, Larry David and other celebs.

Their other shows are:

“Chef’s Alfresco,” a half-hour travel/cooking show that challenges top city chefs to make a feast in the great outdoors;

“Fighting Words,” an intellectual debate show that is as violent as a boxing match Ð but without a single punch being thrown, also half-hour.

“Last Comic Trying” is a 60-minute special on the life of Jimmy Wiggins, saloon comic and self-proclaimed “last hippie in America.”

“Last Comic Trying”’s Jimmy Wiggins

Serio-comic “Last Comic Trying” planned as a cable special

Their hourlong entry, “Last Comic Trying,” is designed as a one-off HBO special. It mixes footage of Wiggins performing live, traveling between gigs, and reflecting on his remarkable life and unusual career in his own personal green room.

Despite the onset of old age, a life blighted by tragedy and a lack of sustained mainstream success, Jimmy Wiggins, a former network show comedy writer, refuses to quit making people laugh as he again finds himself touring rural bars and clubs in Illinois.

Rick Roberts, a former a social service administrator, will continue to make socially significant documentaries while working with Pixel Brothers on entertainment-oriented television and film projects. He is a former White House Point of Light Award Winner and Sun-Times Chicagoan of the Year. –Ruth L Ratny