Hungry Man has moved another step closer to prime time series television. The bicoastal/international firm, which is known for producing offbeat comic spots, is making three pilots in a similar vein via its TV division.
With two pilots in the works at FOX Television, and a third underway at the WB network, Hungry Man TV is aiming for slots on the fall 2000 television schedule.
Founded in ’97 by directors Bryan Buckley and Hank Perlman and producer Steve Orent, Hungry Man has produced commercial campaigns for Monster. com, Nike, Microsoft and Coca-Cola. Hungry Man TV was launched last October with Allan Broce, a former executive in the marketing and promotions departments of MTV and ESPN, as president.
The new division is developing series ideas in conjunction with Brillstein-Grey Television, Beverly Hills, Calif.
FOX Broadcasting has ordered a pilot for The Number One Show in America, an Ed Sullivan-style variety series with scripted, behind-the-scenes comic sketches. Perlman and Broce will serve as executive producers. According to Perlman, a variety series could provide opportunities to Hungry Man’s roster of spot directors.
"It will be a funny, twisted, irreverent take on the traditional comedy-variety show," said Perlman, who is interviewing producers and show runners this month. The pilot will be shot in New York City in late February or early March.
Fox is also developing The Continuing Misadventures of the Official Block Family, a 30-minute situation comedy based on the life of Minnesota Timberwolves star Kevin Garnett, who at 18 became the highest-paid player in professional basketball. The show, called OBF for short, will focus on four of Garnett’s childhood friends from his South Carolina hometown. "They were kids from poor families who made a bond that they said would last for life," said Perlman. "When Garnett signed with the NBA, he brought his friends with him to Minnesota."
If OBF becomes a series, Garnett may make occasional appearances. The Official Block Family members will be portrayed by actors, though the real-life personalities may make cameo appearances. Broce and Perlman will write the pilot, and the pair, along with Tom Lassally, will serve as executive producers. Hungry Man has not announced where the pilot will be filmed, but Perlman said they are aiming for a late-spring deadline.
Hungry Man exploited its unique capabilities as a production company during the pitch process. Instead of sending in a pair of writers to describe their proposed series, Orent and Perlman shot and edited sample footage, based on an original script by Orent, so that network executives could get a sense of how the idea would work.
"For the OBF pitch, we went to Minnesota and shot Kevin Garnett," said Perlman. "We had the ways and means to do it as a company, and it definitely helped us. With Kevin, you can talk all you want about his charisma, his personality, but when you see him on film, and he’s making you laugh and smile, that’s so valuable."
Hungry Man had already sold one comedy pilot, The Doughboy, to the WB network. The reality/comedy hybrid, which is similar in spirit to The Millionaire, a popular television series from the ’50s, was in the works before Hungry Man aligned itself with Brillstein-Grey.
"It’s about a guy who inherits a lot of money, and he goes about giving it away on a weekly basis," said Broce, who likens The Doughboy to a "thirty-minute Letterman remote."
The Doughboy will be executive produced by Hopwood DePree, an independent filmmaker (The Last Big Attraction) represented for commercial work by Hungry Man. DePree, who co-wrote, co-directed and starred in his first film, Donkeyskin: The Making of a Star, will serve as the show’s host.
The pilot’s co-writers are Donick Gray, who wrote for The Simpsons; Gay Rosenthal, an executive producer for VH1’s Behind the Music; and Nancy Rainford.
Mary Jane Skalski, who was named president of Hungry Man’s feature film division, brought The Doughboy idea with her from her previous position with Good Machine, New York, an independent film production firm.
