Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Q. A show I'd like to pitch to, Stargate: Atlantis, is shot in Canada. I've been told that not only location shoots take place there, but there's a whole studio for the show, complete with large stages and the works for the show to work out of. Though nobody is certain, it's believed that the writers work out of that studio as well, and this makes me wonder, what might producers in that situation do when staffing season comes? Would they return to LA for meetings, or do they expect people who want to pitch during staffing season to go to Vancouver?

Word I've heard is it's pretty hard to get in the door at SG. They are one of the most successful Canadian shows, and they live and work in their own little bubble. I don't know if they even go to L.A. I've asked three sets of agents to try to get me in there to pitch, and nothing. Rumor is that even if you get in as a free lancer, they tend to cut you off at outline.

There must be some people with better information that I have. If you know something, please feel free to chip in.

10:54 AM

3 Comments:

Stargate is a great gig, so turnover doesn't tend to be too high. They do hire Canadians. I know a few clients of my agent who've been hired.

The thing is, I believe they use their freelance scripts to audition writers they're already thinking of -- so there's not a lot of coldcalling getting through.

I believe on that particular show, if you want in, you have to already have a rep and solid samples. I think the most likely scenario for getting in is waiting to see if the show goes on a couple more years and seeing if your reps can hear when people move on. Til then, I imagine it's a pretty closed shop.

By  DMc, at 11:32 AM  

Yeah...I know most of the writing staff there and they're all Canadians who live in Vancouver and work in swanky offices at the Bridge Studios....and write the majority of episodes in house.

Freelance eps are few and far between - Dmc summed it up pretty good - primarily audition scripts for potential staffers.

By  wcdixon, at 12:18 PM  

Well, all I can do is try.

By  Paul William Tenny, at 2:37 AM  

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