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Post by Not Andrew on May 31, 2004 12:55:25 GMT 10
 "Stop sending me your underwear in the mail James!" |
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Post by doppelganger on Jun 2, 2004 4:57:32 GMT 10
 Wow. You're damn good. Where did you get these?! Or rather, how did you find them? Oh, you!! I found them on the Fun Bunch Comedy website. Not exactly sure whether it's the name of a comedy club or what but Jarret is involved with it.  |
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Post by doppelganger on Jun 2, 2004 16:04:51 GMT 10
Found this in the Variety.com archives. This one dates back to October, 7th 1999. I have no idea who Maggie Whorf is though.
NEW TREND FOR TEEN FARE: As Hollywood continues to court the Clearasil crowd with teen comedies and "Dawson's Creek" knockoffs, two TV companies are hatching shows in collaboration with actual teens.
"I love these teen shows, they're fun, but I've said at my pitch meetings that it's so obvious a 40-year-old Jew is writing them; why not let an 18-year-old Jew write one," said Jarrett Grode. He just got his wish when the Greenblatt Janollari Studio and 20th TV joined forces to pay him a mid-six figure sum to create and star in a sitcom based on his high school years.
At the same time, Sonnenfeld/Josephson and Columbia TriStar have made a deal to develop a sitcom based on "Bohos," a cult comic created by 18-year-old high school senior Maggie Whorf. She will be a behind-the-scenes creative presence on the series, and the company is talking a Disney feature with her.
In both cases, veteran show runners will be hired to actually craft the episodes.
The "Bohos" comic was published by FlyPaper Press, whose publisher/president Michael Yanover banded with Whorf this year to get a screen or TV deal for her cynical comic about a sarcastic group of teens.
Grode was discovered while doing a standup act that consisted of reading from the journal he kept in high school. The teen graduated, but has postponed UCLA plans until he sees how the series materializes.
"I started doing standup in 11th grade because it seemed cool, and I thought I might get a couple acting jobs out of it," he said. "It's sort of a shock to have a deal for my own series. I know full well that I owe my career to James Van Der Beek."
Both teens are repped by UTA, the agency that once sold Riley Weston as a "Felicity" writer based on her claim she was 18, but was actually 32. Both Whorf and Grode have been properly proofed.
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Post by doppelganger on Jun 2, 2004 16:23:05 GMT 10
Whatever happened to Whatever?
UPN has ordered a new show from 20-year-old Jarrett Grode - who was voted "Most Likely to be Famous" by his high school senior class.
Now, it looks like the prediction made by Grode's classmates in his 1999 yearbook might actually come true.
UPN, saved from obscurity by "WWF Smackdown!" and seven seasons of "Star Trek: Voyager," is betting that Grode's show, "Whatever," will strike a chord with teens.
At best, UPN officials are hoping the comedy will go to the head of the class to join some of TV's most popular high school-themed shows including "Happy Days," "Beverly Hills, 90210" and "That '70s Show."
"This show is too groundbreaking to compare to anything," Grode boasted yesterday. "It'll blow your brain out the back of your head."
"Whatever" follows the misadventures of a 15-year-old 10th grader, (played by Rider Strong of "Boy Meets World" fame), whose only objective in life is to ward off boredom during the school day.
The cast, writers and producers of the show gathered for the first time yesterday at a table-reading of the pilot's script.
They'll find out if the show will make it on to the fall schedule sometime next month when UPN announces its new lineup.
"I wanted to avoid everything I see on TV, [like] kids talking about popularity and the prom or other things that are unrealistic and dumb" Grode said.
Grode who turned 20 on April 9, wrote the pilot in about a week shortly after he graduated from high school, landing a development deal about 18 months ago.
"We actually started developing the show for Fox last season," said executive producer Robert Greenblatt. "But they decided for some reason at the last minute that they didn't want to make any high school shows - in spite of the fact that 'That '70s Show' is a huge hit for them."
Greenblatt and other studio bigwigs offered Grode a deal shortly after they watched a videotape of his standup comedy routine at some local alternative comedy clubs in Southern California.
"We just thought he seemed really authentic," Greenblatt said. "Usually, high school shows are written by 40-year-old guys who graduated from Harvard."
Meanwhile, Grode's reps swear that he was legitimately a teenager when he was offered the lucrative development deal.
The TV industry was rocked in 1998 when a writer for "Felicity" named Riley Weston claimed to be a 19-year-old whiz kid - but was actually 32 years old.
At the time, Weston was among the hottest young writers in Hollywood and had signed a deal worth more than $500,000 to develop a new show, "Holliman's Way," for Disney's Touchstone TV division.
But not only have Grode's parents vouched for his age, "I've had to pull out my I.D. in meetings before," Grode moaned.
Weston, by the way, lost her deal after it was learned how she duped her co-workers and the studio into believing she was a teenager.
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Post by Natalie on Sept 2, 2004 18:46:13 GMT 10
Doppelganger, you are the most apt person "I know" and that's saying something.
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Post by doppelganger on Sept 2, 2004 21:31:05 GMT 10
Doppelganger, you are the most apt person "I know" and that's saying something. Is that a good or bad thing? |
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Post by Natalie on Sept 4, 2004 1:29:08 GMT 10
Good, trust me.  |
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Post by doppelganger on Sept 4, 2004 11:08:37 GMT 10
Good, trust me. Thank you, m'dear.  "Good news everyone, I've taught the toaster to feel love." -- Professor Farnsworth |
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Post by Natalie on Sept 5, 2004 2:45:06 GMT 10
pop goes the toaster!
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Post by The Horrible Brian on Oct 21, 2004 14:28:29 GMT 10
Ooh! What freshly toasted treats has it revealed? Maybe a crumpet? Or perhaps an english muffin? A pop-tart possibly? Could it be a bagle? A bap? A baguette? Some spicy fruit loaf? Oh marvellous toaster master, confide in me your warm breaded products! |
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Post by Natalie on Nov 18, 2004 0:38:31 GMT 10
I can't believe I said pop goes the toaster. WTF was I on, I don't even remember that day.
Brian, I'm going to go with a waffle. That is what I was making.
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Post by The Horrible Brian on Nov 18, 2004 2:01:23 GMT 10
Brian, I'm going to go with a waffle. That is what I was making. A waffle? Of course, it all makes so much sense now! You are fiendishly clever my dear. |
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Post by doppelganger on Nov 15, 2005 21:45:50 GMT 10
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Post by JCriquet on Nov 24, 2005 1:38:25 GMT 10
Aaaaaaagh!  You rule, doppy, m'dear. |
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Post by Ferrero on Nov 29, 2005 19:55:07 GMT 10
Yeah, it is good isn't it? Smart arse!  ~Ferrero |
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You rule, doppy, m'dear.
