Judging of the Entries
To be considered for the Chicago Comedy TV Pilot Competition, an entry must be a Chicago product -- that is, the filmmaker who owns the copyright must have been a Chicago area resident at the time the pilot was made, or alternatively, the pilot must have been created by a Chicago-area-based production company that owns the copyright. Pilots are required to be comedy, between 20-30 minutes, scripted, and based on original ideas. Also, it must feature a situation and characters that could continue beyond the pilot – i.e., it must be a sitcom, rather than sketch comedy format.
The entries are reviewed by a local screening committee consisting of people from the major TV stations, media, and universities, as well as people well-known in the local comedy and film communities (see below). Their top choices then are sent to the jury.
The jury consists of people who work in the TV industry outside of Chicago – mainly in Los Angeles and New York (see below). This is not a live jury, but rather, the pilots are sent to them on DVD for their judging.
The winning pilot for 2009, based on their ratings, received a $5,000 cash prize provided by the Chicago-based Alberto-Culver Company.
2009 Local Screening Committee:
Kathy Byrne, Project Coordinator, Chicago Film Office
Ed Griffin, Producer-Image Union, WTTW-11
Norm Holly, Artistic Director/Conservatory Head, Second City Chicago; Actor; Director
Jeff Hoover, Producer, WGN Morning News
Darel Jevens, Entertainment Editor, Chicago Sun-Times
Harvey Moshman, Executive Producer of Program Development, Weigel Broadcasting
Nathan Rabin, Head Writer, The A.V. Club
Mike Schmiedeler, VP/Production, Towers Productions
LeeAnn Trotter, Entertainment Reporter, NBC 5 Chicago
Steve Waltien, Actor, Improviser
Steve Zacharias, Screenwriter, Producer, Director
2009 Jury Members:
Cort Cass, Manager of Comedy Development, ABC Studios
Jim Donnelly, Director of Development, CBS Paramount Network Television
Mark Gordon, Television Literary Agent, International Creative Management
James Kearney, Television Literary Agent, United Talent Agency
Christina Lee, Development and Original Programming Coordinator, Comedy Central
Tim Sarkes, Talent Manager, Brillstein Entertainment Partners
David Sleven, Coordinator of Comedy Development, Fox Broadcasting Company
Tom Whedon, Former TV Show Writer and Producer
TV Pilot Prize Winner 2009: |
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Lowering the Bar, by Kenneth Yoder |
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TV Pilot Prize Winner 2008: |
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4 and a Half Terrorists, by Olive Films |
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TV Pilot Prize Winner 2007: |
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Cop Show, by David Pasquesi and Tracy Letts |
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