Howard Stern Show "Roast of Bob Saget, Where's Artie?"
August 8, 2008

Daily Variety "Gallen Music to MTV Ears"
August 28, 2007

The Hollywood Reporter "MTV Stays Tuned With Gallen"
August 28, 2007

The Hollywood Reporter "Yeeaahh Boooeeeyyyy!!!!"
August 16, 2007

The Hollywood Reporter "Ripping a Hollywood legend to shreds and being honored for it?!"
August 13, 2007

AP "Roast of William Shatner Nominated for Emmy"
July 19, 2007

CNN “CNN Taps Joel Gallen to Produce ‘CNN Heroes’ Gala”
July 11, 2007

Comedy Central "Roast Of Flavor Flav”
July 2, 2007

HITS Magazine “They Know What Guys Want ”
May 8, 2007

Hollywood Reporter “Prize Package”
June 2-4, 2006

The Hollywood Reporter and Variety “Innovative Voices”
November 2005

Rolling Stone “Magnificent Anderson”
September 8, 2005 

The Hollywood Reporter and Variety “Shelter from the Storm” - Thank You
September 21, 2005

WildAboutMovies.com "Not Another Teen Movie: Unrated"
July 25,2005

Hits Magazine "Industry Declares 'Smash' a Smash"
August 29,2003

Hits Magazine "Smash by the Gallen"
April 25, 2003

Billboard Magazine "Pepsi Show Brings Music back to Prime Time"
June 14, 2003

Daily Variety "Popping Up On the Frog"
April 2, 2003

New York Post "Halftime Dazzler Provides Big Kick"
January 27, 2003

Hollywood Reporter "Schrager, Col in a ‘Family’ way"
February 5, 2003

Daily Variety "Super Duo Reteams for Halftime Show"
November 5, 2002

University of Rhode Island's Quad Angles "Defining Moments"
February 7, 2002

Hollywood Reporter "Gallen wooed to develop, helm MGM’s ‘Comedy’ "
April 25, 2002

Hollywood Reporter "About Town"
March 5-11, 2002

"Not Another Teen Movie" Reviews
December, 2001

Jaime Pressly on the Howard Stern Show (Quicktime Audio)
December 10, 2001

Los Angeles Magazine "Burden of Spoof"
December, 2001

The Hollywood Reporter "Heroic Effort"
September 25 - October 1, 2001

Us Weekly, October 8, 2001 "Coming Together"
October 8, 2001

Los Angeles Times “At the MTV Movie Awards, It’s About Plugging, Not Winning”
June 5, 2001

Variety "Spoofer's Original"
August 23, 2000

The Hollywood Reporter "Gallen bringing up ‘Teen Movie’ in feature bow."
August 23, 2000

The Hollywood Reporter "RE DEUX"
March 24, 2000

LA Times “Youth Seal of Approval”
June 10, 1999

LA Daily News “Not Your Mother’s Movie Awards: MTV Brings Out The Edge In Everything”
June 9, 1999

Daily Variety "Gold Coast: Kudocasts invade cable, loot auds as ratings soar"
June 11, 1999

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards
The Associated Press
Published: July 19, 2007

64. Variety, Music or Comedy Series: "The Colbert Report," Comedy Central; "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," Comedy Central; "Late Night With Conan O'Brien," NBC; "Late Show With David Letterman," CBS; "Real Time With Bill Maher," HBO.

65. Variety, Music or Comedy Special: "The Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner," Comedy Central; "The Kennedy Center Honors: A National Celebration of the Performing Arts," CBS; "Lewis Black: Red, White & Screwed," HBO; "Tony Bennett: An American Classic," NBC; "A Tribute to James Taylor (Great Performances)," PBS; "Wanda Sykes: Sick and Tired," HBO.

66. Special Class Program: "79th Annual Academy Awards," ABC; "The 64th Golden Globe Awards," NBC; "Jerry Seinfeld: The Comedian Award," HBO; "Prince Super Bowl XLI Halftime Show," CBS; "The 60th Annual Tony Awards (2006)," CBS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CNN Taps Joel Gallen to Produce ‘CNN Heroes’ Gala

Global Effort to Honor Heroes Receives 2,500 Nominations from 45 Countries in First Nine Weeks of Submissions

CNN has secured producer-director Joel Gallen, who has helmed ambitious telethon events supporting victims of both the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina, to produce “CNN Heroes,” a year-end awards gala to honor ordinary people accomplishing extraordinary deeds. In a live global broadcast from the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, the event will include musical performances, celebrities presenting the honorees’ stories, and documentary tributes to the CNN Heroes and their accomplishments.

The gala is the culmination of the network’s global “CNN Heroes” initiative, which shines a light on individuals who have made their marks in areas ranging from the environment to civil rights to human health. CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, along with an array of notable co-hosts to be announced later, will present “CNN Heroes” during a special live global broadcast on CNN/U.S. and CNN International on Thursday, Dec. 6, at 9 p.m. (ET).
“There are so few opportunities to celebrate the everyday heroes among us and to remind us all of what a difference just one person can actually make,” Gallen said. “I am proud to be a part of this worldwide event, and I look forward to telling these heroes’ stories in a way that reflects their dedication, their passion and their influence on our society.”

“We care deeply about the world that we cover, and we felt it was important to spotlight those people we are seeing who are dedicating their lives to help others.” said Jim Walton, president of CNN Worldwide. “I am very pleased to welcome Joel aboard and am glad that we will be able to tap into his expertise for this important project.”

For more than two months, CNN Worldwide has featured everyday heroes across its television networks, digital services and at www.CNN.com/Heroes. To date, CNN has received more than 2,500 nominations of people from 45 countries and continues to solicit nominations from its global audience. A blue-ribbon panel will select the winners.

Gallen of Tenth Planet Productions brings a wealth of creativity and experience in live-event tributes and awards-show productions. Only six days after Sept. 11, 2001, he produced and directed the musical telethon, America: A Tribute to Heroes, for which he received both an Emmy and a Peabody award. Among his many other credits, Gallen produced Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast, the MTV Movie Awards and several White House event specials during the Clinton administration.
-more-

CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is the most trusted source for news and information. Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; CNN Digital Network, the No. 1 network of news Web sites in the United States; CNN Newsource, the world’s most extensively syndicated network.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Comedy Central Roast Of Flavor Flav

NEW YORK, July 2, 2007 – The clock is tickin’ on Rapper, lova and newest Roastee Flavor Flav! COMEDY CENTRAL is taking a page out of Public Enemy’s song book and Flav best be ready because “You’re Gonna Get Yours!” Comedian Katt Williams has been tapped as the evening’s Roast Master. The show is being taped at The Warner Brother Studio Lot on Sunday, July 22 in Los Angeles. “The COMEDY CENTRAL Roast of Flavor Flav" will air on Sunday, August 12 at 10:00 p.m.

This year’s Roasters include Carrot Top, Greg Giraldo, Ice-T, Jimmy Kimmel, Lisa Lampanelli, Bridgett Neilsen, Patton Oswalt, Snoop Dogg, Sommore, among others. Throughout the evening, DJ Spinderella will be spinning the tunes.

While things are heating up on stage, COMEDY CENTRAL will do its part to cool things off. This year’s Roast will be the network's first-ever carbon neutral production. COMEDY CENTRAL will offset its carbon emissions with the help of partner, NativeEnergy, a national marketer of carbon offsets and renewable energy credits (RECs), offering individuals and organizations a means to compensate for their global warming pollution.

Flavor Flav, born William J. Drayton, is credited as rap music’s original “Hype Man." Flav is celebrating his 20th year in the rap business and currently on tour with Public Enemy front man and partner Chuck D. Flav has starred in VH1’s "Surreal Life," "Strange Love" and the record setting, "Flavor of Love" series.

"The COMEDY CENTRAL Roast Of Flavor Flav" will be executive produced by Joel Gallen from Tenth Planet Productions, who also executive produced and directed “COMEDY CENTRAL’s Roast Of William Shatner" and "COMEDY CENTRAL's Roast Of Pamela Anderson."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spike TV’s Guys Choice Awards Show Will Determine the Hottest Jessica (Alba or Biel), the Funniest (Ferrell or Baron Cohen), the Cockiest (Entourage or Jackass 2)… You Get the Idea

May 8, 2007

Spike TV has concocted an awards show befitting the cable channel’s target audience in Guys Choice. The show’s premise involves viewers casting votes on one of two nominees in such categories as Coolest Geek (Rainn Wilson of The Office vs. Masi Oka of Heroes) and Best Gangstertainment (The Departed vs. The Sopranos). The two-hour show is tapes June 9 at CBS Radford in Studio City and premieres June 13 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Hosting is stand-up veteran and SNL alumnus Tracy Morgan, who’s now a member of the terrific ensemble cast of NBC's 30 Rock. Guys Choice will also feature live musical performances, stand-up comedy and tributes to legendary entertainers, rockers and “most viral videos.”

Executive producers are the Emmy-winning producer Joel Gallen of Tenth Planet Productions and Casey Patterson, Spike TV’s SVP of Event Production & Talent Development.

Voting for this year’s nominees is held online at www.guyschoice.spiketv.com and wirelessly by texting "GUYS" to 22422. Wireless voting, sponsored exclusively by Cingular aka AT&T, runs through June 1. Exclusive red-carpet and backstage coverage will be streamed on the same site.

Categories and nominees:

BIGGEST ASS KICKER
Gerard Butler (300) vs. Kiefer Sutherland (24)

BALLSIEST BAND
Disturbed vs. Lamb of God

HOTTEST GIRL ON THE PLANET
Beyonce vs. Adriana Lima

LUCKIEST BASTARD
Dominic Monaghan (Evangeline Lilly’s boyfriend) vs. Cash Warren (Jessica Alba’s boyfriend)

FUNNIEST M.F.,
Will Ferrell vs. Sacha Baron Cohen

GIFT FROM THE GODS
Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights) vs. Rashida Jones (The Office)

MOST UNSTOPPABLE JOCK
Kobe Bryant vs. LaDainian Tomlinson

HOTTEST JESSICA
Jessica Alba vs. Jessica Biel

BEST GANGSTERTAINMENT
The Departed vs. The Sopranos

MOST DANGEROUS MAN
Chuck Liddell (UFC) vs. Dog (The Bounty Hunter)

FEMME FATAL
Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) vs. Rose McGowan (Grindhouse)

COCKIEST CREW
Entourage crew vs. Jackass 2 crew

SICKEST RHYMES
Nas vs. Jay-Z

COOLEST GEEK
Rainn Wilson (The Office) vs. Masi Oka (Heroes)

GUTSIEST MOVE
Steven Colbert (his speech from White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner) vs. Chris Peterson (coach of Boise State)

KINGPIN (GUY OF THE YEAR)
James Gandolfini vs. George Clooney

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not Another Teen Movie: Unrated
Director Joel Gallen Talks About the New DVD
by Tim Nasson (7/25/05)

Most likely, you have never heard of Joel Gallen. But if you’re between the ages of twelve and forty, you’ve seen a lot of his work. You see, Joel Gallen is the man behind the MTV Movie Awards. He is the one who not only produces the awards show but also the short films that appear during the show; reminiscent of those hilarious spoofs Billy Crystal does at the Academy Awards.

In addition, Gallen has produced many an “Ellen” special, Super Bowl Half-Time Shows, “The Nick and Jessica Variety Hour,” pre-Oscar shows, Chris Rock television events, and so on and so forth. That seemed to have made it a no-brainer for Sony Pictures to secure him to direct – his first feature film, no less – “Not Another Teen Movie.” That was in 2001.

“That movie [‘Not Another Teen Movie’],” says Gallen, recently, his animated voice beaming with excitement, “to this day, is the all time highest rated theatrical movie shown on ‘Comedy Central.’ They show it so much because it gets so much attention. In addition, the film has done tremendously well on DVD since its release in 2002.

“It was a pleasure for me to make the movie. Sony [Pictures], especially Amy Pascal [Sony Pictures Chairman], was so easy to work with on that movie. They had had a parody movie in mind, ready to be made, but had no director for it. And they thought, after seeing my short movies that were a staple at each of the MTV Movie Awards that I would be right for their parody movie.

“I took a look at the first draft of the script, though, and hated it and brought in some new people to help write it.” (Five, actually.)

While Gallen had never made a feature film before he was no stranger to detecting talent. And with his eye for superior, yet largely unknown actors, he set out to cast “Not Another Teen Movie.”

“I couldn’t have found a better cast,” recalls Gallen. “I am proud of my casting the film. You don’t need big names to make a film. And honestly, with a next to nothing budget, which ‘Teen Movie’ had, you have no choice other than to cast complete unknowns.

“Chris Evans, who had never made a movie before, was a natural. And look where his career has taken him. He next co-starred with Kim Bassinger in ‘Cellular,’ and, is in one of the biggest movies of 2005, [‘Fantastic Four.’]

“In addition, Jaime Pressley, Eric Christian Olsen, Mia Kirshner, Chyler Leigh and Eric Jungmann have all been working since, either in movies, on TV or on stage.”

With the success of “Not Another Teen Movie” on Comedy Central, on DVD and the fact that the film’s stars are no longer unknowns, Sony Pictures and Gallen thought it was high time to release an ‘Unrated, Director’s Cut’ of the film.

For any who have not seen, nor know anything about “Not Another Teen Movie,” the lowdown is this. “Not Another Teen Movie” shows no mercy as it skewers the conventions and clichés of the genre you hate to love. Janey Briggs (Chyler Leigh), is an aspiring artist who is outcast by her classmates for wearing glasses, a ponytail and paint-covered overalls; and Jake Wyler (Chris Evans), is the all- American football star who makes a foolish bet to turn Janey into a prom queen. It is a risqué (and the word risqué is an understatement) romp with an assortment of twisted takes on classic teen characters and teen movies.

“American Pie,” “10 Things I Hate About You,” She’s All That,” “Scary Movie,” Clueless,” and countless other movies are parodied, spoofed and torn to smithereens.

“Sony Pictures wanted a short movie, under an hour and a half, so I needed to cut a lot out of the movie, which incidentally was rated NC-17 at its first MPAA screening. So I cut and cut and took this out and that. However, at the end of the day, when the movie was finally in theaters, I regretted taking so much out.

“Now that I have had the opportunity to put back an additional eleven minutes, the movie plays better, comes together better and, I think, is much funnier and racier.”

Gallen, who has not directed a feature film since “Not Another Teen Movie,” is looking at a couple of projects. The one he had planned on making, “Romantic Comedy,” with Sara Michelle Gellar and Owen Wilson, fell apart before it could be green lighted.

Who knows? Since “Not Another Teen Movie” made its debut in theaters, four years ago, there have been myriad other movies to be parodied. Maybe Sony Pictures and Gallen should try for “Not Another Sequel,” or “Not Another Remake.”

"Not Another Teen Movie: Unrated" is now on DVD.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

POPPING UP ON THE FROG
Producer Gallen will oversee ‘Pepsi Smash'
DAILY VARIETY – WEDNESDAY APRIL 2ND, 2003
By Michael Schneider

Joel Gallen, who produced this year’s Super Bowl halftime show and the 9/11 benefit “America: A Tribute to Heroes,” will oversee the WB’s summer music series “Pepsi Smash.”

The Frog net has picked up six episodes of the hour long live music show, which will be funded mostly by Pepsi. Show will cost between $800,000 and $1 million a pop, representing a major investment for the cola giant.

“Pepsi Smash” is one part of a growing relationship between the soda and the WB (Daily Variety, Feb.26). Pepsi is also sponsoring the web’s mega-coin September special “Play for a Billion.”

“Pepsi Smash” came out of the net’s dialogue with the soda regarding “billion” and the commercial fee project “Live From Tomorrow,” which has been shelved for now.

WB previously produced a pilot based on U.K. staple “Top of the Pops” and took it to potential sponsors, including Pepsi. When the cola manufacturer noted it already sponsors music chart shows around the globe (including “The Pepsi Chart” in 14 Latin American markets), the two sides struck a deal and “Top of the Pops” fell by the wayside.

Gallen brings a wealth of music experience to “Pepsi Smash,” having most recently produced the 2003 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony for VH1 last month and a Dixie Chicks special in December for NBC. He also produced several MTV Video Music Awards and primetime specials featuring Mariah Carey, Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton.

“Since I started here I’ve been chasing Joel Gallen,” said WB senior vice president of alternative production Keith Cox. “He’s turned me down for other projects before, but this was the one. He’s the guy who will make it look great. He’s got credibility and relationships with music talent.”

Gallen who will produce the show through his Tenth Planet Prods., also directed the feature “Not Another Teen Movie.”

“Pepsi Smash” will include at least six live music performances per show, as well as a countdown element and segments with celebrities.

Although funding the show, Pepsi execs have been careful to tiptoe around “Smash’s” creative elements, Cox said.

“Pepsi’s been fantastic about stepping aside,” he said. “They too wanted Joel, and they know too much of Pepsi could be a bad thing. But they want our audience … and they also know their audience. Pepsi is in the music world in a big way.”

While advertisers frequently attach their names to special or occasional programs like “Hallmark Hall of Fame,” it’s still rare for a primetime series to include a sponsor in the title. Sponsors regularly included their names on shows in the early days of television, and the practice is still common internationally.

Meanwhile, an official announcement from Pepsi about it’s involvement with “Smash” and “Billion” is imminent. Still, systems are go for the “Billion” campaign, which officially launches on May 1st.

As the centerpiece of it’s summer push, Pepsi will conduct an under-the-cap game. A crowd of 1,000 winners will fly to a “major city” in mid-September to try their hand at winning $1 billion. WB execs are counting on “Play for a Billion,” produced by Diplomatic Prods., to help launch their fall schedule.

“This will be our Super Bowl, our launch platform,” WB entertainment prexy Jordan Levin said to advertisers last week during the net’s development meetings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Schrager, Col in a ‘Family’ way
The Hollywood Reporter, February 5, 2003
By: Chris Gardner

Scribe Lisa Schrager, who penned the Heidi Fleiss story “Pay the Girl” at Paramount Pictures with Nicole Kidman attached, has sold the pitch “Brand New Family” to Columbia Pictures with director-producer Joel Gallen attached to direct.

The project is described as a female-driven comedy set in New Jersey. “Family” will be produced by Gallen along with Anonymous Content’s Steve Golin and Larry Kennar. Laura Lichstein and Alix Madigan will executive produce the project through Gallen’s Tenth Plant Prods.

At the studio, the project is being shepherded by executive vp production Amy Baer and director of development and production Shannon Gaulding.

Schrager, repped by Endeavor, Kenner and attorney Todd Stern, previously wrote “Original Gangsta Bitches,” which Reese Witherspoon is attached to at Universal Pictures/ Jersey Films.

Gallen is repped by UTA. He’s currently developing “Romantic Comedy” at MGM and Landscape Pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Super Duo Reteams for Halftime Show
Daily Variety, November 5, 2002
By Phil Gallo

Interscope Geffen A&M Records chairman Jimmy Iovine and director-producer Joel Gallen are again joining forces to produce the halftime show for January’s Super Bowl XXXVII.

Iovine was chiefly responsible for bringing U2 to perform at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show. Gallen and his Tenth Planet Prods. produced for the NFL last year the primetime special "Friday Night Super Bowl Bash" on CBS featuring Sting, Sheryl Crow and No Doubt. The two also collaborated on the post-Sept. 11 television event "America: A Tribute to Heroes."

"The NFL’s commitment to keep raising the bar of the entertainment value of the Super Bowl halftime show and being able to work with Joel Gallen again is simply a step further in the convergence of sports and music," said Iovine, a producer and former engineer who co-founded Interscope Records in 1990. "It’s one that I’m personally committed to and think is great for both businesses," he added.

"I’ve produced a lot of live specials, but nothing will compare to the rush of putting on a show for 800 million people," said Gallen, a director and exec producer of numerous MTV awards shows and various music specials.

The Super Bowl is scheduled for Jan. 26 in San Diego and will air on ABC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gallen wooed to develop, helm MGM’s ‘Comedy’
The Hollywood Reporter
Thursday, April 25, 2002
By Chris Gardner

Director-producer Joel Gallen is in final negotiations to develop, with an eye to direct, “Romantic Comedy” for MGM and Landscape Pictures. The project tells the story of a man who schemes to win the love of a woman by secretly borrowing from the tried-and-true plot twists of various romantic films.

The script was penned by screenwriter Lance Khazei, with a rewrite by Jeff Lowell and Barra Grant. Landscape Pictures’ Bob Cooper will produce along with Marc Platt and Charles Weinstock, the latter of whom has a production deal at Landscape. Currently, there is no acting talent attached.

Gallen (“Not Another Teen Movie”) is best known for his credits as the creator-producer of the MTV Movie Awards and executive producer/director of last year’s Sept. 11 fund-raiser “America: A Tribute to Heroes.” He is repped by UTA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Burden of Spoof: In the editing room with director Joel Gallen
Los Angeles Magazine - December 2001
Article by Mary Melton
Photo by Joe Schmelzer

Joel Gallen is a producer and director with bright green eyes, an angular jaw, and a dimpled chin sheltered by stubble. His short hair falls into a Caesar cut, though it's not clear if that's on purpose or from lack of styling. His eyes are a bit bloodshot, and that's clearly from lack of sleep.

At the moment, in gloomy editing rooms on the Sony lot, where he is cutting his first feature film, "Not Another Teen Movie", Gallen is talking rapidly to and over many people at once. There are the two music supervisors in one room who are choosing between two song covers of "99 Luftballoons" by Goldfinger and "Blue Monday" by Orgy, now a glam-rock anthem with a patina of rap to score a football scene ("The first one feels like fun, the second has energy," he tells them). There's the film editor in an adjoining room making sense of footage shot a few nights before of the female lead lip-synching "He Could Be the One" by Josie Cotton ("Try to pace up the second half," he says). There are various male production assistants marching through with stacks of CDs and DVDs, with framed posters and bottled water all of whom Gallen is guiding from a sunken gray couch that looks salvaged from a frat house.

Over the last ten years Gallen has made his reputation as the producer of the risque MTV Movie Awards and the director of the show's signature short-film parodies: Sarah Jessica Parker searching for "Sex and the Matrix", Ben Stiller playing Tom Cruise's dim-witted stunt double in "Mission: Improbable". He's a big influence on a demographic that he is no longer part of, but thinks a lot about. "I just loved the teen movies of the '80s," he says, referring to Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and anything else that starred Molly Ringwald. "They were smarter, they were funnier, but they also had heart."

"Not Another Teen Movie", which comes out this month, is his homage to those films. It is also an Airplane-influenced parody of what those teen movies evolved into in the '90s "She's All That", "Varsity Blues", and "American Pie". Which is all the more reason why some went "Huh?" when Gallen, a guy with a knack for suddenly unfashionable irony, was chosen to organize America: A Tribute to Heroes, the serious and solemn telethon that raised more than $150 million for September 11 relief funds.

"I was sitting at that desk, right there on that computer, and the phone rang at 4:30 on a Friday," Gallen says, as song lyrics ("Every move he made was really hip, hip, yeah!") loop in the background. "They called me, I'm not supposed to say who called me, and said, We need you to get on a conference call with all four networks tomorrow morning.' They were talking about roadblocking their time and raising a lot of money. I said, What's the show?' and they said, We don't know, we want you to figure it out.'" In four and a half days, he put together a lineup of singers from Neil Young to Alicia Keys, Willie Nelson to Fred Durst and a phone bank staffed by A-list Hollywood stars. He'd worked with most of the artists before, directing such prime-time fare as Mariah Carey's Homecoming Special and Dixie Chicks on the Fly. "They knew when they heard I was doing it that it would be presented in the appropriate way, you know what I mean?" Gallen says. "The Springsteen camp told me that, the Paul Simon camp told me that."

Gallen might live in a Laurel Canyon house with a swimming pool and use phrases like "the Springsteen camp" and carry a Rolodex with the home numbers of some of the world's most renowned performers, but he's still close enough to his native Long Island to punctuate his sentences with "you know what I mean?" and "you know what I'm sayin'?"

"In elementary school and high school, I was the one who organized the kickball games, the stickball games, touch football," he says. "When we'd all go out on the weekends, I'd decide where the meeting place would be, the girls we'd meet." He studied marketing at the University of Rhode Island, where, on the school's entertainment committee, he booked such headliners as the Charlie Daniels Band, Billy Joel, and Andy Kaufman.

Gallen's first job was in the mail room at ICM, "I hated it, I was miserable", and then he moved to program development and producing award shows at MTV. "I decided that this was basically a comedy show," he says, "and that what we can do is take the piss out of awards shows and turn the whole format on its ear." He cast the Brady Bunch

in scenes from films (including one from Malcolm X "that didn't really go over so well"); for the VH1 Fashion Awards he made a mockumentary about male models starring Ben Stiller that became Zoolander. "I'm a guy who's done all of these short films, but who are my actors in these short films?" he says. "Ben Stiller, Andy Dick, Samuel L. Jackson, Lisa Kudrow. I can't tell you that I walked into the room with the utmost confidence."

Making Not Another Teen Movie, the roles were reversed. "For some it's their first feature, for some their first comedy. You have all of these younger actors who are looking to you for guidance and advice." The editor splices and resplices the lip-synch scene, which ends with a character getting whacked in the back by a door and flying across a room. "I'm not sure if that's really the way to go," says Gallen about the slapstick bit. "I'm a late bloomer when it comes to comedy."

For the awards shows, he says, "each year I hire these writers, then they get huge amounts of money to do sitcoms." Or they end up writing for the Academy Awards. He's never been asked to produce the Oscars, he admits, "but my gut says it doesn't feel right to do them. With the MTV Movie Awards, there are no rules, so we can have so much fun with it." Has he given some thought to whether he could produce next year's show if his own film were up for an award? "That," he says, "would be awkward."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heroic Effort
Hollywood Reporter
September 25 – October 1, 2001 Issue
By Cynthia Littleton

Traditional network rivals band together in an unprecedented show of unity.

It started, as so many big deals in show business do, with a conference call.

Top executives at the Big Four broadcast networks held a call on the morning of Friday, Sept. 14, to try to hammer out some kind of united entertainment industry response to the devastating terrorist strikes that had been unleashed on America just three days before. They all had the impulse to do something, apart from their news coverage, to honor the victims and acknowledge the nation's staggering loss.

CBS' Leslie Moonves had talked to DreamWorks SKG partner Jeffrey Katzenberg about mounting some sort of fund-raising program. NBC's Scott Sassa and Jeff Zucker were trying to pull together a "Hollywood Reacts" special. And as usual, the network chieftains quickly got wind of their competitors' plans.

But this time, instead of strategizing against one another, they strategized on a collaborative effort that would grow into a global telethon with unprecedented reach, running simultaneously on more than 30 TV networks in the United States alone last Friday from 9-11 p.m.

At the end of the show, no less of an American icon than Clint Eastwood had declared Sept. 11 to be "the 21st century's day of infamy."

The special was viewed by 89 million people in the United States and raised more than $150 million in pledges for the September 11 Telethon Fund, which will be administered by the United Way under the direction of a board of broadcast network representatives.

The understated tribute, which originated from candle-lit stages in New York and Los Angeles, put the emphasis on the everyday people who emerged as heroes in the face of terror: the teachers who led young students to safety, the strangers who helped other strangers, the police and firefighters who rushed into the ruins of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon when everyone else was trying to escape.

Behind the scenes, the story of how the telethon was put together inside of six days is a testament to how deeply millions of people have been touched by the tragedy, network executives and celebrities included.

In the spirit of the program itself, the key players stressed that it was teamwork among the top brass and the hard work of volunteers that made "America: A Tribute to Heroes" happen.

To ensure that there would be no grandstanding, a rule was established that a $1,000 fine would be levied if executives were quoted in the media as taking credit for the idea. (No violations occurred.)

In the end, Joel Gallen, executive producer of "America: A Tribute to Heroes," would pull off in less than one week the kind of star-studded, performance-driven event that usually takes two months or more to plan.
"I've done so many live shows that took so much more time to plan, and yet this show was so stress-free," Gallen says. "I felt like there was a higher power [overseeing] us. There was an incredible karma surrounding everyone. There was not a lot of stress and worry on the stage."

Gallen, a director and veteran producer of live events, was busy editing his upcoming Columbia Pictures release, "Not Another Teen Movie," when he got a message asking him to take part in a conference call on the morning of Saturday, Sept. 15, among ABC Television Network president Alex Wallau, CBS' Moonves, Fox Television Entertainment chairman Sandy Grushow and NBC's Sassa.

"When somebody calls you and says the presidents of all four networks want to get on the phone and talk to you, you make yourself available," Gallen says.

The challenge was enormous - bring together the leading lights of the entertainment industry in a show that had to strike just the right tone or it would surely generate a torrent of criticism. Gallen, a native New Yorker, admits he had his doubts about whether it could really be done.

In the end, Gallen stuck with his gut instinct to go with a stripped-down presentation that would magnify the impact of the words and music offered by the famous faces. There were no introductions, no studio audience, not even any opening or closing credits. The musical performances and spoken word segments were short and snappy, giving the show a brisk pace that kept it from becoming too maudlin or too self-congratulatory.

"The hardest thing on that first day was trying to figure out what the show should be - thinking about it, visualizing it. It had to be just right, but what was that?" Gallen reflects.

The first thing he did was reach out to old friends and co-workers to put together a small army of volunteers to work on the show in front of and behind the camera. The response was overwhelming, Gallen says, because so many people were yearning for some way to contribute something positive amid the chaos.

Beth McCarthy, a director of "Saturday Night Live," was tapped to direct the New York segments, while Gary Lanvy signed on as a coordinating producer in New York. David Wild was recruited to serve as head writer, with contributions from such people as "Everybody Loves Raymond" creator Phil Rosenthal and Terry Edmonds. They reached out to political speechwriters in the search for the gravitas that the subject matter demanded.

The on-air talent came together quickly, as people realized the kind of unprecedented industry support the telecast would have. After being hired on Sunday, Sept. 16, Gallen had to give the network brass a progress report on the talent lineup at 2 p.m. the following day. By Tuesday, Sept. 18, all of the slots in the two-hour show had been filled.

DreamWorks' Katzenberg helped bring in movie stars, while Interscope Geffen A&M chairman Jimmy Iovine reached out to the music world.

It was a producer's dream roster: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise, Chris Rock, Robert De Niro and Clint Eastwood interspersed with music from Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Stevie Wonder, Tom Petty, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Celine Dion, Limp Bizkit, Dave Matthews and Willie Nelson, among many others.

Indeed, once the word got out, there was such a response that Gallen found himself turning A-list people down. That's when George Clooney got the idea to assemble a celebrity phone bank manned by the likes of Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, Brad Pitt, Meg Ryan, Adam Sandler and Sally Field.

There was, of course, scant time for rehearsal on Thursday night and Friday afternoon before the switch was thrown on the live broadcast at 6 p.m. Los Angeles time. Gallen was ensconced in a master control booth on a stage at CBS Television City.

"It really became like a spiritual experience for me," Gallen says. "I was moved that so many people were working night and day on it. We all shared the grief and the emotion of what had happened on Sept. 11."

One of the most powerful moments on the telecast was the appearance by Will Smith and Muhammad Ali. Gallen and his team made a conscious effort to include an appeal for tolerance of other cultures and religions, and that came early on the telecast when Smith introduced Ali as "one of the greatest heroes of all time, and he is a Muslim."

Despite his struggle with Parkinson's disease, Ali spoke out to reinforce the message that most Muslims were equally outraged by the Sept. 11 attacks.

"I wouldn't be here to represent Islam if it was really how the terrorists made it look," Ali says. "It was wrong, and if I had the chance I'd do something about it."

The musical performances started out on a high note with Bruce Springsteen offering a special rendition of "My City of Ruins." Neil Young sang a heartfelt version of John Lennon's "Imagine," Tom Petty had a note of defiance in "I Won't Back Down" and Limp Bizkit showed its softer side with an acoustic version of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here." U2 and Sting weighed in via satellite from London.
Celine Dion came out of her career hiatus to belt out "God Bless America" in front of a gospel choir, while Willie Nelson closed out the show with a sing-along of "America the Beautiful."

In between Dion and Nelson, Clint Eastwood rose to the occasion with the longest spoken word passage of the show, and he went right to the heart of the reason why the fund-raising effort was so badly needed. Eastwood, who revised the passage written by political speechwriter Bob Shrum, intoned:
"It was the 21st century's day of infamy, a day that will live on in the annals of courage and patriotism.

For the intended targets were not just the symbols of America but the spirit of America.

The intended victims were all 300 million of us.

The terrorists foresaw a nation fearful, doubtful, ready to retreat.

The terrorists who wanted 300 million victims dead instead are going to get 300 million heroes, 300 million Americans with broken hearts and unbreakable hopes for our country and our future."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coming Together
Us Weekly, October 8, 2001

George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Bruce Springsteen and more than 60 others hosted a celebrity-studded telethon that raised $150 million for the relief effort.

By: Russell Scott Smith

If measured just by star power alone, it was one of the most impressive events in television history, with many of the world’s best-known musicians and actors appearing live in Los Angeles, New York and London. But far more important, September 21’s America: A Tribute to Heroes telethon-which was watched by about 89 million people in the United States, twice the audience for the 2002 Academy Awards-raised more than $150 million for families of the victims of the terrorist attacks.

Dreamed up less than a week earlier by a group of Hollywood executives, including the presidents of the four major television networks and DreamWorks Jeffrey Katzenberg, the unprecedented show was broadcast simultaneously on 35 network and cable stations and in 210 countries, even Afghanistan. Bruce Springsteen kicked things off in New York with the moving new anthem “My City of Ruins”; he was followed by Stevie Wonder, U2 (who performed live from London at around 2:30 A.M. local time), Tom Petty, Faith Hill, and Sheryl Crow, among others. Between the songs, Tom Hanks, Cameron Diaz, Lucy Lui, Tom Cruise and other actors told about heroes from the disaster.

The tribute was short on frills: The sets were strikingly sparse, decorated by dozens of flickering candles. Nearly all the participants-who were neither introduced nor identified onscreen-were clad in somber colors, mostly black; several wore baseball caps emblazoned with the logos of the New York and Port Authority police and fire departments. Producer Joel Gallen, whose last project was the raucous MTV Movie Awards in June-wanted it to be “elegant, simple, stripped down, not too Hollywood.”

Nearly every celebrity who was asked to join the telethon in Cleveland and couldn’t Get to Los Angeles or New York, and Paul McCartney, whose nephew got married on Martha’s Vineyard on the day of the show. McCartney has since announced that he will hold a tribute concert in New York this fall to raise money for the city’s firefighters. Gallen even persuaded Mariah Carey, who performed “Hero,” to join up, although she is still recovering from her emotional breakdown in July. “I called her manager and said, ‘ I know it is probably not a good time,’” Gallen says. “But Mariah wanted to do it.”

George Clooney rolled up his sleeves to pitch in, staying at the telethon’s office until well past midnight for three days in a row as he shuttled scripts between writers and performer and worked the phones-along with Brad Pitt-to recruit his famous friends. “George was very active,” recalls Dennis Franz, who joined former NYPD Blue costar Jimmy Smitts on the broadcast to tell a story about a New York police officer who died in the World Trade Center collapse. “Clooney was running around like crazy.” When producer Gallen found himself faced with too many volunteers and not enough time to give them all speaking parts, Clooney also came up with the show’s most striking concept: a phone bank of more than 25 celebrities-including Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Brad Pitt, Sylvester Stallone and Meg Ryan-who took calls from donors on an L.A. soundstage during the telethon, along with 23,5000 volunteers working in call centers around the country.

The day before the telethon, September 20, was devoted to rehearsals in L.A.’s CBS Television City. Security was extremely tight on the heels of a warning to Hollywood’s major studios of what the FBI called “uncorroborated yet credible” evidence that they could be the target of a terrorist bombing attack, and the starts were asked to leave their entourages at home. As the day ticked by, Gallen says he began to see just how impressive the telethon might be. When Stevie Wonder and the gospel group Take 6 practiced the 1976 ballad “Love’s in Need of Love Today, ” Gallen felt the emotion the show would produce. “With that voice,” he says, “you couldn’t help getting choked up.”

Just hours before the scheduled broadcast, Gallen was still tinkering with the details. Until 3 A.M. Friday, he had planned to project images of real-life heroes on screens behind the performers but changed his mind for simplicity’s sake. Pop singer Dave Matthews was added to the lineup just two hours before the start of the show, because Gallen had been unable to track him down earlier. “Dave got there in the nick of time,” he says.
After Springsteen’s opening performance-which he introduced as a “prayer for out fallen brothers and sisters”- Tom Hanks offered an explanation of the telethon’s mission: “Those of us here tonight are not heroes,” he said. “We are merely artists and entertainers, here to raise spirits and, we hope, a great deal of money.”

In his segment, Tom Cruise praised Father Mychal Judge, the New York Fire Department chaplain who was killed buy falling debris at the World trade center after he removed his helmet to administer last rites to a fireman. Kelsey Grammer, whose friend David Angell, a Fraser producer, had died on one of the hijacked flights, fought back tears as he quoted from President John F. Kennedy’s Profiles in Courage. Julia Roberts nearly broke down as she told of a navy doctor who had crawled into the wreckage of the Pentagon to rescue a man trapped under a burning desk. Roberts, who has lived in Manhattan since 1985,later told the New York Daily News, “it was a privilege and emotional to stand there for my city.”

The songs were as powerful as the speeches. Sting, who performed live from London, tearfully dedicated his 1987 ballad “Fragile” to victim Herman Sandler, a personal friend and the head of the investment bank Sandler O’Neill, which had offices on the 104th floor of 2 World Trade Center.

Celine Dion-who hasn’t performed since retiring in December 1999 to spend more time with her manager-husband, Rene Angelil, who was battling cancer, now in remission-offered a rousing rendition of “god Bless America.” “Celine floored me,” says Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora, who, along with Bon Jovi, performed an acoustic version of “Livin’ on a Prayer.” “That song was written about the American dream; all of a sudden it had new relevancy.”

Paul Simon, the first to sign up for the telethon, sang a haunting “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” and Billy Joel, a lifelong Long Island resident, performed 1970’s “New York State of Mind” with a sooty firefighter’s helmet on his piano. At the end of the show, Joel climbed into an NYPD squad car and headed south for a tour of Ground Zero. The singer spent two hours there, talking with firefighters, police officers and national guardsmen. “It was like a vision from hell,” he says. “My Heart is broken.”

Also disturbed by the tragedy was Sarah Jessica Parker, who lives just blocks from the disaster site with her husband, Matthew Broderick. When she arrived at the studio, she was disappointed by the lightweight speech that had been prepared for her. As the time of her scheduled appearance neared, Parker poured out her heart to one of the writers, who scrambled to craft a new speech for her. “Some may have imagined that New York City is a town of strangers, “ she said on-camera, visibly moved. "But, there are no strangers now. While the towers have fallen, this city has risen up.”

The mood inside the L.A. soundstage was quiet and respectful, although Robin Williams, true to form, had people chuckling in the greenroom. Many of the stars were a little awed at being surrounded by so much other talent. “It was just so cool, with all of those people,” says country singer Reba McEntire, who answered phones along with Mike Myers and Benicio del Toro. Everyone on the phone bank stood and cheered when Muhammad Ali arrived with Will Smith, who plays the boxer in the upcoming movie Ali. The former heavyweight champion, who converted to Islam more than 20 years ago, offered a plea for tolerance. “I’m a Muslim, and I’m against killing and violence, “ he said on-air in a raspy whisper, as his body shook from Parkinson’s disease. “People doing this in the name of Islam are wrong, and if I had the chance I’d do something about it.”

Most of the evening’s speeches were prepared by a team that included former speechwriters for Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore, but Ali’s comments were unscripted. “It was beautiful,” says Gallen. “It was one of the many times I cried in the control room.”

All of the celebrities in Los Angeles came onstage for the show’s finale: “America the Beautiful,” led by Willie Nelson. “We were all reaching out, touching one another,” says Franz. “It was quite wonderful.” Ocean’s 11 stars Pitt, Roberts and Clooney stood together, as did the romantically linked Penelope Cruz and Tom Cruise. Mark Whalberg held a baseball cap over his heart as he sang, while Jimmy Smits clasped and American flag. Stevie Wonder played the harmonica as Neil young strummed his guitar. Mariah Carey contributed some unrehearsed scat singing, then held out her microphone toward Halle Berry, Whoopi Goldberg and Cindy Crawford, who threw their arms around one another and swayed to the music. At the end of the song, Diaz reached out to hug Cruise; Nelson embraced Chris Rock.

Many celebrities left soon after the show wrapped, but others hung around, seemingly unwilling to let the moment fade. The show had aired live on the East Coast, where it ended at 11 P.M. But in Los Angeles, it was only 8 P.M., and the tape-delayed broadcast wasn’t scheduled to start until nine. “I hugged Andy Garcia, Jim Carrey, Tom Cruise, Eddie Vedder,” says Gallen. “Then a bunch of us sat in my office upstairs and watched the show. Julia came in and out. Clooney and I talked about the whole process. Everyone was feeling very good about what we did.” On his was out, Tom Petty described the night as “awesome.” Cruise said it was “very powerful,” and Cuba Gooding Jr. offered a thumbs-up, adding “Our country was kicked but not knocked down.”

The telethon may not have been entirely glitch-free-Jim Carey’s first words on camera was “I can’t see it,” apparently directed at the person manning the teleprompter, while at one point Clint Eastwood lost his place in his speech-but Hanks’s hopes regarding “a great deal of money” were realized and then some.

By the end of the night, viewers had contributed five times the original estimate of $30 million to a fund that will be distributed by the United Way among families of the terrorists’ victims. In all, an estimated half a billion dollars has been raised by all the charities involved with the relief efforts since September 11.

“I have no answers,” Julia Roberts said the next day. “This has been an hour –by-hour thing for me. But we are all in this together now, and somehow we’ll get through it.”

With reporting by Jenny Eliscu, Eric Gladstone, Todd Gold ? Monica Rizzo

The Tribute to Heroes is still taking donations, online at tributetoheroes.org and by mail: September 11 telethon Fund, P.O. Box 203103, Houston, TX 77216-3103.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“At the MTV Movie Awards, It’s About Plugging, Not Winning”
Los Angeles Times
June 5, 2001
Written by Patrick Goldstein

Want to know how much the MTV Movie Awards means to Hollywood? When Disney, the studio releasing Kirsten Dunst’s new movie , heard that the young actress was co-hosting this year’s awards, it moved Dunst’s teen drama, “Crazy/Beautiful,” up a month to take advantage of her exposure on the show, which taped Saturday night at the Shrine Auditorium and will air Thursday on MTV.

Now in its 10th year, the MTV Movie Awards, which Robin Williams once described as “the Golden Globes on acid,” is easily the sassiest awards show on TV – where else could you see Sarah Jessica Parker, last year’s hostess, introduce a pair of hip young actors by saying “they’re so hot you could fry an egg on their flat little [bottoms].” But the show also is an indispensable marketing vehicle for studios with youth-oriented summer movies. The show, which got a whopping 17.5 share of 12-34-year-old viewers last year, outperforming any network show in its time slot, is a pitchman’s dream. It’s perhaps the finest distillation of MTV’s ingenious ability to lampoon and hype pop culture simultaneously.

At Oscar time, studios spend millions in advertising trying to score a statuette. But at these movie awards, where categories range from best movie to best kiss to best villain, the real coup isn’t winning, it’s getting the star of your summer movie on camera as a presenter. On the Oscars it would be considered tacky to plug your own film. On MTV, the plugs are practically engraved on the teleprompter: When Samuel L. Jackson appeared last year as a presenter, he wore a “Shaft” hat and offered a shameless two-minute blurb for his film.

So it’s no coincidence that Dunst, Rob Schneider and Snoop Dogg, who appear in this year’s opening “Mummy Returns” parody sketch, all star in movies opening this month: Dunst in “Crazy/Beautiful,” which opens June 29; Schneider in “The Animal,” which opened Friday; and Dogg, who’s in “Baby Boy,” which opens June 27.

When Disney heard Dunst would be co-hosting the show with “Saturday Night Live” comic Jimmy Fallon, it jumped on the closest possible release date to the awards. “For us it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to connect our film with the MTV audience, which is basically the exact audience we’re going after for the film,” says Disney marketing chief Oren Aviv. “It’s a great implied endorsement of the film, because if MTV, which keeps such a close eye on what’s hot in pop culture, picks the star of your movie, it means your star matters to their audience.”

In Hollywood, the show matters so much that Creative Artists Agency and Endeavor, two of the town’s top talent agencies, had dueling parties over the weekend to bask in the show’s reflected glory. The lobbying for presenters’ slots on the show starts early: MTV President Van Toffler says he’s been getting calls for the past two months from studios touting their talent.

“I don’t think beg would be too strong of a word,” says Universal publicity chief Terry Curtin. “Being a presenter is a great plug for your film and if they spoof your movie, it’s as good as any 30-second TV spot.” In addition to reaching the young audience, the show is valuable to studio marketers because by early June, with prime-time shows in reruns, there’s little original programming on network TV.

Presenters on this year’s show include “The Mummy Returns’” Brendan Fraser and the Rock, a trio of actresses from American Pie 2,” Rush Hour 2’s” Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, “Scary Movie 2’s” Marlon and Shawn Wayans, and John Travolta, Halle Berry, and Hugh Jackman, who star in “Swordfish” opening Friday. “Moulin Rouge” also gets a big plug from Christina Aguilera, Lil’Kim, Mya and Pink, who perform “Lady Marmalade,” the hit song from the film’s soundtrack album.

MTV supports the show with a blizzard of promotional spots that it often uses to cross-promote movies made by its own film division. Last year the network ran 30-second spots touting the awards show featuring the four black comedians from “The Original Kings Of Comedy,” an MTV Films release that opened in August. The spots captured the irreverence of the awards (in one spot, D.L. Hughley quipped: “The worst kiss is pretty much Whoopi Goldberg and anybody”) but also introduced the “Kings” to MTV’s audience, who helped make the film a surprise hit when it reached theaters two months later.

Still, the awards wouldn’t carry such weight if it didn’t deliver such an engaging mixture of clunky spontaneity and outrageous behavior. Most of the young actors are hopelessly adrift without a script: When a tongue-tied Keanu Reeves ran out of things to say in his acceptance speech on year, Ice Cube advised him: “Thank your mama.”

But the show provides a great platform for comics like Adam Sandler and Jim Carrey, who come prepared with knockout routines since they know ahead of time that they’ve won. (The awards, voted on by MTV viewers, are in fact announced after the show tapes but not broadcast until five days later). Carrey once accepted his gold popcorn statuette wearing shoulder-length hair, a shaggy beard and granny glasses, a heavy metal disguise so well fabricated that Courtney Love had no idea who he was when Carrey bummed a cigarette from her backstage.

The best moments are invariably the pre-filmed parody sketches, which are the brainchild of Joel Gallen, the show’s longtime producer. He’s so good at the movie parodies that Sony recently hired him to direct “Not a Teen Movie,” a teen film spoof (written by Gallen’s Movie Awards writing team) that could be in theaters later this year. “Watching Joel, you’d think he was shooting ‘Gladiator’ for a three-minute parody,” Toffler says. “Each year when he’s doing the show, he comes out of the truck saying, ‘I’ve got to have another seven minutes or this whole thing will be a disaster.’”

Gallen has provided the show with such highlights as a “Clueless” parody performed by the cast of “The Golden Girls” and a sketch featuring Ben Stiller as Tom Cruise’s temperamental stunt double. It’s an open secret that Billy Crystal lifted the spoofs for his opening Oscar routines. “We’re not suing,” Toffler says. “But, they not only stole the idea, they stole Troy Miller, one of our original producers, to do the Oscars.” As partial payback, Gallen did a bearded, wild-haired, T-shirt-wearing “patter writer” named Brice Kapants, a thinly veiled parody of Oscar gag man Bruce Vilanch.

This year’s crop of films presented a special challenge for Gallen and his writers. Disney invited Gallen to an early screening of “Pearl Harbor,” but Gallen felt the movie didn’t lend itself to parody. He had the same problem with “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” The show does have a spoof of a blind date between Dunst, as Erin Brockovich, and Fallon as “Gladiator’s” Maximus. But the sketch Gallen really wanted didn’t happen: teaming up Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson for a reenactment of a scene from “Dude, Where’s My Car?”

It usually isn’t hard attracting talent for the sketches – it’s just difficult getting everyone together at one time. By the time Cruise committed to doing a sketch with Stiller, Stiller was still in Australia on his honeymoon. Not willing to take no for an answer, Gallen e-mailed Stiller: “I know you’re on your honeymoon, but Tom will only do the sketch with you. Is there any chance you would come back early?” Gallen says Stiller replied: “Are you insane? My wife would kill me.” Then he added: “But, if you’re 110% sure that Tom will do it…” The sketch went over so well that Cruise had it put on the “M:I-2” DVD.

Of course, just days before filming this year’s show, Gallen was short on sleep and still unsure of what his hosts would say to open the show. “Every year I say this is my last year because I think ‘how are we going to top last year?’” Gallen says. “But it’s still fun because we get to try something new each time. The show certainly was great preparation for directing a teen movie parody. After doing this show for almost 10 years, I’ve seen every teen movie there is. So if nothing else, I’m armed and dangerous with teen movie knowledge.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SPOOFER’S ORIGINAL
Gallen set to develop, helm ‘Teen Movie’
VARIETY-Wednesday August 23, 2000.
By Claude Brodesser

Joel Gallen will develop and direct Original Film’s “Teen Movie”-and that’s no joke. Gallen made his name mocking and juxtaposing pop culture films that have become the staples for a myriad of music video, movie and fashion awards cable kudocasts, so helming this spoof, penned by “Scary Movie” scribes Phil Beauman and Buddy Johnson, seems only natural.

Teen Movie” is a spoof of movies aimed at the Clearasil set, including “Clueless” and “Road Trip” and “Can’t Hardly Wait.” The Col pic is slated to go before cameras this November. While an exec at MTV, Gallen created the MTV Movie Awards, which he now produces via his Tenth Planet Prods. He also produced the VH-1 Fashion Awards from 1996-98.

Gallen directed the spoof “Being Tom Cruise” for the 2000 MTV Movie Awards, a comedy starring Cruise and Ben Stiller, with Stiller playing Cruise’s stunt double in “M: I 2.” He also directed “Sex and the Matrix,” starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Jimmy Fallon, which opened the 2000 MTV movie awards, spoofing a combination of “Sex and the City” and “The Matrix.”

Gallen also produced the short film “Zoolander” for Stiller-which is now being developed into a feature film at Paramount by Scott Rudin. Gallen was repped in the “Teen Movie” deal by UTA and attorney Jared Levine. He is managed by Bender-Spink.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gallen bringing up ‘Teen Movie’ in feature bow.
The Hollywood Reporter- Wednesday, August 23, 2000
By Zorianna Kit

Television producer-director Joel Gallen is set to make his feature directorial debut on Columbia Pictures’ comedy spoof “Teen Movie,” a film that aims to do for the teen comedy genre what “Scary Movie” did for the horror genre.

Gallen is credited with creating the MTV Movie Awards while he was an executive at MTV, and his Tenth Planet Prods. now produces the show. Gallen directed short spoofs for this year’s awards, including “Being Tom Cruise,” which saw Ben Stiller play Tom Cruise’s stunt double, and “Sex and the Matrix,” which featured Sarah Jessica Parker in her “Sex in the City” role and Jimmy Fallon as Keanu Reeves from “The Matrix.”

Written by “Scary Movie” coscribes Buddy Johnson and Phil Beauman, the spec script for “Teen” (a k a “Ten Things I Hate About Clueless Roadtrips When I Can’t Hardly Wait to Be Kissed”) was acquired by the studio last month for midagainst high-six figures. (HR 7/31). Neil Moritz will produce through his Sony-based Original Films.

Columbia executive VP production Amy Baer and creative executive Jonathon Kadin will oversee the project for the studio.

Gallen, repped by United Talent Agency, Bender-Spink and attorney Jared Levine, also produced the VH1 Fashion Awards from 1996-98 and the short film “Zoolander” for Stiller, which is being developed into a feature film starring Stiller for Paramount Pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The academy’s second official preshow boasts more hosts and more celeb chats on the red carpet.
RE DEUX
March 24, 2000
By Barron Garron

Joel Gallen of Tenth Planet says he has no real quarrel with the way the first ever official Oscar preshow looked last year but, as producer this year, he is going to make some changes.

“The only thing the academy told me they wanted to see different from last year is fewer (preshot) packages and more celebrity chats on the carpet, which we’re definitely going to be doing,” says Gallen, who knows a few things about glitz, style and energetic pacing. He created the MTV Movie Awards show, which he will produce for the sixth consecutive year this June. He also has produced the VH1 Fashion Awards and the MTV Video Music Awards.

This year’s official preshow on ABC and the daylong Oscar coverage on E! Entertainment Television are the main national telecasts that will lead up to the awards show.

Last year’s inaugural preshow, broadcast on ABC, featured host Geena Davis and a single correspondent on the red carpet. Celebrity interviews were mixed with a variety of pretaped features. “I know it got mixed reviews but, for what it was, I thought it was fine,” Gallen says.

This year, the plan is to open with a 90-second feature of red-carpet images, including vintage newsreel clips, shown at lighting speed. After that, the show will ride the red carpet to the finish. Instead of a single host, there will be several hosts stationed at various points along the entrance path, including Meredith Vieira from ABC’s “The View,” model Tyra Banks and Chris Connelly from MTV News.

The idea is to pack the half-hour show with up to 18 celebrity interviews, each of them no more than two questions long, and all of them loose and playful. As soon as one finishes, the camera will cut to the next.
“The way I approach the show, we’ll do a hit list of which celebrities we want with which host,” Gallen says. “Depending on the style of the person, we’ll adapt. I think, for the most part, all of our hosts will have a list of a few questions, but this show is not about in depth, detailed kinds of philosophical questions. These questions are more about the clothes they’re wearing with some kind of playfulness between the host and interviewee. If it’s a nominee, we want to get a feel for the adrenaline and excitement of being nominated for an award.”

Like last year, there will be a countdown clock to the start of the awards show. However, unlike last year, the connection between the preshow and Oscar telecast will be seamless. “We’re not going to go to a commercial break,” the producer says. “We’re going to do some cool transition shot, where it literally goes from outside to inside backstage and into the show.”

Given the spontaneity of award show arrivals, Gallen figures only about 70% of the show will go exactly according to plan; the rest will be improvised.

“We’re going to try to get people there at a certain time and hold them at a certain time, but sometimes that just doesn’t’ happen. So we may have to shuffle things out of order or we may take celebrities we hadn’t planned on or not get celebrities we planned on,” he says.

Though Gallen’s show, dubbed “Countdown to the Oscars,” will be the only program allowed to broadcast from the red carpet in the half-hour that precedes the telecast, it isn’t the only nationally televised preshow. As in the past, E! Entertainment Television will provide enough coverage to satisfy even the most die-hard Oscar enthusiast—eight hours before the awards show and one hour afterward.

“E!’s Oscar Day coverage starts at 9 a.m. with a six-hour “E! Live Countdown to the Academy Awards” show, which will include live reports on everything from predictions to preparations at the Shrine Auditorium from Steve Kmetko, Jules Asner, Michael Castner and Suzanne Sena. At 3 p.m., Joan Rivers takes the helm for the two-hour “E! Academy Awards Live Pre-Show.” She will be joined by daughter Melissa and commentator Tom O’Neal. In the last several years, Rivers’ irreverent red-carpet interviews have practically become an Oscar institution.

In the hour immediately following the awards presentation, hosts Todd Newton and Linda Grasso will offer backstage interviews, award show highlights and comments from departing guests on “E! Academy Awards Live Post-Show.”

Those viewers still craving more Oscar coverage can tune in to the “E! Academy Awards Fashion Review” at 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. on April 1, a one-hour recap of Oscar highs and lows hosted by Rivers along with special guest designers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Youth Seal of Approval

Article from the Los Angeles Times
By: Steven Hochman
Thursday June 10, 1999

Feel free to stand up and dance during the show," the person in charge of wrangling the audience announced before the start of "The 1999 MTV Movie Awards," taping Saturday at the Santa Monica Air Center's Barker Hangar. "This is not the Oscars, and you're not 59."

That, pretty much, summed up the whole point of the evening. It's not the Oscars. And the audience is not, indeed, 59.

At the Oscars, you wouldn't get Jim Carrey accepting the best actor award for "The Truman Show" in the character of a '70s vintage biker-rocker with full beard and elbow-length hair (think Val Kilmer doing Jim Morrison's last days in "The Doors" movie). Or giving a speech that, even on cable, will have to be edited before airing.

You do get people politically putting their feet in their mouths at both, as the Farrelly brothers did during the MTV ceremony with an ill-advised remark about youth and violence during their acceptance speech - a comment that will be edited out of the show when it's broadcast on MTV tonight. But then again, you don't get the Farrelly brother's crude, but wildly successful, comedy, "There's Something About Mary," chosen as best picture either.

And it's a pretty sure bet the Oscars will never add categories for best villain, best kiss and best action sequence - no matter how worthy. Or filmed bits mercilessly mocking the very movies that are being honored - such as a "trailer" for "Armagedd'nsync, " with the hit boy band N'Sync playing with animal crackers on show host Lisa Kudrow's belly before saving the world from the asterisk broken loose from teen girl group B*Witched's name.

But more and more the film studios are treating the MTV show, now in its eighth year, with a greater measure of respect. Miramax, following its aggressive Oscar campaign for "Shakespeare in Love," ran TV ads promoting the film as nominated for four MTV Movie Awards - "including best kiss!" Universal Pictures took out trade ads the day before nominations were announced pushing Chucky "for your consideration" in the category of best villain. Chucky, for those who prefer nightmare-free sleep, is the homicidal doll in a series of films, most recently "Bride of Chucky." Paramount, Sony, New Line, Disney and Warner Bros. all joined the ad blitz to highlight their nominees as well.

"God bless [Miramax head] Harvey Weinstein," says Judy McGrath, president of MTV. "He's done this every year. And the Chucky thing, we were about to put out our own ad like that for fun, and then Universal did it themselves."

The activity is testament to the value of the MTV Movie Awards, which has risen dramatically, hand-in-hand with the prominence of youth-targeted films and the emergence of a generation of young, hot actors, typified by "Dawson's Creek" stars Katie Holmes (best female performance this year for "Disturbing Behavior") and James Van Der Beek (breakthrough performance for "Varsity Blues"). The decisions, too, largely rest with MTV viewers, who vote for the awards via a 900 phone number and the Internet - not to mention watch the awards show in increasing numbers.

Last year's show was seen by 17 million people combined for the premiere and first week of rerun showings, with the number of households tuning in up 35% since 1996. Those numbers put it second in viewership of cable shows, just behind sister event "The MTV Video Music Awards."

"The MTV awards are as important to us as the Academy Awards," says Bob Friedman, New Line co-chairman of worldwide marketing and president of New Line Television - and a former MTV executive. "We've been doing some trade ads for 'Blade' and 'Rush Hour' being nominated.[Tying them to this show] says that the films have the Good Housekeeping Seal of Youth Approval."

Joel Gallen, the show's creator and producer, as well as the director of the spoof film clips, said the recognition and validation of those tastes is exactly the point.

"This was an irreverent, unique show reflecting an audience that is now definitely the most important audience for the movie studios," he says.

Kudrow - nominated last year for best dance sequence from "Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion" - says that this irreverence does not imply a lack of respect for either the films or the audience.

"[The fans] of these movies are more discerning than many would like to five them credit for," she says. 'It's not a big secret that this audience . . . sees movies many, many times, and that's where you take a lot of money."

That wasn't such a no-brainer in the beginning, though, when a lot of people wondered what business a music channel had doing a movie awards show.

"The first year we did the show, I remember thinking that if none of the winners showed up, it would still be entertaining - and all of them showed up," Gallen says. "I never expected that involvement."
This year's celeb presence included, among many others, Mike Myers, Katie Holmes, Chris Tucker, Jackie Chan, Brendan Fraser, Keanu Reeves, Samuel L. Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Will Smith, and Ben Affleck.
"I'm very flattered they all to come to our party," says MTV's McGrath. "That's an A-list for anything."

In that sense, perhaps a better comparison than the Oscars is the Golden Globes, which in recent years has promoted itself as much for its fun as its significance. MTV takes it even further, to the point that the awards themselves often seem incidental. There's no suspense the winners know before they arrive that they've won- and, with the show taped five days before airing, there's no attempt made to keep the results from the public.' While an award here doesn't generally mean a box-office boost the way a god showing at the Oscars can-most of the films have long since left the theaters - the studios do find it an ideal place to promote upcoming video releases, such as "Shakespeare in Love," and to hype upcoming films.

"We have a lot of people at this show, " says Jeffrey Godsick, senior vice president of publicity and promotions at 20th Century Fox, the home of "There's Something About Mary." "Jim Carrey, for example, is there for 'The Truman Show,' but he's making a movie for us, 'Me, Myself and Irene,' with the Farrelly brothers."

In a refreshing twist, no one pretends that it's not about marketing the future. In the opening spoof film Mike Myers' Dr. Evil has kidnapped Kudrow and introduces Billy Crystall as her co-star in "Analyze This," looking directly at the camera to pitch "Available of home video Aug. 17."

Later, presenters Hugh Grant and Salma Hayek with a wink and without shame used their time on camera to plug their current and upcoming films.

Grant, nibbling a mini-roast beef sandwich in the green room, readily acknowledged that his presentation schtick was nothing but the truth. With "Notting Hill" currently in theaters and "Mickey Blue Eyes" coming soon, this was a great opportunity to chill." Asked if he considered being there important, he admitted, "I'm told it's important by the people I hire to tell me these things."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not Your Mother's Movie Awards
L.A. Daily News
By: Fred Shuster
June 9, 1999

Twinkies, Tootsie Rolls, and Kudrows?
You can't help doing a double take as you pass a catering table backstage at rehearsals for the 1999 MTV Movie Awards. The cable music channel sure knows how to treat "Friends" star and show host Lisa Kudrow, you think to yourself. They've even had a candy bar named after her.

Upon closer inspection, though, the candy turns out to be Kudow. Just the same, MTV knows how to keep the help happy. The annual MTV Movie Awards consisting of such off-the-wall categories as best kiss, best villain, best fight and best action sequence - are the evil stepchild of the Oscars.

The unconventional program, which airs at 9p.m. Thursday, keeps its crown as the most entertaining awards show on television, allowing Hollywood's Gen X royalty to let its hair down. You never know what's going to happen , or who will turn up at the last minute - such as this year's appearance on stage by a Jim Morrison look-alike.

To see how preparations went for the star-studded, comedic event, we spent a long day attending rehearsals for the awards, which were taped Saturday at Santa Monica Airport's Barker Hangar.

9:30a.m. We talk to Joel Gallen, producer of the eighth annual awards show. "You never know what someone's going to say when they win an award," he says. "People are coming to a party where anything can happen. They're coming for a good time whether they win or lose. The audience that watches the show is the most important demographic to Hollywood. These are the moviegoers that make or break a move. They decide if it's going to be a blockbuster." In fact, after Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Feinnes of "Shakespeare in Love" were nominated in MTV's best kiss category, the nod was trumpeted in the movie's ad campaign.

10:35a.m. Kudrow enters stage left through a fake rock formation, walks to microphone and gets as far as "Welcome . . . " when a tech stops her and walks off stage.

10:37a.m. The hangar is a hive of activity as techs, grips and stagehands check equipment and attend to props. Rows near the front have placards placed on chairs reading James Van Der Beek, Will Smith, Courtney Love, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Hugh Grant, Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Ben Affleck, and other stars.

10:45a.m. Audio techs with fishpole mikes kneel down out of the way of cameras.

10:50a.m. Kudrow emerges and sits on stage as a tech wheels over a tank of oxygen. Kudrow takes a few hits.

10:52a.m. Kudrow is announced again and enters to scattered applause. "Hi," she begins. "I'm very excited about this set. It's cozy. I know all this by heart so I don't need the TelePrompTer (which wasn't working)." Kudrow, feeling the effects of a cold, coughs.

11a.m. Kudrow rehearses her entrance again. Takes scripted questions from techs standing in for audience members.

11:15 a.m. Kudrow goes off stage, the lights go down, and a large wooden circle is wheeled down the aisle for some unexplained reason.

12 Noon Kudrow comes outside to talk to press. A security escort the size of a small house, stands behind her. "I've never done this before, " she says of hosting the movie awards. "The difference between this and 'Friends' is, you rehearse 'Friends.'"

12:16 p.m. Matt Pinfield, the chrome-domed, troll-like MTV VJ, interviews Kudrow as MTV assistants hold cue cards that say things like, "Thanks, Carson." Because the outdoors area where Kudrow is standing is next to the Santa Monica airport runway, a Lear jet roars by, and the MTV sound crew, wearing sensitive headphones, winces.

12:27 p.m. Cast and crew at lunch. Catering includes make-your-own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, bagels and cream cheese, muffins, coffee and plenty of sweets - Twinkies, Tootsie Rolls, M&Ms, red licorice.

12:55 p.m. Techs paint sets as a huge orange cherry picker moves down the main aisle. Two lighting grips are lifted skyward.

1:10 p.m. Cast and crew mingle outdoors, snack on what one crew member describes as "gerbil food." She holds up a Twinkie: "There's plenty of nutrition in this."

1:25 p.m. Brit pop star Robbie Williams preens, paces and smokes outside.

1:40 p.m. Williams' roadies grab instruments and check sound levels. "Take some 800 out of this," one guy shouts to the sound tech.

1:46 p.m. Williams' drummer, pounding away at full volume, begins hitting a full-size gong behind him.

1:50 p.m. Keyboard player subjects us to blaring sample of the "James Bond" theme over and over.

1:52 p.m. Weedy Brit guitarist in spectacles and Superman T-Shirt grabs his instrument and plays some simple chords with grim determination.

2:00 p.m. We begin silently praying one of the boom cams knocks the guitarist off stage.

2:05 p.m. Cellos arrive. The players immediately place hands over ears.

2:10 p.m. A dozen scantily clad Bond girls drape themselves over the stage. This is suddenly getting interesting. A Williams roadie leans over, motioning toward one of the dancers: "I wouldn't mind wrestling in Jell- O with her."

2:30 p.m. Williams and band launch into the hit "Millennium," and it sounds fantastic.

2:50 p.m. Choreographer Toni Basil rehearses her dancers with Williams, who notices his own image broadcast on a giant screen above him. "I love you, " he mouths at himself.

3 p.m. Dance rehearsal continues.

4 p.m. Will Smith rehearsal closed. We leave.

Saturday - night of show.

At the two-hour event, "There's Something About Mary" receives four awards: best move, best actress, best villain and best fight.

Those in the pressroom had two questions for the few stars who made their way backstage: "What did you think of the new 'Star Wars' film?" and "Where are you gonna put your award?"

The media area is a curious mixture of legitimate reporters, on-line geeks and obvious fakes, like the guy next to me who claimed he was from Rolling Stone but took no notes and didn't seem to know anything about the magazine.

Presenter Courtney Love makes her way backstage, uninvited and evidently unwanted. Her first words: "Why do you guys want to talk to me? I didn't win anything."

Because the sound on the backstage TV monitors are periodically turned off, many of us miss the announcement that Jim Carrey has won best male performance for "The Truman Show."

So, when Carrey walked to the podium as Jim Morrison in longhaired wig, beard, wire rimmed glasses and psychedelic T-shirt and launched into a rambling profanity-laced acceptance speech, some of us didn't know who he was. MTV said it would bleep the bad words during Thursday's broadcast.

The show also featured parodies of "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace," and Kudrow and teen-pop boy band N'Sync re-enacting the animal cracker scene from "Armageddon."

Winners included Cameron Diaz for best female performance in "Mary"; Ben Stiller for best fight in "Mary," an award shared with Puffy the Dog; Adam Sandler for best comedic performance in "The Waterboy"; Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan for best on-screen duo in "Rush Hour"; Matt Dillon in "Mary" and Stephen Dorff in "Blade" tied for best villain; Paltrow and Fiennes for best kiss in "Shakespeare"; and Guy Ritchie for best new filmmaker for "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels."

Brit filmmaker Ritchie was in fine from backstage, crowing that he was seated in back of 'Heather somebody (Graham) from 'Boogie Nights' and she's fit as the butcher's dog, as they say." Asked by a fellow Londoner how Madonna might rank on the "butcher's dog scale," Ritchie quickly made his excuses and left the podium.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daily Variety 06-11-99:
Gold Coast
Kudocasts invade cable, loot auds as ratings soar
By: Chris Pursell

Apparently, all it takes to beef up Nielsen numbers these days is to get Lisa Kudrow kidnapped by "Austin Powers" supervillain Dr. Evil, a simple task for the right producers and definitely a rousing opener for this year's MTV Movie Awards. Such is life in the land of cable award shows.
After drawing top numbers from the 1998 MTV Movie Awards, the cabler threw more money, time and hype into this year's kudoscast, and other networks have been jumping on the bandwagon. Yet, with the awards field getting more and more crowded, some cable executives and producers are proceeding to the well cautiously, even as record ratings beckon with temptation.

MAKING A SPLASH

"It just gets tougher and tougher to top ourselves every year, but somehow we end up succeeding," says Joel Gallen of Tenth Planet Prods., which produces the MTV Movie Awards. "But it's gotten so much easier to get a celebrity on the show because they know it's a good place to be self-effacing and the audience knows to expect the unexpected from them."
With a well-built hype machine at work around the clock, MTV is hoping to top last year's record 4.0 rating for the increasingly popular awards show, hosted this year by Kudrow, and the show's signature pretaped segments, such as one year's short featuring Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn pitching James Cameron a "Titanic" sequel.
"People have always been enamored with seeing celebrities receive awards," Gallen says. "Cable channels are very aware of this and know that if you pull it off right, it builds an amazing loyalty from their audience."
Paramount's trio of MTV, VH1, and Nickelodeon have tapped into the fragmented tastes of their core audiences, building brand-new tentpole events with the MTV Movie and Fashion Awards and the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards as top ratings draws for the cablers.

HITTING THEIR STRIDE

"We haven't come close to hitting a plateau yet," says Lauren Zalaznick, VP of programming at VH1 and exec producer of the channel's awards show. "More and more people are watching it every year. Part of that is because when some people already know what the show is about, it's easier to add more. So when we establish events like the awards or 'Divas Live' there is a spike in our ratings every time and ( it ) leaves a halo around our other programs."

Joining the self-titled award frenzy, ESPN has awarded the Espy to top athletes since 1993 and was in turn awarded with a 13% increase in viewers earlier this year.

Similarly, other cablers found it simpler to merely align themselves with an already established awards show instead of creating there own. TNT had their second broadcast of the SAG Awards in February, the Independent Film Channel offers the Spirit Awards and E! just signed a five-year deal with the Council of Fashion Designers of America and will air its awards for the first time June 13, with the promise that "every single magazine has tables and brings celebrities," according to CFDA executive director Fern Mallis.

"The audience really cares about who's winning and who's losing," says Judy McGrath, president of MTV and M2. "So now there are a zillion award shows, what we had to figure out was what we could possibly bring to this and find an alternative take for our own shows because it's an opportunity to speak to a specific audience."
The 1998 Video Music Awards racked up its best Nielsen rating since 1990, pulling in 5.8 million households and 8.9 million viewers, a 9% increase over the 1997 telecast. Of these viewers, 6.3 million were between 12 and 34, MTV's target demo, and their highest level ever for an MTV awards show in that demo category. The '99 awards are skedded to be held Sept. 9 at the Metropolitan Opera House.

"There's such an amazing crossover in the entertainment business these days with rock starts who want to become movie stars, etc.," says McGrath. "The music awards are part of what makes MTV's brand so memorable. There have been so many moments in those awards that have resonated in pop culture, from Pee-wee Herman's return to Van Halen's (brief) reunion. These moments help us establish our identity because succeeding here is more about buzz than on quantity."

GLOBAL AUDS

McGrath adds that a further benefit of creating the program is that international colleagues have joined in on the hoopla, resulting in a broadcast available to more than 300 million households worldwide.
"It's all in the packaging and creating the right buzz for the event," agrees Gallen. "But you have to know why you exist. There are so many networks out there that are so hungry to do an awards show but, it can completely backfire if you don't give people a reason to watch."

Gallen points out that ESPN's award show had trouble coming out of the gate and immediately sought out to redefine the heart of the show. "I was called in for the second year of the Espy to see if I would be able to inject some humor into the show, so we got Bill Murray to open the ceremonies singing the "SportsCenter" theme. By adding some personalities and an element of surprise, we immediately brought some personality to the program."

Studios have, in turn, responded to cable's award fever and recognized its impact on specific audiences. Universal ran adds to promote Chucky as best villain for this year's move awards while Miramax touted "Shakespeare in Love" as a nominee for five awards in print and television ads. Meanwhile, Gallen is turning a comedy sketch with Ben Stiller from the VH1 Fashion Awards into a feature film.
"We never realized that where we were on the curve of the entertainment industry's interest in fashion," says Zalaznick of her show. "I never thought five years ago that catwalk shows would be lined three deep with celebrities. I'd like to think that that's the proper reflection of what our network can do with these events."