Help Jen Howell and Susan Smith Make Their Sitcom Pilot!

Susan and Jen

As anyone who’s read this blog probably knows, I’m always interested in learning about and examining the roles women play in the entertainment world, whether it be the way female characters are portrayed onscreen or the success of female filmmakers. It’s also no secret that I’m invested in the role screenwriters play in the entertainment industry. And while this blog is mostly focused on film, I’m also very in love with television. That love has grown since I graduated college and embarked on a very serious relationship with my TV — we’re considering marriage. I’m especially interested in television comedy, and I’m always excited to hear about new spins on the classic sitcom format.

Given these well-established interests of mine, it’s no surprise that I got excited when I learned of Jen Howell and Susan Smith‘s sitcom pilot. Their back story and the description of their show piqued my interest, which is why I’m delighted to tell you about their project on this blog and encourage you to support their campaign.

Jen Howell and Susan Smith recently graduated from Loyola Marymount University’s Masters in Screenwriting program. While there, the women realized they were the only two female members of the program out of twelve, and thus a personal and professional relationship soon formed.

In February, they plan to shoot a television pilot titled Be the Church. The pilot, written and to be directed by Howell, is described as part workplace comedy and part dysfunctional family comedy, similar to shows like The Office and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The spin? It’s set in a church and provides what the women call a “fishtank” view of faith, highlighting both its pros and cons. But just because the show focuses on religion doesn’t mean it’s tame. The show’s tagline alone — “This is some holy shit” — proves that the subject matter won’t alienate fans of secular comedy.

Howell and Smith prove that opposites really do attract and can work together in harmony. Howell is a pastor. Smith, the pilot’s creative producer, is a religious skeptic. One hails from the East coast, the other from California. Their working relationship is evidence that when creative people put their heads together, they can push towards success.

Howell and Smith have relied heavily on social media to get the word out about their project. Howell posts updates about the project on her blog and Twitter account. Last July, the pair started a Twitter project to coincide with Howell’s birthday. The campaign sought to encourage a famous actress to read the pilot. The hundreds of tweets that went out in support of the endeavor were incredible. While the actress could not participate in the project due to a contract with another series, the experience was an eye-opening one, emphasizing the far-reaching power of social media.

Howell and Smith have now extended their social media presence to include an IndieGoGo campaign. They need to raise a little over $15,000 by January 20th, and they’re looking to friends, family, and kind strangers to help them reach their goal. There are even rewards — like the opportunity to be an extra or get your name in the credits — for contributing. The duo is in the process of putting together a reliable cast and crew, and they’d value your help. Even if you can’t afford to donate money, Howell and Smith encourage and appreciate help in various forms, as outlined on their campaign page.

The impact social media has had on their project has led the pair to consider online distribution for their show. It’s certainly a growing industry. Various series, like the comeback season of the beloved sitcom Arrested Development (a show Howell is inspired by), are being distributed on online streaming sites like Netflix and Hulu.

Howell and Smith are great examples of the active roles women can play in film and television production, and hopefully their experience will encourage other young women to make their creative dreams come true.

Check out the links below to find out more and to donate. Here’s to one day seeing Be the Church on our television — or computer — screens!

Jen and Susan’s IndieGoGo Page

Jen’s Blog

Jen’s Twitter

Community and the Power of the Reference

I know this is a movie blog and I don’t usually discuss television (although I have in my recent posts about Gossip Girl and cinematic series, as well as my examinations of Lifetime and Syfy movies), but I am a huge TV fan, and I believe television, especially in recent years, goes hand-in-hand with examinations of film.  I’m also beyond excited that NBC’s comedy Community is returning next week, after months of doubts concerning its return after its midseason finale.

Amidst the great news, fans of the critically praised but little-watched show have rallied in its defense, encouraging their friends and social media connections to watch next week’s return to prevent the “little show that could” from going the route of Arrested Development and Freaks and Geeks before it.  I figured I’d join in the campaign, not only because I think it’s one of the funniest, most original shows on television, but because its premise is largely based on metafictional, postmodern pop culture references, many of them cinematic.  A blog post on IndieWire makes a great defense of the show, partly because of its cinematic references.

I’ll point to possibly the show’s best three episodes as an example.  Season 2’s “A Fistful of Paintballs” (pictured above) followed by “For a Few Paintballs More” were based on Sergio Leone Spaghetti Westerns of the sixties, and they were a follow-up to the much talked about “Modern Warfare” (pictured below) from Season 1.  “Modern Warfare” puts the show’s study group, as well as Greendale Community College’s cast of eccentric supporting characters, in the middle of a school-wide paintball competition.  The show brings to fruition what countless teenage boys have imagined during paintball fights for years: The characters become embroiled in a plot reminiscent of action movies like Rambo, Die Hard, and The Matrix.  References abound, and the show does a great job of paying homage to countless action movies in a refreshing and hilarious way, and any fan of such a genre would be ecstatic to witness it.  Despite the clear references, however, you don’t need to have seen the films to think the episode is hilarious.  That’s what’s great about Community.  There are plenty of references, but being in on the joke isn’t necessary in order to laugh at it, if that makes any sense at all.  The show works on its own as a really sharp sitcom, but knowing your movie history certainly doesn’t hurt.

The show’s follow-up to “Modern Warfare,” a two-parter made up of the episodes previously mentioned, obviously plays with Western tropes and iconography in another paintball setting.  The second part also refers to Star Wars, both in its classic scrolling introduction and various verbal and visual nods.  You’d expect it to be cliched, but it’s not.  It’s absolutely hilarious and spot-on.

In addition to these three fantastic paintball episodes, which I believe are most emblematic of the show’s referential nature, there have been a few documentary episodes, one of which was inspired by Hearts of Darkness (a documentary chronicling the making of Apocalypse Now).  The episode, titled “Documentary Filmmaking: Redux”, follows the Greendale dean as he descends into madness while making a promotional ad for Greendale.  I haven’t seen Hearts of Darkness or Apocalypse Now, although I understood the reference, but I still thought it was one of the funniest episodes of Season 3.  The show’s also done a spoof of My Dinner With Andre, a claymation Christmas episode (pictured below), and a horror medley of sorts for Halloween.

My point is, Community is kind of a movie geek’s dream come true, especially if you’re fond of genre films.  But don’t think it’s too intellectual.  Although it’s definitely very smart, it’s not trying to go over anyone’s head.  It’s just trying to be flat-out funny.  And it succeeds.

Watch Community’s return next Thursday, March 15, at 8 pm on NBC.  And go watch the episodes previously mentioned if you have access to them.