by Leesa Dean
So before I get into the Rollo story, wanted to talk about some more exciting stuff that’s happening. First, Lele (the actual character) was tapped to do a weekly radio segment! This is how it happened. I’ve been twitter friends with Gigi Capone for while. She has a radio show in Yuba City, Cali called the Business Report on KRYC Rhythm 105.9 Fm . She interviewed me for the show and afterwards, we started talking. I mentioned that HNS Mag is doing a feature on Chilltown/Lele’s Ratchet Advice Show and they’re putting Leleon the cover! Gigi loved the idea and said, “Why don’t you have Lele host the 60 Second Wrap-Up?” I jumped at the chance. A cartoon character hosting a radio segment?! For those of you who don’t know, I not only write and animate Lele, but also voice her. So I wrote the segment, recorded it and she loved it. One thing led to another and my first show was yesterday, April 11th. Every week on Thursdays at 4pm PST, Lele will be doing her comedic spin on entertainment and gossip–all in 60 seconds. It’s really gonna be a blast. And, can’t wait to show you guys the HNS cover. I did a special illustration for it. It drops at the end of April.
Also, more in the collab department. Been so incredibly busy, it’s hard to keep up with everything but am in the planning stages of a number of collabs plus Chilltown/Lele spin-offs (yes, the Lele show is already a spin-off so this would be…a spin-off off?) There’s one in particular I wanna mention.
I’m friends with Marquis Smalls. He’s a really talented filmmaker and has a couple of web series out. We met at a Big Screen Little Screen meetup. For those that don’t know, they’re monthly meetups for web series creators. There’s one in NYC and one in LA. When you attend, you not only get to see cool series and trailers screened, you get to meet and hang-out with other creators and trade tips, network, etc. It’s run by Paul Kontonis who’s just a tremendous advocate for all things web series and is the Chairman of IAWTV. Also, a very cool guy!
At the last meetup, Marquis screened a project he’s working on: Game of Bros. I couldn’t attend (as readers of this blog know, I’ve been doing tons of radio and was being interviewed that evening.) But Marquis sent me a link (it’s not for public consumption yet.) I just loved it. We talked about it and……I’m coming aboard as a writer on the series! I’m SO excited! It’s the first web series I’ve been involved creatively with that I didn’t create. As busy as I am, it lets you know exactly how much I believe in it. We’ll be starting in a few weeks. Once we have stuff to show, I’ll be posting here. Also, Marquis is going to do a Chilltown collab with me, which I’m thrilled about. More about that (and other collabs) soon…
Finally, the Rollo saga (notice how it’s gone from a story to a saga?) continues.
I know Rollo is desperate and while conversations with him have been really entertaining, do I seriously wanna take things to the next level professionally with him? Truth: I’m starting to pick up a little steam. Sad Fact: I don’t have representation (agent/manager) yet. And that’s a biggie. I had always thought: I’ll try and get some attention, hopefully an agent will get interested (UTA and CAA are ya listening?!?) and *then* walk into a network.
But things in the business seem so different now. What exactly do I have to lose by taking a meeting? First: the network is tiny. Nobody I’m that interested in right now (no names will be used here.) Yet you never know what will happen or what they have to say. I’m thinking: I can come up with another show idea for them. Rollo’s open to it. First things first though, I don’t know what Rollo wants out of the deal. He needs a little time to think about it. We agree to meet in a week.