ATX Television Festival Announces “Gilmore Girls” Reunion For 2015 Festival
DATE: November 13, 2014
CONTACT: Brandy Fons & Chet Whitmore, Festival Publicists (Austin)
PHONE: (310) 809-8882, (214) 846-1999
E-MAIL: brandy@fonspr.com, chet@fonspr.com
LA CONTACT: Alison Rou, Branding
Phone: (213) 393-3038
E-Mail: AlisonRou@AnchorMediaStrategy.com
****FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE****
ATX TELEVISION FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES
“GILMORE GIRLS” REUNION FOR 2015 FESTIVAL
“Dawson’s Creek” Writers’ Reunion, Pitch Competition and Confirmed Guests
Austin, TX – November 13, 2014 — ATX Television Festival is pleased to unveil the first
series of the 2015 Season 4 Fest as well as the initial list of confirmed panelists who will
participate in the annual festival in Austin, TX June 4 – 7, 2015. In addition, the ATX
Television Festival is excited to announce two unique reunions: “Gilmore Girls” and
“Dawson’s Creek” Writers’ Room.
“Gilmore Girls” Reunion with Amy Sherman Palladino (Creator), Lauren Graham, Alexis
Bledel in attendance.
“Gilmore Girls” premiered 15 years ago, quickly becoming an iconic show centered on
the relationship between a young mother and her teen daughter. It dealt with culturally
relevant life scenarios with timeless meaning. “Gilmore Girls” debuted on October 5,
2000 to widespread critical acclaim until it ended in 2007. Fans can now revisit Stars
Hollow and enjoy all seven seasons of “Gilmore Girls” on Netflix.
“There’ll be coffee, right? Can’t wait!” – Lauren Graham
“So after years of peace and quiet these lunatics have chosen to get the chattiest chicks
in the world back under one roof? Really? Okay. You asked for it….Gilmore was the
highlight of my ridiculous life. I can’t wait to sit with these unbelievable broads and relive
a time where sleep did not exist where stress and coffee were mama’s little helpers and
where we all dove into the deep end together to make something weird and very very
cool.” -Amy Sherman Palladino
ATX Television Festival is thrilled to announce its first Writers’ Room Reunion with
Among Fest’s Season 4 Announcements
“Dawson’s Creek” including creator/showrunner Kevin Williamson, showrunner Greg
Berlanti, and producers/writers/assistants Jenny Bicks, Julie Plec, Rob Thomas, Liz
Tigelaar, Paul Stupin, Rina Mimoun, Maggie Friedman, Gina Fattore, Anna Fricke, and
Dana Baratta in attendance. This room launched many of these writers’ careers to
include creating their own series and showrunning many of our favorite shows.
“Dawson’s Creek” was an American teen drama series created by Kevin Williamson,
which debuted on The WB on January 20, 1998. It gained popularity through the years
and reached millions of homes per week. “Dawson’s Creek” became the coming of age
show for Generation Y’s. It launched the careers of Katie Holmes, academy award
winner Michelle Williams, James Van Der Beek, and Joshua Jackson.
“Dawson’s Creek and Kevin Williamson changed my life and gave me a career. Nothing
could be more exciting then to be back with so many people I respect and admire than
my fellow writers from the show… and our amazing creator, Kevin.” – Greg Berlanti
ATX Television Festival is announcing preliminary judges and dates for the third annual
Pitch Competition presented by Final Draft, Inc., creators of the number one selling
screenwriting application in the world.
Judges currently include:
Kyle Killen (AWAKE, MIND GAMES, LONE STAR)
Scott Pennington (Chapter Eleven Executive, and former VP, Scripted Programming at
AMC)
Keith Redmon (Anonymous Content)
** Additional 4-6 judges will be announced as submissions begin to be accepted.
“In my experience, every human being who’s ever watched television has a brilliant idea
for a show. The pitch competition provides an utterly unique opportunity. Not only do
you get to battle test that idea, the winner gets the opportunity to present it directly to the
people who actually turn ideas into television. If there’s another competition that puts
you in that position or offers a learning experience half as valuable, I haven’t heard of it.”
– Kyle Killen
The competition allows aspiring writers and show creators to pitch their original idea for
a scripted series to some of the biggest decision makers in the television industry at the
fourth season of the ATX Television Festival in Austin, TX next June 4-7th.
Participants in the Pitch Competition submit with a ninety-second video presenting their
original idea for a scripted series through a self-filmed video. The competition is open to
any and all pitches for scripted series ideas. The ten finalists compete at ATX Television
Festival (June 4-7, 2015) in Austin, TX to pitch live before the panel of judges, who will
choose one winner. This winner will receive a meeting with one of the judges to explore
the idea of their series and gain notes to better develop the series, then will get a pitch
meeting in front of one of the festival’s studio/network partners to try to sell their pilot for
production!
Submissions will be accepted December 5, 2014 until January 16, 2015 through the
website. The twenty-five semi-finalists will be
announced on February 27, 2015 and the top ten finalists will be announced on April 17,
2015.
ATX Television Festival is also pleased to announce the launch of ATX Ambassadors.
An ATX Ambassador is an appointed spokesperson for the festival, who has connected
with both the event and the organizers in a way that secures a deep understanding of
the Festival’s goals and intentions. The festival is proud to name Wilson Cruz (RED
BAND SOCIETY, MY SO-CALLED LIFE), Matt Lauria (KINGDOM, FRIDAY NIGHT
LIGHTS), and Nick Wechsler (REVENGE, ROSWELL) as inaugural ATX Ambassadors.
“Having attended ATX Television Festival the past two years, I’m honored to have been
asked to participate as an Ambassador, and to help them launch this new position along
with Matt Lauria and Wilson Cruz. This festival is an extremely unique and important
event for the television community, and I’m thrilled to see how it grows, and to be
involved in a more official position.” – Nick Wechsler
“I attended the inaugural ATX Television Festival in 2012, and even then was impressed
with the caliber of panelists and events that Caitlin and Emily programmed. As it has
grown, it has only continued to become more thoughtful and engaging — and built itself
alongside the growing and ever-changing medium of television.” – Matt Lauria
Please see below for the panelists and first series list along with two community event
announcements. Stay tuned for additional programming.
Additional Confirmed Guests, Series, & Returning Events:
Kathleen McCaffrey, Director: HBO Original Programming
Beau Willimon, Executive Producer/Writer
Kevin Falls, Executive Producer/Creator: JOURNEYMAN
Alex Graves, Director: JOURNEYMAN
Kevin, McKidd, Actor: JOURNEYMAN
Graham Yost, Creator/Writer
David Hudgins, Creator/Writer
Doug Robinson, Executive Producer/Writer
Eli Attie, Writer/Producer
Phil Rosenthal, Creator/Writer/Producer
Noah Hawley, Creator/Writer/Producer
JOURNEYMAN will be featured within the “cancelled too soon” series track as a
screening.
Friday Night Lights Community Screening: Friday, June 5, 2015
Hasbro Saturday Morning Cartoons: Saturday, June 6, 2015
For the latest developments, tickets and badges visit the ATX Television Festival official
site atxfestival.com and follow us on Facebook & Twitter.
For co-promotion please link to @ATXFestival #ATXTV4 on Twitter.
About the ATX Television Festival
Our focus is on the celebration of the television medium: looking back at its history,
where it is now, and where it is headed. Our weekend consists of events where
attendees can interact with actors, writers, directors, creators, showrunners, music
supervisors, casting directors and studio executives involved in all stages of bringing
their favorite series to the small screen. We have all the functionality of a traditional film
festival – spotlighting classic shows, never aired pilots, cancelled too soon series, cult
favorites, current hits, and premieres of new series. In addition, we focus on episode
screenings with Q&A’s from the cast and creators; panels focused on industry related
topics like streaming and innovative outlets to continue production outside of the
network/studio system; and will include parties, live music, meet-ups, social media
events, and “super secret happy hours.” Ultimately, ATX has the goal of serving both the
community and industry professionals equally by giving them the opportunity to discuss
and celebrate all aspects of TV.