RETURNING TO CHICAGO in a big way this September is actor, standup comic, author and radio personality Steve Harvey, who started his career here in radio at WGCI-FM 20 years ago and is returning as the star of his own “Steve Harvey” TV show.
The show will originate in the 10,000-sq. ft. studio in NBC Tower in front a studio audience expected to fill the studio’s 200 seats – the same studio where Jerry Springer and Jenny Jones put Chicago on the daytime TV show map.
NBC Universal Domestic Television will distribute
“Steve Harvey” to 10 NBC-owned stations.
“Steve Harvey” is expected to create an estimated 100 local jobs, with about half of those directly lost when Springer moved to Hartford, Conn. as the consequence of the show being denied Illinois tax credits. “Steve Harvey” could well be the next “Oprah” show here, as it’s expected to bring approximately 35,000 audience and visitors to Chicago annually and millions of dollars to local businesses.
Harvey says the new show won’t interfere with his hosting of “Family Feud” or his syndicated morning radio show. In fact, he will broadcast the show locally from WVAZ-FM studios. He will commute to his Atlanta home.
GOV. PAT QUINN MADE IT to L.A. Wednesday after a “will he, won’t he” few days as his staff was juggling his schedule to allow him to attend the dinner for some 40 TV production execs at the posh Mondrian Hotel.
“The governor’s talk went very, very well,” reports Local 476’s Mark Hogan, who was one a dozen Chicagoans who flew out for the occasion – and to makes sales calls before and after the event.
“He talked up how our incentives work well and how we have a great infrastructure and everything needed to shoot here.” The dinner marked the first time Quinn had made a sales trip on behalf of the film industry to L.A.
Among the prominent, decision-making TV execs who supped with the local contingent were Ed Lammi from Sony TV; Jim Sharpe, Bruce Margolis and Craig Hill, Fox TV; Sue Palladino and Ricky Herman, Warmers TV; Tom Sherrod, HBO; Betty Lee, Lions Gate; Gary French and Rob Harland from NBC.
IPA members who flew out were the Teamsters John Coli Sr., John Coli, Jr. and Jeff Crabtree, who is the IPA president; Fletcher Camera’s Tom Fletcher and Zoe Borys; casting director Claire Simon; Cinespace’s Alex Pissios, Jim Mirkopoulos and new CFO Mark Degnan and the IFO’s Betsy Steinberg.
The last few weeks had Hogan up in the air; he just returned from a national IATSE meeting in Vancouver and last month was in L.A. for Locations Expo.
FEMALE FILMMAKERS NIGHT is the Midwest Independent Film Festival’s program Tuesday, Aug. 7 at Landmark Century Center Cinema. The Chicago filmmakers are Samina Akbari (The Visitors); Lisa Gildenhaus (Giogrio); Anna Musso (L Train); Katie Kapuza (We Don’t Want to be Wholesome); Marie Ullrich (Faster) and Wisconsin’s Anna Sampers (This is Umberto). Most of the filmmakers will be in attendance. Doors open at 6 p.m.
TEN SCREENWRITERS made it to the semifinals of the Chicago Screenwriters Network contest. They are: Jason Doty, Deprivation; Kristin Hansen, The Self-Conclusion Plans; A. J. Manasdeer, The Abominable Snowman; Sara Michal, Out to Sea; Alejandrina Perez, A Whimsy Dreary; Michael Peterson, Get the Girl; Tracy Ryan, The Alliance; Robert Shelton, Where Vengeance Awaits; Brian Smith, Our Story and Brian Welch, The Giants of Elmfield Rd.
Winners will be announced at CSN’s Sept. 9 ceremonies at Mayne Stage in Rogers Park.
Meanwhile, at CSN’s next monthly meeting, Aug. 5, Jenn Grisanti, a leading network TV consultant, will be interviewed about “Telling and Selling your story,” by CSN’s program director Linda Frothingham of Froth Ideas and ChicagoHollywood.com. At the Pork Chop, 941 W. Randolph, starting 6 p.m.
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