****FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE****

DATE:           November 1, 2012
CONTACT:  Brandy Fons & Dacyl Armendariz, Publicists
PHONE:        (310) 809-8882  (512) 944-0944
E-MAIL:       brandy@fonspr.com  dacyl@fonspr.com

ATX TELEVISION FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2013 PROGRAMMING INCLUDING FIRST EVER ‘BOY MEETS WORLD’ CAST REUNION AND WORLD PREMIERE SCREENINGS 

Southwest Airlines Confirmed As Official Airline Of ATX Television Festival 

Austin, TX-Thursday, March 28, 2013 - ATX Television Festival, the first festival devoted to television’s history and future, is pleased to announce the initial wave of programming, including world premieres for several new shows and season openers, as well as a highly anticipated first ever cast reunion of Boy Meets World.  In addition, Southwest Airlines will be the official airline provider of the festival.  The 2013 festival will take place June 6-9 in Austin, TX.

Joining creator Michael Jacobs (who will also feature past hits: Dinosaurs, Charles in Charge and My Two Dads) will be Ben Savage (Cory Matthews), Rider Strong (Shawn Hunter), Matt Lawrence (Jack Hunter), Maitland Ward (Rachel McGuire), and yet to be announced Special Guests that will not disappoint for the cast reunion.

“I’m grateful to the ATX Television Festival for including Boy and Girl Meets World this year. The incredible outpouring of feeling for the original show, and anticipation for the new one makes us only want to work harder to create something that audiences old and new will appreciate,” said series creator Michael Jacobs.

“Boy Meets World ripped away my childhood and ruined me as an adult. Wait, reverse that,” said cast member Rider Strong.  “I’m so happy to be a part of ATX Television Festival.  Boy Meets world was a magical time in my life and it’s incredibly satisfying to know that it still resonates with people.”

ATX Television Festival is excited to welcome three new networks bringing premiere programming to the second annual festival.  AMC will bring both a new series and a returning favorite, including the pilot episode for Low Winter Sun with several cast members including Lennie James (The Walking Dead, Hung), and executive producer Chris Mundy (Cold Case, Criminal Minds).  In addition, the Emmy® Award nominated series Hell On Wheels will be at the festival to promote its upcoming third season.  TNT will also participate in the festival for the first time with the world premiere of the first episode of season two of Perception, with cast members Rachael Leigh Cook and Scott Wolf and show creator Kenneth Biller, along with the first episode of season three of Falling Skies, with cast members in attendance.  The third network making its first appearance at the ATX Television Festival is IFC with the first episode of season two of their popular talk show Comedy Bang! Bang! with host/star Scott Aukerman in attendance.  Please see below for a list of additional confirmed programming and guests and stay tuned for additional programming announcements.

DATE:           November 1, 2012
CONTACT:  Brandy Fons & Dacyl Armendariz, Publicists
PHONE:        (310) 809-8882  (512) 944-0944
E-MAIL:       brandy@fonspr.com  dacyl@fonspr.com

ATX TELEVISION FESTIVAL AND FINAL DRAFT PRESENT  “THE PITCH COMPETION”

Initial Programming and Confirmed Guests Announced

For The Second Annual Festival June 6 – 9 in Austin, TX

Austin, TX— Thursday, November 1, 2012 — ATX Television Festival is pleased to announce its collaboration with Final Draft, the creators of the number one selling screenwriting application in the world, to host their first-ever Pitch Competition.  This competition will allow 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.

Participants will have ninety seconds to convince industry judges on their original idea for a scripted series through a self-filmed video. The competition is open to any and all pitches for scripted shows: a 30-minute for a traditional network, an hour drama for cable, a hybrid for original online content. The only guideline is that it must be for a scripted (non-reality) series and pitched in under a minute and half.

ATX Television Festival will screen all submissions and choose twenty-five semi-finalists to be judged by a panel of industry professionals including: Bill Lawrence (Creator/Producer of Scrubs and Cougar Town), Bryan Seabury (VP of Drama Development at CBS Network), Liz Tigelaar (Creator of Life Unexpected & writer on American Dreams, Nashville, and Revenge), Kyle Killen (Creator of Lone Star & Awake), Peter Billingsley (Executive Producer of Sullivan & Son, Dinner for Five, and Executive at Wild West Picture Productions), David Hudgins (Executive Producer of Friday Night Lights & Parenthood), and special guest judges, who will narrow the twenty-five semi-finalists down to ten finalists.

The ten finalists will compete at ATX Television Festival (June 6-9, 2013) in Austin, TX to pitch live before the panel of judges. After hearing all ten of the live pitches, the judges will choose one winner.  This winner will receive a meeting with one of the judges (based on the show’s genre/judges’ availability) to explore the idea of their series and gain notes to better develop the series.  After the pitch is honed, the winner will then get a pitch meeting in front of one of the festival’s studio/network partners to try and sell their pilot for production!

All participants will receive a discount code for 25% off the latest version of Final Draft (retailing at $249) as well as $25 off of any level ATX Television Festival badge.  The semi-finalists will receive Panel badges to the Festival, allowing them to see any panels, including the Final Pitch Competition. The ten finalists will each receive a Weekend badge to the Festival, plus two tickers to the opening night screening and after-party to start the festival off right!  The finalists will also receive a free copy of the most recent version Final Draft, courtesy of Final Draft.

“The pitch competition is a perfect addition to the festival. A truth in TV is that you don’t get paid to write your show unless you can sell it as a pitch. Like writing, pitching is an art form that needs to be practiced, honed and perfected,” said Bryan Seabury, VP of Drama Development at CBS Network.  “The importance of pitching is often overlooked so this contest is yet another example of ATX understanding the TV industry and providing a great service to its attendees.”

“I’m a life-long TV nerd and I’m all for ATX Television Festival because it’s such a fun way to bring television fans together.  The Pitch Competition offers fans an opportunity to get into the industry which is another reason anyone attending ATX Television Festival should consider themselves lucky,“ said Bill Lawrence, creator of Scrubs and Cougar Town.

Submissions will be accepted November 1, 2012 to January 18, 2012 through the website http://www.atxfestival.com/pitch.  The twenty- five semi-finalists will be announced on February 18, 2013 and the top ten finalists will be announced on March 28, 2012.

Visit the link below to see a contest promo video starring Matt Lauria (Friday Night Lights, Parenthood) and Arielle Kebbel (The Vampire Diaries, 90210).

“The Pitch Competition” Promo Video: http://youtu.be/1SEZngCxFgY

ATX Television Festival is also pleased to unveil the initial list of confirmed special guests who will be at the second annual festival in Austin, TX June 6 – 9, 2013, as well as the first round of confirmed programming partners.  Please see below for the current list and stay tuned for additional programming announcements.

Confirmed Guests:

Julie Plec, Creator of The Vampire Diaries

Liz Tigelaar, Creator of Life Unexpected, and writer of Nashville, Revenge, and American Dreams.

Peter Billingsley, Executive Producer of Sullivan & Son and Dinner for Five

Bill Lawrence, Creator of Scrubs and Cougar Town

David Hudgins, Executive Producer of Parenthood and Friday Night Lights

Ben Blacker, Nerdist Writers Panel

Kyle Killen, Creator of Lone Star & Awake

Lauren Iungerich, Creator of AWKWARD

Jonathan Prince, Creator of American Dreams

Winnie Holzman, Creator of My So-Called Life

Chris Keyser, Co-Creator of Party of Five

Arielle Kebbel, Actor on 90210, The Vampire Diaries, Gilmore Girls

Matt Lauria, Actor on Friday Night Lights and Parenthood

Cast and crew members of Boy Meets World

Cast and crew members of Friday Night Lights

Cast and crew members of American Dreams

Confirmed Programming From:

My So-Called Life

Party Of Five

Boy Meets World

NBC

CBS

CW

USA

FOX

For the latest developments, tickets and badges visit the ATX Television Festival official site www.atxfestival.com and follow us on Facebook & Twitter.

About 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 will consist 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 will 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.

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