"Just Like Elvis" TV Show
Donation protected
SERIES TITLE: “Just Like Elvis”
LOGLINE: When following the lives of a group of amateur Elvis tribute artists, we watch as they struggle with family, long travel, and often, harsh criticism, because…they "just like Elvis"!
DESCRIPTION: “Just Like Elvis” is a self-contained, unscripted docudrama (“follow doc”). This reality show centers around the amateur Elvis tribute artist performer (ETA); those performers who continue to work full-time “regular” jobs, while raising children, struggling to make ends meet and fighting for every contest and/or paid performance gig possible.
These are their stories.
STYLE: The production style envisioned would include a mixture of hand-held cameras following the cast member’s day-to-day life, mixed in with fan footage/audience POV’s, and Go-Pro footage for cast member POV. We envision over-the-top shooting styles similar to those made famous from the previous award-winning Elvis documentaries, including rapid close-ups, pull-backs and quick edits, as well as multiple diary sessions with the ETA, their family, and compelling associates or friends.
SIMILAR SHOWS: This docu-drama series would be similar in style to other docu-drama series of various subject matters, including "COPS", "The Real World" and "Swamp People".
POTENTIAL AUDIENCE: The Elvis fan base is one of the largest ongoing fan bases in the world. Elvis consistently ranks among the top selling "dead entertainers", and his residence, Graceland, in Memphis, TN., is one of the most visited tourist spots in the nation. Interest for this show on Facebook alone has topped several thousand with no publicity/advertisement budget whatsoever. This would be an ideal show for the likes of a Bravo, E!, VH1, TLC, or A&E. A large contingent of Elvis fans, women, and all across the age spectrum would be a potential target audience.
FIRST SEASON CAST: There are over 50,000 registered Elvis Tribute Artists throughout the world. The pool of potential talent to pull from is practically endless.
The first season cast members include the following:
• “Rob”: This Alabama native, currently supports his new wife and children, including a child with special needs. An Army veteran, works full time in the Veterans Administration.
• “Gene”: The “New York” Elvis, Gene owns and works at a laundromat while maintaining a busy schedule performing as Elvis in local shows and various contests.
• "Brett”: Brett is a blind Elvis peformer. Although disabled, he's extremely active as a deep sea fisherman, a golfer, a motivational speaker and an active alumnus of the University of Tennessee.
• "Michael": Lives in South Carolina, and works full-time in construction as well as a performer on the Myrtle Beach beachfront. He has a wife and three small children, all with "Elvis"-related names!
• "TJ": Lives in Wisconsin, and is a manager at the local Walmart. He works and travels often, performing his tribute show.
• "Barry": Our "Las Vegas" resident ETA is singer/songwriter and full-time performer, who travels between Nevada, California, and Arizona to bring music to his large and ever-growing fan base.
• "Paul": Also residing in Indiana, Paul is a successful entrepreneur and businessman, and recent Stage IV cancer survivor. He has been performing in bands for over thirty years.
• "Wesley": A Ohio native and United States Marine, Wesley supplements his ETA career by doing carpentry and working as a cabinet maker.
• "Thomas": Thomas works in the restaurant industry, and has the least stage experience of any of the first season cast members.
• "Travis": A local handiman, Travis is considered among the hardest working ETA's in the business; constantly on the road performing, from large halls to small private parties.
WHO WE ARE: Geno Scala, Executive Producer of Shark-Eating Man Productions, is a veteran of the entertainment industry, spending nearly two decades in the Hollywood community in a variety of professional capacities. He is a multi-award winning screenwriter, a successful executive producer, and served as one of the Executive Directors of a number of award presentation shows including the 72nd Academy Awards (2000), the AMPAS Science and Technology Awards show, the Grammy Awards, the Soul Train Awards, and the Blockbuster Awards. Currently, Geno serves as the Executive Producer for such projects as Owen Ratliff's “Black Salt” - cinema’s first minority superhero originally written in a lead role - and “Debris”, penned by Nicole Jones-Dion. Other projects include “Mirror Lake” (2012), "The Dick Jone Project" (2012), “Season of Hope” (2013), “The Girl at the End of the World” (2013), “Practical Uses for a Time Machine” (2014), and “Our Father” (2014).
The Cinematographer, Editor and Associate Producer for this series is Michael Hall. Mike has been filming Elvis tribute artists since 2007, mostly under the name “Jess Charro Wade”, and is the “unofficial” cinematographer of the Collingwood Elvis Festival. He has also enjoyed filming the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Contest in Memphis for several years. He is one of the most respected cinematographers in the world of Elvis Tribute Artists, often being hired to film personal tribute shows and promotional videos. He has worked all over the United States and Canada, and his YouTube videos have produced well over TWO AND A HALF MILLION views.
BACKGROUND: As a former amateur Elvis tribute artist, I discovered that the unique and loyal fan base for "The King of Rock and Roll" is far and wide. Since his death, and with every passing generation, this fandom grows exponentially- and globally- with more fans outside of the United States than in. The "underground” aspect of this fan base has resulted in thousands of Elvis festivals around the world annually, and now includes an entire sub-culture of Elvis Tribute Artists who perform and compete in various tribute shows. These shows culminate in the largest and most prestigious contest - "The Ultimate Elvis" Tribute Artist Contest- held every year at Elvis Presley's home, Graceland, in Memphis, TN. Prizes for these contests can include up to $20,000 cash and year-long performance agreements in Las Vegas and Branson, MO.
WHY CONTRIBUTE: If you want to see a television series that celebrates the performer that Elvis Presley was, the music that he created, and celebrate the thousands upon thousands of tribute artists who make so many personal sacrifices to bring his music to his millions of fans around the globe, you need to contribute to this project. We know things are tough out there; we feel it, too. We can all afford a little something to help assure this show gets made. Just imagine the quality of a project of this magnitiude if you- and every Elvis fan you knew- all gave just five dollars to this project! Now, imagine those that might be able to afford just a little bit more- ten, twenty, two hundred, five hundred- or more!
Be part of this extremely exciting series concept. The more we raise, the better the quality of the show. The better the quality, the better chance of attracting the larger television production companies that want to appeal to Elvis' massive fan base.
Why contribute? Because you...
...just like Elvis!
LOGLINE: When following the lives of a group of amateur Elvis tribute artists, we watch as they struggle with family, long travel, and often, harsh criticism, because…they "just like Elvis"!
DESCRIPTION: “Just Like Elvis” is a self-contained, unscripted docudrama (“follow doc”). This reality show centers around the amateur Elvis tribute artist performer (ETA); those performers who continue to work full-time “regular” jobs, while raising children, struggling to make ends meet and fighting for every contest and/or paid performance gig possible.
These are their stories.
STYLE: The production style envisioned would include a mixture of hand-held cameras following the cast member’s day-to-day life, mixed in with fan footage/audience POV’s, and Go-Pro footage for cast member POV. We envision over-the-top shooting styles similar to those made famous from the previous award-winning Elvis documentaries, including rapid close-ups, pull-backs and quick edits, as well as multiple diary sessions with the ETA, their family, and compelling associates or friends.
SIMILAR SHOWS: This docu-drama series would be similar in style to other docu-drama series of various subject matters, including "COPS", "The Real World" and "Swamp People".
POTENTIAL AUDIENCE: The Elvis fan base is one of the largest ongoing fan bases in the world. Elvis consistently ranks among the top selling "dead entertainers", and his residence, Graceland, in Memphis, TN., is one of the most visited tourist spots in the nation. Interest for this show on Facebook alone has topped several thousand with no publicity/advertisement budget whatsoever. This would be an ideal show for the likes of a Bravo, E!, VH1, TLC, or A&E. A large contingent of Elvis fans, women, and all across the age spectrum would be a potential target audience.
FIRST SEASON CAST: There are over 50,000 registered Elvis Tribute Artists throughout the world. The pool of potential talent to pull from is practically endless.
The first season cast members include the following:
• “Rob”: This Alabama native, currently supports his new wife and children, including a child with special needs. An Army veteran, works full time in the Veterans Administration.
• “Gene”: The “New York” Elvis, Gene owns and works at a laundromat while maintaining a busy schedule performing as Elvis in local shows and various contests.
• "Brett”: Brett is a blind Elvis peformer. Although disabled, he's extremely active as a deep sea fisherman, a golfer, a motivational speaker and an active alumnus of the University of Tennessee.
• "Michael": Lives in South Carolina, and works full-time in construction as well as a performer on the Myrtle Beach beachfront. He has a wife and three small children, all with "Elvis"-related names!
• "TJ": Lives in Wisconsin, and is a manager at the local Walmart. He works and travels often, performing his tribute show.
• "Barry": Our "Las Vegas" resident ETA is singer/songwriter and full-time performer, who travels between Nevada, California, and Arizona to bring music to his large and ever-growing fan base.
• "Paul": Also residing in Indiana, Paul is a successful entrepreneur and businessman, and recent Stage IV cancer survivor. He has been performing in bands for over thirty years.
• "Wesley": A Ohio native and United States Marine, Wesley supplements his ETA career by doing carpentry and working as a cabinet maker.
• "Thomas": Thomas works in the restaurant industry, and has the least stage experience of any of the first season cast members.
• "Travis": A local handiman, Travis is considered among the hardest working ETA's in the business; constantly on the road performing, from large halls to small private parties.
WHO WE ARE: Geno Scala, Executive Producer of Shark-Eating Man Productions, is a veteran of the entertainment industry, spending nearly two decades in the Hollywood community in a variety of professional capacities. He is a multi-award winning screenwriter, a successful executive producer, and served as one of the Executive Directors of a number of award presentation shows including the 72nd Academy Awards (2000), the AMPAS Science and Technology Awards show, the Grammy Awards, the Soul Train Awards, and the Blockbuster Awards. Currently, Geno serves as the Executive Producer for such projects as Owen Ratliff's “Black Salt” - cinema’s first minority superhero originally written in a lead role - and “Debris”, penned by Nicole Jones-Dion. Other projects include “Mirror Lake” (2012), "The Dick Jone Project" (2012), “Season of Hope” (2013), “The Girl at the End of the World” (2013), “Practical Uses for a Time Machine” (2014), and “Our Father” (2014).
The Cinematographer, Editor and Associate Producer for this series is Michael Hall. Mike has been filming Elvis tribute artists since 2007, mostly under the name “Jess Charro Wade”, and is the “unofficial” cinematographer of the Collingwood Elvis Festival. He has also enjoyed filming the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Contest in Memphis for several years. He is one of the most respected cinematographers in the world of Elvis Tribute Artists, often being hired to film personal tribute shows and promotional videos. He has worked all over the United States and Canada, and his YouTube videos have produced well over TWO AND A HALF MILLION views.
BACKGROUND: As a former amateur Elvis tribute artist, I discovered that the unique and loyal fan base for "The King of Rock and Roll" is far and wide. Since his death, and with every passing generation, this fandom grows exponentially- and globally- with more fans outside of the United States than in. The "underground” aspect of this fan base has resulted in thousands of Elvis festivals around the world annually, and now includes an entire sub-culture of Elvis Tribute Artists who perform and compete in various tribute shows. These shows culminate in the largest and most prestigious contest - "The Ultimate Elvis" Tribute Artist Contest- held every year at Elvis Presley's home, Graceland, in Memphis, TN. Prizes for these contests can include up to $20,000 cash and year-long performance agreements in Las Vegas and Branson, MO.
WHY CONTRIBUTE: If you want to see a television series that celebrates the performer that Elvis Presley was, the music that he created, and celebrate the thousands upon thousands of tribute artists who make so many personal sacrifices to bring his music to his millions of fans around the globe, you need to contribute to this project. We know things are tough out there; we feel it, too. We can all afford a little something to help assure this show gets made. Just imagine the quality of a project of this magnitiude if you- and every Elvis fan you knew- all gave just five dollars to this project! Now, imagine those that might be able to afford just a little bit more- ten, twenty, two hundred, five hundred- or more!
Be part of this extremely exciting series concept. The more we raise, the better the quality of the show. The better the quality, the better chance of attracting the larger television production companies that want to appeal to Elvis' massive fan base.
Why contribute? Because you...
...just like Elvis!
Organizer
Geno Scala
Organizer
Huntsville, AL
