POKER NIGHT

Well, I have my plane ticket to NY, and I can't wait to get to the Festival. Sam is still not sure if he can make it, but I'll be there to represent no matter what. I hope to see everyone who's reading this at the screening of Poker Night over the weekend of September 15, 16, 17. Check the Festival schedule for details. See you in NY! -Jeff Nimoy, Producer

Hi, Jeff Nimoy here, co-creator of Poker Night. I guess I should start at the beginning. I play in a Tuesday night poker game with some friends here in Los Angeles. Were all funny guys, either working actors/comedians, or ex-actors/comedians now doing other things in show business, like writing or producing. Anyway, one of our players, Sam Mollo, who is an award winning producer/editor came to me, another (EMMY) award winning producer/writer/director, with an idea for a TV show. He wanted to make a weekly poker recap and information show, hosted by the buddies in our Tuesday night game. Sort of a combination Talk Soup, and Best Damn Sports Show Period, but all about poker. A show where you dont have to know about poker, because our hosts will be so funny, you can learn as you watch, and be entertained whether you know about poker or not. A show that a wife or girlfriend can watch with her poker obsessed husband or boyfriend (or vice versa). It was a no-brainer that it would be funny, since our game includes some if the best improv comedians in the world today, including Brad Sherwood, from Whos Line Is It Anyway? Well, we decided to shoot a pilot to try to sell the show. We called in every favor we could to keep the costs down, and we were very prepared. It looked like the pilot would go off without a hitch. Only one problem. The day of the shoot, the air conditioning in the building went out. It also happened to be the hottest day of the year in Los Angeles, a sweltering August afternoon. We could only shoot for about five minutes at a time before the cast was bathed in sweat. We would stop cameras, turn on these fans that everyone brought in, and Julie (Sams wife, and professional make-up artist) would mop the sweat off of everyones faces. She did a remarkable job, since no one could tell anything was wrong from the final cut. It really pushed us to the limits of our problem solving producer skills, but we managed to pull it off. We were thrilled when we got the call from the New York Television Festival. If this show happens, it will fulfill a life long dream of being able to work side by side with all of our friends, making each other laugh and playing poker. It wont feel like a job, itll just feel like another Tuesday night with my buddies at the poker table. -Jeff Nimoy