How Pony is Formed: Production and Business Thread

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Re: How Pony is Formed: Production and Business Thread

Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Mon Jul 15, 2013 2:19 pm

Well, they have to start somewhere. Despite this fandom's adorations, FiM isn't an especially big deal as far as cartoons go.
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Postby agradify (?) » Mon Jul 15, 2013 2:40 pm

If I'm not mistaken, they've got about as much experience as Corey Powell, and look at how well her episodes were received. :pinkieshrug:
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Postby Headless Horse (?) » Mon Jul 15, 2013 3:50 pm

M.A. Larson was pretty close to being a newbie when they gave him his pony break. :pinkieshrug:
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Postby Bumble-B (?) » Mon Jul 15, 2013 4:00 pm

Headless Horse wrote:M.A. Larson was pretty close to being a newbie when they gave him his pony break. :pinkieshrug:


Mitch's Tip:

1. Go buy tons of Spongebob DVD volumes.
2.Watch them all
3. Proceed to write FiM/every other cartoon
4. Profit!
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Postby Mr. Big (?) » Mon Jul 15, 2013 4:16 pm

The thing is, those two writers singled out have little to no prior credit. In fact, I don't think Natasha Levinger has any cartoon credits at all yet. She will soon, but none of them aired yet.

M.A. Larson, Corey Powell, and others did write for several other shows before FiM came out. Corey Powell's been writing since the mid-1990s, at least.
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Postby Nissl (?) » Mon Jul 15, 2013 4:32 pm

Very interesting. It definitely is a bit concerning to have multiple writers with basically no cartoon background coming on board, but hey, McCarthy made a good decision hiring Powell, and a significant chunk of their work will probably be replacing Williams, who - while I liked much of her work - was one of the more controversial writers. And over in the comics, we've seen Cook and Anderson perform very well from their first full-length comic outings, outdoing some more experienced writers who didn't fit the material as well.
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Postby Perpetual Lurker (?) » Sat Jul 20, 2013 7:42 am

I mean, are new writers supposed to start on "crap" shows? those can be more damaging to a career than helpful. I bet that a lot about getting hired for a gig like this has to do with putting in a good enough pitch that they want you to finish it for them. They wouldn't be announcing them as writers if their scripts hadn't been pitched to, approved, reviewed, and edited by Meghan first. It's not like they're hired without their work having been seen and then they're stuck with them if they're bad. :pinkieshrug:
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Postby Bumble-B (?) » Sat Jul 20, 2013 7:52 am

Are we even sure if all the writers are writing the final scripts? Some of them could just be writing the story, then having it fully written by another writer. KCaFO had that instance where Dave Polsky finished the script
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Postby Grue (?) » Sat Jul 20, 2013 7:59 am

Perpetual Lurker wrote:I mean, are new writers supposed to start on "crap" shows? those can be more damaging to a career than helpful. I bet that a lot about getting hired for a gig like this has to do with putting in a good enough pitch that they want you to finish it for them. They wouldn't be announcing them as writers if their scripts hadn't been pitched to, approved, reviewed, and edited by Meghan first. It's not like they're hired without their work having been seen and then they're stuck with them if they're bad. :pinkieshrug:


Ideally, MLP:FiM should be famous enough to attract experienced writers from non-crap shows. Unfortunately, in the grand scheme of things, it probably isn't...
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sat Jul 20, 2013 1:44 pm

Grue wrote:
Ideally, MLP:FiM should be famous enough to attract experienced writers from non-crap shows. Unfortunately, in the grand scheme of things, it probably isn't...

The sad thing is, it's important to remember that FiM is still just a single cartoon on a single premium cable channel made by a toy company. While this fandom is (relatively) huge, business-wise the show itself is not a very big deal. Hasbro still seems to see it as a 22-minute toy advertisement, so unless they drop that perception, I doubt the writers and other creative people will either.
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Sat Jul 20, 2013 2:15 pm

Perpetual Lurker wrote:I mean, are new writers supposed to start on "crap" shows? those can be more damaging to a career than helpful. I bet that a lot about getting hired for a gig like this has to do with putting in a good enough pitch that they want you to finish it for them. They wouldn't be announcing them as writers if their scripts hadn't been pitched to, approved, reviewed, and edited by Meghan first. It's not like they're hired without their work having been seen and then they're stuck with them if they're bad. :pinkieshrug:


Didn't Larson's agent tell him to do the "M.A. Larson" as his show credit rather than just do his full name?
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sat Jul 20, 2013 2:31 pm

The Doctor wrote:
Didn't Larson's agent tell him to do the "M.A. Larson" as his show credit rather than just do his full name?

Yeah, but I think that was more because this was "supposed" to be a show for girls instead of a show he'd actually want credit for. Which, considering the pre-S1 days, probably meant that it was still considered a "crap" show by the entertainment industry. :-/
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Postby doodlesplat (?) » Sat Jul 20, 2013 3:03 pm

I totally feel nerdy for looking this up for you, but since I know this I might as well share it. :-I


M.A. Larson from the Kallisti III interview ~19m55s:

Q: How did you become M.A anyways?

A: The shows that I've been writing on were primarily boy-oriented action shows. The exact same time I got hired on My Little Pony, I got hired on Symbionic Titan at Cartoon Network, which I was sure was going to be a huge hit, and so was my agent. And so he said, "you can't use your real name on My Little Pony because it'll dilute the action credits. So you gotta use a pseudonym."
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Postby Mr. Big (?) » Sat Jul 20, 2013 3:10 pm

The irony is so amazing, with "Symbionic Titan" getting canned after just one season, and MLP actually getting its run extended. :-I

I do find it interesting that he's listed as "M.A. Larson" on IMDB even though that name is only used on just one show. Even on "Littlest Pet Shop" (another girls show on the Hub) he's credited under his real name. Maybe in S4 Larson will finally be credited with his real name.
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Sat Jul 20, 2013 3:17 pm

Same thing happened to J.K. Rowling. Publisher said no one would buy a fantasy novel by a woman. :v:
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Postby doodlesplat (?) » Sat Jul 20, 2013 3:17 pm

A couple minutes prior to that he stated that he now prefers M.A.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sat Jul 20, 2013 3:20 pm

doodlesplat wrote:A couple minutes prior to that he stated that he now prefers M.A.

If I ever get a chance to speak to him I'll be sure to address him as "Ma" Larson. :gotcha:
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Postby SoundMonkey44 (?) » Sat Jul 20, 2013 3:35 pm

Larson also worked on Angry Beavers.

But yeah most of the peeps who have worked on the show have been in the business since the 90s, and even if they haven't nothing says the new writers can't do good stuff. As mentioned Corey hasn't worked on as many toons as AKR, Meghan, etc, but her episodes were arguably some of the best of season 3. I trust the new writers to at the very least will give us some entertaining stuff.
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Postby Mr. Big (?) » Sat Jul 20, 2013 3:38 pm

SoundMonkey44 wrote:Larson also worked on Angry Beavers.

I think you may be confusing with Merriwether Williams.

I just looked up Larson on imdb. Apparently the most notable show he worked on, according to the search, was "My Gym Partner's a Monkey" :bluh:

Better than "Annoying Orange", I guess (yes, Larson wrote on that show)

EDIT: And Meghan McCarthy's most notable show is "Fish Hooks". She's still getting screen credit on new episodes.
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Sat Jul 20, 2013 3:44 pm

Amazing to think Larson's reaction at the start was probably something along the lines of.

:-/ This is where my life has put me. Writing for My Little Pony... Least it's a paycheck.
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Postby stavekoff (?) » Sat Jul 20, 2013 4:07 pm

Mr. Big wrote:I just looked up Larson on imdb. Apparently the most notable show he worked on, according to the search, was "My Gym Partner's a Monkey" :bluh:

I'm just going to assume you haven't seen any episodes of Gym Partner's past a few early ones. That show was brilliant satire.
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Postby Nissl (?) » Mon Jul 22, 2013 4:18 pm

Hasbro second quarter results are out. Their net income fell 16% (!) and they missed their earnings targets despite a 43% increase in girls' category sales led by MLP and Furby. All of the damage came in the boys' category, where Beyblade and Marvel dropped off steeply compared to last year (in the latter case, largely due to Avengers coming out in this quarter).

Their stock is actually up a bit at midday. I'm guessing investors liked the news that Hub is on track to achieve pre-tax profitability in 2014, that cost-cutting continues to be on track, that their relationship with Disney/Marvel/Star Wars will be expanded and is secure through 2020, and that they posted 24% growth in emerging markets. That was enough to ignore net revenue being down due to difficult comparisons with the same quarter in the prior year.

Also, looking at TV shows specifically, Transformers Prime is on the air in China now, after 30 years away, and LPS is starting to get an international push, beginning with Canada, the UK, and France. MLP remains their best performer, although Pound Puppies and multiple Transformers shows were also called out.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Mon Jul 22, 2013 4:38 pm

Ha ha, ouch. On one hand, that means the show is in no danger of dying any time soon, but on the other, I hope Hasbro doesn't hurt FiM by producing even more outlandish spinoffs and product lines (see: EqG) in an attempt to milk the franchise even more.

(And since when was Furby counted as a girl's toy? :-/ Man, back in 1998, among my friends those things were the shit.)
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Postby Grue (?) » Mon Jul 22, 2013 4:46 pm

Fizzbuzz wrote:Ha ha, ouch. On one hand, that means the show is in no danger of dying any time soon, but on the other, I hope Hasbro doesn't hurt FiM by producing even more outlandish spinoffs and product lines (see: EqG) in an attempt to milk the franchise even more.


I hope you enjoy Rainbooms™ and Rainbow Rocks™.

(And since when was Furby counted as a girl's toy? :-/ Man, back in 1998, among my friends those things were the shit.)


It should be counted in "people who like creepy things" category. The commercial they had on the Hub still haunts my mind.
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Postby SoundMonkey44 (?) » Mon Jul 22, 2013 4:50 pm

Fizzbuzz wrote:Ha ha, ouch. On one hand, that means the show is in no danger of dying any time soon, but on the other, I hope Hasbro doesn't hurt FiM by producing even more outlandish spinoffs and product lines (see: EqG) in an attempt to milk the franchise even more.

(And since when was Furby counted as a girl's toy? :-/ Man, back in 1998, among my friends those things were the shit.)



I dunno, I'd be Ok with some more spin-offs. Given I too would hope for something more sensible, but lets say if they did say, a daring Doo special, or a spin-off series about the supporting and background cast, I'd be OK with those


@Grue. Personally I'm guessing the Rainbooms thing is just going to be a theme for upcoming FIM and EQG toys. Or who knows, maybe it's a spoiler of sorts. Maybe the season 4 finale is about Dash graduating from Wonderbolts Academy! :awesomedash:
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Postby SlateSlabrock (?) » Mon Jul 22, 2013 4:51 pm

Nissl wrote:LPS is starting to get an international push, beginning with Canada, the UK, and France.

Color me surprised that anything Hasbro produces isn't airing in Canada from the get-go, given how heavily they lean on DHX. :rariwhat:
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Postby Passport Clean (?) » Mon Jul 22, 2013 5:14 pm

SoundMonkey44 wrote:@Grue. Personally I'm guessing the Rainbooms thing is just going to be a theme for upcoming FIM and EQG toys. Or who knows, maybe it's a spoiler of sorts. Maybe the season 4 finale is about Dash graduating from Wonderbolts Academy! :awesomedash:


Hey, that's a really good guess! :allears: Maybe not as a finale, but as a major mid-season event sure. Didn't somebody say there was a possibility of several two-parters in this season?
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Postby EquestriaGuy (?) » Tue Jul 23, 2013 3:22 am

there was a debunked rumor which included a midseason two parter, but it's actually quite plausible, and makes my storyboarding timetable work without any contradictions.
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Postby EquestriaGuy (?) » Fri Jul 26, 2013 8:50 am

Looks like we missed Josh's announcement by a good 5 months.

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There was a hint awhile before even that.

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Postby Mr. Big (?) » Sat Jul 27, 2013 1:09 am

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Postby Wayoshi (?) » Sat Jul 27, 2013 1:25 am

3 new writers with most of them coming back and no Larson? I don't trust it.
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Postby agradify (?) » Sat Jul 27, 2013 1:29 am

Well Seth did say that there may be a few mistakes. :pinkieshrug:

Also note, this was right off the top of their head, so we may be missing some, and there may be one or two derps. Comic Con was pretty crazy.
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Postby Mr. Big (?) » Sat Jul 27, 2013 1:31 am

Wayoshi wrote:3 new writers with most of them coming back and no Larson? I don't trust it.

Often times shows have multiple new writers hired in a new season. I can believe that there are three new people hired.
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Postby Nissl (?) » Sat Jul 27, 2013 3:10 am

It's been updated and there's now a fourth new person, Ed Valentine. No Betsy McGowan, though.

I'm looking all over for written confirmation on Larson and not seeing it. Perhaps we all just assumed given the fact that he registered a Twitter account as "chairman of the Ponyville hay board", was tweeting with Levinger in late spring 2012 (this was the best evidence to me), was going to lots of cons, etc. But Morrow also looks very engaged with the pony community and we know she's gone for S4.
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Postby Mr. Big (?) » Sat Jul 27, 2013 3:29 am

I'm noticing that season 4 has more male writers this time around: at least four confirmed (veteran Polsky being one of them)

Ed Valentine's only prior cartoon credit is "Fairly Odd Parents", which doesn't mean much; Amy Keating Rogers wrote on that show, too.
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Postby Wayoshi (?) » Sat Jul 27, 2013 4:41 am

Man, I'm trying to look at this positively, but :-/ serious writer turnover I feel is just bad news right now.
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Postby Bumble-B (?) » Sat Jul 27, 2013 4:50 am

Hey, on the bright side...

New people at the convention panels :party:
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Postby Mr. Big (?) » Sat Jul 27, 2013 4:53 am

Wayoshi wrote:Man, I'm trying to look at this positively, but :-/ serious writer turnover I feel is just bad news right now.

Care to explain why? It's great to have fresh blood in a show after few years.

And besides, plenty of veterans are still around, so it's still pretty balanced.
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Postby agradify (?) » Sat Jul 27, 2013 5:29 am

Wayoshi wrote:Man, I'm trying to look at this positively, but :-/ serious writer turnover I feel is just bad news right now.

It's not so much of a turnover as it is just adding new writers. :pinkieshrug:
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Postby Wayoshi (?) » Sat Jul 27, 2013 5:32 am

I feel one of two issues almost has to occur:

-The writers most qualified to run the show get less episodes than they should
-The new writers get just 1-2 eps that are more likely to feel out of place since they're well outnumbered by the qualified writers
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