OBSESSED is a living memoir of my 17-year quest to build Artizen — from idea to escape velocity and beyond. New episodes every week until the story ends or the rocket explodes.
Read Previous → Episode 1: Spark of Inspiration
From the age of eight, I was obsessed with filmmaking. Claymation first, then 3D animation and lots and lots of weird docs in high school, followed by short films, musicals and music videos, underwater madness, mockumentaries, and real documentaries.
I get a free ride through film school, but as graduation looms, I’m haunted by the same question every artist must ask: How the fuck do I pay my bills?
I need a hit. Something big—something that will launch my career.
One night, after improv class, I stumble into a performance by the Edmond Bulldogs. Most sketch makes me cringe, but this is different—absurd, oddly wholesome, and piss-your-pants funny. After the show, I introduce myself to Mitch and Dave, the performers.
“Hey, want to make a pilot?”
Little do they know I’ve got zero experience in the TV industry. But I do have a credit card with a $10,000 limit. And, it turns out, that’s enough.
Two months later, we wrap the pilot. And it’s not crap. I’ve made lots of crap, so I know crap. This is not crap. Might even be good. But what now? How do you sell a TV show?
I camp at Barnes & Noble. Every book screams: get an agent! The magical gatekeepers of Hollywood. I didn’t know any, but my friend Nick Jayanty—big personality, missing a tooth—seems perfect for the role. Nick cold-calls every network. Weeks of silence. Then, out of nowhere, the phone rings.
It’s Jackie French, a big-time producer at MTV. Somehow, a friend of a friend got our pilot to her assistant, who played it for the interns. They loved it. And, apparently, laughs from the interns is the gold standard. We fly to LA and pitch MTV’s head honcho, an intimidating woman with dead eyes—mob boss in a floral muumuu. She likes that the interns like it.
Greenlight!
Everyone is barfing
MTV gives us $350,000 to reshoot the episode—an amount so huge I have no idea how to spend it. But we find ways. Our ragtag team balloons to a crew of 60 professionals. Executive producers, line producers, associate producers... God, why do we have so many producers?!
After months of grinding, we’re finally ready to shoot.
Day one, disaster strikes. I arrive on set buzzing with excitement, only to discover half my crew got botulism last night at dinner. People are in the hospital, barfing their guts out. We soldier on, but the barfing spreads. The Texas heat is merciless. Like an oven, we bake on set—the air thick with the hot stench of barf. My stomach churns. I run outside to barf between takes.
Soon, everyone is barfing.
By the end of the day, I’m drenched, exhausted, and questioning every life choice that led me here. The only laughter on set is the delirious, half-crazed kind that bubbles up between dry heaves.
Miraculously, the crew pulls through, and a week later, we finish the shoot. I lock myself in a dark room, chugging Red Bull, furiously editing. We add flashy visual effects, an original score—the works.
It looks incredible. I ship it off to LA for a test screening.
As a victory lap, I rewatch the original pilot—funded with credit cards. But after five minutes, panic sets in.
What have I done? The old pilot is better. Way better. It’s weird, authentic, and the jokes land. The new version? Over produced, flat, and forced. Fuck! I just blew $350,000.
A week later, Jackie calls. It’s a pass. The interns don’t like it anymore.
Love,
René Pinnell
Founder of Artizen
Read Next → Episode 3: Hurricane Party
