Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 01:57:26 -0500 (EST)
Hi Everyone!!!
I made the call and what a call it was.

First let me say that Mr. Winford was one of the most interesting people I've ever spoken to. He is open, refreshing and quite honest in his opinions and VERY generous with his information. I called at 2:30 this afternoon (Eastern time) and after about two minutes of conversation, he just casually mentioned he was on a conference call!!! I was flabbergasted that he mentioned it like it was in passing. After apologizing PROFUSELY several times, he asked if I could call him around 5PM after I got home from work and we could then speak at length.

I called at 5:15 and spent the most wonderful 1/2 hour talking to him. I had my list in front of me and he said the best place was to start was at the beginning and take it from there so I did. I went down the list of questions as follows:

1. Have you had a chance to review the Fan Club booklet? (for those of you new to the list, Fran and I brought copies of the booklet right to Universal studios in Fla. for Mr. Winford and Mr. Malden).

Yes.

2. What did you think of it?

He said it was done very well and set the "mood" for what he hoped would be the revival of the series. He liked the overview, the cast bios and pics that I included and he very much liked the list of web sites. He was amazed that there were so many web sites dedicated to Swamp Thing. He also liked the area for email and snail mail addresses, but suggested I "switch" the two, putting the snail mail addys first because that is the kind of mail that gets the most attention.

3. What does he think of Swamp Thing?

He loves it. He saw it being filmed when he worked at Universal (not for BBK) and was very happy to become a part of the BBK team when the position opened up.

4. What does he think the chances are of getting the series revived?

GOOD TO EXCELLENT, BUT......its going to take a LOT of hard work and effort on all our parts. We are going to have to go on a MAJOR letter writing campaign. NOT email - he said that doesn't get good results when you are trying to get the attention of the powers that be. It should be SNAIL MAIL. It shows, even if its just two or three lines that you cared to sit down and write! The people with the money are always looking for shows, and since Swampy already HAS a following, if we can show there is a viable fan base out there, we have a GOOD shot at getting this show back on.

5. Can we expect an hour format or at least more time (Longer than 22 minutes) on the 1/2 hr episodes?

No. And this is not the fault of the writers. There has to be at least 6 minutes of commercial time per episode for the paying sponsors to make the show financially sound. This is economics and there isn't too much we can do about it. BUT 2 and 3 part episodes may be the answer to a story line that can't be done in just a 1/2 hr ep.

6. How can the fans help in the revival?

As I said, we need to BOMB the proper powers that be with mail that we are out there!!! Mr. Winford is going to get the proper names and addresses for me and I will then share it with all of you and WE MUST ALL WRITE!!! We must not be nasty, threatening or otherwise come off as a bunch of "Swamp Loonys" (sorry for the pun, I couldn't help it).
Our letters must be complementary to the show, the writers, the cast and the production team. And we must write often. If the "suits" as Fran likes to call them see we are a powerful lobby, they will sit up and take notice that there are fan dollars out there, waiting to spend on their sponsor's products.

7. How much of a budget will the show get?

Again, a lot depends on WHO picks up the show and where its done. All of the Swampy sets are still standing at Universal in Fla. (although the Swamp House may be applying for Federal Urban Renewal Funds - sorry couldn't resist that either right Fran?) and none of them have been "struck", meaning disassembled or torn down. If its done at Universal Fla, it would be a fairly cheap show to do.

8. I told Mr. Winford we are small in numbers right now, but for every person that comes forward, there must be at least 100 who DON'T write. He acknowledged this and they take these numbers into consideration when deciding to put a show on the air or reviving a series.

9. These next two questions were personal problems connected with the fan club that I have been wrestling with the last few days and I asked Mr. Winford for his input. As you all know from my previous "newsletter", I wrote to Mark Lindsay Chapman on 11/24 and then again on 1/7/98 to forward to him a copy of the Fan Club booklet. I have been trying to decide if I should call his agent or not since its been 3 weeks since I forwarded the booklet to them with no response. Mr. Winford's answer was a resounding "YES". I told him of my fear of becoming a pest, of being annoying or worse. He told me that this man is an ACTOR and most actors LOVE ATTENTION. He suggested I call, tell them: 1. who I am

2. what I did

3.just ask straight out did he get the booklet

4.are there any problems

5.that I have been in contact with BBK and Mr. Malden and Mr. Winford, and

6.that I DO need to have some sort of input because the advertising is going out.

He told me if I get the receptionist to at least take a message, I'm halfway there! Again, I'm going to do this tomorrow so wish me luck again!!!!

The other problem was that I have Dick Durock's home phone number. Mr. Winford asked me how I liked Mr. Durock and what we talked about and I told him I got cold feet and never used the number. I have an aversion to calling people at home, especially people I don't know. I feel its an invasion of their privacy. He told me that Boris Malden sees Mr. Durock all the time and that he will have him get Mr. Durock to either call me, or give me permission to call him.

10. Can I get a letter on BBK letterhead sanctioning my club as the "official" fan club.

Mr. Winford said at this point no. BBK was only the producer of the show. The people who bought MCA are the REAL owners of the show and they are the ones to give me the "official" sanction. When he gets me the name and address of these people, I will write and tell them who I am and who WE are. Mr. Winford also said he is going to check the booklet for errors and give me any new info he has. I'm also getting a true list of how the episodes SHOULD have been run, not in the running order they are in now. Mr. Winford also gave me some "inside" info and other names that I should write to myself to introduce myself and the club. I will do this over the weekend. He also suggested very strongly that I write to Steven Sears again at the beginning of March when the "second season" is over and "pilot season" is almost done so that I can fill him in on what is happening and he will have time to respond.

Well gang, that's it for now. The first big "hurdle" is over and I did it!!! Now to call the 'Elusive Mr. Chapman's' agent tomorrow. I'm shaking in my shoes, but I have to do it. I called Bob Winford, I guess I can call an agent! All I can think of is "SHOW ME THE SWAMPY". With that, they will probably show me the door - LOL.

Until tomorrow evening, take care and think of me!
Warm regards,
the SwampLady