Shane just forwarded me the following email, by way of Denise:
> SIMON COWELL WANTS TO KNOW IF YOU’VE GOT A BRIGHT IDEA WORTH ONE MILLION BUCKS
>
>
> From flying cars to time machines, America’s favorite critic wants your
> invention for his new show. Auditions across America start Nov. 14.
>
> Inventors, tinkerers and entrepreneurs of America…
>
> Have you come up with the greatest new product since the Post-It®? How about
> a floss-dispensing pen, or bubble gum with flavor that lasts forever? Well,
> Simon Cowell (American Idol) wants your brainchild for his new show, AMERICAN
> INVENTOR.
>
> Brought to you by the producers of “American Idol” and Simon Cowell’s Syco
> Television, this new network primetime reality series set to air on ABC will
> undertake the biggest search ever for America’s best new invention. Open to
> people of all ages including kids! Casting calls begin November 14th all
> across America (cities and dates listed below).
>
> Says show creator/executive producer Cowell: “America has always been the
> mother of invention, from the airplane, rockets, plastic and the internet to
> flip-flops and soda. This is the ultimate American dream. We want this show
> to make someone a multi-millionaire.”
>
> With one million dollars at stake, AMERICAN INVENTOR will celebrate the best
> in homespun American ingenuity. From mothers with a notion for a better baby
> stroller to experienced engineers with several patented inventions, AMERICAN
> INVENTOR is open to anyone with a great idea. No invention is too big or
> small!
>
> Prospective contestants can enter with a sketch, a prototype or even just a
> concept. The competition is open both to individuals and teams. The invention
> must be something that can be mass produced and sold to consumers in a retail
> outlet. Expert judges will narrow down the initial entries to a group of
> finalists, who will each be given $50,000 dollars to develop their product,
> refine it, and take it to the next level. But in the end, it will be up to
> America to call in and vote on which invention is worthy of the one million
> dollar prize.
>
> For more information such as applications, eligibility requirements and
> addresses for the eight casting calls, please go to www.AmericanInventor.tv or
> call 877/255-8009. This competition is subject to applicable rules, which are
> subject to modification at any time in the producer’s discretion.
>
> For interested inventors, here is the current schedule for casting calls in
> the eight selected cities:
>
> Los Angeles, November 14
> San Francisco, November 17
> Denver, December 1
> Chicago, December 4
> New York, December 7
> Washington, DC, December 11
> Atlanta, December 14
> Austin, December 17
>
> AMERICAN INVENTOR will be produced by Simon Cowell’s Syco Television LLC and
> FremantleMedia North America, Inc. The Executive Producers are Simon Cowell,
> Liz Bronstein, Siobhan Greene, Nigel Hall and Cecile Frot-Coutaz.
I totally DO have ideas!! Lots of them!! And I really want to be on their American Inventor show.
Here's where I need help, though: if I do apply to go down to SF to the open casting call, etc., which idea should I apply with? Maybe I'll see if I can figure out how to add a poll to my blog ... but anyway, I'd like suggestions fro my best, most marketable idea. I'm thinking maybe the Wondue Crock, or the Scrunci Undie ... I think they want something with mass rather than nitch appeal. Anyway, if your reading this, let me know which if my ideas you think would be best.
I kind of wish I'd invented this TV show.
o.k., this has nothing to do with your great ideas (and did you know that you come up first if you blog-google "great ideas"? yes, you beat out good housekeeping or something like that, which was second), but apropos of the whole pestducken/alligator-in-python thing, did you know that the most recent national geographic magazine has a whole feature on turducken production?
I did not! But I looked it up, and think it deserves a link
Hiya Mary (or you could spell it Mery---that's a great idea!)
Anyway, thanks for buying me all that mediocre Chinese food back in 1986. And for lending me your bike in Portland....
Wait...Mary is a common name (not Common, as it "the servants are soooooo Common..." but, like, there are several Mary's running around)
Maybe it was a different Mary that bought me the food...
Anyway, at the time it was a great idea...I was broke and starving.
Q: Who am I?
A: I'm not an organic dirt farmer, so I must not be Tim Moore.
Mary;
In your opinion is it really worth going to the inventor audition because itseems that the have you by the strings for a year if you do not make it. Please advise Tom
To Tom:
Yes, it was all worth it. I flew to Chicago, took the Blue Line, spent a fortune on a hotel, got up at 4:30 a.m., dragged my luggage around for 6 1/2 hours, had aching feet, pains in my back, spent $45 on a taxi to O'Hare, waited 5 hours at the airport for my plane, and loved every minute of it.
No, they don't own you for a year. They own you "in all the Universe" for the rest of eternity. That is written on the agreement that you have to read before you go into your audition.
Several of the things I saw there were not actually patentable. One was actually a good plan for a business like "Ident-A-Kid" stuff. Really cool, but actually not a patentable idea.
GO! It is great meeting the other inventors. Wish I had spent more time doing that while in the initial line for nearly three hours. They seemed to like my product, so I am getting my taxes together early as the finalists for California be headed there in late January or shortly thereafter.
I encourage anyone with a cool idea to try out. What can you lose. Even if one is not chosen to go to California, the exposure on the initial auditions that will be televised the first few show could help a lot of people to be successful. American Inventor might not think your idea is geared to their show, but who knows who else would love to license your patent for royalities.
Good luck. Would like to hear if you decide to go.
Janie
What world do I live in? I NEVER once knew about the casting call and neither did any of my friends. I got a patent 4 yrs. ago and have been trying to market it. I would have been there in a heart beat. When will they have another casting call????????????????????????????