ABC serves docudrama 'Billie'

Alphabet Web strays the HBO way

By BILL HIGGINS

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Trudie Styler talks to Billie Jean King; Sting also mingled at ABC's 'When Billie Beat Bobby' unspooling.

 

Though HBO had nothing to do with "When Billie Beat Bobby," the cabler was mentioned twice by pre-screening speakers who thanked ABC "for letting us make an HBO movie" before the docudrama unspooled at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's Bing Theater on Wednesday.

At the courtyard after-party, director Jane Anderson said networks usually follow a traditional format -- "they just want to follow the facts in a very straight way" -- and praised ABC for giving the filmmakers "the freedom to have a take on it; to make it ironic; to make it absurd; to take stylistic chances. I think ABC is smart enough to know people want to see movies that are different. And they see the Emmys HBO walks away with."

Alliance Atlantis' veep Ed Gernon said the big difference between networks and pay cable is "having to chop the movie up. You lose momentum that you have to regain again. You have to hook the audience into the concept and somehow after the commercial break backtrack a little remind them of what they're watching and continue forward again."

Among those at the Bing were Alliance Atlantis' Peter Sussman, ABC's Susan Lyne; exec producer Diana Krew, Holland Taylor, Sting and Trudie Styler, Billie Jean King, Rosie Casals, Tracy Austin and Pam Shriver.