Pitching

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  • Pitching

    Hi, I've just joined DDP. I'm an experienced (not quite a veteran) TV writer/producer/director and have written a few screenplays. I shot and edited an indie feature and have made a couple of short films. My first screenplay had an EP supporter at Tristar but it was rejected after second coverage.

    The screenplay I've almost finished is THAT one - the one you feel confident enough about to let industry professionals read it. I'm nearly at the end of the third major re-write. Interesting aside: only about five per cent of what was in the first draft still exists in this re-write.

    Soon I'll be pitching. I have enough connections to make a strong start so I'm not looking for help on accessing people to pitch to (but all advice welcome). It's a contemporary satirical comedy with Asian/US connections.

    However I'm keen to learn about other people's first or early pitching experiences so I can work out a game plan and try to avoid falling into any traps I might not foresee.

    Thanks,
    David.

    (PS: I know who Mandrake is and he's the real deal. Sorry 'M'.)

    "Friends make the worst enemies." Frank Underwood

  • #2
    Re: Pitching

    Hi, David. Whether or not people here, now step up to the plate to talk about their pitching experiences, you can find a lot about pitching and people's experiences with it in the discussion archives and columns at Wordplayer.com and TwoAdverbs.com. Good luck,

    Joan

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    • #3
      Re: Pitching

      I appreciate that and found some good material on those sites thanks.
      Some in the archives here too, although still interested to hear of recent experiences if anyone wants to share.
      I get the impression that people who aren't brilliant performers in a room - like myself - can benefit from spending time rehearsing in front of the mirror.
      That's okay - my wife has seen me do heaps of weird stuff...

      David
      "Friends make the worst enemies." Frank Underwood

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Pitching

        Originally posted by BestWriterEver
        You want advice on how to pitch a completed screenplay? Why would you be pitching it if you've written it?

        It's a spec screenplay. There will be person to person situations where I'll want to solicit interest in it - isn't that pitching? Or does the term 'pitching' only apply to soliciting a writing commission based on an idea?

        DavidK
        "Friends make the worst enemies." Frank Underwood

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        • #5
          Re: Pitching

          Cool - thanks.
          David
          "Friends make the worst enemies." Frank Underwood

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Pitching

            You want advice on how to pitch a completed screenplay? Why would you be pitching it if you've written it?

            I... don't think that's really true. People pitch completed projects all the time. Your agent sets up a meeting with a producer, you go in, make small-talk, you pitch, they thank you for coming in. They ask your agent for the script. (Or... not.)

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            • #7
              Re: Pitching

              People pitch completed scripts all the time. I do.
              http://www.pjmcilvaine.com/

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              • #8
                Re: Pitching

                Originally posted by LIMAMA View Post
                People pitch completed scripts all the time. I do.
                My scripts get pitched all the time.

                Felicitations, malefactors! I am endeavoring to misappropriate the formulary for the preparation of saleable screenplays. WHO WILL JOIN ME!

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Pitching

                  Originally posted by BestWriterEver
                  Why?

                  You take the time in a meeting to pitch an entire script you've already written, when if they like the idea, they're just going to ask to read it?

                  Why wouldn't you spend your time pitching something you haven't written, hoping that they buy it and pay you to write it?

                  Sorry, I just don't get it.
                  The first point is actually what I would like to happen, i.e. I meet a useful person and have the opportunity to pitch in the hope they'll be interested in the script. I'm not sure why that would be a wasted opportunity - maybe it's me that doesn't get it.

                  I do have other concepts that I would offer as a Plan B, but at the moment I have something almost ready to sell. Sure I'll follow all paths, but my work often brings me into contact with producers and EPs, so understanding the mechanics of making an effective pitch will be useful.

                  Maybe this leads to other questions: 1. isn't a finished screenplay as valuable or more valuable than an idea? and 2. wouldn't they be unlikely to commission on a pitch from an unproduced writer and more likely to consider me on the basis of something I've written?

                  DavidK
                  "Friends make the worst enemies." Frank Underwood

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Pitching

                    Originally posted by writerman View Post
                    My scripts get pitched all the time.
                    Haha - I'm ready for that too...

                    David
                    "Friends make the worst enemies." Frank Underwood

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                    • #11
                      Re: Pitching

                      I think there are situations where you might pitch an idea, and situations where you'd pitch an already written spec. Idea pitching seems to be more successful for writers who are repped, and already have a stature in the biz. They may be able to get a project green-lit pitched with just the idea. For most of the up and coming writers, since ideas are a dime a dozen, I think writing the script first is most important. Then go in there and pitch it to however you can so that you can get it read.

                      I once pitched an idea to a company that has a deal with New Line. They actually gave me a better idea for the logline right in during the pitch..which was great. Until about 6 months later I saw a sale which was exactly the same logline we had come up with in the meeting. It could have been a coincidence, but I'll tell you I will never pitch an unwritten idea again (at least until I'm repped and playing in the majors).

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                      • #12
                        Re: Pitching

                        Why?

                        You take the time in a meeting to pitch an entire script you've already written, when if they like the idea, they're just going to ask to read it?

                        Why wouldn't you spend your time pitching something you haven't written, hoping that they buy it and pay you to write it?

                        Sorry, I just don't get it.

                        That's fine, but that doesn't change the fact that working writers pitch completed scripts all. the. time. I have two friends who are pitching completed projects all over town right now. (As in: to working producers with studio deals, not in line at Coffee Bean.)

                        A lot of times development people would rather hear a pitch than read a script, because a pitch is ten minutes in a meeting where you sit in a comfortable chair during business hours and drink Fuji water and scope out of the writer is kind of sociable and interesting and someone you'd be able to work with, as opposed to, if you read the script, you have to take it home and read it on your own time at night or on a weekend, and you already have sixty scripts you're supposed to get through.

                        For the exec, a pitch is often just easier. You may not agree, but that's the reality of the business.

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                        • #13
                          Re: Pitching

                          I don't know why a working writer with reps would ever pitch a completed script. But I understand why someone would when they are trying to break in. If you're unrepped and just trying to get reads you have to say and do whatever you can. But the bottom line is why give someone two chances to say no instead of one?

                          I think part of the problem is what people are thinking a pitch is. To someone that is working, a pitch is (usually) a 10-20 minute verbal walk through of an idea. Beginning, middle and end with set pieces, etc. This could be a spec pitch, an assignment pitch, rewrite pitch, etc. For these pitches, nothing is written until a deal is in place.

                          My writing partner and I have sold a number of pitches and we would never pitch a finished script. If we write something on spec, our agents and managers send it out. Sure they hype it up however they do it but it is never truly pitched.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Pitching

                            You're misunderstanding what your friends are saying.

                            No.

                            I would not advocate taking BestWriterEver's advice. But it's up to you.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Pitching

                              That discussion has actually been very useful to me, especially the comments from Jeff and rubarb. I'm unproduced as a screenwriter and unrepped, but my work does get me into pitching opportunities, usually impromptu.

                              It seems a lot of writers do pitch completed work, but it should be a brief, concise pitch, just enough to make somebody want to read it. Followed by engaging a lawyer to submit, if you don't already have one. In the world of produced and/or repped writers, a pitch usually means a longer, more detailed meeting to solicit a commission based on an idea.

                              Thanks for the pointers.

                              DavidK
                              "Friends make the worst enemies." Frank Underwood

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