Time to quit the job and move to LA...
...ok, maybe not quite yet.
But the pitch festival went VERY WELL!!
The first one was the worst because of nerves, but my appointments were jammed back to back so I ran out of time to be nervous and just went with the flow. I'm glad I prepped so hard because I was able to change my pitch on the fly depending on how these people were looking at me.
If I had brought more than one copy of Canterbury Trails on Saturday, I would have put two scripts directly in the hands of producers!
Day 1
John Jamilkowski at Brand New Bike heard the rote memorized version of the Pandora pitch, but was still interested enough to ask detailed questions about it, and then offer advice for re-framing the pitch to focus more on the character motivation more than the plot. He didn't offer to read it--mostly because it sounded like a $100 million movie, and his studio peaks at about $50 million.
Chuck Griffith at Roaring Leo productions was a no show. Hmmph. Leos.
Instead I met with Kevin Burke from Chatsby Films, knowing nothing about his studio. He listened to both pitches and seemed to like them, but they already have a sex comedy in the works and aren't as interested in sci fi.
While I met with Kevin Burke I missed an appointment with Monica Penders from e'Topia, who does look at sci-fi. Drat!
Andrew Cooke at Montilla Pictures mad a movie about Will Eisner, so I chit-chatted about comics for a minute before giving him both pitches. He laughed at the Canterbury Trails pitch and liked the Pandora pitch. He asked me to send him both scripts!!
Day 2
Joy Goodwin at Plum Pictures listened to both and said she'd tell her boss about them. If she had the power to ask for scripts she hid it well.
Peter Miller from PMA (the PM stands for Peter Miller) Literary & Film management was another no-show. An interview with him said he's a Leo too, "The Literary Lion," in fact. I'm starting to think I have no time for Leos.
Instead I met with Antonio Saillant from Angel Light Pictures. He listened to the comedy pitch, asked me to send him the script, then asked if I had a copy with me. (Yes.) I still had time left over to pitch Pandora and he told me to send that one to him too! Great evidence for why it's good to keep your pitches to a minute or two. He suggested I do a novelization of Pandora also, to double up my writer-sexiness to agents.
Then I had a pitch coaching session and got some good advice for my next draft of Canterbury Trails, which I rolled into subsequent pitches.
Kate Navin from Abrams Artists heard both pitches and asked me to send both scripts. I'm on a roll now. She also asked if I had the Canterbury Trails script with me. (Not anymore.)
Allison Keir at Michael Mailer Films heard the comedy pitch and asked me to send her a synopsis for her boss. Then, even though they don't do sci-fi, she heard the Pandora pitch, too. She told me to send her a synopsis for that, too, because apparently there's a studio that does sci-fi and horror in the same building with hers, and she said she'd pass that on.
Jake Bauman at the Weinstein Company (just made Zack and Miri and the upcoming Fanboys, as well as Quentin Tarantino's movies) heard the comedy pitch and said it sounded good, except there's a danger the tales would get too distracting from the main plot. The advice I got in the pitch coaching session addresses that too. He didn't say send me scripts, but he did say he'd call and told me to keep in touch. From the only studio at the festival that I had ever heard of, that sounded good to me. He also suggested I go back to working on a graphic novel again, because those are very sexy to movie studios.
Whew! That was quite a trip, but I would say I got definite confirmation I'm on the right track.
But the pitch festival went VERY WELL!!
The first one was the worst because of nerves, but my appointments were jammed back to back so I ran out of time to be nervous and just went with the flow. I'm glad I prepped so hard because I was able to change my pitch on the fly depending on how these people were looking at me.
If I had brought more than one copy of Canterbury Trails on Saturday, I would have put two scripts directly in the hands of producers!
Day 1
John Jamilkowski at Brand New Bike heard the rote memorized version of the Pandora pitch, but was still interested enough to ask detailed questions about it, and then offer advice for re-framing the pitch to focus more on the character motivation more than the plot. He didn't offer to read it--mostly because it sounded like a $100 million movie, and his studio peaks at about $50 million.
Chuck Griffith at Roaring Leo productions was a no show. Hmmph. Leos.
Instead I met with Kevin Burke from Chatsby Films, knowing nothing about his studio. He listened to both pitches and seemed to like them, but they already have a sex comedy in the works and aren't as interested in sci fi.
While I met with Kevin Burke I missed an appointment with Monica Penders from e'Topia, who does look at sci-fi. Drat!
Andrew Cooke at Montilla Pictures mad a movie about Will Eisner, so I chit-chatted about comics for a minute before giving him both pitches. He laughed at the Canterbury Trails pitch and liked the Pandora pitch. He asked me to send him both scripts!!
Day 2
Joy Goodwin at Plum Pictures listened to both and said she'd tell her boss about them. If she had the power to ask for scripts she hid it well.
Peter Miller from PMA (the PM stands for Peter Miller) Literary & Film management was another no-show. An interview with him said he's a Leo too, "The Literary Lion," in fact. I'm starting to think I have no time for Leos.
Instead I met with Antonio Saillant from Angel Light Pictures. He listened to the comedy pitch, asked me to send him the script, then asked if I had a copy with me. (Yes.) I still had time left over to pitch Pandora and he told me to send that one to him too! Great evidence for why it's good to keep your pitches to a minute or two. He suggested I do a novelization of Pandora also, to double up my writer-sexiness to agents.
Then I had a pitch coaching session and got some good advice for my next draft of Canterbury Trails, which I rolled into subsequent pitches.
Kate Navin from Abrams Artists heard both pitches and asked me to send both scripts. I'm on a roll now. She also asked if I had the Canterbury Trails script with me. (Not anymore.)
Allison Keir at Michael Mailer Films heard the comedy pitch and asked me to send her a synopsis for her boss. Then, even though they don't do sci-fi, she heard the Pandora pitch, too. She told me to send her a synopsis for that, too, because apparently there's a studio that does sci-fi and horror in the same building with hers, and she said she'd pass that on.
Jake Bauman at the Weinstein Company (just made Zack and Miri and the upcoming Fanboys, as well as Quentin Tarantino's movies) heard the comedy pitch and said it sounded good, except there's a danger the tales would get too distracting from the main plot. The advice I got in the pitch coaching session addresses that too. He didn't say send me scripts, but he did say he'd call and told me to keep in touch. From the only studio at the festival that I had ever heard of, that sounded good to me. He also suggested I go back to working on a graphic novel again, because those are very sexy to movie studios.
Whew! That was quite a trip, but I would say I got definite confirmation I'm on the right track.