|
2009 There
was some confusion the first night and a few rocky spots with the Saturday
events, but the actual pitching on Sunday was well-organized. The networking
opportunities were fantastic—spent a lot of time getting to know other
screenwriters and there were opportunities to chat with presenters and those
present to take pitches. Friday: ·
Met writers
informally. Some of their cards disappeared – I’m hoping they email me. This includes
Alaska & the woman working film in Vancouver (I can tell you what we
talked about, but I really need to work on remembering names.) ·
Michael Clem of
Sandglas Pictures in Fort Collins shared his concept for a new series that
sounds awesome. Saturday: ·
Reel
Connections panel with Kathie Fong
Yoneda, Scott Richter, Sandra Lord, & Judith Smith: Advice on
networking and career strategies. Sandra Lord is founder of the Hollywood Networking Breakfast,
Women Helping Women, and Judith
Smith works with her on those projects and as career strategists. Sandra and Judith
were exceptionally friendly before and after the panel. When I started
talking with Hans Montelius, the writer sitting on my left, and he mentioned
being from Stockholm, the writer on my right broke in to introduce himself (David W. Cooper of Toronto) and to
show Hans a copy of the Variety article listing both of them as winners in
the UCLA Screenplay contest. They both recommend the UCLA internet
screenwriting program. ·
Four Giant
Steps to a Deal had Michael Hauge
and Heather Hale working with
presentation of story concepts. They used samples sent in ahead of time by
participants. ·
Then, in a
one-one consultation with Barri Evins, we worked on my pitch. I started with
“Uh…um…well…” and we made significant progress. ·
Pitchfest Boot
Camp: Practiced pitching with other writers, taking turns pitching and
scoring others. I was glad I’d already worked with Barri, so this was a tuning
experience. It also served to make the actual process more familiar so my
first pitches on Sunday were better than they would have been otherwise. ·
Power Pack of
Pros was a panel of executives talking about what they want to find, and what
NOT to do. Drama seemed to be a nasty word, so I tried to emphasize the
thrilling aspects of my screenplays during the pitchfest. ·
Throughout the
day, there were opportunities to chat with other writers from around the
world. Again, I’m hoping those who traded cards get in touch with me—if you
haven’t heard from me by the end of the week, your card disappeared. ·
Saturday night
I ate dinner alone with the inch-thick book of agents, managers, and
producers who were going to listen to
pitches the next day. After I chose about forty that might be somewhat
interested in me and my scripts, I went online and checked their websites and
their imdb profiles, which eliminated several. Shawn Wayne Jones of Maverick 523 Films helped me navigate
imdb more effectively. Sunday: ·
The actual
pitchfest. There were over 100 agents, managers, and producers inside the
ballroom, numbered to match lines outside, so you lined up to see your picks.
Paramount and other popular ones had huge lines. By hitting short lines
first, I was able to see nineteen, I think – it got a bit confusing by the
end of the day! Most were positive and
a few requested full manuscripts. ·
I was amazed at
the people who appeared to be looking at their book of participants for the
first time Sunday! My preparation helped me hit more of the most likely
candidates for me, but there were still people I didn’t get to see. ·
Stood around
after for the cocktail party with a Jennifer writer & Jennifer Ava
Fairchild approached and asked us to email her. Per her card, she’s a
management and production company. Chatted with Shane McCabe of Dublin also. ·
Ate dinner with
a large group, including: Ø
A writer from
Canada (gave him a ride to the airport, he’s a flight attendant, can’t remember
his name, he bought my dinner & gave me $10 gas money for the ride). Ø
Len and Ali Lippman, professional
writers from Sacramento who shared some websites for writing gigs. Ø
Robbye and Bill True of Minnesota. Bill is an
award-winner who was there professionally, Robbye was photographer of the
event, both were quite friendly. Bill gave me directions to LAX. ·
When I got back
from the airport, ended up in the business center, talking with other writers
who couldn’t wind down: Ø
Michael Clem,
who’d gotten 17 requests for treatments of his TV show idea. Told him if he
needs any help/cheerleading, I’m there. Ø
Mary Mazz from Baltimore.
She works at the post office and had some stories to tell, aside from the one
she’d been pitching all day. Ø
Junon Maceus,
of Toronto. She works the customer service line for a pharmaceutical company
and has written a novelette called The
Mandatory Orgasm. Ø
David W. Cooper
came in at the end. Ø
Phillip McKechnie from Australia. Monday & Tuesday: Gave
David Cooper a ride to the airport and took a detour to deliver Bryan
Stubbles to Yuma. Got home Tuesday AM. Unpacked, slept, started reviewing
notes. Wednesday-Friday: Slated
for updating the website and making initial follow-up emails. |