Pitching Tips

You get that elusive agent on the phone, or you find yourself in an elevator with Steven Spielberg, and you have exactly thirty seconds to convince them to read your script. Will you be ready?

Keys to a successful Quick Pitch
Mention the genre. Is it a drama? Action film? Screwball romantic comedy?

Set up your main character(s), his or her world, goal and flaw. Example: "Tough but thick-headed New York cop arrives in Los Angeles thinking he's going to reconcile with his estranged wife, who's turned into a yuppie working for a powerful L.A. firm..."

Hit them with the hook of your movie, and leave them wanting more. To finish the example: "...When the cop arrives at the office building where his wife works, he finds that it's been taken over by a ruthless bunch of high-tech thieves, and his wife and her co-workers have been taken hostage. It's up to the hero to use his gritty New York cop instincts to single-handedly take out the bad guys and rescue the woman he loves." (Can you guess the movie?)

As an exclamation point, it doesn't hurt to do the ol' "it's something-meets-something" trick. It's the Sixth Sense meets American Beauty. Or it's Gladiator set on Mars. Just don't reference movies that were flops. Saying your movie is Alamo meets Battlefield Earth probably won't get you too many hits.

It's critical that you're able to summarize your film in a couple of sentences. If you can't, you might have an over-complicated script on your hands (which is different from a complex script).

You're at a Pitch-Your-Script seminar, or you get a meeting with a producer, and he wants to hear your three best ideas. Your goal is to get them to read your script. You have a little more room to breathe, but you don't want to bore them with too many details. What do you do?

Imagine you're telling a friend about a really great movie you saw. That's the Five Minute Pitch. It's like you're pitching the trailer to your script.

Keys to a successful Five Minute Pitch
Mention the genre.

Take some time to set up your main character(s), his or her world, goal and flaw. "A baby is accidentally brought back to the North Pole by Santa Claus, where he's raised by elves..." Go into more detail. Mention some of the supporting characters and maybe a subplot.

Deliver the hook. "The man, who only knows how to be an elf, decides to leave the North Pole and go to New York City to seek out his real father and his destiny."

Touch upon some of the key plot points and set pieces. Don't go into too much detail. If it's a comedy, highlight the funny stuff (and try to get them to laugh). If it's an action movie, mention some of the action sequences.

Be vague about the ending or leave them hanging. Make it so they have to read your script to find out what happens.

Practice beforehand.

A producer liked the writing in one of your scripts and wants to meet with you to hear other ideas. You have a killer idea for the next American Pie. If he likes your pitch, he'll take you into the studio, and maybe you'll sell the damn thing and get paid to write the script. It happens every day in Hollywood. It can happen to you.

A typical Big Pitch runs fifteen to twenty minutes. Here you really have room to spread you wings, but also to put the guy asleep. An effective Big Pitch has just the right amount of details and is delivered in a smooth, entertaining way.

Keys to a successful Big Pitch
Chit chat for a few minutes before you start. Let the person you're meeting with get to know you. Ask questions and engage them. When you feel sufficiently relaxed, start the pitch.

Mention the genre.

Spend a fair amount of time setting up your main character(s), his or her world, goal and flaw. Go into more detail. Feel free to discuss supporting characters and set up subplots, but don't overcomplicate the pitch.

Deliver the hook.

Go through the major plot points and set pieces of the second act. Who is the antagonist? What are the challenges your protagonist faces? Is there a love story? You can go into more detail, but don't get bogged down. Don't worry about mentioning every beat of the story. If you sense their eyes are glazing over, pick up the pace (without sounding like you're rushing).

Mention emotional and physical stakes as you go. What is your hero learning? How is the story escalating?

It's hard to jump back and forth between your main plot and subplots. If you feel you need to pitch a subplot, consider taking a moment to pitch it straight through from beginning to end. Get it out of the way, and get back to pitching the main plot.

Build to the climax and deliver your ending. Make it dynamic without getting too detailed.

Practice your pitch and rehearse it in front of a friend or representative. Write the pitch out if you have to (I often do).

Bring a beat sheet to the meeting, or even the written-out pitch. Just make sure you don't bury your face in your pages. Deliver the pitch in an animated, dynamic fashion, without going too fast. And don't mumble.

Relax and have fun.

Good luck!

ABOUT AARON MENDELSOHN
Aaron Mendelsohn is the writer of Air Bud, which to date has sired four sequels. He also wrote the Lifetime movie Change of Heart and recently directed the comedy Chapter Zero from his own script. Currently he has the comedy Action Abramowitz with Tim Allen attached to star and the romantic comedy Twice in a Lifetime with James Cameron producing.

Aaron has written screenplays and teleplays for Disney, Fox, Paramount, Miramax/Dimension and Showtime, and for producers Arnold Kopelson, Wendy Finerman, Charles Gordon, and Craig Zadan & Neal Meron.

Aaron devotes much of his free time to teaching. He has taught classes and workshops at the Santa Fe Screenwriting Conference, the Las Vegas Screenwriting Conference, the University of Miami, the Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival, the Marco Island Film Festival, Entertainment Night at UCLA, and the Actors Network.