How to pitch a movie in 20 mintues
and one more pitch for you
As this hits your inbox I am most likely logged onto zoom with my best lighting, good microphone, and a visual presentation onscreen. That’s right, baby, I’m pitching!
Now, didn’t I say two weeks ago that “you don’t need to get better at pitching?” Yes. I did say that. But if you’re new here (and there are quite a few of you the last few weeks, hi!) or if you skimmed — it’s okay, I skim — the real crux of that piece was that pitching favors people who’ve done it already before. If you are out there pitching on big studio writing jobs and haven’t had one yet, you are at a disadvantage. If you’re pitching an indie drama but have only ever written schlocky horror, people aren’t really going to give you the benefit of the doubt.
And that is why I am not out there pitching OWA’s. I’m pitching an original idea, firmly building off of some of the other stuff I’ve done.
What’s the format of a successful pitch? Well, give me a few weeks to see if this sells and then I can let you know exactly how I formatted it.
But here’s roughly how I build one, structurally…
Start with a personal story — one that’s both the genesis of the idea, and hopefully speaks to what the theme of the movie is going to be.
Introduce the main character as the person living out the story of the movie, both dramatically (plot) and thematically (emotion). I also provide some actor comps so people can orient themselves while I talk.
Break down the story. The first act is the most detailed, second act less so, third act least of all. gets more time than the third. Introduce the co-lead and antagonist (again with comps). Hit the major setpieces, but mostly hit the emotional moments: that’s what people remember.
Keep the story simple. You cannot pitch a twisty windy expectation subverting idea over zoom to two people who have been on their computers all day and are doing their best to pay attention.
BREVITY IS KING! This should all be LESS THAN 20 MINUTES.
Bring a lookbook. I’ve written before about how writers don’t need pitch decks. But this isn’t that. It’s a 28 page lookbook to show the vibes, world, characters, comps… Something to look at besides my face for 20 minutes.
End on emotion. Story is only a vehicle for making people feel things, especially in the context of selling an idea. So I have reverse engineered the story to be one that ends (hopefully) in an emotionally satisfying way.
Then I’m done. That’s it.
Looking for more practical pitch tips? I’ve written some of those before here too.
Wish me luck. I will report back more in depth as I get through this pitch cycle over the course of the next few weeks and let you know what worked, what didn’t work, and what I’d change…
One additional pitch…
The Hollyweird Hang is back!
I went into it in detail last week, but once a month, paid subscribers to the newsletter can log onto zoom with me and talk through any and all questions they have. We cover agents, managers, queries, notes, pitches, page one problems… you name it. Just a chance to talk it through which is sometimes all you need.
The founding rate for early subscribers (and thank you to those of you who already are) is just $8/mo. But here’s the Why Now… that rate is going to increase July 15th to $10/mo. Last month’s free test run was a really great time and I keep getting sent great questions here and in my DM’s that are just too complicated (and important) to try to answer in a brief message.
So here’s our chance to actually dig in.
Hope to see you at the next hang, August 5th.