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Day 9 Assignments
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9 Replies
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Rob’s Phone Pitch
1. Either:
– Lead with Credibility
– Lead with High Concept
2. Phone call script:
CREDIBILITY:
“Hi, I’m Rob Ingalls. I’m a multi-optioned screenwriter and today, I have a TV Pilot Drama series called HORIZONS.
PITCH:
“Forget violent Gangsters, ruthless Bankers, and even approaching Dust Bowl storms of the 1930s. Oh, they’re there.
But the real Force of Nature is Molly Fisher, a gutsy widowed farmer’s wife forced to protect her family and farm in a man’s world.
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HIGH CONCEPT:
Hi, I’m Rob Ingalls and I have a female-driven TV drama series of a widowed farmer’s wife who tackles controlling men and nature’s storms to survive.
PITCH:
“There’s violent Gangsters, ruthless Bankers, and even approaching Dust Bowl storms of the 1930s.
But the real Force of Nature is Molly Fisher, a gutsy widowed farmer’s wife forced to protect her family and farm in a man’s world. The series is called HORIZONS.
3. PRODUCER’S QUESTIONS:
Q. What’s the budget range?
A: The budget range is $15M-$30M
Q: Who do you see in the main roles?
A: Sandra Bullock as Molly Fisher. Though she’s older than Molly in the script, Sandra has the right temperament onscreen to play the role.
She also holds her age well and could pass for someone in their 30s who works a farm.
A: Paul Giamatti as Archibald Wentworth, the town’s banker and Molly’s nemesis
Q: How many pages is the script:
A: 64
Q; Who else has seen this?
A: Various screenplay contests and several script consultants.
Q: Why do you think this fits our company?
A: (give info of why I chose them to pitch – previous film in similar genre, contacts, budget experience, etc)
Q: How does the Pilot/Series End?
A: The Pilot ends with Molly rallying her teenage kids to help harvest the farm, only to be shocked at the oncoming and devastating Dust Storm, one of many to arrive in the 1930s.
A: The series ends with Molly as Matriarch of a large farm dynasty. It also opens the door for Molly to uproot her family for N. California and wine country, to start anew.
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Mary Emmick’s Phone Pitch
What I learned from this lesson is that you must select the right companies to call and lead with your best.
Lead with credibility and a great title.
Hi, I’m Mary Emmick and I’m an author of several books. I have a Coming-of-Age/Drama called DON’T LOOK AWAY, ISABEL.
Pitch
What happens when a teenage girl from a small farm town during the time of COVID-19 discovers her fiancé and childhood sweetheart is a louse?
Isabel struggles to find meaning and true love as she is confronted with discrimination and disinformation in a family and community that doesn’t value science or critical thinking.
Q. What’s the budget range?
A. The budget range is $5M – $15M.
Q. Who do you see in the main roles? A. Isabel could be played by Tailia Ryder or Joey King. Tyler could be played by Tye Sheridan or Logan Lerman.
Q. How many pages in the script?
A. 108 pages
Q. Who else has seen this?
A. Various screenplay contests and several script consultants.
Q. Why do you think this fits our company?
A. Your film, (name film) had the same genre and budget and it was amazing. This story I wrote has wide audience appeal and is timely and connected to a major event, our current social and political climate.
Q. How does the movie end?
A. Don’t look away is a theme that runs through the film. Her history teacher says to her, “Don’t look away from injustice, Isabel” is one example. Through trials Isabel finds meaning and happiness in this new adult world she is about to enter. The final scene shows Victor standing behind Isabel in a colorful hot air balloon floating in the sky. He says to her, “Don’t look away, Isabel.” She turns around toward him. They kiss.
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Lenore Bechtel’s phone pitch
I learned a phone pitch needs to be even briefer than a query letter.
Lesson 9:
I’ll open with:
Hi, I’m Lenore Bechtel and I have a singing Strictly Ballroom movie that supports chastity until marriage while spoofing barbershop zealots. I’m a multi-produced playwright turned screenwriter, and I’m wondering if I could run a quick logline by you?
I’ll say this if the answer is yes:
How can Meredith sing her own style and not alienate her Sweet Adeline family and remain a virgin and not lose Quincy, her horny boyfriend?
This could be a very low-budget film using singers/actors from any winning SA chorus (500 worldwide) and maybe even with stars like Olivia Rodrigo (Disney’s Bizaardvark) or Meredith Bechtel (Dear Evan Hansen) as Meredith and Forrest Goodluck (The Revenant) as Quincy.
The script is 122 pages and you’ll be the first to see it.
If asked for the plot, I’ll be prepared with these:
Meredith’s tired of barbershop, but Gran—one of the founding Sweet Adelines—needs her singing lead in her quartet (the Dapper Dolls) to win the Gulf-Atlantic Regionals and get her first chance to compete nationally.
Gran (Marilee) named her daughters Marilou and Maryjane, and you can guess why Marilou named her firstborn Meredith and her twin daughters Doe and Rae. Can Meredith defy such competition-driven, Sweet Adeliners and sing the songs she’s writing with her Native American boyfriend Quincy?
Or WAS writing. She refuses to accept an engagement ring from Quincy because it comes with an expectation of pre-marital sex. She won’t break her vow of chastity until marriage, but she doesn’t hesitate to break up with Quincy when she sees him out with Sexy Squaw.
Meredith’s plan to sing with both the Dapper Dolls and her new quartet, the Rhythmettes, at Regionals is squelched when judges change the rule, but a surprising last-minute fill-in helps the Dapper Dolls win anyway.
The Rhythmettes, though, steal the show singing “The Biblical Brush-Off” about dumping guys who pressure gals for sex before marriage. An avalanche of girls from the audience swarm the stage hugging the quartet for standing up for them so bravely.
Here’s the ending:
The backstage action after the show ends this musical movie when Quincy draws a crowd from out of the dressing rooms as he sings a proposal to Meredith, promising to honor her chastity vow and keep it himself if she’ll let him place a ring on her finger.
Gran wishes outloud for a fourth generation Sweet Adeline, and the backstage group forms a circle, kicks, throws their arms toward Sweet Heaven, and shouts, “It’s great to be a Sweet Adeline.”
If you’d like to read the script, I’ll be in Sweetie Heaven the moment I send it out to you.
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Bob Bland… Phone Pitch
Learned? The importance of being concise when pitching on the phone.
Hi, I’m Bob Bland. I’ve interviewed over 20 war veterans and medics as well as refugees from the Vietnam era. I have a drama/romance titled Doc Band-Aid.
I’m wondering if I could run a quick logline by you?
It answers the question: Can two emotionally wounded people confront their past, heal, and love again?
When a traumatized homeless vet catches a glimpse of his Vietnamese fiancé who he believed died in the war, he is driven to try for one, last improbable chance at happiness, only to discover that she is unwilling to risk ever falling in love again.
The movie falls in the $1-2M budget range.
I feel this is a great role for an actor like Ryan Gosling, maybe Chris Evans.
The script runs 113 pages.
The script has been vetted by top screenwriting consultants around town and has been table read by professional actors to ensure the dialogue was fluent.
Your film (name) is in the same genre and budget range. I called knowing your company likes to do gritty, character-driven stories that touch the heart.
The story ends in an art gallery when the two leads meet and finally understand and accept what really happened during the war, which allows them to finally rip off their emotional band-aids and kiss, both now hopeful for their future back together.
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John Stimson’s Phone Pitch
4. What I learned from this lesson is that it’s possible to pitch over the telephone but you have to lead with you best stuff and brevity is key.
1. Will lead with credibility
2. “Hi, I’m John Stimson. I have an award-winning screenplay and I am wondering if I could run a quick pitch by you?… It’s a thriller. It’s called “The Terrorist.” It’s about a brilliant and charismatic engineering professor who engages law enforcement investigators in an intense game of cat-and-mouse after his bomb destroys the federal courthouse in Seattle, and they’re the mouse.”
3.
-Mid-budget range $11 million to $25 million
-George Clooney, Jon Hamm, Kyle Chandler, or Jeffrey Dean Morgan
-126 pages
-No other production companies yet, but a handful of film festival screenwriting competitions.
-Action movies like this are in your wheelhouse.
-Baylor captures Professor Case after a wild car pursuit; Baylor chooses justice over vengeance. Case goes to trial and is found guilty of his crimes and his sent to federal lock-up. But before he is sent to prison, Case is granted a full presidential pardon; a favor the president owed Case’s benefactor. Case returns to academia and is celebrated as a folk hero.
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Melanie’s Phone Pitch
What I learned from this lesson is that I need my own script for pitching on the phone!
Lead with a great title:
“Hi, I’m Melanie Forchetti, a produced screenwriter, and I have a thriller called “Murder, Ink.” I’m wondering if I can run my pitch by you?”
Pitch:
A young writer discovers a killer is using her latest novel as a plot for her own death.
The budget range for the movie falls between $1-5M.
I see some breakout actors for the leading roles such as Lili Reinhardt or Lily Rose Depp for the lead role of “Blake,” and Henry Cavill or Cillian Murphy for the killer.
The script runs at a fast-paced 106 pages.
Although, I’ve had some script consultants look at it, you are the first producer to see it. I think this might be a good fit at your company because the past films you’ve produced have been thrillers – all in the same budget range as “Murder, Ink.”
In the end, as Blake dangles from the dock under gun point, she writes her way out of the death by choosing to embrace her fear of water and learn to swim, while creating a plan to catch the killer.
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Day 9 Laura Hyler’s Phone Pitch 6/5/22
What I learned doing this assignment is that it is really difficult knowing how to pitch, when Hollywood’s credibility requirements are different than my experience, which includes a Master’s degree in English, (which included film studies) and I have some acting experience and stage management. So, I am going with “asking permission” to pitch.
Hi, I’m Laura Hyler and I am wondering if I could run a quick logline and pitch by you?
Log Line: A naïve widow must learn how to handle racism, or risk losing the love of her life.
Today I have a drama called Fire ‘n Ice. It’s a fictional story based on real life experiences of interracial couples.
The story is about Naomi who naively believes that she lives in a post-racial America. She and her partner ignore issues that come up, until they are forced to face matters head on. How they react and what Naomi does, will determine whether they can have a lasting relationship.
The budget range is 15-30 million.
The two actors I like for the lead roles would be Russell Hornsby or Lamman Rucker (Kofi) and
Rose Byrne or Jessica Alba as Naomi. Other actors for secondary roles could be Carrie Coon as Jeanine, Lakeith Stanfield as Cal, Andrea Navedo as Jacinta, Gabrielle Union as Cherie and Uzo Aduba as Letitia.
The script is 108 pages in length.
One experienced former writer for Paramount has seen my script.
I think it fits your company because of the subject matter, as you have done similar movies in the past. I loved xyz movie.
The movie ends with Naomi and Kofi reconciling and getting married. The parting shot is with friends and family, even those who previously were not 100% accepting of the relationship at first.
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N Lucas Assignment 9
Phone Pitch
Oooo! I really like this one because your pitch needs to be strong in 15 seconds!
I would like to pitch my move to Producer/Writer/Director Peter Sullivan of Hallmark fame.
1) I would lead with my title
2) Hi, I’m Nancy Lucas and I have a Made for TV- Romantic Comedy entitled A Tropical Christmas I’d like to tell you about
3) The Budget range is Low Budget- under 5 million. It’s set in a fictional coastal town in Florida.
4) For the leading roles I see XXX and XXX as they are well recognized in productions done in similar made-for -tv romantic comedies
5) There are 60 pages in the script and you are the first Producer I am bringing it to because I have seen your work in the many Christmas films you have produced. I feel this film would complement your style and your vast experience would bring a level of expertise to the story being told.
6) The movie ends with the family-owned mid-century modern motel being saved by the developers by the grand gesture of the city lawyer who originally came to Cupid’s Cove to set up his best friends beach wedding on Christmas Day. The film’s story takes place in a periods of 5 days. It is a fun, fast-paced spin on a Christmas Wedding.
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Gordon’s phone pitch
What I learned: The keys are brevity, a hook, and silence to allow the producer to ask questions.
Hi, I’m Gordon and I’m wondering if I could run a quick logline or concept by you?
If logline:
When mistakenly given a file outlining a wealthy psychopath’s heinous scheme, Gwen must trust her very survival to the deadly assassin who’s sent to retrieve it.
If concept:
In Hardwired the world’s most formidable hit woman must retrieve a private file and kill the person who stole it. But that file is not stolen. Instead it is inadvertently included with a hundred more files, sent to a cyber analyst who must digitally encrypt them with her own proprietary, secret, unbreakable code. But the assassin doesn’t know this. In fact she’s been lied to by the psychopath who hired her. And when following through with the “hit,” when just about to squeeze that trigger, the assassin is confronted with a shocking detail that causes her to gasp – she is about to “waste” her long-lost identical twin sister.
Likely Questions:
<u style=”background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>What’s the budget range?
Can be done in the range 15-18M. It also satisfies “contained” requirements if needed.
Who do you see in the main roles?
It seems VOD audiences absolutely love “bad ass” women. Recent example, Elsa Pataky in Interceptor (2022) (watched 9,800,000+ hours thus far).
But in Hardwired that “bad ass” woman is black. So is her twin sister. Meaning, she plays two roles – one as the world’s most formidable female assassin, the other a formidable, NSA-trained cyber analyst. Those likely to jump at getting connected include:
Rosario Dawson – The Waterman (2020) (adventure drama $383M)
Zoe Kravitz – plays Catwoman in The Batman (2022) (action crime $770M)
DeWanda Wise – a scrappy pilot in Jurasic World (2022) ($393+M opening weekend)
How many pages?
103
Who else has seen this?
It’s out for coverage with producer ____________’s favorite guy. And also, producer ____________ who also just sent it for coverage.
Why do you think this fits our company?
Your company is having huge successes measured in “viewing hours” with thriller and action genres involving scrappy and tough women (same example, Elsa Pataky in Interceptor, watched 9,800,000+ hours on your service thus far). This script, Hardwired, has that same exciting role this time portrayed by a tough black woman. And although she’s in an evil business, she’s not the real evil, here. Also, this story has unique, surprising twists not really seen before.
How does the movie end?
Jeb, the evil mega-rich villain, picked the wrong lady assassin to lie to, and to hire to kill her own identical twin sister, and then to try and kill her with other assassins when she wouldn’t kill her own kin. But when she comes for him, Jeb has an “ace in the hole,” the contents of that same file, outlining the horrid plan which is about to kill hundreds of innocent souls and which is not stoppable except by him. So, must he live?
Simultaneously, Gwen, the innocent analyst, awaits the next assassin. Mara had prepared her for this very battle in her absence to deal with Jeb. but Gwen forgot to do one final thing for it to work. Who survives? Gwen or the next incoming assassin? And then, how does a hungry bear get involved?
In the end, both Mara and Gwen prevail despite overwhelming odds. Mara finally reveals her true identity to her long-lost identical twin sister, Gwen. As for the super evil Jeb, Mara edges him out in a martial arts battle to the death, ending in simultaneous gun shots toward the other. And Mara is able to anonymously alert “authorities” just before Jeb’s evil plan deploys.
This ending is upbeat. But there’s more shocking twists and turns. Want more?
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