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Lesson 9
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Subject: Monica’s Phone Pitch
Write out your phone pitch along with answers to the questions.
1. Tell us which of the four strategies you are going to use to open your pitch:
Lead
with a High Concept.<div>2. Give us your script for phone call pitches, like I did above.
Hi I’m Monica Arisman, and I have a, my business partner is an alien, movie.
3. Give us a one or two sentence answer to the questions a producer may ask:
What’s
the budget range? Mid
budget</div>Who
do you see in the main roles? Keanu
Reeves, Mark StrongHow
many pages is the script? 95 pages.Who
else has seen this? No one. Yet.Why do you think this fits
our company? Because you make action/sci-fi movies.How does the movie end? Finds
the right timeline. Gets a message into the timeline. Jay can go home but
not before he brings Conall’s family back. -
WIM2 Module 10 Lesson 9 – Great Pitches 4 – Phone Pitches without Pain
Lisa Long’s Phone Pitch
What I learned from this lesson is to be prepared prior to calling and to keep it short and to the point.
Write out your phone pitch along with answers to the questions.
1. Tell us which of the four strategies you are going to use to open your pitch:
1. Lead with a High Concept.
2. Lead with a great title.
3. Lead with credibility.
2. Give us your script for phone call pitches, like I did above.
Hi, I’m Lisa Long and I’m wondering if I could run a quick concept by you?
I have a coming-of-age drama about a 12-year-old girl who is obsessed with being a dancer and is abandoned by her mother with a man she doesn’t know to live over his seafood restaurant on the Chesapeake Bay. It’s titled Chesapeake Girl. I grew up near the Bay before attending NYU Film school, so it’s an area I know well.
3. Give us a one or two sentence answer to the questions a producer may ask:
What’s
the budget range?$1 million to $5 million. There are only 4 main characters, and it takes place mainly in one location.
Who
do you see in the main roles?Molly – a Maddie Zeigler-type; a young dancer/actress; Edgar – John Goodman or Jeff Bridges; Jane – Kathy Bates or Loretta Devine; April – Amy Adams or a lesser-known dancer/actress
How
many pages is the script?88
Who
else has seen this?No one
Why
do you think this fits our company?You produced ______ which is similar in tone, genre, and had a similar budget.
How
does the movie end?Ends with Christmas at Big Ed’s Seafood Hut complete with light crabs on a tree. Edgar and April give Molly a new pair of toe shoes for Christmas. Then they hand her a letter. It states she has been accepted into the NYC Ballet school. Molly asks how. They tell her that they contacted Mars and he arranged it. Molly dances on the beach in celebration.
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Lynn’s Phone Pitch
I LEARNED that this is even more difficult than the Pitch Fest pitch because of having to get to the main hooks so they won’t hang up, and getting the important things in before they get impatient.
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What I lead with may depend on the prodco.
For ROMCOM PRODCOS NOT INTO CLIMATE CHANGE, I might start with creds, then slide into a very brief spiel on others:
Hi, I’m Lynn Vincentnathan and have published a romance novel and won numerous screenplay awards, including Platinum and Gold Remis at WorldFest Houston. I have a Rom-Com script, WEATHERING IT that asks, would an eco-activist give up promoting alternative energy to marry the man she loves, an oil engineer? Would you be interested? [wait and see if they want more info]
For CLIMATE CHANGE PRODCOS, I might start with creds but also mention something about cli-fi:
Hi, I’m Lynn Vincentnathan, published a novel, won numerous screenplay awards, including Platinum and Gold Remis at WorldFest Houston. I have a Cli-fi Rom-Com script, WEATHERING IT that asks, would an eco-activist give up promoting alternative energy to marry the man she loves, an oil engineer? I think actors and directors into climate change may be want to participate. Would you be interested? [wait and see if they want more info]
For PRODCOS, IF I CAN GET ACTORS INTERESTED, mentioning cli-fi, if they are into that:
Hi, I’m Lynn Vincentnathan, have published a novel and won numerous screenplay awards, including Platinum and Gold Remis at WorldFest Houston. I have a script that xxx would love to star in. It’s a [Cli-fi] Rom-Com, titled WEATHERING IT, that asks, would an eco-activist give up promoting alternative energy to marry the man she loves, an oil engineer? Would you be interested? [wait and see if they want more info]
GIVE US A ONE OR TWO SENTENCE ANSWER TO THE QUESTIONS A PRODUCER MAY ASK:
WHAT’S THE BUDGET RANGE?
— Mid Budget: $15 to $30 million
WHO DO YOU SEE IN THE MAIN ROLES?
— For the young couple, maybe Galilea La Salvia (a climate activist) and Noah Fearnley. For the grouchy uncles, maybe climate activists like Mark Ruffalo and Javier Bardem.
HOW MANY PAGES IS THE SCRIPT?
— 105 pages
WHO ELSE HAS SEEN THIS?
— Some script analyst and my friend Laura Perez, producer at Alma Libre Films.
WHY DO YOU THINK THIS FITS OUR COMPANY?
— You’ve done successful rom-coms, like xxxx.
Or
— You’ve done great cli-fi movies, like xxx.
HOW DOES THE MOVIE END?
— For the SETUP, in Act One Ellie takes her club to the Sea Turtle Rescue Center, where a visitor claims global warming can’t harm the turtles, it’s a hoax, remember the great Texas freeze. A staff says that freeze also harmed the turtles and they had to call on locals to help save cold-stunned turtles from drowning.
— In the final scenes the wedding during the worse-ever freeze is disrupted by the Turtle Center calling on locals to help save hundreds of cold-stunned turtles. The wedding party rushes to the beach and ends up thigh-deep in the frigid Gulf in their wedding clothes rescuing turtles, where the pastor finally pronounces them married.
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MODULE TEN LESSON NINE
FRAN’S PHONE PITCH
WHAT I LEARNED: My dream would be to have Ron Howard do this script. But I Know I can’t get anywhere near this filmmaker. So, as much as I hate phones, I would try to call, at least, some of the companies I think would bite (or kill) to do this story. I’ve been working on it for a very long time. It’s almost finished. I’m doing what your classes suggest to give it the best chance possible out there.
MY VISION: I want to write great movies. Movies that are magical, movies that move people and tell the truth. I want to write movies that stars will want to be in.
Hi. My name is Frances Emerson. I’ve been a student of several UCLA screenwriting classes and am an alumna of the ScreenwritingU.com PROseries with Hal Croasmun. I’m also a published writer and a certified public school teacher (Social Studies) who’s written an historical drama on THE GREAT STEAMBOAT RACE BETWEEN THE NATCHEZ AND THE ROBERT E. LEE.
The story, to my knowledge, has never been put on film. And I’ve intertwined it with a love story between the famous newspaper reporter, Charles Welbourne Knapp, who, according to my family source, was on the Lee at the time reporting the story, and his future wife, Frances Shackelford.
My mega story, a three-parter because of the three and one half days it took to race the steamers, and because of the mega stars I would love to see in the roles: Liam Neeson as John Cannon, Mel Gibson as Thomas Leathers, and Tom Holland as Charles Welbourne Knapp, it would be in the high budget range.
Of course, we all know the winner of the race was The Robert E. Lee, but the fun part we don’t know is what really happened on the steamers in those three and one half days: a near disaster with a failing boiler, a major water pipe leak, one steamer getting caught in a sandbar and almost not being able to wrangle free of it, and then a major, freakish fog in the gauntlet known as Devil’s Country that almost ended the race for both captains.
As for the love story, Charles wins the hand of his fair maiden from his handsome rival, Albert. There is a PHOTO FINISH. And a huge celebration as the Lee trundles into St. Louis. Along with a huge celebration dinner later for Captain Cannon. We also get to meet, General Robert E. Lee’s daughter, Mary.
I have a friend, a filmmaker who’s worked with celebrities like Jesse Eisenberg, who loves this story and has been encouraging me to finish it and shop it around. I called your company because I feel yours is the best to tell the story of the race, having done several historical pieces already.
I would be honored to send you a copy of my script. You can reach me at emersofe@yahoo.com. Thank you for your time and consideration.
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Renee’s Phone Pitch
I learned from this assignment how to put together a phone pitch and answer questions the producer might have.
What strategy will you use:
Lead with credibility.
Give us your phone pitch:
Hi, I’m Renee Miller, an optioned screenwriter with a horror script featuring a young woman struggling with addiction who must face off with bigfoot to save her niece’s life.
Budget – $1 – $5 million
Main Roles
Claire: Stephanie Scott
Adam: Luke Grimes
Mark: Someone like William Fichtner or Bryan Cranston
How Many Pages – 94
Who else has seen this – No one
Why do you think this fits our company – You recently produced (movie) which is similar in tone, genre, and budget.
How does the movie end? Claire is desperate to save her niece but is struggling with withdrawal, and when the creature takes her, it seems that all hope is lost, but she finds her strength and kills the creature, saving her niece.
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Amy’s Phone Pitch
What I learned from this lesson is if I ever am brave enough to call up a production company or a producer, I’ll know exactly what to say.
1. Tell us which of the four strategies you are going to use to open your pitch:
Lead with a great title.
2. Give us your script for phone call pitches, like I did above.
Hi. I’m Amy Falkofske. I wrote a romantic comedy called Unroyally in Love. Can I tell you about it in 30 seconds?
3. Give us a one or two sentence answer to the questions a producer may ask:
What’s the budget range?- Low budget
Who do you see in the main roles?
How many pages is the script? 90
Who else has seen this? You are the first
Why do you think this fits our company? You have done a couple of romantic comedies dealing with royalty.
How does the movie end? The princess turned commoner swallows her pride and helps the rightful princess take the throne. Prince Jack proposed to Stephanie.
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Andrew Boyd’s Phone Pitch
What I learned from this assignment is: Hook them with your business pitch in the first few seconds.
Pitch opener
I would couple the title with a brief business pitch:
Hi, I’m Andrew Boyd, and I have a war drama called Hitler’s Choirboys. Think Hacksaw Ridge meets A Few Good Men, movies that returned up to six times their budgets.
If time: The war’s over, the Nuremberg Trial is set to begin. Behind the scenes a few good men must make Hitler’s henchmen renounce the Fuhrer before a watching world. Fail and a new generation of Nazis will take their place. But on their team is a bitter young hustler bent on revenge…
What’s the budget range?
$15-30m
Who do you see in the main roles?
Sam Fuller (angry, funny, charismatic, and vengeful): John Boyega (Star Wars) or H Hunter Hall (War of the Worlds / Harriet).
Chaplain Henry Gerecke: (Decent, conflicted): Tom Hanks (Bridge of Spies) or Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight).
Hermann Goering (Nazi Hannibal Lecter): Mads Mikkelson (Hannibal) or Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs).
How many pages is the script?
130.
Who else has seen this?
You’re the first.
Why do you think this fits our company?
I loved Hacksaw Ridge / Schindler’s List / Dead Man Walking / A Few Good Men
Hitler’s Choirboys has a similar theme – a few good men thrown into a shark tank of killers. Can they turn evil around – or will they be torn apart trying?
How does the movie end?
Angry hustler Sam finds redemption, but reveals he got the hangman to botch the Nazi executions in revenge for the murder of his brother.
I’d be honoured to send you the script.
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PHONE PITCHES<div>
What I learned from this lesson- the importance of knowing how to determine what producers would be seeking your genre type and the importance
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Lead with credibility.Lead with a great title.Lead with a strong business hook.Lead with a High Concept.
2. Give us your script for phone call pitches, like I did above.
3. Give us a one or two sentence answer to the questions a producer may ask:
What’s the budget range?Who do you see in the main roles?How many pages is the script? 113 pages. Who else has seen this?No one in the industry, but has been in a few contests, such as WIKI and Scriptapalooza. Why do you think this fits our company? It is similar to movies made by Nicholas Sparks. How does the movie end? The ending is a tearjerker.
4. Answer the question “What I learned from this lesson is…?” and place that at the top of your work.
Hi, I’m Rhonda Burnaugh and I have 5 published novels. One of my current projects is a drama/romance based on my novel, ‘Catch a Falling Star.’ The name of the screenplay is ‘The Love He Left Behind’. Set in California and Maui, I would base the budget in the 500k-5 million range. KJ Apa would be a good fit to play the role of the main character.
What if the most joyful year of your existence turned out to be the year of your departure from this world? And what if your legacy wasn’t defined by who you were, but by the profound impact you left on those who remained behind?
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