Lesson 8

[Christi Falk]

Christi Falk’s Pitch Fest Pitch

What I learned is to be brief and silence is golden!

1. My name is Christi and I specialize in Action Adventures.

2. The Genre is Action Adventure and the title is Agatha Christie’s The Man in the Brown Suit.

3. Orphaned and homeless but with a sudden stroke of luck, Anne Beddingfeld tries to endear herself to her late father’s colleagues while joining the hunt for stolen diamonds. From the mind of Agatha Christie, a tale of love, loss and belonging written in 1921 that is still powerfully relevant today.

4.

(A) The budget range would be high- approximately 50-100 million, possibly more.

(B) While there could be many known actors suited for the role, Agatha Christie’s name is so well known that this could be the chance to discover talent while saving the budget for the multiple locations/stunts.

(C) Acts of the story: Fresh from her father’s wake, Anne watches a man plunge to his death and uses his ticket for an all expenses paid cruise.

Allegiances are forged on ship when Anne tries to suss out her role in a diamond heist gone wrong. She chooses to protect a brooding stranger while attaching to an eccentric but amiable millionaire. Also, her future as a homeless orphan is at stake. Will she make a good impression at the BAA conference?

Anne is almost thrown overboard. She finds the diamonds but hides them. She kicks ass at the BAA lecture. She’s kidnapped!

Harry finds her, but she ends up rescuing them both. On the run, Harry finds his father was on the cruise after all! But wait, Anne’s surrogate father figure turns out to be the criminal mastermind everyone’s trying to catch. He still wants to adopt her!

She can’t choose between Harry and the Colonel so she says no to both. But wait, Minks! Reverend Chichester/Stewardess/Miss Pettigrew? Yes, very versatile secret agent who returns the diamonds as well as the reward on the Colonel.

Anne is Alone.

Harry finds Anne in Africa. He tries to propose but she stops him. Family isn’t something that can be rushed. He kisses her. The end.

(D) How does it end- Setup/payoff

It begins with death. Anne never knew her mother. Her father just died. Carton just died in front of her.

It ends in an archaeological dig. Anne is still in death but this time, thousands of years old. Harry finds her to offer her new life. She accepts.

(E) Credibility questions, what have you done? Nothing. Just work 10 hour days and write when I’m not sleeping. Don’t think that’s a thing I can put here.

[Isti Madarasz]

Isti Madarasz’s Pitch Fest Pitch

What I learned is that my pitch should be as short as possible, give just a few basic hooks, and let them ask questions – which I’d better have answers to….

PITCH: I’m Isti Madarász from Hungary, I’ve written and directed two feature films, both of which won the Silver Mélies-award for the best European sci-fi film in 2016 and 2022.

My new script is also a science fiction, and it’s called KONTRAKT.

It’s based on an award winning Hungarian novel which I own the rights for.

The story sets in a world where everything is controlled by treaties, literally everything – even the very laws of nature can be rewritten, you just need the right contractor. Simon, one of the most powerful contractors ever lived, with his 8 year old daughter arrives in a country under military occupation, where he is about to make the most influential contract ever made, one that will literally cripple the people who live there.

Things are not going well and when his daughter is seriously injured he must break every contract he has ever made and accept that only his most dangerous enemy can help him.

Question A: Budget is $5-7 million if we shoot in Europe + there’s this HUGE tax rebate here, 30% in Hungary. That’s why so many American productions shoot here now.

Question B: I need a sensitive, vulnerable hero who I believe has a daughter – Jake Gylenhall or Ryan Gosling, Miles Teller or even Paul Dano – or British actors like Robert Pattinson, Paul Mescal, Dev Patel, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden.

Question C: First of all, Simon is not only one of the strongest contractors, but he has a secret. He was born in the country where he has just arrived, but after his special abilities were revealed as a child, his parents sold him to become a contract negotiator. He hasn’t seen them since and now he wants to find them.

However, the planned treaty leaks out and the tension between the oppressive powers and the exploited people erupts into a nationwide riot. In the midst of the growing chaos, Simon tries to protect his daughter while trying to track down his family. However, there are growing signs that a mysterious, extremely powerful contractor is behind the conflict.

After his daughter is critically injured in a spectacular but brutal anti-gravity attack created by the reality-distorting power of this unknown enemy, Simon discovers that this person, the mastermind of the terrorist attack is the only one who can actually help his daughter.

In return, however, Simon must help defeat the current system, which is based solely on the contracts.

Question D: Simon hates everything about his home country, especially the rain. It always rains here, the richer countries send all their bad weather, air pollution and contaminated rain here. So Simon has a contract that makes rain not fall on him . It’s going to be quite spectacular when we first see it. Towards the end, he realizes that we shouldn’t run the world through contracts, that people and their freedom are worth more, so he starts to cancel some private contracts that give him special powers – and at the end of the film he steps out into the street and as the rain drips down his face – he smiles.

Question E: I’ve written and directed two feature films, four TV movies, shot commercials, countless episodes of TV series and last year I finished shooting one of Hungary’s biggest budget TV series. It was 92 days of shooting… It was recently shown on Hungarian Television and will be on Netflix from next spring.

[Rick Whitney]

R Whitney

What I have learned: I too have been given the advice of try to cram as much in during a Pitch Fest and although I’ve not been apart of one, this format would be a pleasant relief to some of those long boring pitches.

1. Tell us your credibility. Rick has reached the quarter finals several time in the PAGE Awards contest.

2. Tell us your genre and title. Dark Comedy called Apricot Cyanide

3. What is your one or two sentence hook? What would you do if you found out your parents were poisoning homeless people and burying them in the family orchard?

4. Please give your one or two sentence answer to each of these questions:

• What is the budget range? This would be a low-budget film taking place mainly at the farm.
• What actors do you like for the lead roles? I think Felica Day would be excellent for the role.
• Give me the acts of the story. Act 1: Jenny discovers her parent are poisoning homeless people. Act 2: She and her fiancé hatch a plan to keep her parent from the long arm of the law. Act 3: The police do get involved and she has to dodge them and not have her parents incriminate themselves do make the plan work.
• How does it end? (setup / payoff). The plan does work.
• Credibility questions What have you done? I’ll be honest, although I have written 22 scripts, I have yet to have one optioned. It’s my plan that after I have taken classes with Hal Croasmun, I can develop these scripts into producible commodities.

[Robert Smith]

GSTPP LESSON 8 PITCH FEST 112923

ROBERT R. SMITH’s PITCH FEST PITCH.

WHAT I LEARNED IS?

How to craft a pitch and also prepare for questions afterward. The Lesson and the assignment questions proved beneficial to creating the script outline.”

1. TELL US YOUR CREDIBILITY.

I am a playwright whose recording of my gangster comedy “Angels in Gangland” won the award of Best Full Length Feature Film at the Cecil County Independent Film Festival (Milburn Stone Theater, Cecil College, North East, MD).

2. WHAT IS YOUR GENRE AND TITLE.

GENRE: THRILLER

TITLE: “The Plaintiff.”

Picture: “The Accused” meets “The People vs Larry Flynt.”

3. WHAT IS YOUR ONE OR TWO SENTENE HOOK?

She is a centerfold in Beach House magazine who sues the editor for sexual harassment

and wins.

4. PLEASE GIVE YOUR ONE OR TWO SENTENCE ANSWER TO EACH OF THESE QUESTIONS:

1. What is the budget range?

$15 to $30 million, depending upon star power.

2. What actors do you like for the lead roles?

Brandy Crofton: Margot Robbie.

Steve Willis, Esq.: Leo di Caprio.

Doug Julian (Antagonist; Magazine editor): Leo di Caprio or Michael Raymond-James.

3. Give me the acts of the story.

4.

ACT ONE: Former centerfold and Sex Goddess Brandy Crofton’s death is unsolved. Was it suicide or murder by poisoning at the hands of her abusive Russian gangster boyfriend (Yuri Yusupov) who is himself dead, shot apparently by Brandy’s teenage daughter (Courtney) who is to be defended in court by longtime family attorney (Steve Willis) who is the narrator of the story and starts at the beginning..

ACT TWO: Young Steve Willis, now in law school is Brandy’s one time High School Sweetheart and has continued as a friend and confidant of the former High School Cheerleader and star of the Senior Play, “The Crucible” who still wants an acting career and to be a sex goddess, but her career path starts as a stripper (Bubblegum Pink) in a gentlemans’ club owned by mob-connected Beach House magazine editor Doug Julian, whom she meets and for whom she signs a contract of fealty to him while he promises to enhance her acting career after first she poses nude as centerfold Beach Girl of the Month. She also lives in her own apartment in Julian’s expansive beach house with other Beach Girl models in a part girls dormitory / part harem for Julian. After Julian makes Brandy the Beach Girl of the Year, he says he is expanding into film making, he builds her a studio and promises her the starring role in his historical epic, “Harem” – explaining that he makes her a star as per his part of the contract to advance her acting career.

ACT 3: “Harem” turns out to be an epic porn film and he coerces Brandy to perform in explicit sex scenes plying her with drugs and alcohol. Brandy has an emotional breakdown. Especially when “Harem” flops at the Box Office and her ‘porn star’ reputation from “Harem” prevents her from getting any work in mainstream entertainment. Supported by Steve Willis as friend and attorney, Brandy files a sexual harassment lawsuit against Doug Julian. When she wins the case, her case becomes one for the law books and catapults Brandy into a new role as spokesperson for Womens Rights and Workplace Justice.

ACT 4: Steve Willis receives an honorary Doctorate of Law Degree and Brandy becomes a renowned speaker on the issue of sexual harassment and a leader in the support of victims of sexual harassment and abuse. Buoyed by her new role and purpose, Brandy finds peace in her life with her teenage daughter but she also finds herself an old acquaintance (from her days with Julian) who becomes her boyfriend, i.e., Yuri Yusopov, who is a Russian gangster.

The script returns to the opening scene and continues:

ACT FIVE: Brandy’s death is ruled a homicide by poisoning the alleged killer is Yusupov who himself is dead by gunshot fired by Brandy’s daughter (Courtney). Defending Courtney at trial, Steve Willis makes a case for justifiable homicide by Courtney, insofar as Yusupov had threatened to kill both mother and daughter. Steve Willis’ argument wins his defense of Courtney.

5. HOW DOES IT END? (SETUP / PAYOFF)

SETUP: The death of Brandy, and the trial of her daughter.

PAYOFF: The film ends with Steve Willis glad that he won Courtney’s freedom, but laments how tragedy had followed Brandy and now Courtney. Courtney tells Steve, “You are the only man who has ever been good to my mother.” Steve: “That’s why I’ll make sure you will never need for anything, it’s what your mother would want.”

6. CREDIBILITY QUESTIONS – WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?

I am a playwright whose recording of my gangster comedy won the award of Best Full Length Feature Film at the Cecil County Independent Film Festival (Cecil College, North East, MD).

[Jane Alcala]

Jane Alcala/Pitch Fest Pitch

What I learned is: that I can use my former job as credibility for this particular project. I’m relieved that what I’ve previously been taught about pitching (by a UCLA instructor, no less) isn’t helpful. The method of memorizing and giving a long overview of one’s screenplay never made sense to me. What I learned about pitching here seems short enough that it won’t as easily lose the listener’s attention.

1. Tell us your credibility: I’m a former Los Angeles probation officer who has since been an Executive Producer and Producer of two feature indie films in the past two years.

2. Tell us your genre and title: Comedy/”Comediennes”

3. What is your one or two sentence hook? Desperate for viral fame, an ex-parolee turned comedian challenges her parole agent to a TV roast battle.

4. Please give your one or two sentence answer to each of these questions:

• What is the budget range? Micro-budget to Low-Budget ($250,000 to $5 million)
• What actors do you like for the lead roles? Awkwafina for the parolee and Tig Notaro for the parole agent
• Give me the acts of the story: 1) A struggling ex-parolee comedian, Dara, is offered a spot on a popular TV roast battle show, as long as she can bring her skittish former parole agent, Patricia aka Pat, to battle against her. 2) As Dara preps Pat for battle, a festering feud between them leads Dara to swear off the show. 3) However, through tickery, Pat cajoles Dara back into the battle.
• How does it end? (setup / payoff). The roast battle ironically triggers an emotional outpouring between them in which they can finally bury their feud and acknowledge their friendship.
• Credibility questions What have you done?: I’m a former Los Angeles probation officer and stand-up comedian. I was inspired to write this story after befriending a fellow comedian who jokes about her criminal past; and who acted as a consultant/contributor to my screenplay.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by  Jane Alcala.

[John Chabot]

John Chabot’s Pitch Fest Pitch.

1. Tell us your credibility.

2. Tell us your genre and title.

3. What is your one or two sentence hook?

“Hi, I’m john Chabot and I have three comedies that each have Recommends. First, I have JESTER. (Light pause) Jester is the story of an aspiring court jester who is sent by a wizard to impregnate an enemy princess … with the wizard’s semen.”

4. Please give your one or two sentence answer to each of these questions:

What is the budget range? Moderate budget: $15 to $30 million.

What actors do you like for the lead roles? One of my readers said it’s an Adam Sandler-type comedy. I could see Greg Gutfeld or Steven Crowder playing the lead.

Give me the acts of the story.

A wizard is trying to find a suitable candidate to seduce the enemy princess. They see the protagonist performing stand up and the enemy princess comments that “every woman wants a man who can make her laugh. The protagonist is injected with the wizard’s sperm.

The comedian flirts with the enemy princess gets close to a kiss but is interrupted by her rock star ex-boyfriend. She sends them both on a quest, with her as the reward.

He loses the quest, but ends up in bed with the princess anyway, which results in him being taken to prison and sentenced to hang in the morning.

In prison he discovers his kingdom’s princess who everyone thought had been turned into a pig and subsequently murdered. After hearing his story, she gives him a handjob. The seeds of love are sown. And she knights him before he is taken away to die.

The protag is saved from the gallows, hypnotized and sent to kill his own king . This all by the enemy kingdom’s wizard (who it turns out is the twin brother of the other wizard and they are in cahoots trying to take over the two kingdoms).

Having the protag kill the king goes awry but the wizards kill him and blame the protag. Fortunately, the enemy princess likes him and wants him to return for another date. Unfortunately, it means the protag gets injected with sperm again.

After “discharging” the wizard’s spell, the protag remembers his princess is being held hostage and sets off to rescue her.

The protag gets his princess out of prison and together they defeat the rock star and the evil princess, and the two wizards who join powers to face them.

How does it end? (setup / payoff). The protagonist and his own princess get married and the comedian becomes king. And since the place where he used to perform his stand up comedy was destroyed by the wizards, she gives him his own comedy club as wedding gift.

Credibility questions What have you done?

Answer the question What I learned is? and post it at the top of your work.

I learned an in person pitch should be short and built on a hook.

[Gregory Kiernan]

Gregory’s Pitch Fest Pitch

What I learned from doing this assignment is that presenting my concepts in terms of the Acts and doing so quickly makes my pitch sound pretty good.

1) I’m a graduate of the Master Screenwriter Class 15 at ScreenwritingU

2) I have an action-comedy titled CODE GRAY

3) A house burglar teams up with a promiscuous 80-year-old woman to rob her spoiled-rotten son

4)

A) Budget: $3-5 million

B) It’d be a great role for Helen Mirren, and maybe Bob Odenkirk as the thief

C) First the thief and the old lady meet and he helps her escape from an old folks home, then they plan a caper together and in the end he risks himself during the robbery to make sure she’s okay.

D) I’m a graduate of MSC 15 and I once got a semi-finalist award for the Fade In screenwriting competition