for the full guide to what I was up to today. Actually, up to all week, because I work as a volunteer in order to afford my pitch time at the event. Last year was my first year pitching, and it went amazingly well. Got some scripts on desks, had some interest, but nothing that went anywhere. This year was sort of a different story.
See, the thing is, I expected an uphill battle, where at least 2/3 of my pitches would end with "thanks but we just can't take a risk on a project like this." I figured I'd be lucky to get a request for a follow up, and I wouldn't be fielding any script requests this year. Why? Cuz I was pitching something edgy, out there, and wicked risky-- I pitched my NANO pilot project I talked about last fall/winter on this blog.
My "no"'s actually came out more like "It sounds really original and I really love it, but I just can't take the risk." The general consensus was that it was edgy and had the potential to be brilliant, but I'd have to find a way to get someone to take a risk on it. No big surprise there, but some nice feedback that the concept was appreciated and liked. Then the shocker--
I pitched 11 companies. That feedback is what I heard from only 3 of them.
One company asked me to send a followup email, because he needed to think about what he wanted to do next. He loved the concept, wanted to think about how to submit it through his company, and definitely wanted to think about the whole thing first. I really loved this pitch, because he was so clearly invested in just how big a risk and figuring out how he might be playing it.
Another company is in early development for television, meeting new writers and collecting cards from writers they might want to bring in as they move into developing shows. She asked for my card, said I'd be hearing from them.
Four companies asked for followup emails with 1 page synopses they could present to others for consideration.
One major company run by a pretty big name (to geeks anyway) asked for my treatment. I was thrilled beyond belief because he loved the idea, and he hadn't been a fan of much all day. Word around the lines was that he sent people away before time was up a lot! And actually, I saw that the round before my pitch.
The last company of the day was sort of a toss up pick. I had two of pretty equal merit on my list, only time in the day to pitch one, and I was responsible for checking the executives in that morning, so I knew a pretty fun, joking around lady was at one and a slightly cranky gentleman was at another. Now, it may just have been a lack of coffee to blame, but that tipped me over to the lady. Who loved the pitch, expressed that she felt I was a very smart person, and she wanted to read the script! (I think I picked the right line!)
I also had a great time personally, as one of the people taking the pitches turned out to be an old friend from college! Spent some time catching up afterward during the cocktail reception, which was really nice. Funnily, he'd taken a pitch on a Vegas centered story earlier in the day and told me that all he could think about during it was how we and three other friends had gone to Vegas and gotten up to all sorts of trouble. (When I tell the story, it usually starts with "did I ever tell you about the time I ended up in bed with two guys?" Good times...)
So overall, had a blast at PitchFest again this year. And I really feel like this year was somewhat more successful for me than last year. Even though last year I got a bunch of script requests, this year was a hard sell, not as easily accepted and commercial, and yet I still got a lot of interest. Tomorrow will be a day filled with emails, and that makes me incredibly happy. Why not tonight? Because this truly horrible (aka awesome) fellow volunteer of mine made sure I always had a drink in hand, and you never email execs when you've had vodka tonics passed your way all evening. ;)
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