Lesson #20 The Pitch - Posted on 2014-04-23 by Jonathan Edwards

4-21-14

4:50pm

5:16pm

Lesson #20

So I pitched to Evan Astrowsky today, who produced "Fanboys", "Cabin Fever", and "Columbus Day". It went okay. I'm still trying to workout how I feel about it. When I meet with Eli and Britney yesterday and practiced my pitch on them I felt very confident. They gave me real props. I felt the same way today when I went into pitch to Evan. It didn't quite turn out like I would have liked. I gave my pitch, I was confident and calm. At some parts I might have rushed a little. But I pitched. After Evan mentioned that the story had potential, but with this type of genre it needed more. Particularly in the second act. Character driven stories just aren't enough in this genre, is basically what I got from it. The main elements I need are there, but he recommended I really need a twist. Something that just throws people off. Which is a good suggestion. I might need to look into getting some help with coming up with ideas. He didn't really give me a chance to pitch my other ideas. 60 seconds actually which really didn't help at all. Evan mentioned that what ever genre I would possibility sell a screenplay for would sort of pin me to that genre and of course this was the only screenplay for the sci fi genre I had really come up with. I was trying to be more diverse, to demonstrate that I could do it all. I guess that wasn't the best way to go. I always have ideas, but after Evan had torn apart my ideas I was, admittedly a little taken back and flustered and couldn't think of anything else. There are probably a number of question that I could have asked that I'm sure I'll regret not asking later. I guess I didn't have as much confidence in myself as I had thought. What really bothers me though is that he didn't even ask for a copy of the screenplay. I get that he is busy and he can't afford to waste time, but maybe my screenplay really is good and I just wasn't able to push that through in my pitch very well. I am going to keep working on it as Evan suggested, both the pitch and the screenplay. He recommended reading a lot of other screenplays by A list writers who written this types of films, which I will also do. All and all, it was a learning experience. I may not be happy with the outcome and yes, it sucks that he didn't even walk away with my screenplay, but it is what it is. I may not have a future as a writer in this industry. Not everyone can be a writer. Realistically, I may not even me that good at it. Sometimes it takes someone who knows more to tell you so and I think that is kind of my problem. Where I come from, no one knows this stuff. There really isn't anywhere to get the experience. I can study all the material in the world and go with Angelo on promotional shots and work on media projects, but the creative/narrative side is an entirely different animal. It comes down to experience and I'm not going to find it in York, PA. I've solidified my decision to move to Los Angeles, if nothing else to prove that this one bad pitch isn't going to stop me from doing what I want to do. I may never be a writer or a producer or a director, but I want to work in film production and that is what I'm going to do. There are a lot of avenues to pursue. I'll keep reading screenplays and working on my writing skills and maybe one day I will work out, but I'm not going to stress about it. So I guess the next blog will be my last. My meeting with Eric is on Friday to discus how to get or raise the funds for a production. Will post my last blog after.