John August

Pitches

Whatever happened to…

Pitches, Projects, QandA

questionmarkWhile wasting time on Scriptsales.com, I came across a sci-fi/thriller you sold to Columbia back in 2000. The log line was: “Three explorers, searching for fossilized evidence of a prehistoric species, discover the true cause of its extinction.”

Sounds cool. Any plot details you can share? Any chance we’ll ever get to see it produced?

–Dan
Los Angeles

The real question is if I’ll ever write it.

I sold this project as a pitch. Basically, I had a good idea for a scary, expensive tent-pole summer movie, so I met with Amy Pascal (who runs Columbia Pictures) and she liked it. Deals were made. Contracts were signed.

But then things got busy with the second Charlie’s Angels, Big Fish, and a half-dozen other movies I worked on. In the meantime, a long-dormant project at another studio came roaring back to life, and it was clear that I’d have to make some big changes to avoid overlapping with their story. (And no, I’m not going to say what that other movie is, but it is being made.)

So, as often happens, my project was put on a back burner. I never typed so much as a “FADE IN:”, nor have I been paid anything. Still, I may get around to writing it one day, because there’s some very intriguing stuff in the concept, which isn’t obvious in the press release.

One thing to bear in mind when reading about any project in the trades is that filmmakers will often be a little disingenous about the actual plot, for fear of spoiling the surprise. That’s certainly the case here. Suffice to say the movie is much less Jurassic Park-y than you’d think.

Who knows. Maybe one day I’ll do it.

Bringing a ringer for a pitch

Pitches, QandA

Would a producer frown on a writer bringing in a ringer to a pitch meeting?  I am the absolute WORST pitcher on the planet.  Could I bring in a friend of mine who is excellent at pitching to do the dirty work for me?  Is this even acceptable?

–Gary

Nope. Not unless your friend is going to be writing it with you.

Believe me, I recognize the fallacy of expecting a writer — whose principal talent is sitting alone in a room for hours on end — to suddenly be talkative and entertaining when pitching a project. Most writers, self included, would much rather toil away in happy isolation. But producers and studio execs want to hear from the writers themselves. So we put on our least-wrinkled clothes, practice what we’re going to say, and try not to make asses of ourselves in pitch meetings.

My standard advice for any pitch: Pretend you just saw the best movie ever, and you want to convince your friend (the producer) why she should see it. Try it with a few real movies and you’ll see that you naturally hop from high point to high point, and don’t dwell a lot on the underlying logic or subplots. That’s a pitch.

Getting a job from a pre-visualization

Pitches, QandA

I am going to be a writer/director. I have done neither professionally before, but I have previsualized the movie with my script. My question is what’s the next step? Can I just call the studio for a appointment to show them the pre-viz, or do I buy the Hollywood Creative Directory of Agents and Producers and send it to each one of them and maybe they will be impressed enough to show it around to get a deal?

–Geoff B
Nova Scotia, Canada

For readers who are unfamiliar with the term, a pre-visualization consists of artwork — often animated — which demonstrates the look and style of a film before it’s shot. It’s a technique often used for movies that involve elaborate set pieces (such as battle scenes) to help all the departments plan and budget for the work ahead. For instance, when prepping for CHARLIE’S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE, the helicopter stunt at the opening was extensively animated before a frame of film was shot. That way, the director could focus on getting exactly the pieces he needed, replacing the roughly-animated polygonal figures with real angels.

But that’s an expensive Hollywood movie. Why would Geoff want or need pre-visualization?

Well, if he’s trying to do a movie that has a very different visual style, it might help. For instance, the upcoming SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW has an incredibly stylized, retro-futuristic look, achieved by computer animation and actors shot against green screen. The only way the director could convince a studio (in this case, Paramount) to gamble on the project was to shoot an extensive pre-visualization that explained his vision.

If Geoff’s movie is a simple romantic comedy, or a cop drama, then pre-visualization isn’t necessary, and probably won’t help him get a deal. But if his movie is more unusual or elaborate, it just might.

Since it sounds like Geoff is starting out from scratch, without any contacts, his “shotgun” approach of going through the Hollywood Creative Directory might make sense. Whatever he sends out — a videotape, storyboards, artwork — should be absolutely professional, concise, and well-edited. I wouldn’t send out the script until people respond.

Getting a pitch meeting

Dead Projects, Pitches, QandA

You mentioned that you went in to pitch for How To Eat Fried Worms and that it was the first script you were paid to write. Well, say a screenwriter has written a number of scripts and they want to pitch their ideas to a studio. How does one go about that? You can’t just waltz into Dreamworks and start spouting off lines right? So, what does one do? Set up a meeting? Could it be THAT simple? Calling and setting up a meeting?

–Josh Caldwell
New York

It always starts with a meeting, and generally these are set up by an agent or manager. In the case of FRIED WORMS, it was set up by my friend Jim Whitaker, who was working as a junior executive at Imagine, the company run by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer. He had read my very first script, and thought I might be the right person to adapt this little kid’s book the company had just optioned. So it was my friendship with him that got me in the room. But it was my take on the story that got me the job.

I’ve written in other places about the mechanics of a pitch, but generally it works like this. Pretend you just saw a great movie, and you wanted to convince your skeptical best friend why he should see it. What would you say? That’s a pitch.

Now usually, before you even go into a pitch meeting, some of the groundwork has been laid. For instance, before I pitched BIG FISH, the executives at Sony read the book, so they had some idea what the project was about. Even in the case of a completely original idea, it’s good if the recipient has been told what kind of movie you’re pitching — a thriller, a comedy, a futuristic prison romance, whatever. For something like TARZAN, which I’m writing now, we had a few phone calls to discuss the overall tone and approach before we even set the meeting.

And almost always, the people hearing the pitch want to read your writing ahead of time, so they know you really can write. In the case of FRIED WORMS, I was at a real disadvantage in this regard. The only writing samples I could show were my first script (a tragic-comic romance) and the novelization of NATURAL BORN KILLERS. The other writers pitching for the job were true comedy writers, many of them working on THE SIMPSONS. Ultimately, I got the job. Even though the movie still hasn’t been made, I’m tremendously grateful for the opportunity.