Screenwriters: What to Expect at a Pitch Session

Unless they are extremely well connected, at a certain point in a beginning screenwriter's life, he or she will attend a pitch session in hopes of having their screenplay optioned, or themselves "repped" by an agent.

Simply put, a pitch session is an organized event where agents, production companies, and studios meet with aspiring screenwriters. The events are produced by independent companies, or are held in conjunction with a film festival or screenwriter's event, such as the Screenwriter's Expo. At a pitch session, writers pay either a flat fee, or per pitch, and have a very limited amount of time, usually five minutes, to interest the person on the other side of the table in their script.

Despite the costs involved, the appeal to a screenwriter of travelling to attend a pitch session is obvious. If the term, "it's who you know" wasn't first said in reference to the Hollywood industry, it should have been. Networking, contacts, personal and professional relationships are the foundation of how a script is discovered, and how movies are made. Stories abound of a struggling screenwriter meeting the people who gave them their "big break" in checkout lines, as their pool boys, you name it. But for those of us who don't live in Los Angeles, that kind of serendipitous encounter is just not possible. A pitch session provides at least some access to the movie industry.

Ironically, the same desire to meet someone in Hollywood is what brings agents and producers to a pitch session, except in reverse. The pool of screenwriters that they meet are the same screenwriters that the competition is also meeting. In order to find a "fresh" script, a new voice, and sometimes, a screenwriter who isn't from LA, they need to go out and try to find that proverbial lightening in a bottle. Finding the script for the next "Reservoir Dogs" could literally be a career-defining event, and in an environment where Harvard MBA's are sorting mail at CAA or William Morris, Hollywood agents need every edge they can get. But looking for new talent is time consuming, and except for Sundance, the majority of an agent's work time is spent in LA. So for them, a pitch session is a chance to meet dozens of writers, and listen to dozens of ideas from all over the country, in one afternoon.

A screenwriter who decides to throw him-or-herself into the pitch session fray would be best served by watching scenes illustrating the madness of speed dating such as the one in "The 40-year old Virgin". The ticking clock, the revolving chairs, the lightening fast assessments. It's all there, except you aren't a lonely guy who wants a date, you are a screenwriter who wants a hundred thousand dollar script option.

So it might be a little tougher to have someone choose you.

The first part of the pitch session begins at the sign up. Generally, a list of companies attending is posted, along with a brief description listing their film credits and the movie genre of the type of script they are looking for; e.g., "looking for broad comedies and family fare."

Sign ups are either handled online, or in person. At my first pitch session, clipboards with time slots were posted below the company name. As the time grew nearer to sign up, the crowd of screenwriters edged ever closer...until the whistle blew and I watched, dumbfounded, as the previously friendly and low-key people I had been networking with suddenly turned into a group of rabid dogs lunging at the sign up sheets and pushing aside anyone who happened to stand in their way. The reason? The "good" companies (i.e., known movie studios, talent agents, production companies) go first, and if, like me, you didn't move fast enough, you may find yourself wasting the few opportunities a pitch session gives you talking to a person who just incorporated their company last month.

Online signups for pitch sessions are equally fast paced and intense. Have your credit card ready, and type as fast as you can, because you may find your slot gone by the time you hit the "checkout" option.

A pitch session is executed with the precision timing of a NASA countdown. In the bigger events, like the Screenwriters Expo, writers are "staged" in different rooms awaiting their turn. For example, fifteen minutes before your scheduled time, you are allowed to enter the first staging room, and five minutes later moved to a different room, as the next group takes your place, and so on, until you are waiting in the final (and closest) room. At one minute before the end, you are allowed to stand near the agent's table. Then at the exact time, a bell will ring, the previous person is admonished to leave immediately, and you slide right in to the seat, launching into your pitch.

The person assigned by the studios to represent them at a pitch session will likely be a junior staffer, probably in their twenties, with the smug yet slightly overwhelmed look of someone who holds a screenwriter's hopes and dreams in their hands. They are aware, however, that somewhere in their Hollywood career you could be a screenwriter they want to work with. Because of this, they will usually be professional and diplomatic in telling you "no".

Now, except for the small firms, the person you are pitching to is not the decision maker, but the gatekeeper one or two levels removed from the decision maker. This is OK. Based on the reports of scripts that were eventually optioned at these events, a good script does, eventually, bubble up to the right people. Sometimes, though, you will meet someone at a pitch session who has absolutely no influence in the acceptance process, and is just a seat filler. I've learned to spot them based on how they are reacting to the pitch. It's the difference between a person who is listening because he is deciding whether he will give your script a yes or no, and a person thinking about what color nail polish they are wearing because they don't have the authority to give anyone's script a yes. I can only guess at the reasons for why they are there in the first place - -I've heard of interns being asked to attend for someone who just couldn't make it (no-shows may not be asked back to future pitch sessions by the organizers), and of staffers sent as a training exercise. This happens, but not that often, and I just go ahead and talk about my script anyway, for practice.

One thing that inevitably happens is that the time will go by too fast. Five minutes waiting for a bus is an eternity. Five minutes trying to convince someone that they want to "take the next step" by asking for your script, goes by in an instant, and next thing you know, you have a writer hovering over your shoulder waiting for their turn.

Typically, at a pitch session, unless your script is the next "Snakes on a Plane" you will hear something along the lines of, "that's not something we'd be interested in", or "we already have several projects like that in development." Then again, you may just be given the cursory, "thank you" and be sent on your way.

But sometimes, you will find yourself seated across from a person who is looking for a genre/plot/star vehicle that your script seems to fill. At this point, you'll be asked to send either a synopsis or the actual script to them. This is very rare, especially with the bigger companies, and it is cause to celebrate. To put it in perspective: someone who probably has at least ten scripts they have to read by tomorrow is intrigued enough by your pitch to ask for the script, thereby creating yet more work for themselves. Smile. Say thank you, ask for their contact information...then run outside and jump up and down. Enjoy. You have just accomplished the main purpose of being at a pitch session: you have moved your script forward to the next step.

Now, I have written about what to expect at a pitch meeting, but there is one very important thing NOT to expect. And that is, do not expect to walk out of the room with a deal to make your script into a movie, and a check in your hand. It would be nice, and honestly, I've indulged in those fantasies myself, but it just ain't gonna happen. Instead, expect that this pitch session is just one of many pitch sessions you will have to attend, and set your sights accordingly. Expect to hear a lot of no's, and to experience the sting of rejection. There's no cure, except for the occasional request to see your script propelling you forward. The important thing is to not let discouragement keep you from promoting yourself, or continuing to write. Tell yourself whatever affirmation you need: you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince, you can have a hundred no's but all you need is just one yes...tell yourself anything, so that at the next pitch session, you are that much more confident in selling your script.