2012_03_02_10_57_390001_2
Going out to Hollywood for this pitch conference was a real eye-opener. The first thing I noticed was how eager these talented writers, actors, producers, and executives were to meet and share valuable information with newbies. We learned a lot in a very short time! I think the best-known person, to us, was Edward Saxon, one of the producers for “Silence of the Lambs,” who gave the opening talk. Everyone we met gave generously of their time and energy to help us succeed.
There were two conferences going on at the same time, in the same hotel: the Writer’s Digest Pitch Conference and the Screenwriter’s World Pitch Conference. My writing partner, Barbara Carson, Lucretia and I were there to attend the screenwriter’s conference, but there was a lot of mingling with authors from the other group, between talks. We all met in the huge downstairs lounge/”marketplace” where juices, muffins and croissants were offered, along with DVDs, CDs, flyers and other promotional material from self publishers, writer’s groups, filmmakers and more.
Barbara was delighted to find the latest Final Draft Version 8, at $100 off the regular price, but we didn’t spend much money in the marketing area; we’d grab a bite and head off to the next talk or panel discussion. We were focused on gathering as much useful information as possible, and honing our pitches.
The second thing I learned was how the words “based on a true story” caught people’s attention. Between the two of us, Barbara and I pitched to about 20 different producers. As soon as we mentioned that our screenplay MERCENARY TO THE SHAH was based on a true story, that is, on my memoir, Zehbel, The Clever One, people sat up and took notice. Hollywood is definitely interested in real-life stories. And the most popular genre is an action-thriller, so MERCENARY TO THE SHAH is well-positioned for today’s market.
The third thing I learned was that this process could take a while. Most of the producers who expressed interest in our screenplay said “we’ll get back to you in two weeks,” or “you should hear from our creative producer within six weeks.” So we’re in to the waiting game. Barbara followed up the pitch conference with a Skype pitch last week, with a big-name producer. His response? An email saying he’ll get back to her in 3 weeks. So we’re in the game, and in it for the long haul. We’ll keep everyone posted. Thank you for your good wishes!
Meanwhile, a new edition of Zehbel, The Clever One will be coming out on Amazon in a few days. We’re bringing back the original cover everyone liked so much from the first printing. It should be out on Kindle within the week.
So I’ll be out giving a few more talks to local groups and pestering the radio stations again. More on that another time.