Cool News
Do ya got a film idea ya wanna pitch and try to sell' Got no connections'
Well folks, Harry here... and I figure I finally got one possible answer to a question I get daily. The question usually revolves around someone that has a script/idea/brother's uncle's step-daughter's newborn's idea for.... THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER MADE.... but they only have one problem. They live, where they consider to be, the middle of nowhere. Can't get an agent... don't know how to begin. Noone will look at my stuff! etc etc etc...
Now, I'm not going to pretend to have THE answers to your problem. Maybe the idea just sucks. Maybe you're an undiscovered genius with bad luck so far. But I've been hearing about something going on up at SUNDANCE this year that kind of gives me pause.
It's called the "Worldwide Pitch Festival" and it's a bit of a tadoo put on by them "www.showbizdata.com/pitchfest" Basically, it's this thing where you submit a pitch, and set up an auction where people will then bid for your pitch/idea/project. This doesn't mean that Bill Mechanic will pony up $8 million for your brilliance... but who knows... It might be somebody's 'chance'. At the very least it sounds kinda cool. You might go check this out. If this thing works out... it'll explode by next year.... Best of luck to yous fellas with ideas!
-
+ Expand All
-
Surely I
-
so who says somebody would actually pay for your
pitch and not rip it off directly?
i mean, i suppose it can be seen
from millions of people...
-
So are these original ideas only. What about fresh ideas for projects that seem to be going nowhere? Like "Superman Lives/Death of Superman"?
-
While the access seems like a good idea, the free marketplace is not kind to the naive entrepreneur of intellectual capital. Great steps would have to be taken to keep this from becoming one of those: "INVENTORS! Do YOU have a great idea but can't get it developed? Call INVENTORS ASSISTANCE for your free inventor development kit! If your product reaches the market, we keep the cash and the patents - but you'll be credited in some book as the inventor!" Not to naysay too much- where there's a will there is a way, I hope they work it out for the benefit of all.
-
...should goto this thing and try to pitch RONNIE ROCKET.
-
That's a fine idea. Anything that improves the quality of the end film should be pursued. Get the digital video cameras into the hands of the young auteurs. FirstUse.Com protection for one's ideas is a must for a site like this. BUT- don't forget that there is often a reason that "No one will look at (your) stuff!" Your mom will always love your work - show it to a teacher, a librarian, or another writer. After that, send it in to Pitchfest. Maybe the site could add a page, "www3.showbizdata.com/pitchREVIEW".
-
I think the video deadline is today or was yesterday. I could be wrong. Hopefully, if it's a success, they'll do it next year.
-
Be careful what you wish for.
-
I live in S.A and I have some good ideas...but I'm from South Africa...
anyone...
hello...?
-
I live in S.A and I have some good ideas...but I'm from South Africa...
anyone...
hello...?
-
Oh yeah, I forgot that producers are having a hard time convincing people to tell them their ideas!
You got even less chance of hittin' it big at this thing as you do getting a contract at a comic con! -
I agree, i mean there are 50 bazillion people who have ideas, and the producers out there are bombarded by them, and your chances of getting one picked up is one in a billion. Stop dreaming, dreamer, stop coming up with new and interesting ideas, stop trying to fufill your desire to have your name on celluloid, to have your words uttered by a truly talented actor and get back to your dreary, work a day existence. Wait...fuck that...keep reaching, keep trying, keep on dreaming, who gives a damn if no one is listening, right now, if you have a story to tell, tell it! If you have something to say, Say it, for god's sake, every one of the best movies ever made started as a "stupid idea" in the back of someone's brain.
-
You have to *trust* the executives in the audience to be honest. Trust them to not hear your pitch, reject it, then return to the studio and pitch it themselves only to turn it into a franchise, making lots of money off the idea you pitched while you continue in your daily job paying minimum wage. Of course, you *could* copyright your idea, but that's not to say they won't get around it by changing one or 2 aspects of it.
-
Well, not no one, but most producers will NOT directly rip off your idea. They can't afford to. That's why things like this are rather suspect and are more like promotional gags than actual ways for aspiring screenwriters to get in over here. If a producer does steal your work (and I frankly can't imagine that happening, even though variations on people's stuff happens all the time) it would be INCREDIBLY difficult to prove it and if you're planning on bitching to the WGA that someone ripped off your pitch because you posted it on some site, I'll be able to hear them laughing from down the block. It's a promotional thing, get over it. If the guy they give the prize to ever sees his project hit the big screen from a major studio, it will be a remarkable (albeit interesting/entertaining) fluke.
-
You ought to write it.
-
Remember the word copyright before venturing further !
There are a lot of sharks out there, and this could be a feeding frenzy ! -
They'll rip you off! Sure, you're an honset guy or gal, you go in there and pitch. The assistant, you'll never meet with the head honcho, writes it down, "Ah, yes, interesting." We'll get back to you." They never do! He runs and brown noses his boss with the idea. Then you see your story on the screen next year and you still have your hands in your pockets! You can't sue them them, BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO HAVE PROOF THAT YOU GAVE IT TO THEM! THERE HAS TO BE A PAPER TRAIL! Cover your bases! This is pitch session is bullshit! You think they're going to give a wide-eyed, bushytailed movice a chance when they have one of their out-of-work inbred writer friends that will do the job before you because they have the same pepermint enemas at the Two Bunch Palms together?! Hell, no! Plus, the Writer's Guild is a bunch of bullshit! You think they will help someone who isn't a member(Of the Party.) of the Guild in arbitration? Hell, no they won't get involved unless you're a card carrying member! How do you become a member? You must sell a script, but you can't sell a script unless you're member, COMRADE! This is the harsh reality. You want something, you better be prepared to fight for it and find an agent or a manager. These bastards are funny. They all tell you that they like the idea and they want a script. You bust your ass off for x amount of days/months, turn it in. Okay, do you have a treatment on this? Its just too long to read so we'll give it to our reader!!!! Suck ass reader tears it apart because he is after the same job as you, boy-o! He's not going to let the next Hemmingway push him out of the way. Now, chief executive gets the coverage and guess fucking' what?!! ITS A PASS! It could be the greatest script since sliced bread, but 1. Who are the stars attached? No stars? Well, fuck you! 2.) Its just not ,,vogue right now. What's hip is, tu-tu wearing gorillas dancing in outer space! This is the hip thing right now!
-
Let's face it, Harry. You've been to enough film festivals and conferences to know that there IS a reason why all the neophyte wannabes that visit AICN are sitting in their bedrooms instead of in limos. They have no talent and are lazy. The cold, hard truth is HOLLYWOOD WANTS GOOD IDEAS! They pay out the ass for them and they don't care where they come from. Scams like this are just that, scams. If any of your fanboy geeks were truly talented, truly worked hard, studied the art and craft of screenwriting, they would have no use for this shit. You could drop a script in the middle of the 101 freeway in LA or in the ghetto of Harlem and if it was any good, 20 agents would be clawing each other's eyes out to get it. Do yourselves a favor, people: Stop bitching about how lame the movies are today or how fucked up Hollywood is and put your ass to work. Learn what three-act structure is, what an inciting incident is and when it occurs. Study what makes great characters and above all, GET YOUR ASS IN THE CHAIR AND WRITE! Constantly. If you do all of this instead of trying to memorize box-office grosses and whining about Warners, YOU WILL MAKE IT! You won't need to go to www.sucker.com. An agency will find you and so will the studios. Just check the trades. Spec sales from first-timers happen all the time. But not for lazy couch potatoes. They happen for people who work hard and pay their dues. Good Luck!
-
Like I said, you'll have a nice script, but that's about it. You know you can write, but they just don't give two shits and a fuck of how you spent your Friday and Saturday nights working on you material when you should have been going out meeting someone or enjoying life. Everyone know the old joke about the actress who got off the bus and slept with the writer! Its true, the writer is the integral part of the the entire production, but he or she is treated like dirt! Their billing is at the bottom before dog wrangler, craft services and production assistant! Hollywood is a den of thieves and crooks. Nothing is what it seems on the surface! Always have a secondary job! ALWAYS! Everyone who writes on Harry's Talkback is passionate about film or else they wouldn't want to be here. You love movies! You want to make movies that show true character and heart! Hollywood has become a factory now, where everything is formulated and calculated to what star is attached! My advice WRITE YOUR SCRIPT YOUR WAY! YOU ARE TELLING THE STORY! Then tweak it, mold it. Send it out. Get an agent or manager. STAY AWAY FROM PIMP GERROLD WOLFE IN HOLLYWOOD! PLEASE DIE OF CANCER, YOU MOTHERLESS FUCK! Set out to find your dream and DON'T STOP UNTIL YOU HAVE SUCCEEDED! GO FOR IT!
-
Because even IF you write an opus that makes The Godfather look like Godzilla, some exec will give it to one of the six writers they assign to every project anyway. After they finish "tweaking" it, you won't recognize your own flick at the premiere, if you even get invited. Case in point, "Lock Up" with Stallone was originally designed as an Oscar-friendly vehicle for Matthew Modine. The only answer is to make it yourself, Smith/Rodriguez style.
-
As everyone is dispensing lines of bullshit and advice for people who, I suppose, aren't card-carrying members of the WGA (which, contrary to an earlier poster, are not really all that similar to the Communist Party, but more like a library or a YMCA), there are ways to get stuff out there, believe you me. I am a VERY happy little writer out here in L.A. Why? Because I was fucking patient, listened to what people had to say, knew the difference between shit and shinola, and am a work-a-holic when it comes to writing. If you guys out there have one measly screenplay that you're stomping around the streets with, hugged to your chest as if it's the Rosetta Stone, you're not going to make it. Like theater, filmmaking is a collaborative process. When a producer tells you that he loves the first 15 pages, but hates the next 95, listen to him, figure out why. Yes, you may think you've written the greatest thing since "Crime and Punishment," but the producer's job is to tell you that NO ONE wants to see "Crime and Punishment" on the big screen (that, and no one really wants to take a chance on an artsy pic with a big budget). That said, for the unrepped writer, there are plenty of independent companies that will accept queries. Yes, it certainly helps to know someone, but it is in no way impossible. It just takes patience.
-
If someone wants to turn your piece on leukemia into a space monkey movie, tell them to fuck off.
-
Has anyone actually checked out this website yet? For those of us aren
-
Jan 04, 2000 4:00:06 PM CST
smilin'jackruby is right... And if you want to write, the best b
by uncapie
I totally agree with his post. A writer writes! Simple as that! Except I worked for three months in the mailroom at the Writer's Guild and it was very Commie oriented! Do as I say, not as I do! Do not think for yourself! Do as you're told! Work overtime, weekends and holidays, will extra pay! You're doing this for the cause of the guild! What?! You want to be a writer?! No, you shall not be a writer! You do not have the potential! You are a mailroom toady! Now, back to work in the salt mines! Anyway, you had to work there to see what went on. Hey, I just thought I saw Oswald!
-
Way back up in an earlier post someone said you *could* copyright your idea. Actually you can't copyright an idea, only a written expression of an idea. I write reader's reports (and screenplays) and have worked for writers, producers and government orgs who ask all readers to sign NDA (non-disclosure agreements). So, I sign them and keep my mouth shut. Discretion is a big part of this business. Personally, I want as many people talking about me and my work as possible, because it's the only way I'm going to get a career in this business. So what if some producer steals one of my ideas? I have lots of others and maybe next time he's stuck for one he'll think of me...
-
This Is the best idea I have ever heard of? Someone needs to get out more and realize that there are about a million other projects that need to be made before a "Marching Band" movie What's next "The Chess Club"
or better yet "Glee Club of Doom"
Please stop the insanity
-
Yep, I've battled with terminal laziness and managed to bang out a story. I've WRITTEN it like suggested by many people above. Now what? Who do I submit it to? (Remember Dances with Wolves - the writer submitted it as a script and was told it would never happen so wrote it as a book and the rest is Costner history). So I've written my idea more as a book/short story than a script or pitch and the idea of using that website sends shudders through me. They want you to send in a video of yourself pitching your movie! Ugh, writing a story and pitching an idea require two different talents and I'm sure different people can make a career out of one or the other. Imagine Tarantino trying to pitch his Pulp Fiction in five minutes! They have to drag his hyperactive ass outa the office as he leapt around trying to explain how "It would work! It would work!" Oh yeah, and I'm in New Zealand so I can't just leave my story on a highway - a sheep would eat it.
-
First off, Kat, you're absolutely right. Copyrighting is a fucked up and funny process - just look at how ICANN is handling the latest copyright issues on the Internet. There's not a lot of power with copyright issues, especially when you're the one launching the suit. So, yes, write and write and write and write and have tons of ideas. As for Squidman, that's great that you have a good idea and instead of recommending that you pitch it, I recommend that you write the thing. Zillions of people have good ideas, thousands of people write them, but only a few have the dedication to really hammer away at it, accept criticism, and be able to adapt their work. At one point, I taught playwriting and a lot of my students had great and fantastic ideas and the class forced them to crank out rough drafts that made them hammer the ideas into complete scripts, but to get them to re-write was like pulling teeth. Re-writing is not going back into the script and changing a line and much less removing a scene. If you remove a scene, that fucks with how organic it's going to feel. Take the time to write a really fucking great script. Then farm it around. There are ways to do it. Don't EVER go out into the thick of things unprepared. The worst thing you can do is get that one chance in a million to make a first impression after bullshitting your way into a pitch meeting, and have a really shitty screenplay in your satchel. I love writing, but I'm certainly no expert and hope to continue learning better ways to express things for years to come. Just remember what Berry Gordy (yes, the father of Motown) once told a songwriter who came to him bitching that it wasn't that his songs were bad, it was the fact that the listeners weren't swift enough to get them. Gordy replied that you can sit in your basement and worship your own work for the rest of your life or you can take it as a challenge to write something a million people can relate to. I love the quote and love the fact that that's why Gordy uses song lyrics by Smokey Robinson all through his auto-bio. Oh, yeah. And about Uncapie's remark about the Lew Hunter book: I've read every screenwriting book out there and recommend that everybody who wants to be a screenwriter read all 50 or so of them. Why? Because there's about four really good facts in each of them. You have to slog through a lot of crap to get there, but those four necessary facts per book make it worthwhile.
-
Anybody ever see the Steve Landesberg vehicle, "Leader of the Band?" That's a marching band vehicle.
-
...Is how Robert Kosberg describes this thing on the site. Has Korsberg has moved on to the next evolution of the strike-it-rich-pitch mentality - writing business plans? This is "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" meets "Film Biz Wannabee"...
-
If you have a completed script or treatment, you can go to http://www.inzide.com and submit a logline which could lead to you submitting your script electronically. Check it out. It also has a good section on script workshop.
-
Emerald Eyes you have sooooo hit the nail on the head everything you said is so true. Of course in a perfect world it's be good for these pitch fests' to work and Bob and Harvey to be sitting there going "Hey that Aussie kid has an idea, give us the cheque book Bob" but at the end of the day AS FUCKEN IF!!!!!
The only way to do it is get on your ass and write go through 100 drafts until its ready and you don't need a god damn agent, if you're intelligent enough to write a script thats good that you should be intelligent enough to think of some igenious way to get your script read! -
...as it's been mentioned numerous times in this talkback, the best way to get your script read is to have A GOOD FUCKING SCRIPT. If you're some talentless hack - and you know if you are - you can pitch until you're blue in the face. You're still a talentless hack with a script chock full of your hackness. Hollywood is dying for good scripts. If you have one, you don't need some pitch-fest gimmick to get it read or sold. If you have sense enough to write a decent script, then hopefully you have sense enough to get it to the right people. If not, I regret that I'll never have the opportunity to see your movie.
-
Interesting talkback today. The Thing is very right and on an even keel with his advice. Just remember when you're trying to "break in" to Hollywood - people are motivated by greed and almost greed alone, not artistic intent. I am not try to say that as if it's some kind of grand revelation, just stating a fact. Once you have accepted that and can deal with it, then go ahead and move forward. If, on the other hand, you have some kind of big problem with that type of reasoning, you're in the wrong business. Rather than get all antsy about it, try to take it with a sense of amusement and then use it to your advantage. Art for art's sake is pretty much dead. Yeah, people will take chances, especially with younger folk, but just look at Woody Allen. You wouldn't think it, but he's actually had some trouble getting funding for his movies of late. Depressing, huh? I consider Allen one of the greatest American filmmakers. The thought that he wouldn't be able to make movies because of funding is sad.
-
Have you read the terms and conditions? They basically want you to agree to not sue if they "happen" to use an idea "similar or identical" to your own. Plus they want 10% gross of every cent you make, ever.
Oh and they want you to leave them utterly without blame for any legal actions whatsoever.
Suckers, please form an orderly queue. -
Having a really good script is what you need to get your script read in Hollywood? In a more perfect world, yes. Come on, this is reality! We all love the motivational pep talk, but it does about as much good as those scammy two-day film school deals. That's like saying to a high school drama class full of hopefuls that "All you need to be a movie star is to be good at acting." For crying out loud. For every talentless pretty boy that made it big, there's hundreds of thousands of talented pretty boys that are working mininum-wage jobs as waiters waiting for that big break that they're sure will come someday soon! I'm pretty sure that none of us talkbackers have had a major motion picture produced recently, so I don't think we can can really give each other advice on how to get your movie read. I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound cynical, but it seems that alot of people these days are being conned into the next big thing, or these get rich quick schemes that have hit it off so big on the internet. All I'm saying is be careful, nothing's as good as it seems.
-
Christ, that couldn't be further from the truth. Compare how many "good" films came out to how many dumbass movies came out. Let's also keep in mind that this is a pitch contest at Sundance. It's a stomping ground for Hollywood vultures to scavenge fresh meat. If you can't say "It's like mixed with but ." Then you won't get the time of day. Because your star will have to sum up the movie in that way. Oh, and make sure there isn't an ounce of intelligence in your idea. Studio Execs loathe thinking. They don't like films that make you think.
-
Sums up any meeting in Hollywood.
-
I have a few ideas that I seriously think would make 'hit' movies. But this 'pitchfest' thing sounds like bad news to me. There`s already stacks of unused screenplays laying around in movie exec offices, it sounds like 'pitchfest' will just throw your pitch on top of the pile.
-
If you have what could be called a great script, but you're just starting out, you obviously face face different challenges then those of an established screenwriter. For example, you may have written the definitive action film. But if it costs 150 million dollars to make, and you have no prior experience, not many studios will be willing to make your movie no matter how brilliant your work is. A good first script, at least in my opinion - which means exactly dick, I know - is one that's lean, tight, and well-thought out with a great concept. You shouldn't hold back when you write, but if your movie won't hold up without trimming the fat (that massive gun-fight, the 1,000 man kung-fu rumble, the destruction of the Taj Mahal, etc.)then studios will be scared off by the cost. Trust me, I'm the most cynical motherfucker this side of the Milky Way, but I believe that if you have a great, economically viable first script, then your chances of making it are fairly good. I know there are a lot of great struggling writers out there. But chances are, these writers still haven't written THE script, the one that puts them on the map, the one that gets them noticed. Unfortunately, a lot of them give up before they do so. The bottom line is, if you have talent, don't give up. You will get noticed. That's what I believe. But maybe I'm just drunk.
-
Jan 05, 2000 3:07:40 AM CST
Think about it this way: for every Blair Witch Project that gets
by photon_wordsmith
. . . there are a million other movies that were made by perfectly good film-makers / directors/ producers/scriptwriters that never saw the light of day. For this reason; an idea such as this is good. There should be more such as this.
-
Jan 05, 2000 11:45:55 AM CST
The alternative: Student production - own part of the movie
by 5279294017
The Alternative: I read your script
If you don -
In fact its not my idea, its just I have written a screenplay updating George Shipway's 1971 novel, the Chilian Club and I really do want to see it made.I just have no idea who owns the rights.Its about four elderly right wing British army officers who are fed up with the way Britain is being run into the ground and start assasinating left wingers and troublemakers and get Britain back into shape.Probably wont do very well internationally, but if I could just get Brian Blessed, Edward Fox, Ian Richardson and Robert Lang to play the officers it would be great.In my dreams I suppose is what you are going to say
-
To pitch an adaptation or a remake, because it makes you look unoriginal. But then again, no one wants originality anymore do they?
-
Just a note and not to offend one of the above posters, but no one should ever send somebody like that a script when they just come out of the blue. Maybe the guy's heart is in the right place and everything's hunky-dory, but there are plenty of reasons why NOT to do stuff like that. If it's someone you get to know and trust, fine, but other than that, watch it. As for remakes, there are people who spend their entire day hammering around in their studios back vault wondering about what properties that company owns that might be able to be bonded into a successful remake. Then, they assign it to a writer, not the other way around, typically. As for the person who wants to get certain actors in a project, that's one of the absolute worst ways to write. Just my opinion of course and as opinions are like assholes and everybody's got one, consider it as such, but writing with a specific actor who in mind can limit the way you approach a project.
-
...gotta try it out sometime.
-
There used to be a time when hollywood would make open casting calls looking for faces or "types". but now they are searching the general public for original ideas. The one saving grace is the fact that they've practically admitted to their downward spiral into mediocrity and are trying to do something about it. Also this might stave off the tide of remakes of old tv shows-at least for a day.
-
This is a brilliant idea. I live in England which means I have a natural handicap in the film industry. At the moment I have about 5 scripts in the writing process and no ideas on who to sell my idea to when I'm done. But thanks to this, there is some hope to thousands of people like me who just need a helping hand.
Good job for bring this to our attentions Harry!
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- THE DARK KNIGHT RISES TV Spot Has New Footage And Dialogue! UPDATED To Add Second Spot! -- 286 total posts 286 posts
- G.I. JOE: RETALIATION Delayed Nine Months...Thanks To A Force More Sinister Than Cobra!! -- 273 total posts 272 posts
- UPDATE!! What The Hell Happened With G.I. JOE: RETALIATION?! -- 157 total posts 157 posts
- Remember when I said I’d kill The Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day last? I lied. -- 147 total posts 147 posts
- Gary Oldman Joins The ROBOCOP Remake! -- 141 total posts 141 posts
- THE EXORCIST Is Being Remade... -- 114 total posts 113 posts
- Quint has seen the brand new Jaws restoration and demands that Universal do a wide theatrical rerelease this summer! -- 95 total posts 95 posts
- Cats Beware!! An ALF Movie May Soon Come Our Way... -- 161 total posts 80 posts
- Who Is The Voice Of Batman In WB's Animated Two Part THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS? -- 172 total posts 77 posts
- The day we've all been waiting for has arrived...IN THE ARMY NOW II is in the works! -- 51 total posts 51 posts