Success Stories: OCT'5 Pitching Successes

Congrats! That's incredible news!

Unbelievable! Best of luck!

I am always happy to hear success stories. Big congrats and best of luck getting your work out there.

Can you give some details as to how you pitch on this site? I've been a member for a while but only recently started really looking around and I am not sure how to do that. Thanks!

well done!!

Hi Joanne. Happy to give you some pitching tips... Due to family commitments, work and time zone issues I always pitch written pitches. My pitching template… First I introduce myself and state the title and genre of my script. Next I say what the script is similar to (i.e. a cross between film X and film Y). Usually as one of my X or Y films I try to pick a film that the company I am pitching has produced so they know it is a good fit for them. I follow up with a sentence as to why I am specifically pitching them, i.e. because they made film X or Y, or if they have made a specific request for a certain type of script like ‘coming of age’, ‘period drama’, etc. I think it is really important to personalize a pitch like this so they know you have done your research. Paragraph two. I tell them a little about my success as a writer with specific reference to the material I am pitching if possible, ie, competitions it has placed in, or if it has scored well on any specific reviews. Or, if you are writing about something you have personally experienced, like your career I would put this here. Now the pitch… At Stage 32 they like to hear the entire story in the pitch. I start with the character and the inciting incident, then concentrate on the major beats/turning points in Act one and two and finally I allude to the final confrontation but I never say how it ends. If they want that they have to ask for the script. In the final paragraph I come back to similar films like the one I am pitching (always very successful ones) to hint that my script has as much potential to make money as these films have. And I state the type of audience it might be relevant for. In this paragraph I also try to diffuse anything they might see as a stumbling block – like if your film sounds very similar to another film I would state this and highlight particularly how it is different and unique. (I have pitched several companies that say one of my scripts sounds too similar to a currently successful film and by stating how my film is unique I have diffused this fear and have since had that script requested.) Finally I thank them for their time in reading the pitch. I hope this helps.

Phenomenal, Kieron! Congratulations!

Hello, can you show us an example of one of your pitches ? Thank you.

One in four is still pretty amazing. Good job.

Congratulations and well done Stage 32!

I am impressed and encouraged by your stamina - well done and keep at it!

Hello fellow actors.I would to congradulate you on your call backs for CAA.I have been in the world of acting for quit sometime.I know how it feels to receive a principal role;after trying numerous times.I went to a audition for a movie called Joe.I auditioned for one role,but was offered another.The director David Gordon Green wanted me to play the character role of the wino.I adjusted myself to the role of the wino and ended up in a main scene with the co-star of the movie Gary Poulter.It simply goes to show you;as a actor one must be ready to adjust themselves to the opportunity at hand.I didn't think that the scene of the wino; would be so dramatic in the movie Joe.[Joe]starring Nickolas Cage-director-David Gordon Green

Great news! Thanks for including the bit about the less-rosy parts of your effort. Good luck with all your work.

Could you post your pitch here for us to see.

Here is my pitch to Paradigm. Title: ASTERION Logline – In mythological Greece, Theseus journeys to Crete to slay the Minotaur and save his sister from sacrifice. Hi Niki and nice to meet you through Stage 32. My name is Kieron Holland and I’ve written a coming of age fantasy adventure called ASTERION that I’d like to send your way. I am writing to you because of your specific request for coming of age, historical, young adult scripts. ASTERION is adapted from the classic Greek myth “Theseus and Minotaur” and is written along the lines of films such as “Snow White and the Huntsman”, and “The Hunger Games”. It is a four quadrant fantasy action script and it recently won the Fantasy Sci-Fi genre of the Final Draft Big Break Screenwriting competition. My other successes include a period action heist thriller called AS THICK AS THIEVES that is currently a quarterfinalist in two international screenwriting competitions (The Final Draft Big Break, and Stage 32’s Search for New Blood Screenwriting Competition) and earlier this year was listed on the Black List among their top unrepresented action scripts. And, my co-written spec script, LOVE BY SHAKESPEARE, has just ranked on Stage 32 among their top scoring scripts covered in August 2014. ASTERION… In ancient Greece, Athens is a subjugated citistate, dominated by the cruel tyrant King Minos of Crete. For a past transgression, every nine years they must provide seven boys and seven girls to sacrifice to the immortal Minotaur that lurks in the labyrinth beneath his kingdom. When the story begins, the nine year cycle is almost up. The Cretan Selectors, led by the vicious Captain Straton, arrive to claim their due. Theseus, who is a charming though irresponsible young man, must hide his sister Hypatia - but on the day the Selectors arrive, his youthful irresponsibility results in Hypatia being taken for sacrifice. Scorned by his family and feeling wretched and ashamed, Theseus vows to stop at nothing to get her back. Theseus and his best friend Alkaios set sail for Crete to rescue Hypatia. When they arrive, Theseus and Alkaios meet an old Athenian, Solon, who was once in their position years ago, having journeyed to Crete to save his friend. Solon failed and was too ashamed to return home so he now runs the Inn in Crete. He takes the boy’s under his wing to train and guide them in their task. Solon reveals that Hypatia and the other Athenian sacrifices will be held in a clifftop prison until the feast of Poseidon. Theseus decides that this is their best chance to save her. Though he is afraid of heights, Theseus braves all to scale the two-hundred foot cliff to the prison’s secret entrance; a waste disposal shoot that hangs over the cliff. He sneaks inside and finds his sister. Here he learns a sinister truth; if he rescues Hypatia King Minos will murder the other Athenian sacrifices and return to Athens where it is his right to select another fourteen youths to replace them. Hypatia won’t have their lives on her hands. She won’t go with Theseus and tells him to leave. Now, if Theseus wants to save her there is only one option; he must slay the Minotaur. However, the beast is said to be immortal. There is only one person that might know the secret to killing it, and that is Princess Ariadne, the daughter of the sinister King Minos. Theseus’ only chance is to deceive Ariadne, to trick her into falling in love with him and giving up the secret. But how will Theseus get close to her, let alone get her to fall in love with him? Not only that the Minotaur is an eight foot tall monster with the strength of ten men. Even if he could kill it, how would he stand a chance? While they come up with a plan, Solon begins to train Theseus in speed and agility so that he can fight the beast. They learn that Ariadne has a passion for philosophy and so Theseus and Alkaios construct a complex plan to attract her by setting up a night of oratory debate in the Inn in Crete and pretending that Theseus is a visiting Athenian philosopher. The snare works, Theseus captures Ariadne’s interest with a witty speech and the love game begins. However, Theseus quickly becomes a victim of his own ploy, falling to Ariadne as she falls for him. The longer the game continues the harder it is to maintain the deception, and now in order to save his sister he is sure to break the heart of the unique woman he has come to love, as well as his own heart in the process. The net is closing. Captain Straton and the Selectors have become aware of Theseus and Alkaios presence in Crete and are on the prowl to catch them. They nearly succeed when they storm the Inn where Theseus is staying. Theseus is given a chance to demonstrate his new skills as he leads the Selectors on a hair-raising chase through the city, barely escaping with his life. Time is running out. Tensions between Theseus and Alkaios come to the fore with the increasing threat to their lives and Theseus constantly delaying his confrontation with Ariadne. On the feast of Poseidon, the eve of the Athenian’s sacrifice, Theseus reveals his true intentions to Ariadne and begs her forgiveness and her aid. Broken hearted Ariadne tells him the horrible truth; though she can forgive him, there is no way to slay the Minotaur. Theseus is devastated; his yearning to free his sister shattered, and his desire to sail away with Ariadne will be forever tarnished by this failure. Theseus resolves to face the monster anyway, to stand with his sister and defend her until he is overcome, accepting responsibility for his part in her fate, and to atone by giving his life for her. Theseus and Ariadne declare their love and Theseus goes to fight the Minotaur. As Ariadne wallows in misery she recalls a small fact that might give Theseus a slim chance of success. Se rushes to find him and catches him just as he is about to enter the Labyrinth. Theseus, armed with this new information, enters the labyrinth for the fight of his life, to confront the monster that has been the object of their dominance for generations… ASTERION is set in the same world as ‘Clash of the Titans’, ‘Immortals,’ and ‘300’, but unlike these films, ASTERION is a coming of age four quadrant action adventure based on a legendary tale, much more in the style of ‘The Hunger Games’ or ‘Divergent.’ And like the original ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, it works well as a standalone film with easy franchise adaptation. Thanks for your time and consideration. Best regards,

awesome

"Mr Kieron Holland, maybe you'll be willing to help us with our pitching process. We just have one question? Can you just submit, a pitch without the screenplay to the pitch. Cause our Synopsis project are all very elaborate"