Thomas Serio

*Boom* - Why is my brain all over the keyboard?

Well... PitchFest is over and my head is still mostly intact. I can't recommend the experience highly enough. Sure, it can seem like a cattle call at times, and they could *really* benefit next time by having the queues outside, but you won't find a better place to get rapid exposure to the industry. For a newbie like me - going in just hoping to get my feet wet for next time - it was like Disneyland.

The welling panic I was feeling last night just evaporated when I sat down to the first pitch - I'm not sure how to explain it. I think that 30 minute consult with Viki King had more of a beneficial impact on me that I even realized yesterday.

That's not to say everything went perfect. I had two passes and one stop mid-pitch. But, the rest all asked for one-sheets (even if nothing comes of that, I'm happy to at least have gone that far).

If you can afford it, I highly recommend trying to get into the exec lunch and after pitch party next time. The chance to mingle with the execs at both events can lead to both education and opportunity. In fact, at the "Sweet Taste of Success Party" I talked to a producer and actually gave him my script! Whether it leads to anything or not, just the chance to get script feedback by a producer is more then I could hope for.

I met a lot of really good people here on the writing side of things. Lots of great ideas. The prize for most effort put into a pitch has to go to Joshua Davidson, who brought a full-on vintage car to the fest, dressed up to reflect the racing biopic his was pitching. I'll put up a picture when I get home. If his script is half as good as his presentation, it'll be criminal if he doesn't get a look by someone. To the others I met here, keep it up and I really look forward to seeing all of you at the next PitchFest.

All in all, I'd advise anyone and everyone who wants to be a screenwriter to give this a try. If nothing else, you'll probably learn something new (or many dozens of something new, if you're like me).

June 24, 2007 5:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | Add Comment