Producers are both revered and maligned in the industry – described as both facilitators and gatekeepers, enablers and note-givers. But they’re some of the hardest working people on the team, navigating the money and the politics that makes everything else possible.

The Hollywood Reporter sits down with six top awards season filmmakers — Peter Chernin, Eric Fellner, John Lesher (Birdman), Marc Platt, Cathleen Sutherland (Boyhood) and Emma Thomas (Interstellar).

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Oh, and if you have some more time, and would like to learn more about Pete Docter, check out this one hour video!

by Jenny Frankfurt

Let’s talk about those who are lucky enough to be doing the latter. I know many people get very nervous about actually being in a room with people who might develop and buy your project and I want to provide a few pointers on how the meeting will likely go and what your part of it should look like. This segment will focus on film pitches:

Whether or not the producer (let’s just use that word for the sake of simplifying things) has read your material in script form or is meeting you to hear an idea based on what the company is looking for and the quality of your past material, you have to pitch.

Firstly, you’re there because you have an idea they have some interest in and they already like how you write. Make sure you have a few ideas prepared in case one misses the mark. That said, you have to sell them on the pitch.

You have to pitch.

If you are pitching a drama, be serious and come prepared with appropriate emotion. Think of Oscar. Help them subtly market it by showing them the path it can go. If it’s a comedy… be funny!! Show them your humor and how it gets from you to the page. Be big and laugh. You get the idea….

I have a client who is 6’5” and weighs about 280 lbs. We pitched a really scary horror film to Paramount. It was a pitch, not yet a script and he acted it out – he scared them with his size and the power of his voice – granted it was a little over the top but… they bought it. Be your movie. You are the one creating it; so show them what’s inside you that’s going to give them what they want.

If you are going in to the room off the back of a script then be open to their suggestions. Always be open at this point. Producers want to be involved. Unl3ss you are extremely well established (and even then) you have to collaborate at every step of the way.

If you’re lucky, a lengthy conversation will ensue about the script, how things might go this way or that… they might stop you and ask you while your pitching. Don’t let this rattle you. It means they are involved and interested and want to understand the story.

Show them what’s inside you that’s going to give them what they want.

I often have clients practice the pitch to me or a friend before going in the room. You don’t want to over pitch. No one has much of an attention span. As when you wrote the piece or outlined it, hit the main points, the central characters, the twists and surprises, the special moments. Don’t overload the producer so the point of the script gets lost in the telling of it.

Producers hear lots of pitches a week. You are going to be pitching something rather high-concept or you’d be asked to write it and then they’d take a look. High concept movies are the ones that are easy to understand, can make a lot of money and attract movie stars. Your small dark drama, as wonderful as it may be, is not suitable for a pitch. So, if you are in a room, it’s going to be for something on the bigger, more commercial side.

However, you are, hopefully, eclectic and have more than one project under your belt. Be prepared to pitch another if the first doesn’t go as planned. Presumably the producer already likes your writing or you wouldn’t be there – make sure they understand you are multi-faceted, you get the whole shebang when they hire you and they can keep hiring you because you have ideas galore – but just one more. These people are busy.

Don’t overload the producer so the point of the script gets lost in the telling of it.

Practice. Develop a rhythm. You are a writer, not an actor, so performing is likely not your forte, but as mentioned, get some help, a ‘scene partner’. Keep it compact and with proper emotion in regards to the genre. Know your material. Know yourself. Be confident and make them want you and your story. Keep pitching as often as possible. It is, indeed, an art.

-Jenny Frankfurt

Jenny Frankfurt has been a literary manager for the past twenty years, and runs her own company Highstreet Management, based in Los Angeles, where she represents writers and intellectual property around the world.

Prior to this she was Head of the Literary Department for Handprint Entertainment and has worked at both The William Morris Agency and ICM.

Jenny also blogs and tweets.

Photo credits: Graphic stock

Jamie Campbell

Jamie Campbell is an author, screenwriter, and television addict.

Jamie is proud to be an Editor for The Story Department.

Her latest series Project Integrate is out now.

jamiecampbell.com.au

by Jenny Frankfurt

If you are a writer with an agent or manager the script goes to them and they figure out where to send it and whom they think will respond. They know who is looking for what or they have relationships that allow them to call up and just ask various producers if they want to read your material. That’s their job.

What if you’re not at that stage yet? You’re without representation but you feel you have a piece of material that’s ready to be seen. Who is reading material, how do you find out and how is it appropriate to get it to them without literary representation?

In the US there are many very good, solid and industry recommended websites where you can pitch your screenplay or pilot to major producers and representatives. Some allow you to put your screenplay on the site and the creators of the site will lead producers and such to your material as it suits them.

Virtual Pitch Fest

www.virtualpitchfest.com is a great site which allows you to sign up for a number of pitches and choose from major studios, producers and representatives all of whom are letting the writer know exactly that they are looking for. They can ask for thrillers, comedies, science fiction, stories, etc… as well as also specifying what they don’t want to see.

You can then pitch the industry exec and they can say yes, please send it or no, and they’ll let you know why. It’s a good way to take the temperature of the town for the material you’re pushing. If your pitch isn’t working, reassess.

If too many people say they have projects like it, you might want to try another project as the concept has already saturated the market. It’s not too expensive, they always have deals and the contacts are very, very good. The owner David Kohner Zuckerman has done a great job putting it together and the industry has responded well to it. I have read some very good material from VPF.

InkTip

Another great website in the US is www.inktip.com. This is a very precise way for producers, repress and executives to find material but it’s more active from the buyer’s side. However, it’s a very well regarded site, they do a lot of press and I’ve used it many times when I am looking for new material.

Inktip categorizes material very specifically, not just by genre but by writers with/without credits, their nationality, scripts that are a thriller but a horror/thriller, then a small budget or large budget and so on. So, it’s easy to really try and find exactly what you’re looking for. Once someone has read your logline they can see your CV and contact you for the screenplay. That way you’re directly in touch right away.

So, one comes from the writer – you, and another comes from the buyer – Hollywood. Both are really great ways of knowing what people are looking for and getting material to them. Writers have more control of course on VPF so that might be the best way to proceed.

Query Letters

As for unsolicited letters. Oh boy, this is kinda tough. I have very rarely asked to read a script from an unsolicited query but nothing has ever come from it. I would definitely not do this to producers as most will just delete the email immediately.

The thing about Hollywood is that it’s all about relationships and all you need is a little ‘in’ and you can get somewhere. The basic rule when trying to know who is looking for what – and it’s the answer I get when I ask producers and studios for my own client’s information – is that they are looking for the best of your material.

They are looking for something that’s been gone over with a fine toothcomb, had notes done on it, and been written at the highest level you can achieve. Producers want to read good material. Period. If they don’t buy something from you this time around they’ll remember you’re a good writer the next time you have a project they’re more interested in.

One last thing and this is important. If you want to be in the entertainment business make it your job other than writing, to know as much as you can about various producers and studios. Don’t send a small indie film to Warner Bros. Know who likes what.

Look at the past list of what films the producer has made and assess your material and then approach. Don’t send Michael Bay a touching love story. It’s unlikely he will read it. You MUST be a part of your career, even and all the more so when you DO get representation.

It’s best for all that you are involved and have opinions and ideas about what to do with your material. The agent or manager is someone who guides and helps you but they’ve got a lot on their plate and you’ve got you on your plate, so help out and contribute to your cause – it will go a long way.

-Jenny Frankfurt

Jenny Frankfurt has been a literary manager for the past twenty years, and runs her own company Highstreet Management, based in Los Angeles, where she represents writers and intellectual property around the world.

Prior to this she was Head of the Literary Department for Handprint Entertainment and has worked at both The William Morris Agency and ICM.

Jenny also blogs and tweets.