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First Pitch: A View from the Trenches
By Margaret M. Dunlap
The third annual USC First Pitch was a night of
firsts. This year, the event moved from its previous
home on the Zemeckis Center soundstages
to a grand reception hall at the Peninsula Hotel in
Beverly Hills. For the first time, senior undergraduates
from the School’s writing division joined second- and
third-year graduate students from the M.F.A. program for
a night of five-minute pitches to managers, agents, and
production executives.
From 7:15 to approximately 9:30 p.m., 57 writers pitched
their features and original television pilots a total of 969
times to 43 executives. This was what it looked like from
the inside.
5:50 P.M.>> ARRIVAL
“So, the script I’ve got for you tonight is…”
We’re supposed to get to the hotel between 6:00 and 6:20,
so naturally I’m driving down South Santa Monica Blvd.
at 5:15. I take a scenic route over the last four blocks that
includes Olympic Boulevard and Avenue of the Stars, and
manage to arrive only ten minutes early.
As I hand over the car to the valet I tell myself that I’m in
good shape. The script is good. The pitch is good. I did
this event last year. No reason to be nervous.
Right.
6 P.M.>> PREPARATION
So that the executives and industry guests can relax before
the event gets started, the students are all gathered in an
out-of-the-way area that The Peninsula calls “The Board
Room.” Tonight, it might be more appropriately called:
“ The Panic Room.”
Although many writers are at least outwardly calm and
collected, Dean Elizabeth Daley will later describe the
charged atmosphere as “having enough energy to light up
all of Los Angeles.”
The room is full of student writers, student interns getting
a sneak peek at what they’re in for next year, wellwishing
faculty and alumni, and last but not least, Mikkel
Bondesson, our intrepid industry advisor. For the last
semester Mikkel has been present for seminars, pitch
workshops, and last-minute questions. Tonight, he brings
us a final pep talk, and a gift: Tic Tacs. “Because the last
thing we need tonight is a case of halitosis!”
H allowed
At least if he’s giving us something else to worry about,
he’s also providing a solution. When the little boxes come
around, I take one.
6:45–9:30 P.M.>> THE PITCHES
“So now, our protagonist is locked in…”
Round one is by far the most nerve wracking. Last year, I
got to the end of the first round and the agents I’d been
pitching to suggested I rewrite my pitch. With only 30
seconds between rounds, I figured I’d have to spend most
of that time crossing the room instead. This year, it goes
better. I don’t get a definite yes, but the guy I’m pitching
to is into the story, and we discover that we’re both from
Boston. “Which T-stop did you live on…? Oh sorry,
that’s the bell, and I’ve only got 30 seconds to cross the
room, gotta move on.”
That’s pretty much how it goes for the next two hours.
The time is broken down into slots numbered 1 to 25.
Almost everyone is pitching 17 out of those 25 possible
slots. My schedule is pretty broken up. I’ve got two rounds
“on” and then two rounds free. Then five on, followed by
three off. Not everyone is like that. I compare schedules
with one guy who pitched 13 rounds straight before his
first break. Still, the execs only get two rounds off during
the entire evening.
“As we move through Act II, the obstacles are coming thick
and fast, and our protagonist hits a wall…”
ground for film and television buffs, the historic hallways of The Culver
Studios still seem to echo with the footsteps of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Cecil
B. DeMille, Katharine Hepburn, Alfred Hitchcock, Laurel and Hardy, Harold Lloyd,
David O. Selznick, and countless other Hollywood legends — all of whom created movie
magic on this lively lot.
The lot’s signature structure is its grand colonial mansion-office, which is fronted by
sweeping green lawns, sculpted hedges, and flowering rose bushes. A replica of George
Washington’s famous Mount Vernon residence, this registered historic landmark faces
Culver City’s Washington Boulevard and is probably best known for its memorable cameo
appearance in Gone With the Wind.
Building renovations and new construction have enabled The Culver Studios to retain the
charm of the past while accommodating today’s film, television, commercial, and music
video producers who require the latest in fiber optic and digital capability. An infusion of
youthful energy, courtesy of students from the School’s Division of Film and Television
Production, has also contributed to the rebirth of the legendary studio.
An agreement between Michael Taylor, division chair, and Ron Lynch, president of The
Culver Studios, has given production students access to available soundstages. Already
more than 25 students have set up shop on the illustrious lot, sharing the facilities with
current television and movie productions, including Arrested Development (Fox) and
Skipping the Holidays (Revolution/Columbia).
Somewhere about round 18, I can feel my brain turning
to mush. I know my pitch backwards, but this is all about
stamina now. At the table I just left, I found myself
telling three managers, “So, I’ll let you know,” instead of
“ So, you’ll let me know?” I caught myself and made a joke
out of it, but I’m not expecting a call from them anytime
soon. Honestly though, I wasn’t expecting a call from
them anyway. That’s one advantage to First Pitch: If a
pitch goes badly, it can go badly only for five minutes.
It doesn’t seem any easier from the other side of the table.
At this point, everyone’s tired. And then, as I come off a
break and slide in opposite another agent, break the ice,
and go into my pitch, something clicks. The pitch is flowing
again, I’m not confusing my characters’ real names
with the names of the people I’ve mentally cast in their
roles, or getting my tongue caught on my teeth. The agent
blinks out of his glassy-eyed stare. He laughs in the right
places, he doesn’t laugh in the wrong places. I finish, and
he says, “That sounds interesting. Why don’t you send me
the script?”
It’s not my first “yes” of the night, but it helps put the spark
back in those last few rounds.
9:30 P.M.>> INFORMAL DESSERT RECEPTION
“And then we move into Act III…”
Before the first round officially began, USC School of
Cinema-Television writing division alumnus Jamie
Vanderbilt described his horror of pitching, “You take
essentially introverted people who are engaged in the most
solitary of pursuits and force them to talk to other people…
for minutes at a time!”
It’s true that while writing, adrenaline rushes are few and far
between. Sixty writers coming off one simultaneously is
something to behold. At the post-pitch reception, some of
my colleagues are definitely looking the worse for wear. One
student tells me, “I just want to go home, throw myself on
my bed, and cry.” The guy who has spent the evening
telling and retelling the story of an African war orphan
forced to become a child soldier looks like he’s been through
a few campaigns himself.
But while my throat is telling me to shut up and drink
some tea with lemon, I’m feeling pretty good. Good enough
to mix and mingle with a few executives who’ve stuck
around for the dessert reception, I even pitch my story
again. (The executive will call me the next morning and ask
for my script.)
And that’s not so unusual. Nearly everyone is tired, but the
mood is positive. No executives fell asleep. More people
were receptive, or at least polite, than not. Most of us have
met people that we’d look forward to seeing again for six, or
even seven, minutes at a time.
All told, students received 506 requests to read their scripts,
either that night, or filtering in over the next week or so.
If previous years’ statistics are any guide, many writers
will eventually find representation through contacts that
they make at the event. A few might eventually have their
work optioned.
But really, that’s not even the point, because this is only the
first pitch. The real marathon — of starting and building a
career — is just beginning.
“And that is the note of hope we go out on.”
Famed Studio Welcomes Student Productions
“
This is a unique opportunity for our students to shoot their films in a historic studio setting
and work side-by-side with professional filmmakers,” said Taylor. “They will have
access to stages, equipment, props, and sets, and to a back lot complete with a classically
designed New York street.”
One of the original cottages on the Culver Studios lot.
fall 2004 in motion | 7