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ScreenPlayLab is more than 2,500 upbeat film and television creators helping each other succeed. | Home | Blog | Join | Calendar | Speakers | Theaters | Workshops | Press | Links | About | |
by Robin Rowe - Nov 8, 2006
Question: I would like to meet [NAME OF BIG SHOT EXECUTIVE OR PRODUCER] who is speaking at ScreenplayLab. I've written the greatest screenplay ever and am sure he would just love it if he read it. Can I meet him?
Answer
Many of our speakers stay afterwards to chat. You may get a chance to meet the speaker. The protocol when you meet a producer or executive you want to pitch a script is to politely introduce yourself then ask if he or she is looking for a script about [YOUR STORY THEME HERE]. Sum it up in one short sentence because going longer is an automatic no. Don't think logline here. That's too long. Think genre. If you were pitching Dodgeball you might ask, "Are you looking for an upbeat sports comedy?".
If you survived the first question and have an agent, the next question to ask is if it would be ok for your agent to contact the producer or executive. In general, the answer will be yes. This question is more of a formality, so the producer or executive knows you have an agent. The producer or executive may ask a few questions about your script to make sure it really is the type of material he's looking for. If it isn't it isn't. You can only make the answer an emphatic no by pushing.
If you don't have an agent you should immediately own to it. That honesty could charm the big shot. It would be the opposite of what the producer or executive is expecting. Most people without an agent will try to be evasive. Some will even lie and say they have an agent when they don't. Such people are viewed by Hollywood with the same contempt as Las Vegas views a gambler who cheats at cards.
If the producer or executive is still interested despite no agent that's very unusual. The big problem with an unrepresented script is nobody credible has vouched for it. It costs a producer about $100 to review a script. How often have you put out $100 on a stranger? Anything you can do that makes you less of a stranger (hey, your cousin knows me!) can help.
Whatever you do, don't bring your script with you. It looks desperate and puts the producer or executive immediately on his guard. No writer with an agent would bring a script with him. The agent mails it. If the producer or executive knows you don't have an agent before you even open your mouth then he won't hear a word you're saying. Having an agent in Hollywood is like having a college degree in the corporate world. Hard to get a job without it.
Being likable and having an agent is the easiest road. And of course, being a great screenwriter.