I'm back!!

For a minute there, it looked like I wasn't coming back. Everything was amazing. I learned a lot, met a lot of great people and was even invited out for coffee by the VP of Current Programming at CBS! I had amazing day at the Pitchfest. I pitched my scripts and myself to 19 different production companies. I got a lot of positive feedback and one script in particular was requested by about 10 different companies. Though that sounds like good news, it's just the beginning. Here's the life of a pitched script:

At a development company, the process starts with someone reading it and deciding if they like it or not. If they do, they ask for a rewrite. After 2 or 3 rewrites, the person pitches it to their boss. If their boss likes it, more notes and more rewrites are done. Once everyone thinks the script is perfect, they try to sell it.

If a production company likes it, they don't have to worry about selling it, they are the ones deciding if they want to buy it. I've only got one production company interested and it's in Canada. That company is in the process of pitching the idea to the people in charge to decide if they want to read it at all.

So for the places that actually requested scripts for me, I decided that I should get them professionally polished. These script ideas are the first screenplays I've ever written. In fact, the most popular idea was the first idea I wrote. Most people say that screenwriters don't produce quality work until their fifth or sixth idea. So, based on notes from a professional, I'll do some rewrites and send my final drafts out in a few weeks.

The best news of trip was a development assistant who said he'd go to bat for me for a production assistant job, but I'd have to start next week. Every single executive I spoke to said that if I want to break into the field, I need to work as an intern for free. The fact that I had an opportunity to interview for a job that actually paid something made me feel like I should take it. I probably dragged my feet a little too long though, because I haven't heard back from them.

I've made some definitive decisions and I will be sharing them in the next post. Don't turn that dial, we'll be right back :-)