Pitching to the Most Disinterested Person in the World

Your head is in the minutia, in the scenes, the characters, the dialogue, the setting, the visual charisma of the thing, and then someone asks you "So what's your movie about?"...

For a screenwriter (and just about anyone else hocking their Hollywood wares to People of Influence) the place where unbridled belief in one's self meets the wrecking ball is the pitch.  Ask that ultra-confident filmmaker how he or she feels after that pitch.  Either the listener was unfair and mean, or that filmmaker is at the onset of an existential crisis... maybe both.

"I know," you console them, "talent is what really matters."

Of course it does.  But how does talent help when you're pitching to the most disinterested person in the world?  (Who you will inevitably pitch to).

Me, and almost everyone seeking some fated place in the film industry will say talent trumps everything.  It relieves the swelling, relieves the itching, and it relieves the pain.  It brings a Cinderella element of fairness and order to the process.  Here I toil and nobody sees that secretly, underneath it all, I am indeed a princess.  The only problem is everyone who says this assumes they have that talent, so in spite of a limiting statement like "talent above everything," everyone must have talent.

We're not walking bags of haloed talent, we're storytellers. Screenwriters, producers, actors and directors alike.  Regardless of the medium or the historic era, story-tellers tell stories to people, and fundamentally this takes guts and bravado; interrupting someone's attention and commanding their imagination with the power of your technique, your style and your personality, until hopefully they thank you for the experience.  It's an illusion to think that you have the luxury of anonymity in the me-space of the darkened corner of your room behind your desk.  You're a storyteller mate, act like one. 

So your head is in the minutia, in the scenes, the dialogue, the setting, and then someone asks you "What is your movie about?"

Scenario #1:
Uhhhh... (You're using this time to remember some semblance of a pitch you've put together.). -- ok -- you've got something.  And you begin sputtering, but their eyes are already dead.  They no longer care.  Most of all, you haven't lived up to your image.  They see the truth of the thing, and they're wondering if she's such a story teller, why can't she tell a story? -- maybe that's what they're concentrating on while you're playing hopscotch with your plot.

Scenario #2:
You start reading some script you've developed in your head with pinpointed, monotonic accuracy.  The listener senses an advertisement and they tune you out.  They try to contort their face with half-hearted interest, busier thinking "Holy shit, this person is actually trying to pitch me right now...  I can't believe this is happening.  Are they embarrassed?" than they are actually hearing anything you say.

A storyteller is a leader, and leaders lead with confidence.  If guts and bravado are the traits of a storyteller, confidence is his mark.  A lack of confidence distracts attention away from the story.  Confidence leads the listener into thinking whatever this guy says must be great.

What do I mean by confidence?  Take Scenario #3:
You're prepared and you're not reading a script.  Now your listener is the problem, because your listener doesn't give a damn about movies and they really don't give a damn about your story.

Why pitch someone who clearly isn't interested?

--How is it any different than hitting line drives and loading up the bases when you're already down two outs?  Or any different than trying or even doing well in the face of a hard or unlikely situation?  It's Tiger Woods playing his greatest first round at the Masters when everyone wants him to fail, and everyone expects him to do poorly because he really ought to be playing distracted.  But he's not distracted.  He's MORE focused.  Imagine if that's how you pitched?

That's where impressions are made, where Cinderella stories are born.   Embrace the disinterested listener.  Lead them.  Don't let them lead you to soft spoken timidity, embarrassment, or shamed apologies.  Lead with your confidence!  They won't do the work for you, nor should they.
 
Know what movie your movie is.  Don't hesitate to be a storyteller.  Act like you're in control and they will follow.  Leave the talent for everyone else.

Charles Rhoads