Guest Blog: My First Time

The Wave-inatrix is proud to present a fascinating guest blog appearance by a phenomenally talented client who is preparing to pitch to a major exec at Universal shortly. I'm sure all Wavers wish him luck. And here is the story of this writer's first studio pitch. It's unforgettable.

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My First Time
by N.

So here I am, 24 years old and I have never done it. But that was about to change. I get a call from my agent; he tells me he has a “gig” for me. He thinks I’ll be perfect for it.

“I have a strip-o-gram, for you tomorrow at Sony Studios. You are supposed to pretend you’re there to pitch a script. Are you available?” Normally, I don’t do strip-o-grams. There is something very uncomfortable about dancing around in butt floss under fluorescent lights for a mixed crowd (men and women). Usually, I only did club shows or bachelorette parties, which were always at night for women only and everyone was drunk. But when I’m not stripping, I’m writing. Without hesitation, I reply, “What time?”

“1:30pm. Just make up a story, talk for a few minutes, then go in to your routine. Chris ***** is the VP of development at Sony. He will be your contact. His assistant Lisa, is turning 27. He wants to surprise her, and hey who knows maybe you could get him to read one of your scripts?”

CUT TO: I’m in the room. Chris, the VP of development, his assistant and a couple of other women are in the room with me. I did everything you’re not supposed to do in a pitch meeting. I started off by making them listen to the song by White Lion, “When the Children Cry”. If any one remembers that song, it’s very depressing, but hey, I’m completely oblivious to any DO’S and DONT’S because I’ve never done this before.

Besides, I’m 24. I think my story is AMAZING, I mean it’s about my brother and me. How could it not be captivating? I’ve always been that guy who could tell a good story. Well, this day was no different. I had their complete attention. I didn’t have any structure to my pitch, hell I didn’t even know what structure was. This was the first script I had ever written, but I believed in the story so much, it didn’t matter. The entire room was wrapped up in my story. I had no fear. I mean come on, in a few minutes I was going to strip down to my butt floss. If I can do that, I can certainly tell a story for a few minutes.

Forty-five minutes later, Chris looks at his watch. A strip-o-gram is only supposed to take at most fifteen minutes. Politely, he gives me that “come on kid, get to the routine” look. Being the brilliant actor that I was, I stop my story and say “Oh, I have another song you need to listen to”. I press play on my boom box, yes I just used the word boom box and Prince’s “The Beautiful Ones” fills the room. I take out a two-dollar rose from my bag, turn around and saunter towards Lisa. We lock eyes. She was probably thinking “what in the hell is this guy doing?” I’m thinking, “My biceps look amazing in this shirt”. I hand her the rose and say “I understand it’s your birthday. Here, this is for you, but you have to dance with me first”. To say she was surprised would be an understatement.

Sorry, I’m not going to get into the details of the routine, this is not about that. This is about the forty-five minutes I spent pitching my script. The forty-five minutes I claimed as mine. The absolute joy I had while sharing my story. The fact that I didn’t let someone’s TITLE make me nervous. I’m not saying spend forty-five minutes pitching your script. We all know short sweet and to the point is usually the best approach. What I’m saying is believe in yourself to the point where you are undeniable. Ok, after it was all said and done, Chris read my script. But that almost didn’t happen. I was in the elevator on my way out, the doors were closing and Chris stops the elevator doors from shutting. He looks at me and says “you wrote that?” “Yes I did.” “Do you have representation?” “No I don’t.” He tells me to step out of the elevator, and then has his assistant get a release form so that I can sign it. Here’s the thing. It was my first script, it was horrible, really horrible. But I will never forget the encouragement I got from Chris. He sent me an official letter from Sony Studios letting me know they were going to pass on the script. In the letter he pointed out that I had a real talent for describing images. He encouraged me to take a writing class, to work my craft and always continue to pursue my dreams. Fifteen years later, I’m still at it. I encourage you to do the same, work your craft and continue to pursue your dreams. And hey, if you get nervous, picture THEM in their butt floss.

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