A few years ago, I brought a pitch for a feature
film to several studios. The pitch
played well enough at Fox, Sony and Universal, but DreamWorks was a very
different story.
The producer I was working with had a name for
our meeting at DreamWorks: a “cold room”.
It was clear from the start that this one
executive at DreamWorks wasn’t taking the pitch seriously. I wasn’t even sure he was listening. He had his phone out. He was checking his texts, and emails, and
catching up on the news. And then it was
over. That was it.
A cold room.
It’s very easy for new writers to get discouraged
after facing a cold room, but it shouldn’t be discouraging. Here’s why:
It’s Part Of The Business
Some producers and executives are very welcoming
and won’t even let on that they don’t like your pitch. In fact, even if they hate it, you’ll walk
out thinking, “I’m about to sell this!”
But that’s definitely not everybody’s style. Some in the industry are more frank. Some will cut you off as soon as they decide
the concept isn’t for them. And some
will just sit there looking bored as you deliver the entire agonizing pitch.
There are a number of possible reasons to find
oneself in a cold room.
Sometimes the person you’re meeting with is just having
a bad day.
And sometimes your pitch just strikes the wrong
emotional chord.
Pitching is sales, and your audience doesn’t
always want what you’re selling.
It happens.
Brush it off, and move on.
Pitch Meetings Are More About Relationships
Anyway
The one thing you just shouldn’t do in a cold
room is get huffy. I had a producer say
to me once (in a casual conversation about the industry) that producers can get
away with acting jerky to writers, but – fair or not – it just doesn’t work the
other way around. You have to keep your
cool, even when you’re feeling insulted.
One way to keep your cool is to remember that
meetings are much more about relationships than about specific projects.
Just because a producer or executive doesn’t like
your pitch doesn’t mean that person is writing you off as a writer. I know it
can feel like that in the room, but it’s just not true.
Just relax and stay friendly, and hopefully the
people you’re meeting with will be open to working with you again in the
future, because it’s so often the second or the third meeting that leads to
success, and not the first.
A Pitch Isn’t Over Until It’s Over
I remember meeting with two producers, and I was
tossing out ideas, and one of them literally rolled her eyes at one of my
loglines.
I wanted to give up on this one. Rolling eyes is tough feedback.
Brrr.
But you can’t quit, even in a cold room.
I kept pitching and did get both producers to
laugh at one gag near the end. That
small victory kept the door open for the future, and that’s what actually
matters the most.
