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Compare Writer/Director Rian Johnson's Sizzle Reel for 'Looper' to the Film's Trailer

10.14.12 @ 7:42PM Tags : filmmaking, looper, pitch, pitchreel, rianjohnson, sizzlereel

We’ve discussed pitch/sizzel reels and mood/tone films a few times on NoFilmSchool before, but it’s interesting that so many of them are now finding their way online. Rian Johnson – writer/director of Brick and The Brothers Bloom – with the help of his good friend Joseph Gordon-Levitt (who stars in the just-released film), put together a fake trailer for his new film Looper long before production on the movie began. Check out both videos below. More »

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How to Pitch a Screenplay with 'Despicable Me' Writers Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio

09.26.12 @ 2:55PM Tags : cincopaul, kendaurio, pitch, pitching, screenwriting, watch

Recently here on NFS, we’ve discussed the emergence of the online pitch for screenwriters and the prevalence of pitch reels (or sizzle reels or mood/tone films or multimedia lookbooks) among directors looking to get hired for a gig. Today, I thought we could focus on good ol’ fashioned pitching for screenwriters. Thanks to the folks over at MakingOf, screenwriters Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio (Despicable Me, The Lorax, Horton Hears a Who, Hop) reveal their pitching experiences, including the performance of a pitch, the importance of appearing not to care, and the reactions of the room. More »

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The 'Hunger Games' Movie You Didn't See: Kevin Tancharoen's Pitch Reel

09.24.12 @ 3:01PM Tags : hungergames, pitch, pitchreel, screenwriting, sizzlereel, trailer, watch

Pitch reels. Sizzle reels. Mood/tone films. Multimedia lookbooks. Whichever name you prefer, these pitching tools are becoming more prevalent. Recently, we posted about Joe Carnahan’s sizzle reel for Daredevil that inevitably was not the chosen vision. And of course, our own Ryan Koo shared his lookbook for Manchild here on NFS. Now, thanks to Slashfilm, we get another example of a pitch reel for a major studio project, The Hunger Games, from filmmaker Kevin Tancharoen (Fame (2009), Mortal Kombat: Legacy web series) with a substantially darker tone than Gary Ross’ finished film. More »

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The Future of Pitching Screenplays? Post Your Pitch Online

09.13.12 @ 6:00PM Tags : future, joshhallman, online, pitch, screenwriting, theabstract

Certainly, writers can write anywhere, but professional screenwriters will tell aspiring screenwriters time and time again that the business of screenwriting happens in Los Angeles; ergo, if you want to have a career in screenwriting, you have to be in LA. You need to be in LA to take meetings with producers and studio executives, to network with peers and industry associates, to pitch your current and future writing projects. Or do you? As for pitches, you can easy post those online like Josh Hallman’s pitch for The Abstract below. But there’s a catch: More »