April 2016 Newsletter
Newsletter 20 – March 2013
BREAKING NEWS
Excerpt from a NATPE press release that was made public yesterday.
NATPE has partnered with Sell Your TV Concept Now, a mentoring service led by development and pitch experts Mark and Jeanne Simon, to establish the Hollywood Player Pitch Contest that is open to all PitchCon attendees at no a dditional entry cost, and to unregistered pitchers for a small fee. The top 25 pitches will have the chance to go before a panel of judges at the event, with four finalists selected to pitch to the entire audience. The finalists and the winner will receive meaningful prize packages, which will be announced in the coming weeks.
Entrees will be accepted starting April 1 – April 28th.
Stay tuned for more details and entry information at:
http://pitchcon.org/pitchcon-is.html
WEBINAR THIS MONTH
We’re hosting a teleseminar called “Best TV Pitch OpportunitiesEver” March 14 and it is absolutely F.R.E.E!
On March 14 we’ll reveal…
- How to get those coveted meetings with network TV executives – no agent or attorney required!
- How to land dozens of pitch opportunities in one day!
- How our clients Angela, with a scripted show, and Tony, with a reality show, made huge industry contacts and are both having their shows being packaged and going forward.
- How Mark pitched an A&E development exec a reality show in 15 seconds in an elevator, and got interest.
- How we met our current agent who specializes in animation.
- How our client Clyde ended up writing two episodes for a hit TV series.
PLUS!
- How to make the most out of your investment of time and $$
- How to determine which of your shows you should pitch
- Secrets of the most effective follow ups to close the deal
- How to get past gatekeepers that only industry insiders know
- We will also give away a FREE 2 year membership to our TV Pitch Tips Audio Postcards, valued at $230.
PLUS, we will answer some of YOUR specific questions.
If you have an idea for a show and want to sell it to the networks, you need to register now!
Don’t miss this FREE event!
Title: Best TV Pitch Opportunities – EVER
Date/Time: Thursday, March 14th, 2013 at 9:30 p.m. EST, 6:30 p.m. PST
Listening method: Phone In or Login Register NOW.
Go to website to register at:
http://www.sellyourtvconceptnow.com/free-tv-pitch-webinars/
SPOTLIGHT ON KIDSCREEN
Mark was at the Kidscreen Summit in New York in February to pitch his shows and to be the onsite mentor for the Hit Maker Tour., Here are some photo highlights.
Samantha Bee of Comedy Central’s Daily Show is pointing at a character from Hit Maker Tour member Gerry Mooney’s show (which he sculpted himself). Nice touch.
Left, Gerry is in the standby line to get extra pitches for the speed pitch event.
Right, he pitches to an exec from the Cartoon Network in a free fall meeting in the lounge.
Mark with Francois Lalonde, head of sales, and Joan Vogelesange, CEO of ToonBoom.
Left, the lounge at Kidscreen with vendors on the right and the Korean Association of Animated Studios above on the balcony.
Right, a display of solidarity from the ever popular Power Rangers, now airing on Nickelodeon (and owned by Saban, who bought the rights from Disney for $100 million.)
Joel Cohen, executive producer of The S impsons, was the keynote speaker.
UPCOMING EVENTS
The next TWO HOTTEST TV Pitch Events this Summer are Realscreen West and NATPE’s Pitchcon. These are major TV conferences where you can pitch TV execs, producers and agents face-to-face.
PITCHCON is May 9 & 10 in Beverly Hills, California
A perfect opportunity to pitch scripted dramas, sitcoms, sci-fi or animation.
Take advantage of our exclusive Sell Your TV Concept Now discount code – PCSELLTV.
The rate you pay will only be $275 no matter how high the Pitchcon rate gets.
Some of the companies, networks and agencies who will be at Pitchcon 2013:
- ABC
- APA Agency
- CAA agency
- Hasbro Studios
- Fremantle
- Electus
- Discovery Channel
- Bravo
- BET
- Innovative Artists Talent Agency
- And MANY more
REALSCREEN WEST is June 5-6 in Santa Monica, California
A perfect opportunity to pitch reality shows, game and talk shows, contests, etc.
Some of the companies who will be at Realscreen West 2013:
- AMC
- Animal Planet
- APA Talent Agency
- BET
- Comcast
- CAA,
- Discovery
- HGTV
- History
- Lifetime
- MTV
- National Geographic
- Sony Pictures Television
- SyFy
- Travel Channel
- truTV
- A&E
- And MANY more.
Who Else Wants to Pitch TV Network Execs Face-to-Face?
Here’s your chance to get your TV show on a major network by personally pitching top network executives face-to-face at a TV conference this summer.
Hit Maker Tours are GOLDEN opportunities for you to get 1-on-1 meetings with network decsion makers and other buyers. You’ll get full material reviews, pre-conference training, ON-SITE mentor training to finalize and perfect your pitch, direct you to target opportunites, make introductions, and show you how to follow up and close the deal. EVERYTHING is included.
Our Hit Maker Tour to either TV Conference has an early registration rate… $1,650
(This rate is only good until March 15)Save $300!
The Hit Maker Tour regular rate is $1,950
Partner rate: Only $500
Hit Maker Tour NATPE 2013 clients gather to discuss what happened in their pitches.
15 Ways the Hit Maker Tour Empowers You to Sell Your Show:
- You want to sell your show and not fool around wasting time, squandering opportunities and throwing away tons of money for nothing.
- You’ll benefit from the guidance of an on-site mentor. Available to sit in on pitches, answer questions, help set up meetings, make introductions, and practice pitches.
- Take advantage of our knowledge, experience and connections and we’ll make sure you do it right the first time.
- Tour includes live telephone/internet seminars on how to make the most out of the event. (No travel required.)
- Replay MP3s of seminars available online if you miss any.
- Schedules and conference prep assignments get you organized and prepared.
- We review your pitch materials prior to the conferences.
- Review of your treatments, sizzle reels, one sheets, or whatever you have for your show to make sure they stand out and sell your show.
- Land pitch meetings before the conference with our exclusive Hit Makers Tour fill-in-the-blank scripts and templates.
- Access to the Hit Makers Tour exclusive members-only website, including sample treatments and one sheets.
- Advice on the best presentations and networking events to attend out of the dozens offered.
- THREE short cuts to target and contact the networks you want to pitch.
- Exclusive Tour member Round Ups where we share contacts, fine tune pitches and prepare for events and meetings.
- Be a part of a group that shares contacts, hangs out and has fun together, is totally prepped and psyched to pitch their shows!
- ONE post-conference telephone/internet seminar on how to do the all-important follow-up to your pitch connections.
For more information go to:
http://www.sellyourtvconceptnow.com/hit-maker-tours/
WHAT WE’RE DOING NOW
(Kristin, in light green, with SYTCN team)
Mark is busy doing the storyboard animatics for an animated title sequence to the new Little Rascals movie coming out later this year.
Mark is also slated to produce storyboard sequences for the upcoming action picture Scorpion King 4, and will be traveling to the production site in Romania to collaborate with the director.
Jeanne is revising our website, working with clients in various stages of follow up from the winter conferences and trying to keep up with the Simon boys on the tennis court.
Wayne is writing a feature script for SYTCN client Kristin Alexandre based on her existing graphic novel, Nuncio, and her novel, Gem City Gypsy, slated for publication next year. It’s a period drama taking place just before World War I in Dayton, Ohio (then known as ‘Gem City,’) and features a steamy collection of love triangles, suspense, action, murder, betrayal and redemption in a uniquely class-oriented American setting.
PITCH CRITIQUE VIDEO
Here’s your chance to see what happens during a pitch critique.
Mark edited this video of him providing on-the-spot pitch critiques to winners of a drawing at the NATPE TV Conference in Miami this past January. Watch how effective a few comments can be in re-shaping an ineffetive or unfocused pitch.
Pitch Critique Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saLeM_90sCg&feature=youtu.be
If you want a one-on-one session with Mark or Jeanne going over your pitch and not only improving it 100 percent, but giving you a clear action plan where to take it, schedule a Breakthrough Session now at:
http://www.sellyourtvconceptnow.com/breakthrough-sessions/
WHAT NETWORKS WANT
We’re posting details of what networks are looking for every few days on our blog and on Facebook. Go to our Facebook page and ‘Like’ it to make sure you don’t miss any great details that could help you to sell your show.
Go to www.Facebook.com/pitchtv and LIKE us now.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
Mark and Jeanne are checking out just how good Breaking Bad can be, zipping through seasons 1-3 already like TV addicts on metha in anticipation of the series final 8 episodes (ever!) in Season 5 coming later this Spring.
Luke and Reece are hooked on the classic CBS procedural The Mentalist, which wraps up a tidy murder mystery every week thanks to the intuitive and deductive powers of Simon Baker as the charming lead character.
Wayne and Danette tried to give the second season of Smash a chance on NBC after a major retooling. The songs are okay fine, but they dumbed the plot down, simplified the characters (Katherine McPhee STILL has little chemistry or appeal), and are obviously going for a Glee-type younger demographic. Epic fail.
The funniest thing Wayne’s seen on the air in the last few months, he is somewhat embarrassed to say, is Killer Karaoke on truTV. It’s Jackass meets American Idol, where contestants have to perform their songs while going through ridiculous stunts, such as wearing a balloon suit stumbling through a cactus patch, or being attacked by dogs while wearing a padded suit, or being lowered into a tank of snakes.
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