Pitch Imperfect (Larry Charles Shows How Many Ways Even a Successful Showrunner Can Go Wrong Pitching a TV Show)
Submitted by greg on Tue, 10/13/2009 - 10:42
Larry Charles says he wants to be remembered as much for his failures as for his successes -- which is probably a lot easier to say when your successes include Borat, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld, Mad About You, Dilbert, The Tick and Religulous.
We're granting Larry's wish, and reassuring you that no one wins all the time, by posting a piece Larry performed at Un-Cabaret's Say the Word. He calls it "Fragments of Failure". We call it "The Road to Success".
When I was first submitting scripts to agents I actually had a file folder titled 'Rejects' and used to dutifully file all my rejection letters. Stephen King used a rusty nail in the wall to tack up his rejections like trophies. So remember this quote from IBM founder Tom Watson: "If you want to succeed, increase your rate of failure". And start failing!
Recently Greg helped clients: - Outline a spec script - Hone a pitch - Punch-up a scene - Rewrite a feature - Clinch a query letter - Organize multiple projects