[on film]

Ready, Set, Pitch:
Ken Rotcop offers Wilmington filmmakers an inside perspective

By: Tiffanie Gabrielse

Who is Ken Rotcop? He wears many creative hats: screenwriter; best-selling author; former creative head of Embassy Pictures, Hanna-Barbera and Trans-World Productions; award-winner and, far from last, instructor. However, the most important to me is the headdress I call my grandfather. I still remember the conversations and the jokes we exchanged over dinner around Hollywood when I visited a few years ago. Sketched into my mind like a charcoal painting are the moments waiters discretely maneuvered their screenplay pitch as we were eating.

Despite my annoyance because they had to begin their spiel before setting my food down, I couldn’t blame them. They were looking to Ken for approval. They were searching for any correction that may aid them on their way to a big sell because Ken Rotcop is also the author of the best-selling novel The Perfect Pitch: How to Sell Yourself and Your Movie Idea to Hollywood and and workshop, PitchMart.

In the industry it cannot be stressed enough that the art of pitching a movie is the only way aspiring screenwriters will have their scripts seriously read and considered. It can be the deciding factor between a contract or a rejection letter. “Your verbal pitch is most important tool in selling your idea. It’s important you find out how to improve your pitching strategies and get your buyer’s attention!” Rotcop is notorious to say.

With this as the main focus of Ken’s internationally renowned workshop, talents-in-the-rough receive the opportunity to pitch their scripts to studio and production company executives on a one-on-one basis. As the first to establish a bridge uniting unknown aspiring screenwriters, and Hollywood agents and producers, “The Perfect Pitch” workshop has been given high reviews in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, National Public Radio, Screentalk Magazine and Inside Film Magazine—just to name a few. Since the inception of PitchMart, more than 80 projects have been optioned, 16 of which have been produced.

This weekend Ken Rotcop brings the artistic skill of delivering the perfect pitch for the first time to the inaugural Wilmington Inside the Film Industry (WiFi) Film Conference. He buzzed over the phone with me about his excitement arriving here this weekend. “They tell me Wilmington is going to become the movie capital of the east,” he happily stated. “The youth market has officially mushroomed; filmmakers will no longer seek out only Hollywood. There’s a whole country of stories out there, and Wilmington is recognizing that.

“When I’ll be speaking [at WiFi], or when I speak anywhere,“ Rotcop continued, “I have three responsibilities: First, I must educate. I know something about the industry. I’ve been in it for 40 years, and I want to share it so you understand it. The second is to entertain.

There’s nothing worse than being boring, especially in this industry. And the third is to inspire. I want everyone to leave my workshop ready to rush to their processor and write!”

Whether one has a complete and polished movie dying to be sold or is a writer with only the glimmer of an idea blinking on FinalDraft software, WiFi has something for everyone. Featuring more than 30 vendors, Ken Rotcop and the WiFi Conference will give Wilmington participants the chance to mingle with various talent agents.
Friday, June 27th, the conference will fade in with the Screen Actors Guild’s 75th anniversary celebration at the WiFi “Gilded Nights” Gala, 8pm until midnight. Saturday, June 28th, participants will have a jam-packed schedule from 8am to 4pm, attending an array of sessions ranging from “Distribution, Financing, Attaching Actors, Oh My!” to “Adventures in Storyboarding: Getting Paid for Doodling in Meetings,” lead by industry professionals, including Ken Rotcop, from 10:20-11:20am. Sunday, June 29th, the dust will begin to settle with the “WiFi After Glow” soiree. A Fade Out with Ken Rotcop’s “Practice Your Pitch Breakfast” at 8:30am will also take place. Only a few conference passes are left; order one today at www.wifiwilmington.com.

To participate in PitchMart outside of attending WiFi, visit www.pitchmart.com, or e-mail Ken at pitchmart@juno.com. Tell him his granddaughter, Tiffanie, sent you.