LOS ANGELES, Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Coverfly, the industry’s leading screenwriter discovery platform, is hosting its “Fall 2020 Pitch Week” starting today, with over 120 writers participating in 250 pitches scheduled this week via Zoom. Hearing pitches from writers will be industry pros from Paramount, CAA, Netflix, MGM, Chernin Entertainment, Disney/FOX, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Gotham Group, Verve, Lit Entertainment Group, Grandview, Echo Lake, Industry Entertainment, Capital Creations, Seven Stars Entertainment, producer Lee Aronsohn (Five-time Emmy nominee and co-creator of Two and a Half Men), Bellevue, Schemers Entertainment, Grandview, Recon Lit, 3Pas, Mandeville Films, Piki Films, Suigeneris Pictures, Vertigo Entertainment and more.
“Coverfly Fall 2020 Pitch Week" is free of charge to writers to submit their work, and selection is meritocratic, with the final selection of writers chosen by the participating industry representatives. Writers are selected based on their submitted projects logline, their Coverfly profile, their body of work, and their track record in industry talent-discovery programs such as writing fellowships, labs, competitions, and festivals. "Coverfly Fall 2020 Pitch Week" is the third pitch week Coverfly has hosted.
Over 2500 writers applied for the Fall 2020 Pitch Week, with 120 writers selected by over 30 participating industry professionals. A total of 250 meetings are currently scheduled throughout the week, with the chosen writers having 15-minute virtual pitch meetings to present their original feature, episodic pilot, or treatments to industry representatives. More than half of the writers selected by the industry pros are women, and 82% qualify under the WGA Inclusion guidelines.
Akin to Advertising Week and the television industry’s upfront sales presentations, “Pitch Week” is the opportunity for undiscovered or unrepresented writers to find representation, attachments, paid writing assignments, or sales of their original scripts.
“After seeing writers and creatives reach the pinnacle of their careers at the EMMYS, it’s exciting to pivot our focus to the next generation of rising film and television writers with Pitch Week,” said Coverfly’s Head of Development, Tom Dever. “Meetings and pitches like these are often a pivotal milestone in any professional writer’s career, and Coverfly is thrilled to facilitate them. This year we have seen an exponential increase in the number of writers submitting from around the globe and the number of industry members participating.
“Discovery of new talent is vital to our industry’s strength, and this program fuels writer talent-discovery in an accessible and completely meritocratic way,” added Dever.
“Writers need to leverage all the resources they can, and any time they have an opportunity to connect with literary reps or Producers, they should absolutely take advantage. Pitch week is a perfect example of one of those opportunities,” said Lee Aronsohn, co-creator of Two and a Half Men and founder of The Creators Writing Room.
“Coverfly continues to be a leading platform for the discovery of new voices and talent from around the globe. Given the current state of the world, Pitch Week is a perfect opportunity to bring those voices forward," said Adam Kolbrenner, President & Founder of Lit Entertainment Group. Lit Entertainment Group writer clients include Aaron Guzikowski (Prisoners), Justin Marks (The Jungle Book), and Greg Russo (upcoming Mortal Kombat).
“As a company that champions Latinx representation across TV and film, Coverfly has proven itself as an invaluable resource in discovering new voices and talent,” said Carlos Aguirre, VP, Feature Films at 3Pas Studios. 3Pas Studios projects include the Lionsgate films How to Be a Latin Lover and Overboard.
"In the current environment, a platform like Coverfly and specifically Pitch Week provide great opportunities for discovering new voices and talent," said Jamie Wager, Manager at Capital Creations, whose clients include Maria Ferrari, EP on both “Big Bang Theory” and “The Young Sheldon.”
Coverfly offers “Pitch Week” twice per year. Since Coverfly’s “Pitch Week” launched less than two years ago, over 100 writers have gone on to gain representation and option agreements via Coverfly. “Pitch Week” has helped Coverfly quickly scale to become the industry's top data aggregator of spec scripts and its most effective platform for connecting emerging writers with industry professionals.
ABOUT COVERFLY
Coverfly is the industry's leading online platform for connecting emerging screenwriters with entertainment industry reps, dedicated to improving Hollywood's talent-discovery process. Coverfly allows for a free and meritocratic process to identify the best emerging writing talent. The company aggregates submissions for multiple writing awards, fellowships, competitions, and festivals, as well as talent-discovery programs for studios, production companies, and awards organizations, including the Humanitas Prize, NBC Writers on the Verge, Viacom’s Nickelodeon Writers Program, The Writers Lab NYC, the Slamdance Film Festival, The Tracking Board’s Launch Pad, ScreenCraft and more. Coverfly’s free programs include Coverfly Virtual Live Reads, Coverfly Pitch Week, Coverfly Endorsed Writers Program, and Coverfly Peer Script Notes Exchange.
CONTACT:
Hanna Bolte, Bolte Media for Coverfly
Hanna@BolteMedia.com; 310-497-5568