What's the best way to get your movie idea heard?

The simplest way to pitch your idea to someone fairly high up on the food chain is to go to www.moviepitch.com.

The site was founded by Robert Kosberg who is a producer in Hollywood, known as "Mr. Pitch" for his skills at pitching ideas (among his credits, he was the executive producer of "12 Monkeys") Unlike most producers, he's open to hearing unsolicited ideas submitted by first-time writers who are not in the industry. Every year he sorts through roughly 5,000 movie ideas and pitches between 20 and 50 of those ideas to the major studios. On average, he sells about 8 ideas a year. He tends to favor "high-concept" ideas... those punchy ideas that really jump out at you and can be summarized and understood instantly in a few lines. An example of this would be "Jaws in space" which is how the first Alien movie was pitched.

The other way to sell your idea is to learn a bit about writing screenplays and try to develop your idea into a finished script. When you finish it you can get a listing of literary agents in Hollywood and start cold calling their offices to try to generate interest, or find someone willing to read it. It's best to target a boutique agency... which are smaller agencies open to new talent. This was the approach I took and I managed to find an agent willing to represent my screenplay.

Anyway, good luck.

Well, once you pitch it, then what? Are you planning on writing it? Producing it? Directing it?

First rule: never, ever tell anyone your movie idea. They will steal it.

Second: get a list of reputable agents from Creative Artists Agency or one of the other top Hollywood agencies. Sign a contract with someone who does nothing but represent screenwriters.

Third: Write the script. If you don't know how to do that, take a class in filmmaking from your local college or wherever you can get credentials. You have nothing to sell, as a first-timer, until it is reduced to writing. That is called "proof" that your idea is YOUR idea.

Fourth: If you have the capability and the training, enlist your acting friends to shoot the script on a prospective basis; i.e., if it sells, they might get a shot at being in it, but at least they will get screen credit for your little film, and can claim it on their resume. That is sometimes just as valuable as getting paid for the gig. Promise them nothing but exposure to those who view the film.

If your idea can be made into a film short and you can afford to produce it, you can always enter it into a film contest and try to win a prize for best film short subject. That gets you noticed by the industry as an up and comer, and often gets you produced in a longer piece. Think about how you can get noticed by the industry.

Fifth: Commonly, people in Hollywood go by word of mouth and referral; i.e., someone who knows you puts in a good word for you with a producer as an "angel" who calls to prepare the way for you. If you don't know anyone in the business, make it YOUR business to get to know them by purchasing or getting from online or subscribing to the "Bible," which is a listing of all active Hollywood area directors, producers, writers, many casting agents, film festivals to attend, and so forth.

Sixth: Attend film festivals and talk to working producers and directors about your script. Don't give them too much detail. Typically you say, "Ocean's Eleven meets Bridget Jones' Diary: The Edge of Reason." This gives them an idea whether it's an action-adventure, comedy, musical, drama, suspense, or whatever genre you are selling.

At these festivals, you arrange things like distribution deals for your completed script. Distribution is just as important as your script idea is. It's like being all dressed up with no place to go.

Study photos of what it is hip to wear and how to look like you fit into this crowd. Wearing Armani suits to meetings with suits or looking creative; i.e., the Steven Spielberg look, are all okay, just so they identify with you. Try not to be fat or middle aged looking, even if you are. Get buffed up. Get a tan. Have a hip haircut, don't shave that morning.

Seventh: Armed with your new distribution deal, which includes international distribution rights, you also have to work with specialized banking interests and investors who put money into films. Typically, you will have to have a product "in development" in order to obtain financing.

Try to interest a major studio in your script. ALWAYS USE A REPUTABLE AGENT!!! Often they are lawyers. They are expensive, but worth every penny, as they will do much to prevent you from being ripped off. Everyone uses faxes to prove that they originated something.

Because you are new, the top agencies will hand you off to a lesser light of an agent at first, one who is up and coming. Still get your name and resume - i.e., your photo with all the stuff you have done on it and your contact information, which will include a Malibu telephone number and P.O. Box, because that is the most prestigious address. This is basically an answering service and they will forward your mail to you. Get a fax and use it every step of the way, for proof. Have your AGENT fax the studios for you. That ten percent is worth every penny for what they can do for you. Make sure they copy their faxes to you every step of the way.

Eighth: Everybody in the world has a script idea. You have NO idea how many people are shilling scripts. Every tom, dick and harry has one. I once got a script back months later with an actual boot print on the cover from someone who promised to read and pass it on. He had left it, unread, in his SUV and stepped on it accidentally. Often, studios have junior execs who read your script and if they think it has possibilities, they pass it on up the line. You then get a letter of interest, but your agent has to go to work for you to get anything going.

Ninth: If at all possible, move the the LA area or hit the NY scene. LA is the most active. It is very hard to get your script moved along, but if you are patient and persistent, and have the right connections, it can happen. Typically, it takes up to seven years to get an idea from idea to script to production to editing and distribution in theatres. Then it is released internationally, and finally it is put into DVD and resold into the secondary markets.

Tenth: Hollywood often likes to take a best-selling book and turn it into a movie, as they are guaranteed a certain amount of audience and know the idea is a winner. If you can write a book, do it and find a publisher through a New York book agent who represents only writers. You can get that list online, or check with United Artists or Creative Artists International or whatever.

Eleventh: you are in a visual medium, so learn to storyboard. That means put the story up on the wall with visual drawings of the action so you can see how the film is going to look. Learn to tell a story with pictures, then add the words. That will keep you from making a "talk show."

You will need a beginning, a middle and an end. You have about five to ten seconds to grab your audience's attention, so make the beginning interesting and get your audience interested in your main protagonist immediately. They have to want to follow and care about your main character.

Write it in acts and scenes, like a stage play is done.

Learn to write in professional format. You can buy a scriptwriting computer program to help you with that.

But you can also purchase books to help you learn your trade.

Twelfth: BE PERSISTENT AND ALWAYS BE WORKING ON GETTING THIS MOVED ALONG. Make friends with the people who answer the phone: your agent's receptionist has a name, and likes chocolates and being known personally. This person may become a "suit" later on or a powerful agent. Cultivate them. Be their best friend. Never, ever offend, slight or abuse them. You will never get through again.

Thirteenth: this is a people business. Charm and schmoozing and doing lunches is part of the whole scheme. Show up for industry parties and festivals, support other actors' and directors' projects, listen to them carefully, and take notes later. Get names and cards and give out your cards and resumes and photos if you also act. Try to get personal phone numbers too.

Give flowers to those whom you wish to cultivate. Learn their kids's and spouses' names. Go to birthday parties. Throw parties with lots of pizzazz and invite everybody to them. Beach parties, parties at borrowed mansions, whatever. Show up.

DON'T EVER GET WASTED at an event. You won't remember what you did or said. NEVER say anything negative about ANYONE. ALWAYS tell everyone you "love their work." It is music to their ears. Know what they did and mention to them what you particularly liked about it. You will get further that way.

Fourteenth: Try to attach a star to your script. Send the people you think would be best for the roles the script to read. If they like it, they might pass it along to their agent to try to get a part in it. Everybody knows everybody in town.

It is easier to get the script produced if a particular hot star is interested in being in it.

Fifteenth. You can also sell your life story or the idea, but you are not going to be paid much for that. Typically, an agent will sell a life story for maybe ten thousand dollars for the rights, and then otherws will make millions on the front end by producing it if it's any good. "Commercial" is the term that is used.

Sixteenth: if you ever get to "take a meeting" at a studio about your script idea, take a witness along, your agent or lawyer. Stay very casual and friendly. You have about ten seconds to make a favorable impression, so smile a lot and act relaxed and confident. Be pleasant. It's a people business. They have to like you. You will have less than five minutes to "sell" your idea, so be brief but descriptive. Keep your sentences short and get the gist of the action and the story down to a couple or three sentences. Sum it up. Then expand on it, enthusiastically. Try to get them as excited about your idea as you are. Drop names of people who are potentially interested in doing the project. Have someone phone ahead to be your "angel," someone who already knows them and is trusted by them to know a good story idea when they see one.

Seventeenth: There are a lot of sharks in the waters in this business, so inquire around who steals ideas and rips people off without paying them. Steer clear of those individuals, whether studios or producers. Don't give them the time of day.

Eighteenth: No one knows if they have a deal, even if it is signed an inked and agreed upon, and everyone has a copy, until the check is in their hand and they have successfully cashed it.

Nineteenth. Figure out which guild you belong in. Are you primarily a writer, producer, director, actor, or agent? Get your credentials and get the paperwork done. It's a case of the chicken before the egg in acting circles. But find out where you fit in. Think about it before you join.

Twentieth: COPYRIGHT YOUR WORK!!!! Get a poor man's copyright by mailing your completed script to yourself and never opening it. The postmark is your guarantee that you wrote it when you wrote it.

Also write to Washington, D.C. and get the copyright kit, and USE IT. There is also a Hollywood version of copyrighting, which you can get information on via any agency, and you should also copyright it that way. This lets people know you are serious and professional. ALWAYS USE THE CORRECT SCRIPT FORMAT.

Your copyright information should appear on the cover page, and on the first page of the script as well.

Good luck getting produced.

Remember that there are also many TV movies and series and so forth if it is not selling in the film industry. While your take on that is more modest, your audience can still be quite vast, and even though it is second echelon to do tv, many people make very good and reliable money for many years in this medium. Decide what you want to go for.

The third echelon is advertising. You may want to work in advertising if you cannot get anyone's attention any other way. This can work into contacts, but it is more indirect.

The more people you know in the industry, the better. NEVER SUPPLY DRUGS OR BECOME A MULE, AND DO NOT DO SEXUAL FAVORS FOR PEOPLE. You do not want to become sidetracked into disgusting behaviors or it will become a requirement for you. There are a lot of people in the industry with weird tastes and there are bisexual people who will take advantage of you. STAY PROFESSIONAL and don't get involved in the partying scene too heavily. Don't ever do anything that you find personally repugnant just to move a script along. You WILL regret it.

Remember: your body is your temple. Respect it and demand respect as well. People will try to interview you while sitting on the toilet, disrobed. Don't take a meeting like that. Leave immediately. Say "I'll come back sometime when you're not so busy." Refuse to be shamed, but be polite about it. They make then refuse to take your calls, but do you really want to work with a jerk like that who treats people with such disrespect? NO!

DON'T TAKE DRUGS THAT ARE OFFERED TO YOU. Smile and say "I'm on medication that interferes with that, so I'm afraid I can't indulge. But thanks, anyway."

Also ask yourself if you want to work with drug addicts.

Attend AA meetings in Malibu if you have a personal drinking problem. Half of the movie industry is there.

The meetings are huge. You WILL get support. Many people slide back into their behaviors, however, so be warned of their weakness.

You can rent a guest house on an estate for about $1,000 a month. That will give you a base for operations. If you can't afford that much, live in a Montana Avenue Santa Monica place and drive up the coast a lot to attend local events and get known around.

As people get to know your face and like you, you will get somewhere and will start to connect in the industry. Remember to always stay positive and say great things about everyone, especially to their faces.

You can also advertise in the Hollywood Reporter; study this publication before you do anything, and decide how best to approach what you are trying to accomplish.

Learn to churn out press releases on your doings. Make sure the industry knows you are alive and busy. Always talk about several projects being in the works, even if they are not yet. Have several movie ideas to back up your original one; sometimes when you take a meeting, they will be uninterested in what you have presented, and will say, "next," or "do you have anything else?" Have backup ideas and present them enthusiastically. You only need one nod to be launched.

Hope this helps you get launched. There is a lot to this business and it sounds like you don't know a lot yet about it. Do your homework and get your training in.

Good luck! Get your name out there, and it just might connect for you.