The Summer Pitch-lympics

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From $20.00
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Are you ready to put your pitch to the test? 

Roadmap invites you to register for our Pitching Madness Tournament! This four week tournament will give you the opportunity to put your pitching skills to the test, get your story in front of our industry judges, and make new friends in our amazing community! 

Each week, writers will pitch their story in a roundtable setting for that round's judge. The judges will decide who advances to the next round until we get to the Final Four. 

Roundtables will be an hour long, and will be scheduled for Saturdays between the hours of 9am and 4pm PT to ensure that everyone is able to attend at least one roundtable. You will only pitch in one roundtable for each round you participate in, so you will not be online all day! 

Here's How It Works

Round One - Judged by Roadmap Staff 

Round Two - Judged by Industry Assistants and Coordinators 

Round Three - Judged by Creative and Development Execs

Round Four - Judged by Agents and Managers


The Grand Prize Winner Will Receive

  • 10 Open Pitch Credits ($590 value) 
  • 1 Portfolio Consult with an exec of your choice ($345 value) 
  • 1 Month of Pitch Fitness Club ($99 value) 
  • 1 month of personally curated marketing to execs and reps (up to 10 emails on your behalf) from Roadmap Staff (priceless) 

The Three Semi-Finalists Will Receive: 

  • 5 Open Pitch Credits ($295 value) 
  • 1 First 15 Consult with an exec of your choice ($65 value)
  • 1 Month of Pitch Fitness Club ($99 value) 
  • 1 month of personally curated marketing to execs and reps (up to 5 emails on your behalf) from Roadmap Staff (priceless) 

Week One - Opening Round (Weekend of 5/4)

Summary

Writers will pitch their project. Each writer will get 8 minutes total, so you should aim to keep your pitch to about 5 minutes. Zoom links, judges and specific session times will be posted before the weekend.

Each judge may nominate up to 3 writers to advance to the next round. 

Opening Round judges will consist of the RoadCrew. 

Week One Roundtable w/ Alex Davies

Date / Time
Summary

Writers pitching in this round are: 

Steve Becker
Gilda  Hauser Porcari
Ryan Estabrooks
Matthew Foss
Albert Stroth

Olga Holtz

Week One Roundtable w/ Alexis Adkins

Date / Time
Summary

Writers pitching in this round are: 

James Murphy
Andrew Varhol
Laurie McKinsey
Kate Imy
Marianna Staroselsky

Week One Roundtable w/ Rip Warren

Date / Time
Summary

Writers pitching in this round are: 

Kalynn Huffman Brower
Jared Michael Delaney
Lisa Garvey
Roy Hsu
Michael Elliott

Week One Roundtable w/ Julianne Wargren

Date / Time
Summary

Writers pitching in this round are: 

Gregory Wakeman
Fred Nicora
Eric Rudnick
Patrick Veeder

Victor San Miguel

SA Brown

Week Two - Second Round (Weekend of 5/11)

Summary

Writers will pitch their project. Each writer will get 8 minutes total, so you should aim to keep your pitch to about 5 minutes. 

Each judge may nominate up to 4 writers to advance to the next round. 

Second Round judges will consist of the assistants and coordinators at production and management companies. 

Week Two Roundtable w/ Jon-Alexander Genson

Date / Time
Summary

Writers pitching in this round are: 

Steve Becker 

James Murphy 
Andrew Varhol 
Jared Michael Delaney 
Roy Hsu 
Kalynn Huffman Brower 
Fred Nicora 

Host:
Jon-Alexander Genson - Literary & Development Coordinator, Sheree Guitar Entertainment

Jon, a Mexican-American from Chicago, IL, was raised by a single immigrant mother. He served as Military Police in the U.S. Army, deploying to Guantanamo Bay before earning a BA in Creative Writing from Illinois State University, where he was mentored by the late Kass Fleisher. Jon gained experience at the boutique talent agency Park Artists Group, lit management/production company Aperture Entertainment, and Lionsgate. Currently, he is the Literary & Development Coordinator at Sheree Guitar Entertainment and a graduate of the WGF Veterans Writing Project. There, he developed a one-hour drama/horror pilot script and pitch under the guidance of Craig Sweeny, Christina Walker, and Eli Edelson. In 2023, he was admitted into the Writers Guild Foundation's 2023 Writers’ Access Support Staff Training Program. Jon also occasionally publishes in the short fiction and poetry space.


 

Week Two Roundtable w/ Alison Dumbell

Date / Time
Summary

Writers pitching in this round are: 


SA Brown 
Victor San Miguel 
Ryan Estabrooks 
Matthew Foss 
Gilda Porcari 
Olga Holtz 

Kate Imy 

Host:
Alison Dumbell - Development Assistant, Marilyn Atlas Management

Alison Dumbell is a junior manager and development associate for Marilyn Atlas Management and is busy earning a credit alongside Marilyn and her team developing a YA book as a TV project. Script analysis is a big part of her work as well as modifying loglines, giving feedback to writer clients and attending writing and acting events around LA.

Before taking on this role, Alison was living in India for 9 years where she worked as a wine writer and consultant while also writing a multicultural Women's Fiction novel. She had the unique opportunity of appearing as an extra in Bollywood movies and shadowing a wide range of entertainment industry leaders. 

Alison is a dual British and American citizen, a graduate of Cornell University and more recently studied screenwriting with the London Film School, moving to Los Angeles in August 2022.

In her free time, Alison has a podcast where she talks about all things Hallyu / Korean Wave and writes a blog about the culture shock of moving back to the US after 25 years living abroad.

Week Three - Round Three (Weekend of 5/18)

Summary

Writers will pitch their project. Each writer will get 8 minutes total, so you should aim to keep your pitch to about 5 minutes. 

Each judge may nominate up to 2 writers to advance to the next round. 

Third Round judges will consist of the creative and development execs at production and management companies. 

Week Three Roundtable w/ Sam Schifrien

Date / Time
Summary

Writers in this roundtable are: 

Gilda Porcari
Kalynn Hoffman Brower
Andrew Varhol
Jared Michael Delaney

Host:
Sam Schifrien - Content Development & Production, 93 Cedar

With nearly two decades of experience in entertainment, Sam Schifrien can trace her fascination for the magic of film & TV back to a moment in her Northern New Jersey kindergarten, when she learned to tie her shoes for a sketch on the MTV show The State. In the three decades since that moment, Sam has gone on to work for multiple representation companies in several capacities, networks & studios in international development and media relations, in a writers’ room and on sets (where her responsibilities grew beyond tying shoes).

Most recently before starting her own company, 93 Cedar, Sam developed a slate for Untitled Entertainment that included projects (mainly television) with Christina Ricci, Reggie Hudlin, Chris Diamantopoulos, Annie Chang, The Crown Princess of Greece, Vanessa Hudgens, Melanie Griffith, and Jack & Danny Huston. Before Untitled, Sam worked with producer Michael Rosenberg (Hung, The Riches) at roseyTV, originally under a deal with eOne. Most notably, roseyTV produced PopTV’s Let Get Physical from Workaholics’ Connor Pritchard and starring Matt Jones & Jane Seymour, for which Sam received a Development Associate credit. Prior to that, Sam worked with JoAnn Alfano, first on ABC’s Resurrection starring Omar Epps & Frances Fisher, with a writing staff that included Tara Butters & Michele Fazekas, Aaron Zelman, Tom Schnauz, and the late, great Nathan Louis Jackson, as well as producing-directors Dan Attias & Chris Misiano. Sam followed JoAnn to NBCUniversal International where the slate of projects originated from companies within the UK, Australia and Canada, and included Carnival’s Downton Abbey, Australia’s Glitch which streamed on Netflix, & You, Me, and the Apocalypse which aired in the US on NBC.

Sam started her career (really at ABC Media Relations in NYC in high school, but in Los Angeles) at Brillstein Entertainment Partners, captaining their flag football team and working for literary manager Margaret Riley, whose rosters includes Charles Randolph (The Big Short), Susanna Fogel (A Small Light), Alex Tse (Wu-Tang Saga), Mark Ruffalo (Sympathy for Delicious), Margaret Nagle (Warm Springs), Ann Cherkis (Better Call Saul) and Anthony Zuiker (CSI). Sam proudly graduated from the USC Business-Cinematic Arts Joint Degree Program started by industry legend and former WMA agent Larry Auerbach, with Order of Troy Honors for service.

In addition to working to build 93 Cedar, recently Sam has worked in story analysis and IP evaluation for companies with major studio deals, and judged screenplay competitions for various festivals, institutions and organizations. Currently, she is looking for like-minded partners and is building a slate that includes female-created genre, comedy with a purpose/has a personal connection to the creator & builds up opposed to tearing down, and any non-fiction or docu-series projects which could be partnered with advocacy groups.

Week Three Roundtable w/ Cristina Benavente

Date / Time
Summary

Writers in this roundtable are: 

Roy Hsu
Ryan Eastbrooks
Matthew Foss
SA Brown

Host:
Cristina Benavente - Producer, The Benavente

Cristina Benavente is an independent film and television producer. As a bilingual Mexican-American, she began her career working at multi-platform, Lemon Studios, and Barden Schnee Casting. She has a knack for sourcing IP and engineering opportunities for original content. Past titles include: BAD SISTERS, 13 REASONS WHY, GOOD GIRLS REVOLT, PITCH PERFECT, and CLEMENCY.

Week Four - The Final Four (Weekend of 6/1)

Summary

Writers will pitch their project. Each writer will get 8 minutes total, so you should aim to keep your pitch to about 5 minutes. 

The panel of judges will choose one winner. 

The Final Four judges will consist of agents and managers.  

 

The Final Four Roundtable

Date / Time
Summary

Writers in this round

Matthew Foss 
SA Brown
Gilda Porcari
Andrew Varhol


Final Four Judges

 

Corey Ackerman was the driving force behind FreshMaker Media, a literary management and production company, before joining The Cartel in the fall of 2016 as a manager/producer. He represents TV writers, screenwriters and filmmakers in all media.

Corey also serves as an advisor to Jumpcut Media. Founded by serial entrepreneur and Wharton School professor Kartik Hosanagar in partnership with Silicon Valley venture studio Atomic, Jumpcut is a tech + story company that delivers smarter, faster and more cost-efficient audience insights, empowering studios & creators with a unique advantage in the global entertainment market.

On the producing side, Corey executive produced TRUST starring Victoria Justice and Melbourne-based filmmaker client Justin Dix’s sophomore feature BLOOD VESSEL.

Corey previously held the position of Vice President of Development and Production for Inferno Entertainment. Prior to joining Inferno, he spearheaded development for Southpaw Entertainment. His first development executive position was Creative Executive at Red Wagon Productions. Prior to that, he was assistant to Dede Gardner, then Vice President of Production at Paramount Pictures.

Corey attended Townsend Harris High School at New York’s Queens College and holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

 

Mike Griffin is a talent manager and producer at Luber Roklin Entertainment who specializes in writer/performer talent. Founded by the legendary Lena Roklin and Matt Luber, LRE is one of the premiere talent management and production companies in the world. Mike currently has writer clients staffed on network TV shows, developing animated series with Comedy Central, and writer/directors raising money for their debut films at the Cannes Film Festival.

Prior to LRE, Mike was a co-founder of MAKE GOOD Content with Paul Young, who previously founded and ran Principato-Young Entertainment. Mike packaged and sold many TV shows and films including LADY DANGER starting Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Nicki Minaj, Carlton Jordan & Crystle Roberson for Amazon Freevee announced on Deadline. Mike worked with Mel Gibson on developing the Oscar winning HACKSAW RIDGE starring Andrew Garfield and was named to Variety's One To Watch list.

Mike produced WOMAN IN THE BOOK for Crypt TV & Facebook Watch, and the hit docuseries, THE COMEDY STORE for Showtime which chronicled the epic history of the World Famous Comedy Store on Sunset.

More about
Roadmap Writers

Roadmap Writers is a talent training and discovery platform for screenwriters ready for a guided path to success. Our programs are hosted by working industry executives and are designed to empower writers with actionable tools and insights to elevate your craft and cultivate relationships with industry professionals. Since 2016, we have helped hundreds of writers from all over the world sign to representation, staff on series, and option and produce their projects. Our writers have been staffed on BRIDGERTON, THE FLASH, CHICAGO PD, THE FIRST LADY, NIGHT COURT, THE GOOD DOCTOR, THE RESIDENT, REACHER, SUBJECT TO CHANGE, MAYANS and POKERFACE. Writers have sold, set up and been produced by Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, MGM, American High, New Republic Pictures, Maven Screen Media, Lifetime, Will Packer Studios and Roku. 

How it Works

Cancellation Policy: You may cancel for a full refund up to 5 days prior to the start of the class. Cancellations requested after this period will be ineligible for refunds.

Please ensure you are familiar with our Code of Conduct.

The Roadmap Promise

Roadmap Writers prides itself on the quality of executives we bring to our programs and we work hard to get you the best feedback possible.

Our vetted executives are chosen by the legitimacy of the companies they work for and their ability to evaluate pitches and pages.

Only the executives you sign up for will be provided with your materials.