Ellen Rapoport will be in the middle of pitching a new series idea to executives over Zoom when she spots it: the tell-tale sign that someone’s not paying attention.
“I mean, we know who’s checking their email,” says the creator-showrunner of the Max and Starz series “Minx.” “You’re not as slick as you think you are!”
Zoom pitches became the norm at the start of the pandemic, for obvious socially distanced reasons. But that was more than four years ago, and today masking is long gone, COVID tests are a thing of the past and vaccine mandates have been dismantled. Hollywood has dispensed with pandemic-era practices and returned to in-person encounters: Crowded premieres are back, lunches have resumed and awards shows are in full swing. Why, then, are pitch meetings still being conducted primarily over Zoom?
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An informal Variety survey of writers, agents and executives found that most pitch meetings (as much as 75%) are taking place via computer. It’s a trend that writers like Rapoport aren’t thrilled with.
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“I’m someone who enjoys being around people and wearing pants that button and are not entirely elastic,” she says. “I enjoyed navigating traffic and terrible parking structures and seeing people in the lobby and getting my free water.”
There are plenty of advantages to keeping pitch meetings in the virtual realm, starting with the fact that it’s a more efficient use of everyone’s time. Instead of being stuck in L.A. traffic traveling across the city from one office to another, writers/creators and their reps can pitch practically the entire town in one day.
And that includes scribes based elsewhere or shooting on location — now they don’t need to hop on a flight to LAX. Zoom meetings also offer benefits from a tech perspective. Rather than trying to memorize their entire spiel, sellers can have a script just off-screen to read from, allowing them to maintain a consistent flow in their presentation.
One studio exec says the ability to display photos and videos over Zoom as part of a pitch deck “can be really helpful in conveying tone or helping you keep up with the characters,” something that may not be as natural in an in- person setting.
But as several people who spoke to Variety point out, there’s a lack of human connection in these online meetings. The right alchemy and in-person energy can excite buyers in ways that you’ll never get on a video conference call.
“Anyone who went to a Zoom party during COVID can tell you: We are meant to be together in person,” says Mike O’Malley, an actor and showrunner whose recent credits include “Heels” and “Snowpiercer.” “There’s a give-and-take that happens when you’re in the room with each other.”
One production company executive also notes that Zoom meet-ups have killed off a long-standing staple of Hollywood: lobby culture.
“The Netflix lobby, you used to not be able to sit down,” the exec says. “There’d be like 50 people standing around in there. Now, the last time I was there it was maybe two groups of people.”
One broadcast network executive says they expect to see a resurgence of in- person pitches. “Our doors are absolutely open,” they add — with the idea that sellers now have the choice of visiting their offices or doing it all online. Indeed, some of these meetings have gone back to being in-person — particularly when an A-list celebrity is attached.
But if virtual pitching is the new normal, it presents a unique challenge. After all, decades of in-person meetings have turned selling a TV show into an art form. On Zoom, there’s still the need to experiment with virtual presentations in order to make them more engaging.
Of course, online or in-person, the goal remains the same. “I’m happy to do either,” O’Malley says, “as long as it leads to a sale!”
