Screenwriting : How do I email talent? by Ariadne Shaffer

I suggest mentioning the person's name who referred you to the managers and sending your logline, Ariadne Shaffer. And use a catchy subject line. Don't attach anything to the email. If the managers want to read your script, they'll let you know what to send (a pitch document, script, etc.).

Hey Ariadne Shaffer - great question! Keep it short and sweet. Nothing longer than 3 paragraphs and those paragraphs should only be 2-3 sentences if you can help it. Thinks islands of text that are easy to read - not continents of words that someone will gloss over. Definitely mention that you were referred and why you believe these pieces of talent are right for the project. Then you can ask the simple question, "May I send you the script?" - Don't attach it to the email unsolicited.

I'm the Writer Consultant at Stage 32. If you would like to discuss further over email - email success@stage32.com

Agree with Jason and Maurice. Don’t attach anything in this type of email. Reference the person who connected you, that they thought you all should discuss this project, and I always start by asking if they have time for a Zoom or call as making a personal connection can help grease the wheels to a read or, at the very least, create a connection that can be built on for the future. Short and sweet is also great advice. start a conversation more than hitting them hard with too much detail and information. Let us know how it goes. Good luck!!

Get back to us and let us know how it worked.

The name of the person who referred you should be both in the subject line of your email (i.e., from Ariadne Shaffer/referred by Jane Doe) and in the first line of the letter. And I agree: never attach material to an email without permission, even if you have a referral. And while it's ideal if the person who offered to connect you would link you up directly with a personal intro via email, in my experience if they'd wanted to do that, they would have done that. You can ask, but I wouldn't push my luck. I would just contact the managers she referred you to via email and make sure the referral name is prominent in your subject line and email. And keep in mind that some people's smartphones are set up so that they can see only the first few words of a subject line in their emails, so push the referral name as close to the beginning of your subject line as you can.

Okay, let's say the talent is interested after reading the script. Their reps probably want a pay or play type contract. What's the plan after, Yes? Are you in a position to produce a feature movie this year?

Agree with Sam Sokolow Jason Mirch and Maurice Vaughan . Cutting to the chase, introducing yourself and a brief mention of the project is the way to go. Mentioning the personal connection early demonstrates that this isn't just a speculative email. Staton Rabin 's suggestion is another great way to do this, but remember to include it in the body of the text as well. Thank them for their time (always a classy move) and say you look forward to hearing from them. Good luck!

Thanks so much, everyone! This is really helpful. I'm crafting my email to them now. Fingers crossed one of them responds.

You're welcome, Ariadne Shaffer. Hope you get "Yes"!

Former tech writer here. I wouldn't attach anything. The mail server might assume it's spam and send it to the Junk folder, where they'll never see it. Also, put the VIP's name in the Subject line if possible. They'll spot the name right away.

In my experience, the best way to contact talent to be in your small/indie project is to look up their agent or manager's phone numbers on IMDb Pro and call the numbers you find directly. Get the reps on the phone and pitch them the project. Anyone can ignore a cold email. Or even a referred email. There will always be more enticing emails to respond to than yours. That's the nature of the email game. But most reps will not refuse a 5-10 minute phone call that can directly lead to their clients getting work. They can also answer your inquiry directly within seconds because they know exactly what's going on with their talent at that time. Plus, they also get to learn more about you via a phone call, than they would via words on a screen. When producing projects of my own, calling reps and pitching them verbally first has always led to me attaching much bigger talent than my projects probably deserved. Maybe I'm just good on the phones. But I really do believe it helped tremendously for reps to physically hear my passion and our team's visions for the projects we made. And doing this gave me a lot of shots at high end talent for my small end projects. 75% usually let me send them the script and the project details. I get it, sending an email is way less intense and immediately stressful, but calling people up doesn't have to be intimidating either. You can practice by calling family members and friends to practice running your pitch to smooth out the kinks and get your rhythm.

Go to Managers first. They always are more open to the "Big Picture" meaning if the project could potentially be a career defining one for their clients. Always bring up a recent film of the talent and how it impacted you (as a film maker/creator). Subscribe to IMD PRO to see if the talent already is attached to several films as that would lead to a dead end if you do not have funding. Let the Manager know you are open to alternatives (he or she may love the script and support it for other actors in their roster). Keep it short and sweet. No synopsis or script attachments. And lastly and most importantly have a clear idea of how you will get the project funded (realistically) when you speak to him or her as it shows you have done your homework. Try not to mention this is an easy deal for a streamer as we all know that is not true. Think tax credits, distributors private investor scenarios. Hope that helps.