Tags
  • Staff
  • Faculty
Announcements and Updates

Pitch a Unique Pitt-Related Story

If you know of a unique Pitt or Pittsburgh story that would make a good movie or TV show, now is your chance to find out if Hollywood might be interested.

The PITTch initiative, sponsored by Pitt’s Center for Creativity (C4C), invites submissions of articles, books, plays, videos, short films, podcasts, scripts and treatments by Feb. 15. Complete details and the submission form are online.

The idea is for the C4C to select a number of submissions to receive free coverage from a service called Readers Unlimited. Its professional story analysts evaluate projects based on concept, storyline, structure, characters, dialogue, tone and commercial potential. Then, from that group, a handful of pitches will be assembled for a spring workshop where leading Hollywood producers, executives and agents will provide feedback. 

“There are so many great Pitt and Pittsburgh-related stories to tell, and Hollywood is hungry to find new, diverse voices,” said Carl Kurlander, producer of the C4C’s Pittsburgh Lens and senior lecturer in film and media studies in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. “This is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on narratives—particularly from those who do not see their stories already represented on screen—which we hope to get from across the University and the Pittsburgh community. And whether their project is highlighted or not, participants will be able to learn more about how projects are developed as movies and TV shows.”

For those seeking inspiration, this recent Pitt panel discussion features two examples. C4C co-director and writer Jeanne Marie Laskas talks about how her magazine article “Game Brain” was optioned by a Hollywood producer and eventually became the movie “Concussion,” starring Will Smith. And Pitt Senior Lecturer Kevin Smith discusses his screenplay that became the Lionsgate movie “Pride,” which stars Terrence Howard as Jim Ellis, coach of a Black swim team in Philadelphia.