GMM Branded Pictures Rejection

 Just got my latest rejection from Greenlight My Movie (GMM).

This one from Branded Pictures.

"Thanks for the submission and this is certainly an ambitious project. Though
we do not really pursue projects that are not based on underlying material,
I still would like to add a few thoughts on the pitch:

• You do a great job pitching this in your video, but I would try to limit
to 2-3 minutes as most executives/producers will not watch much beyond that.
• It’s good that you let your audience know that this is a horror film,
but you should be more specific about where this film lives and
you need to give modern comparables in film or TV from the past 10 years to
compare it to (e.g. “It’s _____ meets _____”) in the written pitch as
well as the comparables you list in the video.
• Focus on how this is different from any other horror. “Why should
studios take a risk on your movie? Remember you are standing on the
shoulders of giants and perspective is everything!
• What makes your lead characters and villain nuanced? Take some time to
delve into the characters psychology, but don’t take too long? Very
succinctly, what is the journey and why does an audience root for or hate
these characters?
• Some of the references had very different tones, specifically what do
you see as the tone of your piece and thematically what do you wish to
explore?

I hope that helps and thank you again for submitting. If you have further
questions, feel free to reach out."

Okay, a few thoughts here:

1.) I can't tell if their comment "we do not really pursue projects that are not based on underlying material" is a dig at my script or not.

Underlying is defined as "

significant as a cause or basis of something but not necessarily manifest or obvious."

Therefore: a.) I have no idea what they are talking about,  b.) this company produced Followed (that Internet horror movie), Piranha 3D and Jeepers Creepers. They also produced a bunch of musicals based off movies (Heathers and American Psycho). Based on the definition of "underlying", it sounds like they interpret it as being, "we only release movies based on pre-existing material (books, remake of other movies) or real events (their The Trial of the Chicago 7 film)"... but then that still doesn't explain Jeepers Creepers, but I digress. 

2.) They tell me to keep my pitch to 2-3 minutes... but then they tell me to include this insane amount of information... in 3 minutes. Also, my pitch is a little under 8 minutes. I think if I shortened the synopsis, character description and selling points any more, most executives would have too many questions and would probably dismiss my pitch based purely on the fact that it is too barebones and vague... they'd think my idea was half-baked & that I hadn't thought every out (a big no-no, especially when you are a new screenwriter trying to break in... they expect you to have all your ducks in a row and, if you don't, they don't think you're serious about doing this (screenwriting) for a living and thus they don't take you seriously. Plus I've had tons of people (probably not execs, assistants mostly... probably) watch my whole pitch, so...

3.) Their assertion that I "should be more specific about where this film lives and
you need to give modern comparables in film or TV from the past 10 years to
compare it to"... Yeah, I do do that. I compare it to It Follows and the Conjuring movies.

4.)  When they said "e.g. “It’s _____ meets _____”") I had mixed reactions. On the one hand, I rolled my eyes; such a generic and obvious appeal tactic. On the other hand, a lot of Hollywood types (agents and producers) are simple minded and short-sided to the point where they need a description like that. At PitchFest 2015 I was pitching a horror script I wrote to a rep from the Gotham Group. He absolutely had no idea what to do with my pitch as I presented it. I then sighed and said, "It's Nightmare on Elm Street meets Jaws". He then lit up and said, "Oh! Jaws was all you needed to say." Yeeesh!

5.) Their assertion that I should "Focus on how this is different from any other horror. “Why should
studios take a risk on your movie? Remember you are standing on the
shoulders of giants and perspective is everything!" First, I won't even get into their grammatical errors, but I will point out a glaring contradiction: they want to say that my movie is "this meets that" and yet they want me to make a big deal about how original and unique it is? Pick a lane, fellas. 

6.) "What makes your lead characters and villain nuanced? Take some time to
delve into the characters psychology, but don’t take too long? Very
succinctly, what is the journey and why does an audience root for or hate
these characters?"

Again, punctuation errors abound here, but, again, they want all this information... in 3 minutes or less.

Not gonna happen, guys.  

7.) "Some of the references had very different tones, specifically what do
you see as the tone of your piece and thematically what do you wish to
explore?"

Again, a really heady question for a 3-minute pitch. 

Also, my "references had different  tones"... did they mean that the movies I referenced all had different tones? If so, it wasn't the tone I was trying to highlight. I actually say what I wanted to highlight above those films before I give my references. I say, "This film follows in the tradition of horror films that have a definite hero... like Evil Dead, Ghostbusters and Demon Knight). Oh well. Guess they weren't paying close enough attention.

8.) I love that they say "If you have further questions, feel free to reach out." Yeah, no company wants you to reach out!

9.) Again, none of this means anything to me, really. Because, well, all they saw was an 8-minute pitch video. They haven't read the script, or even a treatment, so nothing they're saying is all that informed. Even if I were to answer all of their questions, ultimately their decision as to whether or not to produce my script would hinge on their actually reading and liking the script itself.