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What’s Your Hook? How To Pitch Your Movie With Devo Cutler-Rubenstein – Ep #36

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The first question to ask when you apos re preparing your pitch is what do you want them to understand Next is what apos s your hook your personal story that will get and hold their attention In this powerful episode Devo Cutler-Rebenstein answers these questions as well as discussing how to get buyers to want to work with you gap financing digital marketing tools and more Devo Cutler-Rubenstein apos s passion for storytelling and artistic expression brought her to California Institute of the Arts where she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film and Television While at Cal Arts she was selected to receive a grant from the Scottish Arts Council to attend Edinburgh Arts Her documentary about this unique educational setting inspired her documentary film EDINBURGH ARTS which aired in part on Grampian Television Returning to Cal Arts she had an opportunity to study with Alexander MacKenrick where she wrote produced and directed PEACOCK BLUES a short film casting the as yet unknown Ed Harris and Annie Potts Upon graduation Devo launched her career in the entertainment industry at Twentieth Century Fox rising quickly up the ranks in story development She was Director of Story Department for Sir Lew Grade apos s Marble Arch productions at CBS Studios She helped design a new story department as Director Literary Affairs at Columbia Pictures TV and not long after became VP of Marketing and Promotion for Connoisseur Video Simultaneously she began to develop projects for theater under her banner New Play Productions and then partnered with Mary Saxon to form Cutler-Saxon Productions with an eye to leverage small theatre as a vehicle for larger budget television and feature film projects Currently as CEO and President of Noble House Entertainment she continues to develop and produce multi-platform projects in a career that has spanned over thirty years working within all aspects of the entertainment industry She has developed over 500 projects under various production banners including producing the feature film franchise THE SUBSTITUTE for MGM Live Entertainment and HBO starring Tom Berenger and Treat Williams respectively Inspired by work she did with stand-up comedians coaching them on the development of one-person shows she won a grant to co-produce and co-write with her husband Scott Rubenstein Star Trek TNG MacGyver Night Court the documentary NOT AFRAID TO LAUGH about using comedy to heal cancer The intimate documentary won The Communicator Award and was nominated for a Peabody Award now archived in the Chicago Museum of Broadcasting for its quot artistic excellence social relevance and historical significance quot As a narrative director she helped out on another award-winning documentary TELL ABOUT THE SOUTH which aired on PBS she helped cast and the documentary was shot entirely on locations in South Carolina and Virginia Adapting a John Irving short story she competed and won a grant from Chanticleer Films The Discovery Program to write and direct a narrative short which she co-wrote with her husband Scott Rubenstein who also exec produced the short film starred Poppy Montgomery Bill Forsythe and Tony Plana and won Best Film at Moondance Film Festival and aired on Showtime Television A writer at her core Devo continues to pursue a creative outlet as a published poet short story writer and as a member of the Writers apos Guild of America West She has written and or produced film and television projects for ABC Columbia Pictures FX Showtime MGM Live Entertainment Fries Entertainment Interscope Entertainment among others Her desire to promote cultural diversity was acknowledged by a NALIP Screenwriting Fellowship and in 2015 Devo fulfilled a lifelong dream and received a Master apos s in Professional Writing from the University of Southern California Dornsife College of Letters Arts amp Sciences

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