Tag: Cannes

Good morning, fellow artists! Welcome to another exciting edition of my weekly Hollywood blog. In the final days leading up to Richard Lawson presenting “The Third Act” script at the prestigious Largo.ai pitch competition at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival Marché du Film, I took a break during work on Mother’s Day and sat outside on the balcony. I wanted a moment of quiet to connect with the fresh air and sunshine. As I sat there with my eyes closed, I realized that this day was also the eve of a new week. And not just any new week. This was the week of the Cannes pitch. I felt something powerful come over me, and I couldn’t quite articulate what it was. There was a calm electricity in the air. An almost eerie silence settled into my surroundings. I felt like I was the only person there, and everything else just vanished. Keep reading below 🙂

Later, I was able to articulate what I was feeling on that balcony. It was “the calm before the storm.” Eureka! Woo hoo! I found it! The calm before the storm! But wait? A “storm?” Could that be right? I looked up various definitions of this phrase, and they all leaned towards the negative. Hmmm, this Cannes pitch is not a storm. It’s not a bad thing. It’s a good thing! I revised the phrase and came up with, “the calm before the incredible, artistic, career breakthrough.” Much better. More positive. Definitely closer to describing what I was feeling. Keep reading below 🙂

The following day, my career administration partner and I met for our weekly meeting. I shared what I had experienced the day before and how I changed the phrase from “the calm before the storm” to “the calm before the incredible, artistic, career breakthrough.” He liked it and also offered another viewpoint regarding storms. He said that not every storm is an F5 tornado. Some are just heavy showers that wash away dirt and dead leaves, leaving water for new life and new plants to grow. They wash away things and create space for other things to come in. It was definitely a refreshing and positive way to look at storms. I did another online search and continued discovering that not all storms are bad. These “good” storms help combat drought conditions, provide much-needed water to crops, fight extreme heat waves, and restore ecological balance, amongst other benefits. Keep reading below 🙂

In this context, the Cannes pitch is a good storm. I went back to the definitions of “calm before the storm” and found positive ones this time. Dictionary.com describes the calm before the storm as “a lull or temporary period of quiet before a tumultuous event, such as a storm or an episode of excitement, activity…” Merriam-Webster similarly describes this phrase as “a period of quiet that comes before a time of activity, excitement…” The Cambridge Dictionary also describes this phrase as “a quiet or peaceful period before a period during which there is great activity.” The calm before the storm now becomes a glass-half-full type of metaphor. The Cannes pitch will generate excitement, inflow, and activity for us to experience and manage together. Keep reading below 🙂

See you next week!

Good morning, fellow artists! Welcome to another exciting edition of my weekly Hollywood blog. I have a big win to announce! Our feature film script, “The Third Act”, is headed to this year’s Cannes Film Festival!

But first, let me quickly catch you up on our script’s journey. It started in September 2019 when master teacher and actor Richard Lawson pitched a story idea to his Professional Development Program 3.0 Collective. The Collective worked together each week in class to develop Richard’s story idea. In mid-2022, the journey evolved when the Collective appointed Kelly and me to take over and write the actual script. Kelly and I devoted the rest of 2022 to making sense of all the extensive work, notes, and research that the Collective produced. We combed through various story ideas, numerous character possibilities and breakdowns, visuals, and other inspiring production design elements. We revised the logline and central question to reveal and support the story we ultimately decided to tell. In January 2023, we took the big step of writing the script. On May 9th, 2024, Kelly and I finished the first draft of the script. It originally came in at 166 pages LOL (as of today, it’s at 108 pages.) Keep reading below 🙂

We then had a successful table read on July 14th, 2024. This reading proved that we had a special and viable story on our hands. Immediately after the reading, we continued to receive wonderful feedback from fellow artists and industry professionals who had also read the script, including Emmy-nominated writer Jeffrey Alan Schechter, further cementing the fact that we had a powerful story in our possession. The Collective met weekly again to read through and organize all the feedback we received. In addition, we had a director come to class to expand upon the notes he provided. We also had a prominent industry executive share his wisdom and expertise on marketing, distribution strategies, budgeting, pitch decks, and the various components that make a script engaging and commercially viable. Finally, Kelly and I received our marching orders to work on a second draft of the script. We carefully combed through the feedback and either implemented or discarded it. We met consistently to write. We then encountered life challenges that temporarily took us off the path. We overcame them and reunited to write again. We persisted through several ups and downs. Keep reading below 🙂

Recently, on March 24th, the Collective had a meeting during which Richard shared some exciting business developments for the script, including inroads to potential investor opportunities through an amazing program called Largo. Largo “benefits a feature film script by providing data-driven, scene-by-scene analysis to optimize storytelling, emotional intensity, and character consistency. It helps filmmakers identify genre, predict audience reception, and suggest suitable casting, allowing producers and writers to refine narratives for better financial and creative success. Additionally, Largo.ai hosts pitch competitions at major film festivals like the American Film Market, Berlin International Film Festival, and Cannes Film Festival. These events provide filmmakers with a platform to present their projects to a global audience of industry professionals, increasing their visibility and potential for funding and distribution deals.” Read the full article here. Richard informed us that he submitted “The Third Act” for Largo’s pitch competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival! Keep reading below 🙂

On April 8th, Richard reached out to the Collective to say he was selected to pitch “The Third Act”! The email notification said, “Thank you again for applying to Largo.ai’s pitching event at the Marché du Film in Cannes…We are very happy to announce that you have been selected to pitch The Third Act on stage!” Woo hoo! Out of the numerous submissions received, Largo only selected 20 people to pitch! Woo hoo! Richard also shared the incredible news the following day in his class. Richard, Kelly, and I met on April 13th to finalize the script and include it in the pitching package for Largo. Keep reading below 🙂

This pitch opportunity is an incredible win, and we are postulating amazing results. We are grateful. We are excited. I can’t underestimate how big this win is. It’s a testament to showing up and sustaining the effort. Richard told us that he’s pitching on May 14th. I looked at my calendar and told him that the 14th is “Ascension Day.” This day commemorates Jesus Christ ascending into heaven 40 days after resurrecting from the dead on Easter Sunday. I said that’s a beautiful, powerful day to pitch because God will literally be with us! Keep reading below 🙂

See you next week!