Live!Ammunition! | London

Pitch your movie idea, improve your skills, impress your friends and our panel, convince them to pick your idea up for further development and in the end watch your movie on a big screen! Networking drinks afterwards! Don't miss next one!

Master Of Ceremonies:	Elliot Grove	Venue:	Apollo Cinema map & directions
Date:	4 October 2010	Duration:	Evening
Time:	6:30 - 9:00pm	Price:	£13 Free to members of Raindance: book your seat by email

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Results from Live!Ammunition! Monday 21 June

Over 125 people attended last night and heard 30 pitches.
Our congratulations to everyone who pitched, and to the winners:

The Jury has spoken:

1. Naomi Westerman - 'Maturity'
2. Tim Benzie - 'Up The Garden Path'
3. Sophie Petzal - 'As He Was'

Congrats to all the pitchers!

Have you got a great idea for a movie?

This is it! Your chance to pitch your movie idea directly to a panel of top British film executives. These are the people who matter. They are the people who buy scripts - they are the people who decide what will be made and what won't.

To pitch, just drop a fiver in the hat, and the floor is yours. You have two minutes to convince the panelist to read your script or make your film. They can and will gong you off if you are boring.

›› Don't read from cards. It destroys eye contact
›› Sell the sizzle, not the steak
›› Be brief, don't be boring
›› Be entertaining

Improve your pitching skills and get instant feedback. Some pitches have gone into production these include Meet The Parents(1994), 51st State (1995), Siamese Cop (1996) and White Bhaji (2001).

Book your seat quickly in order to ensure entry, last Live Ammo (25 February) was completely packed - over 150 people showed up, cool!

Panel: Monday 21 June 2010

Kate Lawrence

Head of Development - Number 9 Films

Kate is Head of Development at Number 9 Films, a leading UK independent production company. With nine years experience in the industry she began her career as a freelance reader, then producer’s assistant joining Number 9 Films back in 2003. Her credits in development include “Perrier’s Bounty” starring Cillian Murphy, Jim Broadbent and Brendan Gleeson, Paramount’s upcoming autumn 2010 release “Made in Dagenham” directed by Nigel Cole and starring Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins, Rosamund Pike, Andrea Riseborough and Miranda Richardson, “And When Did You Last See Your Father?”, written by David Nicholls and directed by Anand Tucker and starring Jim Broadbent and Colin Firth, and UK box office hit “How to Lose Friends & Alienate People” written by Peter Straughan and starring Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst and Jeff Bridges.

In 2009 she gained her first co-producer credit on “Sounds Like Teen Spirit”, a documentary about the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, directed by Jamie J Johnson, which premiered at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival to rave reviews, won the audience award at The Dinard Film Festival and was nominated for a BIFA.

Matthew Baker

Acquisitions & Development - HanWay Films

Matthew Baker was born and raised in London. After graduating from York University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History, he briefly worked in casting and T.V. production before joining RPC in the summer of 2000. In 2004 Baker was appointed Acquisitions and Development Executive, performing joint duties for Recorded Picture Company and HanWay Films.

Martin Carr

Producer - Formosa Films

Martin has produced films in nearly every format including IMAX, 3D, cinema, television and interactive. Martin has run media production companies for over 12 years such as Destiny Films set up with the highly acclaimed playwright Jim Cartwright (Little Voice, Road, Vroom).
His projects have been distributed worldwide as well as being nominated for multiple international awards.

He began as a trainee with Central Television then went on to line produce films and television programmes for a number of years. He has worked for the BBC as a freelance line producer and also in interactive as well as being lead producer shooting films around the globe for a variety of major companies.

He produced the 1995 Fuji Award-winning film, “Justice in Mind”, production-managed “El Efecto Mariposa (The Butterfly Effect)”, and produced “Village”, a television series for Channel 4. He went on to production manage and line-produce “The Nutcracker 3D”, “The Human Body - IMAX” and “Amahl and the Night Visitors” (for US network television). He also produced “Command Approved” a large budget action film commissioned by the Royal Navy and shot on location in the Bahamas.

His films “Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise” and “Strumpet”, broadcast by the BBC, were directed by Danny Boyle (director of “Trainspotting”, “A Life Less Ordinary”, “The Beach” “Slumdog Millionaire” and “28 Days Later”), and have been successful both in film festivals and on television around the world.

Martin owns Formosa Films with Neil Thompson which was set up in 2005 and produced Clubbed starring Colin Salmon and Maxine Peake which was released in 2009. Martin is now at work on his next feature film projects - Twenty8k written by Paul Abbott (State of Play, Shameless, Touching Evil, Cracker, Clocking Off) which shoots in summer 2010 and Top Shelf, a romantic comedy early 2011. Under the Formosa Films banner Martin is in development on a range of feature film and TV drama projects with some of the UK’s finest writing, directing and acting talents.

Beau Rogers

Producer

Beau Rogers is widely regarded as a financial innovator and rainmaker in the business of film financing. Rogers created a unique insurance-backed financing structure that raised over $250 million for film production. Using this financing he has Executive-Produced over 45 films.

Most notably, while at Flashpoint, Rogers financed and Executive Produced the Academy Award winning Gods and Monsters‛ and the critically acclaimed ‚What’s
Cooking ‚Beautiful‛ and ‚Love and Action in Chicago‛.

Greg Hauptner

CEO G-Star Studios

Greg Hauptner is the Founder/CEO/CFO of the G-Star Studios in Palm Springs, Florida, USA. With over 100,000 sq. ft. under roof in the motion picture complex, it is the largest film studio in the State of Florida. G-Star Studios is opening the most technologically advanced sound stage in the world in June, 2010. It is an advanced copy of a Warner Bros. sound stage. It is the same size as the sound stages in Los Angeles where the feature films Jurassic Park III and the Incredible Hulk movies were made; and where Two and a Half Men and Desperate Housewives are produced today. In addition, G-Star owns the largest Film, TV Production and Acting high school in the nation which graduates 95% of its students into major universities such as NYU, USC, UCLA, Boston University, Florida State University, just to name a few. G-Star is the only educational institution in the world that is creating a film industry to employ its students when they graduate from college.

What You Said About Live!Ammuntion!

Hello Raindance
What a great evening last night!
Although I was one of the stragglers that only got 30 seconds to pitch I loved every millisecond of it. The camaraderie in the pitching line was great, we really enjoyed being a bundle of nerves together. Thank you for putting this night together and give us the opportunity to release those stories from our brains!
Thank you, thank you... and I'm signing up for membership today!
Julie Mundy, Editor www.elvis.co.uk

Hi Raindance
Just wanted to say a big thank you for last night's live ammunition it
was a great event and a fantastic learning curve, as my first pitching
session. It was a really supportive atmosphere and I learnt allot. Thank
you for all your time and effort with these events. I will definitely be
attending more in the future.
Thanks again for the night, it was truly brilliant a real privilege to
meet you all and have the chance to pitch to such an outstanding panel!
Ben Warden, Project Officer, Canterbury Christ Church University

"Just a wee note to thank you all for a great event last night. There were a few of us that came along and we all thoroughly enjoyed it! Made even more special by Lynne's pitch - Eye Contact being joint runner up and receiving great interest particularly from Cat Villiers. Then....
getting the bite me T-shirt was just the icing on the cake - far too much excitement for one night! :O)

We all had such a buzz on the way home and its spilling over into today.

Xavier - lovely to meet you! Will - thank you muchly for organising.
Elliot - thanks so much for being willing to provide such great
opportunities for us.

What fun. Well done guys, and thanks again!" Have a great day
- Mims

"Had a great night at Ammunition - surprisingly, I totally enjoyed my first ever film pitch. I admit I was terrified, I had 30 seconds, and my adrenalin was rushing, but the atmosphere was warm and encouraging. I was overjoyed and will never forget the moment when the crowd and the panel wanted me to finish the pitch.Thanks for a superb event!"
- Daniel J

"I just wanted to say thanks for your encouraging comments last night – they are absolutely priceless – especially since they come at a time when, baffled by reading too much about structure, I have been wrestling with the negative voice that I am sure afflicts many writers “this is completely uncommercial and no-one will be interested – does it even work as a story? – so where are the act breaks?” I even thought of cancelling at the last minute! The encouragement & feedback for participants is also one of the great things about liveammo - so long may it continue!"
- Hamish M

"I thank you Raindance for the wonderful live ammo event last evening. It was wonderful to come across some brilliant ideas and above all it was a fantastic learning experience in the art of pitching.
[I'll try to muster some courage when it is held the next time]."
- Sanjay

Past Panellists

Ewan McGregor, Actor
Sally Caplan, head of the Premiere Fund at the UK Film Council
Malcolm Gerrie, founder and Chief Executive of Whizz Kid Entertainment
Lora Fox Gamble, Producer, Another Life, Spanish Fly, Prague Duet
Robert Jones (UK Film Council)
Charles Steel, producer Last King of Scotland
Menhaj Huda, director Kidulthood
Elisar Cabrera, international film sales agent, High Point Films
Jim Wilson, producer Shaun of the Dead
Matthew Dench, Dench Arnold
Dean Goldberg (Park Caledonia)
Michael Cowan, (Spice Factory)
Richard Elfman, Producer, Director, Actor, Writer
Jeremy Wooding - Bollywood Queen
Penny Woolcock -The Principles of Lust
Sarah Gavron - This Little Life
Norma Heyman, producer
Richard Holmes, producer, Gruber Films
Brock Norman Brock, The Film Council
Roger Corman, Producer
Lloyd Kaufman, Producer, Actor, Director, Writer
Shane Meadows Director/Writer, Once Upon A Time in the Midlands, 28 Days Later, This Is England
Nik Powell - Scala Films
Seamus McGarvey - Award winning cinematographer of 'The Hours'
Anna Thomas - Producer of Oscar nominated 'El Norte' and co-writer of
'Frida'.
Matthew Vaughn, Producer, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Layer Cake, Stardust
Coline Woodcock, Kuhn and Co.
Ed King, Development, Rocket Pictures
Steve Gaydos Editor, Variety UK
Antonia Bird - Director, Ravenous, Face, Mad Love, Priest
Tracey Scoffield - Head of Development and Executive Producer, BBC Films
Morwenna Banks - Writer/Actress, The Announcement
Leslee Udwin - Producer, East is East, The One and Only
Nahrein Mirza - Head of Development, Littlebird Pictures
Lora Fox Gamble, Prod