I once received a pitch email from a young actor that began like this:
Dear Lana,
I have been working on a few major projects like [Hit TV Series], and also been shortlisted to join [A-List Actor] in the upcoming film [Title of Film]. Please see a rough cut of my new reel attached.
This email was problematic for a few reasons. One, neither his reel nor his IMDb page made any mention of his appearance on said hit TV series—which I suppose could be explained if it were a recent episode that hadn’t aired. But it was the second half of the sentence that threw his credibility out the window.
First of all, this actor had limited credits, so it surprised me that he could be shortlisted for a role in a major studio film.
Secondly, what the actor didn’t know was that, when I received his email, I happened to be sitting next to the director of this tent-pole film, on set of another project he was directing. We had been discussing his feature, so I knew that even the lead actor’s deal had not yet closed.
(It’s possible names were in discussion for the supporting leads, but without knowing who the star was, how could anyone be shortlisted for what had to have been a minor role,
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