As part of their externship experience, Film Connection students are often given the unique opportunity to pitch their own film ideas and scripts to Hollywood film executives at the conclusion of the program. When Aaron Patrick Lenyear from Atlanta, GA came to Los Angeles to pitch his script “Sideline,” Hollywood wanted to hear more!

Lenyear’s script chronicles the struggles of a high school football player with Antisocial Personality Disorder, exploring how it affects the main character’s performance on the field, as well as his relationships off the field. The day before the pitch meeting, Film Connection Student Services met with Lenyear to help him get prepared for the pitch, and to be ready for any questions he might be asked about his film.

The next day at Los Angeles Center Studios, Lenyear met with producer Evan Astrowsky (Cabin Fever, Fanboys), script in hand, to talk about his film. During the meeting, Astrowsky gave Lenyear helpful advice and opinions about the tone of the script and possible markets where it might play well. They agreed together that “Sideline” would work well as a dark indie drama.

But that wasn’t all. Lenyear walked away from the meeting empty-handed, because Astrowsky kept the script for further advancement! In fact, Astrowsky was so impressed by the initial pitch that he soon called Lenyear for a second meeting to discuss some of his other ideas! Congratulations to Aaron Patrick Lenyear!