Speaker 1: In terms of finding this person of influence that you want to have look at your work or you want to get contact with, I think there's a fine line in L.A. that so many people are being pitched. How aggressive do you get? Because you don't want to turn the person off. No. And, well, one person was once, a writer was once asked, when do you take no for an answer? And he said, when they call security. So, but I don't really subscribe to that. The real answer is, first of all, treat people the way you would want to be treated. So don't be a jerk. I mean, for one thing, you have no idea how many people, in various circumstances, will jam me up against a wall and start pitching their story to me. It's like, Mr. Zickey, Mr. Zickey, you have to hear this. Okay, okay, fade in. We open on the sky and we see clouds. We're panning down, we're panning down, we're panning down, we see birds. And we're panning down, we're panning down, we see a spire. And it's the Empire State Building. And we're down at 102nd floor, 101st floor, 100th. Oh, God. You know, no. Please, no. And first of all, when you're pitching, never pitch every beat, every shot, no. It's the broad strokes. But also, you shouldn't be pitching. Is that person buying stories? Why are you pitching to them? What's in it for them? You know, it's like, but also, no one likes to be pitched in a, you know, in a social circumstance. Or if they're giving a talk, it's like, do I really want to stand here and listen for 20 minutes to someone's story that I've known from the first minute is awful? No. What you want to do is always ask, first of all, if you go to an event and someone who you admire is speaking, you remember the rule of three. Rule of three is, most people make the mistake of immediately pitching or immediately, you know, I'm an actor, you've got to cast me, here's my head shot, here's my reel. No, you have not established a relationship with that person. The first time you meet them at an event, you just say something truthful, maybe about their work, but it has to be specific. It has to be, you know, there was that scene in that movie you did where the little boy was talking to his mother, and you know, I had this really difficult relationship with my mother, and when I saw that scene, it opened a door in me somehow, and I went and had a conversation with my mom, and it changed our relationship. That's something that's going to resonate. That's something truthful and meaningful from your heart. But don't gush, and don't go on at length, okay? Because there are going to be other people who want to talk to this guy. The other part, so then you go to a second event with that person, and if you have a chance at the end to talk to them again, say, oh, hi, Mr. So-and-so. Last time when we spoke, I told you about my mom, and you said such-and-such. It really meant so much to me that you really cared. Or you say something again, and I just want to let you know how much that meant to me, right? Then you go to the third event. The third event, you run into them, and you say, oh, gosh, we keep running into each other. It's like we're swimming in the same aquarium. It's like, you know, you've been so kind talking to me these last two times, and there's something you said last time we talked, and I really applied it, and it really, you know, I made this film, or blah, blah, blah, whatever. Also, I've read in the trades that you're looking for a Western, and based on these conversations we've been having, I just thought, I don't know if you'd be open to it, but I've written a Western, and I'd love to have my representation send it to you if you'd be open to that. Or whatever the request is, but you say it in a very respectful manner. You don't go on at length. You stop at yes. Or if he says no, that's fine. You let it go. But the point is, by then, he's already gotten a sense that you're not a jerk because you didn't push the button the first moment, and secondly, he's gotten enough about you where he's intrigued about you. So that's the way you do it, or that's one way to do it. Another way to do it, by the way, is if you go to any event...