In this Q&A, Brooke Solomon, one of last year's fellows, discusses the Moonshot Pilot Accelerator, her pitching tips, and more.
Applications for our 2024 Moonshot Pilot Accelerator are currently open, so we are taking this opportunity to shine a spotlight on our past fellows!
Brooke Solomon was one of the fellows in our 2023 Moonshot Pilot Accelerator (formerly WWFC’s Pilot Accelerator).
Below, learn more about Brooke and her career. To hear more about what Brooke learned from the Moonshot Pilot Accelerator, register for our virtual event, What It’s Like to Pitch to the Biggest Companies in Television.
What drew you to TV writing, and how did you get started?
I grew up in a very rural area without many neighbors or nearby friends, and I was always turning to stories to fill my very active imagination. I was a voracious reader, and wanted to be an author when I was a kid. As I grew up and started exploring other methods of storytelling, I fell completely in love with film and TV — not just the stories, but the world behind them. The movie magic, the business, the collaboration. This led me toward film school, a job in the industry, and an intense need to see my own stories on the big screen. I've been writing scripts in some form since I was 15, and even talked my high school into letting me do a directed screenwriting study where I penned 10 episodes of my own TV show (that nobody should ever read — I still had a lot to learn!).
What inspired you to write the pilot script that was selected for the Moonshot Pilot Accelerator?
The pilot that was selected is BRONZE BULLETS, a contemporary, female-driven Western. To survive a modern Dust Bowl in the American Southwest, a trio of orphaned sisters make their living as mercenaries for a formidable employer. But when they realize he’s misled them about their targets’ wrongdoings, the girls must outrun both the law and the lawless in hopes of carving out a new future.
My first week living in LA, I was in a bit of a spiral. I was now a resident of California, a state where climate change was (and is) accelerating rapidly. Worries about air quality, CO2 emissions, and rising temperatures were consuming my mind, whether I wanted them to be or not. And I was worried. Worried about my baby sister, my parents, my grandparents, all still stuck in their tiny farm town. I wasn’t there to help them out … wouldn’t ever be there in the same way. How upsetting. How freeing. I simultaneously wanted my family right beside me, and very far away.
I managed to wrangle my emotions into a scorching walk, where the unfamiliar scrubby desert of central LA reminded me of the Westerns my family used to catch on TCM — well, that and the crushing guilt and responsibility on my mind. But it wasn’t Wayne or Eastwood who was living this. It was me. And suddenly, my fingers itched to write.
Despite its genre trappings, BRONZE BULLETS is the most personal script I have. It feels essential to me that classic genres can approach intersectional stories, without compromising the action and scope audiences expect to see. BRONZE BULLETS is that, and I hope to stand as a fresh, eager voice that can help bring these more traditional genres into the modern age.
What's something you learned from the accelerator workshops?
The Moonshot Pilot Accelerator, in my opinion, is a fellowship done absolutely right. The program didn't just improve my script and my writing, it improved how I approached the industry. The workshops were so informative, and the opportunity to talk one-on-one with showrunners, executives, and entertainment lawyers meant that I could finally have questions answered that I had wondered about for years. All the guest speakers were so generous with both their time and their answers, and I know that is because Moonshot has proven its value and merit year after year.
What was your experience with pitching before the Moonshot Pilot Accelerator, and what did you learn from pitching to so many companies?
I had pitched before this program, but this format was a new and very personal experience. Crafting my pitch really helped me understand my script on another level, what I was trying to say with the story, and what people were responding to in my work. Even though I didn't edit anything in my actual pilot script, I left the program with a whole new understanding of what I was writing and why. For pitching tips, I would say — take up space and really own that room (virtually or in person). The people that you're pitching to are there to hear from you — make the most of it!
How has your career progressed since the accelerator ended?
Leaving the Moonshot Pilot Accelerator with a full pitch in my back pocket really helped me up my writing game, and even led to me landing another fellowship. And thanks to the wonderful fellows I worked with, I have a whole new network of ambitious, supportive writers to bounce ideas and questions off of. The story tips I picked up through the program have also allowed me to branch out into pitching in other areas of the industry, like graphic novels.
What would you say to a writer who's thinking of applying to the Moonshot Pilot Accelerator?
Do it! This is an incredibly thoughtful and impactful program, run by people who care deeply about growing your writing, your career, and your network.
What are you working on next?
I'm branching into the feature space right now! I'm currently at work on a horror film that centers around a college women's swim team and their web of complicated, intimate relationships with one another.
I'm also working on an exciting opportunity with a few producers to develop a contemporary, Gen Z mystery series, following a snarky private eye and her noir-obsessed LA transplant of a roommate. Lots of fun things brewing!
ABOUT BROOKE SOLOMON
Brooke Solomon grew up as a bisexual Lebanese girl on a farm in rural New Hampshire, where animals generally outnumbered – and outranked – the local people. She graduated from Emerson College with a BA in Visual Media Arts and promptly went to work in the world of film development. Brooke has a special love for projects with a strong intersectional focus, as well as splashy action pieces, world building, and anything mythology inspired. Her pilot BRONZE BULLETS has placed in the Austin Film Festival Script Competition, Final Draft's Big Break, the Moonshot Pilot Accelerator, The Black List x WIF Episodic Lab, and the SeriesFest National Women Writing Competition. Brooke also co-hosts The Queer Quadrant, a podcast focused on LGBTQ+ representation (or lack thereof) in four-quadrant blockbusters. She co-created and is developing an original series with The Lab and Phillip Iscove (SLEEPY HOLLOW), and is repped by Gramercy Park Entertainment. Learn more at brookesolomon.com.
Want to hear from a panel of our 2023 Moonshot Pilot Accelerator fellows as we discuss writing, pitching, and more? Register for our March 13, 2024, virtual event, What It’s Like to Pitch to the Biggest Companies in Television.
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