Are you a screenwriter who's thinking of applying to the Moonshot Pilot Accelerator or Moonshot Feature Accelerator? Here are some of the benefits of being selected as a fellow or considered in the final stages.
As you decide which screenwriting labs, competitions, and fellowships are worth your time and money, it’s important to determine which contests align with your career goals. If you’re considering applying to one of Moonshot’s accelerators, read below to get a better sense of what our programs can provide.
Here are the benefits of participating in the Moonshot Pilot Accelerator and Moonshot Feature Accelerator:
One-on-one pitch meetings with studios, streamers, production companies, agents, managers, and producers (as well as financiers for our Feature Accelerator). These companies have included HBO, Netflix, Hulu, Showtime, Starz, Amazon Prime Video, Warner Bros. Discovery, Berlanti, Broadway Video, Gersh, Anonymous Content, Comedy Central, Fabel Entertainment, Jax Media, Blumhouse, Element Pictures, and many more.
Crafting, honing, and polishing your pitch with live, individualized feedback from a development exec, a showrunner or feature writer who’s successfully pitched, and a speech coach. Fellows also have weekly peer practice sessions with each other. Before the program begins, Moonshot provides in-depth instructions for crafting the pitch, as well as individualized notes and feedback on fellows’ pitches from their finalist interviews. (We’ve even been told by finalists, semi-finalists, and quarter-finalists that preparing a two-minute pitch video and preparing a five-minute pitch for the finalist interview was incredibly helpful, even if they weren’t selected as a fellow!)
Learning about the business aspect of the industry in Q&As with an agent, a manager, and an entertainment lawyer. No matter how great your script is, you won’t be able to share it with the world without this industry knowledge.
Participating in a mock writers’ room as part of the Moonshot Pilot Accelerator. An experienced showrunner runs the room so that our fellows understand blue skying, pitching in the room, breaking story, building characters, and more. Fellows leave not only with a better understanding of what will be expected of them in the writers’ room, but also what their strengths are in the room.
Getting your script read by industry experts. All of our semi-finalists for our Moonshot Pilot Accelerator have their scripts read by 2 industry judges, including showrunners and high-level producers — the same people who hire for writers’ rooms. Judges for our Moonshot Feature Accelerator include feature writers who’ve had their work produced, so they know what it takes for a screenplay to succeed. We always facilitate connections between our judges and semi-finalists when possible, and several judges have asked to be connected with writers whose work they loved.
Connections with fellow writers. Our fellow cohorts from the last three years are still actively in touch, collaborating on projects, referring one another to agents and managers, and providing support in this difficult industry. Our 2024 Pilot Accelerator fellows even meet monthly for an official writers’ group! These benefits extend to the semi-finalists as well, as they get to participate in an exclusive virtual networking event. You move up the ranks of the industry alongside your peers, so these connections are critical!
Individualized attention from the program organizers. Since Moonshot Initiative is a grassroots nonprofit organization, our fellows never get lost in the shuffle. Our co-founders lead the accelerator and get to know the fellows personally, and they provide individualized feedback and support throughout the process. Because our co-founders get to know the fellows so well, they’re able to refer fellows for future opportunities — and since they meet the semi-finalists and finalists during the networking event and interviews, they can do the same for these talented writers, too.
Prestige of being selected out of hundreds of applications by a trusted organization. The development execs who hear our fellows’ pitches have told us that they can always count on Moonshot fellows to be talented and well-prepared, and that their stories and voices are unique. It’s not just the fellows who benefit; all of the writers who make it to our final rounds of consideration get recognition for being in the very top of our application pool. One writer told us that before her placements in the Moonshot Pilot Accelerator, she had met a representative who hadn’t decided to sign her — but as she posted on social media that she progressed through the quarter-finalist, semi-finalist, and finalist rounds, this representative reached out with interest.
Continued support. After the program is over, there are plenty of opportunities for alums to get involved, stay in touch with Moonshot, and build stronger connections with one another. Right after the program ends, we have a group wrap-up meeting, as well as individual debriefs. We also hold periodic mixers for our past accelerator fellows. Alums are paired with current fellows to provide mentorship before the program begins. They’re invited to join the Accelerator Alumni Committee, as well as to be readers for future application processes. And we host a virtual panel where alums can share their learnings with our larger community and receive more recognition for their placement in the program.
What do you most hope to get out of the Moonshot Pilot Accelerator or Moonshot Feature Accelerator? (Psst — thinking about your answer to this question will help you fill out our application; more info here!)
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