So who could play Wotan in the movie? And, no, he doesn't have to sing.

I recently took a deep breath, packed my bags and went off to Los Angeles to pitch my "Winter Music" script to studio executives at a Screenwriting Expo Pitch Fest. These are a form of speed-dating for screenwriters. I'll post a longer account of that experience on my new website janettegriffiths.com

For now, let's just say that pitching a dramatic story with comic elements whose protagonist is a bass/baritone who wants to sing Wotan, is a hopeful and touchingly optimistic undertaking in a Pitch Fest where the buyers all seem to be looking for 'action, thriller, broad comedy in the style of "Jackass"'. But I plodded on, into the ballroom of the Westin, LAX and recited my 5 minute version of my 120 page script. And oddly enough, the guys on the other side of the table, listened, laughed and took my one-sheet (the poster-style page that evokes the story.) BUT they all asked the same question: Who could play the lead male? He's a 48 year old Italian-American, greying dark hair, powerfully built, a quietly intense man who carries his reputation as one of the world's greatest opera singers discreetly. And to add to the complication, he's a bass-baritone and not a tenor. However, he does not have to sing. So that helps.

But the general feeling from both sides of the pitching table, was that today's male leads lack the dramatic weight, the Old World 'gravitas', the true grown-up charisma that my character, Leo, needs. I do have one actor in mind but I'd be curious to hear any suggestions from any of you.