There's only one way to break into the show business as a writer and it's different for everyone. My access point to Hollywood has a name: Alexia Melocchi of LITTLE STUDIO FILMS in Beverly Hills, my accomplished, dedicated Manager, a successful entertainment industry professional and a courageous visionary dreamer I was lucky to meet after connecting through a Stage 32 pitch session.

Let me thank the entire Stage 32 Team for the great connections they helped me make and Alexia from the bottom of my heart for believing in me even though I live in Italy, thousands and thousands of miles away from Los Angeles, and I'm a first-time writer. Without them none of this would be possible.

My background as a screenwriter is very weird and unconventional. It's been a cathartic process, has taken time and perseverance, but along the way I started to build the foundation to eventually make a successful pitch from, a pitch that could ultimately make the hard work pay off.

I've always been interested in movies, my mom had brought me up on Hollywood classics, and coming of age during the Golden Age of rom-coms had a huge impact on me both in terms of content and in how the stories were told visually.

I'm passionate about all things film and sports, "nerdy|sporty antonymy does not exist in this dojo"... Okay, okay, I'll admit it. I speak fluent movie quotes and set film and TV themes as ringtones - my favorites are SUITS and NCIS theme songs, and my Soccer Team is AC Milan.

After earning my PhD summa cum laude in Political, Economic and Social Sciences from the University of Milan, my future seemed written. And it would have certainly been good; after all, apart from a bit of voluntary work, I'd never thought to do something able to really affect change and reach a generation. But something unforeseen happened: the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy and the greatest global financial crisis since the Great Depression occurred.

It was my personal dramatic inciting incident, that event that set me on this journey. MY JOURNEY. It forced me to make a big decision, to take action, and when I finally came to the realization that I may have a story to tell, a story that could inspire people to make the world a better place, I simply began writing splitting my time between the hero's journey and my role of business economist, just like Spider-Man needs Peter Parker.

I spent months pouring out everything that was inside me, all the thoughts I had been holding back, into a five-hundred-page work: a multi-character YA romance about spine-tingling young love, friendship, and growing pains. I first self-published it under a pen name to get as much feedback as possible while studying the screenwriting craft, reading guides to standard script formats and screenplays of successful movies.

I made drawings of some of the more compelling scenes of my feature film script, rough movie sketches, teaser trailers and composed original theme music to get a feel of the project. The time had now come for me to turn the story into a screenplay, transposing the characters and events from the Italian Montagues and Capulets land, where my dad's side of the family is from, to Hillside, a fictitious town in the Italian-style Napa Valley, Northern California. An authentic, good-hearted high school rom-com with sports subplot and a strong social message that focuses on universal coming-of-age issues.

Being a teenager is a crazy ride on the world's biggest emotional rollercoaster, equal parts funny and scary. My characters, just like many adolescents, must confront bully cliques, toxic stereotypes, and their own insecurities before they can find the courage to be vulnerable, to love, and be nothing but themselves. Even though it's no biopic, most scenes are personal as far as the experiences that I've had in my life.

Romeo's Castle in Montecchio Maggiore, Berici Hills

Through every draft, the script got better and better. I compiled a small list of competitions to enter. The reviews were good. Some were very good. BE YOU draft made quarterfinal in the 2021 ScreenCraft Family Screenplay Competition. I finally felt confident enough to send my script out to executives and joined Stage 32 as a member to learn more on the craft and the business, connect with industry professionals, create valuable relationships, and get noticed.

I signed up for some very useful webinars, got script coverage, and pitched, pitched, pitched my screenplay. One day I received an email from Stage 32 announcing that Alexia Melocchi, partner in Little Studio Films, was accepting pitches. I was very impressed with the portrait of Alexia which appeared in Voyage LA Magazine. A well-connected manager and producer with a long proven track record of success, polyglot - fluent in five languages, including Italian - representing and promoting clients from all over the world. She was perfect to me. "Would I be perfect for her?"

After my written pitch session with Alexia, I got a script request and promptly sent her my material, the same BE YOU script with the title changed to DON'T KISS ROMEO GOODBYE that best encapsulates the core concept. Alexia read it, saw potential, also liked the Romeo title better, and after a few weeks she set up a WhatsApp call with me. I remember being so exciting and nervous and alive, but Alexia is such a good listener, a very positive person, and made me feel comfortable. She loved the script and was interested enough to decide to represent me and promote my material globally. So, like in a life-affirming movie, I signed an Artist Management Agreement with Little Studio Films.

Now we're working together across time zones on draft after draft, developing my craft and improving the script. Alexia has exquisite taste, a deep understanding of story and structure, gives notes and genuinely helps me develop material. I feel incredibly lucky to get to work with a team of passionate, creative people at Little Studio Films who all adore Don't Kiss Romeo Goodbye and want to make it the most beautiful story we can.

Have the courage to dream big and don't let the fear of failure keep you from trying. That's the best advice I can give anyone like me.

Rejection is just part of the game; if you're not getting rejected, you're not trying hard enough. Without enough disappointing No's and doors slammed in your face, you will never arrive at that all-important Yes. But there's no point knocking on those doors if you don't have your best work once the door opens and an opportunity presents itself.

Sure, there will be moments when self-doubt creeps in, but don't lose confidence or belief in yourself and your writing, especially if you feel you've given it your all. So, be persistent in writing, take all the time with the material to make it as strong as it can be, and keep pitching. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

Doors that are worth entering are usually closed, so knock at those doors and keep knocking on doors until someone opens up. Look at Nelson Mandela and his commitment even after spending years in jail unjustly, his commitment never changed.

Quoting Rocky Balboa, "Every champion was once a contender that refused to give up."

My sincere thanks to the entire Stage 32 Crew for having me here and making it all happen ♡