LightBox Expo 2025: Patrick Harpin Explores The Art of Pitching
by Tito W. James
At LightBox Expo 2025, writer/director Patrick Harpin ran a panel on the “Art of Pitching” your story. Harpin is best known for projects like My Dad the Bounty Hunter and pitching an animated Batman Beyond in the same vein as the Spider-Verse. So many superhero films are CGI-heavy these days I’d prefer to see more cel-shaded animated adaptations in the future. James Gunn would be wise to green-light Harpin’s Batman Beyond film (But I digress).
In the panel, Harpin drills into why personal stakes are more important than convoluted world-building. He gives some humorous examples of disaster pitches. While it’s very hard to get original projects made within the studio system, there are also independent avenues that embrace uniqueness. Harpin recommends that artists pitch their story like it’s a great movie or TV show that they’ve just seen. Ultimately, selling a project isn’t just about the pitch — it’s about writing a project that’s worth pitching.
