Time for an Agent - Time for a Manager

Sounds really good. If you can find such a manager I’m sure it would be an exhilarating ride to the topermost of the popermost.

And if you do find this person please don’t keep him/her all to yourself!

Getting a Manager...

Dark said:

Hey

I'm at a point where I've edited my screenplay as much as I want to, without potentially getting some coverage done. However, it's not that easy to determine who to have your coverage done by.

But that's a side point. I have begun looking for an Agent, using a list that I captured from the Writer's Guild Site.

I sent out a hand full of Query Letters, and got some no's, or not at this time etc.

I was just putting my feelers out... But as time has gone by, it seems to me that if you can find a Good Manager, that's not a bad thing either. (I realize that they get paid somewhere around 15%)

A Good Manager to me means someone who really believes in my work, and is excited himself about selling it.

Obviously, generally speaking, a Good Manager also has a good idea who to market your script to, as well as strong penetrative tecniques to get it in the door etc. (Truth be known, I don't know all that much about Agent's and/or Manager's as of yet)

What I do know, personally, is that even as Independent a person as I am, I'm not all that interested in completely tackling the "Film Industry Beast" by myself. I prefer a good team to attack it with.

Maybe that's because I'm actually a Filmmaker, and not just a Writer. And as a Filmmaker, I've really got a strong/huge appreciation for getting a group together to get a common goal accomplished/achieved, I.E. a Film, or in this case the Sale of a Screenplay.

I've done my own Independent Short Film, but the main reason that I'm trying, or considering selling a/my Screenplay to the "Main Industry", is to generate revenue to Produce my own Films.

Any insites, or input to all of this is much appreciated.

Thanks

Dark-

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You're on the right track... It is generally known throughout Smell-A that Managers work a little harder for their 15%... One huge reason is that some managers try to attach themselves as a producer to your work...

A manager will very likely want to push the filmmaker side of things as well; whereas an agent already knows what they have.

Having said that...

I would go more for the boutique agencies and managers at this point unless your screenplay is really outstanding.

Most of the A-List screenwriters and filmmakers out there actually have both a manager AND an agent. When you're making that kind of money, it's often better to have several aspects of thought coming in at you.

Getting a manager is not that much different than pursuing an agent... You query, you make contacts and then hit those contacts up. That's pretty much it.

If your screenplay is ready for market, you might consider shopping it to prodcos instead of agents and managers. I say this because it's easier to get your foot in the door. Every prodco and producer I've ever sent a script to that didn't want it, has always left the door open for me to show them more of my work. This is an INVALUABLE asset because once a prodco/producer likes your screenplay and makes a committment to either a) Make it into a movie, or b) Package it, shop it around; you can start hitting them up for agent and manager referrals... This puts you into the driver's seat "just a little more" because you've got a property.

Good luck with it,
filmy

filmy, Guru title fits you well bud.

When pitching to proco's, do you do the same things for them as you would if you were finding an manager/agent or is the format/contact method different?

Prodcos

And if you do find this person please don’t keep him/her all to yourself!

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I'll be sure to share Direct.



Hey Filmy, what exactly is Prodcos... I think I recall you mentioning it in one of your other posts.

Contacting prodcos...

Boz Uriel said:

filmy, Guru title fits you well bud.

When pitching to proco's, do you do the same things for them as you would if you were finding an manager/agent or is the format/contact method different?

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A little different...

First thing I do is find prodcos that have already made a similar film to the screenplay I want to market. This errand might take me to Blockbuster and look through the shelves as well as IMDB, Hollywood Creative Directory and any other resource I can find.

Then I make a master list from all these resources...

With that master list, I try to do a little research on IMDB to see what kind of prodco we're talking about here... I like to see what kind of budgets they use to make movies... Between IMDB and a couple of other resources I have available to me, I prioritize the list... Meaning I go for the bigger prodcos first and work my way down the prioritized list...

Normally, I'll go ahead and make some phone calls to prodcos and poke around to see IF a particular producer is even willing to take an unsolicited call... You would be surprised at how many will... I try to call after 2:00 PM their time and never really after 3:30 PM.

Why?

After a few years of doing this, I find this works best for me... Gives me the maximum amount of exposure for my time i.e., seems like I can get to most people during this time.

A lot of producers are too busy during the morning... Then, they take lunch and like to take it as early as possible. Around 4:00 PM, they're busy figuring out what's happening that night and tomorrow... So I go for that little hour and a half time period. LOL.

I'll be honest... I also try to drop a name here or there... Based on my research, I'll toss out a name that I think they may be familar with. Do I really know that name?

Uh... No. LOL.

But I've found that dropping it gets people to listen just a little bit longer and normally ends with you being able to throw them a logline.

What I like about this method is that 80% of the time, I'm not even asked to sign a release form.

Of course I also try to pull out an email address out of them if I can... Which is also fairly easy to do if they're willing to take a PDF of your screenplay...

I approach that kind of like a how a salesman would throw out a "trial close" on a prospect... At some point, if the conversation is going well, I'll just say it: "Would you rather have me mail it or email it to you as a PDF?"

The last year or so, I've been stunned at how many producers want a PDF. No problem... Saves me a ton of extra work...

I hate to make follow up calls because they almost always seem to be an interruption AND, chances are, your script wasn't read anyway... LOL. That's why I always try to dig an email address out of a producer... This way, I can follow up via email and it's never an interruption and what's nice is that the producer normally tells me that he or she hasn't read it yet...

When that happens, I might reply back telling them that I just wanted to check with them because SO AND SO production company wants to read it asap but they also want to know how many people have seen it thus far...

Which they always seem to want to know... LOL.

This can do two things...

1) Get them to have a reader read it that night
2) They will read it themselves

The only problem with this little ploy is that your screenplay really needs to be PROFESSIONAL! High Concept. Perfectly formatted. Perfect spelling. No direction i.e. very few parentheticals and what you do have better be required and not better used in an action sentence... Outstanding structure. At least one good subplot... two to three is better. An image system... Good subtext in not only the dialogue but the scenes themselves... Active sentence structure...

If your script isn't ON PAR with what pros are writing, you're only shooting yourself in the foot. There are simply too many databases out there that are often shared with assistants and prodcos... If prodco A reads a really bad script, the assistant or intern at prodco A will tell their buddy at prodco B and BAM! Now you're known for a crappy script. I know people this happens to all the time because their scripts simply aren't ready for the market.

That's one reason I always suggest to people wanting to break in that they would be wise to, AT A MINIMUM, pay for some standard coverage to be done on their screenplay... Better yet, a thorough consultation.

Unless of course, you know somebody that will do this for free... AND IS GOOD AT IT! LOL.

Anyway...

The prodcos I don't call, I will send them a fairly short query email... I normally introduce myself first but keep it real short. Then the logline and end it with, "I would be happy to send it by regular mail or email as a PDF file. Just let me know which you prefer."

I create these emails on my word processor first... I keep tweaking it until it's fast to read and thoroughly flows from beginning to end...

The response rate from these are ALWAYS better than for agents or managers... For me, it usually runs at 50% or better but that's because of the research I do up front. Send a query to a prodco on a screenplay they would likely never make, and your response will be considerably less.

The great thing here is to remember to go after those referrals when a producer likes your screenplay... When a producer flat out tells you that he or she enjoyed the screenplay but it's just not what they're looking for right now, you gotta ask, "Know anyone I should be sending this to?" That question almost always gets me a couple of names and phone numbers... Which is like money in the bank!

The very last thing I ask is, "Can you recommend a good agent or manager?"

This always gets me a name or two as well... When I get the name of an agency, I probe a little further, "Anyone in particular I should talk to?"

Agents really aren't that hard to get IF your writing is good. BUT IT HAS TO BE GOOD. Same with managers but a little harder to get because they expect to receive something from you that they can go out and shop the next day or later that day.

When contacting agents or managers, yeah... You basically do the same thing IF YOU CAN. The only problem is that the response simply won't be as good even if your query and logline are outstanding. However, call an agent or manager up because someone in the business referred you... BAM! They sit right up and talk talk talk. LOL.

Hope that answers the question...

filmy

Prodcos...

Dark said:

I'll be sure to share Direct.



Hey Filmy, what exactly is Prodcos... I think I recall you mentioning it in one of your other posts.

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No problem...

A prodco is simply a production company. A company that makes films. Trust me on this... Producers are actively searching for quality screenplays.

The production company that I am currently hooked up with (brand new and forming as we speak) has had me read 5 screenplays already to see what I think. None were as good as I thought they should be yet they were all from A-List screenwriters. I wish I could tell you who... LOL.

These are screenplays that have already been purchased!

Not saying they were terrible. No they were not but they certainly weren't what I expected to read. All were purchased for over a millon dollars. EACH. LOL.

I've seen lazy writing, faulty structure, and cliche gags in all of them but the main plot of the story is what made these scripts valuable. All will need rewrites because of the problems I just spoke of. It's almost funny in a sad way because this kind of gives you a bird's eye view as why so many movies in the theaters suck.

This new production company that I am involved in wants to start changing this... We'll see.

The bad news is that I might have to move to Las Vegas... LOL.

filmy

Las Vegas really? The city not the NLE software right?

Thanks again filmy, there's a book here if you ever find time.

I read, in a couple places, that it's better to go into a meeting with two feature length scripts, one small cast, small budget, few locations and one blockbusting, high concept, lots of FXs so the agent/manager you're meeting with can see that you have the full range.

Do you find this to be true?

Ha, I woke up this morning thinking that you probably meant Production Companies.

I've heard it's good to pitch Production Comanpanies that have done films like yours.

And by what you're saying, it sounds like that philosopy/theory is true.

I haven't gotten that far as of yet.

At this point I've sent Queries to some Agent's, and/or Agencies, as wells as trying to get permission to send a Querry to some Actor's, and/or Actor's Agent's or Manager's, that I'd like to see connected to my film.

Primarily they indicated that they only look at Fully Packaged Deals (I.E. money already behind the projects), and or at Specs that have been reffered by someone.

This isn't any different than I expected, but you don't truly know until you try. After all, you can end up making a Contact anywhere.

Which takes me to where I'm at... Finding an Agent, and/or Manager. At this point I don't quite feel ready to Pitch Production Companies on my own. But the more, and more I prepare myself for such a thing, I do tend to agree with you that going after Prodcos is the best way to go.

Thanks Filmy

Dark-

"Never Tell Me The Odds..."

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Always try to have a couple of scripts laying around...

Boz Uriel said:

Las Vegas really? The city not the NLE software right?

Thanks again filmy, there's a book here if you ever find time.

I read, in a couple places, that it's better to go into a meeting with two feature length scripts, one small cast, small budget, few locations and one blockbusting, high concept, lots of FXs so the agent/manager you're meeting with can see that you have the full range.

Do you find this to be true?

Click to expand...

This is actually kinda funny...

I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have some scripts that show your range of writing but production companies and producers seem to be more concerned with MATERIAL. In other words, WHAT OTHER MATERIAL DO YOU HAVE? Everybody wants to know if you're a ONE SCRIPT WONDER because it happens quite a bit.

What I personally do is polish up the loglines of several screenplays I have laying around, gatherinng dust. I get ready to pull those out of my ass in case I get that question, "What else do you have?" I never bring another script with me... Rather, I try to get them interested by giving them the logline.

So very recently, I had a meeting where this happened... Of course I'm already working with this particular prodco but the meeting was no different. Anyway, everyone's trying to be nice, non-chalant, and I kept waiting for the THE QUESTION. I knew it was coming but I didn't want to mention it. Finally, as we were all eating takeout, somebody pops the question as kind of an afterthought...

Pretty tricky of them but I was ready...

I very calmly (without pitching) told them about several of my scripts... I watched their faces... A little interest but you never really know with these people UNLESS you throw something at them so great that they cannot contain themselves... So, my last stint in the Navy, I was a recruiter and lots of the horror stories are true. I've seen it ALL and I always thought, how great a movie this would be... But because of the war going on, it's not something that I've been actively working on and besides, I could write it in my sleep... LOL.

So just for the hell of it, I toss out the idea about recruiting. The room became silent. I told a couple of true stories that got everyone rolling with laughter and everyone's telling me that I HAVE TO WRITE THAT MOVIE!

Which I will, just not right now.

But it seemed to get me in even more solid with these people...

Mainly, people seemed interested in your ideas. Assuming you've already shown them a well written screenplay, most people are going to assume that with another good idea, you can do it again and again... What they're worried about is the IDEA.

Do you have any more good ideas or did you just shoot your wad (their expression, not mine).

Which brings me back to HIGH CONCEPT.

None of these people that I am now talking to on an every day basis want to even talk about any kind of story unless it contains a high concept. That's the first and foremost and why, everyone wants to hear the logline. Even if the logline isn't great or polished, most of these people can tell if you have a good, high concept idea. Hell, it's their business.

--Yeah, Vegas, the city. In fact, I'm on my way there today. Looks like this new production company is going to be headquartered in Vegas of all places...

filmy

Vegas

Yeah, I've actually heard that Vegas has gotten extremely involved in Producing these days.

Though I've heard that they focus more on Television, than Film like New York, and/or L.A. But that's probably changing too.

When I got my Short Film into a Festival, they offered me to show it in L.A., Vegas or New York.

I grew up 20 to 30 minutes from L.A., and was never really into the Film Scene over there. And Vegas, like I said, at that point (2002) was primarily focusing on Television.

So I picked New York, partly because I've always been interested in familiarizing myself with the Film Crowd over there. Figured it was different than L.A. Maybe not better, but different.

they offered me to show it in L.A., Vegas or New York

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Wasn't the NYIIFVF, was it?

New York International Independent Film and Video Festival

Yeah, it was actually