Entourage. Do You Need One?
What's the difference between a manager and an agent? Do you need one or do you need both? How about some guy like Turtle hanging around?
My friend and colleague Garth Pappas of High Concept Management was kind enough to guest blog for The Rouge Wave today, and in doing so, get down to the nitty gritty when it comes to managers and agents. Read. Enjoy. Then get back to work!
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Agencies are licensed and regulated by the State. Agents submit spec scripts to studios in hopes for a sale. They are also interested in developing a writer's career if their respective literary team agrees to rep a writer (after reading and liking their writing samples). So to you writers out there, you must have at least two samples ... Now, not every writer has an agent and a manager on their team ... but every writer needs a good attorney (usually referred by the agent or manager involved in a writer's life) ... the decision to have both an agent and manager is up to the writer; if you're chugging along in your career and you have only one, then it might make sense to get a third member on the team; the larger the team, the better coverage you'll get; meaning, consideration for job opportunities at both the studios and production companies.
The technical difference between an agent and manager is: agents can only negotiate on behalf of their client. Managers can attach themselves to a screenplay as a producer; agents cannot. Why do you need both? Well, you don't. But you do need one who's got solid relationships with studio and production executives; and, one who can effectively cover every studio in town. If you start off with a manager and the manager gets your material exposure which will then hopefully lead to some meetings, then you can hold off on giving another 10% to an agent. If you start with an agent and they do the same, then you don't need to give the other 10 to a manager. It's a marriage. It's about chemistry and it's about getting the writer results. I think it's a good idea for a writer to meet several reps and see which one fits best. Good luck!
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2 comments:
Garth, you said about having two solid specs. Wouldn't you rep someone based on just one solid spec that you think could sell?
Thanks,
Wibble-Wobble.
Entourage: I'd prefer a system off simple contracts. A system where the P&H is automatically paid to one system (WGA, SAG, the DGA, etc) as part of the overall budget, e.g. 45 million film budget would contribute to the general P&H fund at a rate of 10% of the budget (on a 45 million dollar budget would mean 4.5 million dollars to the P&H fund), then negotiate a separate "retirement" deposit along with salary, perks, etc.
Failing all that, I wouldn't mind having a cadre of (not unlike Robert Palmer's "addicted to love" girls) sexy girls at my beck and call.
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