Client/Agent-Networking questions with a Novel Consultant

Here's the transcript of the Q and A event I had organized under the auspices of WeHo in which novel consultant Michele Wallenstein kindly fielded questions on networking in the film industry and the Agent/Client relationship.

Good thing is Michele answered my questions. Thanks a million!

Bad thing was no one else offered questions though the event was promoted and I'd sent messages out to people both on WeHo and off.

C'est le vie...

or Nichevo if I were Russian.

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Client/Agent Question

Hi Michele,

I hear that nowadays, it's recommended that a screenwriter obtain three reps:

1. a manager to provide career guidance
2. an agent to help submit scripts to producers/studios,
3. an entertainment attorney to help negotiate contracts.

If a screenwriter were to obtain an agent from a boutique agency that gives more attention to its clients than an agent from a huge packaging agency like CAA, ICM, and William Morris where writers aren't so valued, will the boutique agent serve the functions of 1 & 2?

Thanks!

Boris

Client/Agent Answer

Q: I hear that nowadays, it's recommended that a screenwriter obtain three reps:

1. a manager to provide career guidance
2. an agent to help submit scripts to producers/studios,
3. an entertainment attorney to help negotiate contracts.

If a screenwriter were to obtain an agent from a boutique agency that gives more attention to its clients than an agent from a huge packaging agency like CAA, ICM, and William Morris where writers aren't so valued, will the boutique agent serve the functions of 1 & 2?

A: Timing is everything. When a writer is just starting out and perhaps has interest in one script, all that's needed is an experienced agent.

Having a manager and attorney may be helpful when one is building a successful career with a few "credits" in one's work history.

The boutique agencies are quite well equipped to handle most aspects of a writer's career. They will know where to submit your material. They will know how to guide your career and/or project. They will know how to negotiate a deal and review a simple contract. In the event that you are lucky enough to have a very complicated deal, then the agent should help you to bring in an attorney to help close the deal and review the paperwork.

If you have an agent that is passionate about your work, you probably won't need anyone else. This is a strong statement, but one that I know to be true.

Moving from a small agency, that believes in you and gets your material read, to a large agency is almost always a mistake. I have never seen a writer's life improve by such a move. Invariably their careers sink into little or nothing.

Michele


Networking Question

Hi Michele,

Since the internet is more pervasive nowadays than it was 10-15 years ago, how well can it serve to help screenwriters living outside of Los Angeles (assuming they have marketable scripts that studios want) to network with major industry players?

Thanks again.

Boris

Networking Answer

Q: "Since the internet is more pervasive nowadays than it was 10-15 years ago, how well can it serve to help screenwriters living outside of Los Angeles (assuming they have marketable scripts that studios want) to network with major industry players?"

A: The absolute best networking is done face to face. Anything that makes working together easier is what one must strive for. Clearly, it is better to have a personal relationship, than a distant one.

That said, if the distance cannot be closed, than one has no other choices but to use telephones and internet.

Hollywood is not simply a state of mind. It is, indeed, a place. It is where the action is and where the buyers are situated. If you are lucky enough to have a "marketable script that the studios want," then it is imperative that you try to move heaven and earth to move to Los Angeles immediately. The expression "out of sight, out of mind" is quite realistic.

You wouldn't expect to work on the Alaskan pipeline while living in Detroit.

Michele