|
EntertainmentIndustry.name
With the fall of the old studio system, agents became increasingly more important — and more powerful. During acceptance speeches, Oscar winners may forget to thank their spouses — but they never forget to thank their reps. They know only too well they wouldn’t be standing there holding that little gold man without a team of people branding, promoting, pitching and packaging them. And quite possibly, having discovered, invented, developed and exploited their talent.
An agent is an individual or company who represents clients and negotiates their contracts for a union standard or agreed-upon commission (usually ten percent).
Agents are salespeople. Their products are their clients. They solicit work on behalf of their clients, negotiate and collect fees and assist in the development of their clients’ careers.
Agents are necessary elements to any career in the entertainment industry because they understand the business, know the big players, have established relationships, know who’s selling what and who’s looking for what — and they know how to sell you and your talents better than you’ll be able to sell yourself.
Recommended reading: a couple of great resources for learning more about agents are: John Scott Lewinsky’s The Screenwriter’s Guide to Agents and Managers, Skip Press’ Writer’s Guide to Hollywood Producers, Directors, and Screenwriter’s Agents: Who They Are! What They Want! And How To Win Them Over! Of course the industry bible reference resource is the Hollywood Creative Directory’s Hollywood Representation Directory.
|
