Decoding agent and manager searches

[SundownInRetreat]

Okay,

I activated my 14 day free trial of imdb and will join donedeal on payday. I checked Emily's link to WGA agencies and had a noodle. And got immediately stuck.

At random I checked Affinity Artists Agency - they have just 2 entries in 30 years. Does this mean they should be avoided or does it not matter that they have few credits because they may have got gigs for writers at studios?

Likewise I checked Above The Line Agency and what seemed ominous was that their filmography was inaccessible (or blank) and that all clients had the same agent - Rima Greer - and so appeared like a one man operation with no track record. However there are major writing credits amongst the clients including
Bill and Ted, Constantine, Highlander and Jumanji.

I am trying to do my own research but am struggling with making sense of the info I obtain. Help is much appreciated.

Thanks

[jtwg50]

Sundown: That's really a tough issue, because the truth is, there's almost no resource that is 100% accurate and reliable. I subscribe to DoneDealPro, IMDBPro and It's On the Grid (Jason Scoggins' site) and none of those three have every deal and absolutely up to the minute information, for a number of reasons. The best you can do, really, is juggle all three and cross-compare slightly different kinds of reporting. Hollywood Creative Directory is also good, but even more expensive.
And as for your question about agents or managers and their track record, I firmly believe that it's a waste of time (and your talent) to go with an agent or manager who has no discernible history of spec sales. Of course, YOU might become the first, but to me that's too much risk. I was offered representation from two such management firms last year and in both cases ended up declining and holding our for someone better -- with the same script. It took me a few months longer, but I ended up getting signed by a well known and very respected agent with a long history of spec sales and breaking in new writers.
If you really believe in yourself and your work, my advice is to do the same. Otherwise, you're rolling the dice on an unproven commodity. And this business is tough enough even with a great agent or manager. Not even the current king of the hill, Mike Esola (WME) or Adam Kolbrenner (Madhouse) sell everything they send out. In fact, the best results for the very best agents and managers are about 1 in 3 (scripts sold versus sent out).
I hope this helps. Good luck and welcome to DD.,

[JeffLowell]

Check spec sales in genres you write.

Check assignments in genres you write.

Checks credits in genres you write.

Find out who reps those writers.

You have your list.

[SundownInRetreat]

Thanks for the replies guys but I am still stuck (and I realise I look totally stupid!).

JTW, I hear your point about avoiding those without track records but my point is that even with IMDBpro, I am not sure who has and who hasn't. Like I said, Above The Line have no credits listed and cite only one agent and so seem like a cheap, one man band and one to avoid but a closer look at their clients and you find writers who have written some massive hits. So are they still one to avoid?


Jeff, the advice you offer sounds uber simple - yet I'm messing up. IMDbPro doesn't have a spec sale section (not that I can find anyway) so as a quick test I looked at "Insidious" which is a low budget horror film like one I've penned.

Production company details: FilmDistrict (plus a "more" button). Yay! I'm off and running right? Err, not quite. I click on FilmDistrict and yet all their credits list them as "distributor" only - no production credits.

I click on the "more" button and get:

FilmDistrict
Stage 6 Films
Alliance Films
IM Global
Haunted Movies

Only Haunted Movies get "production company" credit for "Insidious" so no idea why the others are listed.

There is a "Sales Rep" listing (IM Global) but no idea if that relates to the selling of the script or selling the finished film around the world or whatever.

So at this point I decide to check out the writer and click on his name in the film's credits. Under "Talent Agent" I find four listings for the same talent agency (two are blank and two list two different agents), a manager listing and a publicist (who I'll ignore).

Of the talent agent reps, I've no which, if any, made the sale but I have names so I'm on the home straight, right? Yet when I click on "contact" for both - I get the same office number and web address only, nothing specific for either. Okay, I can try and guess what their emails might be but of the expected info: prod co, manager, agent, the only details I am sure of are for the manager.. I'm sure it's me that's messing up at this point but the fact I don't know what I'm doing wrong isn't filling me with confidence in seaching further. Hence me asking for help.

[Bunker]

I'm not really sure what you're asking from us, Sundown.

The subject is "Decoding agent and manager searches" and what you have to do is, well... "decode."

IMDBPro is a great resource, but they're not infallible and they're not omnipotent. They don't have all the information, and sometimes they're not quite sure where to put the information they do have.

In the case of INSIDIOUS, it was written by the SAW guys, but made independently (ie, outside the studio system). Meaning there's a chance that their reps weren't very involved in the project. Also, with independent movies, anyone who throws a few thousand bucks in the bucket can get a producer credit. So, you're going to need to do a lot of research to see if you can determine who did what, and who has the power to move a project forward.

As for the companies that rep the writers of BILL AND TED... have those writers done anything in the past 25 years? Has that company? Again, IMDBPro (and other sites) takes the information they have access to and finds a place for it. That place isn't necessarily accurate and it doesn't necessarily reflect the realities of the power structure of the industry. Sometimes, you'll hit a deadend where your research yields no workable leads. That's fine. Move on to the next one.

But by using all of the sites dedicated to the industry, and all the reports on projects and people, you can usually create a fairly accurate portrayal of who's doing what.

[BattleDolphinZero]

I would focus on managers and small but legit producers.

[SundownInRetreat]

Thx Bunker,

I’m not asking to be spoon fed so apologies if that's how it's coming across, I’m just showing how uncertain I am at the info listed. If I just got a prod co name or agent then I’d be okay with that and would know I’d need to research “those” details.

The confusion is when I see companies listed with production credits yet only 1 of 6 has said cfredit when I delve further in an effort to decode. And the confusion continues when I try to act on the advice of “see who repped the writer” and get multiple details or "who made the sale?" and I can't find the details.

You pointed out that Insidious was made outside of the studio system but I didn't know that - so part of me asking for help is where to find such information.

With regards to the writers of Jumanji and Bill & Ted doing any other work since, I assumed that any credits would show up under the filmography for the agency they are signed to - hence why I was querying why an agency with some big name writers didn't list their credits (or had none to list).

So you see, I'm not asking people to do my work for me, just giveme pointers in where to look and what to look for.

Maybe I need the other sites as well (will have to wait until payday for that) but as it stands right now, it’s all higgledy piggledy. Even Jeff’s advice isn’t possible via IMBdPro, not to my knowledge anyway, as it doesn't list spec sales or sales via genre.