UK Representation.

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  • UK Representation.

    Hi,

    I'm currently making a list of agencies to hopefully send a pilot and a feature length script to. Obviously first I'm going to send out query letters or an email.

    So far I've got:

    Rod Hall
    Dench Arnold
    David Higham
    Darly Anderson
    Marjacq
    Tennyson Agency

    Can anyone recommend any others??? I'm just after agencies in the UK at the moment because the pilot i've written is very much directed towards the English market.

    And would you send letters or emails or is there any harm in both? I don't want to seem like a pest.

    Thanks

  • #2
    Re: UK Representation.

    Originally posted by Hal_88 View Post
    Hi,

    I'm currently making a list of agencies to hopefully send a pilot and a feature length script to. Obviously first I'm going to send out query letters or an email.

    So far I've got:

    Rod Hall
    Dench Arnold
    David Higham
    Darly Anderson
    Marjacq
    Tennyson Agency

    Can anyone recommend any others??? I'm just after agencies in the UK at the moment because the pilot i've written is very much directed towards the English market.

    And would you send letters or emails or is there any harm in both? I don't want to seem like a pest.

    Thanks
    Do some more research. Darley Anderson reps authors not screenwriters - as do a few others on your list. You're missing all the main players - The Agency, Curtis Brown, United Agents, WME London, and Independent Talent (formerly ICM London).

    Emails versus letters. If you're outside the UK pick an agent at each of these agencies and send them an email.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: UK Representation.

      Cheers magic man,

      I went on the website and it said Literary, TV & Film agency so I assumed they accepted scripts. My bad.

      I live in the UK.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: UK Representation.

        I live in London and I find it much easier to query agents/managers in the US rather than in the UK.

        And I have received some pretty weird responses from agents in the UK.

        So I am still wondering myself, does it worth it to query agents/managers in the UK? Or is it a waste of time? I don't have the answer though.

        In addition to the above you could also try: Casarotto Ramsey & Assoc, Linda Seifert, Sayle Screen, PFD, Friedman/Blake, AP Watt, Alan Brodie, Lou Colson, Cecil Ware Lit or even the BBC's Writersroom. There are more agencies that actually rep screenwriters. You could easily find them by doing a bit more research.

        If you are focused in writing for the screen then it will be an uphill battle. Agents in the UK tend to push their clients to do TV work. If you want to go down this path as well, then go for it. If you don't, it will be very tough.

        Best of luck

        "Artificial Intelligence will never match the efficiency of Natural Stupidity"

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: UK Representation.

          I had a great agent in London, who'd been in business since 1931. Found her through the Writers and Artists Yearbook, a good resource for writers.

          Back then TV was the market for writers, and not just screenwriters. Novelists were also writing for it, and I was churning out script after script for "Play for Today", "Play of the Week", and so on. Eventually the people reading were also branching out into cinema, and I got my first feature commission that way. Unfortunately those venues are long gone. Otherwise I'd still be writing for them, even now that I'm back in the States.

          But we had a great pool of actors to draw from, some top-notch directors, and a lot of support on both the BBC and, eventually, the ITV side. (We also only had four channels at the time.)

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: UK Representation.

            Hi guys, thanks a lot for the replies.

            I would like to send my feature and pilot out into the U.S but I'm a bit worried seeing as it's my first feature and a low budget looking one at that, what I mean by that is nothing much happens as far as action, it's dialogue and character.

            I've also heard you get one shot at these things as a writer. I'll keep writing and send my pilot to the BBC writers room, no harm done.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: UK Representation.

              That's funny, because back in the late 70s-early 80s, when UK TV was going through its golden age, pretty much everything was character and dialogue. That's a tougher sell hereabouts.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: UK Representation.

                Nice Beckett quote Schuster,

                Also is there a point in sending out queries when I've only written a few pilots and this is the strongest one? I think there is because it has that nice mixture of a good story and commercial appeal (I hate saying that last part, it was written with that in mind)

                I just don't want to send query letters to 20 places then send the first 10 pages to 15 places and get 3 replies and then I have 20 agencies that have me filed under cliched drama pilot that sucked.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: UK Representation.

                  And I have received some pretty weird responses from agents in the UK.

                  Like what?
                  I'm just curious.
                  Are they arrogant or what?

                  I'd like to know how it works over there.

                  T

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: UK Representation.

                    Originally posted by Takezo View Post
                    And I have received some pretty weird responses from agents in the UK.

                    Like what?
                    I'm just curious.
                    Are they arrogant or what?

                    I'd like to know how it works over there.

                    T
                    Hi T.

                    How ya doing? I've enjoyed quite a few of your posts. A couple made me scratch my head... but reflection is a good thing. You strike me as an aggressive, furiously-driven son-of-a-gun wrapped in a laid-back package.

                    (Not that this post in particular strikes me as such)

                    I bet you have your finger in a lot of H-wood pies. Salute!
                    Doth thou desirest a slapping? - William Shakespeare

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: UK Representation.

                      Originally posted by Takezo View Post
                      And I have received some pretty weird responses from agents in the UK.

                      Like what?
                      I'm just curious.
                      Are they arrogant or what?

                      I'd like to know how it works over there.

                      T
                      Some of them were very arrogant - treated the script like the work of someone that belongs to gutter trash. It may not be a great script but it has placed well in competitions...

                      Some others said that the script was too American...

                      I don't blame them; in a way. A lot of British films are made for the British market and not the international, where American films have a more universal appeal.

                      Since then I don't query UK agents much - with a few, very few, exceptions.

                      "Artificial Intelligence will never match the efficiency of Natural Stupidity"

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: UK Representation.

                        Originally posted by Hal_88 View Post
                        Hi guys, thanks a lot for the replies.

                        I would like to send my feature and pilot out into the U.S but I'm a bit worried seeing as it's my first feature and a low budget looking one at that, what I mean by that is nothing much happens as far as action, it's dialogue and character.

                        I've also heard you get one shot at these things as a writer. I'll keep writing and send my pilot to the BBC writers room, no harm done.
                        When my agent was sending work to the BBC and the ITV companies, these were one-off scripts made for the venues already in place for them ("Play for Today", "Play of the Week", etc.). If you were produced for one of these you were in great company: Pinter, Stoppard, Simon Gray, David Hare, Alan Bennett, Vaclav Havel (back when he was a dissident).

                        Those days are gone, and though I'm American I was able to write "English" with no problem whatsoever (my first novel was published in the UK and my editor, till he met me, believed I was British by birth), so that I could compete with other writers.

                        I never attempted to write a pilot, because at least in those days series TV was written by some of the great established names in the business, and it was tough breaking into that specialized market.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: UK Representation.

                          Well Charisma you pegged me somewhat correct.
                          I am furious--but not so fast anymore.
                          And I am laid back at this particular moment with two fingers of Maker's Mark at hand.
                          And no I don't have my hand in a lot of Hollywood pies.
                          The only pie I wish I had my hand in is Charlies Therone... ooops can you say that here?!

                          And for spacefarer... if they treat you like gutter trash and are contemptful--I suggest a cricket bat.
                          This is what they were made for.
                          Some good old "soccer thug" rage may bring these ponces down a peg or so.

                          But seriously... if you are writing an "american style" screenplay, this is good.
                          If this is your critique--this is not a bad thing.
                          I mean how many remakes of "Sense And Sensibility" can we take before someone pushes a red button and nukes London?!

                          I suggest you query American reps and agencies... for one if you do happen to get a response and a meeting, you can carry the thing along with your British accent. Because it makes you people seem a whole lot smarter (and you are) for being able to converse in the Queen's English--unlike the chimpanzee like screeches I've heard coming from some agents and producers.

                          And in closing for both of you.
                          The material must speak for itself.
                          If must be written for the market--and not seem like it needs a ****e-load of development.
                          Also don't write a massively huge picture.
                          Joe sent me a copy of his script--and I went through it without stopping.
                          He hit all the nails on the head with this one, and it sold, and got him a slot at UTA.
                          It was freakin' tight with well developed characters.
                          If you can do half as good as this--you're in the ballpark.

                          T
                          Last edited by Takezo; 05-24-2009, 11:43 AM.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: UK Representation.

                            Originally posted by Takezo View Post

                            And for spacefarer... if they treat you like gutter trash and are contemptful--I suggest a cricket bat.
                            This is what they were made for.
                            Some good old "soccer thug" rage may bring these ponces down a peg or so.
                            Ah, **** 'em. I don't bother any more. It was long time ago. Besides, what goes around, comes around, no? It's a small world. Only 6.7 bil and counting....


                            Originally posted by Takezo View Post
                            But seriously... if you are writing an "american style" screenplay, this is good.
                            If this is your critique--this is not a bad thing.
                            I didn't see it as a bad thing. Actually I saw it as a good thing. To stop wasting my time

                            Originally posted by Takezo View Post
                            I mean how many remakes of "Sense And Sensibility" can we take before someone pushes a red button and nukes London?!
                            That was ****ing funny. No need to nuke though

                            Originally posted by Takezo View Post
                            Joe sent me a copy of his script--and I went through it without stopping.
                            He hit all the nails on the head with this one, and it sold, and got him a slot at UTA.
                            It was freakin' tight with well developed characters.
                            If you can do half as good as this--you're in the ballpark.

                            T
                            Thanks for the encouragement. I am working on it. Don't know if I will get there, but I am working on it. 24/7, 365.

                            "Artificial Intelligence will never match the efficiency of Natural Stupidity"

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: UK Representation.

                              So is there a comprehensive list of managers to query? It's just when I go to the sites of these top managers and agencies they all say we don't accept unsolicited material. Does that mean they don't even look at queries?

                              This is obviously for future reference but living in the UK do you think I should send it out here first, to say 15 places, reactions to queries permitting of course. Or do I throw it all over L.A as well?

                              Sorry if this has been covered.

                              Comment

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