Any info on ANTON DIETHER or WL screenplay agency?

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  • Any info on ANTON DIETHER or WL screenplay agency?

    Hi everyone,
    I'm new on this forum and already annoying you with questions! Have any of you ever deal with Anton Diether or WL screenplay agency? They are quite new, but they've landed few sales already. It's quite urgent, I have a decision to make quite quickly, and I need some info in order to do it. I've check on web, but your personal experiences are more valuable then what I've found on web. Thanks in advance.

  • #2
    Re: Any info on ANTON DIETHER or WL screenplay agency?

    What does WL stand for? Never heard of this outfit.
    http://www.pjmcilvaine.com/

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    • #3
      Re: Any info on ANTON DIETHER or WL screenplay agency?

      Well, their "Unsolicited Positive Testimonials" page links to this:

      http://www.theliteraryagencygroup.com/positives.html

      So, you might wanna take a look at this:

      http://timetowrite.blogs.com/weblog/...ncy-group.html

      Fifteen seconds of googling says "scam."

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      • #4
        Re: Any info on ANTON DIETHER or WL screenplay agency?

        I've found the same info, but I'm not sure if it's the same agency. Check Anton Diether, he's quite respected in the industry. Thanks anyway.

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        • #5
          Re: Any info on ANTON DIETHER or WL screenplay agency?

          This Anton is a writer who is what? A manager? An agent? His website is pretty...rudimentary. I will give him slack because he wrote the teleplay for MOBY DICK which had my luscious Ted Levine, but other than that, I'm not sure what he's doing.
          http://www.pjmcilvaine.com/

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          • #6
            Re: Any info on ANTON DIETHER or WL screenplay agency?

            The two websites are linked together for testimonials, but you're not sure if it's the same agency? Seriously?

            Welcome to the board, Anton.

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            • #7
              Re: Any info on ANTON DIETHER or WL screenplay agency?

              it's a fucking scam!

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              • #8
                Re: Any info on ANTON DIETHER or WL screenplay agency?

                Didn't realized I'd queried them ... but here's the reply that just came in:

                "Thank you for your inquiry. All scripts listed on the Ten Best Scripts lists areWriters Literary clients or writers who have submitted professional coverage. We only accept scripts that have had a review or coverage done by a recognized professional critique service. If you have one, please submit it for review. If you are interested in our Writers Literary critique and editing services in order to qualify for the Ten Best Scripts lists, please visit Writers Literary. ..."

                Looks like a scam to me.
                Ralph Roberts
                Director SkyFest http://skyfest.net
                Producer http://1vid.com
                author of over 100 books, member SFWA, MWA
                IMDB: http://imdb.me/ralphroberts
                March 2011 CELTX: OPEN SOURCE SCREENWRITING

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Any info on ANTON DIETHER or WL screenplay agency?

                  WL Screenplay agency is a well known scam.

                  They even made Writer Beware's 20 Worst Agents list.

                  They are known under many, many names including:
                  -Children's Literary Agency
                  -Christian Literary Agency
                  -New York Literary Agency
                  -Poets Literary Agency
                  -The Screenplay Agency
                  -Stylus Literary Agency
                  -ST Literary Agency
                  -Writers Literary Publishing Services Company

                  Try typing 'WL Literary Agency' into a Google search box. It gets as far as 'WL Lit' before suggesting these three suggestions:
                  WL Literary Agency
                  WL Literary Agency Scam
                  WL Literary Agency Group

                  It's not a good sign when 'scam' becomes part of the recognised identity of your company !

                  If you send your script they will like it and suggest you get a professional edit. They'll send you for editing to someone who meets their quality criteria - that happens to be an affiliated company.

                  Mac
                  Last edited by Mac H.; 04-01-2010, 11:26 PM.
                  New blogposts:
                  *Followup - Seeking Investors in all the wrong places
                  *Preselling your film - Learning from the Experts
                  *Getting your indie film onto iTunes
                  *Case Study - Estimating Film profits

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                  • #10
                    Re: Any info on ANTON DIETHER or WL screenplay agency?

                    Scam. Waste of Time. It will hurt your career.
                    Assistant at UTA, training to be a Talent/Lit agent.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Any info on ANTON DIETHER or WL screenplay agency?

                      The main player (scammer) is supposedly Robert M. Fletcher, with various addresses in Florida.
                      In addition to being a wanna-be screenwriter, I am a major media freelance journalist for Reuters, ABC News, MSNBC, etc. I just got a good story from this post (thanks).
                      These guys are apparently major fraud artists, and it looks like their day of reckoning is about to come. Based on numerous complaints from scammed writers who paid money and got nothing (or very little) in return, the Florida Attorney General's Economic Crimes Unit has launched an investigation. You can find the actual AG court papers by Googling "Robert M. Fletcher, Florida Attorney General." An amazing read. And a cautionary tale.
                      Last edited by jtwg50; 04-02-2010, 06:59 AM.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Any info on ANTON DIETHER or WL screenplay agency?

                        Originally posted by jtwg50 View Post
                        The main player (scammer) is supposedly Robert M. Fletcher, with various addresses in Florida.
                        In addition to being a wanna-be screenwriter, I am a major media freelance journalist for Reuters, ABC News, MSNBC, etc. I just got a good story from this post (thanks).
                        These guys are apparently major fraud artists, and it looks like their day of reckoning is about to come. Based on numerous complaints from scammed writers who paid money and got nothing (or very little) in return, the Florida Attorney General's Economic Crimes Unit has launched an investigation. You can find the actual AG court papers by Googling "Robert M. Fletcher, Florida Attorney General." An amazing read. And a cautionary tale.
                        from the Florida Attorney General's court docs "...hundreds of thousands of dollars annually..." ... appalling.

                        I look forward to reading your story.

                        --Ralph
                        Ralph Roberts
                        Director SkyFest http://skyfest.net
                        Producer http://1vid.com
                        author of over 100 books, member SFWA, MWA
                        IMDB: http://imdb.me/ralphroberts
                        March 2011 CELTX: OPEN SOURCE SCREENWRITING

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Any info on ANTON DIETHER or WL screenplay agency?

                          Hi, author -- this is turning out to be very cool (the first actual work and pay I ever got directly from DD, although not in film).
                          I just officially got the assignment from Reuters to do this story. That means it will run all over the world and the facts will be obvious to all.
                          Since my last post, I talked to the woman who brought the original complaint to the Florida AG after working with the FBI for 6 months.
                          She said these characters (mostly Fletcher and his main accomplice, his girlfriend) have ripped off literally "thousands and thousands" of writers, including many, many screeenwriters. Average take apparerntly turns out to be several hundred dollars per victim, sometimes more.
                          She dubbed him "the Bernie Madoff of online writer scams."
                          The Florida AG lawsuit is seeking damages of $10,000 for every act of fraud -- and there are a bejillion noted in the court papers.
                          I'm still hunting for this Anton Deither. Nothing to report yet.
                          I'll post the link to my Reuters story here when it appears next week.
                          Personally, what distresses me is that any DD'er, (like OP) would be naive enough to take this sort of thing seriously.
                          There is only one rule -- NO LEGITIMATE AGENT EVER CHARGES A PENNY FOR ANYTHING UPFRONT -- NOT EVEN POSTAGE. As soon as they ask, you know it's a scam. That's the message here.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Any info on ANTON DIETHER or WL screenplay agency?

                            I believe Anton Diether in German means "Buyer Beware."

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                            • #15
                              Re: Any info on ANTON DIETHER or WL screenplay agency?

                              I have a TV series that I was looking for an agent to represent. I found the site for the Writer's Literary Agency. Stupidly, I didn't take time to research them thoroughly. I checked with the BBB, but nothing turned up. So, I contacted the Writer's Literary Agency about the project...

                              They agreed to represent the series but only if I paid out-of-pocket for a critique. I know that good agents don't charge up front. But, their claims that they "needed to be sure that the project was up to industry standards before shopping it around- sounded logical. So, I paid for the critique. That was nearly a full year ago, but I think that was $90 out of my pocket.

                              After the critique, I was told that the series's pilot script needed up undergo editing. Again, this was an expense that needed to be paid by me. I ended up paying for three one-hour editing sessions. I don't even recall the total now, but it was over $200, I believe.

                              After the editing, I was told by my "agent- that the project was to go into a database for a time. There, I was told, the project would turn up in keyword searches by potential producers. A couple of months went by and my "agent- told me that the project had turned up in a couple of these searches and that she was following up on those leads. About a month later I was told what amounted to, "Sorry, but neither place bought it- and given the suggestion of an optional marketing method. This new method, of course, meant more money ($175 this time) out of my pocket. Stupidly, I agreed and paid.

                              During all of this, I'd been pursuing this project on my own, wanting to help it to get sold ASAP. I had amassed a list of nearly 40 people who are interested in working on this series as either cast or crew. Whenever I'd tell my "agent- about the interest I was getting, I'd be told some variation of "Great news! Keep up the good work!- or something to that effect.

                              While waiting on the new marketing method to get going, things fell into place on my end. Long story short, I've ended up with an LA-based producer who wants the series and wants to move on it NOW. I contacted my "agent- to let her know. All I received was total silence. The producer keeps e-mailing me, asking for things so that we can get moving on this. I kept contacting my "agent- and getting no response. The producer contacted her, CCing me on the e-mail. We received only silence. I called and left messages on the Writer's Literary Agency's automated phone system. And received only silence.

                              Finally, after about a week of practically begging my "agent- to do her job, I started getting e-mail from other people at the Writer's Literary Agency. Basically, they were completely ignoring what I was saying and trying to push ahead with the new marketing ploy I'd paid the $175 for. I would write back, telling them that was no longer needed and asking for that money to be refunded to me. I'd receive only silence for a few days before getting another "let's move forward with the new marketing- e-mail.

                              After several days of this, I finally sent the Writer's Literary Agency notice - by way of e-mail to the 13 contact e-mail addresses I had, a certified letter and yet another message left on their phone system - that I was terminating my contract with them.

                              At that point, I began a search for a new agent, hoping to find one before the producer who wants this series says enough is enough and loses interest.

                              Yesterday, days after I sent out the termination notice to the Writer's Literary Agency, I received and e-mail from their "VP of the Writer's Literary Script Division- apologizing for my "agent- and her lack of response. The message is asking me to turn the project over to him and he will turn it over to another "agent- and can also "advise me in the negotiations-. Not trusting the Writer's Literary Agency after all of this, I did a search for the "VP- I heard from today. That search led me to this forum and discussion.

                              So, that's where everything is now - I have a producer wanting the project, my "agent- left me high and dry after I paid all the money they asked for and I hope I can find a real agent to represent the project before the producer loses interest in this.

                              Scott Harper
                              http://www.wix.com/scott_harper/scott-harper

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