Deciphering what an agent said

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  • #31
    Re: Deciphering what an agent said

    Originally posted by joe9alt View Post
    If I send somebody a query email saying "SCRIPT A is about X and Y. Would you to read it?"

    And they replied saying, "sounds interesting. Let us take a look...."

    I would immediately interpret that as them saying "send the script" and we'll review it and let you know.

    If you send the script and there are some additional submission procedures you need to adhere to then the assistant will make you aware of those at that time.

    So basically you sent a query and got a read request - that means you send the script. Period.

    All this hemming and hawwing and over-analyzing is crazy to me. You asked if they wanted to read it and they said "let us take a look" -- that means they want to read it.

    What else could it mean?

    Be aggressive. You get no points for being a wall-flower in this business. If it were me I would have replied right away when the query was fresh in the assistant's mind but just reply saying, "Great! Per your request, here is SCRIPT A. I look forward to your thoughts."

    Case closed.
    Ugh, where were you yesterday with this post. You're right, I shouldn't have played coy and waited for an answer. My script is at the agency now, but with other assistants and agents. I'm still waiting for this person to reply to me. If I don't get a reply, I'll just send it.
    Thanks!

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    • #32
      Re: Deciphering what an agent said

      Originally posted by NoNeckJoe View Post
      What Joe just said.

      As I see it, there is a ton of bad advice being doled out in this thread. I say this as someone who has gotten repped by some pretty solid companies through cold queries over the years, so I believe I know this game pretty well by now. "Let us have a look" means let us read and get back to you, so just send a pdf of your script back and say thanks. The end.
      And the conviction which it's being doled out with is freakin' mind boggling to me.

      How you been NoNeck? Been awhile. Drop me a line and let me know what you've been up to.
      "I hate to break it to you but there is no big lie. There is no system. The universe is indifferent.- - Don Draper

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      • #33
        Re: Deciphering what an agent said

        Originally posted by Filmmagician View Post
        Ugh, where were you yesterday with this post. You're right, I shouldn't have played coy and waited for an answer. My script is at the agency now, but with other assistants and agents. I'm still waiting for this person to reply to me. If I don't get a reply, I'll just send it.
        Thanks!
        Reply to...what? You already emailed him pitching the script and he said "let us take a look" - did you send a subsequent email asking what he meant by "us" or "look" or whatever?

        Also, the script is already at CAA with another agent? Did I miss that part of the thread?
        "I hate to break it to you but there is no big lie. There is no system. The universe is indifferent.- - Don Draper

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        • #34
          Re: Deciphering what an agent said

          Originally posted by joe9alt View Post
          Reply to...what? You already emailed him pitching the script and he said "let us take a look" - did you send a subsequent email asking what he meant by "us" or "look" or whatever?

          Also, the script is already at CAA with another agent? Did I miss that part of the thread?
          It's at CAA via a screenwriter who passed my script onto other agent assistants. Yeah, I wrote back asking for clarification They wrote back saying "Do you have a relationship with anyone here, we have strict unsolicited materials' policy." I said I knew a screenwriter who referred me to other agents' assistants/readers and to get back with you. I can sign release forms or get my lawyer to submit and notary for me - also registered at WGA. That was last night at almost 8:00pm LA time. Nothing back yet.

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          • #35
            Re: Deciphering what an agent said

            Originally posted by Filmmagician View Post
            It's at CAA via a screenwriter who passed my script onto other agent assistants.
            So you got a referral from a screenwriter repped at CAA. Great. I'm guessing he most likely passed it to his agent's assistant's though, and not just a bunch of assistants. What you do now is wait and after a few weeks maybe follow up with the screenwriter.

            Originally posted by Filmmagician View Post
            Yeah, I wrote back asking for clarification They wrote back saying "Do you have a relationship with anyone here, we have strict unsolicited materials' policy." I said I knew the screenwriter to referred me to to other agents' assistants/readers and to get back with you. I can sign release forms or get my lawyer to submit and notary for me - also registered at WGA. That was last night at almost 8:00pm LA time. Nothing back yet.
            This is where you're confusing me. I'm interepreting the above to mean you already have the script at CAA with the screenwriter's agent or the screenwriter's agent's assistant. Did you then query other agents at CAA and use the screenwriter's name? It's not a total party foul but I wouldn't have done that. Your referral or "in" at the agency is the screenwriter who was kind enough to slip your script to somebody there. You don't want the dude to wind up with a bunch of emails from CAA people saying, "hey, did you tell this cat to email us with his script?" when that's not what he did.

            It's not the end of the world, though. I would just take a breath and step back. Focus on the guy who gave you the referral. Check in with him in 3-4 weeks and politely ask if he's heard anything. If you're nearby, take him to coffee or beers and try to cultivate that relationship and pick his brain a little bit if he's open to it. All in all...just chill a little, man.
            "I hate to break it to you but there is no big lie. There is no system. The universe is indifferent.- - Don Draper

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            • #36
              Re: Deciphering what an agent said

              What Joe said. This was a clear read request. Not "let us think long and hard about your query letter."

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              • #37
                Re: Deciphering what an agent said

                Originally posted by joe9alt View Post
                So you got a referral from a screenwriter repped at CAA. Great. I'm guessing he most likely passed it to his agent's assistant's though, and not just a bunch of assistants. What you do now is wait and after a few weeks maybe follow up with the screenwriter.



                This is where you're confusing me. I'm interepreting the above to mean you already have the script at CAA with the screenwriter's agent or the screenwriter's agent's assistant. Did you then query other agents at CAA and use the screenwriter's name? It's not a total party foul but I wouldn't have done that. Your referral or "in" at the agency is the screenwriter who was kind enough to slip your script to somebody there. You don't want the dude to wind up with a bunch of emails from CAA people saying, "hey, did you tell this cat to email us with his script?"

                It's not the end of the world, though. I would just take a breath and step back. Focus on the guy who gave you the referral. Check in with him in 3-4 weeks and politely ask if he's heard anything. If you're nearby, take him to coffee or beers and try to cultivate that relationship and pick his brain a little bit if he's open to it. All in all...just chill a little, man.

                Ugh, damn. Yeah, you're right about all of that. I don't want to get my friend in trouble at all, and I only told her that CAA was interested after I got an e-mail reply, then she went ahead and passed it on to some other assistants. She's super busy, I'll just wait till she gets back to me. She said they take forever to read stuff there. I'm not nearby her.
                My next move was to just send the script to the agent that I've been in contact with and say, here it is, I'll wait to hear back - at your leisure of course. Maybe one of the other assistants will like it and pass it on to their agent and they'll contact me - that's what I'm hoping for right now. hah.

                Thanks for the info/tips. I'll keep you posted.

                Comment


                • #38
                  Re: Deciphering what an agent said

                  Originally posted by Filmmagician View Post
                  Yeah, I wrote back asking for clarification They wrote back saying "Do you have a relationship with anyone here, we have strict unsolicited materials' policy."
                  Wow, this is getting confusing!

                  Since there's a major difference of opinion here, I'd really like to know what the best approach is in this situation.

                  So what happened, exactly? Was the initial response a script request or not?

                  You asked for clarification and they responded by saying they have a strict policy against unsolicited submissions? That kinda makes it seem like the original response WASN'T a script request.

                  But now they might accept your script because someone referred it? To someone else at the company?

                  And why would they ask you if you have a relationship with anyone at the company? Did they think you might when they first responded to your query letter? No one's ever asked me that before.

                  Good grief...

                  Shouldn't a clarification make things EASIER to understand?



                  Anyways, I hope you hear back from them today with a clarification on your clarification. But I don't think we can discount the possibity that the assistant simply enjoys messing with writers.

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                  • #39
                    Re: Deciphering what an agent said

                    Originally posted by Filmmagician View Post
                    Agencies take forever to do most anything. Sounds promising, I'd say. I think it's good to keep touching base - but not in an annoying way of course. I wouldn't give up at all. Just give it time. A few boutique agencies took three months to reply to me after a read...
                    Thanks, much. It makes sense. I suppose, given her enthusiasm, I quickly leapt to the assumption that IT'S GOING OUT TOMORROW. Ha. If she's making a list, does that mean "going wide"? or could that mean sending to producers who would then try to sell it. What specs show up on, say, the Powergrid news on The Wrap or spec scout. Sorry... I'm a noob.

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                    • #40
                      Re: Deciphering what an agent said

                      Yeah, I'm with Gary on this one. I'm completely confused. Though that's a normal state with me.

                      Every read request I've gotten (admittedly, very few) have always been: send it.

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                      • #41
                        Re: Deciphering what an agent said

                        All the other stuff is confusing -- the referral, the fact that it's already at CAA, the follow up -- that's all totally confusing.

                        My only point was if you query somebody and they respond with "sounds interesting. let us take a look and we'll get back to you" -- then your next move should be to send your script so they can TAKE THAT LOOK -- if they want some kind of release signed after then they'll tell you.
                        "I hate to break it to you but there is no big lie. There is no system. The universe is indifferent.- - Don Draper

                        Comment


                        • #42
                          Re: Deciphering what an agent said

                          Joe, I agree with you. No one is going to reply, essentially, "Let us look over your letter and get back to you."

                          They've already seen the letter, that's why they are replying. No one is going to waste the time telling you they read your letter, but, yet, let us take a further look at the letter we've already read and get back to you." They'd either read the query, like the concept and want to read the script, or not reply. No one is going to write back to you telling you basically, "I liked your letter."

                          They don't have time for that kind of nonsense.

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                          • #43
                            Re: Deciphering what an agent said

                            You are very much not wrong. I sent the script. Made it like they expected it. Hope this works out well.
                            I'll keep you posted.
                            Thanks for the advice guys.

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