The big talent agencies violate the civil rights laws

[NYNEX]

Originally Posted by seh

In both cases where I landed a manager, they read the script, then took me on. They didn't hear me speak until after they decided to rep me.

They had no idea what my ethnic background was.

.

What happened between you and the management firm is IRRELEVANT. Most of them have under 15 employees and rep under 15 screenwriters, so they are not even bound by the EEOC laws and can legally do whatever they want to as far as recruitment goes.

I'm arguing for the right of people to be able to apply to the TOP reps in the industry. I'm arguing that, say for example, an Asian or Latino who is the child of immigrants is much less likely, if it all, to be able to deal with CAA or WMA simply because of the families they were born to (not the Spielbergs or the Coppolas). And that is WRONG and even ILLEGAL.

[NYNEX]

Originally Posted by odocoileus

An agency's process for evaluating talent is precisely both job related and business necessity. So the agencies would be exempt from the disparate impact requirement.

This issue has come up before regarding on camera talent, and the agencies have an exemption in that area. They can specify, as they have to for business reasons, that they want blondes under 25, middle aged Asian men, cute black kids, whatever their requirements.

As was pointed out up thread, the agency is the employee of the writer, for legal purposes, so the law works differently in this case.

This issue has come up before, and in regards to film's the EEOC's current stance is that unless you truly need a person of a certain race for a certain role (a black man can't play Hitler, a Jewish person can't play Malcolm X), is that you cannot use race in determining who plays what part.

Because if the industry had been allowed to totally run with the we can use race in casting, they could have continued to argue that no one wants to see blacks in roles beyond maids or thugs. They once argued it was business necessity to basically not use blacks for anything important. They moved away from that, and it was also because the industry was called out on it's behavior in that regard.

Not just because of cultural changes, but because of these issues as well, you can know find a black person in a movie that takes place in Medieval England or Vanessa Williams can play Calypso, a Greek Goddess.

The agency procures employment for the writer, actor, whoever, so along those lines, they are still bound by the EEOC.

[RogerOThornhill]

I'm arguing for the right of people to be able to apply to the TOP reps in the industry.

And by the way, have your managers gotten you any major deals? Because most of the major deals are closed by the big three. If your managers haven't gotten you a huge deal, you've actually supported my argument, that by and large the industry is CLOSED to outsiders.

This has nothing to do with the EEOC then.

I don't expect to polish up my next draft and have someone at the big three read it just because I want to submit it. Are they supposed to hire a thousand people to read a hundred thousand scripts just so you can have your shot?

I have no right to be read. I have a right to write.

Agency readers cost money, I have no right to force that cost upon them along with thousands of other unsolicited scripts.

Furthermore, in most circumstances, agents and managers are independent contractors with a client-customer relationship. Very rarely is there an employer-employee relationship.

I don't know if this thread is sad or just funny in a bad way...I'll call it sadly funny. I think I shall exercise my right to not post on it anymore.


R.O.T.

[joe9alt]

Originally Posted by NYNEX

I'm arguing for the right of people to be able to apply to the TOP reps in the industry. I'm arguing that, say for example, an Asian or Latino who is the child of immigrants is much less likely, if it all, to be able to deal with CAA or WMA simply because of the families they were born to (not the Spielbergs or the Coppolas). And that is WRONG and even ILLEGAL.

This is totally absurd.

You're not being "hired" by the agency! ALL of them have a "we don't read unsolicited submissions" policy and it applies to EVERYBODY....unless your logline is good enough for a particular agent to sneak your script through the gates for a read.

And besides, the only color these guys and gals care about is GREEN!

If any dust is kicked up over your idiotic complaint I wouldn't be surprised to see the bigger agencies COMPLETELY stop reading unsolicited scripts under any circumstances.

Nice work, NYNEX!

[seh]

Originally Posted by NYNEX

What happened between you and the management firm is IRRELEVANT. Most of them have under 15 employees and rep under 15 screenwriters, so they are not even bound by the EEOC laws and can legally do whatever they want to as far as recruitment goes.

I'm arguing for the right of people to be able to apply to the TOP reps in the industry. I'm arguing that, say for example, an Asian or Latino who is the child of immigrants is much less likely, if it all, to be able to deal with CAA or WMA simply because of the families they were born to (not the Spielbergs or the Coppolas). And that is WRONG and even ILLEGAL.

I'm now at the point where I realize even working on a better script will not help you.

You just want a hand out. You want to blame others for your lack of success, despite the fact the best way in is to equery a log, and in such a situation, ethnic background is invisible. You have large logic holes here - I can't imagine your scripts would be any less flawed.

But good luck to you.

[odocoileus]

The agency procures employment for the writer, actor, whoever, so along those lines, they are still bound by the EEOC.

Not in the same way as employers are. Agencies have a large leeway to decide whom they take on as clients, just as law firms do. I've never heard of a disparate impact case made with regard to choice of clients.

An agency could get dinged if it was explicitly discriminatory, but that's clearly not the case. The major agencies all rep a few black feature writers, TV writers, and showrunners.

The agencies may also be able to use the various fellowships and diversity programs in their defense. If the agencies can show that they specifically read all the minorities from Disney, WB, CBS, Fox, NBC ( and I believe they do), then they're in the clear for sure.

[NYNEX]

No, I don't want a hand out, Seh. I want to be read with the same easy that a child of Spielberg can be read with.

That's what I want. And there's no way in hell you can tell me that an equery is the best way to get read. It isn't, and officially the big agencies do not even deal with equeries.

And there has already been noise made up by this behind the scenes, Joe. I've written several Congressman on the matter, and they've responded to me via mail and by telephone that the matter is being looked into.

So again, the issue is not what the agencies or the industry says, it's what the LAW and the US government say!

[adam612]

I can't believe I just wasted 3 minutes reading this thread. I will never get those 3 minutes back.

[prescribe22]

My advice is to quite writing and take up this cause full time.

Good luck.

[Gillyflower Cooms]

But agencies aren't employers of writers...maybe you need to take up your beef with people that hire and pay writers like studios and production companies. Agencies don't pay you...you pay them...They work for you...You're their boss...and since your screenplay employs hundreds of people when its produced, the responsibility is on you to make sure that all minority producers and executives are given the chance to read your script or the EEOC can come down on your ass for discrimination.