the turkey day break begins. plus, some info on agents and managers.
The quote of the day:
There'll be no breathing in this family. You get the sentence out in one try.
Today was mostly spent on airplanes, asleep, and falling into the extended Adler family get-together routine of eating, playing Hearts, and watching TV.
I even slept on the propeller plane we take from Chicago to Traverse City. When we boarded, I thought, This plane is so noisy I definitely won't sleep. Next thing I knew we were landing in Traverse City.
We watched some of Buffy--Darin's grandmother made noises about our filling our heads with trash and this kind of show is the reason that our society is so violent. Darin called her on it (yet another sign of how his family is different from mine).
Then we watched the final Bobby Simone episode of NYPD Blue. The episode was so long and so drawn out that at every commercial break (which seemed like every 30 seconds), I kept saying, "Is he dead yet?" Which isn't the most reverent attitude, but the show was so stretched out as to be laughable.
I was about to make a comment about how people really get worked up over tearjerkers like that--before I turned around and noticed that Darin's Aunt Lil was crying.
There are 4 computers (3 of them Powerbooks, 1 a desk Mac) in the tiny living room of the house in Traverse City where Darin's Dad grew up.
I'm just impressed we're not all using them at the same time.
I like my manager, if for no other reason than we had a good meeting. Since meetings are a staple of any relationship in this town, I'd better get used to ranking them.
This manager has done quite well by the two of his clients that I know of, both former USC students who had the same thesis advisor I did. I am willing to give this some time and approach it in good faith. (And in comparison to the relationship Linda has told me about between her and her manager, I'm already quite pleased with mine.) Darin says I should explain the difference between agents and managers. I'll see how I do without my various reference books:
| Agents | Managers |
|---|---|
| Has lots and lots of clients. | Has fewer clients, can take a more hands-on approach. |
| -------------------- | |
| Licensed by the state of California. | Not licensed by the state. |
| If you're looking for an agent or manager, only go with one who's in Los Angeles -- or maybe New York, but they'd better be really good if they're in NYC. Don't bother with an agent in Texas, or Colorado, or Pennsylvania. The business in Los Angeles, and not only should you be here, but your agent has to be here for the schmoozefests and the lunches. Really. | |
| -------------------- | |
| Can only take 10% of your earnings. | Can take any percentage, usually 15%. |
| -------------------- | |
| Can't be a producer. | Can be a producer. |
| Some managers have become notorious for taking both a percentage of the writer's fees and a producer's fee from the studio for producing. This is known as double dipping and if you have a manager who does this, run screaming from the room. | |
| -------------------- | |
| Can negotiate contracts. | Can't negotiate contracts. |
Terry Rossio, professional screenwriter and proprietor of Wordplay, doesn't think much of managers:
Could someone explain why it is more beneficial to have an agent rather than a manager, or vice versa?
In theory, a manager manages a writer's career. This might include everything from getting publicity to running a loan-out company to helping get taxes done on time and the electric bill paid, reading scripts, and offering 'career advice.'
An agent is focused almost soley on connecting writers to projects, getting material into the hands of the right people, and negotiating the best deal.
A lawyer looks over contracts to make sure that stuff in sub paragraph b on page 17 doesn't cost you a million dollars when a character from your movie spins off into a successful television show.
Also, why do some writers have both?
Because they haven't figured out that managers are useless yet. Usually takes no more than about six months or so.
I'm keeping this in mind as I begin working with my manager, but I know that individual cases vary -- there are some agents who are worse than useless as well.
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Copyright 1998 Diane Patterson
Send comments and questions to diane@spies.com