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Hey Riverman great Thread and great insight into the agency.
I have an interview there next week on April 3th and I was going to ask which department is the best for me? I know I want to work with talent, but which department is better MP or TV or Filmmakers?
1. Which is harder and why? Internally which department is the highest demand, ranking wise (1.MP Lit, 2. TV Talent, 3. Consulting...ect.)?
2. I know I want to work with Talent and Filmmakers. Discover them, develop them, and manage them...but I also really like the whole Filmmaker side of the business...which department would be the best for me?
3. How much do 'trainees' that start in the mailroom make?
Last Question!
4. Was it all worth it, and would you do it again?
Pro tip: don't say "3th" at any point during the interview.
I read most of this thread a while ago, but just thought of a quick question I wanna ask. Feel free to tell me to stfu if its been answered already.
% of days you felt like going into work when you woke up in the morning?
Eh, at the start I loved it and looked forward to every day. Within my first few weeks on my first desk my boss's client Rooney Mara landed the Lisbeth Salander role, which was super-cool. She had a small part in Social Network, but was basically unknown, and landed the most coveted role in the business for an actress. Really cool stuff and fun to be a part of.
But as time went on the allure wore off. Booking reservations for someone, or coordinating their travel, or even talking with them about their next job, fundamentally sucks. So once you aren't excited about it being the movie business anymore, it is pretty ****ty work. As I moved up in the company I was dealing with increasingly more famous people, yet I was less excited about the work. I knew if I didn't get out I would be miserable later in life.
Hey Riverman great Thread and great insight into the agency.
I have an interview there next week on April 3th and I was going to ask which department is the best for me? I know I want to work with talent, but which department is better MP or TV or Filmmakers?
1. Which is harder and why? Internally which department is the highest demand, ranking wise (1.MP Lit, 2. TV Talent, 3. Consulting...ect.)?
2. I know I want to work with Talent and Filmmakers. Discover them, develop them, and manage them...but I also really like the whole Filmmaker side of the business...which department would be the best for me?
3. How much do 'trainees' that start in the mailroom make?
Last Question!
4. Was it all worth it, and would you do it again?
It depends on what you want to do. Do you want to be an agent? Even if not, say you do in the interview. The answers to all your questions depend on where you want to end up.
You get offered a job on a unknown high profile desk at either CAA or WME...do you choose the deathstar or would you stick with WME?
How many nights a week were you doing drinks in your last year - 4...5?
Any particular reason you switched to talent?
Best was Farragut North, the original version of 'Ides of March.' It was much, much better than the version that was made and won the Black List like 5 years ago.
Worst? New Year's Eve, which will be coming out in about 7 months! Just awful.
I would take the high profile desk at WME (and had one). Much more entrepreneurial culture and more opportunity for quicker advancement.
Switched to talent because I needed a desk and I really liked my first boss.
Being married with a kid and not being a social butterfly to begin with, I didn't do drinks too much. Most assistants did them every night.
It depends on what you want to do. Do you want to be an agent? Even if not, say you do in the interview. The answers to all your questions depend on where you want to end up.
Yes I want to be an Agent for sure. If my growth at the agency becomes static and I feel like I won't be able to make agent (you get see the writing on the wall pretty fast), or decide I do not like it, my back up plan is to work as an Executive at a Production studio.
But right now I am 100% dedicated to becoming an agent and moving up the ranks and establishing myself to rep talent.
Eh, at the start I loved it and looked forward to every day. Within my first few weeks on my first desk my boss's client Rooney Mara landed the Lisbeth Salander role, which was super-cool. She had a small part in Social Network, but was basically unknown, and landed the most coveted role in the business for an actress. Really cool stuff and fun to be a part of.
But as time went on the allure wore off. Booking reservations for someone, or coordinating their travel, or even talking with them about their next job, fundamentally sucks. So once you aren't excited about it being the movie business anymore, it is pretty ****ty work. As I moved up in the company I was dealing with increasingly more famous people, yet I was less excited about the work. I knew if I didn't get out I would be miserable later in life.
About the answer I expected. I was in the BCT program at USC, (business of Cinema/TV) & it seems very few ppl in my class actually ended up working in the movie business as we experienced that erosion of excitement throughout our 4 years in school (though it is an excellent program for what it is). Seems you need just the right personality type to enjoy the industry & even a lot of those people seem pretty miserable.
I think the fact that its a 'cooler' business to be a part of makes a ton more ppl want to enter it in the first place & creates a competitive atmosphere that's just kinda ughhhhh. The politics/egos/etc. are just lol.
Congrats on getting out when you felt it was the right thing to do, rather than guilting yourself into sticking with it. GL moving forward.
1. Which is hardest department to get a desk in and why? (1.MP Lit, 2. TV Talent, 3. Consulting...ect.)?
2. Can you rep TV talent and MT talent? (do they branch over easily)?
3. How much do 'trainees' that start in the mailroom make?
Last Question!
4. Was it all worth it, and would you do it again?
Thanks I really appreciate the insight!
To start, you have to understand how hard it is to become an agent in any department. The odds are like 100/1. You have to be really smart, motivated and politically savvy. And lucky. Less than a year in I was put up for Patrick Whitesell's desk. Had I gotten that job, I'd probably still be at the company today, because unless you rape little kids or something that desk = eventually being an agent. It came down to a 10 minute interview. Kind of crazy to think that those 10 minutes had such a huge impact on my life. Without a doubt, I am happier today than I would be if I were still there. When I found out I didn't get the job, I was devastated.
Anyway, the point is that even if you do everything right there is a lot of luck involved. I can't tell you how many people I saw just break down. People who I thought were really impressive and destined for big things. Stuff totally out of control can ruin you. Say a big client fires your boss. They may make up some complete bull**** story that you ****ed up to try to cover their own ass, or more likely they will embellish something that actually did happen, and boom you're unlikely to advance at the company.
Anyway, MP lit and talent are the hardest because they are the most glamorous. TV is easier and is more money anyway, so I would recommend that. Plus talent is dying: salaries aren't what they once were and the number of legit huge earners is rapidly shrinking. I've covered salary and benefits several times in the thread.
I am absolutely glad I did it because I will never look back and wonder what could have been.
I am absolutely glad I did it because I will never look back and wonder what could have been.
there is a hell of a lot to be said for that - I got in the talk radio industry (not on-air talent) - and it came down literally to trading a decent job for a lower paying one and going to work for someone I didn't really admire in the field just to get my foot in the door
within 3 years I was out, but at least I got to find out (relatively young and consequence free) that my dream wasn't what I thought it was and got a shot to move on to something better
To start, you have to understand how hard it is to become an agent in any department. The odds are like 100/1. You have to be really smart, motivated and politically savvy. And lucky. Less than a year in I was put up for Patrick Whitesell's desk. Had I gotten that job, I'd probably still be at the company today, because unless you rape little kids or something that desk = eventually being an agent. It came down to a 10 minute interview. Kind of crazy to think that those 10 minutes had such a huge impact on my life. Without a doubt, I am happier today than I would be if I were still there. When I found out I didn't get the job, I was devastated.
Anyway, the point is that even if you do everything right there is a lot of luck involved. I can't tell you how many people I saw just break down. People who I thought were really impressive and destined for big things. Stuff totally out of control can ruin you. Say a big client fires your boss. They may make up some complete bull**** story that you ****ed up to try to cover their own ass, or more likely they will embellish something that actually did happen, and boom you're unlikely to advance at the company.
Anyway, MP lit and talent are the hardest because they are the most glamorous. TV is easier and is more money anyway, so I would recommend that. Plus talent is dying: salaries aren't what they once were and the number of legit huge earners is rapidly shrinking. I've covered salary and benefits several times in the thread.
I am absolutely glad I did it because I will never look back and wonder what could have been.
Yeah, I have grown up in the industry and have met with a few friends of friends that are agents right now at ICM and CAA, and they told me it has to do A LOT with luck and timing. They both are TV Lit agents and so I was leaning toward the TV Department anyways but on the Talent side. I know the odds are pretty slim but I kind of have the same mentality as you...I never want to look back and wonder what if...?
You mentioned 'politically savvy'? Do you mean be careful what you say (politically correct)?
At what level do you start reading scrips and writing coverages? In the mailroom or once you get on a desk? What was writing coverages like? A total waste of time or insightful? Did you spend all your weekends reading and writing?
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