A down-to-earth, detailed guide to every aspect of establishing and running a small, local talent booking agency, written by someone who has done so successfully for over 30 years. You don't need any particular background or a fancy college degree or even much money, just a desire to own and operate one of the most fun businesses you could ever imagine. It's all here how to find the talent, how to build up a clientele, how to promote yourself, the contracts you'll need, and a fascinating insight to where you can go from here, including becoming a modeling agent, a TV producer, a writer, a record album producer, and much more.
This book is no bull, straight from the mouth of a blunt talent agent, currently hustling for over 500 clients and closing deals daily. His words are legit instructions on how to be a working actor in film and TV. Organized into three sections: Getting an Agent, Working with Your Agent, and Thriving with Your Agent, this Q&A format addresses actor questions at all stages of a career. After nearly a decade of sitting on panels and acknowledging that the majority of raised hands are never called upon, Jason Lockhart decided to answer them ALL, right here, right now, in an energetic, honest, and organized place. Getting inside the mind of an agent is crucial, as they are generally the first gatekeeper to an actor's success. Consider this book your secret weapon to breaking in or leveling up.
It’s like a plot from a Hollywood potboiler: start out in the mailroom, end up a mogul. But for many, it happens to be true. Some of the biggest names in entertainment—including David Geffen, Barry Diller, and Michael Ovitz— started their dazzling careers in the lowly mailroom. Based on more than two hundred interviews, David Rensin unfolds the never-before-told history of an American institution—in the voices of the people who lived it. Through nearly seven decades of glamour and humiliation, lousy pay and incredible perks, killer egos and a kill-or-be-killed ethos, you’ll go where the trainees go, learn what they must do to get ahead, and hear the best insider stories from the Hollywood everyone knows about but no one really knows. A vibrant tapestry of dreams, desire, and exploitation, The Mailroom is not only an engrossing read but a crash course, taught by the experts, on how to succeed in Hollywood.
Actors at every stage of their careers have a lot of questions, and Ask an Agent gives a lot of answers. Do I need an agent? How do I get one? What will an agent do for me? When is it time to switch agents? Help is on the way! Author Margaret Emory--a talent agent for more than fourteen years--writes Ask an Agent, the most popular column in America's foremost publication for working actors, Back Stage. In clear, straightforward text, she gives the agent's spin on everything from headshots and resumes to auditions, casting directors, and managers. Ask an Agent offers real help for the real world of acting.
Instincts is an entrepreneur's guide to success in the entertainment field, whether in front of the camera or behind it, on the creative or the business side. Marc's advice is impeccable; he says the things no one else in show business will, things that those who want into the business need to know. Marc has a heck of a story to tell-it's powerful, outspoken talk from a widely recognized agent on how to master the industry using an entrepreneur's specific skill set. Marc shares deeply personal experiences from the trenches, experiences he's shared with such eminent names as Lauren Bacall, Floyd Mayweather, Jr., Christopher Reeve, Quentin Tarantino, Whoopi Goldberg, Dr. Phil, and others, along with as what he learned and how to apply the knowledge. He also offers cautionary tales and hilarious moments, all of which add up a book that tells it like it is for those who are truly serious about a career in entertainment.
If you're going to read one book about Hollywood, this is the one. As the co-founder of Creative Artists Agency, Michael Ovitz earned a reputation for ruthless negotiation, brilliant strategy, and fierce loyalty to his clients. He reinvented the role of the agent and helped shape the careers of hundreds of A-list entertainers, directors, and writers, including Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, Sean Connery, Bill Murray, Robin Williams, and David Letterman. But this personal history is much more than a fascinating account of celebrity friendships and bare-knuckled dealmaking. It's also an underdog's story: How did a middle-class kid from Encino work his way into the William Morris mailroom, and eventually become the most powerful person in Hollywood? How did an agent (even a superagent) also become a power in producing, advertising, mergers & acquisitions, and modern art? And what were the personal consequences of all those deals? After decades of near-silence in the face of controversy, Ovitz is finally telling his whole story, with remarkable candor and insight.
The essential handbook for actors—a modern classic—in a newly updated edition. Since its original publication, Acting as a Business has earned a reputation as an indispensable tool for working and aspiring actors. Avoiding the usual advice about persistence and luck, Brian O’Neil provides clear-cut guidelines that will give actors a solid knowledge of the business behind their art. It’s packed with practical information—on everything from what to say in a cover letter to where to stand when performing in an agent’s office—including: -- Tactics for getting an agent, including preparing for the interview -- How to research who will be casting what—and whether there is a role for you—well in advance -- Examples of correspondence to agents and casting directors for both beginning and advanced professionals -- A detailed analysis of the current trend of paying to meet industry personnel -- How to communicate effectively with an agent or personal manager -- Creative ways to use the internet and social media O’Neil has updated Acting as a Business to keep up with the latest show-business trends, making this fifth edition a reference no actor should be without
“Magisterial. ... A must read for anyone who wants to work in Hollywood or just know how Hollywood works.” — The Hollywood Reporter A New York Times bestseller, now updated with an afterword and exclusive new material From the #1 bestselling author behind acclaimed oral histories of Saturday Night Live and ESPN comes "the most hotly anticipated book [in decades]" (Variety): James Andrew Miller's irresistible insider chronicle of the modern entertainment industry, told through the epic story of Creative Artists Agency (CAA)—the ultimate power player that has represented the world's biggest stars and shaped the landscape of film, television, comedy, music, and sports. Started in 1975, when five bright and brash upstarts left creaky William Morris to form their own innovative talent agency, CAA would come to revolutionize Hollywood, representing everyone from Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, and Steven Spielberg to Jennifer Lawrence, J.J. Abrams, Will Smith, and Brad Pitt. Over the next decades its tentacles would spread aggressively into sports, advertising, and digital media. Powerhouse is the fascinating, no-holds-barred saga of that ascent. Drawing on unprecedented and exclusive access to the men and women who built and battled with CAA—including co-founders Michael Ovitz and Ron Meyer and rivals like Ari Emanuel of William Morris Endeavor—as well as the stars themselves, Miller spins a unique and unforgettable tale of brilliance, ambition, betrayal, and outrageous success.
Veteran character actor David Dean Bottrell draws on his 35+ tumultuous years of work in the entertainment industry to offer a guide to breaking in, making a living, and making a life in the fabulous trenches of show business. Covers every facet of the business, including: - Capturing the perfect headshot - Starting (and maintaining) your network - Picking an agent - Audition do’s and don’ts - Joining the union(s): SAG-AFTRA and Actors Equity Association (AEA) - On stage vs on screen - Paying the bills - Self-promotion - Late bloomers - When to get out David Dean Bottrell has worn many different hats during his decades in showbiz: television actor with appearances on Boston Legal, Modern Family, The Blacklist, Mad Men, True Blood, NCIS, and Days of Our Lives; screenwriter for Paramount and Disney; respected acting teacher at UCLA and AADA; and regular expert columnist for esteemed acting site Backstage. In Working Actor, Bottrell offers a how-to manual jammed with practical information and insider advice, essential reading for any artist (aspiring or established) in need of insight or inspiration. Mixing prescriptive advice ("Getting Started," "Learning Your Craft," "Finding an Agent") with wisdom drawn from Bottrell's own professional highs and lows and those of his acting compatriots, this book's humorous, tell-it-like-it-is tone is a must-have guide for anyone hoping to successfully navigate show business.
