No agent, no pride

January 14, 2008 9:11 PM

Question for pro screenwriters...since the strike is on right now, would this be an abnormally good time, or an abnormally bad time, to try to get an agent?

My writing partner and I have been at it for a long time, and we just now (finally) have a script that is very good. I'm pretty cynical (pragmatic) about my own work, but I'm positive the script we've just finished is great, it's very commercial (not in a bad way), very funny, original, has a great story, all that stuff.
We've had brief dalliances with representation before, and we actually did a rewrite of a script that will hopefully be produced this year, for a few million dollars (meaning it was "professional" work). But we're not represented right now, and we want to be.
It seems to me that with the strike on right now, agents might be twiddling their thumbs a bit, and thus be a bit more receptive to looking at spec scripts. But is that assumption wrong? And, even more importantly, are we even allowed to seek representation right now, without being scabs? (I've tried to research that fact, but haven't found a definitive answer.) We're not WGA, but we don't want to break any rules or do anything dodgy r.e. the union.
Thanks a lot!

posted by Ziggurat to media & arts (19 comments total)

Some of the agencies are laying off agents. So they are twiddling their thumbs at home.
posted by smackfu at 9:31 PM on January 14

You should call the WGA with this question. If you are writing anything, and have been since the strike started, you would likely be considered a scab and probably ineligible for future Guild membership.
The writers on strike are not writing anything, hence the phrase "Pencils down means pencils down."
This applies to pitches, spec scripts, etc, not just writers who are under contract on a particular movie or show. If some writers write stuff on spec and others don't, then those who wrote during the strike would have a lot more to sell when the strike ends. This would not be a show of solidarity.

Bottom line: Ask the Guild. It may depend on whether you have actually been writing during the strike. I think you are treading on thin ice but they will give you a definitive answer.
posted by cushie at 9:39 PM on January 14

You can seek representation but I think it's a very bad time. I've found (most) agents to only be interested in a script that they can do something with right away. Since they can't do anything with it you'd be using your one shot of them reading it and then risk them remembering you 3 months down the road when this is worked out.
posted by sharkfu at 9:47 PM on January 14

This is a terrible time to do it. Everyone's hunkering down and losing money, talent agents, managers and everyone else.

Also you risk getting blacklisted by the guild-- technically you're only in danger if you option or sell a script, but people are nervous and you don't want to get on the wrong side of strike politics, especially when it means you could never get a union job (read: any job in Hollywood) after the strike.

Ironically, right after the strike could *also* be a bad time to look for an agent, as they'll be flooded by all the super-polished material writers have been fussing with over the strike. Then again, there may be a surge of work (and there will definitely be a surge of new young screenwriter-agents, as many of the old ones have been shed / transitioned), so luck may favor you.
posted by ®@ at 9:54 PM on January 14

cushie is misinformed.

the only thing you cannot do is work for a struck company. so you can bang away at your spec script all you want, but you can't submit it to any struck company (or have an agent submit it on your behalf) until the strike is over.

(as an example, there was a recent article in creative screenwriting that talked about how the fisher king was written during the last strike, and got traction after the strike because it was so unlike all the other boilerplate specs that were flooding the market after the strike was settled.)

the "pencils down means pencils down" campaign was in reference to writer-producers (like showrunners) who said they would not do any writing (or writing-like) work during the strike, even though they sit on a bit of a management/labor straddle.

the strike rules explain all.

if you are in doubt, contact the wga. they'll be happy to make sure that you don't break the rules and jeopardize your future guild membership.

and no, it's not a particularly good time to seek representation.
posted by jimw at 9:55 PM on January 14

i don't believe that the strike rules actually prohibit writing, as opposed to negotiating deals and submitting scripts. here's a link to the strike rules straight from the horse's mouth.
posted by bruce at 9:58 PM on January 14

This is a hideous time to look for representation. If I were you, I'd enter it in Nicholl this year. If you do well, you could grow buzz that could carry through after the strike is over. And if you don't do well, you know your screenplay still needs work. Win/win!
posted by headspace at 10:04 PM on January 14

It might be strategic to start banging the drum just as the strike is ending. There will likely be a frenzy of activity once the strike ends, because of the natural way of things, and you may be able to capatilize on the restlessness before and the rush just after the strike ends. Until then, the script departments and agent's assistants (the ones who screen and cover scripts in the lit agencies) are shut down. You are fine with the guild to seek representation, or to write anything you want on spec, you just can't sell (or pitch) anything to a WGA signatory company. The "Pencils Down" phrase is directed at show runners , writers who produce also, who cannot perform writing duties on their shows without risking heat from the union. You are more likely to get a machine if you call an agency this week than ever, but you're also more likely to get the big shot agent picking up the phone also, because he's twiddling his you-know-what. Good luck on the script that's in the pipeline. Let's hope this strike gets over soon.
posted by Blingo at 10:14 PM on January 14

Thanks a lot for the answers so far.
Yeah, as mentioned, I was under the impression that tons of working writers would be spec-ing it up like crazy during the strike. And it sounds like that's legitimate, as long as one isn't sending them out to producers and the like.
And I know that everyone is losing money right now, including agents, but it really would seem to me that any agents who had the luxury of not having to seek other employment during the strike would be happy to look at spec scripts right now.
®@, jimw and headspace all mention now's not a good time. I'm not doubting your wisdom, but do you *know* that for sure? Have you heard people talking? Or is that your gut instinct's talking? And if you know that for sure, why? Why aren't some agents using this time to look for the diamonds in the rough? (not to be melodramatic, but you know what I mean) Is it just because of that promised flood of diamonds as soon as the strike ends?
posted by Ziggurat at 10:18 PM on January 14

(almost) on preview...thanks Blingo. That clarifies the further question I posted right after you there. If the coverage readers are all shut down, that pretty much clears that up.

And thanks again.
posted by Ziggurat at 10:20 PM on January 14

While Blingo might think he's speaking the truth, he isn't. I know of at least one story department that's still chugging away. The first week of the year is always thin, but there're people doing coverage, and if people are doing coverage, then scripts are being read in Hollywood. I hold coverage in my hands dated Jan 14 right now.

This is a good time to find representation in Hollywood. There, I said it. There are a few caveats here: it's not a great time. But then again, it's never a great time. Agents won't really be interested in signing you. Then again, they're never interested in signing new talent. Try a manager. You'll get more traction in town that way. Also, look for a personal connection to a manager or agent. That'll increase your chances of being read (and attention paid to you) by about a thousand percent. Besides, an agency will sign you and then pimp your script for a week (once the strike is over, naturally) and then never return your calls. I should know, I've been on both sides of that phone.

Once the strike is about to be over, there'll be a frenzy like you've never seen before. It'll be crazy. Agents will ignore calls from their spouses, their kids, even their mistresses, and probably also their coke dealers. Once there's a smidgeon of movement towards resolution, you'll be lost, and probably new talent won't get signed to an agency for six months -- they'll be too busy pimping all the clients who've been out of work for the last however long. My best piece of advice? Date an agent. Seriously.

P.S. You can do whatever you damn well please. You can write as much as you want. You can go make a freakin' movie. You can pee all over the picketers or the studio execs. The one thing you simply can't do is sell your script to a struck company. If you do that, you're an asshole. But considering that you aren't in the Guild right now, absolutely everything else you can possible think of is outside of their jurisdiction, and that includes writing. Write all you want, write as much as you want, sell to anyone who'll buy and who isn't in the AMPTP. Don't hold up the WGA like some grand poobah. They control four things that you want, in descending order of desire: health care, pension, screeners, and a subscription to Written By. They also control the MBA, which you want most of all. But that's it.

For all those interested, the coverage was a pass.
posted by incessant at 11:01 PM on January 14 [2 favorites]

Well, Zig, it's kinda my job so I feel like I'm speaking from a place of experience. As smackfu noted, ICM is laying people off and UTA is deferring payments. These are two of the most successful, big-ticket agencies in LA. Our agents can't do jack unless they can pitch, and without new material, they can't pitch.

And on top of that, with force majeure in play- money they should have gotten eventually may never come in. If I have a development deal with ABC, my agent can keep me on even if I'm not making money right now because I have guaranteed commissionable income in the future. With force majeure terminating my deal, that guaranteed commissionable income is gone. Agents can have all the lunches and meetings and tapas and drinks that they want, but they can't sell anything, and they're losing money they already figured into the books.

But if you'd like a specific example of how nothing's selling right now, I sold my first book last January. Right up until the strike, we were in neg with Dimension for film rights. As soon as the strike started, the negotiations stopped- and that's for a property that isn't even a screenplay and thus is completely ungoverned by the WGA and already exists in a minimum alternate, attachable form.

So again, my suggestion to you is to enter Nicholl. It'll tie up your screenplay for the first half of this year, but your screenplay can't do anything the first half of this year anyway. It can't hurt, but it could help. And that's my professional opinion.
posted by headspace at 11:25 PM on January 14

I second jimw. I'm in the same boat as you, right before the strike I won best screenplay at local film festival. It got me a fancy Hollywood lawyer now and we're talking to some producers. Then the strike hit. Technically we could have still signed with the producers, as they were indie and thus not a struck company. But they've decided to wait out the strike. But if you want to approach indie producers with that you totally have that right. And you should, if your film can be made on an indie budget.
posted by PostIronyIsNotaMyth at 12:16 AM on January 15

Man wow, was any of that coherent? I meant to say you can approach indie producers with your script if you want. And you should, but to add a caveat, before you sign anything talk to a lawyer or an agent or someone who can give you advice.
posted by PostIronyIsNotaMyth at 12:17 AM on January 15

You can submit to United Artists and the Weinstein Co., but since they're among the few able to purchase scripts they'll probably be even quicker to dismiss your script than at any other time.

As for agents, in spite of the above comments, right now may not be a bad idea to send out your script - just be sure to suck up to the assistants, who may just be bored enough to read spec material.
posted by Unsomnambulist at 12:30 AM on January 15

What part of what I said wasn't true, incessant? All the major story departments are on skeleton crews, and I know of about a dozen that are closed altogether. There is no money coming in the doors right now because of the strike, so 90% of the lit assistants have been let go. You may be able to point to one story dept that is still operating, but "chugging along," compared to what?

Of course the script incessant covered was a pass, because nobody is buying anything right now, because of uhhhhhhhm, oh, yeah, the writer's strike. Were you to convince an agent of your talent right now, they would be unable to do anything about it. And, given the short attention span of agents, it's best not to get one fired up about you when there's a long unproductive strike ahead.

There will be notice before the strike is "officially" ended. If the WGA and AMPTP start signaling that it's winding up, you'll have a few weeks to slide in while the agencies gear back up. That's the ideal window for you to get covered. If the strike gets wrapped up in couple weeks the town will be back to business as usual very quickly. 22 weeks is the longest WGA strike ever and we're halfway there now.

So, get your ducks aligned, and polish that script - I have a feeling it needs a little work in the third act, and a trim in the first. You know what I'm talking about.
posted by Blingo at 12:58 AM on January 15

There is about to be a massive glut of material in Hollywood as all the writers (including me) submit the specs they've been working on.

However, more importantly, the agents are worrying about other things than taking on new clients.
posted by unSane at 5:25 AM on January 15

Contests! It's the way to go. Of course those of us with spec tv shows are SOL, so it's time to bang out a feature...
posted by Derek at 10:45 AM on January 15

Oh fer pete's sake -- I'm not a reader, Blingo, but thanks for the inference. There's still work being done at the agencies, it's just of a vastly different sort. Lit agents still exist, and story departments are still reading scripts, and again, I can only speak about the story department that I have ties with, and they're still employing a full retinue of readers according to sources. I've written about my belief of the efficacy of screenplay contests before, but in this strike-y world, perhaps it's time for me to rethink such things and come over to UnSane's side.

Look, it's a bitch to break in whether or not there's a strike. Seriously -- go get a manager. And/or sleep with an agent. Again -- totally not kidding about that part. The coverage was a pass, Blingo, because the script sucked, according to the reader, and after reading it myself late last night, I'd agree. It's already bought, and supposed to go up in March. Presold in six territories. Ah, the stupidity of this town.
posted by incessant at 3:36 PM on January 15