Reader Question: How do you decide between managers?

Some thoughts on how to decide who you should choose as your manager.

Question from Eric Harris:

How do you decide between managers?–owner of a medium firm vs. manager working for a bigger firm (who might jump to a different firm since they are not the owner)?

What is life like working with one and what should you expect to make the most of it. I’ve worked with one before, but they went on to just producing.

I guess you could call me Old School in that I’ve never had a manager, only agents and lawyers, so I’ll open up the question to GITS readers who have confronted a situation whereby they had to choose between managers.

That said, I know a lot of managers and writers, and have discussed this topic several times, so let me offer up a few observations.

Let’s start with your second question because your understanding of what you should expect from a working relationship with a manager will be a strong consideration should you be in the position where you are trying to choose between two or more of them for representation.

What does a manager do?

• Goals: A good manager will want to hear what your goals are, provide initial feedback, then review those goals from time to time per the contours of your career.
• Strategy: It’s great to have goals, but how do you get there? A good manager will map out a plan, short term to long term. Again that is likely to change depending upon your circumstances and you should expect your manager to come up with creative strategies in response to them.
• Voice: You have talent, you have creativity, but a manager can help you develop your voice. The relationship varies from manager to writer, but often the manager is intimately involved in a writer’s process, everything from treatments and outlines, script pages and revisions.
• Meetings: One of the manager’s most fundamental responsibilities is to get you into rooms with people who matter. Producers, directors, actors, studio executives.

So bare minimum, I would suggest you bring up each of these subjects, but I would be surprised if a manager didn’t do so voluntarily as these are key aspects of their gig.

I would also ask about what their expectations are of you. In truth, at least some, and perhaps many of the gigs you get will derive from your own efforts. A manager can help you with strategy, develop your scripts and get you into rooms with buyers, but at the end of the day, it’s what you put down on the page, how you present yourself in meetings, and the your own networking which is likely to translate into writing assignments.

Another thing: Do your research. Find out what movies the management outfit has been involved with, oftentimes as producers. Do they specialize in only a few genres? Are they big enough to have managers who cover all genres? Try to discover what writers they represent. I remember when I signed with my first agents (Bauer / Benedek which later merged into UTA), as soon as I heard they represented Lawrence Kasdan, screenwriter whose credits include Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strike Back, Body Heat and The Big Chill, I was like, “Done!”

Finally, determine who exactly is going to be handling you. It’s important you have a good feeling about the manager who will be your main point person as well as the others on your team with whom you won’t be meeting as frequently. I can’t swear to this, but if you have a choice between a hungry, young manager who gets your material and is pumped to take you on to help them make their mark versus a more established manager with a lot of clients, many of them A or B-list, my sense from talking with my writer connections is they would recommend the former. Sometimes there is nothing more important for a writer than to have that type of proactive energy on their side, especially at the beginning of their career.

Obviously there are lots of variables which can influence your choice, so let me reach out to the GITS community: What are your thoughts about these questions? Have I missed some points? Are there other concerns to raise when assessing multiple managerial possibilities?

Please take a few moments and post your thoughts in comments.

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