Screenwriter wannabe sues CAA and WME for $8M!
Funniest thing I’ve read in like… forever. Check it out here:
Justin Samuels is suing Creative Artists Agency and William Morris Endeavor — two of Hollywood’s top talent agencies — for eight million dollars. The scribe says that he has been unable to obtain professional screenwriting work because of those agencies’ racially and sexually discriminatory practices.
“Their extremely restrictive recruiting policies for screenwriters locks out non-white and women screenwriters,” Samuels, age 34, told the Hollywood Investigator. “I tried to break in for nine years. I’ve sent out hundreds, if not thousands of query letters.
“Major production companies always respond by saying that you need an agent to submit to them. Major agencies — such as CAA and WME — say that they don’t accept unsolicited communications, and that the only way they would consider you is if a major player in the industry referred you.”
I understand dude’s frustration. But I’m not quite sure suing the people you’re hoping to represent you as a writer is the best career strategy.
Much more later when I have time. Reactions?
HT to @writerjoshjames for the link.
UPDATE: I’ve been informed John August posted on this yesterday. An excerpt:
Other than sending query letters to agencies, it’s not clear what other steps Samuels has taken to initiate a screenwriting career. He apparently hasn’t moved to Los Angeles, or interned, or worked in an agency mailroom, or gone to film school, or applied for one of the diversity programs at the studios or networks.
I can’t guarantee Samuels would have been successful if he’d tried any or all of these steps, but I think he’d have a better case. His attorney will have a hard time finding any screenwriter of any race who has become successful doing as little as Samuels has.
What he said.
Let me add this: With the rise in prominence of managers over the last decade and a half, it is easier to get material to people who work in the industry for a read. Managers are more open to reading unsolicited material, in part because unlike agents, they can also serve as a producer on a film project. Additional motivation for them to source new, unsigned talent.
Case in point, Seth Lochhead who as I noted in this post, while living in Vancouver wrote a spec script. He sent out “400 emails to people in the [Hollywood] business,” often with just one line: “A girl is trained to be an assassin; would you like to read my script.” That led to him being signed and that project getting produced — the movie Hanna.
Is there racism in Hollywood? Sexism? Probably and you can throw in ageism as well. But they pale in comparison to another form of discrimination: lack-of-talentism. As in the people whose job it is to determine what gets bought or not definitely discriminate against crappy scripts and ineffective writers.
That is one ‘ism’ all writers should be willing to accept.