Dear Secret Agent Man,

Can you please give me some advice on how to mold myself into a successful talent agent with one of the top 4? I'm a first year in law school part-time at night and no connections. I don't want to wait 3 years to start my career. Got any good advice? Thank you.

quote:

Originally posted by MDTalentAgent:
Dear Secret Agent Man,

Can you please give me some advice on how to mold myself into a successful talent agent with one of the top 4? I'm a first year in law school part-time at night and no connections. I don't want to wait 3 years to start my career. Got any good advice? Thank you.

It's very easy: Waltz into CAA and announce over the loudspeaker that since all of you top agents are overworked with your celebrity clients, you are willing to take a few of them off their hands. Say, Tom Cruise, Lindsay Lohan, and Will Smith, just for starters. You can expand your client base later. Then set up shop-that unused corner office will do; alert the partners that you want the prettiest assistant available. If that doesn't work out, you will take Ari Gold's assistant, Lloyd. Negotiate a contract or two, and with that ten percent, you can nab a few mil on the very first day. Sweet deal!

While waiting for SAM (and who knows maybe other actual agents lurking) to answer, I can tell you that the classic route for the better agencies used to be through the mail room - a friend of mine, who'd gone to an excellent school and worked for a major firm in NYC, did this (unsuccessfully, I'm afraid).

My impression too is that with the top agencies it's very much like looking for a job with any large firm - you actually have to apply and interview, and if they think you have what it takes, they do the molding (while you work for bubkes).

There is of course an ENORMOUS amount of competition.

Let's see what the real expert has to say here...

are you from Maryland or beverly hills?

quote:

Originally posted by LADelight:

quote:

Originally posted by MDTalentAgent:
Dear Secret Agent Man,

Can you please give me some advice on how to mold myself into a successful talent agent with one of the top 4? I'm a first year in law school part-time at night and no connections. I don't want to wait 3 years to start my career. Got any good advice? Thank you.

It's very easy: Waltz into CAA and announce over the loudspeaker that since all of you top agents are overworked with your celebrity clients, you are willing to take a few of them off their hands. Say, Tom Cruise, Lindsay Lohan, and Will Smith, just for starters. You can expand your client base later. Then set up shop-that unused corner office will do; alert the partners that you want the prettiest assistant available. If that doesn't work out, you will take Ari Gold's assistant, Lloyd. Negotiate a contract or two, and with that ten percent, you can nab a few mil on the very first day. Sweet deal!

Humor can express a point better than just about anything, and LADelight’s post succeeds admirably.

Becoming a successful agent doesn’t happen easily or overnight. This isn’t “I Want To Be A Super Model,” it’s a full time commitment requiring years of hard, often unpaid and unheralded work busting your ass in the trenches (Jim Chevallier’s post describing his friend’s ascension through the ranks via the Mail Room was only too accurate).

Like those who believe that simply accruing college credits at a major university will someone secure their success in acting, I’m afraid that you’re in for a very sobering (and brief) foray into the harsh realities of the entertainment business.

According to your stated qualifications, you’re a night school student with zero connections and even less experience. Yet you’re interested in a high-paying, strategic position with a top talent agency, handling the most powerful and influential clients in the world. If you were to ask for similar responsibilities at a prestigious legal firm with your present credentials, what would their reply to your inquiry likely be?

You have your answer.

“Whatever works.”

www.robertkim.com
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0453647

So you're only interested in the top four, huh? Well, let's start off by correcting that statement right away. It's actually the top FIVE. Right now, they're CAA, ICM, William Morris, Endeavor, and UTA. The very next tier includes companies like Paradigm, Gersh, Innovative, APA, and a few others - all equally good. If you want to be an agent, you have to know who the players are!

Now - if you really want to target the big boys, there's not much you can do right now since you're still in law school - even if it's just at night. The only way to break in with those agencies is to start at the bottom - the mailroom or someone's desk. That's a full time job and then some. (Your boss might not be cool about you running off to night school.

Here's my advice. Finish your first year of law school, then take a year off and get a job at a talent agency. Try it on for size. You might love it - in which case there's really no reason for you to go back to part time law school. You'll already be on track. And if you don't love it, you still have time to rethink your life.

By the way, getting hired at one of these companies is a test in itself. They expect you to figure it out on your own - that's what agents do. Posting on an actor's message board would not have been my first move.

That said, they all have human resources departments and office managers. Track down some names. Send some emails. Make some calls. Get it done.

Good luck.

And welcome to the party!