HOLLYWOOD POWER AGENTS

Last week’s No-Bull Film Post was a list of the 7 Power Agencies for Actors, Singers, Comics, with over 300 Talent Agents.

Those 7 Agencies are:

(1) APA: (Agency for Performing Artists @ 310-888-4200)

(2) CAA: (Creative Artists Agency @ 424-888-2000)

 (Creative Artists Agency and William Morris Endeavor are two of the largest Hollywood agencies with over 1,000 agents combined… surely, with a property and correct filmmaking knowledge you can get one.)

(3) TGA: (The Gersh Agency @ 310-274-6611)

(4) PARADIGM: (Paradigm Agency @ 310-288-8000)

(5) UTA: (United Talent Agency @ 310-273-6700)

(6) WME: (William Morris Endeavor @ 310-285-9000)

Further I gave you some inside info for just about everyone when calling for you will start with an opening line like… 

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HOLLYWOOD IS LOOKING FOR TALENT

Yuk-Yuk-Yuk.

 (“Hollywood is not looking for talent… But it is looking for grosses, revenues, profits, distributions, dividends and marketable names”)

If you truly believe Hollywood is looking for talent then below are the addresses for the six Major Studios (aka: Distributors) who each employ 1,000-2,000 and are in constant development, production and distribution of new ideas and projects and perform this simple exercise.

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HOLLYWOOD SCREENPLAYS: 2 Types of Scripts (A Great Script or A Good Script)

Screenwriting reality…. Permit me to cut-to-the-chase writers.

Want to sell your script?

Let me make it simple… Then there are only 2 types of screenplays.

(You script is either great and it is bought or it sucks… don’t take any Hollywood B-Sh*t)

The first is… it is Bought-Purchased-Optioned-Financed…which obviously is what you want.

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HOLLYWOOD FR*CKIN’ LIES. 

Let’s talk budgets. Movie Budgets and how they so clearly demonstrate that “Hollywood Lies”.

The Million Dollar Feature Film? The $2-3 Million Feature? The $20 Million Budget? The $50 Million Studio Feature? The $200 Million Mega-Budget Franchise?

I don’t get it…Why is everyone in Hollywood always struck with “verbal diarrhea” and desirous of talking budgets?

Everybody wants to know “What’s the budget of your movie”

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PRODUCING A MOVIE IS NOT DIFFICULT.

Huh? Yes, yes, yes… I know that headline is controversial especially since you’ve had this amazing idea (even have the script) festering inside you for the last 3-5 years and can not get anyone, whether in-or-out of Hollywood, to believe in you.

Stop. Don’t get frustrated, merely understand that there are only 2 methods or approaches to financing your great idea or script and getting it made.

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HOLLYWOOD’S GOLDEN RULE

Want control? Want creative control?

Want 100% creative control of your baby and ensure that what you wrote is what is produced and directed the way you visualize then there is only one-way… and that is to go the independent route not the studio route.

 (Even Spielberg lacked 100% control on his first studio financed movie)

So as not to be seduced by the studio system always remember the “Golden Rule”

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800-2,000 VISUAL EFFECTS & MOVIE BUDGETS

VFX (Visual Effects) or SFX (Special Effects). How do you do them? What do they cost? Why are they so expensive?

 (Even Low-Budget horror genre movies have 500-700 VFX)

These are common questions asked by first-timers with micro-budget money who desire to show Hollywood that he/she can compete with the studios, with his/her first feature film, with nothing but talent.

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14 NO-BUDGET FILMMAKING TRICKS

Anyone can write, produce or direct a feature film, especially with budgets of $5,000 to $1,000,000, once they get realistic and approach their first project maturely.

Below are 14 Filmmaking Secrets or Tricks, not taught at USC, UCLA or NYU, to maximize production value for your first feature film.

(ONE) SCREENPLAY: KISS (Keep-It-Simple-Stupid), 90-pages, 1-location, character driven, dialogue story.

(TWO) SHOOT: 1-Weekend, 2-Day Shoot, 90-minutes,

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HOLLYWOOD & NEW MEDIA

Movies are at least 90-minutes running time. They actually call them “90-minute narratives”.

And I’ve always stated that to break into Hollywood it is a horrible idea to start with a 3-20 minute short, as espoused by 2-4 Year $50K-$250K Film Programs, to demonstrate talent… for the bottom-line being that Hollywood is about business and no one buys shorts and all you prove to an industry (aka: Hollywood) by making a short is you know how to go broke…

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VIRTUAL REALITY FILMMAKING

Yes, VR (Virtual Reality) Filmmaking is here. It is not a gimmick. It is here forever.

 (VR is fascinating but remember “must wear headsets”… Thus, loose the social aspects of the cinema experience)

VR is perfect for the gaming industry. It is also perfect for the tourist/travel/nature industry…. “Do you want to go to Egypt and experience the pyramids” or “Do you want to climb Everest”

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