Behind The Curtain: What do managers look for in a potential client's ...

Another in a new GITS series called ?Behind The Curtain.? It arises from an inspiration Franklin Leonard had ? you can read about it here: Basically if you have questions about specific aspects of how the film or TV business works, you can post them here, then Franklin will find experts in the field to answer them.

Today?s question comes from @merry_farraman on Twitter:

do managers read specs differently than others? do they look for potential or sellability like agents, prods, etc?

Franklin posed that question to Adam Kolbrenner, manager and president of Madhouse Entertainment. Here is his response:

I look for voice. (Shit, I could host a better version of NBC?s ?The Voice? for writers.) If the voice is there as a writer, that means they have nothing else to do as a career other than be a writer because that is what they are born to do. That also means that they are going to work as hard as I believe screenwriters have to work today. I look for potential clients in any way possible in every medium (film, TV, stage, novels, etc) but that?s only 99% of why I take on a new client. The other 99% is simple: how hard are you willing to work for yourself. From there, we determine together what a good idea is for a film for them to write as a spec. My clients are prolific by design, because they want to accomplish more and are willing to do the work to get there.

My clients include David Guggenheim (?Safe House?) and Aaron Guzikowski (?Contraband?) as two recent samples of this equation.

So first thing voice. Second thing the writer?s commitment to and passion for their craft. The latter seems pretty easy to determine. For instance, just read the comments of the seven screenwriters featured in the current roundtable posts and their commitment and passion is palpable in their very words.

But voice? Not so easy to wrangle, is it?

Why don?t we use Adam Kolbrenner?s response to open up the subject for discussion? What is voice? How do you develop your voice? How do you convey your voice?

I hope to see you in comments? because if voice is the #1 thing managers look for in a potential client, it makes a helluva lot of sense to know our way around the subject.

Source: http://gointothestory.blcklst.com/2012/03/behind-the-curtain-what-do-managers-look-for-in-a-potential-clients-spec-script.html

snapdragon kim jong ill dead wedding crashers next iron chef next iron chef aquamarine iraq war