ei Total Productions wrote:
I chuckle when I read these threads. To the OP, just turn and walk away. It is nonsense. You are talking about a sluggo, not a manager.
That said, it is clear that few here understand what a legitimate manager does. The better ones, are some of the most powerful people in the business, far more powerful than agents. Some will take on a newbie, most will not. In Hollywood, they say that a "good manger is worth his weight in gold."
Alas, this is the net and not the mainstream. Managers serve no place here.
AJScalzitti wrote:
Models have agents and agencies, not managers on the Interent and in mainstream. You mentioned Hollywood and I think everyone would agree that isn't mainstream. If a model reaches the point of supermodel status (rare these days) maybe a manager is needed. these are the same manager who probably suggested many supermodels get into acting in the 80s and we all know how well that went for us, the viewing public.
Nothing I am about to say is meant to flame you. I love your posts, your wisdom and I like you as a person. You do realize that before moving to San Francisco, I was a successful mainstream talent manager. My clients were models, actors and a few musicians and specialty acts. In principle, you are correct, a model in the mainstream will have an agent. The agency will often handle their management services. What if a model is having trouble getting signed? That is where a manager will often step in with new talent.
A good, qualified, legitimate manager will evaluate new talent. They will try to identify why they haven't been signed. Sometimes, they are simply unsignable. Perhaps they just don't have the look. Maybe they are unrealistic, such as to height. There are models, though, who are 5'9" with a perfect look who can't get signed. It is often a personality issue or an inability to sell themselves. A professional manager will step in and provide them with the development services to overcome those issues.
There are other models who are viable in most ways, but have issues such as age, height or other things. In the business, we term those as disabilities. As an example, if a model is 20, 21 or 22, perhaps even 23, it gets harder to get an agency to sign you, Let's say that a model is 5'7", but with a perfect fashion look, it is also difficult to get signed. A manager will look at those disabilities to see if it is possible to overcome them. The normal approach is to create a persona, market the models into a niche' get them tearsheets and then approach an agency.
You have to remember, in general, what agencies are looking for. It is one of two things. For fashion, it will be a model 15-18, 5'9" -5'11", approximately a size two with great photogenic features and the personality to sell herself. The second is someone who is already making money. That is the key. By getting the model substantitive tears, we move them into that category and essentially make them signable through the back door. Competent managers have other strategies if they have the client with potential that can't get themself signed.
In general, most young actors/actresses will have a manager before they have an agent. It takes professional help for most to negotiate the labyrinth of Hollywood. A few get signed early. A few get lucky, but most start with a manager before an agent.
Of course, models who are very successful and heavily working actors will also have managers. Those are for the things most here are familiar with.
That is why I chuckle when I read these kinds of threads. I am not sure there are many, if any of you who actually knows what a competent, professional manager does. I think many of you simply repeat what you have heard from people who also don't know. You would be surprised at the tricks and techniques I have used to get models signed, even after they have been rejected time and again. For a manager, that is the brass ring. Managers don't get models work, they develop their careers. The end game is always to them signed with a reputable and effective Ultimately,that is how the manager will make his money.
Having said all of that, I agree with a lot of what you are saying. A model doesn't find a competent manager on the net. A sluggo will always hurt and will never help. For most models, they will either get signed on their own or they really won't have a chance. There is just a limited group of models that can actually be helped by professional management. A good manager will know who has promise and will have a track record getting them signed.
Which is the bottom line. Most of the girls who are handled by sluggos don't have a hare's chance of ever really being successful. That is the joke of it. These guys, these sluggos, manage girls that I would have turned away at the door.
So your point is well taken, but you are missing mine.
