Los Angeles, California, United States
To be a good talent and literary manager you need to be a great salesperson, know how to develop your talent and market your talent appropriately. I will be happy to share the in’s and out’s I have learned about this business.
I am the owner, president and manager of Niad Management and represent a handful of writers and actors. It's just me and my assistant. I am in complete control and choose whom I want to take on, and when I want to take them on. I only represent the people I am passionate about and have the freedom to fight as hard as I want for them. It's up to me. Yet, I still have to navigate the waters of the industry with aplomb.
Here’s just a bit of what we can cover in our PivotPlanet session(s):
• How to network.
• How to find talent.
• How to manage your talent.
• How to develop your clients.
• How to find a manager.
It is always important to remember when you own your own business not to take things personally. It's especially hard not to when you've built a company from nothing, and it's all you. However, if you take things personally it will crush you. It has to be just business. Clients will come and go. Business acquaintances will be your allies.
I began my career in entertainment at the Comedy Store writing comedy material with and for the likes of the late great Judy Toll and Andrew “Dice” Clay.
Eight months later, an opportunity opened up at International Creative Management (ICM). I began working with and discovering clients such as Robert Rodriguez (Spy Kids; El Mariachi), Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge), Randall Wallace (Braveheart; Pearl Harbor), Spike Lee, and Gregory Allen Howard (Remember the Titans; Ali). Within a year and a half, I was promoted after I discovered superstar, Shawn Levy (Pink Panther; Night at the Museum) and signed the Stephen J. Cannell Co. to the agency.
I left being an agent at ICM because I wanted to work more closely with my clients in a more developmental and personal way and in a less corporate environment. I needed something more nurturing - something more hands on and personally satisfying.
I am proud of the success I have had with my clients including developing Haley Ramm into a working actress from age 11; getting the rights to Ender's Game out from Warner Brothers and setting them up with Odd Lot Entertainment; and selling the film rights to MacGyver three times, even though it hasn't been made yet.