Agents and Managers II

Different from how the Creeds dismiss talent agents due to their latent advantage, any other actor or talent would be lucky enough to employ one.

There are many reasons to have an agent or manager for other matters. For many A-listers or any other actor, their level of success is due to the efforts of their agent and management team.

Tom Cruise and other fledgling rookies with no prior knowledge of the film industry will have to hire guides so that they can make their mark in their careers.

Having an agent or manager means that they have another person or group of people on their team. Having a team means that you can work together to achieve one common goal. Whether it be to get a part in this movie, lobby for a commercial, or try to win an Oscar

It is important to note that when their client is successful as an actor, so are they. The actor-agent teamwork is a solid partnership.

Of course, having a partnership means that the two sides must meet and agree on certain terms. If not, then it would be the same leeching or crappy partnership that Mark and his recently dismissed agent have had.

Having a good agent means he has good and well-established connections.

An actor might have great people skills or better yet, be great at schmoozing.

However, it would take at least years to establish the relationships that a mid-level agent has.

They are communicating with casting directors, directors, and producers every day.

Acting, directing, and producing are all about connections. A good agent will be able to take advantage of their professional relationships to get their client some auditions or work in general.

The Creeds' self-sufficiency in projects bypassed the need for interpersonal project proposals and auditioning.

Sadly, not everyone has the talents and resources that they have, so everyone else has to go through the agent mediating process.

Talent agents and managers have a knack for organization.

Acting and filmmaking can be exhausting. There have been a number of studies recently about the effects a career in the performance arts can have on actors.

Little Alexander's bouts of anxiety are among them.

So, even if a certain person is as organized and proactive as the talented little devil, there will always be periods of exhaustion and stress for other people.

When a person feels despondent and uninspired, it would be tough going to contact theatre companies, casting directors, and producers. Which is a problem that most agent-less actors or freelance filmmakers would face.

Agents are able to remain objective; this is their job. They are working 9-5 to get their actors to work, so they can remain organized and on top of things.

With the emotional turmoil inherent in acting or filmmaking, the reality is it is hard to remain organized and proactive without help from an agent or manager.

It is also no secret that not all actors are adept in education. Most of them jump into the job without caring about how the real world works. Which is why agents and managers would be there to help with deals and finances

Most agents have a lawyer on staff or at least are very familiar with performance contracts.

They would try to negotiate a deal where their clients are the product. They are constantly dealing with producers and people who can give their client work, the people that they want to like their clients, and negotiate with them on how the filming process and payments are all about.

It is incredibly awkward and difficult. This is another major reason why having an agent is important for actors. Agents work to always get their clients the best possible deal.

If their client gets more, they get more as well. A very leechy but commission-based deal where everyone in the partnership wins if they win that is.

Agents and managers also help with opening perspectives.

When one is an actor or filmmaker your view of the industry can become quite narrow. Having an agent who is looking at their client's career path more objectively means they can offer insights and advice that their clients fail to see.

A good agent will have at least a couple of strategy meetings with their talents over the course of a year. Where one would reflect and work together to see where to go next.

Having another perspective would be great for the money-centric Alexander. Fortunately for him, his grandfather and father are more than enough to exceed the value of any random agent or manager.

Despite Alexander's doubtfulness, having an amazing agent could be awesome. His father's and his mother's professionalism may be a great example of why it could be so.

His deceased mother must be someone who is always on the side of his battered dad, trying to help his constant failure transform into the dream his father was so passionate about.

Alexander might always rib at his father that he would make his crappy work un-crappy but now he knew that it may be a work of fate. His little existence must be to continue what his deceased mother always hoped to achieve for her husband.

Yes, most agents are doing it because they want to make money, but most agents love what they do and genuinely want to see their talent succeed.

Mark's unending drive despite the constant backlash mist is due to the efforts that his wife had done for him.

As for Mark's unfaithful and unnamed agent, it would be an important lesson to always aim to be represented by a reputable agent. To never sign with an agent out of desperation or just because one must have to have an agent.

There are many successful freelance actors and despite his mother and father's untold love story, Alexander strives to try continuing an agent-less and manager-less career for a while.

Who knows, it might change in the future! Being a freelance actor could be empowering, and in many cases, more beneficial when the alternative could be an agent or manager that may not be doing their job properly.