Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: For me, a lot of where, like, I think about this job being kind of entrepreneurial comes from is that it comes from this idea of, like, I rep a writer who writes all these, like, incredible kind of fantasy dystopian worlds.
That's not something that like, most of the studios are really, really looking for right now. But my job is not to tell her, you need to write something different. My job is to find the people who want to make the fantasies and the dystopian sci fi's, no matter how hard it is to find them.
[00:00:31] Speaker B: I'm Luke Steinfeld.
[00:00:32] Speaker C: And I'm Wyatt Sarkisian.
[00:00:34] Speaker B: We made the 5050 podcast to support you on your filmmaking journey.
[00:00:37] Speaker C: 50% business, 50% creative.
[00:00:40] Speaker B: Every Tuesday, a new how to.
[00:00:42] Speaker C: This week we talk with Kyra Guess. The coordinator and soon to be manager at Mosaic wasn't always destined to be a rep. She spent years in London in an acting conservatory. Then an agency gig to pay the bills turned into a fascination with representing artists.
Now at Mosaic, she works in the lit department, reading scripts. Specifically with an eye for character, a subtlety that only a trained actress can detect. Kira is also a frequent face at 5050 comedy and horror. Speaking of that, we're still buzzing from Sunday's 5050 horror event. We screened five phenomenal horror shorts, celebrated five directors and their production teams and connected artists thereafter with supportive reps, producers, execs, and everything in between.
Stay tuned for more information on these films. It will surely not be the last time you hear about them. All right, let's get to Kira.
It's always a. It's always a green flag if you're able to do a weekend coffee with someone instead of drinks. In my mind, like, it's so much nicer. Luke, I know you're a fan of a weekend coffee.
[00:01:42] Speaker B: I know, I know. We spoke about that.
[00:01:44] Speaker A: Yeah, I did like a drinks with someone once. Where we went to the Grove. We got empanadas from the farmer's market, and then we walked around Pan Pacific park and like, that was our drinks. Was walking around Pan Pacific park at sunset. It was incredible.
[00:02:01] Speaker B: That's a hundred.
[00:02:02] Speaker C: That definitely sounds more like a date.
[00:02:05] Speaker B: But it really.
[00:02:07] Speaker C: At sunset.
[00:02:08] Speaker B: 100% a date.
[00:02:09] Speaker C: What time should we meet at sunset?
[00:02:12] Speaker B: Let's get empanadas and walk around the park. What ended up happening with that relationship? How long did you guys go out together like that?
[00:02:19] Speaker A: It was that one night.
Who's that? One night.
[00:02:22] Speaker C: One night stand.
[00:02:23] Speaker B: It's like crazy, but for assistance.
[00:02:28] Speaker A: Exactly. Now that I'm saying it in this. Yeah, it does sound really like a
[00:02:32] Speaker B: date, but yeah, that'd be a crazy movie pitch. Before sunrise.
[00:02:39] Speaker C: Yikes.
[00:02:40] Speaker A: Yikes.
[00:02:41] Speaker B: Well, no, nothing romantic happens, obviously.
[00:02:43] Speaker A: It just drinks.
[00:02:45] Speaker C: Exactly.
[00:02:46] Speaker A: That's the whole thing. And the number of people that I've gotten drinks with and been like, oh, we're best friends now. And then I text them like two months later to ask them a question about something where they work, and they just never ever replied to me again.
[00:02:58] Speaker C: Oh, yikes.
[00:03:00] Speaker B: Probably because, like, text them before that. Before.
[00:03:04] Speaker A: I know.
[00:03:06] Speaker C: But when you get drinks with someone, you're. Then it's then like an open pathway of communication of. I can ask you a question about what's.
[00:03:14] Speaker B: Is it like a. Is it like a three day thing? You know, when you go on a first date and it's like right when.
[00:03:20] Speaker C: When you're supposed to text the person like, hey, by the way, I really enjoyed that.
[00:03:23] Speaker B: Yeah. Do you do it right after or do you do it like immediately? I mean, or, or. Or like two months later or something?
[00:03:30] Speaker A: Well, I mean, I think if it's like. If we're talking about Pan Pacific empanada, park date, then it is of course, within like 24 hours.
[00:03:37] Speaker B: It's like this again.
[00:03:40] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:03:40] Speaker C: We should do this, this exact thing again.
[00:03:43] Speaker A: I'm like, work. If it's like, truly, truly work. Drink. I'm like, you should I. If someone texted me seven months after we got work drinks and was like, oh, my God, it's been forever.
Can you send me this Mosaic manager's email? I would be like, yeah, of course. Here.
[00:03:57] Speaker C: Yeah, I completely agree.
Completely agree. I don't get. I don't get many texts about, like, from familiar. You know, it's just like, it's nice. It always feels familiar if you spent an hour with someone.
[00:04:10] Speaker B: True. It's a great point.
[00:04:12] Speaker C: Gossiping.
[00:04:13] Speaker B: How do you. How do you like Mosaic?
[00:04:15] Speaker A: I love Mosaic. I always joke that I can't talk about the company without brown nosing them.
They did, in fact, promote me without me having to interview.
So, like, that was kind of awesome.
[00:04:28] Speaker B: That's pretty cool.
[00:04:29] Speaker A: When I. Thank you. When I applied to the company, I got the job within 36 hours of applying.
[00:04:36] Speaker C: They just love you there.
[00:04:38] Speaker A: I guess so. They're just like, you are. You are a girl. No, I mean, I love it.
[00:04:42] Speaker B: They.
[00:04:43] Speaker A: Jimmy, there's this. I don't know. Have either of you ever been into our offices?
No, actually, there is like a mat. Like, I'm talking. It's gotta be like 5ft by 10ft poster right when you walk in the door that says, free your mind, and the rest will follow.
And Jimmy has this very elaborate story about why he believes in that as, like, his business mentality and why it's this huge poster at the very, very front of the building. But he, like, so much a guy of, like, take the risk and, like, do the crazy thing, and, like, it will probably work out and, like, see what happens. And that is much more my ethos. And, like, I came from a company before that was very, like, we must do the safe thing. And so going from that. And also an agency that was, like, primarily men over the age of 55 to a company where, like, the average age of the manager is probably, like, 38, for sure. Like, Chef's kiss.
[00:05:38] Speaker C: Do you think that's a general difference between agencies and management companies?
[00:05:42] Speaker A: I don't think it is. I think there are a lot of management companies where it go very by the book. Yes, like, very by the book. A bunch of old men. I have a friend who just started at a different management company, and she was telling me about, like, the way that their staff meetings run and, like, the way that it is, like, it's so hierarchical of, like, very distinctly. Like, I am the partners, and I'm in charge, and, like, I have a friend who's a coordinator at that management company, and, like, he has a weekly meeting with one of the partners where he has to come in and present, like, the things he's found as a coordinator for specifically that partner's clients, which is, like, cool for him that he gets that much FaceTime. Also, I'm like, that's just being a covering agent for specifically one manager's client lists. And, like, that feels very agency to me. Whereas, like, Mosaic pretty much was, like, your coordinator. Here's a phone. Go.
[00:06:35] Speaker C: Yeah, just start building your own. Your own roster, your own. Yeah, I mean, that's great.
Did you find that you aligned with that sense of entrepreneurship, or was it learned?
[00:06:47] Speaker A: No, I think that, like, the reason I work at that company is because that is the way that I operate. Like, the way I always kind of describe it is like, they are a company that gives you the rope, and they're like, you're either gonna figure out how to climb this or you're gonna hang yourself with it. And I do way better with, like, just figure it out than I do with people being like, these are all the steps you have to take, and these are all the people that you have to, like, have these political conversations with. And, like, I. The whole way That I came to being coordinator was because I was on a desk that was very chill. And I was at a company before where I was in a really weird position. And so I kind of, like, had all of these weird relationships. And I was like, we don't have a lit coordinator. Like, I'm just gonna start doing the job because it's not gonna hurt me, and it's only gonna make me look good if I'm bringing in information for the company. So even though I was fully an on desk assistant, I was just, like, calling like, dods and being like, hey, I cover Sony for Mosaic. Do you guys have any assignments? And they were like, girl.
But then I think for Mosaic, I made a staffing grid from scratch and just, like, started sending it out on email as an assistant. And so I think they were like, what is this? Like, I think, like, Jimmy being like, just do the thing and see what happens. I think she appreciated and, like, I think that is, like, very much, like, top down has trickled down through the culture of the company. I think they appreciate people who are just like, okay, I see an opportunity and I'm just gonna send it.
[00:08:14] Speaker B: Yeah. I was gonna say before we. Because I want to hear, like, the foundation of all this and, like, where you come from and all that great stuff. But I think before that, just a little nugget which we can dig into later in the episode. But, like, what do you look for when signing or signing, in quotes, clients.
[00:08:35] Speaker A: Yeah, I think, like, the thing that I have really started to, I think, pay more attention to as I've started to, like, get into a place where I'm, like, having more serious conversations with people about representing them, is that, like, there. There are kind of two kinds of writers, and there are the writers who are like, I have 8 million ideas, and I want to get them all out on paper, and I want to get them into the world, and they have the need to create. And then there are writers who are like, I like the concept of being a writer. I like getting to sit at my desk and mull over everything and be super specific about the entire world.
And they're very, very, very precious about their work. And I think that there are totally professions in which, like, if you're a novelist, like, that kind of second type of writer is, like, very beneficial.
I think film and TV is so much more of, like, a very fast pace. And you have to kind of be willing to also, like, take so many other people's notes and be unprecious with
[00:09:39] Speaker C: your work in a lot of ways.
[00:09:40] Speaker A: Exactly. And I'm like, I think the thing that I'm starting to find myself gravitate towards a little bit more is the people who are like, I just want to get this thing out into the world because also the industry is contracting. It is a thing. I'm very optimistic about it, which, that's a soapbox that we can get into if you guys want. But I think given that the industry is contracting, writers and directors need to also be entrepreneurial, I think, in their own way. And I think some of that comes down to not being overly precious and being like, I have these ideas and I want to and I need to make them and what do I do and how, how can I help to get them there?
[00:10:20] Speaker C: Yeah, that, that sense of entrepreneurship amongst writers seems to sort of parallel you and the work environment that you find yourself in of like you make the staffing grid because you're like, this is helpful. And I'm just going to put it on someone's desk and hope that they're like, this is helpful. You know, as a writer, it's like, I'm just going to write this because I want to and not be precious about it or put a one pager together and run it by my manager because, you know, maybe this is a great idea, you know.
[00:10:47] Speaker A: Well, and I also think there's this thing of like, we are in such a phase in the industry of like, there needs to be more original voices and there needs to be like, we need fresh blood. And that is just a fact of it. And I think part of the stoppage of it is that there's a lot of seasoned writers who are very used to just like being handed an open writing assignment by a studio because that's how it worked 30 years ago. And it's a lot of work to, to write a spec script. Like, I'm not gonna lie about that. It's a lot of work to sit at your desk and be like, yeah, I'm gonna come up with an entire world and write 120 page feature about it.
But like, if you really wanna be a writer now, I feel like part of what you have to be willing to do is to be like, no, I'm gonna, I'm gonna make this story and I'm gonna bring it to people. Because also a lot of the executives are also in that kind of age range and they don't have the fresh blood, they don't have all the new ideas that like a Gen Z moviegoer is gonna be like, yeah, fuck it, I'M gonna go to the movie to see Obsession over and over again because it's so exciting to me because it's new.
So I think that's part of it as well.
[00:11:53] Speaker B: Are you, are you someone that focuses on genre specific writers?
[00:11:58] Speaker A: Not really. It's comical because, yeah, it's funny because like, it is such a comedy forward company and yet comedy is kind of the only thing that I don't do.
I am more of a drama and genre person, but like, within those, I'm not really picky. Like, I love a fantasy, I love a dystopian and I love a thriller. I love a sci fi. I like, I'm not a huge, like slasher horror person, but I will also live in that world.
[00:12:27] Speaker B: Cool. I love that. Okay, let's talk about where you come from.
[00:12:31] Speaker C: Yeah, let's talk about you. And then get, and then get back to your optimism on the industry because that's also something that I do feel like we try to, we try to be optimistic on the podcast and I think we definitely align with that because a lot of our audience are people in their early 20s, college, like, who feel bombarded by the industry. So we want to, we want to sort of push that optimism forward. But yes. Where, where did you come from? What is your experience? Did you always think you were going to become a manager or what's.
[00:13:02] Speaker A: What's going on?
I did not always think I was going to be a manager. I was. I grew up in Colorado and I was a little wee child and my parents were like, play a sport. And I was like, no. They were like, you have to do something where you learn how to make friends. And I said, fine, I'll do dance. And the dance turned into theater. And then I was like, I'm going to be an actress.
So from like 7 year olds to I guess like 20 year old, I was like, I'm going to be an actress. And like, that was the dream. That was the goal. I went to performing arts high school that led me to going to a conservatory in the uk And I was there for. Yeah, it was like, it was a jump pop and a skip. I'd never visited London before. I was 18 and I auditioned for the school on a whim. I was like, no way I'm going to get into this school. Miraculously did get in. Had never visited the country before, had already accepted a position in another college. Was like, okay. I emailed the dean. This is like so funny to me. I emailed the dean and I was like, hey, I'm So sorry. Like, I know I already accepted a position. I had, like, negotiated my scholarship so that like, they were matching scholarship offers from other schools, like whole nine yards. And I was like, I'm so sorry I made you do all these things.
I just got into this school in London. Like, I think I have to rescind my acceptance and go to this school in the uk. And the dean literally wrote me back and she was like, you are making the right choice. Go to London. Like, have an incredible time. And she was like, if you ever want to come back, truly, she's like, if you ever want to come back and like, do a master's, like, let me know and I'll just like put you on the course. But, like, you're doing the right thing. And I was like, awesome.
Yeah, that dean and I were. We became besties in my interview. And it played out. But I. Yeah, I went to London and it was like full like 12 hour days. So I would start at 9 and leave at 9.
No gen eds, just like breath for actors and other ephemeral classes like that. And I got like halfway through it and started to just like have imposter syndrome in a way that I could no longer ignore. Like, I think I had it from as soon as I got interesting.
But I would just, I would look at my classmates and they're all so talented. Most of the people that I graduated with have worked, if not non stop, like substantially since we graduated.
And I would look at all these people who seemingly, like, didn't even have to try. Like, they would just rock up to rehearsal and like barely be memorized and have clearly not really done any like, work on the script or anything where like I would be sitting there every day, like doing all these like, writing exercises and like, like doing insane things in my bedroom, like trying to like, figure out the character. And then people would come into my class and they would get like one suggestion from a director and like, they could just penny drop and like absolutely rip characters and scenes in ways that I was like, no matter how hard I work at this, like, I'm never gonna be able to do that.
[00:16:02] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:16:03] Speaker A: And it also, I always really struggled with how ephemeral, like the work that you do as an actor is. Because I was like, there's nothing tangible at the end of it. Especially because it was all theater. Like, at least film and tv, you have a movie at the end, you have a show that you can show people.
When it's all theater, which is what like college ends up being. It's Literally, like, you do the show and you do it for four nights and people come see it and then like you have a notebook with your notes from the show and that's it. And I was always like, I feel like I'm doing so much work. And I A, felt like I wasn't making that much progress and B, didn't feel like I really had anything to show for it.
And like, there was always an element also of a very analytical brain. And so I would like sit in rehearsals and you could like see me thinking on stage instead of just like being the character. Like, I would be thinking about how I should be feeling instead of just feeling the thing.
And I was like, okay, like, I think, I think I need to like, do something to exercise the analytical brain a little bit more. And so that turned into maybe I want to be a producing, like, actor. And I was going to just like produce shows that I could cast myself. And that was my solution.
And so when I graduated, I was like, okay, like, this is, this is what I'm going to do. And I had gotten a job at an agency in the uk, but it was just like a day job to pay my bills at the time.
And I produced a show for a friend of mine and the show went up and I'm very proud of it and it got offered a transfer to an off West End theater and everything. But it was also the most stressful six weeks of my life.
And I came out of it being like, okay, I've proven, yeah, it was a six week timeline. I came onto it not knowing that that was the timeline. No cast, no stage manager, no director, no rehearsal space, hadn't started fundraising, like everything that you should do, like six months before.
[00:17:56] Speaker C: It seems like this is all just exhausting and a struggle and like, like, it's one thing if you're working so hard and then you have this sense of catharsis, of like, ah, like it's put up. This is the best feeling in the world. But I, I get the sense that you didn't like, get that second part a lot.
[00:18:13] Speaker A: No, it was just like, it was like a relief of like, I did the thing and like, it's up. But it was also a relief of like, that's done and thank God.
And I think coming out of that production I was like, like that that shouldn't be how I feel about something that, like I'm saying I want to be the rest of my life and that I, like I'm saying I'm so passionate about.
So I started kind of doing some soul searching. I was thinking about maybe trying to be a casting director, and I was at this agency, and I ended up just like. I mean, like, I can tell the whole story if you guys want, but I had, like, a lightning strike day where I was like, oh, my God, like, I have to be a rep. And that kind of led me down a rabbit hole of, like, considering it. And I think there are a lot of things that, like, piece together, but it, like, that ultimately, I think I had to try the other things and fail at them to then also find something that I was like, oh, this scratches. The, like, half itches I had from those other things.
[00:19:15] Speaker B: Did you have, like, a. Because you mentioned you're pretty visual but also, like, logistical. So you have, like, a big whiteboard and you're, like, crossing and stuff off or how did you. And all that?
[00:19:25] Speaker C: Yeah. What was. What was the lightning strike?
[00:19:28] Speaker B: Yeah, like what?
[00:19:28] Speaker A: I had a mental whiteboard. I did not have a physical whiteboard. Although, actually, I had a.
[00:19:34] Speaker C: They don't have those in. In London. They don't have whiteboards in London?
[00:19:37] Speaker A: No, they actually.
They never got there.
I. Maybe I, in, like, a journal somewhere had, like, written out a bunch of things. But the lightning strike was that we had this actress who, like, notoriously loved to cancel her auditions.
She was always, like, asking for extensions on her tapes. Like, very. She was very active brain. She did not have, like. She didn't like doing schedules and shit like that. And so because of that, a lot of the agents at the company I worked at were a little reluctant to answer the phone when it was her who was calling. And so I kind of ended up being the person who was, like, always on the phone with her.
[00:20:14] Speaker C: So classic. That's, like the most, like, agency assistant type thing of just, like. Yeah, just, like, chat with her, like, just. Just, you know.
[00:20:22] Speaker A: Yeah. But she had, like, just taken, like, a mini hiatus, and she was coming back into auditioning, and she got a West End audition, and it was the first one she'd had in, like, four months. And I sent her the audition request, and she called me within, like, 15 minutes and was like, I can't go to this audition. And I was like, okay, like, tell me why? Like, do you need a different time, a different date? Like, I can talk to casting. And she's like, no, they want me to sing a song, and I do not sing. And I was like, okay, it's not a musical. We wouldn't have put you up for a musical. We know you're not a Musical theater girly.
You're auditioning to play a mom. They probably just, like, want you to sing a lullaby to your son at some point, and they want to make sure you're not going to freeze up on stage. Like, I guarantee you could sing Happy Birthday and the casting directors would not mind.
And she was like, no. Like, happy Birthday is so embarrassing. I can't do that.
[00:21:11] Speaker C: I was like, okay, I hate the Happy Birthday song.
[00:21:14] Speaker B: I hate it. I don't sing it. I don't do that.
[00:21:17] Speaker C: I hate when people sing it to me and I don't sing it.
[00:21:22] Speaker A: Yes.
So I was like, okay. Like, what is. What is the workaround here? And I was like, okay, well, what kind of music do you listen to? And she's like, I listen to a lot of jazz. And I was like, awesome. Ella Fitzgerald's entire work that's great. Is, like, speak, singing and scatting. It's like, we're gonna do. I'm gonna hang up the phone, and you're gonna go listen to your favorite Ella Fitzgerald album, and you're gonna sing through it the whole time. And if you get to a song that you like, great. That's your song. And, like, if you need help finding sheet music, call me. I will get it for you.
And if you get through your whole album and you can't find anything, you even quasi, like, call me back and, like, we'll figure it out from there. Because I was like, if she calls me back, then this becomes an agent's problem. Like, I. I've done everything I can.
[00:22:08] Speaker B: Great.
[00:22:08] Speaker C: But you've also, like, what you've done there. And sorry to. Sorry to pause you for a sec, but what you've done there is you've, like, given her a solution, but also kept the door open for if you don't. If this doesn't work, I'll provide another alternative, which is, like, essential customer service rep type thing, you know?
[00:22:27] Speaker A: Thank you. Thank you.
But, yeah, so I, like, hung up the phone with her, and I.
I was the only assistant at this agency. It was like a bullpen office. I sat at a desk in the middle, and all of the agents just sat in a circle around me, and it was a crazy drop.
[00:22:46] Speaker C: They're just staring at you all day, kind of. They had, like, their own offices, though, right? They had their own offices.
[00:22:53] Speaker A: No, I'm talking one big room, six desks in a circle.
[00:22:58] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:22:59] Speaker A: And me in the middle with my little phones. Also, the phone systems were not the phone systems, like, as we know them in Hollywood. It was like a home phone. You know how you used to. Like, it didn't have a cord.
We basically had seven home phones, and there was just one.
One cradle on each person's desk.
[00:23:16] Speaker C: And so it's not possible to make it more. Less complicated.
[00:23:20] Speaker A: It's like just. Just one phone line. When I'm. When someone called, I would pick up the phone, and then whoever they needed to talk to, I would say, stand up and hand that phone with that person on it to that agent. And I would take the phone off of the cradle on their desk and take that one back to mine.
[00:23:36] Speaker B: Oh, that makes sense.
[00:23:39] Speaker A: It was an adventure. It was an adventure. But I got off that phone call with that actress, and it was like Wolf of Wall street. And everyone had stopped talking and had just turned in their chairs to, like, watch me have this conversation.
[00:23:50] Speaker C: That is crazy.
[00:23:51] Speaker A: And I got off the phone, and one of the agents was. Was like, what the hell was that? Like, how did you do that? And I was like, I just talked to her. And that was one of the first catalysts of, like.
Because I had been an actress for so long, I was like, I have done this spiral. I have had this spiral. I also don't like.
And so I knew where the spiral was coming from and therefore knew how to get her out of it.
And that was, like, one of the first things that I was like, oh, maybe this is, like, a thing that could help me in this. Is that. Because I've. I've been that brand of crazy. I understand how to help that brand of crazy.
[00:24:34] Speaker B: Yeah. It's a great story. It's a great story.
[00:24:38] Speaker C: So then from there, did you finish up school? What. What did you. What was the. The timeline on coming back?
[00:24:44] Speaker A: Well, I was done with school at that point. Okay. So that was. I had graduated, like, almost a full year prior to that, because there was, like, six months after I graduated where I moved back to Colorado, and I was working in a coffee shop and just saving up money. And then I moved. When I had, like, barely just enough money, I moved back to London and I moved into a sublet. And that was when I got that job.
And so I. The, like, that was. I would say, like, probably six or seven months into working at that agency. And then as time went on, like, the next six months kind of just kept reaffirming to me that I was like, actually, I think this is the right thing for me. I think this is what I need to do.
And good old Rishi Sunak was prime minister at the time, and he does not really famously love immigrants. And so he was like, hey, unless you're making £60,000 a year, you cannot be on a work visa. And I was making £27,000 a year, and the company I worked for was like, hey, we don't even pay our highest paid agent that much money. Because it was like a very eat what you kill agency. So they were like, we're not going to be able to sponsor you for Visa, which they had originally promised.
So they're like, we're going to send around your resume to the companies that we share clients with in the us.
And I was like, great, awesome. That got me an interview for the mail room in Innovative Artists. And that was how I then, like, jumped to la. I interviewed for the job while I was still in London, lied, told them that I already had an apartment lined up in la and that I was like, yeah, I can be there in like 10 days.
Originally, didn't actually get the job because they were like, we need someone who can start like tomorrow and you're not going to be here for another two weeks. And then two weeks later, they needed someone else for the mailroom. So they emailed me and they were like, hey, we had another spot open up. Like, are you in LA yet? Like, do you want the job? I was like, yeah, I'm in la. I was not. I was on the South Bank. I was like 100%.
But I had a flight booked to Colorado the next day because I was like, my visa was expiring so I needed to leave anyways.
So I had already had that flight booked. I flew back to Colorado the day after I got offered the job and I had seven days to find somewhere to live in LA and buy a car and drive everything that I owned from Colorado out to California.
Um, and that was a very stressful week, but I did it.
[00:27:07] Speaker C: Crazy.
[00:27:08] Speaker B: That's a.
[00:27:09] Speaker A: That's.
[00:27:09] Speaker C: It's definitely one of. One of the good stories that there.
[00:27:12] Speaker A: That's like my, like my entire life has just been a series of, like, kind of convincing people that I already live in the city in which I'm trying to get a job and then figuring it out after the fact.
[00:27:25] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:27:26] Speaker A: But, yeah, so I got to Innovative, and the agency that I'd worked at in the UK was all talent. So I didn't touch on the lit side of things, which is now much more my focus until I got to the US. But I joined when A3, another lit agency had just collapsed because after the writer strikes, they just did not have any cash Flow and like three or four of those agents joined Innovative together and were like, we want to revamp the entire structure of this company.
And they already had assistance, but the assistants were also all double desk and like did not have the. Yeah, they did not have the bandwidth to be building a new infrastructure tracking system for staffing and open assignments. And so they hired me onto a double desk which was half cross departmental assistant for the entire lit department and then also assisting the endorsements agent. So across the board I went from supporting six agents to like I think 13 agents, which was an adventure.
[00:28:27] Speaker C: Insane.
[00:28:28] Speaker A: Yeah. And I basically just got handed a to do list on my first day of like 25 things that they were like, go build or fix all of these things. Right. And that became my job.
[00:28:41] Speaker C: My God. What, how, how did it differ?
I. I'm. I'm just like, where did you move?
[00:28:50] Speaker B: Where did. What did you find like a horrible apartment somewhere or you got.
[00:28:53] Speaker C: They're in Santa Monica, right?
[00:28:54] Speaker A: I lucked out there in Santa Monica. I found a place in West Hollywood, but I. Well actually I guess it was Beverly Hills. I lucked out in the most insane way. And this is where I'm like the power of Instagram. Every sublet I've ever had I have found through Instagram.
I posted something on my Instagram being like, I'm moving to Los Angeles. Does anyone have a sublet review date for please? Otherwise I will be homeless.
And someone who I had met literally once reposted it on her story.
Her ex girlfriend's or her friend's ex girlfriend had just gone through a different breakup and was like, I want to fuck off to Hawaii for a month. I don't want to be here.
So she was like, I'll sublet you my room. And she lived in a house that her friend owned.
So I had a 6 week sublet that I paid $750 for in a house too. It's like in a house. In a house in Beverly Hills. It was the cheapest rent I've ever paid in my life. It was incredible. And one of those.
[00:29:56] Speaker B: Did you negotiate that rate or you.
[00:29:58] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:29:58] Speaker B: They just said that.
[00:30:00] Speaker A: I wish I could say I did, but unfortunately no. She just was like here.
And one of those people is now genuinely one of my best friends in la, so was so, so lucky. I was in fact commuting though an hour.
I did also total my car in the first month of living in la, which was rough because it was a car that I had bought new and driven off of the lot.
My Car insurance at one point after the, like immediately after the crash, when they first adjusted it, there was one month where I paid $1,200 for car insurance.
[00:30:35] Speaker B: Whoa.
[00:30:36] Speaker A: Before I immediately said, no, no, I'm not. I'm not with GEICO anymore. And I left.
But it was. That was a fun. It was a fun time.
Wow.
[00:30:46] Speaker B: Sounds like it. Yeah.
[00:30:48] Speaker C: So you are working for 13 agents at Innovative because there's been a slew of people from A3 and their people coming over and they're reformatting the whole thing.
[00:31:00] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:31:01] Speaker C: Was that.
I mean, was that cool to be like foundational in reformatting things? I'm sure it was like a huge burden to some extent too. But also, like, did you feel. I don't know, there is something about like working at a small company, which I think you've continued to do to some extent, that's like, oh, I like what I do. Really makes a difference here. And how early did you find that you could adapt to that?
[00:31:26] Speaker A: Yeah. The thing that's crazy is that even though it was an absolutely insane number of people to be assisting, like they all had their own actual assistants. And so I was in this.
I very quickly was kind of like, I'm obsessed with this job in a way because of the fact that I wasn't anyone's direct assistant.
The endorsements agent very quickly was like, you're obviously very into this lit thing and is very self sufficient and is a gem of a human and knew that I was maybe doing two to three hours of work for his desk a day and was like, fine, go with it. Like, I want you to be able to succeed at this company. So shout out Mark Fenlon. He's incredible. Love him.
But I had gone from this job where I truly was the only assistant. And I was spending every hour of every day booking and self tapes and confirming auditions and doing very. The very like scheduling tasks of most assistants. And so it was actually really nice to go from that into a position where there was no real, like, there was no real plan given to me or no real, like expectation of how you should spend every day. Because also a lot of them had no clue how to do it themselves. They basically, they're the VP of their production department.
They. She designed basically the whole database that the entire company uses. And so they were like, she's your resource. If you need to ask her questions to figure out how to do stuff, do it.
And so I would just go up to her office like once a day and I'd be like, I'm trying to build this thing. I'm trying to figure out how to integrate this part of our system into this part of the system. We ended up, like, getting on phone calls with a guy who coded the system and he was rewriting code to link things that I was building. It was.
[00:33:11] Speaker C: I've done that back. I've had to do that sort of thing.
[00:33:14] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:33:15] Speaker C: The coder, they don't. They're not in the business in the same way that we are, for sure.
But, yes. You're like boots on the ground doing the work.
[00:33:25] Speaker A: Yeah. And I think the thing that was exciting about it also was that I got to sit in on all of the lit meetings. And so I started playing the game with myself of, yes, I'm already doing all these things that you've asked me to do, but I'm also hearing you say in the meetings, it would be so nice if I. If we had this. It would be so nice if we had that. And trying to figure out how to integrate those things into what I was already being asked to do and trying to figure out how to make myself right.
[00:33:54] Speaker C: They're not expecting it, but. Yeah, exactly. Figuring out ways that you can do the thing where you're like, I heard you needed this. I put it into it, you know.
[00:34:04] Speaker A: Yeah. I think, like, there's. When you look at the course of my career, I think there's a very big element of.
It's a combination of luck, like, lucky timing and me being very willing to just figure stuff out.
[00:34:20] Speaker C: Resourceful and keeping your ear to the ground and all that.
[00:34:23] Speaker A: Yeah. Like, I have kind of periodically ended up at places in times where there have been very visible gaps. And I've just been like, I'm gonna be the person to fill that. I'm just gonna figure it out. And I think that has been probably like, the. The most helpful thing over the course of my career.
[00:34:41] Speaker B: Where did you learn that trait? Because you mentioned you were negotiating in high school and this wasn't. This isn't like a new thing that you learned at an agency.
And. And also just honestly the confidence to be like, yeah, I am in la. I can take this job.
[00:34:58] Speaker A: Totally. Yeah.
I think, honestly, I think some of it could. Comes from the idea when you're, like, growing up as an actor, when you're in acting school, of the thing of actors lie on their resume all the time. They notoriously will be like, I know how to ice skate. I know how to ice skateboard.
[00:35:16] Speaker C: Yeah, I can ride horses.
[00:35:17] Speaker A: All that. Exactly. And then if and when you book the role, you're like, okay, you just figure it out. I'll go figure it out.
[00:35:23] Speaker C: I feel like every famous actor has a story where they, like, booked a role and they're like, well, shit, I need to actually learn how to play the piano.
[00:35:29] Speaker A: Or whatever. Exactly. So I think there's an element of that. I think I also am intrinsically very much a people pleaser. And I think there's also an element of not. Like, there's a part of me that if anyone ever asks me for anything, I want to be able to say, like, yes. And I want to be able to give them whatever it is they're asking for. Which sometimes is not great, but in the context of management and representation is very good. Because it means you just have to.
If you're constant, like, if your goal is to always be able to make something work for your client, if your goal is always to be able to get them the yes, you have to figure out how to kind of work around the guidelines sometimes totally.
[00:36:17] Speaker C: Or be like, I can't do it exactly this way, but providing, like, I. I learned very soon, like, providing an alternative solution. And that might even be a better way to do it. But, like, being like, okay, this is not working. Here's all the information I have, but these are the three other things that I can do for you. Like, just always being, like, never putting it back on them and being like, well, you gotta do it, you know?
[00:36:39] Speaker A: Yeah. Because it started, I think, more with when I was, like, younger and had way less context. It started more as someone. If someone, like, asked me something that I couldn't do or didn't know how to do, sometimes it was more of a, like, do you know how to do this thing? And I would be like, I don't, but I can figure it out. Or it would be, do you know this information? It would be, I don't, but I can figure it out. And I think it started there and then, like, realizing that people liked that response, but that you get an even better response if you're just like, yes, and you're resourceful enough to figure out how to do it. That, that, that makes you so valuable in other people's eyes. Because if you also, if they trust you to figure it out, whether or not you're doing it in the traditional way like that, that makes. I feel like that makes people trust you more and give you more kind of leeway to figure shit out. Because they're like, I don't. I don't really care how you figure out. As long as you get it done, you get it done. And I think that there is a big element of that in our industry.
[00:37:38] Speaker B: I've. I've never worked at an agency or representation at all, but from the outside looking in plenty of my friends, like, including Wyatt, obviously, at least on the representation side. But like, hearing the stories back in the day of like, those first few months and, and all that stuff and what you're being told and taught to do and what you can't do, and I just remember always being like, what? But like, I. I feel like they want you to break. They don't want you to break the rules. But, like, I feel like if you follow the rules, you're not going to progress in a, In a way that you might by carefully and intentionally breaking the rules. Because obviously breaking the rules in a desperate way or in ways.
[00:38:26] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:38:27] Speaker B: Might lead.
[00:38:28] Speaker C: Are detrimental to do it. Yeah, exactly.
[00:38:30] Speaker A: Exactly, exactly.
[00:38:31] Speaker B: And that's. I don't know, is that something you can be taught or is that something where, like, yourself, it just seems to come naturally?
[00:38:38] Speaker A: I don't know. And honestly, this is something that I've been thinking about a lot recently, but I think, I think you are right. I think there's an element of you have to do something. If you're trying to get promoted at an agency, at a management company, you have to do something that makes you stand out.
[00:38:58] Speaker C: I would say anywhere. Not even just. Yeah, like, you have. You have to just sacrifice time doing one thing to spend more time doing another thing. Does that make sense? Like, you, you have to figure out a way that you can still, like, maintain the baseline of your duties, but also just, like, be creative and suggest ideas, even though, like, your voice is quieter than others in the room. Like, you have to do that.
[00:39:23] Speaker A: Yeah, I think there is.
And I, like, I hope I want to say that there is a way to teach that, but I think the thing that it comes down to more, you can teach someone how to, like, work around outlines. You can teach someone how to work outside of the box. What you can't teach them is the willingness to take that risk.
And I think that's the thing is you have to be.
You have to be willing to bet on yourself enough that you're like, I could get in trouble for doing this, but I'm going to do it anyway. Like, one of the tasks I got given when I was at Innovative was that they wanted updated contact lists for all of the production companies and studios. And I at the time had maybe done two networking drinks, like I did not know anyone at any of the studios. And I also wasn't on a lit desk, so I wasn't like, setting meetings with people that I could then be like, let's go get drinks. I literally just had to cold call people. And the only way I could think to get updated contact lists was to just call the companies and basically try and talk them into giving me the information.
But I found out very quickly that if you call like a CE or a dod, they're not going to just give you that information.
So I started calling the president of all of these different companies offices, and I literally, like, I think the second or third time I did it, like, Peter Kramer by any other name picked up their own phone.
And I was like, all of a sudden on the phone with the president of a studio.
And I had. And he was like, hi. And I was like, hi, is this. Is this Peter Craver's office? And he was like, no, this is Peter.
[00:41:08] Speaker C: This is he.
[00:41:10] Speaker A: And I was like, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I was calling for your office. And like, I fully could have gotten shouted at. Who I. It wasn't Peter Kramer. Whoever it was, I called this very chill about. It was like, oh, just email my assistant. This is their email.
But you have to kind of be willing to put yourself in a position where you might. You might get yelled at. Someone might be like, what on earth do you think you're doing?
And like, the same for. If you're doing something internally, someone might come up to you and be like, no one asked you to make these coverage, phone calls. Why do you. Why do you think that you should be calling CEs and coordinators to get information?
And I think it's a lot harder at agencies because there are much more jobs.
But I think, especially if you're at a management company or at, like, from what I've. I've also never worked at a production company or development company, but I think from what I've heard from my friends who work at those companies, like, I think there's more kind of leeway to just like, find ways to bring things in.
[00:42:06] Speaker C: My. My colleagues who are creative execs, they would be like, great. Like, you're like, they're pretty close. Like, creative execs are only a couple years out of being in your exact positions. They don't care, you know?
[00:42:18] Speaker A: No, no. But I think it does come down to, at the end of the day, like, whether or not you're willing to take a risk. And I think that is the Thing that I don't know if you can teach that.
I don't know.
[00:42:31] Speaker C: Totally. Did you find that? Because, you know, I. I assume that your goal once you're at Innovative for a little bit is like, I'm loving working with writers, and I want to be more involved with lit. What was the pathway? Were you reading Specs on the weekend? Were you getting to, like, chat with writers a little bit more? Like that actress you got to talk to in London? Like, what was that? What was that sort of connection to the lit part of the industry?
[00:42:58] Speaker A: That didn't start until I was at Mosaic. I think when I was at Innovative, it was a lot more.
I was starting to learn about the concept of doing coverage, and I was starting to just really, really learn our client list. And we had a very strict weekend read that I was in charge of emailing out every Friday. And so I would send out whatever spec someone was going out with that they wanted ideas for or whatever samples they had for someone who was, like, having a really hot moment.
And then also people that were potential signings and that we were thinking about pursuing. And so I was reading probably, like, five to seven scripts every weekend. And then I would try and read, like, open directing assignments over the course of the week that I would be able to talk about in our feature meeting.
So it was less like talking to writers, and it was more learning how to give notes on scripts and learning, like, what is it that makes a good pilot script? What is it that makes a good. And I think there was an element of. I had really great mentors when I was at Innovative, and I am very lucky for that and grateful for that.
And so I would sit in the staff meetings on Tuesdays and we would talk about weekend read. And sometimes I would be like, yeah, like, I liked this, but I'm not really sure why. Or I would talk about what I didn't like about it, and agents would kind of chime in and be like, okay, well, like, I agree with you that it's a really good voice. The problem is that there's no story engine to it. And as someone who did not go to film school and had, like, a loose understanding, as they teach you an acting school, of story structure and all of those things.
Like, I understood the context of it all, but I'd never gotten into the details of it in that same way. That, though, was also the time that I felt figured out that I do read scripts very differently because I read them from a character point first, which is, I think, the thing that most people in Hollywood do not know how to do. And is the thing that is the crux of you getting Jacob Elordi to attach to your movie so that you can actually get a greenlit? And I kind of started to figure out that that was a little bit of superpower with reading scripts, is that I could identify the ones that had really, really good characters at the center of it. And I think even to this day, the notes that I give people will often be very different from the notes that they're gonna get from anybody else, because I'm very focused on what is this character's arc, what does this character actually want? And I think that's the thing that sometimes falls to the wayside in the film school writing classes as well.
So it was more that and, like, learning to love the idea of getting to develop these scripts and just, like, loving getting to read all these things. And then when I got to Mosaic was when I started meeting writers and talking to them about their processes and things like that.
[00:45:45] Speaker C: Are you still carrying that with you of reading things in terms of almost, like, castability of it?
[00:45:52] Speaker A: Yeah, definitely. I mean, I think that that's also something that I really target in the writers that I'm looking to represent is people who write really good characters. It came from.
As I started to realize that I was reading more for character than other people were. I also.
It reminded me of this interview that I watched Matthew McConaughey do because I did an acting exercise in college where we had to impersonate a celebrity, and I picked Matthew McConaughey. And so I watched, like, every Matthew McConaughey interview there was, and there's one of him talking about. I want to say, God, what is. I can't remember what movie it was, but he was talking about reading the script for the first time and how he read the script. And the second he finished it, he called his agent and was like, I have to play this role. And he talks in the interview about how it wasn't just that the role was really, really great and that he felt like he could do a good job of it, but it was also that he was like, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let anyone else play it, because I feel like I know this character so well, and I have so many things that I want to explore with this character, and, like, I couldn't live with myself if I let someone else do it instead of me.
And I think it was, like, probably something that was maybe more of, like, an indie script. And I was like, that is.
That is, like, exactly the kind of writer I want to represent. Like, I want to represent somebody who. If I call you and you represent Jacob Belordi or like, anyone of that, like, milieu, like Margot Robbie, and I call you and I'm like, I have this client spec Margot needs to attach to be the star. You're gonna know as the agent on the other end of the phone that it's gonna be worth Margot reading it, because I want to be known as a rep who represents people who write really good character. And I think in the day and age of, like, we have to have a packaged star to get something greenlit.
[00:47:43] Speaker C: So talent driven more than ever these days.
[00:47:45] Speaker A: Yeah. My hope is that that will be the thing that makes me valuable.
[00:47:48] Speaker C: I have a pretty nitty gritty question, but I'm just curious for personal reasons, like, when. When you're working with a writer on a script or when you're giving notes with a client or potential client, what are the notes that sort of help you lead them towards having a stronger protagonist or having a stronger, very castable character? Like, what. What's an example of something that writers can actually do?
[00:48:12] Speaker A: I think a lot. It's funny because a lot of the times it's the questions that I would get asked as an actor, but a lot of the time it comes from just really, what does the character actually want? And that sounds so. So, so very basic.
But when you're so focused as a writer on the story structure and the set pieces and how one scene flows into the next and the chain of events and actions, I think sometimes the reason why, especially if you think about a big heist movie, the reason of why is this character here can get lost so easily because it's just like, well, they're part of the heist crew.
[00:48:55] Speaker C: Yeah. The plot can totally absorb the actual character. Yeah, yeah.
[00:49:00] Speaker A: Yes, exactly. And I'm like, that's great that they're part of. Of the heist group, but why do they need to be in a heist crew? Why do they want to be in a heist crew?
Like, I am working with a writer right now on a script. It's kind of like a second coming of age for a woman in her mid-30s. And it's an incredible, kind of, like, Alice in Wonderland style piece. But the first time that I read it, she was more focused on the adventure of it all.
And I was like, she's confronting, though.
The reason she has to go on this whole journey is because she's confronting the fact that she's not happy in her friend group. And the second that I said that, the writer was like, oh, my God, wait, yes, that makes sense.
[00:49:45] Speaker C: It got lost.
[00:49:46] Speaker A: But it had gotten lost in the process of writing it all. And I think the thing that often, I think writers are very good about, what does this character want in this scene? But the thing that gets lost is what is their super objective, to use the actor term? What do they want out of life? And why does what happens over the course of this script feed into what they want out of their life?
[00:50:09] Speaker C: And that's the thing that Jacob Elordi is gonna.
It has to be clear for him to latch onto that.
[00:50:15] Speaker A: Yes. Yeah.
[00:50:17] Speaker B: Cool.
[00:50:18] Speaker C: Well, this is awesome. I love getting into the nitty gritty about stuff like that. And I think managers give really interesting notes. And it's cool because I only read scripts that have already been worked on through the manager.
[00:50:31] Speaker A: Pass. Yeah.
[00:50:32] Speaker C: And all that.
[00:50:33] Speaker B: I think you've kind of defined, like, what makes a great manager in a way. I would love to ask, from the client perspective, what should they be looking for in representation?
[00:50:45] Speaker A: I think.
I think there's a lot of.
There's a lot of things that obviously feed into it. And I think the thing that people get caught by often is how flashy is it. And, like, is it CIA? Is it one of the big, big companies? What is the level of resources that they have?
But I think a lot of it should come down to, do you feel like you can trust your rep to actually back your creative vision as opposed to pushing you into making the version that they think is more likely to sell?
I think for me, a lot of where, like, I think about this job being kind of entrepreneurial comes from is that it comes from this idea of, like, I rep a writer who writes all these, like, incredible kind of fantasy, dystopian, dystopian worlds. That's not something that, like, most of the studios are really, really looking for right now. But my job is not to tell her, you need to write something different. My job is to find the people who want to make the fantasies and the dystopian sci fi, no matter how hard it is to find them.
So I think it's really important that you trust that you're being represented by somebody who understands and respects the work that you're doing and that you're not just signing with somebody who represents Martin Scorsese. And so you're like, well, they have the names and they're going to get all the scripts that Martin Scorsese gets. And so they're going to have all of these contacts and all these things. Obviously, that is important, but I think a lot of it is that.
And also, there's an element of, like, it should be someone that, like, you just feel like you could hang out with. Like, I think that a lot of the time there can be.
This was the thing that I talked about with my friends a lot when I had just graduated drama school, and I was starting to think about being a rep, and they were all, like, for the very first time, navigating what it was like to have a relationship with their reps. And the people that I have seen stick with their reps. I are the people who felt like they actually could talk to those people and felt like they could ask to go get a coffee and felt like they could ask to just, like, swing by their office and talk to them for a little bit. Because at the end of the day, your rep does work for you. And I think sometimes, because it is so hard to get representation and because it can feel so vital, people can end up in situations where they're almost, like, afraid of their reps, and they're almost, like, scared to ask them something.
And so I think if you are. If you know that you're someone who's like, I'm a lone wolf. I want to write my script in a silo, and I want to send it to you, and I want you to just take it out to the town, then that's not as important.
But I think that if you are somebody who wants to have a really involved creative process and you want to be able to touch base with people, like, just, like, it's, in my opinion, better to be doing something on your own than to be working with somebody who you don't feel comfortable just, like, being able to call on the phone.
[00:53:57] Speaker B: I love that. I love that. I forget who came on and said it, but they were like, you can't forget. They represent you.
[00:54:07] Speaker C: They work for you.
[00:54:08] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:54:09] Speaker C: And that's not.
[00:54:09] Speaker B: No, no, no, no. I mean, like, represent, like, they.
[00:54:12] Speaker C: They walk in a room.
[00:54:14] Speaker B: They walk in a room of people. You're not there.
That is you.
[00:54:18] Speaker C: Like, they represent who you are. Right.
[00:54:21] Speaker A: Your work.
[00:54:21] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:54:22] Speaker C: You know, and, like, you want someone to be good doing that, be good at the job. Understand. You understand who you are as an artist.
[00:54:32] Speaker A: Yeah. And that's why it's also, like, there are, like, there's different kinds of reps, and different kinds of reps are going to be right for different people because, like, I said, there are some people who are like, I want a rep who's a shark and I want them to walk me into the room and have people be a little afraid of them and for them to be able to like be the Ari Emanuels who just come in and they're like, I'm gonna ask for this fee and you're gonna give it to me because my client is great and you know that they're great and you're gonna deal with it.
[00:54:56] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:54:57] Speaker A: And some people, they, they want a rep who's gonna feel like that. Some people want a rep who is gonna feel perhaps softer and like someone collaborative, nice and collaborative. And it is that thing of like, if you don't like who your rep, if you don't like the vibe that your rep gives you as a person and you don't like the idea of that also being the way that they kind of see you, then I think that, yeah, I agree with all that. Basically.
[00:55:23] Speaker C: Yeah.
You mentioned, you know, working with a client on like a dystopian sci fi sort of thing and, and, and you know what their vision of the script is and you help them get it to that. Then with the process of you going out and like finding these companies that do that, like what is, what is that part of the business look for you sort of socially of like at what point are you in right now where you're like, are you searching for things, constantly searching for new companies popping up? And this could kind of get us into talking about sort of the state of the industry at this point. Like where, how do you, how do you sort of pair the state of the industry with like where your clients are selling these days and are you having to be crafty and creative and everything?
[00:56:11] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, I think that there is, there is definitely like always going to be the element of like these are the big companies that have these reputations.
But there is also an element totally of watching an indie movie that is maybe weird and a little bit out there and going on IMDb and looking at the production company and the producers who made it and just cold calling them and being like, hi, I saw this movie that you made and I loved it and I think it's incredible. I have a client who has something in a similar tone like what, what is, what is your guys mandate? Like what are you looking for right now? Can you do production financing? Can you do development financing? And then finding the people who are actually looking at, make that kind of thing and are maybe looking to invest money in it or who have private investors who are equity that are looking to make fun movies.
I think there is like kind of a dual element of there are a lot of new companies right now. And then also I think a lot of the bigger companies are recalibrating because a lot of the things that they have historically leaned on to work are not performing for them in the same way that they would like them to.
Um, and so I think it's funny because, like, the lit side is going to change before the talent side does, and it's going to be a slow trickle through. You're going to start getting more interesting new scripts, but Brad Pitt is still going to be the star of it for probably a couple more years. And then at some point, it's going to be more of a turnover where it's going to be more things like obsession with the new writer and its new cast.
And so I think, like, I talked to an executive at Amblin and she. She was like, you know, people think that they know what Amblin wants to make, but actually we really want to do things that are kind of like, maybe more in the fantasy space. We want to do things that are more in this space where, like, in a way, like, for Amblin, they're kind of going back to almost their roots of, like, what the company was. But they've gotten very commercial over the course of the last however many years, and they're.
[00:58:07] Speaker C: Because that's where the marketplace has been, or for whatever reason.
[00:58:10] Speaker A: Yeah. But they're recalibrating. And so it's like. I think when we first went out with this script, we did go out to a lot of the small, very indie house kind of production companies.
But actually I've now that I. Because this is a relatively recent signing, as I've been kind of touching base with some of the execs at some of the bigger production companies, the bigger studios. A lot of them have been very excited by the idea of something like this and have been like, I want to read that. That is something that we're really looking for. For. And they're just trying to find the version that hits the nail on the head.
So I think it's. It's twofold of, like, you got it. Like, it's. It's looking for the studios that are recalibrating and are taking chances on bigger swings and then also finding the smaller companies that are trying to make their bones on something that is cool and creative and unique and new.
[00:59:02] Speaker C: Sick.
[00:59:03] Speaker B: There we go.
[00:59:05] Speaker C: Well, there we go.
I want to Be wary of time. And we do ask our guests one final question.
What. What is the dream for you, Kira?
[00:59:15] Speaker A: The dream is to be a manager. Honestly, the. The dream is to have someone take me from the Oscar podium one day.
[00:59:22] Speaker C: Hell yeah.
[00:59:23] Speaker A: That is the dream.
[00:59:24] Speaker C: I love that.
[00:59:25] Speaker A: No, I mean, I think, like, I got into all of this because it was the middle of the Venn diagram of.
I get to help people who are really cool creatives make the thing that they really want to make. And I can support that in some substantial way that makes me feel good about my brain and my ability to do my job. And I really love film and TV and theater and art, and I care about people being able to exercise their voices and being able to tell the stories that they want to tell.
Um, so, like, that's. I feel very lucky. Cause I feel like I kind of already am living the dream and it's just gonna be a long extension from here. That's the goal.
[01:00:10] Speaker B: It's amazing.
Congratulations on. On everything. On. On the pathway up. It's gonna keep going for you.
[01:00:20] Speaker A: And thank you.
[01:00:21] Speaker C: Thanks for supporting the festival too. I know you've. You've been to 50 once or twice.
[01:00:26] Speaker A: I got the comedy, I got the horror, I got both the badges.
[01:00:30] Speaker C: Hell yeah.
[01:00:30] Speaker B: Are you coming on. On the 18th? You better. Oh, my gosh.
[01:00:35] Speaker A: I can't come to this one because I'm traveling.
[01:00:37] Speaker B: That's okay.
[01:00:38] Speaker A: Are you going to London?
[01:00:39] Speaker B: Are you. Are you going.
[01:00:40] Speaker A: I'm not going to London. I'm actually going to Hawaii to take. Oh, my last.
[01:00:44] Speaker B: Doing the thing?
[01:00:47] Speaker A: No, I'm taking my last vacation as a coordinator before I am hopefully a full fledged manager. At which point there's never any vacation for the rest of your life because your clients. If your client calls, you must. You must call.
[01:01:00] Speaker C: Sure, sure. I guess that's true.
[01:01:02] Speaker B: Why the last one?
[01:01:04] Speaker A: Because my mom and dad are sick of Colorado and the cold, and so they said, we're gonna do a big family trip to the beach.
[01:01:11] Speaker C: And I said, so fun.
He said, I'll hop on that.
[01:01:15] Speaker A: I'll be there.
I think they're like, stopping in.
It's literally the day before your guys's festival. I think we leave on like the 17th.
[01:01:23] Speaker B: October.
[01:01:23] Speaker C: Yeah.
[01:01:24] Speaker B: That's a good time to go to Hawaii. I think it'd be pretty quiet.
[01:01:27] Speaker C: I think it's always a good time to go to Hawaii, probably. What island are you going to? Oahu or Kauai?
[01:01:33] Speaker B: Kauai.
[01:01:34] Speaker C: Nice. Ah, the, ah, the garden aisle. Very nice.
[01:01:38] Speaker A: We're gonna do lots of heights, lots of hikes. It's gonna be great stuff.
[01:01:43] Speaker C: I can send you some. Rex. I love that.
[01:01:45] Speaker A: Oh, my God. Please, please do. I've never been this.
[01:01:49] Speaker B: Thank you, Kira. I appreciate you. Appreciate the continued support with the fest and everything.
[01:01:54] Speaker A: Thank you guys for having me on. I feel so honored.
[01:01:57] Speaker C: Yeah, it's a no brainer. It's a no brainer. I feel like it's been a minute since we had. Since we had a rep on.
It's good. You guys have a good pulse on where the industry is at and how to be crafty and. And the state of things. So always appreciate it.
[01:02:17] Speaker B: Did you learn something? Unlike your mom, did you learn something in this episode? I hope so. Or not. That's okay. Thanks for hanging. Make sure you follow us at the 5050fest on Instagram and give us five stars because. Why not? Why not subscribe? Why not? You know why not? Okay, bye.
