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May 17, 2007

The Anatomy of a Breakdown

So, I released the breakdown for Another Harvest Moon just over five hours ago at Breakdown Services and Actors Access.

And we've already had 4398 submissions from 234 agencies and management companies, plus actors submitting directly via Actors Access.

(I'm not going to mention the agents' phone pitches--which are usually short and professional and therefore something I generally love--or the actors' sometimes wholly inappropriate self-pitches... via phone, via email to me, via email TO THE DIRECTOR--which tend to suck up our time and patient energy for actor-love.)

So, what happens when I hit the screen and see these submissions start pouring in?

I begin clicking on my favorite agents and managers. I open their submissions first. And I giggle with flat-out glee when I see electronic submissions from "the bigs" among my long-term favorite mom-and-pop shops. In fact, when I opened one of the biggest biggies tonight, I hopped up and down and squealed. "Keith! Oh my GAWD! They're finally opening my breakdowns over there! We have ARRIVED!"

Sorry to get all weird and school-girly about this, but there's something really amazing about having someone do coverage on you at an agency that previously wouldn't return your offer calls. It's just like... well... it's time. And apparently working your ass off, choosing exceptionally strong material, and surrounding yourself with the best people on the planet eventually leads to (funnily enough) more of the same.

*beams*

And I still really, really, really appreciate the "little companies" that have been with me from the beginning. It is so much fun to "come up together" in this. And, you might like to know that I send thank you notes to a few of the managers who rep my FAVORITE people, thanking them for just always making me smile.

I haven't even begun to sort the bulk of the submissions received thus far tonight. I suspect tomorrow will be pretty intense, as the folks who left the office before 6pm will be seeing the breakdown then... and the pitch calls will start back up as we develop our gameplan for name actor offers that will go out based on some of these pitches come Monday.

I have to say, as much as I love love LOVE the audition process, there is something really cool about putting a "name" actor's name in a breakdown as a prototype and having that very actor pitched within ten minutes of the breakdown's release. And for those actors who really dislike hearing that there are roles out there that will go to "name" actors with no auditions whatsoever, all I have to say about that is this: Oftentimes the indie film is FUNDED due to these attachments, and it's because of that that we can then audition the future name actors of the world for smaller roles and help send them on their way to becoming the next round of name actors on the map.

Goodness, I love my job.

PS--THANK YOU Rockstar Intern Julie. I could not do this without you!!

Posted by bonnie at May 17, 2007 11:06 PM

Comments

Posted by: Bill Lipp at May 20, 2007 4:33 PM