Ask for a subscription! Ask for a commuter pass! Ask for a referral ticket!

In this part of North America, it seems that the laws and regulations are very perfect, and the government, the judiciary and various industry associations are doing things according to the law, but society is made up of people after all, and just like Bill Rothes and Carla Firth can privately reach a cooperation agreement that actually violates the rules, there is a certain gray area in any industry.

As Robert Downey Jr. said, even in North America, many rules are dead, but the people who run them are alive.

"Actually, Michael Ovitz came to you for a very simple reason, you have shown enough potential now, and if you can get into his manager's company, he will definitely find a way to win you over."

It seems that Robert Downey Jr. knows a lot about this, picked up a napkin, wiped his mouth, and said, "When you have a good impression of the artist management group and become dependent, they will definitely encourage you to leave the CAA and stop using agents in the future." ”

"Don't use a broker?" Murphy asked, confused, "You mean they, as managers, can represent brokerage business?" ”

"The law and industry regulations don't allow it," Robert Downey Jr. replied in the affirmative, "but in practice it does." ”

Murphy looked at Robert Downey Jr., waiting for him to give a more detailed answer.

It is well known that managers other than brokers do not need to be licensed to work, but the relevant regulations stipulate that managers are not allowed to engage in activities to obtain work for clients and must not have a conflict of interest with brokers.

Similarly, managers don't have to be locked into a tight grip on the duration of their contracts and commissions.

"Managers have a greater space of power than brokers,"

Rare opportunity to show off in front of Murphy, Robert Downey Jr. stinks and says unhurriedly, "Managers can enjoy or partially enjoy the results of their clients' work, including being a producer." Traditionally, there is no conflict with a broker because the manager's role is not to get a job for a client, but to plan a career for him. ”

Murphy clasped his hands to his chest and simply waited for Robert Downey Jr. to say it himself.

The best way to deal with a chatterbox who has a belly and wants to pour it out is to try not to answer his words, the chatterbox can't hold that mouth, and he will soon pour out the inventory in his stomach.

Seeing that Murphy didn't continue to ask, Robert Downey Jr. couldn't help pinching his nose, picking up his cup and taking a sip of water.

"You know what, Murphy? The current Hollywood agent industry is facing a huge challenge! ”

Sure enough, Robert Downey Jr. couldn't help but start pouring out by himself, "Today's agents are more to represent famous clients who have become famous and have blockbuster attractions, and no matter how bad they are, they have to find ...... like you."

He pointed to himself, "Or maybe I've shown enough potential as a customer." ”

This is very realistic, but it is also a reality, if it weren't for the huge progress before and after the filming of "Hard Candy", Bill Rothes would have signed Murphy? If it weren't for the big hit of "Saw Horror"? Will CAA renew Murphy's brokerage contract?

Murphy understood what Robert Downey Jr. meant, and seeing that he was no longer so stinky, he also answered, "So, those newcomers who are not famous, who seem to have little potential, and who need to be developed, cannot win the favor of agents, and managers have become a rigid demand in this part of the market?" ”

"That's right." Robert Downey Jr. nodded vigorously, but Murphy shook his head and asked, "Do you want managers to get jobs for clients who don't have agents?" ”

Previously, Robert Downey Jr. said that for managers, many of the so-called "problematic" customers are usually taken over, either newcomers who have just debuted, or customers who have not yet sold in the market, and managers need to invest a considerable amount of time and money to incubate and develop these customers, so that these customers can gradually become attractive to employers.

As a result, managers often need an extendable contract term and a high commission percentage to motivate managers to develop "problematic" clients for a long-term, continuous, and risky time.

This is also the reason why Murphy is not very interested in Michael Owitz's invitation, and no one wants to accept another double exploitation of their earnings.

"Yes, it's the manager!" Robert Downey Jr. gestured, "That's the basic conflict between managers and brokers. If the manager obtains a license, it will be limited by the validity period of the contract and the upper limit of the commission, and its development customers will face huge risks; If a manager is not licensed but 'gets a job' for a client, he runs the risk of being rescinded by the Labor Commissioner and forfeited by the Labor Commissioner for violating the rules. ”

He shook his head, "This is far from the case, as long as the customer doesn't report it, no one will pay attention to it." Even if someone reports it, it's not a problem now, and before I was arrested, the California Labor Court handled a lawsuit against a manager, and the result of the penalty not only did not deal with the defendant's manager, but also expanded the boundaries of the manager's 'job'. ”

"Oh?" Murphy became interested, "What kind of penalty is it?" ”

"In that case, the Labor Court set an exception for managers 'illegally' obtaining jobs," Robert Downey Jr. immediately answered, "as long as managers play an active role in a production project, they can bypass the restrictions of the concession and hire their clients directly, i.e. they can legally seek work for their clients!" ”

Murphy was a little surprised, "What else can you do?" ”

Such an exception almost establishes the legitimacy of a manager's 'getting a job'.

It's too simple, even a layman like him can think of a way for a manager to obtain legitimacy, the law says that agents can't directly participate in the production of the film, but managers can, a manager can first transport himself as a producer of a crew or one of many producers, so as to meet the requirements of "playing an active role in a production project", and then it is legal and reasonable to seek work for his clients.

I have to say that if the law is played with, it will have a completely different effect.

Robert Downey Jr. added, "Some managers also invest in and take a stake in the production company's projects, so that the influence on the film project will become very large, and even the dominant power will be obtained, which means that some managers and producers have enough power to develop production projects that can work for their clients, without the interference of other producers......

"Of course, this will affect the interests of the broker and further amplify the conflict of interest between the two."

He shrugged, "In the past, brokers and managers were complementary, but now it's a competitive relationship. Basically, the situation now is that managers can do what any broker can do - and more, and more and more managers have the substance of a broker. ”

Murphy suddenly remembered, "I've heard Bill mention it, and it seems that some managers have approached him. ”

"That's normal." Robert Downey Jr. is not at all surprised: "The current trend has led to a large exodus of brokers from brokerage firms to managers in the business of managers, which in turn has further blurred the once clear demarcation between brokers and managers, many of whom are actually 'getting jobs' for their clients." ”

"But the brokerage company still has its own advantages." Murphy frowned and said, "The manager's company can't get the agency of the superstars. ”

"That's the case for now, but not forever." Coming from a traditional show business, Robert Downey Jr. is far more well-informed than Murphy, "In the days when you and Gail Gado were hiding in seclusion at home, Michael Owitz's artist management company had already gotten rid of Robin Williams, Robin Williams fired his agency and would rely entirely on his managers to complete all kinds of deals in the future, and the artist management company had its next target Leonardo DiCaprio!" ”

This is CAA's super A customer.

Times are changing, the environment is changing, and an industry is also undergoing various changes.

Judging from what Robert Downey Jr. said, with the blurring of the boundaries between managers, many entertainment agencies led by CAA and William Morris are bound to suffer a huge impact, and even lose their dominant position in the industry.

But Murphy remembers very well that even after ten years, the CAA market in Hollywood has not shrunk, but continues to grow gradually, but the growth trend has become unusually slow.

Although his knowledge of the industry is far less than that of Robert Downey Jr., who has a family tradition, Murphy is not a fool, and after thinking about it for a while, he figured it out.

The foundation for CAA to remain strong is the one-stop packaging service and cross-management service!

Although the law clearly stipulates that agents are not allowed to participate in the production of films, from another perspective, the packaging transaction of agents is actually being a producer.

While the traditional broker model is becoming more and more passive, locked in by commission caps, their income cannot "compete" with managers, but the one-stop packaging service breaks through this limitation, and the package transaction is actually similar to the producer, although the agent is banned by the union from being a producer, they are not prohibited from packaging customers together for trading.

Murphy said his thoughts, but Robert Downey Jr. was not surprised, and said as a matter of course, "This is another conflict of interest between the agent and the manager, this kind of packaging transaction makes the agent actually become the producer, which will affect the manager's production model, and of course there will be a conflict of interest." ”

Robert Downey Jr. said this, Murphy has fully understood that the one-stop package service is so highly regarded by brokerage companies, not only to attract clients and make more profits, but also to continue to maintain their position in the industry in the competition for managers.

Moreover, CAA's cross-management services from multiple brokers to customers not only increase the cost of job hopping, but also the integrated service from work to life to special opportunities is also the work of a manager in the guise of a broker.

Attract customers, master upstream resources, and obtain higher profits by means of packaged services and integrated services - forced to be forced to be a manager in the guise of a manager by a "broker" in the guise of a manager, which is a true portrayal of the current Hollywood brokerage industry. (To be continued.) )