Targeting Specific Actors

MiladyDaniel · Jun 18, 2008

I've written a cool little fantasy script with a character that would be perfect for Whoopi Goldberg. Since she's a producer as well as actor, could I send it to her and how on Earth would I find an address?

BTW, I'm new here but I've been writing scripts for awhile.

zeprosnepsid · Jun 18, 2008

It can't hurt to try. If she has a production company it should be pretty easy to track down the address, prod cos don't usually hide these things. Did you try just googling the name of the company?

RainbowDragon · Jun 19, 2008

Screen Actors Guild 800-503-6737 should be able to tell you the agency.

Jon-Luke · Jun 19, 2008

Her Production company is called: Whoop/One Ho Productions/Lil' Whoop Productions

You can get the company details on IMDB if you have IMDB Pro (Free for limited time)

Lillyth · Jun 20, 2008

MiladyDaniel said:
I've written a cool little fantasy script with a character that would be perfect for Whoopi Goldberg. Since she's a producer as well as actor, could I send it to her and how on Earth would I find an address?

BTW, I'm new here but I've been writing scripts for awhile.

What a GREAT question!

What about targeting specific actors who do NOT own production companies, does anyone know how to do that?

dpaterso · Jun 20, 2008

If it were that easy, you'd think everyone would be doing it.

I'd venture to guess that your script may not reach Miss Goldberg, whose staff will deal with unsolicited mail (i.e. return it unread).

Best to phone 'em and ask permission first, and if they say yes, they may require a release form to be submitted with the script (so they can't be accused of stealing your material if they already have a similar project in the works).

-Derek

Mr Sci Fi · Jun 20, 2008

My friend did this with Fisher Stevens before. He put a call through to his production company and they requested a script. He sent a follow-up letter himself afterwards, saying that he loved the script but he was busy with another project at the moment. Judging by his professionalism, I don't think he rejected the notion of sending him a script. He did manage to get the kid who played Donkeylips in a role though.

It doesn't hurt at all to try.

MiladyDaniel · Jun 20, 2008

WOW!! Thanks for all the info!

Jon-Luke · Jun 20, 2008

Lillyth said:
What a GREAT question!

What about targeting specific actors who do NOT own production companies, does anyone know how to do that?

Actors who don't have production companies tend to have Personal Assistants, Managers and Agents who are kind of door keepers to the scripts that come in... Generally the more popular the actor the more scripts get sent to them.

Younger, less accomplished actors may only have agents, but then the chances of them having enough influence to get a script made is less - in this respect it would be a waiting game - target an actor who you think has potential, get them really interested in your script, and then hopefully in a year or two or five when they become really famous and influential they will be able to get your script made.

I would suggest going through an Actor's personal assistant if you can find out who they are. They tend to have a little more time to be able to read your script and they all spend more time with the actor concerned and will be able to "find the right time" to talk to them about your script if they think its worthwhile. Most assistants that I have met are fiercely loyal and will not accept bribes, will not talk to paparazzi and are pretty anonymous and invisible so they would be hard to track down, also its a really intensive and tiring job so many assistants do not last all that long, But the good ones will stay employed for years and almost become part of the family. So if you are able to find out who these people are you don't want to harass them because that could well mean that you will never gain audience with the actor in question, be discreet!

MiladyDaniel · Jun 21, 2008

I can't get a subscription to the IMDB Pro - no credit card, and unemployed so no chance for one. Does anybody know someone who has one, and might be willing to send me the info on Whoopi Goldberg's company address, number, etc... I could pay them a bit for their effort, maybe five or ten dollars through PayPal.

dpaterso · Jun 21, 2008

Crazy I know, but I Google'd "whoopi goldberg's production company address phone no" and this plus other links showed up:

http://www.fanmail.biz/1201.html

-Derek

small axe · Jun 21, 2008

Targeting Specific Actors

And, of course, it may be advisable to avoid using the actual word "targeting" in your correspondence with them too.

nmstevens · Jun 21, 2008

dpaterso said:
Crazy I know, but I Google'd "whoopi goldberg's production company address phone no" and this plus other links showed up:

http://www.fanmail.biz/1201.html

-Derek

What is missing from the above, and what is absolutely critical, whether one is querying by mail or calling -- is a contact name.

That's because you can't write to the attention of Whoopi or call and simply ask for Whoopi.

It doesn't work that way. The fact is, she's probably almost never there and anything that comes addressed in this way is going to be tagged as coming from a non-pro.

You need to address your query to the head of the company.

The president/Exec Producer/director of development of the company is Tom Leonardis.

Shannon Schmitt is listed in the HCD as "assistant."

Any correspondence would be directed to Tom Leondaris -- President.

If you were to call -- again, you'd be asking to speak to him.

This is always critical in cases like this. Whenever a star has a development company, somebody is running it -- and that's the person to whom you have to direct your query or pitch.

NMS

dpaterso · Jun 21, 2008

Good advice! Which ties in with what's always advised when sending query letters, find out who you're writing to, personalize the query.

But that leads me to ask a general question, not necessarily just limited to Whoopi's company: if you didn't have a contact name and couldn't easily find one, is there anything wrong with calling the number and (very politely) asking whoever answers the phone* whether their company accepts query letters, and if so, could they please advise on who the query letter should be addressed to?** Or would this break some unwritten/unspoken protocol rule?

* more likely to be office staff than the prodco's head exec, right?
** and just in case the person who answers the phone is the person to whom queries should be sent, and they say "So what have you got?" I'd have a telephone pitch ready, "Sarah's Rabbit" is a family-oriented urban fantasy adventure in which a lonely orphan girl is befriended by...

Yes? No? Absolutely forbidden?

-Derek

nmstevens · Jun 22, 2008

dpaterso said:
Good advice! Which ties in with what's always advised when sending query letters, find out who you're writing to, personalize the query.

But that leads me to ask a general question, not necessarily just limited to Whoopi's company: if you didn't have a contact name and couldn't easily find one, is there anything wrong with calling the number and (very politely) asking whoever answers the phone* whether their company accepts query letters, and if so, could they please advise on who the query letter should be addressed to?** Or would this break some unwritten/unspoken protocol rule?

* more likely to be office staff than the prodco's head exec, right?
** and just in case the person who answers the phone is the person to whom queries should be sent, and they say "So what have you got?" I'd have a telephone pitch ready, "Sarah's Rabbit" is a family-oriented urban fantasy adventure in which a lonely orphan girl is befriended by...

Yes? No? Absolutely forbidden?

-Derek

You can do that, but it is very likely that if you do, you're going to run into that blockade of which I've spoken.

Since they pretty much don't want to look at script from amateurs which, if you haven't sold a script -- that's you, if you call up and ask something like that, there's a very good chance, even if they would read your query letter, whoever answers the phone will tell you -- "Sorry, we don't accept scripts from unagented writers."

And then you're dead in the water. You've just been told, flat out, you can't send anything. No script. No query. No nothing.

That is, unless you're prepared to move forward, as I've laid out, with a phone pitch and you proceed as I've described -- call and ask to talk to the head of development -- why - want to talk about a script.

And then you reply to that question about having an agent with, "No, I submit through my attorney."

Which most times will get you through -- but not all.

But if you're not looking to do a phone pitch and just want to send a query letter, that's a rocky road to travel just to get a name.

I know people are financially strapped, but at some point, people have to be willing to bite the bullet and accept that this, like any genuine long-term job search, is going to involve an investment of not only time, but money.

And that means that you're going to have to invest in something like the Hollywood Creative Directory (which is where I found the name in question).

And while I was willing to look up that one name, I can't do it as an on-going thing.

NMS

Jon-Luke · Jun 22, 2008

nmstevens said:
What is missing from the above, and what is absolutely critical, whether one is querying by mail or calling -- is a contact name.

That's because you can't write to the attention of Whoopi or call and simply ask for Whoopi.

It doesn't work that way. The fact is, she's probably almost never there and anything that comes addressed in this way is going to be tagged as coming from a non-pro.

You need to address your query to the head of the company.

The president/Exec Producer/director of development of the company is Tom Leonardis.

Shannon Schmitt is listed in the HCD as "assistant."

Any correspondence would be directed to Tom Leondaris -- President.

If you were to call -- again, you'd be asking to speak to him.

This is always critical in cases like this. Whenever a star has a development company, somebody is running it -- and that's the person to whom you have to direct your query or pitch.

NMS

I don't entirely agree with this... I would suggest phoning the company and asking the receptionist who you should send information regarding a new script to. If the receptionist doesn't know then you should ask if you can speak to someone who does know. That way when you send correspondence you have a reference person, even if its the receptionist who pointed you in a specific direction - if you just send stuff through to the president or exec there's a strong chance that you will have your stuff shelved with the rest of the day's unsolicited mail.

MiladyDaniel · Jun 22, 2008

Thanks again for the help. I'm pleased to see my question turned into an interesting thread, at least to me, anyway, and I hope, to others.

Peace,

Milady

Lillyth · Jun 22, 2008

MiladyDaniel said:
Thanks again for the help. I'm pleased to see my question turned into an interesting thread, at least to me, anyway, and I hope, to others.

Peace,

Milady

Hugely interesting, as I, like many aspiring screenwriters I suspect, end up envisioning a specific (and big name) actor for certain parts.

It is nice to know that while it is near impossible, it IS feasible.

Thanks for starting this thread!

zeprosnepsid · Jun 23, 2008

Jon-Luke said:
Actors who don't have production companies tend to have Personal Assistants, Managers and Agents who are kind of door keepers to the scripts that come in... Generally the more popular the actor the more scripts get sent to them.

This is a good point. There is some screenwriter...I forget who actually...who before he sold a script was Matthew Broderick's personal assistant. And he got him to do Election. The script was sent and he read it and then really, strongly encouraged him to do it. Personal Assistants are definitely influential gatekeepers.

dpaterso said:
Good advice! Which ties in with what's always advised when sending query letters, find out who you're writing to, personalize the query.

But that leads me to ask a general question, not necessarily just limited to Whoopi's company: if you didn't have a contact name and couldn't easily find one, is there anything wrong with calling the number and (very politely) asking whoever answers the phone* whether their company accepts query letters, and if so, could they please advise on who the query letter should be addressed to?** Or would this break some unwritten/unspoken protocol rule?

First off, google. A lot of this information is available. Secondly, yes, you can certainly call and ask. Third, if you come across a situation like NMS mentions or fear that you will, then you lie. This is how things work in this town. Call and say you are a lawyer and you are submitting for a client, you haven't submitted to them before, whose attention should you make it to?

Or what I do all the time, whenever I'm doing anything, is play dumb assistant. My boss wanted me to call and find out. If they ask who is your boss, say he's in Post Production or some unrelated field (you can make up a name, they won't know anyone in post production) but he needed to know for someone else or some reason and he really doesn't explain things to me I'm just the assistant. Most likely you will be talking to an assistant who will totally understand and sympathize with you. I always call and ask things and say I don't know why I'm asking I was just told to ask. I started doing this after being an assistant and finding that this was often the actual case.

But there are about 100 ways to do this. Sounding confident goes a long way. If you sound like a newbie writer, they won't let you through. But if you call and even say with confidence, this is Marie Smith of 'made up Production Company name', can you just tell me blah -- like you've made this call 10 times today and you could care less -- then they will be so concerned about not offending you, because you could be important, that it will get you whatever answer you want.

When lying it helps to know as much info about the industry as possible. When contacting people for various other reasons, 10 years ago you would want to say you were from a German investor and make up some German name. German investors were huge and no one knew their names. Now, you want to say you are calling on behalf of an Indian investor or entrepreneur. With Indians buying Dreamworks, no one wants to turn away the new money on the block. And when you give an Indian name for your boss, they won't have any idea who it is, but they'll believe it's someone.

CrazySlasher · Jun 24, 2008

Whoopie Goldberg is known to hang around Gloucester, MA. She even does some bar tending at some of the local spots for fun.

nmstevens · Jun 25, 2008

zeprosnepsid said:
This is a good point. There is some screenwriter...I forget who actually...who before he sold a script was Matthew Broderick's personal assistant. And he got him to do Election. The script was sent and he read it and then really, strongly encouraged him to do it. Personal Assistants are definitely influential gatekeepers.

First off, google. A lot of this information is available. Secondly, yes, you can certainly call and ask. Third, if you come across a situation like NMS mentions or fear that you will, then you lie. This is how things work in this town. Call and say you are a lawyer and you are submitting for a client, you haven't submitted to them before, whose attention should you make it to?

Or what I do all the time, whenever I'm doing anything, is play dumb assistant. My boss wanted me to call and find out. If they ask who is your boss, say he's in Post Production or some unrelated field (you can make up a name, they won't know anyone in post production) but he needed to know for someone else or some reason and he really doesn't explain things to me I'm just the assistant. Most likely you will be talking to an assistant who will totally understand and sympathize with you. I always call and ask things and say I don't know why I'm asking I was just told to ask. I started doing this after being an assistant and finding that this was often the actual case.

But there are about 100 ways to do this. Sounding confident goes a long way. If you sound like a newbie writer, they won't let you through. But if you call and even say with confidence, this is Marie Smith of 'made up Production Company name', can you just tell me blah -- like you've made this call 10 times today and you could care less -- then they will be so concerned about not offending you, because you could be important, that it will get you whatever answer you want.

When lying it helps to know as much info about the industry as possible. When contacting people for various other reasons, 10 years ago you would want to say you were from a German investor and make up some German name. German investors were huge and no one knew their names. Now, you want to say you are calling on behalf of an Indian investor or entrepreneur. With Indians buying Dreamworks, no one wants to turn away the new money on the block. And when you give an Indian name for your boss, they won't have any idea who it is, but they'll believe it's someone.

Whoever wants to can certainly take Zepro's advice above. From what he's said, he's obviously done it and it's worked for him.

That being said, personally, I strongly advise against people lying. There's no doubt that you can do it and get away with -- most of the time.

That is also true of driving drunk. Most people who do it get away with. Most of the time.

That being said, I would strongly advise against doing that either. Because if you don't either one of them long enough, there's a good chance that you are going to get nailed, and it can seriously bite you in the ass.

I always tell people that we're dealing in a relatively small industry consisting of people with large egos and thin skins and long memories.

The person that you call pretending to be "so-and-so's" assistant to get a name from may very well be the same person that you're going to be calling two weeks later to pitch to, or to talk to about scheduling an appointment -- under your own name.

Yeah, you may be lucky (providing your voice is sufficiently non-descript and the conversation sufficiently unmemorable, and the assistant sufficiently busy) and she won't connect you.

But what if she does - and suddenly from some guy who's simply calling to talk about a script you go into the category of -- some guy who's calling under multiple names, i.e. -- possible nut job.

I know full well that this is a town full of liars -- but there's the "I love your script, I'd love to be in business with you," kind of lie, and then there's the, "I'm John Jones, and I work for Mr. Subramanian" when in fact, you're somebody completely different.

On some level, people expect the former kind of lie -- but I believe that the latter kind entails a risk that warrants thinking about a bit.

NMS

C.bronco · Jun 25, 2008

I sent my novel as a "gift" to an actor who inspired a character. His manager said it was okay to send it.

Joe270 · Jun 25, 2008

I would suggest phoning the company and asking the receptionist who you should send information regarding a new script to. If the receptionist doesn't know then you should ask if you can speak to someone who does know. That way when you send correspondence you have a reference person, even if its the receptionist who pointed you in a specific direction

This is sound advice, IMHO. I have found most, if not all of the receptionist/secretaries very helpful. You need to have a decent personality on the phone, WRITE DOWN their name on your contact sheet so you always address them by name. I cannot recall one not giving me a contact name to use. It doesn't hurt to be nice to the 'little people', they tend to run the place anyway, in my experience.

That's gotta be better than a 'to whom it may concern'.

This is a good point. There is some screenwriter...I forget who actually...who before he sold a script was Matthew Broderick's personal assistant. And he got him to do Election. The script was sent and he read it and then really, strongly encouraged him to do it. Personal Assistants are definitely influential gatekeepers.

I have actually seen PAs reading scripts for actors. I don't know if they were doing it out of interest or offering an informed opinion on the role.

It would seem to be an effective avenue, provided the actor had his own prodco or enough stroke to get a film done.

zeprosnepsid · Jun 25, 2008

Oh NMS, we've been disagreeing on this board long enough, and I've mentioned it enough times, that you should know I'm female, not male.

But I did recommend not lying first. But it is just the way things work in this town. It's like constantly getting hit on when you go for interviews when you are female. But every Producer I've met, and every boss I've ever had were always 'stretching the truth' to get what they wanted done. You have to be crafty. Have you read Down and Dirty Pictures? While not 'lying' per se, the story of Bullworth is nothing short of amazing. No one at the studio ever actually ever greenlit that movie. But Beatty pulled it off, like he always does.

I used to be an online journalist for a website owned by a filmmaker, I don't really want to give away too much info on who I am (scary internet!) so let's say Robert Rodriguez as a stand in. I was waiting in line for a big screening with other journalists and it looked like none of us were going to get in (I didn't get in, it turned out). But another guy, who worked for the same site, but wrote about different things, waltzed right past me, and I was like 'how did you get in?' What he did, instead of saying he wrote for Robert Rodriguez's website, he said he was like his assistant and representing Troublemaker Studios (RR's studio) and all of this stuff. And he got ushered right in! It's not entirely a lie, he did work for Rodriguez (or the similar director he's standing in for), even though he had never met him, but certainly he wasn't telling the truth. But he got the story, and I didn't.

My last boss, who is a Producer, got her first Hollywood job - film buyer for a big mini major - by completely lying on her application. She had never worked in Hollywood before. And she's now a Producer, and I'm not! I'm not on the level of a film buyer either and I've been working for years.

Every experience I've had in Hollywood has been like this!

zeprosnepsid · Jun 25, 2008

My boyfriend reminded me of this quote from Paul Schrader from Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: "No one succeeds in film if he's not hustling. The first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning, is, Who can I hustle? and the last thing you think of before you go to bed is, Who can I hustle?"

Targeting Specific Actors

MiladyDaniel

zeprosnepsid

RainbowDragon

Perpetuous Revisasaurus

Jon-Luke

Anomalous crusader

Lillyth

dpaterso

Also in our Discord and IRC chat channels

Mr Sci Fi

Street Samurai

MiladyDaniel

Jon-Luke

Anomalous crusader

MiladyDaniel

dpaterso

Also in our Discord and IRC chat channels

small axe

memento mori

nmstevens

What happened?

dpaterso

Also in our Discord and IRC chat channels

nmstevens

What happened?

Jon-Luke

Anomalous crusader

MiladyDaniel

Lillyth

zeprosnepsid

CrazySlasher

nmstevens

What happened?

C.bronco

I have plans...

Joe270

zeprosnepsid

zeprosnepsid