Interview with Wendi Niad
Interview by Mary
J. Schirmer
Wendi
Niad opened Niad Management Company, in Sherman Oaks, Calif., in 1997 for
literary and talent clients. (www.niadmanagement.com)
A former agent, Niad, 32, was voted one of the 11 Sexiest
Entrepreneurs by Entrepreneur Magazine in October 2000.
She is married, with "three dogs, one cat, a 15-year-old
stepdaughter, and hopefully another child in our near future," she said.
Niad took time from her busy schedule to grant an enthusiastic
e-mail interview.
Do you work on a percent commission,
collected after a sale, option, or license?
15 percent.
Are there any upfront or ongoing fees
to the client?
No fees. No legitimate management company would charge a client
any upfront or ongoing fees. We make money when you make money.
How is being a manager different from
being an agent, as you were in your previous jobs with ICM and Susan Smith &
Associates?
Less clients and much more hands-on. It's not so much about the
next commission check (as agents are concerned with) as it is about where that
client wants to be five years from now. It's more about career planning than
just the next job.
You represent screenwriters, actors,
and directors. For which artist is it easiest to secure work?
It's not easy. It doesn't matter what kind of client it is. The
easiest client to get work for is one that's "hot" and in demand.
Otherwise it's always a struggle.
Under what conditions might you package
deals for producers and studios? Do you ever encourage your clients to
work together on a project?
I'm not really sure I know what you mean when you ask
"under what conditions." I can give you a few examples of packages
I've put together.
One of my directors had the rights to a novel, so I hooked him
up with an appropriate writer client who the studios want to work with, and we
will go pitch it to the studios.
We partnered an actress and a writer who the networks want to be
in business with. The basic idea is to use someone that the studios want to be
in business with and partner them with someone we're trying to break into the
studio system.
Is it true that everyone in Hollywood
has a script? If so, how in the world can a new writer break
in?
Everyone in Hollywood and all over the world! The only thing a
new writer can do is keep writing and submitting. Good writers will get noticed.
How do you manage a screenwriting
client who doesn't live in Los Angeles?
You don't really manage. The only thing you can do for an
out-of-town client is pitch them and try to sell their material. Since they
can't take meetings, we act more as agents than managers in that case.
Please describe your ideal
screenwriting client.
Someone who WRITES!
Your volunteer work includes answering
questions for confused writers at www.hollywoodlitsales.com.
What do you gain from this experience?
Pure satisfaction of helping people break into the business. I
couldn't have done it without people willing to help me. It's only fair to do
back what was done for me.
Because your own background includes
writing for The Comedy Store, are you more attracted to comedy projects for your
clients?
No. It makes it harder. I'm so picky about comedy that I rarely
like any comedies that are submitted. They really have to be brilliant for me to
respond.
Niad's most notable client is Brenda
Vaccaro. How is promoting a known talent different from promoting an
unknown actor, director, or screenwriter?
It's interesting that you say Brenda is our most notable client.
To the outside world she may be. In "the business" we have several
other clients who are much more in demand than Brenda is. Part of what we're
trying to do for Brenda is reinvent her, make her in demand again.
Having clients who are well respected in their field makes it
more legitimate for me to pitch the rare unknown writer. People tend to trust us
when we say, "Trust me, you'll love this person."
It's a lot of legwork promoting an unknown, which is why we
rarely do it. The amount of work and the payoff don't coincide. Most unknowns
develop large egos after a sale. They end up falling into the "life's too
short" category.
Have you witnessed ageism, sexism, and
racism in Hollywood film and TV projects?
More so in television. I don't really think it's fair to call it
Ageism, Sexism or any other kind of ism. If you have a show about teenagers, why
would you hire someone in their 50s? That just doesn't make sense. If you have a
show about all black people, why would you hire someone white?
It's about who is right for the job. The person who is right for
these jobs are the people who relate most closely to the characters. It's always
been that way in films, and no one's ever questioned it. It's just that
television is now geared so heavily to one demographic that a lot of people
aren't "qualifying" for those jobs in other ways than their talent.
I have a 15-year-old stepdaugher and a 54-year-old husband. My
husband may be a better writer, but I would hire the 15-year-old to write about
15-year-olds. My husband still thinks "dope" is hip to say. So did I
until Chloe told me otherwise, and I'm only 32!
What do you think about the outcry for
more diversity in front of and behind the camera?
As P.C. as it might sound, I've always thought the more
diversity the better.
Niad represents New York-based Mule
Entertainment, an online publisher of comics with webisodes. Tell our
readers how the clean and inexpensive digital video technology is changing the
workplace for your clients.
Unfortunately, that's probably the area I am least informed
about. I do know that three years ago I couldn't represent people like American
Mule!
Showbizdata.com reported in March 2001
on a London Times article about Sony/Columbia's $65 million movie, "Final
Fantasy: The Spirits Within." The Times called this the first movie
to "completely replace human actors with computer-generated
ones." How will this affect actors?
I don't think that will ever really affect actors. Nothing can
replace actors. It's human nature to want to relate to real people on the
screen.
How do you prepare introverted
screenwriters to become gregarious salespeople at pitches?
I really think that's what makes or breaks a career. I can't
possibly change someone's personality. I tried that once. I had a client who has
had a couple of films produced and created several VERY successful comic books.
He had no personality whatsoever. I worked with him for months
trying to get him to be more animated. Eventually I had to give up. No one would
hire him. They said he's too boring.
A lot of what gets you hired is your personality. Either you
have it or you don't. If you don't have the personality, then all you can do is
try and sell a lot of specs to get that person in demand. But again, unless you
have the personality, you're only as good as the last thing you did.
Why should a screenwriter trust
comments from a young reader, who is often marking time before getting a better
show business job? That is, what are a reader's unique qualifications to
give a project a "recommend" or to toss it in the trash?
That is really difficult for anyone to deal with. The way I tell
people to try and look at it is this: Regardless of what qualifies them, those
people have been hired by people who depend on them-- people who have the
"power." Most of those people will be in those positions of power in a
year or so.
If you get in with them on the ground level, hopefully they'll
take you with them on their way up. And if it makes you feel better, those
readers read probably 50 or more scripts a week. If there is anything that
qualifies them, I think that would do it!
What are the easiest genres of
screenplays to sell?
Thrillers and comedies... and really good romantic comedies,
which are probably the hardest to write.
Describe a quality screenplay.
For example, an action adventure.
Unpredictable plot line, unique dialogue and action sequences,
good character development.
What if your client also has an
agent? How do you work with the agent to avoid duplication of
effort?
E-mail is a beautiful thing. I e-mail the agents whenever
something has come up for that client. We are always cc'd on any correspondence
regarding that client and vice versa. Usually, if we're trying to get a client
hired for something, one of us will call the studio and the other will work the
producer.
Would Niad represent a screenwriter for
a single project and not all of his/her script list?
Yes.
If a screenwriter has a particular
A-list actor or director in mind, can you get the attention of that actor or
director? How?
It depends. Most people are unrealistic. Can I get it to people?
Yes. But no one bothers to research the fact that most actors or directors who
are in demand are booked for the next three years! So why would I bother?
Part of my job is to know what actors and directors are looking
for. Also, no actor or director will consider a script that is not set up at a
studio unless they have a production company that will allow them to produce. I
would never get an un-set-up script to someone without a production company with
a deal at a studio. It's just not realistic.
What do you think of the "auteur
theory" that a director is the one true creator of a film and deserves a
possessory credit?
Unless it's his idea and he wrote the script as well as directed
and produced, I personally think a possessory credit is absolutely uncalled for.
For example, Robert Rodriguez deserves possessory credits! Phillip Kaufman on
QUILLS - NO WAY!
Why do screenwriter seem to get such
little respect in the industry, sometimes not even being invited to premieres of
the films they wrote?
I have no idea! I wish I knew. I think it's horrible that they
don't!
Why does everyone feel the need to
tinker with the screenplay? In another art form, say oil painting, no one
would say, "Yeah, that Mona Lisa is kind of cute, but let's paint the
background another color. And she should be thinner. And
Mexican. And a man."
That's funny! Unfortunately, you are absolutely right on. I
don't know the answer to that. Part of the reason is that D (development) people
are hired to rip apart scripts. If they didn't, they wouldn't have a job.
What are the ethical considerations for
non-union screenwriters and actors during potential WGA and SAG strikes?
The bottom line to consider is that this is a union that you
want to be a part of. If you ignore their plight, why should they let you be a
member?
What advice will you have for your
clients if those two unions go on strike?
Work in theater if you're an actor, and write your next spec if
you're a writer. The market is going to be flooded with specs following the
strike!
If readers want to contact Niad
Management Company for possible literary or talent management, what should they
do?
All queries should go through Dana@niadmanagement.com
for lit inquiries and John@niadmanagement.com
for talent inquiries.
Is there anything else about your job
that you'd like our readers to know?
When you hear about specs selling-- about once a week-- consider
this: There are hundreds, probably thousands of agents each with a spec script
for every day of the week. When that one a week sells, that is one out of
hundreds that went out that week alone!
Interview originally appeared at www.screenplayers.net.
Reprinted with permission.
Mary J. Schirmer, a professional writer and past president of the St.
Louis Writers Guild, specializes in screenwriting, editing, and feature writing.
Her writing has won honors in contests since grade school. She most recently
placed in a Writer's Digest screenwriting contest, a feature writing contest for
the Suburban Journals, and a short story contest of the St. Louis Writers Guild.
