ICM Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Endeavor Entices Top Agents
Filed under: Executive shifts », Newsstand », Quentin Tarantino », Robert Rodriguez »
To survive in this business you must have confidence and be resilient -- an agent told me this four years ago and I live by it each day. To survive in the film industry, resiliency will help you persevere even during the toughest of times. This advice works at any level in this business, even Hollywood's top agencies abide by it. ICM took a hard hit on Wednesday when two long-time agents Robert Newman and Matt Solo became partners at Endeavor talent.A spokesman at ICM told Variety that the departure was a kind one, but despite this fact, they've still lost their head of motion pictures and TV lit department. The client roster that Newman created contained huge names such as Guillermo Del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) and Robert Rodriguez, whose double horror feature with Quentin Tarantino has people talking and anticipating its release.
Why would an individual who has worked so long with a company choose to leave for another high profile agency position? Newman's reason was simple: he desired "a change in scenery" while Solo looked forward to reconnecting with former ICM agents and partners who left the agency before he did. Other rumors have spawned from the shift but none of which are worth repeating as they bear no fact whatsoever.
Dimension and Broken Lizard Pony Up
Filed under: Comedy », Deals », Scripts », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand »
On one hand, screenwriter success stories are wonderful to read about. On the other hand, some aspiring writers tend to get jealous when they hear tales of a first-timer who, basically, got a lucky break. In the world of screenwriting, most will tell you that a writer's first script should be used strictly as an exercise and, ultimately, wind up in the garbage. The general advise is to write a good six or seven scripts before hitting the pavement with a slew of query letters and assistant ass-kissing.
In the case of Brandon Murphy, all it took was one script and one phone call -- an aspiring screenwriter's wet dream. After writing a comedy script called Pony Bush, Murphy decided to send it to the ex-girlfriend of his old college roommate who happened to be working for the management company Benderspink. Mind you, Pony Bush was his first-ever stab at writing a feature-length screenplay. However, instead of landing in the garbage, Benderspink dug the idea and, over the course of several months, helped Murphy develop it more. After meeting with talent agency ICM, Murphy sold the script to Dimension Films (who, not for nothing, are on a big comedy kick lately) with those Broken Lizard boys in talks to produce the film.
Murphy, who was working as a waiter at the time, had qualified for poverty level insurance the day before he sold the script. Story revolves around a lovable deadbeat and his sidekick who turn the snobby Pony Bush country club upside down. Sounds to me like Caddyshack meets another bad Broken Lizard film. As of now, no director is attached.
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