5 Rules for Vetting Your Producer’s Rep
The term producer’s rep has been given a bad name. A lot of people think that Producer’s reps are just money-grubbing middlemen (or middlewomen, or middlethems) who don’t add any value to your project. As a producer’s rep myself, I’d like to take issue with the narrative that producer’s reps are slimy con artists who will overcharge you without adding value. Unfortunately, I can’t. For the most part, the rumors exist for a reason.
So with that in mind, here are 5 ways to vet your producer’s rep. If you want to sign up with me, do the same.
Ask what their upfront fees are.
If you’re simply looking for a rep to broker your completed film, then the upfront fees should be very low, or nonexistent then they’ll take a piece of the pie for the length of the deal. There are producer’s representatives who operate on a service basis, I.E. they’ll be paid a few thousand dollars with half up front, half on success. In theory, you end up paying less this way, but the incentives are not always in line with the filmmaker’s best interest.
I’ve heard stories of other reps charging 5000 dollars to represent a film to various sales agencies. If the Rep got you a deal, the rep would then retain 35% of all money from that deal. This is without even negotiating for a better deal with the sales agency, essentially just making a few calls and writing a few emails.
Not all service deals are bad, but you have to do extra diligence if that’s how your rep operates.
Also, it should be noted that if you want your rep to do anything other than basic brokering, you should expect to pay them. When I work with filmmakers at an early stage to guide investment decks, help attach talent, write business plans, or any other consulting-oriented services, you should expect to pay some not-insignificant fees. Nobody on a film shoot should be asked to work for free, including us. We still have bills, and it took a lot of investment for us to develop our skills and contacts.
Related: What Does a Producer's Rep DO Anyway?
For straight representation/brokerage services, I charge nothing upfront, and as of this writing, I don’t even charge recoupable expenses. I charge 10% for connection to sales agents, and 18% if I sell directly to buyers. (Generally only domestically.) I also negotiate with sales agencies and buyers to get you/us the best possible deal.
That being said, brokerage tasks for completed films are the only thing I don’t charge upfront for. For other tasks, I either charge by the hour or by the job, sometimes with performance bonuses or deferments.
2. Ask them if they watched your movie.
If they’re offering to represent your movie, they had better have watched it. If they try to say that they don’t remember the film because they watched 8 last week, they’re probably lying. I watch 5-8 a week. If I’m making an offer I’ve probably watched it all. If I don’t think I can sell it, I stop after 20 minutes.
Most sales agents and Producer's Reps have a similar system. If they can't say some specifics about your film, they're probably lying about watching it.
3. Look them up on imdb.
You want someone who’s not all talk. You want to see some associate, co-, and executive producing credits on their IMDb. I generally ask to be credited as an executive producer because it’s the most accurate credit for the job I do.
If you want to check out what I’ve done, here’s my imdb,
4. Ask them who they have direct relationships with
Any good rep will have existing relationships with some sales agencies. That’s why you would want to hire them in the first place. Great reps will have direct relationships with buyers. If they can’t list out a few sales agencies that they’ve worked with in the past off the top of their head, then they’re probably not going to do their job very well.
While I won’t list the ones I’ve worked with here, I will tell you if you ask me when on a call or after you submit your film below.
5. Call 3 of their previous clients
This is true for both Producer’s Reps and Sales Agencies. You’ve GOT to call the clients of your rep and ask for a reference. If you ask for references and your rep gets upset, then it’s likely a sign you shouldn’t use their services. Honestly, It’s better if you just look up those filmmakers on IMDb and call them yourself. You can find all the necessary info on imdbPro.
Thanks so much for reading! If you’re looking for a producer’s rep, you should check out my services page. If you’re not quite there yet, but want to more know about the film biz, you should join my mailing list and get my FREE Film market resource package. Links below in the buttons.
