Cartel is a boutique management company which manages film and TV writers and filmmakers. “We’re heavily focused on TV now, maybe 75% of our work, with the remaining 25% for film,” said manager/ producer Corey Trent Ackerman. As is the case with other management companies, Cartel has a recently started a division to produce and finance films. “That’s where the real growth is. We make a number of TV movies each year for Hallmark, Lifetime, Tubi, Netflix and others. We’re also expanding into features for cinema and television series.” Cartel has financed Creepshow and Day Of The Dead.
Ackerman also takes many creative meetings with his clients. “We give them feedback on their work and help them prioritize projects, if necessary. We also do general outreach such as setting up meetings and sending their material around town.” He also spends considerable time gathering market intelligence to see if there is a potential fit with his clients. “A small part of my work is finding new clients.”
What’s Hot Right Now?
Rather than identifying popular genres, Ackerman advises writers to consider what’s makable when deciding what to write. Writers need to know where something fits in the overall landscape. The market currently caters to low-budget projects or very high budget ones. “Financiers are still mainly looking for tried and true material within identifiable genres. Mashups are very difficult to sell as is anything too original. The original indie voices of the 90s would have a tough time selling their work today.”
Corey Trent Ackerman
Romantic comedies are making somewhat of a comeback. “Studio or low-budget romcom with a high concept hook are doing well now.” Science fiction and horror are also selling, especially if there is existing IP behind it. Corey quotes movies like Looper, District 9, and Source Code,” as movies he could easily sell today.
In a nutshell, Cartel describes his preferred films and TV shows as having “an indie film vibe,” with a commercial sensibility. The character-driven stories with fresh voices are a harder sell in the current climate unless they gather accolades at prestigious film festivals. “Because the streamers want to reach the widest possible audience, they prefer the lighter, optimistic, down the middle entertainment.” That said, the streamers are still looking for their flagship and award-winning prestige shows. So there is some room for genre-pushing material.
New Clients
Corey has worked at many companies including Freshmaker, Ovation Entertainment, Southpaw Media, and Red Wagon Productions and has subsequently met many industry players along the way. Many colleagues refer potential clients to him and vice versa. His own clients sometimes make referrals to him. He also looks to various writing programs for potential new clients to sign.
One of the biggest misconceptions newer writers have is that they think they can write a TV pilot which will quickly sell and become a television show. Then they can move onto the next one. The more likely scenario is that their TV pilot will be used as a writing sample to be staffed on another show. “The first TV writing job is really tough to get and might take several years to get there.” Corey also suggests getting any job in the industry to supplement your writing just to be in and learn from the environment. Despite the popularity of Zoom, TV writers still generally need to be in L.A. or New York, so they’re accessible. If you don’t live in a big city, he advises budding screenwriters to focus on features. “Keep writing until you land on the script that moves the needle in the direction you want your career to go.”
It’s difficult to know exactly when a screenwriter is ready for representation because each manager is different. Corey suggests writers have at least three completed screenplays before approaching managers, preferably in similar genres. When they start taking general meetings, they need to “be confident and feel like a brand that writes one thing really well.” You can rebrand yourself once you break in and become more established. Ackerman concedes that he doesn’t like the term, but writers need to be categorized so their names can be put forward for writing jobs.
A writer’s relationship with their manager is a business relationship. Each party should define their ideal working dynamic and how often they need to touch base. “Some writers like to call in once or twice a week, while others prefer monthly calls or emails.” Ideally, it should be a team effort/ collaboration rather than a boss/ employee situation.
Managers straddle both the creative and business sides of the industry, whereas agents typically focus on the latter. Needless to say, both parties need to be easy to work with. “I prefer smart, layered, and kind people with a bit of depth. It’s important to be aggressive to navigate the waters.”
Screenwriters should understand the vagaries of the business and accept that sometimes the industry is unfair. There are times a writer must do a quick script polish without being paid scale. Although writers shouldn’t allow themselves to be exploited, (not to mention the practise being frowned upon by the WGA), a professional writer will do the work and hopefully be rewarded in a future project.
Writers should also understand the dynamics of the creative process and not be overly precious with the work. That doesn’t mean they should willingly accept every note, but they should be flexible to feedback that elevates the process or makes their script more producible. “Once you establish a reputation, the jobs are going to come,” he added.
In conclusion, Corey Trent Ackerman advises that writers “fold their life experience into their work. Be the only person that could possibly tell a particular story. These are the things that set you apart as a writer.“
