When former producer Adam Lieblein started Acme Talent & Literary in the early 1990s, he had modest goals for the agency. "We were just going to be a mom-and-pop shop, a very small agency representing a handful of great people, but we started doing very well in June of '93 when we opened," he remembered. "We had a great number of people come to us from the Triad fallout, when William Morris bought Triad, and we were able to start adding agents."
These days, the bicoastal agency boasts 14 agents in a range of departments, including theatrical, commercial, print, voiceover, and literary. "I like to say we're a small mid-level agency or a large boutique—either way," said Greg Meyer, one of Acme's top theatrical agents. "As we're growing, what we're really trying to do is just compete with that next level of agency, which right now, I would say is a true mid-level agency."
In the meantime, Lieblein and Meyer are set to lift the veil off the world of Hollywood decision-making via E! Entertainment Television's new reality series Fight For Fame. The show, which debuts June 5 at 10 p.m., features five actors per episode, all of them competing to land an agent. Over the course of the episode, the actors must prove their talent and ambition to entertainment industry professionals such as casting directors and executive producers. At the end of each episode, Lieblein and Meyer will sign one lucky actor.
"The best things that [actors watching the show] can take away from it is some idea of what it's like being an agent, what it takes to get an agent, and what you really have to do to get an agent, other than the misnomer of, 'Oh, I'll just send a mass mailing of headshots around town and something will come my way,'" said Meyer. "You really have to be talented, you really have to have some business acumen, and you really have to treat yourself and your career like a business."
Added Lieblein, "[Viewers] are going to get a chance to see Greg and I arguing behind the scenes, [about] each person and why or why we are not going to sign them." Viewers may be quick to jump to conclusions, said Lieblein—assuming, for instance, that a certain actor will be the one to get signed simply because she's especially attractive. "They're going to hear us say, '[She's attractive], but, she's not x, y, and z,'" explained Lieblein, adding that this should give actors a better view of how reps determine who to sign. "Maybe they'll get an insight as to how agents make their decisions," he said.
This, of course, is one rep-related question every actor wants to know the answer to: What are agents looking for, anyway? "For us, it's all about the specific talent," said Lieblein. "If someone can't nail a monologue in an audition environment, a scripted piece of audition material, some improv stuff, and a personal interview…all of those things involve personality, talent, range, presence in a room—it's a combination of a lot of those things and the marketability of what category they're in. I really can't give you a sense of, 'Oh, yeah, we only want [one certain type],' because we've already gone through a bunch of shows where the people that we chose were not as predictable as you might assume. We go for talent first: We want to be able to send someone to a casting director's office where the casting director will say, 'Oh, my God, they were so good, they may not be right for this role because they don't look right, but they were so good,' and that's all we really want is to get the best actors in there."
Meyer said, "It's about how the client fits on our list with regards to [his or her] talent and where [he or she] should be, [rather] than just one specific type of person. We don't want to clutter the list with one type."
Talent may get you far, but the agents are quick to point out that actors have to make agents and other industry decision-makers aware of that talent. "An actor has to get their work in front of an agent and casting directors in order to be considered," said Lieblein. "If we get just a submission of a headshot and résumé and a letter…that's a very long shot, versus if they're in a play, a showcase, or they invite us to a taping or screening or something that they're in, or even send us a tape of fully produced work—nothing that they've just put together onstage with a bunch of friends. Then we actually see their work. It's the work that makes the difference for theatrical; commercial, someone will get a meeting based on a picture. Theatrical, we've got to see the work."
Referrals are another way in. "What I like to tell actors to do is really try and find a manager, because managers have less clients and more time to devote to their clients and getting them an agent," said Meyer. "I think that's the best way, because the meetings that we get, at least 50 percent of them are direct referrals from casting directors or managers, so I always just say, 'Get in front of casting directors and managers, and get some fans out there and have some people making some phone calls on your behalf, whatever it takes.'"
The duo is in the midst of filming 10 episodes of Fight for Fame, and actors may still submit themselves for consideration. Send headshots and résumés to E! Entertainment Television, attn: Christiana Celeste, 5750 Wilshire Blvd, 4th floor, Los Angeles, CA 90036. You must be between 18 and 35 years old and currently be without representation. Deadline is June 15, 2005.