WEBVTT - CAA Insiders Talk Agency’s Leadership Evolution, Social Media ‘Game-Changers’ and Content Marketplace Expansion: ‘Our Job Description Has Expanded So Much’ 0:00:07.080 --> 0:00:11.760 Welcome to Strictly Business, Variety's weekly podcasts featuring conversations with 0:00:11.880 --> 0:00:16.040 industry leaders about the business of media and entertainment. I'm 0:00:16.079 --> 0:00:20.599 Cynthia Lyttleton, co editor in chief of Variety. Today's episode 0:00:20.720 --> 0:00:24.799 offers a rare opportunity to bring microphones into the marble 0:00:24.840 --> 0:00:29.600 covered halls of CIA. My Variety colleague Katsey Stephan and 0:00:29.640 --> 0:00:33.199 I talked to not one, not two, but six senior 0:00:33.400 --> 0:00:36.720 CIA agents about the state of the industry and the 0:00:36.720 --> 0:00:41.000 state of their agency. These half dozen ten percenters, to 0:00:41.200 --> 0:00:46.480 use Variety slanguage for talent agents, represent disciplines across the agency. 0:00:47.159 --> 0:00:49.720 They are stars in their fields, and they all happen 0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:53.240 to be women. The idea for this conversation started months 0:00:53.280 --> 0:00:56.200 ago with my interest in looking at how the purchase 0:00:56.200 --> 0:01:00.240 of ICM Partners has changed CIA. That's seven hundre earned 0:01:00.280 --> 0:01:04.160 fifty million dollar deal was completed three years ago. Next month. 0:01:04.720 --> 0:01:09.840 It's CIA's largest ever acquisition. In twenty twenty three, CIA 0:01:09.920 --> 0:01:14.319 itself saw majority ownership change hands from private equity giant 0:01:14.360 --> 0:01:18.880 TPG to French business mogul Francois Henri Finnelt and his 0:01:19.080 --> 0:01:23.640 Artemis Holding Company. In the last few years, CIA has 0:01:23.720 --> 0:01:27.120 taken steps to show that it is nurturing a next 0:01:27.160 --> 0:01:32.160 generation of agency leaders. It has assembled internal boards and 0:01:32.319 --> 0:01:36.760 leadership structures designed to expand the scope of its decision makers. 0:01:37.600 --> 0:01:41.640 This comes as CIA has faced some outside criticism and 0:01:41.680 --> 0:01:45.480 some notable defections amid the perception that there's a ceiling 0:01:45.840 --> 0:01:49.680 for high achievers at the agency. Like other large agencies 0:01:49.720 --> 0:01:54.080 and studios, CIA has also historically had a big gender 0:01:54.160 --> 0:01:57.280 gap at the top that is changing and that is 0:01:57.360 --> 0:02:01.560 illustrated by the composition of our roundtable. We recorded this 0:02:01.600 --> 0:02:05.960 on April fifteenth, sitting across from one another on couches 0:02:06.000 --> 0:02:10.280 in a COZYCIA meeting room. Our panelists are familiar names 0:02:10.280 --> 0:02:14.600 to industry insiders. I'll let them quickly introduce themselves. 0:02:15.080 --> 0:02:17.120 Tiffany Ward, Jennifer. 0:02:16.880 --> 0:02:19.680 Joel, Litha Joseph Mattelis. 0:02:19.200 --> 0:02:22.480 Maha Dakiel, Urlita Fowler, Lara Sackett. 0:02:22.720 --> 0:02:27.600 Tiffany Ward is CIA Managing Director and scripted television agent. 0:02:28.000 --> 0:02:31.640 Jennifer Joel is a literary agent and co head of 0:02:31.800 --> 0:02:36.200 CIA Books. Lisa Joseph Mettelis is a member of the 0:02:36.280 --> 0:02:41.280 CIA Board and head of Athlete Brand Strategy and Entertainment 0:02:41.600 --> 0:02:47.040 at CIA. Sports. Maha Dakiel is CIA Managing director and 0:02:47.160 --> 0:02:52.160 motion picture agent, Ourlita Fowler is a digital media agent 0:02:52.280 --> 0:02:56.880 and head of Digital Media Lifestyle Talent, and Lara Sackett 0:02:56.919 --> 0:03:00.560 is co head of the Production Department. Women have a 0:03:00.600 --> 0:03:05.160 lot to say about agenty, the entertainment economy, the rise 0:03:05.200 --> 0:03:09.000 of social media creators, and the privilege of working with artists. 0:03:09.720 --> 0:03:13.359 Our free wheeling conversation is coming up after this break 0:03:20.919 --> 0:03:25.239 and we're back. Here comes our lively conversation with six 0:03:25.480 --> 0:03:27.040 top CIA agents. 0:03:27.680 --> 0:03:29.800 Tiffany Ward, Jennifer. 0:03:29.520 --> 0:03:32.000 Joel, Lisa Joseph Mattulis. 0:03:31.840 --> 0:03:35.120 Maha Dakiel, Urlita Fowler, Lara Sackett. 0:03:35.480 --> 0:03:37.560 Thank you all so much for joining me and my 0:03:37.640 --> 0:03:42.040 coworker Katsi Stepan, who covers the talent agency business for us. 0:03:42.200 --> 0:03:46.200 We are really appreciative. This is a rare opportunity to 0:03:46.360 --> 0:03:50.960 speak with six senior leaders. We all know the beats 0:03:51.000 --> 0:03:53.080 that the business has really gone through in the last 0:03:53.080 --> 0:03:55.920 couple of years. The pandemic that strikes been a lot 0:03:55.920 --> 0:03:58.800 of change, a lot of contraction, a lot of consolidation 0:03:58.960 --> 0:04:03.680 in the business. See itself had quite a transformative event 0:04:03.720 --> 0:04:06.520 a couple of years ago in purchasing ICM, and so 0:04:06.760 --> 0:04:09.960 it's a great opportunity for us to talk about where 0:04:10.000 --> 0:04:12.560 the agency is, where you see the marketplace going. 0:04:13.000 --> 0:04:16.039 What is great about this place in particular is it 0:04:16.080 --> 0:04:20.120 was never perfect. Nothing ever is. But what it always 0:04:20.360 --> 0:04:22.599 was from the day I got here and continues to 0:04:22.640 --> 0:04:25.800 be is it's fertile ground for change, and the people 0:04:26.000 --> 0:04:30.320 here can be the drivers of the change. 0:04:30.880 --> 0:04:34.880 You don't hit walls here, you know, and when we 0:04:34.960 --> 0:04:37.400 do come together. And that's what was so great about 0:04:37.400 --> 0:04:41.640 that first early board that spawned this newer board, that 0:04:42.520 --> 0:04:45.360 there was a recognition at a certain point that three 0:04:45.440 --> 0:04:48.440 or four people could not run this company alone. An 0:04:48.440 --> 0:04:51.520 operations committee, as you guys have noticed, has been put 0:04:51.600 --> 0:04:54.680 in place in the last several years. When I came here, 0:04:55.000 --> 0:04:59.919 you know, expenses were run by one guy. You would go, 0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:03.080 it is super nice to him, And that's not how 0:05:03.320 --> 0:05:04.760 it's run anymore. 0:05:04.960 --> 0:05:08.040 I came to CIA as part of the ICM acquisition, 0:05:08.760 --> 0:05:10.520 and so that was in the middle of the pandemic. 0:05:10.600 --> 0:05:13.880 So my initial introduction to the motion picture meeting was 0:05:13.920 --> 0:05:17.719 on zoom. So it was just all of these little 0:05:17.760 --> 0:05:22.039 squares of everybody's face. And it wasn't just when you 0:05:22.040 --> 0:05:26.040 were talking about having a voice. Everybody had a voice, 0:05:26.279 --> 0:05:29.839 you know, I was seeing a screen of everybody's sort 0:05:29.839 --> 0:05:34.360 of equal part in the process, as opposed to sort 0:05:34.360 --> 0:05:36.279 of sitting in a room where somebody's at the front 0:05:36.480 --> 0:05:40.440 there speaking, everybody else is listening. And then so that 0:05:40.520 --> 0:05:42.560 was my introduction to the way that that meeting was 0:05:42.640 --> 0:05:44.960 run and the way that people communicated with one another. 0:05:45.600 --> 0:05:48.000 And then when Zoom came to an end and we 0:05:48.000 --> 0:05:51.040 were in person, to then see the translation of that 0:05:51.120 --> 0:05:54.880 Zoom meeting to an in person experience where it's very 0:05:54.920 --> 0:05:57.800 much the same. You know, we're sitting around a table 0:05:58.040 --> 0:06:00.160 and as many people as can fit in a room, 0:06:00.480 --> 0:06:02.680 but it's never just one person speaking. 0:06:03.240 --> 0:06:06.479 I think we really benefited from the integration with ICM 0:06:06.560 --> 0:06:09.599 because I think that even though as has been referenced 0:06:09.600 --> 0:06:11.800 many times, we have a great value system of taking 0:06:11.800 --> 0:06:13.960 care of each other, we have a great value system 0:06:14.000 --> 0:06:17.240 of working in teams which usually include people from different experiences, 0:06:17.279 --> 0:06:19.400 which makes the work better and I think a better 0:06:19.440 --> 0:06:22.560 experience for the clients. We are as well as said, 0:06:22.560 --> 0:06:25.880 we're perfect, and we're curious about always evolving and getting better, 0:06:26.279 --> 0:06:28.960 and sometimes the best way to do that is to 0:06:28.960 --> 0:06:30.640 be confronted with a different way of working. 0:06:31.320 --> 0:06:35.600 Here, Katsay steers the conversation to talking about social media 0:06:35.920 --> 0:06:39.080 and the opportunities it creates for artists and how that 0:06:39.240 --> 0:06:40.280 impacts agenting. 0:06:40.720 --> 0:06:44.120 Well, I'm so curious how the current state of the 0:06:44.160 --> 0:06:49.040 creator economy and how that's factoring into your everyday at TAA, 0:06:49.279 --> 0:06:52.000 and also how you view in the scope of the 0:06:52.120 --> 0:06:56.840 entire entertainment industry, the creator economy. 0:06:56.839 --> 0:07:00.400 The digital industry as a whole is something that it 0:07:00.400 --> 0:07:03.440 has been an industry that's been evolving, like literally, it 0:07:03.480 --> 0:07:07.240 feels like every two years sort of the rules change. 0:07:08.839 --> 0:07:12.320 But I've found that it's always been incredibly exciting. I 0:07:12.360 --> 0:07:18.480 think the world between creators who have their digital ecosystem, 0:07:19.040 --> 0:07:24.040 their online community, and the world of traditional Hollywood has 0:07:24.080 --> 0:07:27.880 been coming closer and closer together. Our point of view 0:07:27.920 --> 0:07:31.920 has always been like, we're signing and working with the 0:07:32.040 --> 0:07:39.440 best creators, artists, taste makers, and our position has always 0:07:39.480 --> 0:07:44.880 been to like connect them to the broader agency. So 0:07:45.440 --> 0:07:50.600 for CIA works a bit different than other places because 0:07:50.600 --> 0:07:52.800 as a client of the agency, you have a team, 0:07:53.160 --> 0:07:56.400 and you have a team from different disciplines, and so 0:07:56.560 --> 0:08:00.120 when I think about someone like Eliza Koshi who and 0:08:00.200 --> 0:08:03.560 we signed her. We signed her off of Vine because 0:08:03.600 --> 0:08:08.000 we saw how incredibly talented, funny sharp she was, right 0:08:08.040 --> 0:08:11.000 and she's doing the short form content, and then we 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:16.280 really helped her expand and grow within the entertainment industry. 0:08:16.360 --> 0:08:19.680 So she just wrapped a film with Arnold Schwarzenegger. I 0:08:19.680 --> 0:08:24.360 think her agent team now has like fourteen people on 0:08:24.400 --> 0:08:31.960 it across the agency, and she's doing everything from films, television, endorsements, 0:08:32.080 --> 0:08:38.240 all while also monetizing her platform. Right now, what we're 0:08:38.280 --> 0:08:42.680 seeing is that a lot of incredible IP is being 0:08:42.760 --> 0:08:48.000 generated from the YouTube community. So when you think about 0:08:48.080 --> 0:08:50.920 late night television right now, if you want to launch 0:08:51.000 --> 0:08:55.839 a film, a TV show, an album, you're going to 0:08:55.920 --> 0:09:00.120 go on Chicken Shop Date, right Amelia de Moldenburg as 0:09:00.160 --> 0:09:01.800 a client of ours, or you're going to go on 0:09:01.920 --> 0:09:07.120 to Hot Ones, right. And so that's been incredible. We've 0:09:07.200 --> 0:09:12.040 also been seeing clients who've been focused on actually creating studios. 0:09:12.080 --> 0:09:14.920 So we represent someone by the name of Darman and 0:09:15.000 --> 0:09:17.640 he creates scripted content on his YouTube. 0:09:17.640 --> 0:09:19.240 I'm a big d okay, So. 0:09:23.800 --> 0:09:27.800 Dar you know, he has his own studio now, right, 0:09:28.520 --> 0:09:33.560 and we've been helping him to expand his businesses both 0:09:33.720 --> 0:09:39.840 like online right but also in other areas, and so 0:09:39.960 --> 0:09:43.480 I've really been excited for what's happening right now. 0:09:43.880 --> 0:09:47.280 Social media has been a game changer for athletes in 0:09:47.360 --> 0:09:51.200 terms of building businesses, building brands. Can you talk about 0:09:51.280 --> 0:09:54.000 how much or how little you have integrated social media 0:09:54.160 --> 0:09:56.520 and what they can do in that channel where they 0:09:56.559 --> 0:09:57.840 can talk directly to fans. 0:09:58.120 --> 0:10:01.839 It's been an interesting ride because athletes are now viewed 0:10:01.840 --> 0:10:05.160 as content creators as well. I think when social first 0:10:05.240 --> 0:10:09.400 came out, no one knew what it was or where 0:10:09.440 --> 0:10:13.440 it could lead. But what it did was create non 0:10:13.480 --> 0:10:20.360 traditional media platforms and really put the narrative in athletes hands, 0:10:20.440 --> 0:10:23.600 where before you would have to get that through traditional 0:10:23.640 --> 0:10:27.920 media outlet and so or understanding a player's mindset after 0:10:28.000 --> 0:10:30.160 a game, after a big loss or after a big win, 0:10:30.360 --> 0:10:33.320 or what are they like you always what happens next? 0:10:33.320 --> 0:10:35.440 Well you see what happens next in real time because 0:10:35.440 --> 0:10:37.520 they're posting about it. And so I think there was 0:10:37.559 --> 0:10:39.480 a little bit of fear at the beginning when it 0:10:39.520 --> 0:10:42.319 came to social media because it's like, okay, it's like 0:10:42.440 --> 0:10:44.480 kind of like the wild, wild West, And I think 0:10:44.520 --> 0:10:48.200 there were like important lessons to be learned about what 0:10:48.440 --> 0:10:50.920 should be shared and how should be shared, some hard 0:10:51.040 --> 0:10:52.920 lessons for athletes. 0:10:52.520 --> 0:10:55.280 And maybe not every waking thought, not everything. 0:10:55.320 --> 0:10:58.560 We don't need to know everything that you're thinking. So 0:10:58.600 --> 0:11:00.800 there was some hard lessons to be learned, and I 0:11:00.800 --> 0:11:04.400 think as an agency, you know, we had to. It 0:11:04.440 --> 0:11:08.440 wasn't a question or thought of being involved, because part 0:11:08.480 --> 0:11:12.200 of us is protecting the athlete and educating them in 0:11:12.240 --> 0:11:15.720 the process. And so I think over the last few 0:11:15.800 --> 0:11:19.440 years you've seen a big shift in that where athletes 0:11:19.480 --> 0:11:22.800 are starting to understand that they have a direct connection 0:11:22.960 --> 0:11:26.920 to their fans. How can they tell their stories best, 0:11:27.080 --> 0:11:30.960 how they can capture the headlines. Athletes aren't going to 0:11:31.960 --> 0:11:34.680 traditional outlets anymore. They're breaking the news on their own. 0:11:34.720 --> 0:11:35.880 We don't need a press release. 0:11:35.920 --> 0:11:37.440 I can just show this, you know. 0:11:37.600 --> 0:11:40.280 So it's kind of like it's been really really disruptive, 0:11:40.280 --> 0:11:43.200 and even through that, athletes now want to be the 0:11:43.240 --> 0:11:47.560 content creators they want. You know, we signed Jesser, who 0:11:47.840 --> 0:11:49.840 is a huge YouTube so I don't even want to 0:11:49.960 --> 0:11:54.280 like put him in that box of just like a YouTuber, 0:11:54.400 --> 0:11:58.160 but like he's built an incredible platform around his love 0:11:58.200 --> 0:12:01.680 of the game and his love of basketball, and to 0:12:01.840 --> 0:12:05.080 see our star athletes wanting to go hang out with 0:12:05.240 --> 0:12:09.440 Jesser it's like you all are. He wants to be you, 0:12:09.440 --> 0:12:11.280 you want to be him. So how do we like 0:12:11.720 --> 0:12:13.800 pair the two up and make it a win win? 0:12:13.960 --> 0:12:16.400 So it's been really interesting and I think for us, 0:12:16.440 --> 0:12:20.200 we're going to see a lot more. I think athletes 0:12:20.240 --> 0:12:23.800 have realized and recognized their power and recognized that they 0:12:23.800 --> 0:12:26.199 have incredible stories to tell. So whether it's on social 0:12:26.679 --> 0:12:29.920 or whether it's through building their own production companies and 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:34.080 media empires, it's no longer just an athlete and what 0:12:34.120 --> 0:12:36.480 they do on the court. But I think in every 0:12:36.880 --> 0:12:40.520 scenario here, whether they're writing a New York Times bestseller 0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:44.600 or being part of being part of a production team 0:12:44.920 --> 0:12:49.240 or eping a film, they're touching so many different lanes 0:12:49.280 --> 0:12:52.480 and so many verticals. So they are a true multi 0:12:52.600 --> 0:12:55.880 hyphen it of talent in all areas and they I 0:12:55.880 --> 0:12:58.160 think they've awakened to their power and they own that now. 0:12:58.679 --> 0:13:01.280 And also I think to the social point, you know, 0:13:01.400 --> 0:13:05.160 we've heard some you know, some artists today have said, Oh, 0:13:05.200 --> 0:13:07.680 when I'm auditioning for something, they ask me how many 0:13:07.679 --> 0:13:10.520 followers I have on social media. I'm curious for those 0:13:10.559 --> 0:13:12.200 of you who are you know more on the TV 0:13:12.280 --> 0:13:14.640 and film side, how much is that something that you're 0:13:14.640 --> 0:13:17.920 paying attention to when you're going into a deal making 0:13:18.000 --> 0:13:21.880 process a client's social following who isn't necessarily in the 0:13:21.920 --> 0:13:22.840 creator economy. 0:13:23.480 --> 0:13:31.400 Early on, it was a little more prevalent because studios 0:13:31.600 --> 0:13:35.160 thinking about casting creators almost as it's done as a 0:13:35.480 --> 0:13:37.680 and have it be a part of their marketing plan. 0:13:38.800 --> 0:13:43.600 But in recent years that's not the biggest factor anymore, 0:13:44.000 --> 0:13:48.360 right I also because a big part of what we're 0:13:48.400 --> 0:13:51.600 seeing is that if you are on a hitshel if 0:13:51.600 --> 0:13:53.920 you're on a hit show on Netflix, you can literally 0:13:54.000 --> 0:13:57.840 go from having two thousand followers to two million. 0:13:58.600 --> 0:14:01.480 All of our clients are ultimately trying to reach, whether 0:14:01.520 --> 0:14:04.679 you call them fans or audiences or readers, they're trying 0:14:05.040 --> 0:14:07.560 to make a connection with people who will consume what 0:14:07.559 --> 0:14:11.920 they're creating. Social media is definitely one measure that the 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:16.240 buyers of their intellectual property or services use to try 0:14:16.280 --> 0:14:20.680 and figure out how much audience or viewers or readers 0:14:21.200 --> 0:14:23.760 or listeners they're already bringing to the table. And we 0:14:23.800 --> 0:14:26.560 think of it more generally as platform and the platform 0:14:26.640 --> 0:14:31.200 can be your socials, it can be your extent readers 0:14:31.400 --> 0:14:35.560 or your extent listeners, but a measure of your ability 0:14:35.600 --> 0:14:37.840 to connect with the people who you are ultimately trying 0:14:37.880 --> 0:14:39.680 to reach as you create and new art, I think 0:14:39.760 --> 0:14:43.320 is certainly one factor that all of our buyers and 0:14:43.400 --> 0:14:48.760 all of our businesses have to be responsible in considering. 0:14:49.800 --> 0:14:53.360 But I hope that because we are all in creative 0:14:53.400 --> 0:14:56.880 businesses to our latest point, ultimately sort of the talent 0:14:57.080 --> 0:15:00.000 and the power of the product is the most important 0:15:00.080 --> 0:15:04.280 and factor for them to consider. And certainly history is 0:15:04.320 --> 0:15:08.280 a guide to a creator and their ability to connect 0:15:08.280 --> 0:15:10.520 with with the larger audience. But I think most of 0:15:10.560 --> 0:15:12.760 us are in this business because we know that there's 0:15:12.800 --> 0:15:16.840 something that is more than measurable or something that is immeasurable, 0:15:16.880 --> 0:15:19.440 which is the feeling that we all get when we 0:15:19.520 --> 0:15:22.440 watch performance that moves us, or you read something that 0:15:22.600 --> 0:15:25.000 changes the way you know you understand the way the 0:15:25.000 --> 0:15:28.920 world works, or that you watch a game and you 0:15:28.960 --> 0:15:31.720 realize that your heart is fluttering and you have no 0:15:31.840 --> 0:15:35.680 stake in the outcome of that particular conversation, but you're moved. 0:15:36.120 --> 0:15:38.080 I couldn't agree with Jen Moore and the only thing 0:15:38.120 --> 0:15:39.880 I'll add is that for those of us who are 0:15:39.920 --> 0:15:44.120 working in storytelling, and I think there's stories in some ways, 0:15:44.120 --> 0:15:47.440 and what all of us do. We came out here 0:15:47.520 --> 0:15:50.960 because we were captured somehow by the magic of a 0:15:51.040 --> 0:15:55.600 really resonant human story, right. And data is something that 0:15:55.600 --> 0:15:57.840 we pride ourselves on having sort of best in class 0:15:57.840 --> 0:16:01.080 service around, whether it be social or ratings, you know, 0:16:01.120 --> 0:16:04.280 the whole the whole spectrum. And that's important. It's valuable 0:16:04.320 --> 0:16:06.560 for us, it's valuable and deal making. It's valuable in 0:16:06.960 --> 0:16:09.800 terms of giving our clients some kind of transparent feedback 0:16:09.800 --> 0:16:13.000 about performance. But the other part of it is that 0:16:13.800 --> 0:16:16.240 there's no algorithm on earth that would have told you 0:16:16.280 --> 0:16:26.720 to make adolescens right. It's just magical resonance storytelling. The 0:16:26.720 --> 0:16:28.880 more that we can keep, you know, to what to 0:16:28.920 --> 0:16:31.440 what Jenna is talking about, which is the common denominator 0:16:32.040 --> 0:16:38.080 of just a really resonant, specific, magical point of view 0:16:38.160 --> 0:16:40.400 from an artist or artist that comes together in a 0:16:40.440 --> 0:16:44.720 serendipitous confluence of events that we all benefit from because 0:16:44.760 --> 0:16:48.200 it's human like, that's that's why we're here, you know. 0:16:48.240 --> 0:16:49.880 So you have to balance both of those things, I 0:16:49.960 --> 0:16:52.600 think to do our job with a level of optimism 0:16:52.600 --> 0:16:54.080 and hope and excitement. 0:16:54.480 --> 0:16:57.800 How does that spirit of being innovative and creative put 0:16:57.840 --> 0:17:01.880 pressure on you as agents? When your clients are being 0:17:01.920 --> 0:17:05.280 more entrepreneurial than ever before, how does that translate to 0:17:05.359 --> 0:17:05.919 your work? 0:17:06.200 --> 0:17:09.480 I don't really consider it pressure. It's not this pressure 0:17:09.520 --> 0:17:12.280 of trying to stay ahead of the clients. It's this 0:17:12.600 --> 0:17:19.600 joy and real acceptance of also hopefully being thought leaders ourselves, 0:17:19.880 --> 0:17:24.159 pushing the boundaries, challenging systems, looking for different ways of 0:17:24.200 --> 0:17:27.639 doing things, leaning on one another in the different divisions. 0:17:27.920 --> 0:17:30.400 What are you learning, what are you finding? What patterns 0:17:30.400 --> 0:17:34.480 are you seeing? And really helping to business build and 0:17:34.680 --> 0:17:38.040 maybe even empire build. Not every single artist wants to 0:17:38.240 --> 0:17:41.200 empire build. Sometimes they just want to tell a story, 0:17:41.240 --> 0:17:45.440 and we're certainly equipped to do that, but we are overqualified. 0:17:45.480 --> 0:17:50.440 Now our job description has expanded so much to being 0:17:50.640 --> 0:17:58.360 entrepreneurs ourselves, in house producers and cultural advocates that it's 0:17:58.440 --> 0:18:02.160 actually exciting time to be in the agency business because 0:18:02.160 --> 0:18:05.840 you see how we're expanding and morphing and understanding that 0:18:05.920 --> 0:18:09.159 we have to be all things to all people. Because 0:18:09.280 --> 0:18:14.320 artists are so expansive in their thinking, there's an impression 0:18:14.359 --> 0:18:18.680 that we represent only stars. We represent people who are 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:22.040 going to be stars, and yes, sometimes we represent people 0:18:22.040 --> 0:18:25.200 who are already stars. But the fun and the discovery 0:18:25.280 --> 0:18:30.760 of noting somebody's potential and then being a driver of it, 0:18:30.840 --> 0:18:35.480 there's really no joy like that. It's maybe akin to parenting, 0:18:36.960 --> 0:18:39.760 but just to see somebody grow and go through phases 0:18:39.840 --> 0:18:43.240 and the deep history of knowing somebody and being with 0:18:43.320 --> 0:18:46.159 somebody for a very long time and being able to 0:18:46.200 --> 0:18:49.199 advise them through the highs and lows because obviously nobody 0:18:49.200 --> 0:18:52.480 stays on top every single second, and being there when 0:18:52.480 --> 0:18:55.159 they fall, and being the one that has you know, 0:18:55.640 --> 0:18:57.479 those of us in this room and all our colleagues 0:18:57.520 --> 0:19:00.760 outside this room. Having to have the plan, the optimism 0:19:00.760 --> 0:19:04.960 and the creativity to be able to navigate next steps is. 0:19:06.640 --> 0:19:07.040 Exciting. 0:19:07.080 --> 0:19:09.200 It's not a pressure, not saying the job it's not 0:19:09.280 --> 0:19:11.359 high pressure, but that part of the job is really 0:19:11.520 --> 0:19:12.359 actually quite fun. 0:19:13.040 --> 0:19:16.159 Some of you have collaborated between production, motion picture and 0:19:16.200 --> 0:19:19.040 television that there have been some recent projects that you 0:19:19.040 --> 0:19:21.040 guys have really had to come together on. So can 0:19:21.080 --> 0:19:24.399 you tell me a little more about how your teams 0:19:24.440 --> 0:19:25.560 work together, Just to. 0:19:25.640 --> 0:19:28.359 Draft off of what Maha just said, One of the 0:19:28.440 --> 0:19:31.240 things that allows us to feel that joy and to 0:19:31.320 --> 0:19:33.679 sort of foster that entrepreneurialism is that we lean on 0:19:33.720 --> 0:19:36.120 each other all the time. So just an example, when 0:19:36.200 --> 0:19:38.879 Laura came in, you know, along with Ryan, Tracy and 0:19:39.240 --> 0:19:44.879 many folks in a division that we hadn't had right production. Production, Yes, production, 0:19:46.400 --> 0:19:48.800 that was something that you know, for those of us 0:19:48.840 --> 0:19:51.040 who work in content, we maha and I hadn't benefited 0:19:51.040 --> 0:19:53.200 from that for I don't know the first ten to 0:19:53.240 --> 0:19:55.720 fifteen years of our time here, and it's been a 0:19:55.720 --> 0:19:58.800 game changer. Anytime that there's a new show that is 0:19:58.840 --> 0:20:02.040 on the precipice of production, we are able to collaborate 0:20:02.160 --> 0:20:05.160 with a best in class group of advocates to say 0:20:05.200 --> 0:20:07.119 not just well, who's writing this and who will be 0:20:07.160 --> 0:20:10.840 the stars, but also who's making this right, and who's 0:20:10.880 --> 0:20:15.479 great at making it domestically internationally, and who's collaborated before. 0:20:15.840 --> 0:20:18.320 It's an incredible advantage, amazing. 0:20:18.640 --> 0:20:20.480 Well, I feel the same, and I think when you 0:20:20.800 --> 0:20:23.439 see people in physical production, I hear this best in 0:20:23.480 --> 0:20:25.240 class a lot, and I think you see a lot 0:20:25.280 --> 0:20:28.440 of repeat collaborations because they work well. So people are 0:20:28.440 --> 0:20:31.320 working together again and again and they're growing their careers. 0:20:31.400 --> 0:20:34.880 They see where people have different avenues of creativity and strength, 0:20:35.320 --> 0:20:37.280 they pull in other people that they want to keep 0:20:37.280 --> 0:20:40.600 working with again and again. And I think so we 0:20:40.720 --> 0:20:43.320 have a lot of these artists that have been building 0:20:43.320 --> 0:20:47.400 their careers forever building relationships, but then to have the 0:20:47.440 --> 0:20:50.040 strength of the best in class relationships that go on 0:20:50.160 --> 0:20:54.439 here to sort of see when these productions are just 0:20:54.600 --> 0:20:57.240 an idea, So to know when somebody is talking about 0:20:57.240 --> 0:21:00.359 a great book that's about to you know, it may 0:21:00.359 --> 0:21:02.440 not even be a book yet, you know, it's somebody's 0:21:02.840 --> 0:21:06.080 thought idea. It's an article, it's a book, it's a screenplay. 0:21:06.600 --> 0:21:10.600 It's a filmmaker who really wants to collaborate with a 0:21:10.600 --> 0:21:13.760 particular actor. It's two actors that want to make a comedy. 0:21:14.080 --> 0:21:19.439 Just hearing that the kernels of ideas before they're i 0:21:19.440 --> 0:21:23.360 mean long before they become physical production is I think 0:21:23.359 --> 0:21:25.639 both inspiring. When you're talking about you know, how are 0:21:25.640 --> 0:21:28.720 we motivated on a daily basis? It does require a 0:21:28.720 --> 0:21:31.639 sort of entrepreneurial spirit because now we're seeing all these 0:21:31.680 --> 0:21:35.040 different avenues. We're not waiting for a go job, like 0:21:35.119 --> 0:21:37.960 here's a go opportunity. It's sort of like all of 0:21:38.000 --> 0:21:43.040 these things that are possible, and I think building relationships 0:21:43.080 --> 0:21:47.679 earlier on being aware of, you know, particular interests and collaborations, 0:21:47.920 --> 0:21:49.240 it's been game changing for us. 0:21:49.960 --> 0:21:54.560 Here, Katsy presses Jennifer Joel about the ever expanding world 0:21:54.680 --> 0:21:58.240 of sourcing literary content for adaptation in other mediums. 0:21:59.080 --> 0:22:03.159 Jen adaptation game is so so broad, and I'm so 0:22:03.359 --> 0:22:08.200 curious how you even begin to identify what the right 0:22:08.240 --> 0:22:11.240 projects are that make themselves right for these adaptations, whether 0:22:11.280 --> 0:22:14.920 it's something whether you're sourcing from a book, a stage show. 0:22:15.320 --> 0:22:18.320 Obviously very wide that you're casting. So how do you 0:22:18.880 --> 0:22:21.960 sort through all the content that's out there. 0:22:22.440 --> 0:22:24.560 I'm not sure that we're doing a sorting job as 0:22:24.640 --> 0:22:27.560 much as we are kind of building the library. And 0:22:28.600 --> 0:22:31.560 I think one of the great privileges of the combination 0:22:31.680 --> 0:22:35.560 of these agencies is the fact that the library is passive. 0:22:35.880 --> 0:22:40.000 We've got decades worth of phenomenal content, whether their books 0:22:40.720 --> 0:22:44.920 or their plays, or their podcasts or their kind of 0:22:45.000 --> 0:22:50.040 new online content. The fact that we have created so 0:22:50.400 --> 0:22:55.600 much excellent content is like a cant It's like a 0:22:55.600 --> 0:23:00.439 candy shore for people to go play. In Great Thing, 0:23:00.480 --> 0:23:03.399 in particular about a long gest dating project which a 0:23:03.440 --> 0:23:05.760 book is often but all of these things can be 0:23:05.840 --> 0:23:09.600 is that somebody has already put years of thought and 0:23:09.760 --> 0:23:14.040 effort into imagining one version of a story or a 0:23:14.080 --> 0:23:19.040 world or a series. And to Lara's point, in a way, 0:23:19.280 --> 0:23:22.320 it gives sort of a new creator who wants to reimagine, 0:23:22.359 --> 0:23:24.280 you know, it's looking for a world to reimagine or 0:23:24.280 --> 0:23:28.000 play around, and they're starting kind of way down the 0:23:28.000 --> 0:23:30.399 playing field because somebody else has already done that work. 0:23:31.119 --> 0:23:34.800 One of the great pleasures of the adaptations game and 0:23:34.840 --> 0:23:38.240 an agency like this is that that process can go 0:23:38.280 --> 0:23:40.919 both ways. So you are, in fact can go in 0:23:40.960 --> 0:23:45.600 every way. You have an author who might imagine that 0:23:45.640 --> 0:23:49.320 a piece of content that they've made would be phenomenally 0:23:49.359 --> 0:23:51.439 reimagined in the hands of a certain director or a 0:23:51.440 --> 0:23:55.120 certain actor, a certain writer, and we have the ability 0:23:55.280 --> 0:23:58.240 to make those introductions. The reason that we've had so 0:23:58.320 --> 0:24:01.080 much success is that is that we have had the 0:24:01.119 --> 0:24:04.919 ability to let the people who make things find new 0:24:04.960 --> 0:24:07.240 ways to kind of work together and work off of 0:24:07.240 --> 0:24:07.640