An award-winning producer and personal manager, Marilyn R. Atlas is equally at home in the worlds of film, television, and live theater. Among her credits as film producer are Real Women Have Curves for HBO, which won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival, A Certain Desire, starring Sam Waterston, and Echoes, which won the Gold Award at the 1991 Texas International Film Festival. Marilyn is currently developing a musical adaptation of Real Women Have Curves with the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. Her theater credits include the west coast premiere of God bless You Mr. Rosewater by Ashman and Menken and to Gillian On Her 37th Birthday. Marilyn’s is currently working on TV projects at Showtime and ABC Family. Suburban Turban is set for late 2008 production. She is also presently developing a musical adaptation of Real Women Have Curves with the Goodman Theatre in Chicago to be part of their Latino Festival in 2009.
Marilyn is committed to projects that reflect diversity and portray non-stereotypical characters. She is a founding member of the Women In Film's Luminas Committee, which supports the portrayal of women in non-stereotypical roles. She teaches screenwriting seminars including “Creating for the Actor: Carving Memorable, Inhabitable Characters” and “The Ever-Evolving Marketplace: What’s Hot, Why and for How Long.” Marilyn also teaches actor workshops including “Auditioning for Producers.”
Cari-Esta: What do you enjoy most about being a manager?
Marilyn: I enjoy helping clients make their dream roles and projects happen. It is rewarding to help the writers and actors I manage manifest their goals through our mutual efforts. I also truly like my clients as people in addition to appreciating their myriad talents.
Day to day, I explore new avenues to bring my client’s projects to fruition. Their diverse talents, perspectives and backgrounds make them uniquely qualified for many projects. I read through material for roles that my clients may be right for. I remain passionate about career management despite the incredible changes the industry has undergone in the last few years. It’s important to think out of the box in order to make things happen.
Among my responsibilities I read material that has been offered to clients. I work in tandem with their agents to provide the most thorough advice on each project. A great part of many of my days is spent advising and/or disseminating pertinent information to clients.
In addition to my established clients, I love to interact with up and coming writing talent. I work closely with writers to help them shape their stories into commercially viable projects that retain their personal significance for the writer.
I felt a long time actor client of mine had a real voice and was a born writer. After years of encouragement he finally wrote a script, which I sold. This was very exciting and rewarding for both of us.
Cari-Esta: Is there any truth to the rumor that an actor and an agent or manager will read the first 10 pages of a script to determine if there’s a role worth playing? If so, what needs to be present in those first 10 pages?
Marilyn: I think the 10-pages rule applies at whatever stage the script is being read, as a spec script for potential agency representation, as a sample for writer-for-hire work, etc. The characters should be well defined, the central goal spelled out, as well as a grounded sense imparted of the milieu of this particular environment, and of course the genre itself impeccably established.
If these 10 pages don’t grab you or haven’t done their job, then the rest of the script will probably be a slog to get through. And, truthfully, I rarely have the time or inclination to read beyond this literary frontier, if the story hasn’t made an impression by then.
Cari-Esta: What are you looking for in a script in order to recommend it to your actor clients?
Marilyn: Compelling characters that actors can get excited about playing.
Subtext and a sense of urgency, whether in the emotional pull between characters, or in reaching a tangible goal.
An identifiably unique rhythm in each character’s speech patterns and means of expression.
Cari-Esta: Can you offer some advice to a beginning writer regarding how to write roles that an actor will want to play?
Marilyn: An actor wants to test limitations, and to be made to grow within the character. So, create situations where the actor/character has to be made uncomfortable to the point of foggy thinking/loss of memory/confusion, is in pain, is being beaten down; or conversely is pulling off a miracle achievement, making the first tentative steps to a meaningful relationship, or becoming wiser and more confident. Make sure there is always an emotional goal in tandem with the physical story goal, and each scene should have an emotional beat as well, this will create rich dialogue.
Cari-Esta: Please tell us about the difference between an agent and a manager when representing a writing client.
Marilyn: A manager guides, counsels and promotes a client’s career. Generally, he has more time and energy to spend on an individual basis. So, he’s more likely to help polish a pitch or a script before it enters the marketplace. A manager may be more willing to work on cross-pollinating an artist’s talent, by encouraging or promoting an actor’s writing abilities or directing abilities if that side of the artist isn’t well-known. Essentially a manager breaks down more walls, while an agent makes it his daily mission to keep abreast of new deals and story imperatives – what the studio marketplace or individual production entities are looking for. A manager is more likely to represent talent he is extremely enthusiastic and passionate about, rather than judging success by how many writing slots have been filled at the end of a quarter.
Additionally, an agent may make more calls given his larger client base, but will not necessarily focus relevant inquiries in your niche on your behalf. An agent is more apt to drop a client if a certain floor of income is not reached within a probationary term. Even if a manager may have generated the lead and interest from a company, only an agent (or a lawyer) can negotiate the deal.
Cari-Esta: What are your criteria for evaluating a new writer as a potential client? And as a potential project for you to produce?
Marilyn: I need to see 2 or 3 strong scripts (that have, no doubt, been privately rewritten 5-6 times, but labeled “1st Draft”) to be assured of a new writer’s professionalism and fertility. I have to personally be affected by the story to want to spend 4-5 years of my life trying to get the project made as a producer. I do not automatically attach myself to a client’s project. I have to feel my creative input and effort to find attract financing will be hugely helpful to finding a long-term home for the project. There are many projects I would not be the right producer for, due to different tastes and sensibilities. I always want what is in the best interest of the client and the project.
Cari-Esta: Any suggestions for writing a successful query letter?
Marilyn: You should know your story inside and out in order to write a successful query. Don’t promise anything you can’t deliver. If your story really isn’t about a jungle survival camp, but is just the springboard for the self-assessment that a college dropout must make in order to show his parents he’s able to run the family store, then don’t milk that aspect of the script! Use it to frame the initial funny sequence, but then focus on what else makes your script novel and moving! And make sure to highlight one twist in the logline that is sure to capture my attention.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 08 September 2008 )
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East of Eden Writers Conference
September 5-7 2008
Salinas, CA
Cari-Esta Albert will be presenting: Manuscript to Film Script - Adapting your book into a screenplay. Saturday, September 6 2008
Official Website
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 03 September 2008 )
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Big Bear Lake International Film Festival
September 11-14, 2008
Official Website
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Last Updated ( Friday, 09 May 2008 )
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