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) 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

​Ask what their up front fees are.

If you’re simply looking for a rep to broker your completed film, then the up front fees should be very low, or non existent.  With a bad rep, this will not always be the case.

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.  
​

Related: What Does a Producer's Rep DO Anyway?

For straight representation/brokerage services, I charge nothing up front, 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 up front 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 ti’s the most accurate credit for the job I do. 

If you want to check out what I’ve done, here’s my imdb,

Visit 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 for reading!  If you read this, and decided you want me to consider representing your film, the links below should be what you need. ​You may also want to consider a FREE Strategy session call on Clarity.  In the free strategy session, I'll help take you from a regular producer to a full fledged executive producer.  I'll also help you chart your next steps forward, and figure out things like how to go about packaging, financing, marketing, or distributing your film.  It all starts with just the click of a button, so click the button and book a call. ​

If you’re not ready to submit a film or reach out to me for a call yet, I encourage you to check out my Patreon.  I love sharing my knowledge in blog form, but it’s time consuming.  I have a lot of demands on my time, and the patreon helps keep me generating free educational content for filmmakers.  If the patreon doesn’t pick up soon, I will be forced to drop back to writing every other week.  Check it out here.

Visit my Patreon

Right below our Sponsors (who you should visit)