Ashlee Stormo: How to Find an Agent or Manager Using IMDb Pro

"Hi, Screenwriters! This week I'm showing you how to use IMDbPro to find a manager! I'm sure there are other internet sleuthing ways to find representation - how do you look for a manager? And what do you send them once you have their contact info? Let us know!"

"Hello friends! My name is Ashlee Stormo, and this week I'm partnering with SoCreate to show you how to use IMDb Pro to look for a manager and representation.

Alright, so the first thing I would recommend doing if you are using IMDb Pro to look for a manager is make a list of movies and shows that are similar to what you're working on. So, you want to think of things that are in your genre and that are kind of your style. So, for me, that's a lot of wholesome stuff. For TV shows, you're going to see "Shameless,” "Parenthood,” "Friday Night Lights," and "This Is Us." So, these are the kinds of things that will go on my list. And then, as far as movies, you'll see stuff like "Troop Zero,” "500 Days of Summer,” "The Spectacular Now,” "The Edge of 17," so that's kind of the family, wholesome vibe that I'm going for. And then, once you've made that list, you can snap over into how you use the website.

Once I have my TV or movie list, I'll find out who the main writer or writers are, and then from there, figure out who manages those writers. Let me run through two examples on here for you. So, we're going to go with "Troop Zero" first. I will click on "Troop Zero," and then the cast pops up, but what I'm going to is the Filmmaker’s tab, and then under the Filmmaker's tab, you want to find the writers. And we can see that the writer of "Troop Zero" is the lovely Lucy Alibar. Then I'll click to her profile, and while I'm here, I can track her or add her to a list, which is also useful if you want to follow along with how someone else's career unfolds and kind of spy on the people that they work with. And then I'll just scroll down to the contacts. We've got the talent agency she works with, and her particular representative, Mr. Dan. What I do from there is I'll take down Dan's contact information, but then I'll do more deep-diving into the management company and maybe Dan himself. I'll check out the website, and make sure that they are okay with me sending them unsolicited emails or scripts because I wouldn't want to make a bad impression or waste anyone's time.

Let's go through this one more time quickly. We're going to go with "The Spectacular Now," and it looks like this film was adapted for the screen by Scott and Michael. So, we're going to go over to Scott, and we can see his agencies he works with and managers. Then I will just toggle through all of their info again, research if they are taking unsolicited content right now, and add them to my contacts. And if they're not taking unsolicited emails right now, I'll just highlight that on my little chart so that I can keep checking back if that's someone I'm really interested in working with.

Another thing to keep in mind: Let's say that you are writing an action film. You don't necessarily want to go to the newest "Bond" film and find the writer and find their manager and have your heart set on this manager and this manager only. There's no harm in trying, but even if you are signed with them, which would be amazing, you won't necessarily be that manager's top priority if they have huge clients with an insane roster because that person is going to be their priority, because that writer has proven to bring in money for this manager. So I have heard that if you're newer, it's common to work with a manager who might be more green as well, there's nothing wrong with that.

Thank you so much for watching! Please let us know downstairs in the comments how you are going about looking for a manager. If you have a manager, please share how you got that manager and let us all in on a little secret, and I will be back at you soon."