

Managers can't actually negotiate a deal, but they can advise on your work, and the best ones know the market, have deep connections to production companies and studios, and will try hard to earn their 10%. A manager, however, is a different story, and it's always best to start there. Smith (author/screenwriter) posted on an Authors Guild discussion about agents and screenplays (quoted here with permission): "As noted, it is exceedingly difficult to sign on with a screenwriting agent. They take you on an insider's tour of the process.

Television (for cable and TV fans, critics and students).Television, cable, and Hollywood's changing business models (e.g., ads vs.Paris Review interviews about theater and musical comedy.Paris Review interviews about the art of screenwriting.Organizations for screenwriters, playwrights, documentary filmmakers, and critics.Movie reviews and film criticism, sites and databases (and some TV).Life story rights: 'Based on a true story'.Interviews about film, drama, documentaries, and television.Instant streaming options, compared (Amazon Plus, Netflix, Hulu, BritBox, Acorn, etc.).Formatting resources, including software for screenplays.The fight between Hollywood’s writers and agents.Books on screenwriting, playwriting, radio and video production, and documentary-making.
