What if the actor or actress belongs to an agency?
Independent film makers should not be scared of talent agents. There's a myth in Hollywood that these ten percent 'Jeremy Piffin on Entourage' guys are difficult to deal with, but in fact they want what's best for their client, and they want their client to be in good films. So if you have a great script, with a great character for their client to play, that's a good relationship that you're going to form with them. And so they shouldn't be looked at as the enemy. All of the agencies have great independent film divisions. They help film makers finance independent films, they help independent films go out and be sold, they represent independent movies, they go to film festivals, so in dealing with the talent agency there's a certain language there you have to speak. You know what they want for their client? They want their client to either get paid, or to be taken care of really well, or to make sure that they have what they need to give a great performance. They do want all those things, but they're not the enemy. Nearly every actor in Hollywood has an agent, so you're going to have to deal with them at some point. And so to say that you don't want to deal with or approach that actor because they have an agent, you're going to be getting your mom and dad in your independent film, and that's about it.
