Actors At Work: Agents Tell It Like It Is!; Artistry--The Business Of Art

Many's the aspiring actor who dejectedly plods along the Yellow Brick Road of Hollywood Blvd. singing "If I Only Had an Agent." Without one, thespians are unlikely to get a toe let alone a foot into a casting director's office. The third title in Joel Asher's excellent "Actors at Work" series (the first, Getting the Part, was reviewed in VL-11/93), Agents "Tell It Like It Is!" features Asher interviewing 5 commercial, film, and television agents on the subjects of what agents look for in an actor, how one goes about getting an agent, and what agents do and don't do for their clients. Despite the popular Catch-22 myth which basically says that actors can't get an agent unless they have a work history, and actors can't get work unless they have an agent, the agents interviewed here prove in the variety of their remarks that there are no cast in Sharon Stone rules. Much better than Information Hollywood (VL-11/91), How to Break Into Acting (VL-11/93), or How to Start a Career in Television, Movies & Commercials (VL-1/94), Agents "Tell It Like It Is!" combines solid advice with top-notch production values. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice.Artists too sometimes need agents. Artistry--The Business of Art is an 11-part series devoted to the business side of art. Hosted by Todd Bingham, each episode is presented in an interview format with one or two guests discussing a particular topic. We watched Artist's Agents, which featured artist Robert Rosenthal and his agent Beda, talking about the artist-agent relationship (who gets to kick whom's butt and when), fees (agents command as much as 50% or more--but they often truly earn it), working with galleries, and individual shows and sales. While not terribly snappy on the visual side, the production values are reasonably good, and Bingham keeps the interview both informative and on-target. Those thinking about careers in art would definitely benefit from watching the series. The other titles are: Art Law, Art Galleries, The Art Critic, Graphic Artist, Art in Public Places, Cartooning, Fine Art Printing, Art Marketing, Framing/Shipping, and Art Publishing. Note that while discount prices for series range from piddling to substantial, the amount saved here is about 40%, which is pretty decent. Recommended for libraries with larger art collections. (R. Pitman)