Sending C/O talent agent, manager, etc.

[packrat]

If I have found the addresses for a celebrity's talent agent, manager, and publicist, which is most likely to result in a TTM success? Should I address the outer envelope c/o the company name or c/o the actual name of the agent, manager, or publicist?

And out of curiosity, what exactly is a talent agent? A manager? A publicist? What do they do for the celebrity?

[RYAN J.]

Well if you could either post the addresses here, or PM them to me, I'd be happy to show how to address them. Most times you can put

Celeb's Name
Attn: Agents Name
C/o Company name
Address - Zip code

A talent Agent is someone who handles or is in charge of the 'Important Stuff" for Celebs like Fanmail, Scheduling dates, Guest Appeareances, Premeire, book/photo signings ect. so the celebs themselves don't have to do it. They advise the celeb on whether they should take a job offer for a film or wait until something better comes along. They also get a 10-30% cut from the celeb's earning to pay for their time (Depends on the celeb and the deal) Same goes for a manager and publicist. You could also call them a boss too.

Hopefully that's helpful to you. Any other questions feel free to let me know!!

RYAN J.

[packrat]

Hopefully that's helpful to you. Any other questions feel free to let me know!!

Ryan, thanks for the reply!

Well, it was a little help. Perhaps I should have been a bit clearer. The main gist of my original post is to find out which is most likely to result in a TTM success. Everything else stems from there. Whether to send to a talent agent, a manager, or a publicist is the question and I'm wondering which would result in a better chance for a success.

As for addressing the envelope, again I should have been a little clearer. What I meant was: If I address the outer envelope c/o the agent's name, for instance, would that help or does it make no difference?

I have found out what a publicist does. By finding that out, I can see that there would be no point in sending a TTM attempt there. Finding out what an agent does and what a manager does (or the difference between the two) has been a bit tougher for me to figure out.

I like to do my homework, I guess, and I try to learn about the hobby. Of course, I'm aware that knowing something does not always guarantee a success, but I do think it at least gives me a psychological boost...

[dfreely]

A talent agent is the person who finds jobs for the celeb.
A manager is an adviser. They give advice regarding their career, business ventures, etc, as well as booking gigs, and show and event appearances for them.
A publicist, well, creates publicity. They can also handle the celeb's relationship with the press and media (newspaper, magazines, etc)

It should not matter which one you send your mail to, as long as they're willing to forward mail and the celebrity signs TTM, you'll end up with a success. Generally speaking though, most celebrities handle their fanmail through the talent agency that represents them.

[RYAN J.]

I have found out what a publicist does. By finding that out, I can see that there would be no point in sending a TTM attempt there.

Actually Actor Christian Bale signs via his Publicist, and he's very good and fufilling 80% of his requests. But it does depend on the celeb. some will and some won't. That's what I'm always watching the successes that come in for performers and if I see one main address that get's lots of successes back that's typically the one I'll send out too.

Also in many of the database entries, there's phone numbers that are provided along with the address. You can call and confirm that the address is still up-to-date and see if that celeb is still represented with that agency or talent group. I do this all the time and have gotten great successes! For example, I just called an agency yesterday to confirm an address and the lady asked for my name, so she could be watching for my letter to arrive. so it could be passed on to the celeb!

RYAN J.

[packrat]

I can't afford to be making long-distance calls with my current income, so that's why I asked which would result in a better chance of success. But thanks to both of you who have replied. It has helped a bit in my decision-making of where to send.

[dfreely]

I would suggest that the talent agency be your first option, since they're the ones who usually handles fanmail for celebrities. Unless a particular agency is known for not forwarding fanmail, this is your best choice by default.

It's rarer that a celebrity uses their manager to handle fanmail, but that can be the case if they change agencies often, or have a closer relationship to them. This should be considered more of a secondary choice if the talent agency that represents the celebrity does not forward mail, or if they aren't represented by a talent agency.

And you're right in avoiding the publicist. Generally speaking, most publicity firms are a very separate entity from the celebrity, and they often do not work directly with them. Some firms that specialize in celebrity publicity may handle fanmail, but unless a celebrity is known to reply via that address, this should be avoided.