Exclusive Q&A with manager-producer Dan Halsted

Back in January, 1987, the point person in the sale of the Siegel & Myers spec script K-9 to Unversal Studios was a young agent named Dan Halsted. We've stayed in touch all these years and I'm pleased that Dan agreed to answer some questions for GITS readers. First some background on Dan's notable career in Hollywood:

Dan Halsted was born in New York and moved to Beverly Hills, California in 1976. After graduating from UCLA with a B.A. in Political Science, Halsted started his career as an assistant to Scott Rudin before becoming an agent at United Talent Agency. At UTA he packaged and sold films such as There's Something About Mary, New Jack City, The Fabulous Baker Boys, K-9, RoboCop, Casualties of War, Jumping Jack Flash, Predator and The Untouchables.

Switching companies from UTA to Hollywood Pictures, a division of Walt Disney Studios, Halsted worked with Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg. As an Executive Vice President, he was involved with overseeing various films including The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Tombstone, Evita, Mr. Holland's Opus, Encino Man, Son in Law, The Joy Luck Club and While You Were Sleeping.

After working for Disney, Halsted formed a partnership with Oscar-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone and the two created a production company named Illusion Entertainment. Together they produced films such as Nixon, U-Turn, The Art of War,The Corruptor, Beyond Borders (starring Angelina Jolie), Freeway, Any Given Sunday, and the award-winning documentary The Last Days of Kennedy and King for TBS.

In 1999, with the help of Paramount Pictures, Halsted ventured out on his own with a multi-year, first-look production deal with Mandalay Pictures. That same year, Halsted produced the critically acclaimed The Virgin Suicides, and the blockbuster action film S.W.A.T., starring Colin Farrel and Samuel L. Jackson. Halsted executive produced the hit TNT series Witchblade. At Sundance 2004, Halsted's film Garden State sold for $5 million as a joint acquisition by Miramax Films and Fox Searchlight Pictures. Halsted has worked on five films that have premiered at Sundance.

In 2004, with 20-years industry experience Halsted formed the company MANAGE-MENT. Representing writers and directors as clients, the company also produces film, television and web-based projects. Some of the television shows that Manage-ment clients write for include: Mad Men (Golden Globe and Emmy winner for writing,) Arrested Development, Weeds, The United States of Tara, Hung, The Flight of the Conchords, The L Word, Rescue Me, Royal Pains, and In Treatment.

Manage-ment also provides equity consulting and investment banking services to financiers, listing the following film projects he has worked on: Michael Clayton, The Namesake, Garden State, Crips and Bloods, Amreeka, and the recent Jessica Biel project F**king Engaged, and FilmNation.

That's an impressive career, one that gives Dan a unique perspective on the movie and TV business. One huge caveat before the Q&A:

MANAGE-MENT DOES NOT ACCEPT UNSOLICITED MATERIAL. ANY UNSOLICITED EMAILS ARE RETURNED WITH A ROBOT AUTO REPLY SAYING THE EMAIL HAS NOT BEEN READ.

So please do not send any unsolicited email or mail to Manage-ment.

* What do you see as your primary responsibilities as a writer's manager?

As a manager, we are involved in all aspects of a clients career - their film and TV lives, theater or publishing or internet (if necessary). We essentially create a production company with various projects and help guide clients long term and short term career goals. We raise money and set various meetings for building client's relationships around town. Additionally, we help clients maximize their agency’s resources (as well as other agencies’ resources).

* What are your main areas of focus as a producer?

It really runs the spectrum from studio big budget films to independent films at Sundance to Sony crackle on-line to international co-productions to network and cable television and everything in between. It all starts with an idea - and the next conversation is where is the best place to express this particular idea? Is it a film? If so, is it a studio or independent? If television idea -- is it network or cable? Is it a doc? Given my 25 years in the business, I can figure out how to solve any one of these areas.

* You've been involved with big budget movies like The Untouchables and S.W.A.T. and smaller indie movies like Garden State. What are the respective challenges for getting a big budget movie or a low budget movie made?

And K-9, don’t you forget! Ultimately every movie is the same. You never have enough time or money to do all that you want -- there are always compromises. Sometimes, lack of funds forces you to be more creative in making certain choices. Smaller films are very satisfying because you have a greater sense of authorship: by that I mean, when you are making a summer studio film - you are all about pleasing the bank (studio) and the center of gravity is the studio chief. When you make an independent film, you can take more risks and experiment with the hope it will payoff in front of a Sundance audience

* Speaking of indie movies, you've been involved with 5 films that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Given the backdrop of the major studios shuttering so many specialty divisions in the last two years, what do you see happening in the indie film world now and in the future, specifically re distribution (or lack thereof)?

I was in Sundance this year with at least 6 films we represented or had some connection to -- I love Sundance and hate it at the same time! There is the "spring break" part of it with all of the parties and crowds which gets old fast. No more vodka ice sculptures! Then there is that moment when you are at the premiere of the film you worked so hard on for so many years and the lights go down and you look behind you and see people laughing and crying at all the right places and suddenly you are rocketed to another dimension. It is a drug that you want to use over and over. This years market was small on dollar amounts but without a doubt there was a big sign of life for the indie business.

* What elements are you looking for when you sit down to read a spec script written by a potential client?

It really depends on how it came to me and what I am looking for at that point in my business. I may have a hole in my list -i.e.: not enough graphic novel adapters or family writers so I may be looking for that particular genre writer. I tend to look for new playwrights who can staff on top cable shows at HBO etc. Mostly it is a clean read and I am just looking for some emotional connection. I know by doing this long enough (ala Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hours) that if I have a visceral reaction to something, someone else will. Quality trumps all - if you are known for quality, you will always have a career in Hollywood.

* Are there any genres you recommend aspiring screenwriters to focus on?

Right now seems to be the era of contained thrillers (Buried, Taken) and big comedy one-liners (Hangover), but this will sound cliché and trite, yet it is the one constant that I have seen proven true over and over -- write a good script and we (Hollywood) will find you. It is as simple and as hard as that. It is, and always will be, about the work. A good idea done well is the ultimate currency of our business.

* Is there a particular type of script you look for? Are there some types of scripts that are just not your thing?

Not really. I try and stay open to all genres since I see all kinds of films. When my wife and I go to the movies, we may see A Prophet one night, Alice in Wonderland the next, and The Cove the next so why limit my reading taste in any way? If I had to pick one script area that tends to bore me, it is probably network procedurals. I am not that interested in representing people who want to write for CSI North Dakota.

* What's more important in a spec script: story concept, strong structure, or compelling characters?

All of the above. The last several specs we sold had all of these things you mention plus one more thing - an irresistible element (actor- director).

* What's your take on the spec script market today and what do you foresee it being over the next 5-10 years?

People are always going to buy spec scripts when they are good and well packaged. It has been a rough couple years with the strike and recession, but I am reminded time and time again that studios have large failure rates in development (R & D) and need strong finished scripts which they can acquire to fill their slates.

* During your 20+ year career in Hollywood, you've been an agent, studio executive, film and TV producer, and now manager, producer, and equity consultant. Are there any secrets you've learned you can pass along to aspiring screenwriters other than "write a great script?"

If I told you I would have to kill you :) - No really, write what you know, to thine own self be true, and don't send it out until it is ready.

"Write a great script and we (Hollywood) will find you."

"It is, and always will be, about the work."

There you have it -- where 99.9% of your focus should be. That's where the conversation about "how do I get an agent / manager" starts and ends: Write a great script.

I'd like to thank Dan publicly for taking the time to answer some questions. And I hope you take the time to say thanks to Dan in comments, too.