Day of Reckoning

Image courtesy of www.marketingboost.co.uk

Usually, management groups do not just release a prized talent without complications. Several actors have undergone a form of tug-o-war with their managers for the right to leave even if they still have a contract. Some cases even reach the court and worse, neither party would want to settle. The effects of leaving without a strong backup plan can be extreme. On the one hand, the talent can immediately resume work as soon as the contract is over. On the other hand, the talent has to start from zero, as the industry has found out the truth why he/she was allowed to leave without fuss.

According to the grapevine, a management team let go of Difficult Talent (DT), as he has consistently given the team headaches. Although DT and his management had a good professional relationship, his colors started to show and that made dealing with him hard. With many talents waiting for their turn, the management was confident that they could easily make a newbie into a better DT.

One of the issues that made DT easy to let go was his attitude toward endorsements. Other than appearing on TV or in movies, celebrities earn from endorsements. A day’s work for an endorsement can sometimes pay as much as weeks of work for a show. Hence, many celebrities prefer to shoot commercials, as only a fraction of their time is taken away. Besides, companies can even be generous with freebies.

Endorsements only work when a celebrity is visible. In DT’s case, many advertisers are allegedly staying away from him. His reputation is not desirable and his demands incur additional cost for the advertiser. For instance, he wants his own portalet if he has to go on location for a commercial shoot. He wants exclusive use and no one else to share that toilet with. Then, he refuses to wear much makeup and reasons out that he has perfect skin. If he does not like his assigned wardrobe, he will make sure the staff finds something to his liking. This whim takes much time. Worse is that he hardly says anything and limits his responses to a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. The worst, in addition, is that DT only wants one day of shooting, which should not last until morning.

When production houses find out that DT is a potential endorser, they would rather rethink the decision, as the stress they will receive from DT outweighs his possible effect for their products. With such reputation, even DT’s current endorsements are thinking twice of renewing his contract. Hence, when he said he wanted to leave his management, they let him go. After all, with many years of experience in the industry and building talents, they can predict where DT will go if he does not change his attitude. 

‘There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when it’s convenient. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses – only results’ – Ken Blanchard

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