If you've read this column before, then you are already familiar with Summit Talent and Literary Agent Sandy Weinberg. His client list includes the writers of films such as "Liar Liar," "Heartbreakers," "9 to 5," "High Crimes," "Shackles," "Mr. California," and the hit CBS mini-series "Category 6."

Weinberg graduated magna cum laude from Tulane University where he double majored in Public Policy and Political Science. Subsequently, he graduated from Southwestern School of Law and practiced law for two years before becoming an agent in 1990. In May 2000, Weinberg opened Summit Talent & Literary Agency. Located in Beverly Hills, the Summit Agency is a boutique agency that represents high-end writers, directors and producers in film and television.

For the past two years, we've been privileged to have Weinberg participate as a panelist for this column providing regular contributions to articles on topics in the entertainment industry. In sharing advice and experiences gained from building the careers of others and by his own example, he defines what it takes to succeed in Hollywood. Weinberg enjoys his job--even some parts that others might find mundane or tedious--and he finds building the careers of others rewarding. In this interview, Weinberg shares a glimpse into his life as an agent. He discusses several projects, and reveals the common element that he believes caused those movies to get made.

Q: Can you discuss the evolution of a story into a movie?

A: The movie "Snow Dogs" was based on a book ("My Life in Dog Years") by Gary Paulsen, who is a very popular young adult novelist. It was a dramatic book. It was not a comedy. It was really about how dog sledding gave Gary Paulsen a new lease on life. That's what inspired him to write this book. Everything on the Iditarod that occurred in the book is true. After Disney optioned the book, I encountered a welcome surprise. The executive at Disney sincerely loved it. Usually, the executives are enthusiastic, but Todd Garner's enthusiasm was far above the usual. They optioned the book, hired a writer to adapt it and hired a director. The director flew to Minnesota to meet with Gary Paulsen and to learn how to run the dogs. Shortly thereafter, there was a changeover in the regime at Disney and the movie didn't get made.

A new regime started. The same executive, Todd Garner, was still there and he called me and said, "I want to re-option the book." So, we optioned the book a second time and he said to me, "You know, I really think that this should be a big family comedy. Do you think Gary would mind?"

And I said, "No, I really don't think Gary would mind at all." So, it was redeveloped as a big comedy and another director came on board and they literally started pre-production on the movie and then--again--there was a change in the regime at Disney. The book fell out of option. It was over.

And then, Todd Garner called me out of the blue. I was really surprised. He said, "I know it's been a long time in coming, but now that I am president of production, I will tell you and Gary Paulsen that I am going to get this movie made." And he did. And it didn't take him very long. It was a huge hit for Disney--very successful.

The reason why that book was produced into a movie was because there was a passionate executive who had a vision and really trusted his own instincts. That's really how any of these movies get made. It's not necessarily because of any specific thing. Passion is necessary for everyone involved.

Cuba Gooding Jr. was cast in a role that was not written for a black man. That was part of the vision of the movie: how do we make this movie a more interesting version of the story? The studio was right and the proof was the wide family audience that the film reached.

The second example involves selling a true story. My client, Donald Martin, came to me with a story. We were looking for true stories to pitch. So, he came to me and he said, "There's this story about this guy who teaches high school at the Rikers Island Prison." Rikers Island is a holding prison. The prisoners don't spend a lot of time there. They're there until they are sentenced and then moved out. In New York, everyone at the time was guaranteed an education until age 21. And that's why they hired those teachers.

They weren't allowed to teach with books. They weren't allowed to teach with pencils. Anything that could be used or thrown or somehow manipulated to hurt someone was not allowed. It was about how this man learned how to teach [without those items] and why he stayed there.

I did the paperwork for the rights and helped negotiate the deal with the rightsholder, the teacher. The writer, Donald Martin, had a relationship with Rob Cowan and Irwin Winkler. So, when it came time to ask, "Where do we go to sell this?" we both had the same feeling that we should go to them because they'd really understand this movie. We didn't give it to anybody else. They called us almost immediately and said, "We love it. We think we can help sell it."

Irwin Winkler's company, Winkler Films, has a deal with Sony and Sony agreed to pay my client, Donald Martin, to write the screenplay for Winkler Films to produce. Rob Cowan, the head of production for Winkler Films, fought alongside Irwin to convince Sony to put up the production funds, and Irwin's son Charles directed the film. Clearly, this was a labor of love for the Winklers.

Irwin and Rob thought this movie was going to get made very, very quickly. And it almost did. But then, at the time, Sony decided they weren't going to make any dramas that were over a certain budget. So, the movie would have to be done at a very low budget if it was going to get made. And, Irwin and Rob thought they could do that, so in a very short time, it was in production at Screen Gems. The movie is called "Shackles." Unfortunately, they did not give it a theatrical release. But they did make the movie and released it on video. We're all very proud of it because it is based on a great inspirational story.

In approximately two years from the date of the purchase of the pitch and underlying rights, the film was "green-lit," i.e., slated for production, which is a relatively short time for a production commitment.

Q: Yes, that is an unusually short period of time.

A: There was a lot of passion behind the project. A LOT of passion behind the project. And, it's a movie that everyone who worked on it believed in, but the studio didn't think they could market it as an expensive film. When it came time to distribute it as a smaller film, they couldn't agree internally on a specific marketing plan. So, it went to video release.

We all have posters of that in our respective offices. It's a really good story, a true story, and we are very proud to have sold something that got made that really is about something. It's about everyone having a right to an education in America. Whether you agree with those people and what they did or not, the principle is, "Everyone in America is entitled to an education."

"Snow Dogs" and "Shackles" are two examples that share a common theme, which is that these things only get made if the people who are involved in the project are extremely passionate about it.

Q: Do you have anything to add?

A: I'll give you one more good story about a movie getting made. And I actually had very little to do with it (laughs).

My client, Arthur Seidelman, who is a very prolific director/producer/writer, had just had a show on the West End of London and a Broadway show a few years ago. He and I have been working together for maybe ten years. One of the first things he brought me was a script that was--I think--an old script when I first read it ten years ago. "The Sisters" is a modern retelling of the Checkhov play, set in a contemporary university. It's based upon a very good screenplay written by Richard Alfieri. Arthur's dream--one of his dreams--was to get this film made, and the screenplay was submitted at least a hundred times (if not hundreds) to producers and financiers for about 15 years. The reason why it got made is because Arthur is an excellent producer as well as an excellent director, and that producer instinct meant he would never give up. Finally, he found the right producing partner, Carolyn Chambers, who was willing to put up private money to help get this movie made. The making of "The Sisters" is a story about persistence, making you believe that persistence wins the day.

The movie got a small theatrical release, which was great. We're all very proud of it. That's often what it takes. It just takes a real persistence--a vision. It's a good story. It's why Arthur's career has been so long and so successful. His career is about 35 years long. That's why. He is a true inspiration.

His next movie will be his first "R" rated movie.

Q: What is that?

A: I can't say yet. It's a hot little movie unlike anything he's ever done. It's very sexy, very dramatic and really about America today. We're very proud of this because I don't think anyone would have thought about it, and yet it was his idea and we just found the right place for the movie. I think it is going to reinvent him yet again. It will be his first "R" rated movie and he's directed about 40 films. Maybe in the next few months we'll be able to announce it. I think that's really cool, that a guy with a career this long is looking for an opportunity to do something that he has never done before.

Q: That is very cool.

A: I'll never forget when I first met with him for lunch at an Indian restaurant. Arthur has probably had more agents in Hollywood than anyone. And he never stayed with an agent for longer than maybe a couple years before he and I got together. I'm very proud of that.

At the time, I asked him, "What do you want in your career? What do you want to direct? What's the dream?" He said, "The dream is to do a movie musical." He looked at me like "Good luck. THAT will never happen." And I'm sitting there thinking, "Hmm, maybe it can happen."

Cut to 2004: Arthur directed a $13 million movie musical ("A Christmas Carol: The Musical") for NBC, which was a huge production starring Kelsey Grammar, Jason Alexander and Jennifer Love Hewitt. That was a dream come true. A $13 million movie musical. Which is way more money than you'd get for a Broadway musical.

With a lot of persistence and time, a lot of dreams can come true and I'm very much a believer in that. I think that's why being an agent can be a touching experience--to be part of that. We worked for it. We had a specific plan of how to get there and it worked.

Q: What was the plan?

A: Arthur agreed to walk the path of returning to his roots as a musical theatre director, which he did for years before he became a film and television director. We made sure his film and television career would be more balanced with stage musicals.

Per "the plan," in the late 90's, he directed a number of musicals (and operas) in California and in other cities. He directed a revival of "Hair" in Los Angeles with a cast that included Marissa Winokur (whose next job was on Broadway to star in "Hairspray") and Stephen Weber (whose next theatre job was on Broadway in "The Producers.") Several of his other actors who had never worked in musical theatre suddenly turned up in Broadway casts, like Patty Duke who had a subsequent run in "Oklahoma" on Broadway. He cast her in Sondheim's "Follies." He worked with David Hyde Pierce in a musical, and shortly thereafter cast him opposite Uta Hagen in The Geffen Playhouse world premiere of "Six Dance Lessons," which then went to Broadway. And, right about then, the Halmi production group [RHI Entertainment] agreed to hire Arthur to direct "A Christmas Carol" for NBC. It was a very specific path, that he literally paved with his own talent, which led to the opportunity to direct his first movie musical.

Q: What factors are influential in getting someone passionate about your project?

A: I think it is important that the right project be matched with the people that the studio trusts in making it. My job is to connect the dots. For example, I have a particular project and this studio trusts this particular producer to make those kinds of projects. Irwin Winkler was exactly the right kind of producer for "Shackles." Todd Garner was a great executive for "Snow Dogs" because he had real vision for it. He's very good at producing very high concept family comedy.

My goal is to develop a strategy to connect the dots effectively, so the studio will say "Yes, that's the film we want to make."

Q: How do you find assignments for clients?

A: Usually they are found though open writing information that circulates around town. I review the assignments with executives and producers and ask them to consider the client. It's not a magical thing. Sometimes, when there are clients who have worked at a certain company repeatedly, the company will call and ask if the client would be interested in a new project. That depends on whether they have a relationship with the client or not. Sometimes they call and ask, but there is a long line of people wanting assignments and you usually have to convince them why your client would do a great job for them. That is not only in terms of what the client does on the page, but also the process that a client goes through in a rewrite, the writing assignment process. [We] assure the producer and the executive that they will get what they ask for; that the writers will deliver what they say they are going to deliver in a timely manner. Again, reliability and trust are very, very important.

I wish I could tell you that there was something more specific or magical about it. The studios keep lists of writers that they want to be in business with. The objective is to position your client at any given company as a specific kind of writer that they know they can go to for specific kinds of projects. We create an identity for the writer at the company so that they start showing up on these lists and we know that has happened when we get these calls from literally three departments asking for the availability of the client. When the studios are doing that, I know that the clients are very active on their lists because they're checking availability.

Q: When you say you create an identity for the writer, you are referring to--?

A: The genre. I would say it's genre specific. And that follows a process of getting people to read the client, to meet with the client, to know the sensibilities of the client. Sometimes that takes a long time and sometimes it happens very quickly. There's no logic to the timing.

Q: What are some things common in your day-to-day routine that others, not familiar with your job, might not be aware of?

A: There is a constant need for quality control so that every time we communicate with a producer or an executive, we're making it a positive experience; every time we send out a script, it's in perfect condition; every meeting happens with the client showing up on time and prepared. It has to be very polished. I think that's why a lot of people don't like being agents because there is a lot of behind the scenes work to be effective. That happens to be something I like doing a lot.

I think that focus companies--focus agencies that represent clients whose careers are built on the kind of focus they give their careers--understand the importance of quality control. It distinguishes us in the marketplace as high quality representatives and I think the clients benefit from it immensely.

We spend a lot of time literally counting every page of every script before it goes out; making sure that e-mail submissions are received; making sure that meetings are doubly confirmed and that clients have written directions and phone numbers for where they're going; that payments are followed up on religiously, so we can collect money. It's just constant follow up. We try to deliver constant high quality attentive action.

The worst thing that can happen, I think, is that the clients feel like people aren't paying attention, or aren't doing the things that they need done for them. I think a lot of people outside the industry might think that's mundane. They might think counting pages of a script is mundane. I really don't find it mundane. My assistants know that they can be fired for sending out a script with missing pages, so they count the pages. But I know from having worked in large agencies that there are always people working there that find the quality control issues overwhelming.

I have actually been in meetings with clients who have fired their agents because the copies of their script that were sent out were terrible.

Q: Because the agent made copies and didn't--?

A: Check them or ask their assistants to check them. The writers have friends that tell them about the shabby job. I've met writers that tell me that quality control is low and they don't feel comfortable [with their current representation] and they wind up looking for a new agent. People want to be presented in the most positive way.

Weinberg's forward-thinking feature article, "Sponsortainment = Opportunity," explores an emerging leg of the entertainment industry where consumer products and services companies create programming that features their brands in various media. Going beyond conventional funding vehicles such as product placement, Weinberg says, "These companies are investing dollars in program development and they are beginning to hire writers." From screenwriting to deal making, sponsortainment is creating new opportunities in the entertainment industry. To learn more about it, check out Weinberg's article on Who's Buying What: www.moviebytes.com/wbw/feature.cfm?storyid=2550.

Summit Talent & Literary Agency does not accept queries or unsolicited submissions.