INDUSTRY PROFILES
Gail Cowan - Talent
Q.
What do you think your business and your team excel at (areas of expertise)?
Our reputation hinges on our honesty and integrity and we staff according to the needs of the industry, evolving and meeting those needs thanks to having a very flexible business model.
Q.
What talent and brands are you currently working with?
We work with very established, international actors as well as developing actors – we enjoy their journey from their earliest failures and successes ‘and beyond’. Our actors have worked on projects such as international projects including Outlander, Narcos, Leave no Trace, JoJo Rabbit, The King, Dead Lucky, Avatar, The New Legends of Monkey, I am Mother and Mulan, to name a few.
Q.
What’s a recent campaign you are super proud of because you either came up with a big creative idea; worked with a minimal budget; or exceeded expectations?
We have just stepped off Thomasin’s McKenzie’s whirlwind post production/publicity ride for her leading role in Leave No Trace. Immensely proud of her achievements there and the wonderful support provided by her LA team and her publicists.
Q.
What are the greatest challenges the industry is currently facing?
Time is such a precious thing and we seldom get enough of that, in terms of doing our due diligence. We rely heavily on government grants which is a very small pot of gold spread across a lot of projects. We need international work to flow back into NZ and subsequently, require the studio space and infrastructure to accommodate that.
Q.
What do you love about the industry and your business?
I love the variety of the work that crosses my desk and the questions that appear daily which make me doubt that I will ever know enough. It is so rewarding to deal with people and projects that are creatively and mentally challenging.
Q.
What do you tear your hair out about?!
Time wasters and tyre kickers. People who ask a question they could easily have googled an answer to but are too lazy or spoon fed to research for themselves and people who want a meeting but haven’t researched the agency first… mind you, that can also be a lesson in humility when you are pitted against a second or third tier agent!
Q.
What’s your greatest career achievement to date?
On a personal level it is knowing that my daughter has learned more in her first 5 years than I did in 20 and that she loves the business as much as I do. On a professional level it would be the day Anna Paquin won her Oscar and I basked briefly in reflected glory.
Q.
And your worst disaster!
Forgetting to write an email then reframe it 10 times before I put in the recipient and inadvertently hit send!
Q.
What’s next for you & the business?
For me, it’s stepping off the shop floor and spending more time cementing the international relationships which provide the bridges an actor needs. For the business, it’s our very capable agents ensuring that we have the actors equipped and ready to walk that path.
Q.
If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing?
Lounging around on our property pulling the odd weed and finding work for Paul to do – pathways come up a lot for me so I can happily spend all weekend weeding those and pointing out where I need the next hole dug. I might also turn my hand to distilling gin.
Q.
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