What Advice Does Manager Matt Rosen At Mazo Partners Have For Writers?

Matt Rosen is a manager and independent producer at Mazo Partners. He believes the two greatest films of the 90s are The Watermelon Woman and Point Break. He shared his insights about the film and television landscape and how screenwriters can best take advantage of it.
 
“Mazo Partners is David Clark’s company, named after his kids Mason and Zoe,” said Rosen. “David started the company after working as a television executive for many years. He worked with Ben Affleck’s company Project Greenlight many years ago. He is currently producing an incredible historical drama for ABC called ‘Women Of The Movement.’“
 
David’s major background lies in television and Matt’s lies in independent film. Matt works mainly as a manager at Mazo and represents writers, and directors with David.
 
Management Or Production?
 
Matt Rosen is currently focusing on representation because he considers being an independent producer to be “a non-profit business.” He prefers management because “it’s so much more personal” compared to being a producer or agent which is “much more transactional.” Production has many moving parts and even when you assemble those pieces, producers still need to deal with studios, financiers and the like. “It’s a constant problem-solving puzzle because you have to figure out how to sell a project.“
 
“Management is one on one. I can understand a filmmaker’s vision really clearly and articulate it back to them in a clear way.” Then he can discuss his clients’ favorite films, the films they want to write, and how he can find them work. Once they decide on a career strategy, he introduces his clients out to the industry. “I do my best to champion them and protect them from what goes on in the industry.“
 
The Black List
 
Mazo Partners had two projects that made in onto this year’s The Black List – Wheels Come Off (by Kryzz Gautier) and Whittier (by Filipe Coutinho & Ben Mehlman). Rosen believes that many scripts on The Black List tend to be biopics, so anything that’s not that stands out. Wheels and Whittier are both character-driven stories. “Wheels is a post-apocalyptic story about a girl taking her wheelchair-bound mother across a wasteland. After her wheelchair breaks, the girl helps her mom make it through. Even though it’s a big, gorgeous world, it’s insanely character-driven.”
 
“Whittier is a great 70s noir, political conspiracy thriller throwback about a young social worker who gets caught up in a murder around the time of the Whittier earthquake. It compares itself to noir greats like To Live And Die In L.A., Chinatown and L.A. Confidential.”
 
It’s the inspiration behind these projects that Matt Rosen believes was instrumental in attracting industry attention. “In Kryzz’s work, it’s Alex Garland and Michel Gondry, and for Whittier, it’s Curtis Hanson and Michael Mann.” The inspiration gives each film an identity, but also allows it function as wholly original.
 
What Makes A Good Character?
 
Matt doesn’t like the terms “likeable protagonists” to define successful character-driven films. ” He claims that over ninety percent of his favorite films contain “awful, unlikeable characters.“
 
“I like films which have pushed the narrative boundaries for characters in exciting ways,” said Rosen. He doesn’t particularly believe that a good character even needs to be relatable, although they should naturally be flawed.
 
He believes that a good story and a good character can come from anywhere. He quotes the animated film Ratatouille to make his point, “Not everyone can be a great chef, but a great chef can come from anywhere.“

 - The qualities of a great character can be personal or imaginative to the writer
 
Our screens are so over-saturated with overly-familiar stereotypes, that a lot of the nuance of classic character films is being diluted out. “The most complex, maybe even unlikeable characters, work best for me.“
 
Matt Rosen defines what the term “relatable character” means to him. “It means that their flaws are recognizable. Their mistakes, decisions, desires, and needs are universal in nature. It covers the best and the worst that humans have to offer – their selfishness, self-centereddness, compassion, and love… the capacity for feeling.“
 
Matt Rosen typically signs new clients based on referrals. This is how he met his first client Kryzz Gautier. He was attracted by her vision. “Many clients have a vision, but not all have a bigger vision. Kryzz knew exactly what she wanted the next five years of her career to look like. She was so passionate and determined.“
 
The Perfect Writer
 
Rosen currently manages around a dozen clients, the majority of which are writer/ directors which represent the “next generation of exciting indie filmmakers.” He also represents queer filmmakers and genre masters. He can broadly summarize his tastes into noir-thriller. Comedy is something he’s not overly interested in at the moment.

 - Be edgy and write against the grain. Write the opposite of what’s hot right now.
 
He’s attracted to big picture clients who have a solid vision of what they want to write. That may extend into plays, podcasts, or other literary media extending beyond traditional film and television work.
 
Prospective writers might also have a slate of what they’d like to see produced. This could include ideas or books they could potentially adapt. It’s a starting point to define their film sensibilities. Matt Rosen goes through this list with their clients to determine what is the most sellable and makable. “I also look at what’s not been done before and what excites us. We also do creative brainstorming.“

 - I expect my clients to care as much about their work as I do
 
Matt also insists on client loyalty and appreciation of what it takes to get anything made. Successful writers are constantly self-generating new material. They are constantly educating themselves and working on many projects. They watch both current and older films to become well-rounded storytellers.
 
We asked Rosen how he categorized the current temperature of the marketplace. It’s broad yet it’s specific. He cited a writer who wanted to write and action spec who asked him what is currently selling. “Joking, not joking, I said, ‘Knives Out’ or female ‘John Wick.‘ That’s it.” Rosen believes the current climate for independent film is tough with most screens still filled with films based on IP. That’s why TV is so much more exciting now. “The landscape is so open. TV is looser, more freeing and creatively exciting. The crazy stuff you get to do isn’t constrained by box office numbers. There’s a need for constant reinvention and higher demand for new content. I don’t think we’ve hit the demand peak yet.“
 
He recommends emerging writers focus on material more likely to get made – great genres films like horror, psychological and erotic thrillers. “Action and comedy are in a tight place now.“