Comments on: Simpson Guilty: Attempted Murder Of Romo’s Relationship With Jessica

By: w0ady

w0ady — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:17:37 +0000

last time i checked, darren was quite popular in hollywood. oh wait, are we not talking about south florida?

By: M.L.

M.L. — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 05:48:38 +0000

Darren,
No disrespect meant if you interpreted it as such, was trying to portray it as more constructive criticism from my own opinion. I understand if you see it differently, the internet is quite funny. I respect your site and what you’re trying to do, I just don’t necessarily agree with the approach. It’s all down to personal style and opinion though, and if you think it’s the way to go, more power to you.

I think Gunther Peterson summarizes my stance well, and has some good constructive questions. Good luck with your future endeavors Darren.

By: Gunther Peterson

Gunther Peterson — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:49:53 +0000

I like Darren’s honest approach to various topics – he doesn’t try to make things all pretty like his agency’s website homepage that has a picture of him with playboy bunnies. Darren’s take on this type of subject is different than directly criticizing a competitor with baseless accusations which happens all the time in the agency world. Most agents hide behind what they say. I am sure Darren realizes how being an agent is one thing but actually making money while doing so is quite different. I would be interested to read more about the expenses Darren has to make to keep an agency going – like buying equipment for his minor league clients. I would also like my question in a prior post about Rudy Fernandez and overseas players answered if possible. I think Darren’s main criticism of Joe is that he is straying from his distinctive competency of representing musicians and entertainers by trying to negotiate NFL contracts. On this front, won’t NBA agents attack Darren’s credibility if he also represents NFL and MLB players (i.e., he is not a full-time basketball agent). Bowling and models is a different story and I think the experience Darren gains from this will help him expand the agency. Making money is just one part of being a good agent; talking negatively about others is just one part of being a not so good person.

By: TheBigGun

TheBigGun — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:15:23 +0000

You need to have a player on the 40 man roster before you can be considered an agent by MLB.
You must have be a certified NFLPA agent to be a football agent.

So, I think for D-Nasty Rep to market themselves as a football and baseball agency without any qualfying players or agents to take shots at Joe Simpson for not really being involved in the dealings of ‘Hollywood’ is a joke.

I don’t understand why as ’so-called’ agents you don’t appreciate and respect a guy like Joe Simpson for going out a making a sh*tload of money in the entertainment industry. If Dynasty has this so called ‘Entertainment Division’ I would think Joe Simpson with his ties to MTV would be one of the first calls to make.

By: Jason Wulterkens

Jason Wulterkens — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:34:19 +0000

I disagree. You’re describing the gamut of entertainment industries, only some of which are actually centered in Hollywood. I understand that there has been crossover, much of which has taken place over the past 10 years or so, but when people or pundits say “Hollywood” they generally are still speaking about the film industry, I’d argue, regardless of what size deals your particular firm happens to do.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Hollywood

Even accepting your broader definition though, I wouldn’t say Joe Simpson is a part of Hollywood. His daughters, MAYBE.

I do not see what that has do with Darren’s representation and whom we he represents, nor what he blogs about. And you still never addressed my point about people in Hollywood needing to have thicker skins about this kind of thing than other people. The way you make it sound, everyone in “Hollywood” spends all their time worrying about what bloggers are saying. I do hope that’s not the case, and I’m pretty sure it isn’t.

By: Darren Heitner

Darren Heitner — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:32:50 +0000

M.L.-

I don’t really care to partake in this discussion. I know who you are, and will respect the fact that you want to keep your identity hidden to the general public. However, you need to take a step back and realize that just because your company may have a slight mention in an article, that does not mean that I am trying to cultivate enemies. I have made numerous strong connections in “Hollywood” through this site…people, unlike you, actually respect what I am doing. I am not going to change my style. The whole point of this site is to be as honest as possible and expose areas of the industry that have traditionally been hidden. If I burn some bridges in the process, then so be it. Again, you have the choice of pointing your browser towards SportsAgentBlog.com. I would rather lose you as a reader than change my style of writing and the topics covered.

By: M.L.

M.L. — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:00:36 +0000

Jason, if you think Hollywood pertains to only the motion picture industry then there lies the problem. Our television division arguably deals with a greater number, and bigger deals financially than our motion pictures division. You’ve fallen for a misconception, Hollywood encompasses far more than what you’ve described, and while I can’t link you to our website because it’s closed to the general public, if you take a look at the many divisions WMA has you should understand: http://www.wma.com/default.aspx . I don’t consider sports, video games and the like “Hollywood”, however music and television certainly are.

If you don’t mind me asking Jason, do you work in the industry or perhaps the sports industry? If that’s too personal for you to share on here I certainly understand.

Not sure where this is going, but thought I’d try to give you a broader perspective. All the best.

By: Jason Wulterkens

Jason Wulterkens — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:25:45 +0000

Hollywood pertains to the American motion-picture industry, i.e. the entertainment industries involved in producing and distributing movies. In fact it is defined as such.

An agent, though, is obviously a much more encompassing term, because it refers to an entire profession, not just a location and specifically a subgroup within said location.

Where you going with this?

By: TheBigGun

TheBigGun — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:53:33 +0000

Jason –

I think anybody that has been an executive producers on shows on ABC, MTV, etc. and worked deals for the music, tv and movies would be considered ‘Hollywood’. Would a person who represents Independent ball and Single A players beconsidered an actual ‘agent’?????

TBG

By: Jason Wulterkens

Jason Wulterkens — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:56:44 +0000

M.L. I’m not sure what you’re talking about. If anything, “Hollywood” (and I wouldn’t yet classify Joe as part of Hollywood; my, how standards have fallen) is more used to “criticism” than any other sub-culture in this relatively new internet age. And if someone in “Hollywood” or the sports industry doesn’t have thick enough skin to handle the (gasp) candid commentary from a few bloggers, then I would suggest he or she find a new line of work. No??