Packaging
The practice of bundling multiple agency clients—writer, director, actors—into a single project.
Definition
Packaging is when a talent agency attaches multiple clients to a project—combining a writer, director, actors, and sometimes producers from their roster—then sells this bundle to studios or financiers.
Agencies historically collected packaging fees for this service, though recent legal changes have disrupted traditional packaging economics.
Why It Matters
Understanding packaging dynamics helps creators recognize how projects get assembled and sold. Agencies often accelerate development for packaged projects where they control multiple elements.
Packaging can benefit or limit projects depending on which clients agencies prioritize attaching.
Examples in Practice
An agency packages a crime novel adaptation with their client director, three of their actors, and their client producer, then shops it to studios.
A packaging deal gives the agency 10% of the project's budget as a packaging fee, separate from individual client commissions.
A writer leaves an agency after their spec script is only shown to directors on the agency's own client list rather than the open market.