Logo

Hot List: Marissa Devins

Jul 20, 2008  •  Post A Comment

Marissa Devins remembers clearly the day a writer named Caroline Williams first walked into the offices of United Talent Agency.
“I asked her what her dream job would be,” Ms. Devins said. “She said, ‘I’d like to be a writer on ‘The Office’ and then get my script made.’”
After a few calls and meetings with “Office” Executive Producer Greg Daniels, Ms. Devins helped Ms. Williams land a gig on “The Office.” And not long after, ABC greenlit production on “Miss/Guided,” a half-hour comedy created by Ms. Williams.
Neither accomplishment qualifies Ms. Devins for superhero status. After all, getting jobs for clients is what an agent does.
But while many agents get caught up in the art of the deal, Ms. Devins has thrived at UTA by maintaining a laser-like focus on clients, particularly those who haven’t yet become Big Names.
“For me, the greatest part of being an agent is taking someone you believe in, putting your support behind them and watching them succeed,” Ms. Devins said. “I like to find writers nobody has ever heard from before and start their career from scratch.”
Ms. Devins cites HBO entertainment chief Sue Naegle as her most influential mentor. Until just a couple of months ago, Ms. Naegle ran the TV division at UTA, helping shape Ms. Devins’ career.
“She is a fearless, passionate tornado,” Ms. Naegle said of Ms. Devins. “You can’t help but get caught up in her storm when she’s onto something.”
Ms. Devins’ focus on comedy and younger clients has paid off in recent years with several key deals.
In addition to “Miss/Guided,” she helped put together the Lifetime dramedy “Side Order of Life,” created by client Margaret Nagle. Both shows lasted just one season, but they helped put their respective creators on the map.
More recently, Ms. Devins worked with HBO’s Ms. Naegle to package client Colette Burson’s “Hung,” the first big project Ms. Naegle put together after arriving at HBO. HBO also is developing a U.S. version of British prison drama “Bad Girls” with client Raelle Tucker.
Ms. Devins’s other clients include Sera Gamble (“Supernatural”), Vanessa Reisen (“Swingtown”) and Sam Means (“The Daily Show”).
“Most of my influences have been comedy, so much of my business gravitates toward that” genre, Ms. Devins said. “I’d say it’s about 60/40 comedy.”
The depressed state of the TV comedy business means Ms. Devins has had to struggle to get jobs for some clients.
“In order to break writers, you need opportunities. You need jobs,” she said. “And those are fewer and far between. It’s harder to get people to that next level. I’ve had to learn patience.”
Ms. Devins—who remains close with most of her Kansas City high school friends—has been in the entertainment business for a decade. She started in the UTA mailroom in 1998 but left Los Angeles a year later to work on Madison Avenue. When she attended UTA’s annual upfront party in 2000, she realized she wanted to return to Hollywood.
It proved to be a fateful decision. In addition to building a successful career, Ms. Devins ended up meeting her husband of three years: UTA TV chief Matt Rice.
“There are pros and cons,” she said of her daily proximity to Mr. Rice. “Being a part of a team he’s part of is a good team to be on.”
There’s no carpooling to work, however.
“Oh, God, no,” she said, laughing. “That would just never work. Our day-to-day work lives are very different.”

35 Comments

  1. The Marissa Devins story is complete and utter horse shit. Like most reps in this town, the only anonymous, unsung person that makes it to her office doorstep, is the CPK delivery boy. She is dismissive of anything that has not already been primed for entry and vetted. She has all the insight of a blind Baghdad sniper.

  2. I completely agree with mnariasboy. Devin’s and Tim Philips office at UTA both blew us off having called as a result of reading this article. Our comedy even has 4 TV stars attached and we’ve been around for decades – their response?: “We only deal with well established production companies that have a track record and multiple projects already packaged”.
    You lazy clones. How can you stand to have these puff pieces stating how your so great ad finding and propelling new clients?

  3. I completely agree with mnariasboy. Devin’s and Tim Philips office at UTA both blew us off having called as a result of reading this article. Our comedy even has 4 TV stars attached and we’ve been around for decades – their response?: “We only deal with well established production companies that have a track record and multiple projects already packaged”.
    You lazy clones. How can you stand to have these puff pieces stating how your so great ad finding and propelling new clients?

  4. I suppose it is understandable,and predictably so, that one would be bitter (and irritatingly shrill) when he or she is told that they are as pushy as a blind Baghdad sniper!

  5. I suppose it is understandable,and predictably so, that one would be bitter (and irritatingly shrill) when he or she is told that they are as pushy as a blind Baghdad sniper!

  6. Just about six million persons dwell on this earth, 75% are aware of the bible. One dude talking in one single country, initialised this, using only word of mouth. You bloggers have the technology with which to reach all of those people, all this at your fingertips, you can change anything, go for it bad boys!!!!!!

  7. This is getting a bit more subjective, but I much prefer the Zune Marketplace. The interface is colorful, has more flair, and some cool features like ‘Mixview’ that let you quickly see related albums, songs, or other users related to what you’re listening to. Clicking on one of those will center on that item, and another set of “neighbors” will come into view, allowing you to navigate around exploring by similar artists, songs, or users. Speaking of users, the Zune “Social” is also great fun, letting you find others with shared tastes and becoming friends with them. You then can listen to a playlist created based on an amalgamation of what all your friends are listening to, which is also enjoyable. Those concerned with privacy will be relieved to know you can prevent the public from seeing your personal listening habits if you so choose.

  8. Wayne Rooney may perhaps miss England’s Euro 2012 qualifier versus Switzerland due to the fact of magazine reports on the subject of his private life. It serves him proper, who does this idiot consider he is? adeline

  9. What kind of matter really, thank you for sharing, we have a common interest.

  10. I cant believe the NHL is going to risk losing one of the best players in his prime to the nHL

  11. Kudos to you! This is a really good blog here and I love your style of writing. How did you get so good at blogging?

  12. Amazing freakin blog here. I almost cried while reading it!

  13. Great wordpress blog here.. It’s hard to find quality writing like yours these days. I really appreciate people like you! take care and see you soon

  14. Wow, amazing blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you make blogging look easy.

  15. Interesting layout on your blog. I really enjoyed reading it and also I will be back to read more in the future.

  16. I love the way you write and also the theme on your blog. Did you code this yourself or was it done by a professional? I’m very very impressed.

  17. I would like to start my own blog one day. This was a really nice blog that you made here. Keep up the success 😛

  18. Love all the opinions expressed here! How is everyone? Love how everyone expresses whatr they feel 🙂

  19. Amazing freakin blog here. I almost cried while reading it!

  20. Kudos to you! This is a really good blog here and I love your style of writing. How did you get so good at blogging?

  21. Keep focusing on your blog. I love how we can all express our feelings. This is an extremely nice blog here 🙂

  22. Great blog!! You should start many more. I love all the info provided. I will stay tuned 🙂

  23. If you’re still on the fence: grab your favorite earphones, head down to a Best Buy and ask to plug them into a Zune then an iPod and see which one sounds better to you, and which interface makes you smile more. Then you’ll know which is right for you.

  24. Interesting layout on your blog. I really enjoyed reading it and also I will be back to read more in the future.

  25. Great wordpress blog here.. It’s hard to find quality writing like yours these days. I really appreciate people like you! take care and see you soon

  26. Love the blog here. Nice colors. I am definitely staying tuned to this one. Hope to see more.

  27. This is good info! Where else can if ind out more?? Who runs this joint too? Keep up the good work 🙂

  28. Dreamin. I love blogging. You all express your feelings the right way, because they are your feeling, focus on your blog it is great.

  29. I love the expression. Everyone needs to express there own opinion and feel free to hear others. Keep it up 🙂

  30. I would adore to discover out how quite a few a huge number of dollars Trollback + Provider have been handed through for their amazingly lame logo. I believe I did one thing like that in university thirteen years ago.

  31. This is the best blog I’ve ever seen in my life! I really appreciate you taking the time out of your busy day to share your this with everyone.

  32. I agree with your thoughts here and I really love your blog! I’ve bookmarked it so that I can come back & read more in the future.

  33. I like this site shown and it has given me some sort of desire to have success for some reason, so thanks.

  34. Never knew this, thank you for letting me know.

Leave a Reply to HollywoodJeff Cancel Reply

Email (will not be published)