The Mailroom: Hollywood History from the Bottom Up

by David Rensin

It’s like a plot from a Hollywood potboiler: start out in the mailroom, end up a mogul. But for many, it happens to be true. Some of the biggest names in entertainment—including David Geffen, Barry Diller, and Michael Ovitz— started their dazzling careers in the lowly mailroom. Based on more than two hundred interviews, David Rensin unfolds the never-before-told history of an American institution—in the voices of the people who lived it. Through nearly seven decades of glamour and humiliation, lousy pay and incredible perks, killer egos and a kill-or-be-killed ethos, you’ll go where the trainees go, learn what they must do to get ahead, and hear the best insider stories from the Hollywood everyone knows about but no one really knows. A vibrant tapestry of dreams, desire, and exploitation, The Mailroom is not only an engrossing read but a crash course, taught by the experts, on how to succeed in Hollywood.

Genres: Nonfiction, Film, History, Media Tie In, Pop Culture, Biography, Business

464 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

David Rensin has written and cowritten sixteen books, five of them New York Times bestsellers.

The latest is DON'T GIVE UP, DON'T GIVE IN: Lessons from an Extraordinary Life --coauthored with the late Louis Zamperini, hero of UNBROKEN (book and film). Published 11/18/2014

Previously I helped write HOPE CONQUERS ALL, stories from the CaringBridge website.

Before that, I coauthored with Dr. Brandy Engler, The Men on My Couch: True Stories of Sex, Love, and Psychotherapy.

Earlier collaborations include Promises I Made My Mother, with Sam Haskell.

Rensin's book, All For a Few Perfect Waves: The Audacious Life and Legend of Rebel Surfer Miki Dora, was published by HarperEntertainment on April 8, 2008. The softcover was published on March 24, 2009.

According to Rensin, "There will never be another surfer like Miki 'Da Cat' Dora. For twenty years the dashing and enigmatic dark prince of California surfing dominated the Malibu waves and his peers' imaginations, blazing a rebel trail that would inspire generations to come. But when the sport exploded into the mainstream and surfing changed for ever, Dora's paradise was lost.

"Outraged at gridlocked swells and a scene that had grown ever more commodified, Dora eventually fled Malibu, seeking empty waves - and anonymity - beyond America. He'd also run afoul of the law, and he led the authorities on a seven-year chase around the globe. After his arrest and imprisonment, he would return to America once in a while, but never again to live, and in the end only to die.

Dora would never give up searching for the spirit of the Malibu he'd lost. Wherever he made his home - New Zealand, South Africa, France - he personified the rebel heart of surfing and became a legend in his own time.

This oral/narrative biography is based on interviews with more than three hundred people who knew Dora. It uncovers more truth than thought possible about surfing's most seductive and complicated icon. It is the story of one man's insistence on personal freedom - and the rewards and the costs that brings. It is also a story of innocence lost, of the growth and commercialization of the California lifestyle. Loner. Rebel. Wanderer. Legend.

The life of Miki Dora is the greatest surf story never told.

Rensin's previous book, The Mailroom: Hollywood History from the Bottom Up (Ballantine 2003), an oral history of what it's like to start at the bottom in a talent agency mailroom while dreaming of the top, spent ten weeks on the Los Angeles Times bestseller list. He lives in Los Angeles."

Reviews

[mikeramirez03 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was my bible while I was working in the Mailroom at UTA.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the epitome of what Hollywood work life is all about. It's about guts, risk-taking, and in-your-face action. The Mailroom is about all those who went through the trainee programs at the top talent agencies in America. The joke about the trainee program is that people have passed up going to Harvard, Ivy Leagues or Law/MBA school just to be in the program. Most people who don't know anything about the industry would say that that is the stupidest thing a person can do, but then again, those people don't know anything about the entertainment industry, and it shows by their comment. The chance to work in any mailroom for a talent agency is so small that for anyone given the opportunity, they should take it, and if they survive (because it is 100 times harder than any Ivy League or Law/MBA program out there) there are untold riches that lie ahead. Now the word rich might mean money to most but I use it to mean that you will have access to so many opportunities, which most of the time you create for yourself, because you are now at the top of the program.

To give you a background on the author of this review, I have worked in the Film and TV industry in all different aspects and have even considered applying to a trainee program. I already know how hard it is to just work in the industry. It seems that this is really the only solid way of getting into the system. All other routes are a hit and miss type thing. I was amazed at how easy it is to made a deal, but you have to know how to talk with people and connect with them. But more importantly, you have to have the guts to be able to walk up or call anyone and get what you want. That is how Hollywood really works. It's that in-your-face action that you need to have in order to make it in the business. So anytime you see a celebrity on the red carpet, try looking for their assistant off to the side; you can only imagine the hell they have been through in just that day in getting their boss there.

For anyone who wants to work in the industry, read this book; for anyone wanting to know what the industry is like, read this book; for anyone wanting to know why it is so hard to break into this industry, read this book. What Mr. Rensin has done here is complied interviews with hundreds of people who have gone through the mailroom program at various agency and written it in a way that shows a progression of the program over time and what it was like. The work that a trainee had to do in the 1970s was probably more work than one today, but that doesn't mean the work is any easier. What an agent has to do today is probably harder in terms of finding talent worth representing than 20 years ago, all because of the internet, social media, YouTube, and blogs. This book will explain what a normal day is like for a trainee, what are some of the issues and hassles you have to put up with day-in and day-out.

The reason this program is harder than going to Law school or graduate school is that in graduate or law school, your professor isn't always yelling at you and trying to break you down all the time. It's both a mental and physically challenging experience and the reason for that is, if you cannot handle the pressure of just pushing paper and delivering mail and taking calls, how the hell are you suppose to manage people's careers? And that is what makes this one of the hardest programs to get into and survive in. No graduate school, undergrad, Law school, MBA school will be able to teach close to what a trainee program can. And just to give you perspective, most people who do apply to get in, majority of them already have Law, Ivy league, Masters, and MBA degrees and so if you plan to apply, that is who you are competing with.

The mailroom is a psychological game, and movies like "Swimming with Sharks," add some humor and visual look to the experience, but not every trainee program is like that. "Jerry Maguire" comes close to what an agency is like. Yes, you may get a boss that tells you on your first day that their job is to break you down any chance they get, and they do that because if you are an agent in a meeting and a person is trying to play mind games with you and you're not able to pick up on it, you might cost your talent a whole lot of money, or you might end up losing money for your agency. It's all about power plays in Hollywood and the only people who are able to do that all day long are people who can handle the mind games, the power plays, the constant meetings with studios and clients. If you break down every time or feel hurt because someone yelled at you, then you are not cut out for this industry.

So why do people put themselves through this kind of nightmarish hell? Because the rewards are immense. The road of the trainee usually goes something like this
-Trainee Program (Mailroom)
-Assistant
-Junior Assistant
-Junior Agent
-Agent
-Anywhere in Hollywood (most go on to run major studios, run their own talent agency, become producers/writers or become major studio executives calling all the shots after that). Understand though that each level is at best a 2 year stint, but again, it's Hollywood, some have been able to jump the ladder and go from trainee to Junior Agent in less than a year all because they were great with people and could handle the pressure from their boss and the industry.

After you've made agent and learned the industry enough to know that everyone knows your name, you can do anything you want. By this time if you racked up a high profile client list, your making in the millions on each of your clients, so if you have 20 to 30 high profile clients (aka. celebrities) your bank account is at least 7 figures all the time because agents make 10 to 15% of what their clients make, not to mention speaking engagements, special appearances, etc.

So this is all good and well but what is the life of a trainee really like? Here is where it gets even more interesting. You come in around 7, 5 if you want to get a head start on things, sort the mail and deliver it (most agents like having their mail on their desk before they walk in, and most get there around 7 or 8), if you're an assistant you're already there before your boss sorting the voicemail messages, email, and setting up all the conference room meetings with food and agendas, and you do this all day long, talking to celebrities, clients, and studios. Most don't leave until 8 or sometimes 11 or 12, depending on if there is an important package that needs to be delivered right away. If you are one who gets to leave early like 7 or 8, then you go out to any party that you can attend (which as a trainee, assistant, or junior agent that is all you are trying to get yourself into after work because your job is your life and vice versa). This helps to get your name out there and to find talent worth representing in the future. Then after you get home from any party you've been to which is usually around 2 or 3, sometimes 4, your back in the office by 7 or 8 ready to do it all over again.

So in the scope of all things, getting a Law or MBA degree is nothing compared to what the mailroom has in store for you but if you should make it, and only a few do (understand that thousands apply to all the different mailroom programs out there every year, if not, every month), then you can go on to run Hollywood and decide what movies/TV shows people get to watch. In my opinion, read this book with care and study it. Even if you don't plan on getting into Hollywood, the wisdom that comes out of this book about how to deal with people and understand the system can help you in any profession.

For those that do work in a talent agency, even if it's a small one, the tips and tricks that this book has will save you in your job. You will be referencing what someone did to help you get ahead. It will show what agents are looking for and what you need to do to get yourself ahead from everyone else. Even if you think that what some people did in his book are mean, it's just what it takes to get ahead of this industry. This is why most people don't make it because it is VERY competitive and just when you think your friends with someone, they will be happy to sell you out if it means getting promoted. If you feel mad or sad or angry about that and you think that is unfair or not right, then this industry is not for you. You wouldn't last one day, as some people in this book explained. Yes, it's that hard.

So, you still think you got what it takes to be an agent now? If you said yes, go and apply to all the agencies right now and read this book while your waiting for a response, because at least one or two WILL call you back. Good Luck! You'll need it.

[Violet · Rating 3 out of 5]

“If you plan on being in the industry, you should absolutely read this book.”

Only took 4 years and a pandemic after my professor said that for me to finally read this. I was assigned this book in a Business of Film class, taught by an entertainment lawyer trying to make sure aspiring filmmakers knew enough practical shit before moving out to LA or NYC to either become successful or give up.

This book certainly serves as a fantasy of sorts, perfect for those stary-eyed and dreaming of the day they “make it” in the film industry. It tells the stories of dozens of people who got their start in the mailroom of talent agencies, in both NYC and LA from the 1950s to 1990s. (The book was published in 2003.)

The former owner of this book underlined a few phrases in the first 12 pages. Things like “get the big picture and the fine print” and “a commitment to perpetual forward motion.” (I found the star next to the subject heading “Read Everything!” especially ironic because the person clearly never made it past the first chapter.) I imagine this person as another young hopeful assigned this in school, entertaining the idea that maybe they too could start their careers in the mailroom. If only they could think and be like those crazy twenty-somethings in the book.

Despite getting a film degree, I never imagined myself in the film industry in that fashion. (Stories of the image-obsessed, individualistic, ambitious-to-self-destruction people and culture of LA from my mom and others perpetually put me off from moving to that city.) Instead, I approached the book as the aforementioned fantasy – the dream of the entertainment industry outlined in the bottom-up fiction that supposedly still has its foundation in truth.

I imagined the words and stories at first being spoken by the real people in a documentary format –elegantly staged interviews cut with broll, stills, and animation, illustrating whatever era and city they were talking about. As I continued, I began to picture instead a Mad Men-style drama, with each season taking place in a different decade following new and old favorites as they move their way through the industry from the mailroom up. (Why hasn’t this been made? Maybe I should’ve listened to my professor more when she talked about pitching ideas to studios…)

These imaginings helped to keep me engaged and invested because I soon found out why the previous owner never made it past the first chapter. Quite simply, David Rensin’s scope was too broad. Chapters hop back and forth from LA to NYC, from agency to agency, from decade to decade. He tried to organize things by including subject headings throughout each chapter (though I could tell he struggled to write those sometimes as they often come off as derivative and just plain cheesy). But that only barely helps when nearly every chapter contains interviews with at least half a dozen new people. I counted. There are 129 people featured in this 433-page book.

I favor character-driven stories. For me, no matter what is happening in the plot, it can be the most exciting thing in the world, if the characters are bland or poorly crafted, I couldn’t care less. That’s why I felt a bit lost reading Rensin’s account of the mailroom. There were no main characters. There were just so many people, so many little antidotes, that I felt my eyes glazing over with the amount of information being thrown at me. I already have trouble keeping a dozen characters straight in print, let alone 129. The people very quickly started to blend together into one amorphous blob of a person.

And in a way, they kind of were. The vast majority of the people interview are white males. Sometimes they’re Jewish and/or immigrants, and you start to see more diversity of gender and race as the decades progress. But white males are still the majority. I wonder if the book would’ve been written differently today, where our capitalist society is finally realizing that diversity can be desirable and profitable. I know I certainly longed to hear more from those more diverse interviewees and was disappointed when they were clumped in with all the others, diluting their unique perspectives with more white boys.

But in truth, I would’ve eaten up anything that was more in depth rather than read another over-crowded section. So, I started to skip some of those chapters. I know, I committed a reading sin. How can you say that I read the book if I didn’t read every word? Well, it was either that or drop the book entirely, and I was at least interested enough to want to see how the mailroom culture changed throughout the decades to keep reading.

The answer: not much. Yes, in the 1950s any (white) kid from the streets could get into the mailroom and start their career in the industry if they had enough confidence and gumption. Then as the decades progressed and the mailroom developed a reputation as a “training program” for those that want to get ahead in the industry, things got a bit more competitive. Not only did you now have to be college educated, but also be lucky or, more commonly, have a connection on the inside. (The meritocracy is alive and well folks.)

But overall, the poverty wages, insane hours, ridiculous and thankless duties, and physical and emotional harassment were the same throughout the decades. (The book barely even touched on sexual harassment, which I’m sure also happened in abundance.) Rensin does include sections, in just about every chapter, on the toil that it took on these people. But then goes on to include sections from just about every one of the interviewees talking about it was all worth it. Some even go on to be abusers of future mailroom flunkies. In the end, the direct abuse is rationalized as invaluable training for the indirect abuse of being an agent or producer or whatever path they take in the industry. (It is worth noting that not everyone interviewed agreed with this line of thinking. To some you could succeed without giving and taking abuse and actually having a functioning work-life balance.)

I did wonder if it was still the same 20 years later. While its hard to find out what its like in the mailroom today (yes, there are still mailrooms jobs in 2021), I was reminded of recent email sent out by Women in Film on April 14th, 2021 advocating for less abuse in the entertainment industry.

“Our industry has a history of fostering a culture of scarcity that keeps people desperately silent, convinced that keeping one's job must come at the expense of one's physical and mental health. In an industry where the drive for profit reigns, it's hard to imagine people ever coming first.”

Does it really have to be that way? Do people really have to get Harvard degrees (and a connection from daddy) to start off in shit-paying, all-consuming, toxic job so they could have a career in a field that may be absurdly-paid but is also still all-consuming and toxic? Clearly, as the email suggests, there are people advocating for a better industry as they rightly should.

But one thing’s for sure – my professor was right. This book does help you get a good picture of the film industry, even 20 years later.

[Sergio GRANDE · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do not be too quick to turn over to the first page. You'll be missing the cover which is probably the most interesting part of this book. The rest is slow and often boring.
Nobody cares about the recollections of a guy who was a mid-level agent at William Morris in the '70s and left to become a literary agent elsewhere. And there's too many of those stories.

[Isabella (isabunchofbooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has this aged well? NO.

Was this long and boring at times? Yes.

Is this required reading for anyone starting at a Hollywood agency/in the mailroom? Absolutely.

[It’s Me · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don’t tell my boss I’m giving this a 2.5 😬

This was incredibly in depth, and it’s amazing the frankness with which people described their experiences. I feel like today, people would not have been this honest about workplace abuse or, in some cases, idealized it like this during interviews for a book that anyone can read. I do also feel like that despite the depth being its main strength, the book could have been shortened because it started to feel a little redundant. But it certainly is an expansive and well-documented ride that romanticizes but is also very honest about what working at the bottom is/was like for 70 years.

[Caroline Lougee · Rating 2 out of 5]

So aggravating to read bc of the misogyny 😌 but nevertheless I read bc of my career path choices 😍

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an unbelievably entertaining novel about Hollywood & the agents that worked from the bottom up to represent the greatest actors, singers, & musicians of all time. Some agents even ended up producing & directing some all time favorite movies & T.V. shows. Reading about the challenges these agents went through & had to face as they worked in the mailroom, shows the courage & tenacity they needed in order to survive & succeed at becoming agents, producers, or directors in this dog eat dog world.

[Dankwa Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wild stories of Hollywood perseverance or depravity. You take your pick.

Ryan Coogler recommended this book on his podcast and boy is it a doozy of stories.

Each chapter is broken down into a gap of years at a Hollywood talent agency and testimonials from people who got their entry level start in said agency.

The bosses, as described in this book, are horrible people. They treat their assistants like utter crap and the former assistants sorta commend them for it. Some say it made them stronger and ready for the business of Hollywood while others realized that this life just wasn’t for them.

The book also illustrates that you probably need some type of connection in Hollywood to get a key job. A family member or friend of the family. As most of the entry level employees are college graduates it’s still WHO you know and not WHAT you know.

Even though this book goes through the decades and both coasts (mostly in California) the stories do tend to get redundant. Once you read one story of a boss cursing out their assistant, you’ve read them all.

I guess this “hazing system” does just what it’s supposed to do, but a lot of the stories recounted just seem horrible and mean. Yes there are many funny stories throughout, it still seems bad.

In the end I know why Coogler recommended this book. If you aren’t ready for the situations described in this book, you probably aren’t ready for Hollywood.

NOTE:The content in this book is three (3) stars. However if you want to work in Hollywood this is a four (4) star book. You really get a vibe on how “the system” of Hollywood works.

[Lily LaGravenese · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh

[Reed · Rating 2 out of 5]

This took me forever to get through because I never felt the desire to pick it up. In fact, I dreaded the idea. A truly exhausting read. I would have given up on it a long time ago (and rated it much lower) if it wasn’t personally relevant.

My biggest issue is with the structure. I get this is an oral history, but it could have been written/organized in a more compelling way, instead of just an endless stream of quotes haphazardly grouped together. (Seriously, none of the subheadings are useful.) I cannot imagine this being a page-turner for anyone. I struggled to read more than 10 pages at a time — and this is coming from someone who can finish a 300-page novel in one sitting.

The content itself varies from interesting and insightful to superfluous. Certain things don’t age well; some of the anecdotes are actually disgusting. But I had to remind myself this was published in 2003. Thankfully (hopefully?), a lot has changed in Hollywood since.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book on a trip down the rabbit hole that began with Jerry Weintraub's memoir. Since then, I've been fascinated with Hollywood history, and with the mailroom being the base of it all, it only made sense to read about the history from its origin. Although this book is a long one, and it took me FOREVER to finish, it's super interested and filled with insight and lessons.

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken]

Who knew a book about Hollywood could be so dull.

[Morgan Boyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative for the job field I want to go into, but it is so hard for me to read anything outside of the YA genre whoops.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a $3 dollar book from the Strand in NYC, this thing is a Hollywood bible. But the numerous accounts within of mail-roomers jockeying for positions at William Morris, ICM, CAA and others might require hospitalization for sensitive readers. This is a straight-up gorno. No amount of indignities are off-limits, and the cruelty is on the level of Medieval chambers or the Spanish Inquisition. One blatant example is the sight of scrambling, under-fed, under-paid strivers attempting to play with the right boss agents' kids at a party. Seeking favor is not just the goal, it is the motto of the aspiring agent's program. Agents sell each other out, sleep with each other's partners if they think it will help them climb. They lie consistently on applications. They cheat, steal each other's job interviews and personal information. Aspiring agents are humiliated, beaten physically, and verbally flattened. Women are reduced to tears on every page. Men, too. If you socialize too much, you're either a whore (of either sex) or labeled a pandering coward--which most of these agents admit they are. If you don't socialize enough, you're a weirdo outcast. So many of the book's anecdotes are about getting and grabbing and owning and dominating, it might as well be accompanied by a Trap soundtrack. I won't even get into the field nepotism and the rich kids who wear rings to be kissed. One former agent still can't look at bruised fruit in markets due to being humiliated over his catering failures at one agency. One agent has to fish a wasted, drunk actor out of an alley, then is instructed to tell the public said actor was "researching for an upcoming hobo part." Another has to escort a crazy actress who wants to go to strip clubs until 4 in the morning. Agents have to cater to their boss's families, acting as travel agents, babysitters, entire transportation captains, as well as read up to 50 scripts over a weekend, the latter task called "coverage." Coverage is a fancy word for writing treatment-summaries of entire screenplays that the boss agent can read later because he has no interest in reading scripts--or he can't read. What it all adds up to is an educational, honest, and hilarious book. But reading the thing is also the equivalent to being in a car wreck, so do not read before going to sleep. There's a beautiful end-quote from Stephen Longstreet's The Flesh Peddlers.

[Mediaman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had read in other Hollywood stories that this was one of the greatest inside-industry books of all time. WRONG!

What a disaster and disappointment. It ends up being a poorly-organized oral history of now famous studio heads that started in agency mailrooms. How could so many big names that handled all the famous talents in America fall so short of having anything worth reading about?

At 433 pages this should be stuffed with incredibly revealing details of stars, contracts, salaries, and fits. Instead it's so dull, hearing about how some current bigwig started by driving the agency head's wife to a malt shop! Even in the rare cases when a celebrity's name does appear, little happens--like delivering a script to Kim Novak whose robe is open but nothing else happens or Judy Garland sitting childlike on the floor watching TV. Big deal!

Add to that there's no index in the back, so all you have is hundreds and hundreds of names dropped throughout, many of which you don't know, and there is no way to connect them throughout the book.

The problem lies with David Rensin, who has no idea how to organize the hundreds of interviews he conducted over many years and took the easy way out by not really writing anything. He groups people's words by years or agencies without adding anything else beyond trite subheadings, but what that means is we get the same short three-paragraph simplistic "stories" of teens doing gopher work over and over again. Yawn.

This book needed a real writer who knows how to provide a narrative while editing, cutting, and pasting together quotes in the context to make it worth reading. If Rensin would have been hired for the mailroom, based on this workload, he would have been fired fast for simply dumping all the mail into one bag and never delivering it. What a flop.

[Susann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funlll

What made Ivy League educated young people want to slave in the mail room for ungodly hours for barely sustainable wages, be screamed at constantly, cater to the whims of some very eccentric people, make deliveries in all hours of the day and sometimes night, run demeaning errands and in their spare time, read and "cover" scripts for the powers that be? Well, for the chance to be entertainment agents, to make piles of money and hobnob with the stars. This is the story as told by the successful ones like David Geffin and Mike Orvitz about what it took and really why you had to start there. It was a postgraduate course in how to be a winner in Hollywood and New York. The book covers it all from the early days to post 2000 with entertaining vignettes based on many many interviews. This seems to have been a labor of love by the author and it shows. You will laugh at some of the antics and learn some great tips about how to get ahead in this industry and perhaps anywhere.

[Harry Harman]

You don’t get what you deserve in life; you get what you negotiate.

The mailroom is the great chance for the outsider in a town that often runs on nepotism.

Live vicariously through someone else for three years.

The people starting out are at their most impressionable age.

a voracious thirst to become.

Making it, especially in Hollywood, is all about a commitment to perpetual forward motion.

I think it needs to be a bit harsher. I would crank up the boot-camp element and I would let people know that it’s really serious.

Some got paid so much, the salaries read like telephone numbers.

The truth is that the reason a college degree became important was not to accept every minority client.

10% of nothing - but it was better than nothing.

Bring an agent sounds great: you get a client, you book them, you get 10 percent.

Learn by osmosis.

It takes year for what you absorb to take hold.

I shortchanged myself.

Young people today don’t quite understand what a support system is. And if they do, they don’t appreciate it.

[Judy Mann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Complete drek. The guy who wrote this is such nauseating little brown noser. You cannot write anything about Mike Ovitz without exposing the fact that the guy was a clinically diagnosed sociopath.Mike Ovitz was a deranged and deeply disturbed little man.and that's being kind.
The list goes on.David Geffen? You have got to be kidding.Read "The Operator"Now that's a book.This is junk mail This guy -whatever his name is-Rensin-was such a weak kneed little sycophant that there is no point in reading this crap. Take my word for it.Don't read this book.It's drek

[W. Frazier · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lively expose on breaking into Hollywood, this 2003 book may be past its prime. It’s a giant stack of interviews, one-on-one’s with those who have taken a lowly mailroom job to get a foot in the door. What’s reflected is a lot of strong, driven personalities with a cascading litany of amusing anecdotes - stories of over-the-top behavior, tales of ridiculous errands, hilarious or horrible mistakes, revenge pranks, and wicked schemes to get ahead. Mixed in is also some sage career advice. But like an old school yearbook, time has diminished the rebellious moments of glory. While the advice stays solid, the wild antics have aged.

[A Cesspool · Rating 3 out of 5]

primary takeaway: A lot swagger & [circumcised] member-measuring.

a smattering a worthy (albeit, mostly legacy) behind-the-scenes trivia & making-of anecdotals.

Better than: Powerhouse: The Untold Story of Hollywood's Creative Artists Agency
Nowhere near (as deserving): The Agency: William Morris and the Hidden History of Show Business

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not for everyone. You have to have worked in an entertainment industry mailroom or been an assistant to really appreciate this. And I did. Especially good to read this after the Mike Ovitz and Bernie Brillstein autobiographies. You get a completely different perspective from what their assistants say than what they said. And I don’t believe the treatment all of these folks received could ever happen today. Probably a 3 1/2 star book but gave it the nod towards 4.

[Christian Hui · Rating 4 out of 5]

quite an interesting read. gives a very transparent outlook on the foundation of entertainment for many past years. pretty wild to have seen the evolution of the industry and how harsh it was, and quite possibly still is. the structure definitely could’ve been better - i didn’t get a great sense of what each testimony was leading up to and it felt a bit disorganized

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Equally parts pep talk and cautionary tale (in the “Can’t Hurt Me” category), this one is a time capsule of the agency building era. Could benefit from a structural reframe (chronological or thematic grouping could work, but pick anything other elliptical) but clearly the product of strong interviewing.

[Allie]

wish it was more synthesis and not just interviews but i had a whirlwind reading this of first being like ahh this field is so male there’s no way i should be doing this and then over 400 pages being like wow showbiz is so cool. this also gave me the perfect personality to turn on for my UTA interview so i’m grateful

[Blake Falk · Rating 3 out of 5]

David Rensin’s oral history of the mailroom is like most class reunions - you revisit (and often misremember) the your greatest adventures, and everyone is trying desperately to impress one another. At it’s best, it’s a chance to create a shared history. At it’s worst, it’s an exercise in shameless self-promotion.

Supported by over 200 interviews with mailroom trainees, the oral history Rensin assembled is comprehensive. He guides the reader from the early 20th century in NYC with William Morris, through to the turn of the century in LA in the wake of CAA and UTA entering the fray. Readers are invited to hear first hand about daily gauntlet of menial tasks, the psychological warfare endured by mailroom trainees, and the occasional run-in with a celebrity literally baring it all.

However, despite its breadth, the collection suffers from reading like 400+ pages of a high school quarterback reminiscing on his glory days. At first it’s quaint, but over time it gets repetitive. It’s difficult to understand Rensin’s perspective on whether these former trainees are really the most important people in Hollywood, but it’s easy to be lulled into thinking so as the trainees make a habit of repeating this sentiment. They are salespeople, after all.

The highlight of the oral history is the the shared recollection of Kathy Krugel, the legendary admin (and frequent punching bag) at William Morris. Like the parable about a group of blind men describing an elephant, the reader is treated to a collective description of Krugel by trainees that is wildly funny and frustratingly incomplete. I would happily pay for Rensin to write a follow-up based solely around Krugel herself, with her rebuttal included.

Am I glad I crashed this class reunion? Ultimately, yes. However, I’m also relieved I won’t have to see these folks for a long while.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.4/5)

[Joe Meyers · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://blog.ctnews.com/meyers/2018/0...

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reminds that although I love storytelling and the entertainment industry, I can’t stand the people who work in it. So many douchebags.

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

Needs an update for 2020, to show how much has changed and—more importantly—how much hasn’t.