Ask A Former Assistant: Loren Albento (Talent Manager / Producer, LBI Entertainment)

Loren Albento,

Talent Manager / Producer,

LBI Entertainment

Hi Loren! Thank you for joining The Hollywood Assistant! Tell us about your day-to-day as a Talent Manager / Producer at LBI.

First off, I feel blessed to be able to call what I do 'work' and fortunate to be working with such an incredible company and an amazing group of colleagues. My main objectives as a talent manager are to advise, guide and oversee business development for the professional careers of actors, directors, and writers. Every manager works slightly different, and the definition of managers duties have shifted over the course of our ever-changing industry.

For the most part, the bulk of my job is reviewing and reading material scripts for clients' consideration. Everyday consists of educating my industry peers about the talent I represent and expanding my network. You want to make it your business to get to know other like-minded execs in the industry through coffee meetings or lunches. These connections will hopefully lead to opportunities for your clients.

Another part of my job is to pick up the phone and make outgoing calls to producers, studio/network execs, and/or casting directors about the artists and stories that I'm passionate about. I truly enjoy talking about my filmmakers’ background or helping sell their respective projects and stories to other execs.

On the talent (actors) front, I am always coming up with dynamic ways to pitch to casting directors for projects. While I was in college I enjoyed writing, so a big part of why I love my job is that I also get to help craft meaningful notes for my client’s scripts to shape it to the best place to sell or set it up. An integral part of what I do is strategizing with each client about how to achieve their respective goals in their career both short-term with projects and long-term. I am hands-on with each of my client’s businesses. From highs and lows, I stay rooting for them no matter what.

Regarding producing, I'm still learning and honing my skills by developing and helping find material with my clients or for the company to produce… inherently more reading.

You have a wide breadth of experience in representation. You originally started out at Creative Artists Agency (Floating Assistant) before moving to APA Agency (Agent Trainee, Executive Assistant) and eventually, LBI Entertainment (Junior Talent Manager, Talent Manager). Did you always know you wanted to work in representation?

Honestly, starting out I had no idea what representatives did. I originally pursued a career as a writer. In hindsight, my goals as a writer felt singular and micro to the macro career goal I was trying to achieve for myself. I always believed that film & television had the power to change how we see ourselves. I'm Filipino/Asian, and over 10+ years ago when I started, it was uncommon to see people like me represented on screen, especially in leading roles. It wasn't due to a lack of talent, as there were so many incredible AAPI actors and filmmaker/writers trailblazing and fighting to garner opportunity during a challenging time.

It was through one of my final internships in college working in development at a studio that I firsthand saw what agents and managers did. I realized that reps had a very influential job to connect and introduce writers and filmmaker talents to other execs and buyers. They helped sell their ideas and stories. I thought to myself, if I could be a rep and help champion the stories from underrepresented voices and creatives, that would fulfill my macro goal to help increase diversity in storytelling in this industry and on screen. Maybe, I might even find artists from my own specific Filipino background along the way. 

That's a great goal. Can you speak more to why it's important to you to fight for for more AAPI representation in Hollywood and how others can work towards this mission?

I feel blessed to be working in a time when there has been a dynamic surge of Asian leads in television shows and movies. But we always have more we can do. We need even more AAPI stories with strong leading characters. Asian creatives are so important and have a duty to tell more powerful narratives that alter the stigma and common misconceptions of our culture. There are other AAPI voices that still need more honest representations on screen.

As a manager and producer, I have always sought out to discover, uplift, and champion those artistic voices that have yet to be heard from a variety of cultures and backgrounds. My never-ending battle will be trying to convince others that stories from other cultures (not just my own) matter and that the diverse artists I represent carry collective experiences that are both universal and relatable through their storytelling. Collectively as an industry, we have “great power and responsibility” to usher in more visionary and fresh artists from different cultures who can help paint a new type of hero in our narratives for cinema and television. This is the legacy I hope to leave for future generations to come.

In the Spring of 2019, I had the pleasure of attending the LA Asian Pacific Film Festival where I initially watched the indie film, YELLOW ROSE directed by a talented Filipina director, Diane Paragas. The film is an American story that masterfully encompasses a hopeful and timely message about immigrants pursuing their dreams in this country, especially significant during a politically tumultuous time. I ended up signing Diane while I was still an assistant. This film helped empower my overall mission to continue to discover and learn more ways to help garner opportunities to inspire change in how people see themselves represented in entertainment.

I’m often asked about the difference between a talent agent and a talent manager. What draws you to management work in particular?

I believe both agents and managers need to work together effectively as a team to uplift their respective clients. Agents have a higher volume of clients and it gears more specifically towards business and dealmaking. For me, management allows me to work a little closer on a personal level and creatively with respective clients. For filmmakers, I help them shape their stories from the ground up or give notes on their projects. I love being collaborative in the ideas that they want to pursue. I consider each client a friend, and I’m always there to provide the best possible advice for their careers, help problem solve various scenarios for their projects or talk through daily business development. For my actors, I’m helping with schedules for events, meetings, auditions, and for filming. As managers, we’re essentially planning our clients’ lifelong careers in steps.

I have one of my clients directing her first major studio film for Sony Pictures/Columbia and an actress client who just made her U.S. TV debut recurring as a lead on HBO’s latest season of True Detective. These moments give me great pride and joy because it started with an initial step: a dream.

Before honing in on representation, you explored entertainment thoroughly through internships. At California State University, Long Beach you took advantage of school-year internships at the CW Network, Verve Talent & Literary Agency, and Disney Original Series, just to name a few. You also gained on-set experience working as a Production Assistant for ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Disney’s Sonny With A Chance. For folks who want to be an Agent / Manager, does having production and network experience help?

I think it’s helpful to know various sides of the business. As I was interning early on, I was fortunate to learn about the various opportunities there were in film and television. I don't have as much on-set experience as some of my peers, but I value my time interning on those production sets because it showed me how many people are essential in the crazy process of making films and shows.

Production experience has given me direct insight that I can share with my own client filmmakers, writers, and talent on what they can expect on a major set. On-set experience is generally helpful to recognize all the hardworking individuals' jobs and how crucial each job is.

Speaking of internships, do you recommend pursuing them during the academic year? Obviously, that's not possible for everyone.

Absolutely! Internships are essential. I know they are a little tougher to come by now due to the aftermath of the strikes and pandemic, but if you can… do it! I didn’t come from an entertainment background or have any family in this business. I was just enamored by movies and my parents supported my passion. I was lucky to take part in internships during my time in college. Learn about every job and network in those internships because those relationships will go a long way! People in the industry love to talk about themselves, so consider yourself a sponge and ask questions and absorb their life stories about their careers. You never know when you will cross paths with that same person again or when they may help you land your next gig, just for listening. There is no task ever too small. Each internship led me to another experience and ultimately helped me land my first job.

And back to your current job—when you’re considering bringing on a new client, what are you looking for? And on the flipside, what do you recommend that Talent looks for in Agents / Managers they’re considering signing with?

I'm looking for genuine storytellers who have something to say through their work. Martin Scorsese once said (and echoed by director Bong Joon-Ho at the Oscars): ‘The most personal is the most creative.” I wholeheartedly believe that what gets me most excited about a client is when they have a short film, full narrative feature, or script that examines a personal link to their own unique perspective and at the same time, entertains. I believe talent should consider that those who they bring on to their team should feel like partners who believe in their work as artists and have a plan to achieve those goals. I think there should be a mutual understanding that we can only do our best, but this partnership is only as valid as much as each person is putting in equal work.

Taking a step back to your assistant days at CAA and APA, what skills still serve you today?

I loved being an assistant at the agency. It felt like an entertainment graduate school, and I made genuine friendships that have organically developed into positive connections for my clients and my business overall. Being at a talent agency teaches individuals how the entertainment industry works. Agent assistants are at the epicenter of dealmaking. Learning proper 'phone etiquette' and listening to conversations on how certain agents would make deals is an masterclass education.

I was a waiter in college before coming to Los Angeles, and I think the ability to be able to do multiple things at once in that job or “juggle plates,” both literally and figuratively, gave me more confidence needed when stepping into the assistant chair. As an assistant, you're always doing multiple things at one time and even more so as an executive. Important things to understand is how to be a good problem-solver, learn how to stay calm in heightened and stressful situations, know how to effectively think or react to others and not base it off pure emotion—and learn to read the room in situations.

The job of an assistant is tough, so help each other out. My most valuable skills that I learned are: respect and honesty. Respect that others are trying to do their job and be honest in what you need. People will appreciate you more and be willing to give you what you need when the time comes.

Finally, what general advice would you offer Hollywood assistants who hope to one day be in your shoes?

Making movies and television shows is hard enough, and there's no need to make it any harder for others. Assistants and their executive bosses are all working together collectively to fuel this entertainment business. We all work hard, and I feel like being a genuine, honest and nice person goes a long way.

I’ve seen it in how my own colleagues operate who represent some of the best talent in the business. I've certainly imparted those core values into my own work ethic. My good friend who trained me on my first official desk in the business told me this: “We’re not curing diseases or operating on patients in life-or-death scenarios. We’re making entertainment to entertain.” I took this as meaning: despite circumstances elevating and emotions intensifying in various scenarios in our jobs, let’s remember that at the end of the day, no one is dying over an e-mail going unanswered after a minute, or a script arriving a few minutes late.

We’re only human, and all we can do is our best. I'm aware that each job and boss is vastly different, but I'm also a strong advocate for mental health. I implore each assistant to put your mental health wellness always at the forefront. I am still learning to cope with a better work-life balance in the post-strikes craziness in my own life. We all need to check in with one another… check in with yourselves daily. It will help you do your jobs better and keep you with a positive and more hopeful mindset in every scenario you will encounter in this industry.