Fade in:
Int. Martin Ortiz-Cañavate's Desk — Day
Media Agent. One chair that swivels. Zero branch offices.
Insert — map, no pins:
Int. Markets — Wherever The Story Travels
Not an exclusive list — just the markets where I'm best plugged in.
— United States
— United Kingdom & Commonwealth
— Europe
— Spanish- & Portuguese-language markets
MARTIN
(almost amused)
Branch offices: zero. Relationships that matter: several.
Int. Desk — He Explains Himself — Day
The US and UK/Commonwealth, Europe, Spanish- and Portuguese-language media markets — those are my main markets, not a fence around where I'll sell your story. I know the English-language houses, the European conversations, and the translation side well enough that foreign rights aren't a decorative footnote at the bottom of a contract.
MARTIN
(honest, unhelpful to cowards)
A wager on a story — that's what every project is. I work for the ones worth the bet. Subjective as hell. Sometimes I get it wrong.
Take something on with me and I'm in it: revisions, arguments about the ending, the editor who might actually buy it. One person reads it, works it, and sells it — me. If that sounds old-fashioned, fine. I think representation should feel like someone in your corner, not a ticket in a queue.
Aside:
MARTIN
(before you ask about tapas)
Based in Barcelona, yes. That doesn't mean I only want stories about tapas and melancholy beaches — though if you've written a genuinely great one, surprise me.