posted April 27, 2004 01:34            

Actually some number updates will really help this....

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GLTA

Raja

posted April 27, 2004 09:39            

I believe that I can swing my money elsewhere and still get back in time for WNMI to make its next big run.

posted April 27, 2004 22:00            

The push to capitalize on Paris Hilton’s porn-meets-prime-time notoriety continues apace. Sources tell The Transom that Ms. Hilton’s management firm, Untitled Entertainment, is talking to Guess? about featuring Ms. Hilton in an upcoming ad campaign for its clothing. "We do have an offer, but I have no other details," said Ms. Hilton’s manager, Jason Moore, who declined to comment any further on the matter. A source within Guess? sounded flummoxed by the question, but replied: "Nothing’s been decided for the 2004 fall campaign" —which would be the next ad campaign on the company’s agenda—"and no one from advertising has been talking to Hilton." A call to Guess? co–chief executive Paul Marciano was not returned.

Although Ms. Hilton, star of Fox’s The Simple Life and a green-hued porn film you may have heard about, is a tad bonier than the curvaceous models (Shana Zadrick, Anna Nicole Smith, Claudia Schiffer and Laetitia Casta) who have graced past Guess? ad campaigns, her bad-girl image jibes with the clothing company’s porn-lite ad campaigns.

Meanwhile, though Ms. Hilton’s younger sister Nicky seems to be taking steps to distinguish herself from her sister—dyeing her hair a chaste brunette, for instance—she too seems to be interested in piggybacking on Paris’ highly elevated image. Nicky has signed with a different management firm, Handprint Entertainment, run by J. Lo’s former propaganda minister, Benny Medina. Nicky’s ambitions aren’t as apparent as her sister’s, but judging from a sit-down late last year between the sisters’ respective management firms, she may be flirting with becoming an on-air personality. According to one source close to the negotiations, Handprint was interested in putting together a one-hour special—which the Fox Network was apparently interested in airing—in which Nicky interviewed her sister Paris. The source said that the payday mentioned was approximately $1.6 million to be split by the sisters. But the source added that the idea was eventually vetoed when it ran into resistance from the Hiltons’ father, Rick Hilton, among other family members. Nicky Hilton’s manager, Paul Fisher, said he wouldn’t "deny or confirm" the story. Mr. Moore declined to comment, and a Fox publicist did not respond to our e-mail queries.

posted April 28, 2004 08:41            

quote:

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Originally posted by whizknock:
NoMore925
Member posted April 26, 2004 23:53

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posted April 28, 2004 14:43            

The warning episode is a one-off affair.(although I presume it will be shown many times!)

posted April 28, 2004 23:59            

WHERE THE REVENUE COMES FROM:
Models pay angencies commissions, at a standard rate of 20%. Celebs like Paris Hilton have bargaining power, and therefore I'm guessing that she worked out a deal for around a 10% commission. Additonally, the agency tacks on a 20% premium to the client. I don't think this is removed for celebs. Therefore, the math:
If Paris gets 5 million$ for her Guess Jeans contract, then 10% goes to the agency and another 20% goes to the agency, payable by the client. There's your revenue. Once the agency starts rockin, that's a nice revenue stream with little overhead- bookers don't make a lot of money. What's he paying- rent?? A few computers? Remember there are over a hundred models with any agency, so the bread-and-butter models' revenue pays most of the overhead. The celebs are a bonus.

CAN PARIS REP A WARNING CLOTHING LINE?
NO. It would be a direct conflict for a model to rep a clothing line for the agency. If Paris signs a contract with Estee Lauder, then she cannot work for Revlon. If she has signed with Guess, then she won't be working for Levi, but she can work for a non-competitor's fashion line, say Christian Dior (and I would like to see that.) To get around this, I'll bet Paris shows up in the magazines at nightclubs wearing a WARNING! tshirt. That's not advertising, it's media coverage. Completely different but promotion nonetheless.

WHEN THE CONTRACTS ARE ANNOUNCED:
I am surpirsed that the Guess contract was announced so quickly. I thought for sure we had a couple more months, but this made me think. This announcement (Guess) hasn't been made public yet. It's just industry knowledge. people won't realize it until the ads hit in August. I expect we will see industry announcements in June & July primarily, and launches to the public for paris, Dennis and other top names in late August, primarily September. The big *pop* should come late Sept/early Oct during fashion week, and I expect to see Paris at all the fashion week parties doing her new model thing, repping all her new contract brands, and singlehandedly making a mark for Warning Models in the PR world. And THAT is when I expect to see the chaching in the financials of Warning Models.

THE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT BENEFITS:
There's a big, big class action lawsuit in the modeling industry right now, and Elite Models, one of the oldest in the biz, just filed for bankruptsy and went on the block to be sold. Agencies in NY, traditionally the foundation of the model world, are restructuring, preparing for litigation (if it's necessary I can go into detail on the suit, but it is based on price-fixing the 20% commission discussed above) and moving their booking offices to LA in case NY offices must close. Warning came into existence after the time frame of the class action suit, so while other agencies are drowning in legal mumbo-jumbo, Warning is free to take all of the clients and models, and they will, cuz their noses are clean. I see lots of business flowing over to LA.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO ME:
1- Steven has a proven track record of starting an agency from scratch, staffing it, generating PR, and finding models that can be groomed for success.
2- Steven is in with top investors and advisors in LA, and makes decisons based on growth of the business not on silly PR gimicks.
3- I believe this is the final step for Steven, and not only will he grow this agency but I believe he will branch out to new cities and markets once he has successfully launched Warning! LA.
4- Steven is actively involved in all facets of his business and understands the business model of an agency, and will work to strengthen his investor relations.
5- With such a solid history, Steven's reputation in the business will draw excellent models to his agency, thereby increasing his commissions and revenues and his visibility within the industry.
6- Given his connections, I expect strong growth of his brand in the direction of product branding (a clothing line), licensing and medias.
7- Having just finished my book, Model NY 2005 (a step-by-step guide to becoming a model in NY in every bookstore in Sept.) I noticed a new trend in model agencies. Due to a glutton of models, smart agencies are scaling back to rep just a small pool of top talent, and representing them for MULTI-MEDIA outlets, not just print outlets. For instance, in the old days Paris would have a tv agent, a print agent, a PR agent, etc. Instead, she gets a full-service agency that reps all facets of her career, in house PR, and a legal team to negotiate her contracts and endorsements. So, about that 20% commission above? The revenue for the agency has enormous potential given the umbrella they hold for their talent.
8- INVEST FOR THE LONG HAUL. No doubt at all that this brand grows a hundred fold, and this is just the beginning. I've put my money in. And again, the above is strictly my opinions based on my experience, so take it for what it's worth and do your own DD.

posted April 29, 2004 03:14            

Thank you for your post. Very informative insight into the modeling industry.

posted April 29, 2004 15:49            

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GLTA

Raja

posted April 29, 2004 16:25            

Ah well...

It's gonna be big when this does pop guys! Don't give up.... and don't SELL!

e2

posted April 30, 2004 09:52            

Market Pulse Announces its Stock Picks for Thursday, April 29, 2004: XXX, GE, WNMI, ISON

MP has been compensated in free trading shares of common stock, available for public trading as follows: AngloTajik Minerals, Inc. compensation from a third party: six hundred thousand free trading shares of stock in AngloTajik Minerals, Inc., already delivered from a third party. To date, MP has sold one hundred twenty thousand shares of stock in AngloTajik Minerals, Inc. for proceeds totaling forty five thousand three hundred dollars.

They are paid pumpers who use other symbols in the news to try and get more publicity for their pump.

posted April 30, 2004 10:10            

Lets see some action soon!

posted April 30, 2004 13:25            

Today UCAP is matching NITE and VIEW ASK prices, prior to this he would usually go .001 lower which would drive the price down.

posted April 30, 2004 13:26            

AHHHH!

posted April 30, 2004 18:52            

The new Warning website is up, and it is looking fabulous. Rather than spend tons of money on developing their own database system, I see that Warning has partnered with 11x14.com for their portfolio management system. Smart- and saves them a lot of money. It's smart moves like that that will keep their overhead low and makes them a good investment.

I also saw this old PR (they have a PR section on the website now) http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/040325/064924.html for the first time, and realized that Warning is now a photography rep as well as a model rep. That ought to generate another million plus in revenues. Additionally, my opinion is that Warning is positioning themselves to be a full service production company, meaning they will supply the photographer, models, hair, makeup and stylist for a photo shoot. Keeping production all in one place is a huge lure for clients. Photographers repped by the agency are more likely to hire models with the same agency, so I see this agency generating higher revenues than a typical model agency.
Further, with the photography department repping talent that is international (the list of photogs in the PR is one of int'l talent), jobs done overseas can be billed through the LA office, which was not a common practice in the past. More $$ for Warning.

Last thing- There's 'word' in the business that Paris is in the midst of negotiating a contract with a huge beauty company, which would contract her to be a spokesperson for their products, not just modeling for them but also doing direct marketing appearances. If it comes through, it would be a very generous contract. I'll keep my ears open- they're talking about a debut in the Fall if negotiations succeed.
By the way, before we get too "Paris" centered, I took a look at all the talent showcased on the new Warning Models website (I was granted access.) Other big names they rep are Janine Green (the black girl with the little 'fro in the Loreal ads), Kylie Bax, Malia Jones (pro surfer turned model), and Tatjana Patitz. They also have great men. Atesh does the Armani campaign, James Penfold does Armani cologne, Burberry & DKNY, Frank Arends (this guy even owns/owned his own photo rep agency but is repped by Warning for his modeling career), Kevin Kazakoff (Chanel), Rory Marshall (Lancome)and Werner... the list goes on, but my point is that while these models don't generate PR for the agency, they do generate 5 & 6-figure contracts.

~BB

[This message has been edited by betting babe (edited April 30, 2004).]

posted April 30, 2004 20:07            

Thanks from the whole board!

posted April 30, 2004 20:50            

quote:

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Originally posted by noahltl:
Betting Babe

When you mentioned a beauty company negotiation with Paris, I couldn't help but think about Clairol and their Herbal Essence line. They just pulled out on contract with Omarosa, so are probably looking for another big name to take her place.

If they use Paris, think they'll drop the "orgasm" routine or capitalize on it?
LOL

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posted April 30, 2004 20:56            

In any event I enjoy your posts much of which has been an education for me!

posted April 30, 2004 21:13            

Speaking of which, this BIB Holdings/Sasson relaunch is looking very interesting (BIBO) for when they launch their new campaign in August... Doing my DD and asking around.
For what it's all worth.
~BB

quote:

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Originally posted by whizknock:
Betting Babe! what you're talking about is beyond D&D. Maybe I'm the only one to just now pick up on the fact that you not only have been in this field but more importantly still seem to have connections.

In any event I enjoy your posts much of which has been an education for me!

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posted April 30, 2004 23:27            

Much better than entertainment! Even without specifics your messages are very enlightening. & yes we can both talk about QBID now & then. I'm in the hopes that Warning has that kind of potential. If they put out a line of clothing that would appeal to even a larger targeted consummer sector than QTV.

The only thing I'm 100% sure of is that I have the dicipline to stay with WNMI & accumulate while they become a profitable company.

posted May 01, 2004 11:06            

To restate it: There is a class action lawsuit against every top agency in NYC, so many agencies are moving their talent to LA offices in preparations for bankrupcy filings in NY. Elite has already filed for bankrupcy and put their agency up for sale. IMG, the richest of all agencies, settled (but that's federal only).

Today's news:
May 1, 2004 -- JOHN Casablancas is leading the fight to save the modeling industry from a class-action suit. While IMG caved and settled, agreeing to pay up to $11 million to models who claim they lost money because of collusion between agencies, Casablancas vows to fight to the end. His lawyer, Ray Dowd, told PAGE SIX: "The models have to show they were damaged, but the models made more under John Casablancas than ever before. He invented the supermodel." The entire case, brought by David Boies - the lawyer who unsuccessfully represented Al Gore in his Florida ballot battle four years ago - hinges on a state law which says employment agencies may only charge a 10 percent commission. Dowd asserts the Consumer Affairs Department ruled in the '70s that model agencies are exempt. "Model agencies were ruled to be managers," he says. "They don't just find employment, they also find housing, buy plane tickets, fix boyfriend problems . . . It's a totally frivolous case." Casablancas, who is married to a Brazilian and also spends parts of the year in Europe, lives in Florida, and "has specifically instructed me not to raise any jurisdictional issues or make any attempt to avoid jurisdiction," Dowd said.

posted May 02, 2004 10:42            

I read your last post about all the talant moving to LA. I know that's where Warning is based but how does that help the old line agencies who are caught up in the suit? Do you think it's possible some of those models will jump ship & join us?

More & more I'm thinking this investment will be better than I previously thought!

Thanks for any insight!

posted May 02, 2004 11:51            

Thanks for the correction & hanging in there to get me that info! Found the sight! Now I have to register before I can even look for that post.