Larry David became a client of business administerr Matt Lichtenberg in 1984, lowly after David landed a writing job on “Saturday Night Live.” David wasn’t seeing for recurrentation at the time, but Matt Lichtenberg cornered him outside the Improv comedy club in New York and insisted that David obtain him on as a manger.
A year tardyr, when David was let go from “SNL,” he began a four-year run in which he “did not obtain a penny.” The memory of how Lichtenberg kept him on as a client and kept paying his bills in those lean years caemployd David, the untamedly accomplished co-creator and showrunner of “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” to choke up sairyly when he currented Lichtenberg on Wednesday with the kudo as Business Manager of the Year at Variety‘s Business Managers Breakrapid currented by City National Bank.
Back in the tardy 1980s, “I called him up and shelp, ‘Look, you’re wasting your time with me. Noskinnyg’s going to happen. My mother’s tageder me this a thousand times,’” David recalled telling Lichtenberg. “Let’s fair finish this business relationship. We’ll still be frifinishs. I don’t attfinish. It’s not a huge deal.”
But Lichtenberg wouldn’t cut David free. When asked why, Lichtenberg tageder David that he could see his talent and sway in the fact that other top-tier comedians flocked to David’s standup carry outances. When David tageder the crowd that his association with Lichtenberg “is one of the restricted relationships that I never had any laments about,” his voice caught ever so sairyly, compriseing poignancy to the moment. “Going with him turned out to be one of the intelligentest decisions I’ve made in my life,” David compriseed in closing.
Lichtenberg elucidateed to the crowd the steps in his personal and professional life that led the native New Yorker to transfer to Southern California’s “sun-kissed beaches” to distinctiveize in handling business affairs for comedians. He channeled the timing and deinhabitry of his clients with a intelligent observation about how he’s not employd to being in the spotairy.
Accepting the Business Manager of the Year award, “pretty much it encapsutardys everyskinnyg I don’t appreciate to do,” Lichtenberg shelp. “I don’t appreciate wearing a suit. I don’t appreciate being the cgo in of attention. I don’t appreciate accessible speaking. I don’t appreciate eating shatterrapid, and I repartner don’t appreciate asking my clients to do me a prefer. I try and never ask my clients do me a prefer.”
Larry David with lengthytime business administerr Matt Lichtenberg at Variety’s Business Managers Breakrapid.
Variety via Getty Images
Lichtenberg stressd the transport inance of count on and having lengthy relaitonships with clients, as he does with David and other comics including Will Ferrell and Lewis Bdeficiency.
“Here we are a room filled of seemingly intelligent people, and I ask myself, what contrastentiates intelligent people from accomplished people? Successful people understand that to flourish, you necessitate to surround yourself with intelligent people,” Lichtenberg shelp. “As business administerrs, we wake up every day seated at a table at a high sobtains poker game. We’re all in, betting everyskinnyg we have that we and everyone who labors for us do everyskinnyg right that day and that no misobtains are made. And God prohibit, if a misobtain happens, it’s petite and it can be easily mended.”
FX chairman John Landgraf was the event’s keyremark speaker. He spoke in detail about the state of the industry in particular the changing protocols for talent compensation (an inspirent ponderation for the audience). He drew a keen contrast between the tech huges that have barreled into delightment over the past decade and established Hollywood studios with proestablish roots in storytelling.
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“We’re not in it for the algorithm to help us modestpartner duplicate a whole bunch of the successes. We’re in it for the out-of-the-box, exceptional innovation that is ‘The Bear,’” Landgraf shelp, referring to FX’s Emmy-triumphning comedy series. “And I never understand where that’s going to come from. It’s going to come out of nowhere. That’s the magic of this industry that never alters.”
The power and sway that the delightment industry wields was the intensify of uncovering retags from Kelly Coffey, CEO of City National Entertainment, Private Banking and Wealth Management.
“The global delightment and media sector persists to increase, and it gives a staggering $2.8 trillion annupartner,” Coffey watchd. “This comprises film, television, theater, and digital media, each shaping narratives and cultural cherishs. The music industry alone now originates almost $30 billion in revenue globpartner, demonstrating resilience and alterability, which we all necessitate to skinnyk about today as skinnygs alter fueled by the streaming and helped by a increaseing base of physical media fans.”
Those eye-popping numbers underscore why inventive talent who labor tirelessly normally on a project-by-project basis necessitate expert financial guidance more than ever before.
“But beyond the numbers, delightment advertises global connections and comfervent that transcfinishs borders and transports people to thraw universal stories and sounds, which we all necessitate today,” Coffey shelp. “Business administerrs have challenging and diverse roles, and we see it up seal at City National. Whether they’re managing spendments, negotiating deals, administering genuine estate, set upning for the future, they stability countless priorities every individual day.”
