S3E25 The Mechanic

The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast

Everybody needs a good mechanic, am I right? Someone who understands what you have and what you might could do with it. Alas, not all mechanics are created equal.

For a decade or so, I had a GREAT mechanic.

Well, he wasn’t actually a mechanic, he was my agent. His name is Nick Mechanic but, most people called him just “Mechanic”.

Willie Mo, Parts 1 & 2

For a long time, I was repped by the iconic William Morris Agency (back before they joined with the iconic Endeavor agency to become the super-duper iconic WME agency). During my first stint at Willie Mo, my agent Carol Yumkas (a friend to whom I still owe an apology), scored me a couple of feature gigs. During my second stint – after I’d partnered with Gil Adler, after we’d been running Tales From The Crypt – got us all kinds of cool action.

One things agents and managers do a lot is mix clients together to try and create both synergy and an additional paycheck. Our agent at the time – Mark Itkin – scored us lots of cool stuff: a pay or play development deal at ABC Productions (which we squandered alas!) and a project in development with STAN LEE (who they also represented at the time).

Eventually, Gil and I parted ways with William Morris… then I parted ways with Gil and spent some time in the representation wilderness. Until my friend and occasional co-writer Scott Nimerfro suggested I meet with a young buck who was tearing it up at a boutique talent agency called “The Agency”.

Enter The Mechanic

From the moment we first sat down together – or prowled around the desk at each other – Nick and I bonded. He got me, I got him. We got us. Nick got me onto The Outer Limits as a co-executive producer – a great gig at a moment when I most needed it.

If that was the only thing that ever happened between us, I’d be eternally grateful to the guy. Ah, but there’s so very much more!

If I tell you he’s a character, I’m underselling him. Nick was and is a force of nature. And his story – like his stories – will blow your mind.

In addition to being a great agent and living The Hollywood Life on a knife’s edge, Nick also has been a drug addict, a fall-down-pass-out-take-him-to-the-ER drunk, a convicted criminal and, now – THANKFULLY – a person in full recovery, fighting that good fight (to stay recovered) every damned day. And succeeding!

Not your average Hollywood story, Nick Mechanic.

Not even remotely. But so very worth a listen!