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In industry known for its blind adherence to its centuries-old caste system, there is perhaps no group more woefully disenfranchised than its Armani-clad, blood-extracting agent underclass. (See? There we go reinforcing the kind of systemic bias keeping them down.) Sure, they get their ten percent of the hard work of the creative types who actually "make" the movies, but what they really want is respect, the one aftermarket option they can't buy for their BMWs, no matter how effectively they sweet-talk their dealer. The Envelope calls attention to their struggle to finally gain the awards season voice that the Motion Picture Academy has cruelly denied them for so long:

Their true function is often misunderstood, says Martha Luttrell, an ICM agent and the chairwoman of the academy's agents group. "Generally, people have an image of agents and don't like agents and don't know what we do," Luttrell says. Newer academy members, she says, understand better how an agent's role in moviemaking has evolved, but she's growing weary of fighting for academy recognition. "Membership is extended to people who make the art," Davis says of the group's stance, "not people who provide services, however valuable, to the people who make the art." [...]

Among those currently listed as associate members are some of the most prominent deal-makers in town. The tally includes CAA's Huvane and Rick Nicita; William Morris' Jim Wiatt and Mike Simpson; ICM's Jeff Berg and Robert Newman; and Endeavor's Adam Venit and Whitesell. As associate members, these agents are invited to academy screenings and receptions, and may even receive a smattering of for-your-consideration DVDs. But for the academy's most important duty — casting ballots for the Oscars — they are shut out.

"All of us have been trying for so long," Luttrell says. "And we are frustrated." [...]

As discouraged as ICM's Luttrell may be over so many snubs, she says that like any good agent, she won't quit until the deal is closed.

"We haven't given up," she says.

We suggest that if agents are truly serious about fighting for their right to stuff the Academy ballot boxes on behalf of their clients, they embrace the only method by which social change is ever effected in Hollywood: a telethon. They certainly have the leverage to coerce convince their talent to handle the hosting and performance aspects of an event raising money to support their heartwrenching cause, freeing the reps up to do what they do best: work the phone banks in the background, goading potential donors to give more by wheedling, "A hundred dollars? Give me a fucking break. I have three other guys on hold willing to give five grand apiece. If you don't up your offer by the time I finish this sentence, you can go fuck yourself while I go talk to someone who's going to come at me with a serious number."