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GALLAGHER LITERARY
Management ►
Development ►
Producing ►
Packaging ►
Financing ►
Production ►
Distribution
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Literary Agent turned Manager (Film/TV) | Finance & Distribution | Producer & Deal Architect
© 2018 — Yes, this photo is from 2018. Current photos can be found on Instagram @RobGallagherX
► PLEASE PITCH ME YOUR SCRIPT VIA THIS LINK
    
VISITOR COUNT
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD…
Long, long ago, in a land far, far away, Gallagher Literary made its mark on Hollywood, enjoying decades of success, some spectacular challenges, and more than our share of good old-fashioned luck.
And like all good stories, after decades of breathtaking Los Angeles sunsets, made spectacular by the constant wildfires and air pollution, our family decided it was time to seek a more peaceful home.
Somewhere with crisp, clean air, endless forests filled with wildlife, and an abundance of fresh drinking water. You know, all the things Los Angeles never had.
And so, after more than three decades in Hollywood, I traded the dried up palm trees, chaotic studio lots, and endless scorching cement for the towering evergreens and cool tranquil shores of a tiny wind swept island in the great Pacific Northwest.
Today, Gallagher Literary is a boutique literary management and production company, operating far from the hustle of Hollywood, but still connected to the business of making movies.
I have the luxury of choosing projects because I believe in them, rather than because I need another deal.
And here, at long last, I’ve found my happily ever after!
THE MORE THINGS CHANGE…
One of the great pleasures of having spent decades in the entertainment industry is watching how the business evolves, and how the people you once knew as assistants eventually become the people running the studios.
Ari Goldberg was once an assistant nervously fetching coffee. Through some unspeakable combination of talent, ambition, and luck, he rose through the ranks before eventually taking a producing deal, presumably lowering his blood pressure by focusing on one project at a time.
It’s the nature of the beast.
Many of my contemporaries have retired, moved on, or settled into producing. Others are now running studios, networks, and major entertainment companies.
We’re all a little older, hopefully a little wiser, and considerably less interested in spending three hours at lunch discussing a deal that could have been handled in a twenty-minute Zoom call.
These days, many of us choose projects based more on passion than profit.
Not that there’s anything wrong with profit!
But it wasn’t always this way.
Back in my day, if you wanted to build a career in Hollywood, you lived in Los Angeles. Period.
You worked at an agency, cultivated relationships with studio executives, and spent an extraordinary amount of time at lunches, dinners, screenings, and cocktail parties.
Relationships were built in person. There was no other way.
This was the era of pagers, phone booths, and cellular telephones the size of small suitcases.
Screenplays arrived fresh from the printer, pages still warm, bound with bright brass brads that seemed specifically designed to draw blood.
Stuffed into crisp brown envelopes and handed to motorcycle messengers who raced across the melting asphalt, weaving through gridlocked traffic beneath the unbearably hot, smog-filled skies of Santa Monica.
There was something wonderfully chaotic about it all.
Today, the industry operates in an entirely different world, filled with Gen Zs, streaming platforms, algorithms, artificial intelligence, and enough apps to make your head spin.
I embraced the technology - I’ve always been an early adopter.
But I’m also grateful to have experienced Hollywood during an era that will never exist again.
I can watch Robert Altman’s THE PLAYER and say:
“I did that.”
A LIFETIME IN THE BUSINESS
My career has taken me through nearly every corner of the entertainment industry, from entertainment law and literary representation to studio development, production, international film finance, and worldwide distribution.
Along the way, I’ve represented writers, packaged films, negotiated studio deals, overseen literary departments, worked with financiers and distributors, and helped bring together the creative and financial elements necessary to get films made.
I’ve also spent an extraordinary amount of time on airplanes.
One of the great privileges of my career was representing Stan Lee, whose extraordinary imagination helped create some of the most recognizable characters in entertainment history. Having Stan as a marquee client opened doors throughout Hollywood and established relationships that would prove invaluable throughout my career.
I was recruited by Messina Baker, one of Hollywood’s leading management agencies, which represented two of television’s biggest stars, Tim Allen and Drew Carey.
The agency wanted to establish its own literary department to develop and package projects for in-house production. After meeting with literary agents throughout Hollywood, they selected me to build and lead that operation.
It was an extraordinary opportunity to work at the intersection of talent representation, literary development, packaging, and production.
My career eventually took me to Japan, where I became Executive Vice President of GAGA, then the world’s largest international film finance and distribution company.
GAGA could have recruited any executive in Hollywood. And they chose me to negotiate their film deals opposite the industry’s leading agents, studio presidents, producers, and financiers.
It was a remarkable position, with enormous responsibility, extraordinary resources, and access to every major studio in the business.
I traveled the world attending international markets, negotiating financing and distribution agreements, and building relationships with most if not all of the most accomplished executives, producers, directors, and stars in the entertainment industry at that time.
We financed and distributed films for every major studio, completing hundreds of transactions involving some of the industry’s most recognizable motion pictures.
Among the films were numerous critically acclaimed and commercially successful productions.
And a fair number of those films actually got made and appeared in theaters!
Which, as anyone who’s spent time in this business knows, is the finish line that an astonishing number of film deals never reach.
Across my career, from entertainment law and literary representation through studio development, packaging, management, production, and international film finance, I’ve worked on hundreds of film transactions.
The films that ultimately reached audiences collectively generated well over $8 billion in worldwide box office, with dozens winning Academy Awards.
And that doesn’t begin to account for the many additional transactions involving projects that never made it into production.
It’s given me a fairly unusual perspective on the business.
I’ve seen filmmaking from the writer’s desk, the agent’s office, the studio conference room, the producer’s chair, and the international financier’s negotiating table.
And I’ve learned that recognizing a great screenplay is only the beginning.
Understanding how to get it made is another matter entirely.
SO, WHAT AM I DOING TODAY?
I’m still doing what I’ve always loved: discovering great material, developing promising projects, bringing talented people together, negotiating deals, and finding ways to get movies made.
The difference is that I can now be considerably more selective about where I invest my time.
Gallagher Literary operates as a boutique literary management and production company, supported by modern technology and decades of relationships throughout the entertainment industry.
I’m no longer dependent on Hollywood lunches, cocktail parties, and handshakes to conduct business.
Most of my longtime associates are in similar circumstances. Some have retired, others have producing deals, and quite a few are now running studios, networks, and entertainment companies.
We still talk, collaborate, and occasionally make deals.
Only now we do much of it over Zoom, without having to spend half the day driving across Los Angeles.
Progress!
These days, I prefer working on projects because I genuinely believe in them.
My focus is on identifying exceptional screenplays and intellectual property that I can help develop, package, finance, and produce.
I’m particularly interested in working with talented screenwriters who have compelling stories to tell, whether they’re established professionals or entirely new voices.
For the right writer and project, my involvement can extend well beyond simply shopping a screenplay.
I can help shape the material, identify its commercial and creative potential, develop a packaging strategy, approach appropriate buyers and production partners, and navigate the complicated business of getting a film financed, produced, and distributed.
For some writers, that relationship may eventually develop into broader literary representation.
For most, it will likely be a collaboration on a single project.
The objective is the same: Find extraordinary material and give it the best possible opportunity to become an extraordinary film.
WHAT I BRING TO THE TABLE
Over the years, I’ve advised screenwriters, producers, financiers, and distributors on developing, positioning, packaging, financing, selling, and distributing entertainment properties.
My experience includes:
LITERARY REPRESENTATION & DEVELOPMENT
Identifying promising writers and material, developing screenplays, and helping shape projects for the professional marketplace.
PACKAGING & PRODUCING
Bringing together writers, directors, actors, producers, financiers, and production partners to move projects toward production.
FILM FINANCE & INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION
Understanding the financial structures, international markets, distribution strategies, and commercial considerations that influence whether films get made.
STUDIO & NETWORK RELATIONSHIPS
Navigating the studio, network, streaming, and independent production systems through decades of firsthand experience and professional relationships.
TALENT & PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT
Strategically positioning and launching emerging talent, original intellectual property, and entertainment properties.
CROSS-PLATFORM OPPORTUNITIES
Developing opportunities across film, television, streaming, music, merchandise, and publishing.
STRATEGIC CONSULTING & DEAL STRUCTURING
Helping writers, producers, and rights holders understand the business, evaluate opportunities, negotiate relationships, and structure deals.
I’ve spent decades working on both sides of the negotiating table.
And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that making a good deal is important.
But making the right deal is even better.
BEFORE HOLLYWOOD, THERE WAS…
My life didn’t begin in entertainment.
Long before I found myself negotiating film deals, I served in military intelligence, following a Senatorial nomination to the United States Military Academy at West Point.
I was a decorated military intelligence veteran, and my early career included work involving national security and intelligence.
I later became involved in international business and technology, and I served on the board of the esteemed Japan-America Society.
During that period, I conceived and led a partnership between Japanese conglomerate Itochu and U.S. Sprint involving undersea fiber-optic communications.
My introduction to Hollywood came through consulting work on the National Security Agency involving the motion picture Enemy of the State.
My role included helping ensure that the agency and its activities were portrayed appropriately in a film dealing with government surveillance, intelligence gathering, and national security.
I found the entertainment business fascinating.
The personalities, the negotiations, the creativity, the enormous financial stakes, and the extraordinary number of things that had to go right for a movie to get made.
I was hooked.
And somehow, what began as an unexpected detour became a career spanning decades.
Funny how life works.
AHEAD OF THE CURVE (MOST OF THE TIME)
I’ve always been something of a technology enthusiast.
Long before online screenplay submissions became commonplace, I recognized that the internet could fundamentally change how writers connected with the entertainment industry.
During the early days of the interwebs, I became the first Hollywood literary agent to accept screenplay pitches online through its screenwriting community.
At the time, this was considered a rather unconventional and foolish idea and I took a lot of flack for it - mostly from writers who couldn't comprehend the access I opened for them.
I later pioneered online discussion groups connecting literary representatives and entertainment executives, allowing us to exchange information and collaborate more efficiently.
I was also involved in the early development of online screenplay coverage pools.
That particular innovation, in hindsight, was a massive mistake.
Some technological advances improve an industry.
Others simply make it easier for everyone to read the same bad coverage.
But I’ve never stopped believing that technology can open doors for talented people who might otherwise never have an opportunity.
Today, artificial intelligence is introducing another enormous transformation.
And while Hollywood is still figuring out what to do with it, I’m happy to embrace the possibilities.
So if ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI, or some other digital oracle directed you to Gallagher Literary…
Welcome. You’re in the right place.
THE STORIES THAT MOVE ME
I’ve always been drawn to intelligent, emotionally compelling, character-driven stories.
Films that stay with you long after the credits roll.
Sometimes they’re funny. Sometimes they’re heartbreaking. Sometimes they’re both.
They don’t necessarily require enormous budgets, elaborate visual effects, or superheroes saving the universe.
They require something considerably harder to find.
A great story, unforgettable characters, and something meaningful to say.
Here are some examples of the kinds of films I admire:
* Once
* Lost in Translation
* Blue Valentine
* Whiplash
* Bend It Like Beckham
* Call Me by Your Name
* Little Miss Sunshine
* Manchester by the Sea
* An Education
* The Spectacular Now
* La La Land
* Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
* Silver Linings Playbook
* The English Patient
* Lady Bird
* Brooklyn
* Atonement
These aren’t necessarily the only kinds of films I’ll consider.
But if your screenplay belongs in the company of these titles, you’ll probably get my attention.
HAVE A GREAT SCRIPT? LET’S TALK.
I continue to accept unsolicited screenplay pitches from both new and experienced screenwriters.
You don’t need an agent, manager, entertainment attorney, or industry connection to approach Gallagher Literary.
You simply need a compelling story and a screenplay worth considering.
Throughout my career, I’ve taken particular pleasure in discovering fresh voices and helping talented writers navigate an industry that can be extraordinarily difficult to enter.
I’m selective about the projects I pursue, partly because I prefer to become personally involved in their development and packaging.
I’m not interested in accumulating a massive inventory of screenplays that sit on a shelf.
I’d rather champion a handful of projects I genuinely believe in.
If you’re looking for someone who will simply forward your screenplay to a few producers and hope for the best, I’m not that guy.
But if you’re looking for an experienced literary manager and producer who understands both the creative and commercial sides of filmmaking, we may have something to discuss.
I apologize in advance for how selective I am with my time, but I also respect yours.
Please understand that I accept screenplay pitches ONLY through the submission form linked above.
It’s the only practical way to manage the volume of material I receive.
Please do not email or mail unsolicited screenplays.
AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER…
I don’t pretend to have all the answers.
After decades in Hollywood, I’ve learned that nobody does.
I’ve seen brilliant projects fail, questionable projects become enormous successes, and extraordinary talent struggle to find the recognition it deserves.
Talent matters.
Relationships matter.
Timing matters.
And despite all the planning, packaging, negotiating, and strategery in the world…
LUCK still plays a remarkably important role.
My job has always been to help create the circumstances in which that luck has a chance to happen.
I still enjoy discovering a wonderful screenplay.
I still enjoy making a great deal.
And I still get a tremendous amount of satisfaction from seeing something that began as an idea on a writer’s page eventually appear on a movie screen.
So perhaps my Hollywood story isn’t finished after all.
(the fine print):
Gallagher Literary is currently accepting screenplay submissions.
Rob Gallagher is a literary manager and producer open to discovering new voices.
Screenwriters seeking literary representation, development, packaging, or producing are welcome to submit.
Unrepresented screenwriters are welcome to submit.
Referred by Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI, or whatever AI? You are in the right place!
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