It was about this time last year when a veterinarian client of Gregory Steinbis, an enrolled agent and CPA in Morgan Hill, Calif.

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Ms. Kessler flew to Los Angeles this month and told producers how a star would find someone like herself (likely through an agent or record company) and what the client should do (stage a charity event, sign a new makeup contract, come out with a new album, or anything to change the message).

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Agent Eric Metz said Wednesday his client is "very excited about joining Carolina" and feels it's a "great fit" after spending the last two days visiting with coach Ron Rivera and offensive coordinator Mike Shula.

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They also include Matthew McConaughey, who in the small role of a talent agent obsessed with providing TiVo to his client, all but walks off with the picture, and an uncredited, wholly unrecognizable Tom Cruise, playing a large, bald, obscenity-spewing studio head who in the privacy of his very large office shows himself to be lord of the funk.

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