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That’s a big star-in-the-making for William Morris to lose to Endeavor, especially after Ellen Page’s Oscar nomination for Juno, since WMA decided at a retreat a few years ago to focus on building the careers of talent because it was too tough to take stars from other agencies. So here’s the backstory I’m hearing: Hollywood is whispering that Kelly Bush, Ellen’s publicist turned manager of the last few months, moved her. So now a half-dozen talent agencies around town are whining why they didn’t get a meeting. Because there were no meetings. I hear Bush tried hard to keep Page at William Morris, where the publicist also has several clients including Josh Brolin. But this was Ellen’s decision. “She just never made a connection even though Morris has represented her since Hard Candy at Sundance.” But Ellen felt an instant connection with Endeavor’s Patrick Whitesell. “Very much so. It was just organic and not premeditated. She didn’t take meetings around town.”
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I doubt she’s much of a star-in-the-making. I think JUNO will be the high point of her “career”. She always plays the same character (same poses, same voice, same attitude = she can’t really act!) Personally I’m so sick of her and JUNO, I’ll be glad when her fifteen minutes are up.
I would assume WMA will not be referring Kelly Bush too many clients in the near future.
While I agree with randomgeek’s assessment (was Juno any different than her character in X-Men or any other film she’s been in?); this is Hollywood we are talking about. This is the town that lavishes money upon money to hacks like Michael Bay to continue poisoning theaters with his bullshit.
She’ll have a long and prosperous career so long as she continues kissing the right asses.
How much credit can WM really take for Page’s success? As I recall, they didn’t sign her until AFTER “Hard Candy” and it didn’t take a brilliant agent to see her potential in that performance. William Morris can be a great place for an actor, if you aspire to horror movies, TV commercial voice-overs and eventually, your very own sitcom.
I like Ellen Page, but she’s not a “star in the making” if she keeps playing variations of Juno in every movie she’s in. Hopefully Endeavor has some scripts to show her in genres other than “quirky dramedy”.
I’d have to disagree with “randomgeek” about Page being a “one note” performer. As a Canadian and fellow Nova Scotian, I’ve seen her on Canadian TV and movies since she was a kid, basically doing more than the wry-sarcastic “Juno-esque” character most Americans know her for.
But the temptation to typecast is strong in Hollywood because it is the path of least resistance. I figure that Endeavour probably pitched that William Morris would do just that because they’ve been shifting their focus more to music.
Yeah I have to agree that I think Juno is her high point. She can only play specific roles and they are always the same…the joke about Ellen is that she can play Ellen Page really well.
randomgeek has obviously never seen Page’s other movies.
Randomgeek, I guess you havent seen much of her earlier Canadian work. The girl is full of talent, she just needs good material.
Yeah, I think EP has done all she can. WMA is probably relieved.
To randomgeek:
Clearly you have never seen Hard Candy, An American Crime, Mouth to Mouth or The Tracey Fragments – all films where Ellen plays extremely gritty and emotional roles. In actual fact, Juno was the role that was a departure for her…
Geek-
Really? Have ya seen Hard Candy? An American Crime? It’s pretty clear the girl has a ton of talent. I think she’ll have a pretty healthy career.
Both the wife and I worked for talent agencies at one point. It doesn’t matter what you think of the client’s potential. This stuff burns, bad.
It’s hard not to take this kind of career building investment personally. As assistants, there’s little job satisfaction, but hooking a client up with a great gig can sometimes make your $7/hr job seem worthwhile.
I wish her the best of luck, and hope she weighed who got her to that point with where she’s going. This kind of move rarely works out well for those building their career.
… but I bet the “moguls” were behind it!
So sad that the vitriol flows on this topic. She’s in her early twenties, has an Oscar nomination, likes to do Indy Fare, doesn’t go out and get drunk or stoned every night or draw the paps everywhere she goes.
Let the girl develop her craft. She has a lot of years to do it. And has a pretty good base to start from, if you ask me.
And one note wonders? Well, that hasn’t stopped a lot of performers. Many are constantly typecast and only take rare steps away from that casting.
Does that mean Ali was Will Smith’s high point because it was one of the few big box, action/adventure roles he’s taken?
Such harsh and unfounded criticism. So sad.
I agree with SomeAudioGuy, this leaves a bad taste in the mouth of people around town. She will WMA backlash for a while. She should have waited at least three weeks before announcing that she was moving to another agency.
As far as her career is concerned, I agree that she might be “talented” but she is not really that cute. She will probably have a career similar to Haley Joel Osment.
why are you not naming GABBY MORGERMAN? She is not personable and that is who Ellen left. No connection? Who does?
EP is a star in the making?
Please. I HAVE seen her movies and I’m not impressed.
Abigail Breslin. Dakota Fanning. Emma Roberts.
All future stars.
My daughters really like Emma Roberts and the girls on GG and HSM.
They have zero connection to Ellen Page.
An organic bond with an agent of PW’s stature?
She’s apparently as bright as she is talented.
Sarah…
I think people are responding to something more elementary than the grit of those previous movies vs. Juno’s lighter tone. Page is the same. She’s the offbeat quirk girl in all those roles, whether they are gritty or comic. It’s just that she’s in a very specific pigeonhole that won’t translate well to adulthood. Maybe she can change it up, but it’s doubtful…
I find it hard to believe that The Bush had nothing to do with this transition. Wasn’t she Page’s date to the Oscars? Didn’t she convince her to let her be a mgr (getting a percentage of the pie), vs just her company doing PR. Sounds like she is trying to save face with the other agencies to me.
william morris has for years been on the verge of being out of the business, they are totally lame –
Well, geez, what do you want her to play? She’s only 21 years old, its not like she has a lot of choices in the roles that she plays. She can either play a “different” teenager or a “normal” teenager. Good for her for taking the different roles.
And In her upcoming movie Peacock, she plays a twenty four-year-old [I think] mother with a two-year-old son, and the character is a total departure from anything she’s ever done before.
It is of my opinion that a mysterious 14-year-old who tortures a pedophile is a little different than an upbeat 16-year-old who gets pregnant, but hey, I guess that’s just me.
To all who proclaim her Canadian work is swell. Well…We’re not in the land of Maple Leaf. And outside of THREE movies (Juno, X-Men, Hard Candy) the rest I do not recall or even heard of ‘em….No wonder she wants to change agencies!
I’m no fan of the movie Juno, but if you think that Ellen Page is a one-trick pony, repeating variations on a theme, then go rent An American Crime. And get back to me after you do, and if you still think Page plays only one role, then you’ll much more help (like a professional therapist maybe) then I can offer.
Here’s the thing WMA isn’t a place where actors, directors, or writers sign anymore to get movies made. sad, but true. Endeavor is a power broker now, a place where artist can grow and find not only commercial hits, but also find depth as an artist.
Page is young, when you’re young you sure don’t won’t to hang out with dinosaurs–you want to be with people who are still living and breathing and who can things done. And that’s Endeavor, pure and simple.
hank hollyweird,
you’re right that about wma being a dinosaur and totally sucking, but stop the endeavor propaganda — you’re totally lame too.