TOLDJA! WMA’s Theresa Peters To UTA

COMMENTS (39)

• Poor Theresa. What is she thinking? How do you go from one unstable agency to another that is in even worse shape. Jacobs does not let anyone speak in the talent meetings and the only clients discussed are hers so good look to Kirsten Dunst and James Macavoy. They went from being big fish to dead fish in this pond. As for the rest of the board it seems that Berkus has lost all control to Zimmer who uses the agency as a personal ATM withdrawing cash and never depositing. Does anyone else notice that guy has not had a client since the mid-90′s? The TV department is shattered since the exit of Sue Naegle. Half of those agents will be out the door by the end of the year. What kind of an environment is that to try to integrate clients who need big help.

  Comment by Michael R. — Sunday October 12, 2008 @ 9:59am PDT  Reply to this post

• uta writing about uta is funny to read. they have fallen far in tv. they have fallen far in comedy. they were never strong in drama or with directors that mean anything. no one will ever sign with zimmer. that has been proven. their agents are calling anyone to get a chance to leave, and of course they are trying to sell, they are always trying to sell. how is 60 frames doing? how is their marketing company doing in ny? the witches dont seem to be upsetting endeavor’s success.

  Comment by obvious — Sunday October 12, 2008 @ 10:02am PDT  Reply to this post

• What does Tim Robbins getting his star have to do with the price of sausage? Makes no sense. Go back to point – and that is, WMA has terrible leadership. I myself cannot stand Aaron Kaplan. I’ve only dealt with him peripherally, and even then I found him living up to every sterortype of an agent I’ve ever seen.

  Someone should run an agent school, and bad agents should be required to go there. Work out their anger, jealosy, and their star envy.

  WMA board – dump Kaplan!

  Comment by Baywolf — Sunday October 12, 2008 @ 10:54am PDT  Reply to this post

• Endeavor is going through what UTA had in the mid 90′s. Wait a beat and see how it plays out. UTA has found its stride and will continue to build here on. As far as the UTA assistant posting. I highly doubt you actually work there, but if you do, you truly deserve a good sound beating for being such a pussy.

  Comment by Please — Sunday October 12, 2008 @ 1:13pm PDT  Reply to this post

• PLEASE, WHAT DID UTA HAVE EXACTLY IN THE MID 90′S THAT YOU ARE REFERRING TO? THE AGENCY BUSINESS COULDNT BE MORE DIFFERENT NOW. ENDEAVOR HAS DIVERSIFIED SUCCESSFULLY. I DONT SEE ANOTHER AGENCY WHO HAS. CERTAINLY UTA IS TRAPPED WITH A DYING TRADITIONAL COMMISSION BUSINESS. GOOD OR BAD, IT AIN’T THE 90′S ANYMORE DOROTHY

  Comment by confused — Sunday October 12, 2008 @ 3:27pm PDT  Reply to this post

• What does this mean for Julien Thuan, Jeremy Barber, Rob Kim, Darren Statt, Billy Lazarus, Shani Rosenzweig, Keya Khayatian, Tobin Babst, Jason Burns, Ruthanne Secunda and Shana Eddy. Haven’t they all been told that there would be no new partners made at UTA? Are those the agents that inside guy is referring to in his post? That’s an awful lot of agents to leapfrog over. I wonder how welcoming they will be to Theresa when she starts tomorrow. Sounds like that staff meeting will be a mine field of disgruntled agents.

  Comment by palinrocks — Sunday October 12, 2008 @ 3:38pm PDT  Reply to this post

• Hey Baywolf (good spelling by the way)-

  If you only know Aaron Kaplan peripherally (as you state), on what basis would you demand that the WMA board “dump him”?

  Did he fire you for being a bad agent and you’re still pissed off and unemployed?

  Have you realized that it was’nt him – that it was in fact…..you?

  Reality sucks, don’t it?

  Comment by response to baywolf — Sunday October 12, 2008 @ 8:34pm PDT  Reply to this post

• UTA is in remarkable shape. Talk to the clients. These spiteful posts must be planted by folks at other agencies to create fear and instability.

  UTA is unlike any agency in town because they actually serve their clients. You are not brought on to serve their agenda. They serve yours.

  I have been a client there for several years. Both in TV and film they have been incredibly supportive and attentive to my goals as an artist. They are unlike an other agency in town in that way.

  Talk to any clients (which is what they are there to do…serve clients) and you will find a very eclectic, diverse and satisfied bunch or writers, directors and actors.

  Comment by client — Sunday October 12, 2008 @ 9:08pm PDT  Reply to this post

• Having dealt with some agents in this town, I can honestly say that without them movies would be much better. Agents (most of them) are parasites who serve to “package” above all else, in most cases, above art, above quality, above material. It’s a system antithetical to creativity. If a piece of writing is good for so-and-so, who fucking cares who represents him or her? As for UTA, they’re like a rich kid lost in the forest. They still have the revenue from all the comedy they’ve done, but over time they’ll need to find their way out. They’ll need to seek out more fresh blood in order to re-establish their identity among the new pillars (Endeavor, CAA, et al.)

  I just sincerely hope the future is free of them.

  What did Lennon say?

  Imagine there’s no agents
  It’s easy if you try

  Comment by agents are scum — Sunday October 12, 2008 @ 9:21pm PDT  Reply to this post

• could you guys be any more inside…it sounds like everyplace sucks! It’s like Best Buy trashing Circuit City….

  Comment by Outsider — Sunday October 12, 2008 @ 10:25pm PDT  Reply to this post

• Re: Agent/Client relationship: No agent really “wants” to talk to their client unless Will Smith is calling.

  The idea of UTA being an agency that nurtures, or cares about artists above any other agency is a joke. Make no mistake, they are circling the drain.

  Most agents in town watch Piven on Entourage as a template to agenting. The good news is, you’re ALL going to die a horrible, vicious death like Paul Ben-Victor’s character in Sunday nights episode.

  If I was Piven in that scene, I would have kicked Ben-Victor in the face when he was on his knees and on his way down because he was such a douchebag like all of you. That’s closing a deal isn’t it? LOL.

  I don’t know how the Producers missed that beat???

  Until then, watching all you shortsided, self important a-holes cannabilize each other week in, week out is DELICIOUS.

  THANK YOU!

  Comment by Conscientious Obsever — Monday October 13, 2008 @ 9:50pm PDT  Reply to this post

• Is McAvoy really going to UTA now? I know that he and DePersia were the “tight” ones.

  Comment by SeanH — Monday October 20, 2008 @ 9:34pm PDT  Reply to this post

• What is going on with Holly Baril? I think she is great!

  Comment by Lorraine — Tuesday October 28, 2008 @ 8:29am PDT  Reply to this post

• SeanH,

  He and DePersia were not “tight.” Depersia is a service agent and always has been. He is not a signor. He helps on teams and is good at that. Not everyone is a signor.

  Thanks.

  Comment by anhonestAnswer — Wednesday September 2, 2009 @ 5:15pm PDT  Reply to this post