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2ND UPDATE: I’ve confirmed the names of 3 so far in the talent department and in motion picture lit — Holly Baril, Louise Ward, Brian Stern (NY). There will be more. This was discussed at a staff meeting, but all the names haven’t been released inside Morris yet. (See, none are on the moneymaking music side.)
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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had dinner with Craig last night. he paid and he’s safe.
they are (and anybody would be) lucky to have him.
Man, what is up with these agencies? I think FEAR is the big driver here. But agencies have to be nimble – we live in a time where there are no guarantees anymore. If WMA can make $ with music, so be it. But don’t be shocked WMA if you start losing actors with that kind of thinking. Like ICM and it’s lit heavy posture, actors seemed secondary there.
Remember you read this here first:
The media conglomerates have been invested in a five year plan to get rid of the unions and force the Hollywood economy back to the Stone Age. But what many do not know is that part of the plan is a scheme to eradicate the talent agency business as well.
While very quiet, the congloms have figured out a way to stop the strong-arming, package fees and general b.s. They think this will weaken the workforce and allow easier domination of the market.
It’s sketchy but like all new innovation, it involves technology,information sharing and open access to buyers.
Of course no one will believe this until it happens.
I thought Brian Stern was an assistant, no?
Holly Baril was a great agent for Wm. Morris. In the world of TV casting, you can’t find a better covering agent for pilots. That’s a real loss to the casting community.
Word on the street is that they are going to be hearing “Seacrest Out” soon.
I think there are some telling facts that speak more to the state of WMA than the crazy personalities, lack of leadership, greediness, etc.
1) Has any other agency besides ICM lost as many agents over the past ten years, including many top agents, like Steve Dontanville, Hylda Queally, Todd Feldman, Michelle Bohan, Sam haskell, Richard Rosenberg, Greg Lipstone, etc.? In turn, look at all the clients they lost. And does anyone who has left speak fondly of the place?
2) If any industrious reporter cared to do the legwork, you would note that most of the announcements coming out of their corporate consulting department and indie film department have either amounted to nothing or have been bullshit from the beginning.
3) Why is WMA never in the running to sign top talent? Fundamental issue.
4) WMA always seems to be a press annoucnment in search of reality…remember how Michelle Wie was going to change the face of sports or how all the funds Cassian Elwes set up would revolutionize indie film, or how the corporate consulting offereed unique ways for companies to “swim up stream”…like salmon, the companies’ usually got what they deserved…
WMA’s talent division should take a hit. They suck.
Wiatt has been having very, very confidential (so confidential in fact that Wirtschafter and The Board don’t know) conversations about bringing back his BFF – Ben Silverman.
How could anyone forget the Wirtshafter interview. He moved to the music department after he destroyed the motion picture department. Speaking about his clients deals… calling Alicia Keyes his favorite client (scored big points with Halle Berry).
A lot of the agents over there were nice people but were not doing a great job because a lot of them had been taught poorly by the bosses. There is no leadership. The great agents all left for Endeavor or CAA because of the lack of leadership.
Actors make movies happen. Writers and Directors follow the actors because they need them to green light their films. If you are a director and need a star to get your film going… WMA has very few that get films green lit. The biggest problem is that the heads of WMA are in denial over this. They think it is not about the stars and it is only about the music and office buildings.
Poor Louise Ward. They got her to leave Innovative when she was 7 months pregnant (not even a year ago) and then stole her client Channing Tatum and got rid of her. The department heads are truly lost and need to realize that it all starts at the top!
I’m sure he likes to think of himself as an agent, Dell.
I laughed out loud when I saw Gaby’s name in the comments (props to Lisa, dave and R. Stein). In my personal opinion, her position explains a lot about WM’s troubles. I knew her back when she was very attractive and very lazy. Even as a junior agent – in an agency full of hard working kids – she was famous for ‘not reading.’ Producers and Directors would go into meetings with questions about their scripts, knowing she’d hadn’t done her homework. Gaby’s inane responses became running jokes during production…
I’m not saying she’s a bad person. In my opinion, she’s just well-connected and lazy, not a great choice for leadership.
What is the real story between Stern Bohan and Wiatt? Was she fired or did she quit? I hear Wiatt caught her in a lie about other offers during renegotiation and booted her ass out.
lets look at the facts people –
5 years ago, Jim Wiatt, Dave Wirtschafter and Irv Weintraub along with the board of WMA made a game changing decision – to remove their Non-Agents (and those who pretended to be Agents) from the decision making and from deciding the future of the Agency. Since then, the Agency has been on a roll.
All of these entries are obviously written by former WMA Agents who have all been asked to leave the Agency for their lack of contribution and are still upset about it.
WMA is doing amazing – Look at their media business – Film, Music, Talent, TV, Corporate, Books, International Penetration, Comic Books, Theatre, Digital, Sports Marketing……
Look at the facts………
These are the facts? WMA spinmeisters can do better than that. Why didn’t they just sign it?
The facts? Obviously written by a company insider (PR Department)????
That’s funny about Stern Bohan. I heard she was in rehab for lying. The waspy husband was going to divorce her. What’s the story with her pal Dontanville? Did he implode or what? Lot of former assistants celebrating that downfall, and a few ex clients too. Sela Ward fired him, Meg fired him, Courtney Love fired him, Anne Hesche fired himI think Patrick Stewart fired him. He was known at WMA for screaming at his assistants and being rude to fellow employees. Made Randie Michelle cry. What happened to him? He was Wiatt’s boy.
On a roll? They have next to no major A-list film actors. Stallone? Eddie Murphy? Travolta? Old news. And their recent big gets are people like Jennifer Hudson and Scarlett Johanssen and Eric Bana. Yeah, they rake in the big bucks. Boy, that’s “amazing.”
International Penetration? What is that, foreign porn?
I had dinner with Jim Wiatt last night and I can confirm he is still working at William Morris.
These are all probably being written by Sam Haskell.
That guy really sucked and was the biggest bottom feeder in the history of the business.
If indeed it is true that five years ago, Dave, Jim and Irv made the decision to rid the board of non-agents, then Sam Haskell, Richard Rosenberg and Steve Kram would have still been in place (given that it would have been 2003). They were ousted in Dec. ’04. Someone (the PR Department) should get their facts straight. The company has a dearth of talent (both inside the walls of One William Morris Place) and on their client roster. Whoever made the comment about Weintraub should be commended. Karma is a bitch and his will come in due time.
Leaders should inspire, engage, and motivate.
I have worked with the leadership of WMA for 10 years, and although some are nice, others are not as effective, like John Fogelman. As was mentioned above, how do you lose such good agents like Feldman, Bohan, Dontanville, and Queally, to name a few…all who represented quality actors?
If the company really wanted to be effective, they should replace John Fogelman, who has the talent list of a junior agent at Innovative, excluding JJ Abrams, who I heard Fogelman forcefully took from David Lonner. Leaders lead by example and Fogelman is all ego and bark. Then again, you can’t fault an accountant for wanting to play agent. The problem is that the Agency suffers.
On the independent division, remove Rena Ronson. I, along with countless colleagues from various production entities, have given her countless scripts to read that she’s solicited and promised to help get financed. I have never met a lazier individual in my life. She doesn’t read scripts, she’s never in her office, and she doesn’t answer or return calls (and from what i hear from WMA agents, she really slow to even return their calls!) My guess is if you segment worker productivity between her and the other co-head, her partner is the real engine and her Return on Equity (ROE) would be very low. Her only saving grace is that she can hide behind the work of the department and Mr. Elwes in order to show value.
What is with the WMA curse? I was there in the Rifkin days when we all had to endure those endless Tony Robbins inspired staff meetings. Believing that I might one day be required to don a track suit and drink suspicious Kool-Aid, I high-tailed it out of there, just before WMA effectively traded John Burnham for half of ICM. For awhile, things were really on a roll with Wiatt in charge, but now nearly a decade later the place is once again a mess. Anyone with any integrity has fled or been tossed out on their ass. Yet the non-existent abilities of someone as useless as Gaby are rewarded – Gaby must have some seriously compromising photos of Irv to have hung onto her job this long.
One more post defending Craig Kestel’s character… known him for several years and he’s never asked me for a thing, even when I was in a position to share extremely high level information… not so much as a copy of a script. He’s only ever been a decent, genuine person who extolled the virtues of his clients and pleasingly normal outside of the office.
My wife agrees even though she hasn’t been a WMA client for several years…
lets look at the facts people -
5 years ago, Jim Wiatt, Dave Wirtschafter and Irv Weintraub along with the board of WMA made a game changing decision – to remove their Non-Agents (and those who pretended to be Agents) from the decision making and from deciding the future of the Agency. Since then, the Agency has been on a roll. UH, THE DECISION WAS ALONG THE LINES OF SOPHIE’S CHOICE, THE GUYS WHO LEFT DID SO ON THEIR OWN, OPTING OUT OF THE CONSTANT FIGHTS WITH W&W. IT WAS EITHER THEM OF W&W, SO THE OTHER THREE TOOK THE MONEY AND RAN. HAD IT GONE THE OTEHR WAY, A LIKELY OUTCOME, W&W WOULD BE GONE…WEINTRAUB JUST SAW WHERE HIS LOAF OF BREAD WAS BUTTERED AND SOLD OUT HIS GOOD FRIENDS TO STAY AND PRETEND HE WAS A PLAYA’
All of these entries are obviously written by former WMA Agents who have all been asked to leave the Agency for their lack of contribution and are still upset about it. OR CHOSE TO LEAVE BECAUSE OF THE INSANITY, BAD LEADERSHIP AND MISMANAGEMENT…OR THEY HAVE FRIENDS OR FAMILY MEMBERS WHO WORK IN THAT SOUL SUCK.
WMA is doing amazing – Look at their media business – Film, Music, Talent, TV, Corporate, Books, International Penetration, Comic Books, Theatre, Digital, Sports Marketing……FILM TALENT IS SECOND TIER; MUSIC IS DOMINANT; TV HAS BEEN ON A STEADY DECLINE, JUST LOOK AT THEIR PACKAGES; CORPORATE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A SHINY MONEY LOSER THAT ENABLES WIATT TO PRETEND HE’S A TITAN OF INDUSTRY; BOOKS IS GOOD BUT NOT THE SAME SINCE JONIE EVANS AND SOME OF THE OTHER TOP AGENTS WERE FORCED OUT; HAVE NO IDEA WHAT INTERNATIONAL PENETRATION MEANS (THAT BOONDOGGLE IN MIAMI THAT HAS AMOUNTED ONLY TO DINNERS WITH MODELS AND CUBAN CIGARS?) THAT ONE PERSON DYNAMO OF A CHINA OFFICE? THE LONDON OFFICE, WHOSE TOP TWO PEOPLE HAVE LEFT OVER THE PAST YEAR? COMIC BOOKS???? SURE, THEY INVENTED THEM, I GUESS. THEATER, YEAH THAT’S BEEN A BIG MONEYMAKER SINCE GEORGE LANE LEFT; DIGITAL???? OOOKK; SPORTS MARKETING? LIKE ANDY RODDICK? MICHELLE WIE? OR JUST HANGING OUT WITH ATHLETES AROUND THE WORLD?
Look at the facts………I JUST DID.