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I’m told that laid off William Morris agent Louise Ward will be announcing this morning that she is joining United Talent agency. She is taking with her such clients as Channing Tatum, Julian McMahon, Cobie Smulders, Alex Frost, and others. ”Jim Wiatt thought he could throw her out on her ass and take Channing and Julian from her and not pay her the bonus she was promised after she had an amazing year,” a source told me. “This will come out to be one of the stupidest decisions ever by an agency head, particularly in this economic climate.” For instance, Julian McMahon is about to make a huge new deal with FX’s Nip/Tuck for his final year which WMA can’t commission. Channing Tatum (Step Up, the forthcoming G.I. Joe) is considered one of the hottest leads around and is a first dollar gross player and is available starting in January. Cobie Smulders’ show, How I Met Your Mother, just sold into syndication for $400 million, and she is about to get a big raise. As my source explained, “Wiatt’s timing could not have been stupider. Why would you fire an agent who was so profitable and not expensive and had a huge upside?” One insider tells me that WMA’s John Fogelman even offered Ward a bizarre backchannel deal after the agency realized Channing Tatum was going with her: a guaranteed salary + 1/3 of Channing’s revenues over a certain threshold in perpetuity if she quit the business. Ward had a contract that didn’t end until May. But she was told at the start of October by WMA that she wouldn’t be renewed. Morris insiders tell me they would have helped her find another job and honor her contract by paying her through May “to give her time to land somewhere”. As the Morris insider chastized me, “That was the reason why it was never announced. No one would have known about it had you not written about it.” This is the 2nd Morris agent that UTA has hired this month.
- TOLDJA! WMA’s Theresa Peters To UTA
- What’s Really Happening Inside Morris?
- William Morris Starts Laying Off Agents…
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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I love it!!!
All you clowns talking trash about UTA. What’s up now!!??
Doug Johnson, Louise Ward, Theresa Peters – they just added about 25 or 30 stars and great filmmakers to their roster in a matter of weeks.
In the post Nick, Lisa and Sharon era, the company is proving that it is still every bit the major player that it built itself as over the past decade or so. Great job by UTA’s leadership, and I hope people around town take notice.
Wait a minute.
Let me get this straight.
A major agency lays off an agent that makes money and honestly expected her clients to stay with them, and not move with the agent who did so much for them?
Methinks they’re laying off the wrong folks at WMA.
Jesus, these guys are the keystone cops…Wiatt’s an idiot, but I love that Fogelman is starting to get some attention…he is a world class fraud, who thinks he’s a brilliant strategist, but is actually just an arrogant accountant. Why would any client or agent want to be represented by or work for these guys?
bravo to louise, she’s had julian forever and he’s the best. the big guys will survive, it’s the little guys who will suffer, they always do. then they become the big guys to go on to abuse. it’s a cycle that perpetuates itself, isn’t it!
Why doesn’t WMA make the most obvious of all cost cutting decisions and just fire Wiatt?
As I mentioned on one of the previous posts…It would be a cold day in hell before Channing would leave Louise. BIG mistake WMA. Karma is a bitch and G.I. Joe now calls UTA home.
Wiatt is the dumbest person in hollywood. UTA is back in a major way.
Louise Ward is one of the nicest, most professional and hard working people in this business and it makes me happy to hear some good news come out of this town!!
It (almost) makes me want to be an actor instead of a writer so she could be my agent. UTA just won the lottery…
So much for the value of “GroupThink” at WMA.
Time for the foplks at WMA to look at the calendar and realize it’s 2008.
They are bleeding out like a hemopheliac in a pricker bush.
I just heard that UTA had an amazing retreat where they celebrated the departure of their former hated partners. It just shows you the value of getting rid of cancerous individuals. Nick, Lisa, and Sharron were despised and now they can cause an implusion at Endeavor. Lisa Hallerman is a joke with no clients making a $1,000,000/year. Nick Stevens had never shown up to Endeavor. That seems amazing for their culture.
UTA, on the other hand, is on a major roll. Every single person they have hired is a quality, decent, and great agent. I have a feeling you are going to see more people like Louise and Theresa join their shop. They have the best female agents in the biz – bar none.
As for WMA, let them and ICM die a slow death with their disabled and retarted leaders. I think you are going to continue to see the exodus of clients and agents from those agencies.
KARMA KARMA KARMA
Yay! Louis is one of the best people I’ve ever met in this Biz and it’s proven by how her clients stuck with her. WMA should be ASHAMED of itself for treating her this way. U people are numbnuts when it comes to keeping your own talent in the ranks. UTA continues on with a great addition.
Channing is a commanding screen presence but he needs serious media training if he wants to be a bigger star. His interviews are always disastrous, he always comes off so vacant.
Agreed, Louise is a class act and Lisa Hallerman is one of the most unpleasant agents in the biz. And that’s saying a lot.
WMA is the worst run “agency” around. From Wiatt, Wirtschafter and Weintraub to Fogelman, Smoller and Morgerman, the management represents a total and comprehensive lack of strategy and vision. Further, as was mentioned in your column several weeks ago, if WMA was a public company, they would be scrutinized and found to be corrupt. While the TV division (run by Itkin) is great, the rest of the place is a joke. Shanghai, Consulting, Talent, Sports should be looked at both fiscally and strategically. They bleed money and don’t deliver on promises. I feel so sorry for Norman to be witnessing this during his lifetime. Nikki – speak with former agents. The truth needs to be revealed. How can it be that they arbitraly – and without permission – withhold money from every agents paycheck (to invest it and make incremental revenue) and then deduct the invidual agents expenses at the end of the year. Weintraub is the worst of the pack. Karma is a bitch. CAA, Endeavor, UTA, ICM and all those that he’s screwed over will be thrilled when their is a coup and WMA is restored to the once powerful agency that it was (and should be).
MAJOR PROPS TO UTA!! They are going to be the come back kids. It’s actually a very decent group over there and no I do not work at UTA. However, I do a lot of business with them and they are kicking ass.
I have seen it before, and I’m sure I’ll see it again; today. UTA blogging about UTA. Pretty transparent. I’m sure, like those before them, our ex-partners are laughing all the way to the bank. I was at the retreat, and like so many others, it was full of false hope and empty promises. No answers to the changes in th, with TP and Louise, but there is a long way to go before anyone makes any money around here.
I spent many years as an assistant and then agent at WMA. Wiatt, Wirtschafter and Weintraub have destroyed the place. It is a joke. Run by incompetant and selfish individuals who are only out for their own betterment. For a company with such rich history, it is sad to know that it is being run into the ground.
Fogelman – smart move. Do you bosses (and the board) know that you went behind their back and offered Louise a back door deal? This sounds very illegal if not immoral. Louise – smart move and congrats. You will be much, much, much better off in the long run. WMA – another stupid move.
Louise is like Julie Roberts in “Pretty Women” and WMA is that nasty shop girl that kicked her out of the boutique. WMA didn’t know what they had when they had it. I hear Louise is an exceptional agent, and I wish her the best!
Nikki,
How about getting a comment from the labor commissioner?
I bet the labor commission would be very interested to know about WMA splitting fees w/ non agents in order to keep clients at the agency.
Naughty naughty.
Getmeout? something tells me you don’t work at UTA. Something tells me English might not even be your first language. Your posting is completely contradictive. If you do work there (which Im guessing you don’t) you should be fired and escorted from the building.
WMA – how typical! Just shows the lack of vision from management. Another dumb move.
Yes, all those UTA bloggers on here. Give me a break. Endeavor and UTA are the only two good agencies around. UTA is not blogging about UTA.
So many haters out there.
I’ve worked with Louise on several projects and have to say she is one of the most sincere, hands-on, smart and (oh my!) happy agents I’ve had the pleasure of working with. WMA made a huge error in judgement here – Nice does not equal Weak.
If Louise treats her clients with the same degree of respect, integrity and class that she treats development execs and producers around town with, why would any of her clients ever choose the agency over the agent…?
Way to go, Louise!
huh?, don’t you mean contradictory? I suppose “contradictive” is technically a word but if you’re calling someone’s English into question…
Also, since when is Channing Tatum a first dollar gross player. Come on.