Comments (15)

• Is this a straight severance payment, or does it include some sort of “non-compete” fee to keep him from starting up a new agency with their clients?

  Comment by Furious D — Friday May 29, 2009 @ 12:01pm PST  Reply to this post

• so basically aaron kaplan gets a better deal and saves face. Poor Jim. And I say that detesting the man. But this is Shakespearan in theme and scope. He was played on a playground in front of all his friends and enemies. And no one cares. Poor Jim.

  Comment by marc — Friday May 29, 2009 @ 12:02pm PST  Reply to this post

• Does he get to keep his private plane (Sentinet? How about the Evil Irv Weintraub (mini-me)? What happened with all the money from the sale of the buildings? Jim, Irv and Dave really screwed up William Morris. If it were a public company, shareholders would have called for an investigation…..

  Comment by Anonymous — Friday May 29, 2009 @ 12:18pm PST  Reply to this post

• not the smoothest exit we’ve seen.

  Comment by mystified — Friday May 29, 2009 @ 12:28pm PST  Reply to this post

• I, too, am willing to not work for WME for $16M… Call me, Ari.

  Comment by Buddy Ackerman — Friday May 29, 2009 @ 12:42pm PST  Reply to this post

• Arnold Rifkin isn’t looking so bad right about now, is he? Anyone remember how slimey the WMA brass was when they ousted Rifkin? Despicable. What goes around comes around.

  Comment by Nostalgic — Friday May 29, 2009 @ 1:43pm PST  Reply to this post

• LOL – LOL – LOL…!! It’s basically some fully taxable “go away” money to ease him in to retirement. As a former ICM trainee turned agent, I’ve been waiting 15 years to watch this. Keep it coming – I’m enjoying every minute of it.

  Comment by agent x — Friday May 29, 2009 @ 1:57pm PST  Reply to this post

• 16mm over five years? That’s pathetic. There are at least 5 WMA TV agents who could make far more than that if they got some balls and walked with their clients….

  Comment by crazy bs — Friday May 29, 2009 @ 2:08pm PST  Reply to this post

• “Is this a straight severance payment, or does it include some sort of “non-compete” fee to keep him from starting up a new agency with their clients?”

  Hey Big D,
  These deals always include the non compete.
  It’s the only thing WME is paying for.
  By taking the money it shows how much Wiatt doesn’t care about deal making anymore.
  Stay Furious!

  Comment by ReelBusy — Friday May 29, 2009 @ 4:52pm PST  Reply to this post

• And all Jim Wiatt had to do for it was burn the William Morris Agency to the ground. Good job, old man.

  Comment by William Morris Place — Friday May 29, 2009 @ 5:53pm PST  Reply to this post

• For 16 mil, not even in a golden parachute but spread over 5 years—you sell out the oldest and once classiest agency…and worse yet, you give the keys to the kingdom to the biggest bunch of egomaniancs and scumbags since the Ovitz gang….Jim, the book they write on this deal is gonna make you like the pathethic clown you are…

  Comment by writer — Friday May 29, 2009 @ 10:43pm PST  Reply to this post

• Oh Jimmy you got exactly what you want, some money. What you lost is any standing you had in the entertainment world. You have officially lost
  your place in line! Jeffrey will still talk to you but you are not a playa!! I guess you can sell all your Laker floor seats to Harris and pocket the cash. Jimmy the IRS does not like that. Jim you keep telling to all who will listen that you got what you want and you are retired. What you did is hurt many people who loved working at WMA and made the worst deal in Hollywood since AOL merged with Time Warner. Jim did you really think you made a good deal. Eddie Murphy run to UTA or CAA. Jim your legacy is that of a strange man with little talent and someone that brought down a once great company. Jim, good luck in retirement but remember, Ari and Patrick took you down real fast..

  Comment by jimmyz — Saturday May 30, 2009 @ 5:46am PST  Reply to this post

• it just boggles the mind to think how fast Ari took Jim down. It must be like a bad dream that repeats in Jim’s head over and over again.

  And about Arnold Rifkin, no he doesn’t look any better. That guy defines the word creep…..

  Comment by Anonymous — Saturday May 30, 2009 @ 11:38am PST  Reply to this post

• Where are they gonna take the money from? AMPTP wants residuals out.

  Comment by No Residuals — Sunday May 31, 2009 @ 3:10am PST  Reply to this post

• so jimmy ends up with 16 million over the 5 years they pay out the stock value………hope all the other current shareholders are getting the same exact amount per share as jimmy is getting for his THEY HAVE TO DON’T THEY???
  hear is the deal…..jimmy comes over to WMA having watched jeff berg stratigically put him self in a position to sell his company more than once and reap the financial benifits, but jw is not as smart as jeff and does the same thing (HE WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PROFIT LIKE THIS AT ICM SO HE LEAVES) but looses his job in the process and has to be embarassed in the press, WHICH HE HATES BUT AT LEAST HAS THE MONEY…..when he gets to WMA he realizes he can never compete with CAA or Endeavor in the MP world and that he better figure out how to get control of the tv side which was the best and most profitable division of the company, so he systematically starts getting rid of shareholders, makes sam haskell’s life miserable to the point of paying sam and two others to leave and then takes control of company, knowing that soon he can sell the real estate and profit …….. the real estate that was the product of alot of peoples hard work and YEARS of service, the real estate that started with one man, giving back to the company he loved, giving a building to the company so that future generations could be secure in knowing the company was solvent, not for someone who was there for 8 years to sell and profit from………..great and corruption in corporate america at its best but not in the nations eye………jimmy, you got the money you wanted now just go away you sad little man but take irv with you……and walt, you certainly screwed this one up my little friend…….hope you all are happy now
  and walt, you sc

  Comment by steve g — Monday June 1, 2009 @ 10:25am PST  Reply to this post