Hammond On Cannes: Robert Redford’s Brave New Role … 
Hot Trailer: Jennifer Aniston And Jason Sudeikis’ … 
Warner Bros Tells Space Story, From The Bra Designers Who … 
Brad Pitt’s Plan B Banner Promotes Jeremy Kleiner As … 
Hot Trailer: ‘Don Jon’ 
Billy Crystal-Starring Comedy From Matt Nix & Larry … 
UPDATE: Toronto Lands World Premiere Of Godfrey … 
RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Dancing With The Stars’ … 
CBS Reups Tony Awards Through 2018 
HBO, FX Lead Critics’ Choice TV Awards — But … 
Hammond On Cannes: A New Day Comes To The Fest As HBO and … 
Cannes: Lionsgate Acquires U.S. On Guillaume Canet’s … 
Cannes: Radius-TWC Buys Keanu Reeves’ Helming Debut … 
Cannes: Fleming Reflects And Finds Talented Trio A Breath … 
Hot Trailer: ‘Man Of Steel’ 
Former Digital Domain CEO & Auditors Sued For Fraud By … 
Fox Acquires ‘Narc’; Zac Efron Attached To Play … 
ABC’s ‘Nashville’ Undergoes Production … 
CBS Wins Season & Ties Sweep In Demo; ABC Tops Adults … 
Mike Lobell Adds Cast To ‘Eisner,’ Plots … 
Sony Shares Rise On Report That It Will Consider … 
First, Irv Weintraub was supposedly on a vacation. Then he just wasn’t in the office. Now it’s been nearly a month since the controversial ex-William Morris Agency COO has been seen inside the old WMA. Nor has there been any official announcement about his not-joining-the-merger status. The reason everyone at WME Entertainment has been so close-mouthed is because he’s refusing to go away quietly in exchange for money like CEO Jim Wiatt. Instead, Weintraub is telling his former WMA pals that he has hired lawyers. (Not that he doesn’t have a right to be pissed. After all, Wiatt initially gave Weintraub a seat on the 9-person WME board. Then Jim took it away and gave it to Morris music department head Peter Grosslight instead. So when Wiatt was ousted, Weintraub found he had no protector nor place in the newly merged company. But shouldn’t he be pissed at Jim?) Preparing for a legal battle, WME will take a hardline regarding Weintraub’s old WMA employment. I’m told everything Irv did at Morris can now be put under a microscope.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
Loading ...
There isn’t a microscope big enough…
The crap that Weintraud did at WMA (or to WMA) will result in him not getting anything.
He hurt many people (including myself) and this schadenfreude is real and earned.
Irv should be careful. Does he really want all his ‘work’ to go under the microscope? He is the poster-child of greed and poor management.
what a doofus. take your golden parachute, irv!
Ugh. Did this story really need a photo?
The question should be WHAT did Irv do at WMA. He had a pretty cake job.
What is it with some of these 20th Century thinking altercockers? Just sail away into the night Irv. What relevance will U EVER have in the new WME? Pleeez!!!
It’s true…you can’t kill evil.
Also, China reported to Irv. Irv and Smoller were friends. Weintraub approved her ENORMOUS expenses (with no return).
Irv:
You are a horrible human being and deserve exactly what you are getting. Karma is a bitch.
Irv is one handsome dude. Rich too.
just dessert… that isn’t a fat joke
This is a guy who pulled in several million a year and signed how many clients again? Zero, you say? Then he must have earned revenue for the agency in another way? Zero ancillary revenue? And this schmuck now thinks he’s the one who got screwed?
Irv was also tight with John Mass and helped him get a seat on the board and approved his massive expenses and seven figure all in salary and bonus with resulted in no clients and one of the first to be let go at WMA when the merger was official. Irv didn’t have anyones back at WMA and now everyone can speak out and Irv will be shut out rightfully so.
I worked for two years at WMA in Mopic and never saw the man once. Ever. One of my friends worked his desk though, and said he was important.
Accountants are often brought into companies such as WMA to do the bidding of men like Walt Zifkin. Irv Weintraub simply did what he was told. He gave Walt Zifkin his options and Walt Zifkin would decide on what steps would take place, who would do his bidding and actions executed. That is why Irv who was an accountant would be deserted by Jim Wiatt in the end would desert Irv in the same way others were treated at all levels of the firm.
Irv wants more money very simply put. Talent agencies don’t need bad publicity. It’s not good for the talent. He and WME will work out a deal. WMA was known for paying administrators very large sums of money. Much more than they would have earned elsewhere in the agency industry. The funny thing is Walt Zifkin thought agents were the fungalbe people in the agency (you know the people that made him money), and he himself of course was an administrator taking very large sums out of the company instead of reinvesting in the firm and it’s future. Agents at WMa would often ask “does Walt Zifkin bring any money into WMA?”. The answer was “No”.
Well Irv, GREED IS GOOD Michael Douglas once said in the film about Wall Street.
Irv is not a bad guy but he did what he was told. Maybe he liked it too much, though. Then again the Germans made the same case saying “we were only following orders”. In Irv’s case he made a lot of money doing it and should not complain. After all, Irv, you made your pack with the devil, did you expect to be treated any differently in the end?
BEENTHEREBEFORE
irv was hired by the ancient regime of walt zifkin and co., when WMA was run by short, glorified, hillcrest CC accountants. i was always surprised that he continued to rise in rank after wiatt’s arrival — who was hired so the place could finally, once again, be run by an “agent” from the first floor (which was generally populated by Hillcrest number crunchers, save the good old days of stan kamen).
irv was wiatt’s inside guy; irv was the inheritor of zifkin; and irv, prodded by wiatt, let go of wma’s greatest asset — real estate.
this is really the story of how a few, greedy men — in a few short years — plundered a great institution’s assets and gave up one of entertainment’s grandest, old names.
shame on them all.
What an idiot. Memo to Irv: when everyone was already wondering why the hell you hadn’t been “offered early retirement”, why flag the fact you’ve been fired (and try to fight it nonetheless).
Bye, Irv…as they say, see you wouldn’t want to be you (and please take Gaby with you).
Moron.
Irv was nothing more than a glorified accountant – that he somehow drained mid 7 figures each year is disgusting & that goes for Zifkin too. All they were interested in was taking as much as they could for themselves — never repping, signing or servicing 1 single client. It’s hard to remember that William Morris was a once respected agency.
At least now he can see how the real word values him — he is a pathetic excuse for a human being.
I really do hope they audit the books, I suspect he will owe a lot of $$.
It’s over — fat lady, so sing
schmucks.
How much money do people need? No amount is ever enough. At the end of it all, these people’s lives amount to nothing. What have they contributed or created? What will they be remembered for other than greed and abuse? They drift off to retirement with their bags of cash into oblivion doing this or that until it’s all over. Each generation is the same. The current power regime will be no different.
So what? If anyone thinks Ari & Rick Rosen are any better or different, you’re mistaken. Ari & Rick make Jim & Irv look like amateurs – in meanness, viciousness and ego(especially). The more things change, the more they remain the same.
I’ve been at William Morris for many years and have had the pleasure or should I say the lack of pleasure working with Irv. Unless you were in his inner circle or a hot girl you had no chance. We all knew he was the hatchet guy for Jimmy. Dave loathed him. He would tell anyone who would listen what a good practicing Jew he was.
Irv go away don’t come back. you hurt many people that worked very hard to build there careers. Karma is working
HEY IRV, SINCE YOU ARE TECHNICALLY STILL A SHAREHOLDER, WHY DON’T YOU FILE A CLASSACTION LAWSUIT AGAINGST YOUR COMPANY FOR FRAUDULENTLY DEVALUEING THE STOCK VALUE………THEN YOUR WORK OVER THE LAST 17 YEARS CAN BE PUT UNDER THE MICROSCOPE AND THOROUGHLY EXAMINED………..HOW DOES THAT WORK FOR YOU IRV
JUST GO AWAY, YOU ALREADY HELPED DECIMATE SOMETHING THAT STOOD FOR OVER A HUNDRED YEARS…….
AND THEY HONOR YOU AT CHARITY EVENTS????? IF THEY ONLY KNEW
A lot of times people are asked what’s their legacy. I watched the last show of Jay Leno on the Tonight Show and it was sweet when he explained and showed what his legacy was. All the children of employees of the Tonight Show over 17 years. Well Irv, Jim and others legacy will be single handedly destroying the WMA brand and company’s rich history. Irv shouldn’t get a dime and actually should be penalized for cooking the books and destroying the company. He should actually have to pay back some of his salary. It’s not right. No amount of money can give these guys back their respect amoung their peers and families. They will always have to live with the fact that they have ruined a lot of peoples lives and destroyed a once great company.
Irv,
Knowone liked you. You were hated and I’m so glad this is happening to you. Really…You, John Fogelman and Michael Cooper should disappear. Justice would be served and humanity would be a little bit better with you guys gone. Cooper thinks he’s Jay Maloney (fat chance). Fogelman thinks he’s Ovitz (please!)but he’s not as charming and smart as Ovitz was. Irv, what about you? We cant even compare you to anyone because you’re useless. Totally useless.