‘Wall Street 2′ Writer Exits CAA For ICM

COMMENTS (11)

• So who is MOST responsible for this execrable Wall Street II script?

  Allan Loeb, who also brought us the “gems” known as “The Switch” and “Things We Lost in the Fire”?

  Or

  Stephen Schiff?

  Comment by bobby the saint — Sunday September 26, 2010 @ 8:58pm PDT  Reply to this post

  • This Alan Loeb crusade by CAA to convince every exec that can hire him that Loeb is “the one” is absurd but a terrific act of salesmanship.
    Loeb has learned to write scripts that Development execs are entertained by when they read.
    It doesn’t mean they are filled with great story, characters or great dialogue as proven by the movies they become.
    He is rewritten and ruined multiple scripts already.
    Nevertheless the guy makes millions writing and rewriting over other far more experienced writers.
    Why? A couple of reasons.
    Until now he had next to know track record.
    The incredible inexperience and insecurity in execs of development who sadly have VERY LITTLE meaningful experience actually getting movies made. They don’t know a fun read from a good film.
    Loeb’s team at CAA are magicians pulling one over on the rest of us fools. Until we find out and they have to make some other prince “the one” over their far more talented clients.
    I am not an client of CAA nor am I a writer. I am a director and get sent everything and I have watched the sell Loeb. If CAA likes you they will work. If they don’t get out now. Because they will actually send you down a toilet when others call to hire you.
    CAA doesn’t represent talent only comets when they are soaring through the sky. Loeb will be looking for representation soon.

    Comment by T. W. — Monday September 27, 2010 @ 10:08am PDT  Reply to this post

• ICM has been on quite a tear of late, interesting that they’re signing so many people away from CAA and WME.

  Ari is lot like his brother Rahm and hence his success at Endeavor and now WME. Silbermann at ICM is more like Obama: calm, cool, collected and super-intelligent. Atypical approach for Hollywood but perhaps it has some merit after all.

  Comment by Tom — Sunday September 26, 2010 @ 9:21pm PDT  Reply to this post

  • are we talking about the same Silbermann who worked at Broder? The same one, who (for some reason), became the president of ICM because his work at a 3rd tier boutique tv lit agency somehow prepared him to run ICM’s motion picture dept? That explains why ICM is doing so well these days right? Riiight. And that’s why ever since the Broder merger (and the mass exodus of all A list talent and their reps) ICM has been doing so well. Only a handful of clients are keeping that agency afloat and relevant….though everyone knows WME & CAA runs this town…

    Comment by asst — Monday October 11, 2010 @ 12:31am PDT  Reply to this post

• Let’s spell it right: “Stephen Schiff.” His “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” script convinced the studio to make the movie and to follow his lead about having Gekko come out of jail seemingly reformed, have him take up with a new protege, have the protege fail in love with Gekko’s daughter Winnie, who didn’t even exist in the 1987 original, only to learn that Gekko’s apparent reform is a cover-up for the old rapaciousness.

  Comment by JJ Berzellius — Monday September 27, 2010 @ 12:11am PDT  Reply to this post

  • so what did Loeb add to the script then?

    Comment by bobby the saint — Monday September 27, 2010 @ 10:52am PDT  Reply to this post

  • It’s funny how the message boards are quick to spread nonsense and vitriol. For those of you downtrodden screenwriters who never have your facts straight and are always quick to point uninformed fingers at your more successful peers, hear this: STUDIOS DON’T HIRE WRITERS TO REPLACE OTHER WRITERS IF THEY LIKE THE SCRIPT THEY ALREADY HAVE. So no, it wasn’t Schiff’s script that convinced the studio to make the movie, In the case of Wall St. 2, it was Allan Loeb’s page one rewrite that got the movie greenlit, and perhaps OLIVER STONE’s production rewrites that downgraded the script from grade A to B. If Stephen Schiff were capable of crafting a screenplay that could attract the likes of Oliver, Shia, Frank, Carey, Josh, Susan then FOX wouldn’t have brought Loeb in. Schiff’s original draft reads like a bad Bruckheimer pic. Do your research, then see if you still hate on my opinion.

    Comment by Shia LeBoob — Monday September 27, 2010 @ 1:22pm PDT  Reply to this post

    • That’s not true. Some of the best scripts in town are rewritten for no reason other than Studios often have to put their fingers in the script and make a good script “sexy” in their eyes.

      Great scripts are rewritten every day. Stacey Snider has to have one of “her” writers on every script no matter its quality. Spielberg is equally insecure. So is Lorenzo with the Bad Back. It is epidemic and ridiculous. It is a short list of writers who can perform this “miracle.” Little Miss Sunshine (One of the best scripts ever) was rewritten. And badly. Someone realized they were ruining a good project and returned to the original script and made a great movie.

      As for WSII the original script was clearly good enough to bring the studio, stars and a director on board.

      For some reason Alan Loeb was “sexy” to Tom Rothman and Jim Gianopolus. Mr. Loeb was going to bring some extra “value” to the project by putting his words in it. Loeb and Stone did a ton of tinkering and made what sounded like a good story a mess and Fox and Ed Pressman let them.

      CAA makes more money if they sell one client down the river so another client can be paid to rewrite the first client. Double invoicing their 10% is how they built their mothership. When a script comes in for one of their actors the first thing they do internally is make a list of their writing clients who can rewrite it and push them over the heads of the producers on that script and to the studio directly. They do this by dangling (ultimately) unavailable directors for the project to the studio. “Joe Blow the director would want to make this his next movie if Alan Loeb did a rewrite. If Akiva took a look at it.” Fill in the blank. I have been on the calls. Then their client does a pass. No CAA director is interested or available after all. And no CAA star. But CAA made some extra dough off the script before they killed it. Ugly place. Ugly way of doing business. Writers should beware. CAA is not your friend and never will be.

      Comment by Assistant — Tuesday September 28, 2010 @ 12:27am PDT  Reply to this post

      • Thank you for the cogent analysis of the situation, Assistant.

        Exactly what I had been wondering.

        Much appreciated!

        – Bobby the Saint

        Comment by bobby the saint — Tuesday September 28, 2010 @ 11:01am PDT  Reply to this post

• >>>Let’s spell it right: “Stephen Schiff.” His “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” script convinced the studio to make the movie and to follow his lead about having Gekko come out of jail seemingly reformed, have him take up with a new protege, have the protege fail in love with Gekko’s daughter Winnie, who didn’t even exist in the 1987 original, only to learn that Gekko’s apparent reform is a cover-up for the old rapaciousness.<<<

  thanks for the story summation, JJ. Cause, having seen the movie, I almost didn't get the story, thanks to OS's constant need to take a camera and scream @ the top of his lungs, "LOOK AT ME! I'M THE DIRECTOR!" Jeezus, what an incredibly talented bunch of people in service to an ego that accomplishes nothing.

  such a sad expensive piece of hollywood bullshit.

  By the way, if I see one more sweep of the manhattan skyline, i'm gonna retch from vertigo.

  Comment by woody — Monday September 27, 2010 @ 9:51am PDT  Reply to this post

• Who really cares how you spell his name? His claim to fame was a crappy remake of Lolita? This MUST be a slow news day.

  Comment by Al Corley — Monday September 27, 2010 @ 10:19am PDT  Reply to this post