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EXCLUSIVE (UPDATED BELOW): There’s been no announcement yet. But Ann Blanchard is already being accused of breaking Hollywood protocol by not first informing those agents repping her Mosaic Media Group’s TV management clients of her change of employment. 
Instead, she’s calling those clients today and trying to take them with her to CAA. As a result, agencies who gave her clients to manage are calling me spitting mad. For instance, UTA reps Mosaic’s TV biz and yet Blanchard today was phoning UTA clients to come with her to CAA. Before moving to Jimmy Miller’s Mosaic where she’s been producing several projects, Blanchard had been a TV lit agent and SVP at the old William Morris Agency and is now calling her former clients from there, too. Blanchard, who wasn’t supposed to start at CAA for another 3 weeks, already has 10 high level clients at the tenpercentery including Amy Brenneman, Ed Redlich, Alexa Junge, Doug Petrie, and TV director Michael Dinner. I’ve been hearing that CAA wants to widen its writers / creators / showrunners list after what is well known to be several ”off” years packaging pilots and down this year as well. Remember that movies are the glitz of the agency biz but TV is the cash cow.
UPDATE: Ann Blanchard just told me: “I feel terrible about this reaction and of course want to make clear that I truly value my relationships with all the agencies. I’m in the process of calling all the high-level agents I’ve worked with over the course of this weekend. Before today, I’d only spoken to two clients whose careers I launched from the very first moment of their TV careers. I want to add that I owe an enormous debt to Jimmy Miller at Mosaic for his support.”
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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Good Luck Anne!
KC
This is Hollywood. Agents should stop bitching and wear a helmet. If Anne wants to go after her clients, that’s her right. If the representing agents were that good, the clients wouldn’t leave with Anne.
I hate agents. All they do is yell and scream when they don’t get their way. Seriously, what do you do all day besides make network/studio execs angry.
It’s Ann dude. Ann. Without an e. Clearly you don’t know what you are talking about, which of course is VERY Hollywood.
“If the representing agents were that good, the clients wouldn’t leave with Anne.”
Wow. Good logic flow there. I think I know someone who should be wearing a helmet.
Well, when we’re not yelling and screaming and making execs angry, we’re talking about other agents and taking credit for “launching” our clients’ careers of course!
Silly clients. They actually think that the years they spent toiling and sweating blood and studying their craft and learning how to do things like act and write and direct have something to do with their success, when obviously they should know it’s only because of us.
I’m pretty sure agents negotiate and close the deals that pay a manager’s clients. I would think they should have a voice in where the client would like to be represented should the manager become an agent. Seems fair to me and most people in the industry.
Also, Ann is spelled without an e.
Thanks for your comment.
Dear This is Hollywood,
You sound unsuccessful and bitter and more importantly, not very knowledgable the the business and how it really works.
Good luck with your career.
All’s fair in… blah blah blah.
If CAA TRULY wants to energize their lit department, first thing they should do is hire new “readers”. Yes, I was rejected. Yes, I’m bitter. Until a few months ago when the pilot was sold to Warner Bros. Ann Blanchard please clean house with the readers at CAA. They’re idiots.
One shouldn’t be mad at Ann, everyone knows what kind of person she is. The surprise would be if Jimmy knew and was cool with it.
I once had a client where she served as the TV lit rep. The client had an that she didn’t believe in and wouldn’t work to sell. I set up all the meetings, the client sold the pilot without her help, and then she gave an ultimatum that either WMA got the package or the client had to leave the agency. So for not helping, she should take 100K+ off the production budget. Ah, packaging, man its horrible. Just horrible.
I’m sure that you have done some version of the same thing in your career.
It is still her client, and she still has to fight for her place like everyone else.
She was probably terrified of getting fired, which she doesn’t deserve in terms of big picture contribution, and had to elbow herself into the mix. I’d do it too, and so would you, if you worked at one of the big agencies. It’s a nightmare in those places…
Ann is a bad ass. Smart, focused creative woman who gets the job done. Good for her.
“Hollywood protocol?” Is there such a thing?
CAA should think about signing new writers and developing them instead of stealing writers from smaller agencies as soon as they’re poised to run their own show. They have no interest in writers with original voices, only ones with big dollar signs in their eyes.
Absolutely right. And it sends a message to all perspective clients that they aren’t willing to do the work that agents are supposed to. Swooping in after someone is successful just shows how lazy your intentions are.
Best quote of the year… Don Reo, “I have to thank my agents, who believed in me when everyone else did”
“Perspective” clients should also be dedicated enough to do the work that their profession dictates they do. I would never want to rep a writing client who could not edit his or her own material.
Buddy, that Italian marble at CAA ain’t going to polish itself. Agencies have one priority — MAKE MONEY.
But didn’t you read the article? CAA’s looking to expand its showrunner/creator roster. I’m saying the way to do that is to give creators that’s most important to THEM, which is support for their voice and the material.
If they really want to attract creators, they can’t treat them trained monkeys chained to typewriters. Which is what you’re doing when you insist that agencies shouldn’t have any priorities other than money.
Ann is a force to be reckoned with. I admire her. Good luck, Ann.
I love all this hysteria about Ann. She must be a real threat to all those agents if they come running crying to Nikki that mean ol’ Ann is going back to agenting. Pretty scary, huh? She is a force to be reckoned with. She’s smart. She loves writers. And writers love her. Because she’s good.
Yup yup so true. She’s scary!!!!! Although maybe that’s the wrong adjective to apply to “lack of class”.
Congrats, Annie!
and she said it all with straight face that came for the heart. Just another liar.
Sorry about the typo Ann.
My mom’s name is Anne…..auto-reflex.
Who cares. All this Hollywood d-sucking in light of everything that is happening just seems like a lot of crap.
Because it is.
Go help somebody, you self-centered pricks.
Um… this website is called Deadline Hollywood. If you don’t want to be here, you are free to go.
“Everything that is happening”?? What does that even mean? Japan?
If you have enough time to sit around and comment on all this “Hollywood d-sucking,” perhaps your own time could be better spent too. People in glass houses…..
Agree. Let’s here the list:
What do I know? But she is straightforward, actually responds to inquiries from new producers (like moi) about clients with actual phone calls and even answers emails. I wish her the best.
So, how do agents get clients in the first place….they go after them. What’s the news here and why the sour grapes? She’s just doing what every agent does. Ann just happens to be better than most. CAA is lucky to have her.
if caa really wanted to build their EP/packaging business, why of all the avail managers they could throw money at, would they choose her? she wasnt that great at wma, how could she be better now?
If Ann was a dude, no one would care. She is playing the game just like everyone else. I don’t know her, but hear that she is actually a decent human being, and very smart.
I am so sick of reading everyone’s repetitive, tired comments about so and so’s greedy/ruthless behavior. In this regard, Hollywood hasn’t changed in 50 years. Get over it, or leave. Or do something about it, instead of just commenting.
Many other industries are much shadier – what about pharmaceutical sales? At least we aren’t playing Russian roulette with someone’s health. Or Wall Street? This is movies. It’s just business.
I say go for it! I’m sure there is more to this story…
JM is the worst.
Good for Anne for getting out of there.
Ann is a Stone Cold TX Shiksa MILF.
Almost your level, Nikki Baby!
Always a pleasure to work with at WMA, and never afraid to stand up to KAP’s bullying.
CAA will do well with her.
Those clients have 3 things in common
Blanchard
CAA
No series
Ann used to rep me and she can be effective but for the most part she phones it in. At least that was the case at Morris. Who knows if she’s evolved since then. When I fired her, she was midlevel at best. She talked a big game and whatever you wanted to hear is what came out of her mouth. I would assume the same to be the case at present time. Regardless, once you’ve got those pretty red and white CAA letters beside your name, it tends to up your game and I hope for Ann that effect rubs off on her as well.
Oh Mike. CAA doesn’t develop. That’s why they bring people over and rarely give their homegrowns a shot. Trainees or the young agents find the unqiue talents and then the sr agents take the credit, but I guess that’s typical hollywood. Dark days lie ahead when the current leadership leaves……
I agree, CAA Lit agents need to start picking up unique scripts that do not have dollar signs flashing on the title page. I know this business is based on money and how much profit you make, but lets look at this.
Films: Black Swan, The Kings Speech, The Kids are All Right, etc. All these films outperformed what they were suppose to make at the box office.
Television: Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, Mad Men, Sons of Anarchy, etc.
These shows are breaking new ground and viewers are tried of watching “Glee”, and all the CBS, FOX, ABC crap
WAKE UP CAA!!!
Bad form. But UTA would act the same way