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EXCLUSIVE.. UPDATE: Larry King has moved from WME to ICM for representation in all areas. The former CNN talk-show host of Larry King Live for 25 years as well as author and TV/radio personality is set for four CNN specials during the next few years, including an exclusive interview with the Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 cast on July 10. I have a feeling that back in January/February CNN would have liked Larry back given that his replacement Piers Morgan’s ratings were in the cellar. They have since improved. King is an Emmy and Peabody Award winner with 10 CableACE Awards who has interviewed every living U.S. President and First Lady since Nixon.
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Larry King is a legend. Good sign.
Wow, huge get: an 80 year-old retiree whose only audience nowadays is the wait staff at Nate ‘n Al’s. A game-changer for ICM indeed.
Snark all you like but leave off the wait staff at Nate’n'Als, they’re the best…
Seriously. I love those ladies.
I do not follow the agency/agent stories in detail, but in scanning some recent headlines…it appears that WME has been losing some ‘players’ to other agencies.
For those in the know…is this correct? Is WME having some issues?
this would be contigent upon your definition of “player”…LK ain’t in the game, baby.
Yep. The glamour days and newness of the merger have faded. No, reality has sunken in and so has this sinking ship.
Was he dropped? Did Phil Grenz poach him?
Yes, Phil convinced Larry that if he followed to ICM he could become the movie star he always wanted to be.
Great sign for ICM. WME loses another one.
What a forward looking move.
I heard they are doing a sequel to THE BUCKET LIST and COCOON…ICM should book him one of those jobs after his afternoon nap
I agree with Yvone here, although this would have been a great sign like… 10 years ago
WME is doing just fine. Losing a guy with zero street value is of no concern for WME. You must have missed them signing The Rock from CAA. He will make more money in the next 5 years than Larry has in his lifetime.
Mary,
Again, I only scanned some headlines…but, one would think having J J Abrams take a ‘sabbatical’ from WME might dwarf signing The Rock…and, that is not meant to be a disparaging comment about The Rock…but Abrams is a multi platform giant.
Honestly, and I have never accused anyone directly of this, but your post certainly smells of a WME post…but, I did ask what is going on with WME…so, thanks for your comment.
Tom,
Your posts smell like someone doing a crappy job at pretending that they don’t have a horse in this race.”I only scanned some headlines,” “I don’t follow agency stories,” and yet you’ve commented twice on a Larry King signing…
The first comment asked if WME was having issues. The second was a specific response to a post comparing Larry King to the Rock as an indication WME is doing fine, and I wondered how this addressed the WME issue (if any). And, for the record, this post was not particularly kind to Larry King, and nothing called for this. None of my posts labeled anyone “zero street value” and “more money than Larry has made in a lifetime”. My inquiry was a general one about WME.
To this end I researched DH and found the recent JJ Abrams ‘sabbatical’ story as it related to the original statement and question.
Again, I was just curious from those more knowledgeable if there were problems at WME.
No more…no less…no agenda.
Truly, I have no personal interest or relationship with WME or any others mentioned in these posts.
And, at the end of this, I have learned little to answer the original question…and, truly, it doesn’t matter.
That is a nicely worded, eloquent comment.
I agree with you on “WME is doing just fine.” They are. There just seem to be a lot of Ari-haters around here — I get it.
But “(The Rock) will make more money in the next 5 years than Larry has in his lifetime.” This could only become true if The Rock hits The Megamillions Lotto twice or if Obama decides to give The Rock some of that bail out money he has no problem passing out to his buddies/supporters on Wall Street.
I am not a Larry King fan, but I did pass 5th Grade math…
I just disagree about WME doing “just fine”. The truth is that business is becoming less and less of value. Expensive talent deals are harder to come by. They have less influence over their clients, who tend to jump from one to the other. At most, all they ever do is spread themselves so thin across all the clients in the agency, show up to one of the meetings and take all of the credit for the work their clients do. Unfortunately, it is a lot of smoke and a lot of mirrors. This is why you have folks taking a “sabbatical”
Leave it to ICM to become the ” THE BONE COLLECTOR OF 2O11 “
This is really exciting. I hear they’re making a new version of Tales from the Crypt. He is perfect to play the Crypt Keeper.
ICM is on a roll.
Down a hill. Into a swamp. Complete with gators and toxic waste.
Piers Morgan is up on what Larry was delivering a year ago and that has consistently been the case since he took over.
Whatever value Larry King may yet have in other areas, the daily interview show was getting more than a bit embarrassing. It was time.
This is an appropriate sign. ICM is practically a retirement home anyway.
He “signed” with ICM after being cut by WME and ignored by CAA. He should follow in Carson’s foot steps and retire with some dignity.
ICM also just signed A.C. Lyles.
I thought the whole point of Larry retiring is to just retire. Is there value here?
I have a hard time believing WME dropped him: he may not be on the air any longer, but a journalist who’s interviewed every president and first lady since the Nixon years probably still has some political clout and if your last name is Emanuel those probably aren’t bridges you want to burn.
Falls under the “What have you done for me lately” category. Is it really that much of a loss? His chances of returning to TV in anything significant are remote at best. He may write another book or two before he departs this soil. File under WME housecleaning.
ICM should sign Sean Connery. That would be a good one for them.
WME didn’t cut him. He fired them (a sabbatical, in WME speak).
Unfortunately, Larry king is done in this business. He needs to go gracefully into the night!!
Larry dropped wme because no one had their eye on the ball for him after the merger. he felt ignored and told people about it. he signed with icm because he still likes to work and can make money. he may not be hip but he is famous. as for Piers his ratings (particularly the demos) are up over larry’s. Piers was just in Cannes with Bewkes. He’s doing fine.