Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Paradigm has landed Rand Holston, the 28-year CAA veteran agent who exited that agency late last month. Holston will bolster the motion picture lit and financing departments and gives Sam Gores’ agency a well established dealmaker who played on a high level as a film agent at CAA. For Paradigm’s motion picture business, Holston is the highest-profile addition since Paradigm got close in courting the late Ed Limato when he left ICM, only to see that iconic dealmaker choose WME as a landing place for himself and his star clients.

At CAA, Holston had a strong list of writer and director clients, and the immediate question will be who stays and who goes. That list includes Stephen King, Rob Reiner, Wolfgang Petersen, Robert Towne, John Moore, Marshall Herskovitz, Jordan Kerner, Ed Zwick, Jim Ivory, Bruce Robinson and Jon Avnet. There will be a chase for those clients, and Holston’s impact will be partly measured by which ones stay with him. But he will also put Paradigm in the conversation for signings and business they might not otherwise have had a shot at in the past.

Paradigm had been the frontrunner for Holston since Deadline revealed that the agent was leaving CAA and taking meetings. Holston’s hiring is being announced internally right now. “Rand is an outstanding agent with an impeccable reputation,” Paradigm chairman and CEO Gores says. “Our philosophies relating to the entertainment business are very compatible and we are all thrilled that he chose Paradigm.” Holston will work in the motion picture department and with the Motion Picture Finance Group and its head Andrew Ruf.

Said Holston: “Paradigm has a great reputation, and after getting to know Sam and his senior group of agents, it was clear this would be a great fit for me,” Holston said. “Sam has orchestrated a tremendous growth story for Paradigm, which has included skillfully blending new agents into its culture in a way that everyone thrives. I look forward to playing a productive part of Paradigm’s continued growth and success.”