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EXCLUSIVE: Jesse Eisenberg is exiting ICM after more than a dozen years with the agent who helped put him in The Social Network which earned him a Best Actor Oscar nomination. ICM hoped it could hold him, but sources tell me he was surrounded by a bunch of CAA clients on his current film in production Now You See Me and “CAA started hitting on him and he’s buying the pitch”. ICM had even scheduled a dinner with the actor tonight but the bad news came down just now. The feeling inside ICM is that talent agent Joanne Wiles had repped Eisenberg “as well as can be” including “doing an incredible job getting him that part” as Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network. Among his pics have been The Squid And The Whale, The Education of Charlie Banks, Adventureland, and Zombieland. She also recently negotiated several “huge paydays” for him including Rio 2 as well as The Double where Eisenberg stars with Mia Wasikowska in the Richard Ayoade-directed drama inspired by Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s classic novella.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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So low rent after how hard they killed it for him.
Typical comments after a high-profile name leaves an agency. You guys are so cut-throat at these agencies. I hope it’s all worth it in the end.
Always remember: the talent doesn’t give a shit about you, just how much money you can make them. Happy Easter.
Get ready to be another # at CAA!
further proof icm is a house of cards…
I know first-hand that Joanne Wiles worked her ass off for Jesse. A switch feels inevitable for most actors, but she did a great job of supporting her client and his specific career goals.
this article makes it sound like this move is actually a surprise. it’s shocking they kept him that long. they don’t even have a MP department.
It’s not Joanne’s fault in any way, shape or form, it’s that ICM has become a TV agency. A few years back they were signing hot young writer/directors but today they’re all about television and so the MP Lit folks (who are pretty much gone) and the MP Talent folks can only watch as their side of the agency decays. Sad.
Well they clearly weren’t just a TV agency while they put Jesse into back-to-back films and got him an Academy Award nomination, were they?
ICM got him a nom?
Got him an academy award? Did Joanne act in The Social Network for Jesse or something?
“I’m tired of people calling me Michael Cera when I walk in the door!”
tough call. as an outsider, i hate to see CAA swoop in and ride the moving train that someone else had to work their ass off to even get out of the station. seems to be their M.O. they are like the ‘real madrid’ of agencies – which is why they have bad karma. don’t home grow their own talent but steal everyone else’s. on the other hand, they can leverage better deals than their competitors because they have such a grip on the talent market, studios have to play nice. understand eisenberg’s rationale for the move but still makes him look like an ungrateful bastard.
I understand what you are saying. Personally I don’t care which agency is better for Jesse as long as he can get better projects. I do agree that this seem ungrateful because Joanne is a very hardworking agent.
I’ve done business Joanne for the last 8 years, and I’ve never met a more dedicated, tireless agent. This seems like an impulsive, odd choice for Jesse.
You’ve done business WITH Joanne for the last 8 years. I Hope your work grammer is better than your comment grammer.
HEY GARY, before correcting someone on their “grammer” you might want to spell GRAMMAR right. nice.
Any agent who’s taken the time and energy to harness a uniquely limited actor all the way to an Oscar nomination is someone to treasure not someone to dump for the tired cliche of having CAA steal you away with empty promises.
you only learn that the hard way, pal.
LIMITED is absolutely right. He is no more than a “schtick” actor who will wind up on a sitcom way before he should be.
And by following Joanne, he probably will always have that “schtick”. Tell me, how many roles that she got him that is not a “nerd” role? Maybe this CAA agent is no better but it is a time to change agency.
That’s a drag. Joanne Wiles killed it for that guy. He’s been with her since William Morris, only at ICM the last couple years.
joanne killed it for Jesse. He’s an idiot. Joanne is a rockstar.
Toby Maguire did the same thing to Gersh. Both are otherwise character guys if not for the skill of those agents. I guess it’s time for CAA to burn out another client.
Good lord, can we stop? I happen to think Toby Maguire is a fine actor, but regardless of that he’s a producer with one of the deepest development slates in the business. Can we please stop talking about him (and other actors) as if he’s a dolt who sits at home waiting to see what his agent “puts him in”?
sickening. joanne wiles crushed it for this guy for years.
ICM can’t service clients so they leave. Period the end. CAA might drop the ball with him. And he might not get the attention that Joanne with a smaller list can provide, but he’s a huge star now and doesn’t need it to generate work. It’s not like he’s developmental. Which is the right time to jump.
ICM will continue to disintegrate until it decides to put clients needs ahead of internal strife.
Jesse is a great actor. If this means better chances for him as actor and playwright I’m glad. IMC was lucky to have him for so long time. They have had their share too.
30 minutes or less was just that bad everyone get over it..joanne should have hung up on the phone when she heard the phrase ” and nick swardson is attached!”
Maybe she thought Bucky Larson being nominated for 5 Razzies was a GOOD thing!
Sure, I mean that happened over a year after casting, but I guess that’s a fair point
LITTLE KNOWN FACT – Jesse DESPERATELY wanted the role in 30 Minutes or Less so much so that he and Joanne faught over him having to test for the part numerous times – she didn’t think it was worth it! I guess you should talk to him about his taste in parts or movies!
What a douche move.
__________ leaves ICM for CAA.
__________ leaves ICM for WME.
Nice to see there’s still some loyalty in this business.
Good for Jesse! Talent reps are there to barter your deals for you. Nothing more. Nobody works harder than the client and just because she happened to be his agent when he got his break doesn’t mean he should have to stick with her forever and not take a better deal. If he wasn’t making her any money, I doubt she’d care. That’s the business. Jesse is smart for getting all he can out of his career while he can.
Sounds like you haven’t found the right agent yourself. She worked with him for years — when he was hot and cold. I don’t know many people in town who work harder than Joanne Wiles.
Talent reps are there to barter your deals for you. Nothing more. Nobody works harder than the client (You did not rise to the level at which you could have been exposed to great representatives who create wonderful opportunities.)
Jesse is smart for getting all he can out of his career while he can. (That is assuming that this move is going to get him more out of his career.)
Who are you? Your posts are repetitive on these various client moves. Sounds like you had bad reps and that’s unfortunate – but there are many agents who do more than just barter a deal; some actually read material, assess the package involved, devise a strategy for the long term, and deal with the insecure talent ALL the time.
Everyone knows Joanne works her ass off above and beyond just bartering.
Fuck that and fuck you for your short sided perspective.
Are you telling me that she is the only agent in the world that does it for their clients? What makes you so sure that the CAA agent that is gonna represent Jesse is not passionate about his career? He stayed with her for 12 years and maybe it is time for a change. There is nothing wrong with changing agents. If it didn’t work out, maybe he’ll be back with Joanne.
Very well put! Joanne worked hard for Jesse, and Jesse worked hard and put a ton of money in her pocket. He owes her nothing, just as talent in general doesn’t owe representation any more than 10% and a bottle of wine for their assistant at xmas.
“Nobody works harder than the client?” What PLANET are you on?
It’s all about bucks, kid. The rest is conversation.
that is just so horrible and really really bad Karma for CAA…It is just wrong to do…It does not matter what the business says…there is a good energy and and bad energy…CAA is getting crushed in television now and that will flow to movies….just wait
What disgusting behavior. Caa and their slick behavior.dinners. Making donations to other actors causes. Doing whatever it takes to engrain themselves in to an actors life. The smart seasoned actors see throughout it. The young and dumb don’t.
I’m sure it’s not just the courting that is the final motivator in deciding whether or not to make a switch.
Nikki did mention “he was surrounded by a bunch of CAA clients on his current film in production ‘Now You See Me’…”. That’s peer pressure kids. I have no doubt Jesse asked around and did his homework first.
But if that agent works for an agency on its last legs, doesn’t have access to great scripts, and can’t put a package together what is that client to do? Yeah, sucks for her but this is how the business works. It happens all the time. It will continue to happen.
What part of Oscar nomination did you not get?
The part that Oscar Nomination has anything to do with an agent… Without the actor’s hardwork, there is no nomination.
You are wrong on this. Joanne could get any script she wanted to Jesse – but she, nor Jesse, can actually get the gigs for him – that is up to the director. I am a director and if I want actor x,y or z, it truly doesn’t matter where they are repped.
Agencies package small movies – not the one’s Jesse is after.
Joanne is one of the best. She worked really hard for this guy. Actors always think that when they hit their peak, they’ll keep peaking. But that’s not the case. She took this schlub right to the top. It’s only downhill from there regardless – but this move sucks for Joanne.
Bad move JE.
If it is downhill for Jesse, why does it matter if he dumps ICM or not? At least, he gets a fighting chance with CAA than with ICM.
I think you miss the point Vincent. This conversation is about “heat”. You want the most commercially viable “A” talent for your films. Not such-and-such “B” or “C” actor that might be repped at a declining firm.
It seems CAA is grabbing up most of the “A” level feature talent. So likely, you will go to them for your needs, unless as I said – you’re putting together a film that will hardly get notice.
Yeah, because when they get a great script, the first person they are going to call is Jesse. Not Cruise, Fassbender or any of their other a-list or uberhot clientele.
Get a clue–Jesse had a much better shot of attaching to a great script from ICM than he will at CAA.
And last legs–really? Do you know how much those TV packages are worth?
You made it sound like CAA only have one agent. Maybe you can explain this to me but why can’t CAA sent several of their talents for a same audition? If I sent you Michael Fassbender and Jesse Eisenberg and you chose Fassbender, CAA still get their share of commission.
This is true. I’m still waiting for a thoughtful explication of the history and process whereby studios stopped producing movies, and basically outsourced the entire casting and packaging process to agencies. Studios are essentially glorified slate financiers choosing between whatever fully-packaged projects the agencies bring them. I guess occasionally they do produce and cast a few things on their own — the tentpoles mostly — but otherwise it’s “Let’s see what packages CAA is bringing me today…”
CAA really does talk the best game in town when they’re trying to attract clients from other agencies. The problem is they rarely follow through with any of their promises.
so spot on.
people are over the caa of it all – because it really just talk at the end of the day, they give.
the clients who do well- are one’s who do well no matter where they are at. problem is that to sustain a career at the top, it really does take the individual agent who really is passionate and gets the talent, to keep pushing the boulder up the mountain.
the one’s on here posting agent-hater comments, are just bitter and/or don’t understand the relationship between a duo combo of the agent/talent who have been together since before the talent was a blip. those initial calls, and everything there after to get a client to break finally- is ALL the agent in the beginning. If jesse or any other’s who recently have gone to CAA after they have their moment, didn’t have that initial person (in this case, joanne), doing the heavy lifting, he could very likely not be here.
it’s all mostly luck- let’s get real. but to get to the break- takes an agent or manager to do all the fuckin work leading up til then, and usually having made zero money, or just barely recouping the investment after years of work.
it’s not right to bash jesse, but it’s also not right to bash joanne- especially someone who did the damn work. those who say otherwise on here, are just pure naive, haters.
Nobody could have done a better job for Jesse than Joanne. She built his career and fought for each of his roles that made him the sought after actor he is today. Nobody else will represent him with the same passion,tenacity and dedication that Joanne did. Very upsetting.