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EXCLUSIVE: Just over a week after Adam Kanter left CAA for Jeff Berg’s Resolution, Bourne Identity director Doug Liman has joined his longtime motion picture agent at the new firm. Liman is staying with CAA for TV. The Mr. And Mrs. Smith director is currently helming All You Need Is Kill with Tom Cruise for Warner Bros. After that, he has Everest lined up at Sony Pictures with Tom Hardy attached to play climber George Mallory; Liman is also a producer along with his Hypnotic partner David Bartis and Jennifer Klein. On the TV side, Liman is one of the executive producers of USA Network’s legal drama Suits, which was renewed in October for a third season. Liman and Bartis are also exec producers on USA’s Covert Affairs, which was renewed for a fourth season in September. With all that going on, it makes sense Liman would stay with CAA for TV at least for the time being — Resolution isn’t set up for that yet.
Related: Jeff Berg’s Resolution Expands International
Other clients of Kanter’s at CAA included Peter Segal and Michael Ewing (Get Smart), filmmakers Peter and Bobby Farrelly, Entourage creator Doug Ellin, Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment (The Pursuit Of Happyness), Martin Campbell (Casino Royale), and Parenthood’s Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel among others. Berg is confident more than a few of those clients will join Liman and Kanter at Resolution. “We’re betting a lot of them,” he told Deadline’s Nikki Finke last week of how many of Kanter’s clients, as well as those of fellow recruited ex-CAA agent Martin Spencer’s clients, would be at Resolution in the near future.
Deadline's Dominic Patten - tip him here.
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CAA probably doesn’t feel threatened by this, but bit by bit, they’re losing their luster. The long reign of CAA, established by Ovitz and later amplified by Lovett, Lourd and Co., is finally showing signs of wear. Clients know that the other choices are as good or better. Watch for more defections.
Great move by Doug. If Simon Kinberg’s smart, he’ll jump over to Resolution this week too. Those guys will be dominant filmmaker/producers with a whole agency behind them at Resolution, rather than dealing with the scattered agenda/focus of CAA minions always chasing the next thing rather than working hard for the clients they have.
CAA is slowly becoming Paradigm 20 years ago. It’s weird. Ovitz built this giant. Lourd and the boys enjoyed the icing while the cake hasn’t lost a bite. Now, the cake is being eaten. Munch munch munch. What will be left is a group of young agents and a couple of senior agents who are not really good agents ie;?NY must go ho-ho NY must go ho-ho.
CAA is probably number three right now closing in on becoming second tier. They have many hack movie writers. The film guys like Liman are leaving. You’re left with hacks who rewrite the garbage only to make it worse.
Everybody knows it’s over there…
Oh please…I don’t like CAA…and I could skip the IceBerg’s Resolution – but lets bury CAA just yet. They are still a massive force – and Resolution doesen’t even have working bathroomm yet.
I’m writing this from the bathroom at Resolution…I’m especially entranced by the rare orchid decorating the marble counter-top.
the hand soap also smells really good.
LOL – I think bathroom was just a figure of speech – but the orchid sounds nice!
Enjoy – and remember – too much water is bad for an orchid.
Paradigm wasn’t an agency 20 years ago… Dumb reference. More like CAA is going the way of ICM under Berg and now Silbermann.
It’s Han solo with the rebel alliance vs. the Dark side with the Death Star
Fact is the tide turned last year, WME’s far & away the dominant agency in town, no one in the loop would argue it. CAA’s stilll got a top talent department, but the place has become shockingly mismanaged and too many agents there hate the grind, all about agency agenda with no priority for best interests of clients or passion for projects. And it’s embarrassing how weak CAA’s lit department has become…putting Todd Feldman at the head was a fatal mistake, the clients who’ve already departed with Aloni and now these other defectors that last month make a more relevant list for Hollywood than the too-old or overhyped hacks still in the CAA fold. Maybe they can cut they’re losses by selling the alienating headquarters they built, then Lourd & co can retire on the real estate earnings rather than be further humiliated by the demise they’ve wrought.
The hacks who rewrite the garbage to make it worse are often the ones being paid the most.
All due respect, you guys don’t know what you’re talking about. This isn’t like a client chose to leave CAA because they thought Resolution was a superior agency. On the contrary, Liman was simply following his longtime agent. Had that agent gone to APA, Liman would’ve followed him there. And CAA keeps the TV business, which = way more money than the film biz. And besides, CAA still comissioning for Liman’s next two films (at least) anyway, so who cares?
If you’ve ever worked with Jeff Berg – not as one of his clients, but as a co-worker – then you know that Berg doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing and hasn’t for at least 8-10 years. He’s been living off his name and the agents who worked for/with him.
So clueless and insulated that one of his former assistants managed to embezzle over $20k off of him before finally being caught after many years.
So clueless that back in the day when Daisy Wu had enough of him and left ICM in the middle of the day, Jeff Berg ran around the building asking anyone who would listen, “where’s Daisy Wu’s office???” Um, dude, it was YOUR company, how could you not know where a longtime agent’s office was located???!
Clueless.
SO CLUELESS that he used the money ICM had to pay him to start a new agency that will put them out of business. Get lost.
It seems like CAA is no longer the Biggest/Best Agency in town. It seems like so many CAA Agents/Clients have defected that the entire Agency structure has changed. It seems now that WME has the Biggest/Best Clients, followed by Resolution/Paradigm/UTA. Senior Management at CAA should step up and do something before the entire Agency implodes and they are left with a massive rent payment on their outrageously expensive Century City Office.
USC Student -Your name says it all.
Ruthie you are a fool
a damn fool!
I wonder if it’s possible to make people take an IQ test before posting comments here. I am not a CAA agent or client, but the notion they are currently number 3 is simply idiotic. Likewise, starting 3 sentences in a row with “It Seems” makes me think the USC Admissions office needs a talking to. The good news for writers, directors, actors, etc. is that after a long period of consolidation among agencies it appears the field is broadening somewhat. I am not interested in signing with Resolution, but I’m excited that they’ve been able to stir the pot.
Why are they a fool? Because they speak the truth somewhat? They are finally being called out on it. It has been going on forever and structure needs to change there.
I wouldn’t count CAA out just yet…
Losing Liman doesn’t really mean much in the scheme of things. Sure he’s cash, but there ain’t much of a name there.
While more choice is good for talent, this is unfortunately best for the studios and the buyers. They have a fractured marketplace where they can play everyone off each other, rather than the marketplace of 20 years ago when Ovitz controlled it with fear. This will only put a lot of downward pressure on fees as there will always be a guy down the street willing to take just slightly less. As long as the buyers view writers etc as inter-changeable, the talent will get a bit more screwed than ever.
The real deal here is this: CAA will happily collect film commission for several years. This producer’s next project hasn’t started filming yet – and then Everest after that. We’re looking at 3 years minimum before he starts on a Resolution – commissioned project. CAA’s not worried – and they will still reign supreme in this town. Trust that.
Can’t we all just get along? It’s a blow, but CAA is still a top 4 agency, strike that Top 2 agency … no I’m not including Resolution (yet) and definitely not including Paradigm. Great talent dept, tv lit, alternative … sports … corporate … I think you all get the jist. They’re doing just fine. WME’s awesome. UTA’s awesome. Everyone big 3 letter agency is awesome. Everyone settle the F down and get back to answering your bosses’ phones.