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So is this the first wave of an all-out agency war? It might be, particularly if Wiatt starts bolstering Morris' lineup by stealing rival agencies' clients. But right now, the other companies aren't losing a lot of sleep. CAA has experienced remarkable stability since 1995, when both agency chairman Michael Ovitz and president Ron Meyer jumped to studios. Besides, CAA has its hands full in its current feud with Ovitz's new management company, Artists Management Group: CAA declared it wouldn't share clients with AMG after Ovitz stole away Robin Williams. Since then, directors Sydney Pollack, Richard Donner and Barry Levinson, among others, have left CAA for AMG. Nor is stalwart ICM worrying who might follow Wiatt out the door. Wiatt's own client list, with a few exceptions, isn't exactly white hot: Besides Murphy, Stallone, Ephron and Allen, there are actors Tony Danza and Don Johnson; directors Donner, Penny Marshall, Renny Harlin and Kevin Williamson; producer Lorne Michaels and writer Neil Simon. Ironically, most of these clients are booked for the next year or two, and ICM will reap the commissions for the work landed on its watch.

But ICM will sorely miss Wiatt's ability to get people who don't like each other to work together as a team, a trait that should benefit WMA. It's also expected that one or two ICM agents might follow Wiatt to WMA when their contracts run out. Wiatt's other principal strength is his relationships in town; a party animal, he is one of the most social agents in Hollywood, friends with everyone and anyone. Now he is counting on a lot of loyalty, and perhaps even new clients, courtesy of his many pals.

So who will lose by Wiatt's jumping ship? The studios. In their heyday, in the 1980s, the ultracompetitive agency shark tanks produced higher paydays for actors, directors and writers. This in turn inflicted enormous financial pain on the Hollywood studios. They were caught in the crossfire and forced to absorb the higher costs of making movies -- a hit that today's stagnant Tinseltown stocks can ill afford. Now that a Great White has moved its feeding ground down Wilshire Boulevard, don't be surprised if, for the next months, Hollywood talent agencies hang signs on their doors that say, "Gone fishin'."

Anyone have a spare rod?
salon.com | Aug. 11, 1999

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