Behind the talent-agency shakeups
Hollywood's most competitive business is getting even more dog-eat-dog.
On most days, client-and-dealmaker defections at talent agencies are as commonplace in showbiz as plastic surgery and private jets. But in the last few weeks, the swaps have grown so frequent and significant that many in the industry have been startled by all the big moves, which some say are a reaction to an overall contraction in the movie business.
In the last week alone, longtime Creative Artists Agency client Robert De Niro left the agency for the increasingly powerful Endeavor, which also landed United Talent Agency co-owner Nick Stevens and his UTA client Ben Stiller. Earlier transfers included actors Ashton Kutcher (from Endeavor to CAA), Chris Rock (Endeavor to International Creative Management), Vince Vaughn (UTA to CAA) and Jennifer Connelly (ICM to CAA). Several writers and directors also have jumped ship, including "Men in Black's" Ed Solomon (William Morris Agency to CAA) and "Babel's" Alejandro González Iñárritu (Endeavor to CAA).
In the instant handicapping that drives water cooler -- or is it now bottled water? -- conversations around Hollywood, Endeavor was proclaimed the biggest net winner by a wide margin, while UTA was seen as taking the toughest hit to its much-heralded comedy business. No one believes CAA has lost its grip as the town's dominant deal maker.
But interviews with more than a dozen managers, agents, producers and studio executives suggest that the intra-agency trades are related to growing anxiety over the future of the film business. With movie admissions flat, DVD sales stalled and international growth slowing -- all against the backdrop of a looming economic recession -- revenue for filmed entertainment is hardly surging. The recent Writers Guild of America strike crippled television production, and a potential Screen Actors Guild walkout this summer has postponed the start dates of countless feature films, making acting jobs scarce and many clients restless.
Instead of gambling on a broad and eclectic slate of movies, the studios are making creative decisions as much on spreadsheet projections as gut reactions to great screenplays. Not that long ago, the major studios might have reserved half of their 20-odd annual productions for movie stars: the Julia Roberts comedy here, the Matt Damon drama there.
Quest for market share
