These days the studios not only are making far fewer films but also allowing concepts and marketing hooks to govern greenlight decisions rather than a specific actor's availability and interest. Warner Bros., in other words, decides to make a Batman movie first and casts Christian Bale as the Dark Knight second.
If the movie pie isn't getting any bigger, then the only way for talent agencies to expand their film business is to gobble up more of the jobs by representing more of the actors. And that quest for market share (with some personality clashes thrown in) is driving most of the defections.
At the same time, agencies are investing in new businesses and new directions. CAA has made a huge bet on representing sports stars. William Morris is pushing harder into music and brought on CAA agent Don Muller, who represents Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters and Weezer. ICM joined with television agency Broder Webb Chervin Silbermann in 2006 and is hinging part of its future on the series "Grey's Anatomy," "Dancing With the Stars" and "House," among other shows. In addition to hiring UTA's Stevens, Endeavor took on UTA's Marc Korman, whose TV clients work on "Heroes," "Cold Case" and "Nip/Tuck."
All of the moves come with a sometimes steep price tag. Thanks to all the raiding, talent agents themselves have grown almost as highly compensated as some of their clients. To grab coveted stars from a competing agency, a talent agency may simply hire the actors' representative, in the time-tested belief that the performers will follow in lock-step.
When Stevens and colleagues Lisa Hallerman and Sharon Sheinwold left UTA for Endeavor, the exodus included clients Stiller, "School of Rock's" Jack Black, "Knocked Up's" Jonah Hill, "My Name Is Earl's" Jason Lee and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall's" Jason Segel. In leaving ICM for William Morris, Ed Limato brought along Mel Gibson, Denzel Washington and Richard Gere.
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Paying for talent agents
Like baseball sluggers who know their home-run power is desperately needed by another team, these talent agents can command whopping salaries when they switch sides -- often multiple millions of dollars. Top agents also rack up hundreds of thousands of dollars of expenses, often require several assistants, and demand other pricey benefits.
