Endeavor Agency

David Greenblatt, a film and TV literary agent and founding partner at Endeavor Agency, is leaving the Beverly Hills-based talent firm next month to join Key Creatives, a management and production company formed this year. Some of Greenblatt's clients, including "Lethal Weapon" screenwriter Shane Black, will now be represented by both Endeavor and Key Creatives.

There's a lot less William Morris Agency left to merge with Endeavor. The 111-year-old talent agency Monday laid off more than 120 people, or about 15% of its staff, in preparation for its pending merger with competitor Endeavor. About 40 of the affected employees were agents, and the rest were support staff. The layoffs, which have been expected since the two companies agreed to join forces late last month, hit the motion picture and television talent and literary departments the hardest.

A trio of partners representing some of the best-known comedy actors and filmmakers in Hollywood jumped from United Talent Agency to Endeavor over the weekend in one of the biggest shake-ups to jolt the agency world in recent years.

Talent agencies William Morris and Endeavor are expected to vote today on a merger creating a new giant in Hollywood at a time when the longtime role and power of the firms that represent actors, directors and writers are coming under severe strain.

Industry watchers took note this month when talent agent Chris Silbermann showed up at investment banker Herbert Allen Jr.'s annual retreat for media and entertainment power players. Never before had an agent with boutique firm Broder Webb Chervin Silbermann, where the 38-year-old was then managing partner, been invited to the exclusive event in Sun Valley, Idaho. But suddenly, there Silbermann was, lunching by the duck pond with International Creative Management Inc. chief Jeff Berg.

In a shake-up at ICM that could cost the talent agency a host of top clients, industry veteran Robert Newman jumped ship Wednesday after 17 years to join rival Endeavor Agency. Newman, 48, the head of ICM's motion picture group, represents a roster of prestigious filmmakers that include Robert Rodriguez, Baz Luhrmann, Guillermo del Toro and Mike Figgis. He and Matt Solo, the former head of ICM's television literary department, are joining Endeavor as partners.

Beverly Hills talent firm Endeavor Agency will expand its offices by moving to a nearby building on Wilshire Boulevard as part of deal valued at more than $38 million, according to real estate sources. Endeavor, which represents stars such as Vin Diesel, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, will take more than 70,000 square feet at 9601 Wilshire Blvd. in a 15-year lease, people familiar with the negotiations said.

Both sides in the brutal courtroom clash between literary agent Richard Abate and ICM were licking their wounds Tuesday, following an embarrassingly public legal battle over Abate's attempt to bolt ICM and jump to the rival Endeavor Talent Agency. A federal judge is expected to rule this week on ICM's move to block Abate's departure. During a concluding hearing Monday, both sides accused each other of corrupt motives and both sides were criticized by U.S. District Judge Peter K.

Top talent firm Endeavor Agency, home of "Titanic" director James Cameron and "Ally McBeal" creator David E. Kelley, is expected to announce today an exclusive agreement to create Internet-only programming with Orange County new-media company Broadband Interactive Group. The two companies will form an editorial board to oversee the venture, seeking help from some of Hollywood's creative heavyweights for a medium that could transform traditional filmmaking.

To understand the topsy-turvy world of Hollywood talent agencies these days, a tennis court in Iowa Falls, Iowa -- population 5,435 -- is a good place to start. It was there in the early 1980s that teenagers Patrick Whitesell and Suhail Rizvi formed a lasting friendship while practicing their serves. Two decades later, they're still playing on the same court. Whitesell is a partner at Endeavor Agency; Rizvi is the new co-owner of International Creative Management.

Issues of control are bogging down a possible merger between two major Hollywood talent agencies. William Morris Agency and Endeavor have been in merger discussions for weeks, setting the stage for a new Hollywood powerhouse that would wield considerable clout in film, television, music and publishing.

A trio of partners representing some of the best-known comedy actors and filmmakers in Hollywood jumped from United Talent Agency to Endeavor over the weekend in one of the biggest shake-ups to jolt the agency world in recent years.

One afternoon earlier this year, architect Neil Denari met me in the cloud-white lobby of his best-known Southern California design: the Endeavor talent agency in Beverly Hills, which was completed in 2004. Talent agencies typically hire architects to reinforce their reputations as places in Hollywood where careers are shaped and deals are packaged--where power is consolidated.

Both sides in the brutal courtroom clash between literary agent Richard Abate and ICM were licking their wounds Tuesday, following an embarrassingly public legal battle over Abate's attempt to bolt ICM and jump to the rival Endeavor Talent Agency. A federal judge is expected to rule this week on ICM's move to block Abate's departure. During a concluding hearing Monday, both sides accused each other of corrupt motives and both sides were criticized by U.S. District Judge Peter K.

It's a case of life imitating "Entourage." When Richard Abate, a prominent New York literary agent, made plans to leave ICM and move to the Endeavor Talent Agency, he had no idea the transition would unleash so much drama. Not only has he become the target of internet gossip and speculation, he's also been slapped with an ICM lawsuit alleging that he violated the terms of his contract -- which runs through the end of this year -- by moving to an arch-competitor ahead of time.

In a shake-up at ICM that could cost the talent agency a host of top clients, industry veteran Robert Newman jumped ship Wednesday after 17 years to join rival Endeavor Agency. Newman, 48, the head of ICM's motion picture group, represents a roster of prestigious filmmakers that include Robert Rodriguez, Baz Luhrmann, Guillermo del Toro and Mike Figgis. He and Matt Solo, the former head of ICM's television literary department, are joining Endeavor as partners.

It's a case of life imitating "Entourage." When Richard Abate, a prominent New York literary agent, made plans to leave ICM and move to the Endeavor Talent Agency, he had no idea the transition would unleash so much drama. Not only has he become the target of internet gossip and speculation, he's also been slapped with an ICM lawsuit alleging that he violated the terms of his contract -- which runs through the end of this year -- by moving to an arch-competitor ahead of time.

Industry watchers took note this month when talent agent Chris Silbermann showed up at investment banker Herbert Allen Jr.'s annual retreat for media and entertainment power players. Never before had an agent with boutique firm Broder Webb Chervin Silbermann, where the 38-year-old was then managing partner, been invited to the exclusive event in Sun Valley, Idaho. But suddenly, there Silbermann was, lunching by the duck pond with International Creative Management Inc. chief Jeff Berg.

To understand the topsy-turvy world of Hollywood talent agencies these days, a tennis court in Iowa Falls, Iowa -- population 5,435 -- is a good place to start. It was there in the early 1980s that teenagers Patrick Whitesell and Suhail Rizvi formed a lasting friendship while practicing their serves. Two decades later, they're still playing on the same court. Whitesell is a partner at Endeavor Agency; Rizvi is the new co-owner of International Creative Management.