Mass sacking of Hollywood agents as recession bites

[IndianaGreen]

Mass sacking of Hollywood agents as recession bites

They are notorious for taking a slice of the profits, but now it's the 'tenpercenters' who are getting cut

By Guy Adams in Los Angeles

Sunday, 24 May 2009

Some of Hollywood's biggest power-brokers are being forced to cancel power lunches, trade in their Porsches, and get used to life without a personal assistant to shout at, as LA talent agents become the latest breed of white-collar superheroes to fall on hard times.

More than 100 employees at William Morris, the venerable Beverly Hills firm that represents some of the biggest names, were made redundant this week, in one of the greatest bloodbaths this cut-throat industry has ever seen. The move came as the US Federal Trade Commission approved a merger between William Morris and its former rival Endeavour, creating a "super-agency" which represents more than a thousand of the world's most famous actors, writers and directors.

Lay-offs were expected ever since the two firms announced plans to join forces to ride out the economic downturn and challenge the dominance of CAA, Hollywood's long-standing market leader. However, the scale of the redundancies surprised many observers.

Rival agencies are now hungrily circling clients of both businesses, hoping to lure away their most lucrative stars. William Morris represents the likes of Kanye West, Britney Spears and Russell Crowe; Endeavour's stable boasts Robert De Niro, Matt Damon and Adam Sandler. "The fallout hasn't really begun. There's been a trickle, but I expect a waterfall in the coming months," said Frank Wuliger, a partner at the Gersh Agency. "When agents get fired, the actors they represent think again, because the agent-client relationship is intimate; it's like a marriage."

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/mass-sacking-of-hollywood-agents-as-recession-bites-1690148.html

[Ken Burch]

1. Will they be holding up signs that say "Will Represent For Sushi"?

n/t.

[imdjh]

2. Tip of the iceberg.

I've always thought the credits were hilarious. I'd sit there and watch them just to see how many people could possibly be on the list, especially for a crappy movie. What exactly is an assistant to the assistant make-up artist? Oh, and the drivers. Love their work.

Seriously, the old movies sucked by and large. Lousy continuity, lousy lighting, and frankly the acting wasn't terrific for the most part. But I think that those old Hollywood guys would have a heart attack if they saw the payroll of even the straight to DVD movies these days.

On a bright note, the quality of porn has really improved in the last 30 years. I still think that some of the standard ways of doing things are silly and/or turn-off, but I have to assume that everyone else likes it.

[mackerel]

3. Cuts down on thank you's at Golden Globe and Oscars