Will Endeavor, William Morris clash?
Talent agencies William Morris and Endeavor are expected to announce a merger, which could create a star chamber big enough to pull back power from Hollywood's big studios. But will their cultures clash? Jennifer Collins reports.
William Morris and Endeavor logos (wma.com and weblo.com)
More on Entertainment, Mergers/Acquisitions
TEXT OF STORY
Kai Ryssdal: In Hollywood today there's talk of another big deal. The mega-talent agencies William Morris and Endeavor are expected to announce a get-together. A deal could create a star chamber big enough to let agents take back some of their power from the industry's big studios. Marketplace's Jennifer Collins reports.
JENNIFER COLLINS: First, the players: The William Morris agency started more than a century ago. Endeavor is more of an upstart. Together, the two would have 300 agents, $300 million in revenue, and clout.
LARRY GERBRANDT: The leverage that the stars -- and in particular the agents -- have had have been substantially eroded by just the sheer weight of the recession.
That's entertainment industry analyst Larry Gerbrandt. He says in the past, agencies have called the shots on projects, salaries and scripts. But these days the big movie studios make the deals. The merger would bring together lots of star power under one roof -- Travolta, De Niro, Kate Hudson.
GERBRANDT: It makes far less sense to constantly compete against each other for clients and for projects.
So long as the agencies' cultures don't clash. The head of Endeavor, Ari Emanuel, is the model for Ari Gold, the abrasive agent on HBO's "Entourage."
ARI GOLD: I'm going to take everyone. Your B-level sitcom stars, your reality TV writers. When I'm done with you, you're going to be reping side-show freaks.
Nelson Gayton teaches entertainment management at UCLA.
NELSON GAYTON: If Ari Emmanuel is representative of the culture of Endeavor, will Endeavor as an organization fit with the culture of William Morris?
You can be sure Hollywood will be watching.
I'm Jennifer Collins for Marketplace.
Comments
Comment | Refresh
Post a Comment: Please be civil, brief and relevant.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. All comments are moderated. Marketplace reserves the right to edit any comments on this site and to read them on the air if they are extra-interesting. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting.
You must be 13 or over to submit information to American Public Media. The information entered into this form will not be used to send unsolicited email and will not be sold to a third party. For more information see Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.