FEBRUARY 17, 2020 LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL 19

Ranked by number of L.A. County agentsTALENT AGENCIES NEXT WEEK

Securities Brokerage FirmsTHE LIST

Rank Agency• name

• address

• website

Agents• L.A. County

Notable Clients(partial list)

Profile• year

founded

Top Executive• name

• title

• phone

1Creative Artists Agency2000 Avenue of the StarsLos Angeles 90067; caa.com

430 George Clooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Reese Witherspoon,Steven Spielberg, Will Smith, Brad Pitt, Katy Perry

1975 Richard LovettPresident(424) 288-2000

2United Talent Agency9336 Civic Center DriveBeverly Hills 90210; unitedtalent.com

260 Harrison Ford, Chris Pratt, Judd Apatow, Kate Beckinsale, Greta Gerwig, Will Ferrell,Kristen Wiig, Post Malone, Ewan McGregor, Kate McKinnon, James Franco, SusanSarandon, Anna Faris, Benedict Cumberbatch, James McAvoy, Pitbull, Jay Ellis, 21Savage, Queen Latifah, Delta Air Lines, Coca-Cola, Chance the Rapper, The JonasBrothers, Guns N' Roses, Lyft, Procter & Gamble, CoverGirl

1991 Jeremy ZimmerCEO(310) 273-6700

3WME9601 Wilshire Blvd.Beverly Hills 90210; wmeagency.com

232 Alfonso Cuarón, Amy Adams, Angelina Jolie, Brie Larson, Bruno Mars, Charlize Theron,Damien Chazelle, Russo Brothers, Quentin Tarantino, David Beckham, DenzelWashington, Donald Glover, Drake, Dwayne Johnson, Elisabeth Moss, Emma Stone,Hans Zimmer, Gwen Stefani, Justin Timberlake, LeBron James, Martin Scorsese, MattDamon, Matthew McConaughey, Michael Bay, Oprah Winfrey

2009 Ariel EmanuelCEO, Endeavor(310) 285-9000

4ICM Partners10250 Constellation Blvd.Los Angeles 90067; icmpartners.com

210 Beyoncé, John Cena, Ellen DeGeneres, Jeff Daniels, Vince Gilligan, J. Cole, Samuel L.Jackson, Khalid, Regina King, Spike Lee, Shonda Rhimes, Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld,Christoph Waltz

1975 Chris SilbermannManaging Director(310) 550-4000

5APA405 S. Beverly DriveBeverly Hills 90212; apa-agency.com

208 Gary Oldman, Mary J. Blige, James Earl Jones, Tyrese Gibson, Cole Hauser, Lili Taylor,Francois Arnaud, T.I., John Carpenter, Derek Kolstad, Lee Child, Charlaine Harris, NoelleStevenson, Smokey Robinson, Eddie Izzard, Ronnie Chieng, Ms. Pat, Fran Drescher,Tom Papa, 50 Cent, Brand New, Criss Angel, Bryce Vine, David Gilmour, Blondie, BrianWilson

1962 James Gosnell Jr.CEO, President(310) 888-4200

6Gersh Agency9465 Wilshire Blvd., Sixth FloorBeverly Hills 90212; gersh.com

125 Dave Chappelle, Werner Herzog, Tom McCarthy, J.K. Simmons, Adam Driver, PatriciaArquette, John Goodman, Debra Messing, Allison Janney, Sam Rockwell, John Oliver,John Irving, Tony Kushner, Mandy Moore

1949 Bob GershDavid GershCo-Presidents(310) 274-6611

7Paradigm Talent Agency8942 Wilshire Blvd.Beverly Hills 90211;paradigmagency.com

89 Antonio Banderas, Coldplay, Laurence Fishburne, Billie Eilish, Ed Sheeran, HenryGolding, Shawn Mendes

1993 Sam GoresCEO, Chairman(310) 288-8000

8Innovative Artists Talent & LiteraryAgency1505 10th St.Santa Monica 90401;innovativeartists.com

43 NA 1982 Scott HarrisPresident(310) 656-0400

NA - Not Available Note: Information on this list was provided by representatives of the agencies. To the best of ourknowledge, this information is accurate as of press time. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy andthoroughness of the list, omissions and typographical errors sometimes occur. Please send corrections or additions on

company letterhead to the Research Department, Los Angeles Business Journal, 11150 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 350,Los Angeles 90025. ©2020 Los Angeles Business Journal. This list may not be reprinted in whole or in part withoutprior written permission from the editor. Reprints are available from Wright’s Media (877) 652-5295.

Researched by Joshua Niv

Continued on page 20

The labor dispute over talent agency packaging fees is boiling over, but it sits outside of Hollywood’s triple-witching contracts.

In April, the Writer’s Guild of America instructed its members to fire their agents — and most did though not all, according to news accounts — igniting a static trench warfare that is ongoing.

In a boost to the WGA, some small and medium-size talent agencies recently signed franchise agreements with the union, breaking ranks with the Association of Talent Agents, an industry trade group.

WGA efforts to abolish the packaging practice date to the 1970s, when talent agencies began taking their fees directly from producers for movies and TV projects that were often built around scripts penned by their writer clients.

When talent agencies package projects, they don’t collect the normal 10% fee on earnings from their clients in the packaged project, which agencies assert is a benefit for talent.

For TV shows, the agency packaging fee is typically 3% of a TV network’s license fee plus a slice of profits, which can run $30,000-$100,000 per episode for multi-season TV series. Over the decades, packaging fees became a pillar of agency economics.

The WGA counters that the practice moves talent agencies into roles akin to employers and eats into the economics of film and television to the detriment of talent. It wants to align inter-ests by having agencies compensated only when clients get paid.

Also, the WGA wants the talent agencies to abandon a bud-ding trend of creating boutique, in-house Hollywood production companies.

— Robert Marich

for rich paydays — “overscale” compensation — though collective bargaining agreements are important in setting a base.

Another wrinkle is that much of Holly-wood’s top talent also works as producers — which are employers. That means the likes of Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and other multi-hyphenates (particularly writer-produc-ers) can have economic stakes on both sides of the triple-witching negotiating table.

Co-chairing the DGA in negotiations are directors Jon Avnet and Todd Holland. Avnet produced “Risky Business,” launching the act-ing career of Tom Cruise. Emmy-winner Hol-land directed episodes of ABC’s “Black-ish.”

The DGA went first in earlier triple witch-ing contract-negotiation cycles, in part because directors have a reputation for reaching deals without resorting to strikes. The DGA only stopped work once, in 1987, resulting in a short walkout. The first deal from any of these three unions typically sets a pattern that is adopted by the other two.

While the outcome of contract negotiations is uncertain, Hollywood routinely prepares for worst-case scenarios. Movie and TV program shooting schedules stop and start around contract expirations. That way if a strike does erupt, productions are not shut down mid-stream.

Also, producers stockpile scripts so execu-tives can tinker with projects during stoppages and be able to quickly resume production once strikes end.

Any stoppage this summer would wreak havoc with physical productions of TV series scheduled for the traditional fall TV premiere season — hourlong dramas for fall premieres usually start filming in mid- to late June. Streamers are less impacted because they post new TV shows on a more year-round basis.

Dispute Between Agencies, Writers Likely to ContinueStandoff is separate from other labor contracts

Creative Differences: The Writer’s Guild of America has been embroiled in conflict with talent agencies since April.

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20 LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL FEBRUARY 17, 2020T A L E N T A G E N C I E S & V E N U E ST A L E N T A G E N C I E S & V E N U E S

TALENT AGENCIES Continued from page 19

Rank Agency• name

• address

• website

Agents• L.A. County

Notable Clients(partial list)

Profile• year

founded

Top Executive• name

• title

• phone

9Abrams Artists Agency750 N. San Vicente Blvd., Red Building,11th FloorLos Angeles 90069;abramsartistsagency.com

35 NA 1977 Brian ChoPresident(310) 859-0625

10Z GroupNABeverly Hills 90210; zgroupla.com

25 NA 2011 Zachary SolovCEO, President(424) 777-0537

11Kazarian/Measures/Ruskin &Associates5200 Lankershim Blvd., Suite 820Studio City 91604; kmrtalent.com

16 NA 1957 Mark MeasuresPresident(818) 769-9111

12Don Buchwald & Associates Inc.5900 Wilshire Blvd., 31st FloorLos Angeles 90036; buchwald.com

151 Juliette Lewis, Joss Stone, Howard Stern, Norman Reedus 1977 Julia BuchwaldPresident(323) 655-7400

CESD Talent Agency10635 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 130Los Angeles 90025; cesdtalent.com

15 NA 1967 Paul DohertyCo-Owner, Head of L.A.Office(310) 475-2111

14Clear Talent Group10950 Ventura Blvd.Studio City 91604; cleartalentgroup.com

14 NA 2003 Tim O'BrienPresident(818) 509-0121

15Brady Brannon & Rich Talent5670 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 820Los Angeles 90036;bbrtalentagency.com

12 NA 1981 Stuart RobinsonCEO(323) 852-9559

16Mavrick Artists Agency8447 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 301Beverly Hills 90211; mavrickartists.com

10 NA 2011 Brad DiffleyCEO(323) 931-5555

Coast To Coast Talent Group3350 Barham Blvd.Los Angeles 90068; ctctalent.com

10 NA 1987 Jeremiah DoryonElyah DoryonPrincipals(323) 845-9200

18AKA Talent Agency4525 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 280Los Angeles 90010; akatalent.com

9 NA 1999 Doug ElyMike AbramsPamela PorterOwners, Agents(323) 965-5600

Amsel Eisenstadt Frazier & HinojosaInc.5055 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 865Los Angeles 90036; aefhtalent.com

9 Fred Willard, Danny Trejo, Dee Wallace, Joe Piscopo, Micky Dolenz 1992 Michael EisenstadtPresident(323) 939-1188

20Sutton Barth & Vennari5900 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 700Los Angeles 90036; sbvtalent.com

8 NA 1978 Rita VennariPresident(323) 938-6000

Commercial Talent12711 Ventura Blvd., Suite 285Studio City 91604;commercialtalentagency.com

8 NA 1998 Neil KreppelCEOSheila Di MarcoPresident(818) 505-1431

Talentworks3500 W. Olive Ave., Suite 1400Burbank 91505; talentworksla.com

81 William Shatner, Pam Grier, Josh Brener, Luke Perry, Roger Daltrey, Tracey Gold, BetsyBrandt, Jesse Plemons

1982 Harry GoldPresident(818) 972-4300

Osbrink Agency2222 W. Olive Ave.Burbank 91506; osbrinkagency.com

81 NA 1993 Cindy OsbrinkScott WineOwners(818) 760-2488

24Dattner Dispoto and Associates304 S. Broadway Suite 405Los Angeles 90013; ddatalent.com

7 NA 1987 Bill DispotoPresident(310) 474-4585

McDonald/Selznick Associates3575 Cahuenga West, Suite 390Los Angeles 90068; msaagency.com

7 Kenny Ortega, Jamie King, Amy Tinkham, Brian Burke, Napoleon and Tabitha Dumo,Autumn Miller, Bryan Tanaka, Tessandra Chavez, George Chakiris, Shannon Holtzapffel,Daniel Ezralow, Jerry Mitchell, Chase Boden, Toni Basil

2000 Julie McDonaldTony SelznickOwners, Senior Agents(323) 957-6680

1 Business Journal estimate.NA - Not Available Note: Information on this list was provided by representatives of the agencies. To the best of ourknowledge, this information is accurate as of press time. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy andthoroughness of the list, omissions and typographical errors sometimes occur. Please send corrections or additions on

company letterhead to the Research Department, Los Angeles Business Journal, 11150 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 350,Los Angeles 90025. ©2020 Los Angeles Business Journal. This list may not be reprinted in whole or in part withoutprior written permission from the editor. Reprints are available from Wright’s Media (877) 652-5295.

Researched by Joshua Niv

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