Major talent agency WME is cutting red tape and consolidating several of its own fiefdoms into a single film division with a trio of executives named to lead the Hollywood-focused unit.
The Beverly Hills-based representation giant, led by co-presidents Christian Muirhead and Richard Weitz, unveiled a sweeping reorganization Monday to, in Weitz’s words, make the agency “more agile, sharper and better equipped to spot our clients’ futures.”
As the lines between film and television become more blurred and the entertainment industry consolidates (See: ParaBros), WME is re-evaluating how it serves its vast customer base, competing with other majors CAA and UTA, as well as an ever-increasing number of boutiques. “Talent is leading and directors are acting now,” insider adds to The Hollywood Reporternoting that the agency must serve clients holistically rather than operating in silos.
To that end, Andrew Dunlap, Doug Lucterhand and Sarah Self will lead WME’s unified film unit, which will bring together its film literature and film talent groups that previously operated separately. The three co-chiefs will be based in Los Angeles, at the newly redesigned headquarters on Wilshire Blvd.
Additionally, literary media department heads Sylvie Rabineau and Hilary Zaitz Michael now have an additional layer of bosses, as they will report to the Motion Picture Unit trio as well as New York-based Erin Junkin, who will add the Television Talent group to her responsibilities, while co-heading the scripted television department with Tom Wellington. And the same goes for the production department, which will now report to the cinema bosses.
As for those execs: Motion Picture co-head Dunlap, who started in Endeavor’s mailroom in 2004, has a high-profile client list that includes Millie Bobby Brown, Kevin Costner, Matt Damon, Colman Domingo, Robert Downey Jr., Tom Holland and more. Co-head Lucterhand also started in the mailroom before becoming an agent in 2005. Today, his client list is led by Ryan Reynolds, Mark Wahlberg, Adam Sandler, Rami Malek and Kevin Hart. And Self, the co-head of Motion Picture who joined WME from Gersh in 2010, reps Damien Chazelle, Diablo Cody, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jonah Hill, John Krasinski and more.
While the consolidation of the Cinema division’s departments may be the biggest news from the shakeup, WME has also made a series of key changes in other divisions. (No layoffs would be part of the reorganization.)
Its head of brand partnerships, Will Ward, has now been named head of WME Fashion, which includes IMG Models, The Wall Group and Art + Commerce. Ward, based in Los Angeles, replaces fashion chief Rebecca Sanhueza, who will continue to work at the company and retain her role as president of her unscripted content company Pantheon Media Group.
And now the major talent agency’s London office has an official leader in Romola Ratnam, who will lead WME’s overseas expansion while retaining the role of WME Group’s head of impact, inclusion and advocacy.
At the top of the C-suite, Co-Chairman Muirhead added of these appointments: “These leaders have set the bar for excellence and embody the spirit of collaboration that sets WME apart. »
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