EXCLUSIVE UPDATE: Deadline has confirmed several who will be part of the tens of thousands of chief agents who turn manager / producers and participate in this venture is brought by Pete Micelli with hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen and two other major funding sources. A big name to add is Rich Cook, a star WME-lit agent who ran the film lighting department for the agency before temporarily moving to London and returning his clients from there. Also participating are four sharp UTA agents (at least two are partners) on the television side: Mackenzie Roussos, Susie Fox, Chelsea Mckinnies, and Lucinda Moorhead. There will be much more to discuss, including which clients will be recruited by the management company and how that will work with the agencies they leave behind. This happens in real time and some of the participants delete themselves from their agencies to make this move, but this is certainly the birth of a formidable new venture that I am told will be sent by a diverse group.
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I received a confirmation from Cook, who said in a statement: ‘I am grateful for my time at WME. I could not have hoped for a better journey driven by unreliable support, unwavering leadership and a family I look forward to working with in this next chapter. ”
EARLIER EXCLUSIVE, 16:08 pst: It was just announced internally at CAA and it’s a bomb shell. Pete Micelli, the former CAA television agent who left his position as Chief Strategy Officer at eOne in April, will provide a new spearhead for a new management / production company that will be packed with talented talent.
Jack Whigham, Mick Sullivan, Dave Bugliari, and Michael Cooper are sure of it, and I hear there’s funding from at least three big investors including Steve Cohen, the hedge fund titan who is trying to beat the New York Mets buy. Cohen has been pushing this idea with Micelli, under the name Moxie – the venture will not be named – and we hear as many as a dozen principals will start the business, so are agents from other percentrates, including UTA and WME. These exits are said to be friendly, an indication of a changing landscape after the pandemic swept every major agency and caused layoffs, furloughs, wage cuts and other misery throughout Hollywood. Agencies have not worked from their offices or staff meetings since March, and it seems doubtful that this will change for the rest of the year.
The agents I mentioned in the initial post and the update showcase some of the top talent in the game, and will likely continue relationships as manager / producers. Talents include Margot Robbie, Bradley Cooper, Tiffany Haddish, Tom Hardy, Gabrielle Union, Kiera Knightley, Johnny Depp, Chris Hemsworth, Aidy Bryant, Will Smith, Mark Wahlberg, Nasim Pedrad, Dan Stevens, Constance Wu, Ramy Youssef, Abbi Jacobson , Anna Faris, Nick Jonas, Phillipa Soo, Jarmaine Clement, and many others.
I just got a statement that the outgoing CAA quarter sent internally:
“We love and enjoy our time at CAA. We have deep friendships that will be alive. We have learned so much. We are so excited to work closely with CAA in partnership with our new company. “
This follows another CAA veteran, Scott Greenberg, who has revealed Deadline CAA will go out to become a partner at another management / production company LBI Entertainment. After all the wearing of the pandemic, and the long run with the Writers Guild, management seems like a brighter arena than ever.
