William Morris Agency

Infobox_Company
company_name = William Morris Agency
company_type = Private
company_|
foundation = New York, New York, USA (1898)
location = Beverly Hills, California (USA)
key_people = Dave Wirtschafter, President
Jim Wiatt, CEO
Norman Brokaw, Chairman

Ed Limato, SVP
John Fogelman, SVP
Michael Dates, CFO
David Kekst, Chief Counsel
Irv Weintraub, COO

industry =
homepage = [http://www.wma.com/ Official Website]

William Morris Agency, founded in 1898 as a vaudeville booking broker, is a Hollywood talent agency that represents many well-known performers and filmmakers. With annual revenues estimated to be between $275 and $300 million, WMA has four offices in North America (Beverly Hills, California, New York City, New York, Nashville, Tennessee and Miami Beach, Florida), as well as in London, England, and Shanghai, China. [cite encyclopedia |last=Scott | first=Allen | title=On Hollywood: The Place, The Industry | edition=First Edition | year=2005 | publisher=Princeton University Press | location=Princeton, NJ | isbn= 0691116830]

The William Morris mailroom

The William Morris agent training program, often referred to as the "mailroom", was established in the 1940s and is well-known for its roster of successful alumni. Since the 1970s the program has been replicated at other talent agencies and studios, many of which were headed by former mailroom trainees. Applicants to the program usually have family connections or a background in the entertainment industry and interview with six or more agents before being considered.Fact|date=September 2008 Once accepted, trainees rotate through different departments, starting with the mailroom, before becoming a full-time assistant or coordinator. WMA's main competitor, Creative Artists Agency, was founded in 1975 by five former WMA mailroom trainees. [cite encyclopedia |last=Rose | first=Frank | title=The Agency | edition=First Edition | year=1996 | publisher=Harper Business | location=New York | isbn=0887308074] [cite encyclopedia |last=Rensin | first=David | title=The Mailroom | edition=First Edition | year=2003 | publisher=Ballantine Books | location=New York | isbn=0345442350]

Notable former trainees

*Michael Ovitz - co-founder of Creative Artists Agency and former president of Walt Disney Company
*Michael Eisner - former CEO of Walt Disney Company and Paramount Pictures
*David Geffen - "G" in Dreamworks SKG and founder of Geffen Records and Asylum Records
*Jeffrey Katzenberg - "K" in Dreamworks SKG and CEO of DreamWorks Animation
*George Shapiro - executive producer of "Seinfeld"
*Anne Carey - producer of "The Laramie Project" and "The Savages"
*Ben Silverman - co-chairman of NBC and executive producer of "The Office"
*Peter Shaw - former head of MGM Studios
*Ron Meyer - co-founder of Creative Artists Agency and president of Universal Studios
*Abe Lastfogel - former owner of William Morris Agency and organizer of USO
*Al Brodax - producer of "Yellow Submarine" and "Popeye"
*Bryan Lourd - co-chairman of Creative Artists Agency
*Bernie Brillstein - executive producer of "Saturday Night Live" and "Ghostbusters" col-2-of-2
*Wally Amos - founder of Famous Amos
*Barry Diller - former CEO of Paramount Pictures, Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Networks, chairman of InterActiveCorp
*Helen Gurley Brown - long time editor-in-chief of "Cosmopolitan"
*Jennifer Rudolph Walsh - co-head of William Morris Agency Literary Department
*Joe Wizan - director of "Along Came a Spider" and "...and Justice for All"
*Robert Shapiro - celebrity lawyer and attorney for O.J. Simpson
*Cassian Elwes - head of William Morris Agency Independent Film Department
*Jack Rapke - producer of "Cast Away" and "What Lies Beneath"
*Mike Rosenfeld - co-founder of Creative Artists Agency
*Kevin Huvane - managing partner of Creative Artists Agency
*Cary Woods - producer of "Godzilla" and "Scream"
*Nick Stevens - co-owner of United Talent Agency
*Irwin Winkler - producer of "Rocky", "Raging Bull", "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" and "Goodfellas" [cite encyclopedia |last=Rensin | first=David | title=The Mailroom | edition=First Edition | year=2003 | publisher=Ballantine Books | location=New York | isbn=0345442350] [cite web|title=New Thriller: Will Ovitz Go to MCA?|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE3D6113AF932A25757C0A963958260] [cite encyclopedia |last=Mair | first=George | title=The Barry Diller Story: The Life and Times of America's Greatest Entertainment Mogul| edition=First Edition | year=1998 | publisher=Wiley | location=New York | isbn= 0471299480] [cite web|title=A Hollywood agency with star power|url=http://money.cnn.com/2007/09/28/magazines/fortune/hollywood_agent.fortune/index.htm]

Representative list of notable present and past clients

William Morris Agency is engaged in talent brokerage, and represents a large group of above-the-line artists in the film industry and music industry. The talent agency also represents companies that conduct entertainment-related business activities. In 2007, the agency packaged the General Motors marketing campaign with the "Transformers" film, creating product placement within the film and commercials featuring elements from the movie. [cite web|title=Company Information at IMDB Pro|url=http://pro.imdb.com/company/co0009002/] [cite web|title=Hollywood's toy ploy|url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117966576.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&query=marc+graser+toy/]

Actors and directors

*Michael Bay - director of "Armageddon" and "Transformers"
*Russell Crowe - actor in "A Beautiful Mind" and "Gladiator"
*J. J. Abrams - creator of "Lost" and "Alias"
*Mel Gibson - actor in "Braveheart" and the "Lethal Weapon" trilogy
*Ridley Scott - director of "Alien" and "Thelma and Louise"
*Bryan Singer - director of "The Usual Suspects" and "Superman Returns"
*Quentin Tarantino - director of "Pulp Fiction" and "Kill Bill"
*Paul Thomas Anderson - director of "Magnolia" and "There Will Be Blood"
*Denzel Washington - actor in "American Gangster" and "Inside Man"
*Clint Eastwood - actor in "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" and director of "Million Dollar Baby"
*Richard Gere
*Jackie Chan
*Eddie Murphy
*John Travolta
*Forrest Whitaker
*Natalie Portman
*Whoopi Goldberg
*Selena Gomez
*Sharon Stone
*Josh Holloway
*Steven Soderbergh - director of "Traffic" and "Ocean's Eleven" trilogy
*Frank Darabont - director of "The Shawshank Redemption" and "The Green Mile"
*Bill Cosby Col-end [cite web|title=Company Information at IMDB Pro|url=http://pro.imdb.com/company/co0009002/] [cite web|title=Anderson, Chan join WMA|url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117984715.html?categoryid=13&cs=1/]

Musicians

*Sean Combs
*Eminem
*Fatboy Slim
*The Killers
*Willie Nelson
*Lynyrd Skynyrd
*The Rolling Stones
*50 Cent
*Snoop Dog
*Britney Spears
*Kanye West [cite web|title=WMA Going West|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb5143/is_200610/ai_n18582433]

Companies

*Hasbro
*Coca-Cola
*Starbucks
*General Motors
*Anheuser-Busch
*Hilton Hotels
*HP
*Swarovski
*Myspace.com
*NFL
*Chelsea F.C. [cite web|title=Starbucks to stop serving music|url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117984624.html] [cite web|title=Mark Sacks joins William Morris Agency|url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117971011.html] [cite web|title=William Morris signs Chelsea Football Club|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2004_Oct_7/ai_n6226970]

Past Clients

*Steve McQueen
*Frank Sinatra
*Andy Griffith
*Marilyn Monroe
*Elvis Presley
*Katharine Hepburn
*Jack Lemmon
*Kim Novak
*Dick Van Dyke
*Sammy Davis, Jr.
*Rita Hayworth
*Jimmy Cagney
*Louis Armstrong
*Will Rogers
*The Marx Brothers
*Mae West
*Charlie Chaplin
*The Byrds
*The Beach Boys Col-end

New building

In 2006, William Morris Agency began construction on its new headquarters building. The new structure includes many features aimed at reducing carbon emission and waste, such as the installation of rain-capture systems and bamboo floors [cite web|title=Eco buildings|url=http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=evgreenhollywood&categoryid=2378&articleId=VR1117954724] . According to "Real Estate Southern California" [cite web|title=The Great, Green Way|url=http://www.globest.com/news/1033_1033/more/165914-1.html] , the building will be the first US LEED-certified building in Los Angeles county. LEED is the U.S. Green Building Council standard for environmentally sustainable structures. The building is scheduled for completion in 2009.

References

External links

* [http://www.wma.com/ William Morris Agency Homepage]