ICM, Ed Limato and Shifting Agency Power in Hollywood

Michael Fleming, in a follow up to Friday's news that agent Ed Limato (who reps Mel Gibson, Denzel Washington, Steve Martin, Richard Gere, Paul Walker and others) is splitting with his longtime agency ICM, writes in Variety that "the balance of power in Hollywood is about to change."

That assesment, while a bit hyperbolic, certainly has some validity. For three decades, Limato has been an institution in Hollywood and a statesman for the agency. And so while power may be shifting around town, it's clearly waning for ICM, which once had one of the strongest film divisions. With the earlier departure of well-respected agent and tastemaker Robert Newman (who went to Endeavor) and now Limato, ICM continues to lose clout in the movie world, a claim they dispute:

Despite the loss of film agents and clients, ICM leadership bristles at any notion that its attempt to graft a new culture onto its film business has at least temporarily made that department weaker than its major agency rivals.

The agency plans to make an aggressive attempt to lure a star dealmaker who could bring a windfall of clients, and insiders feel that landing that star may be easier without the long shadow cast by Limato.

Finding such an agent and coaxing him to leave with clients doesn't happen all that often, though. Endeavor made a blockbuster deal to lure CAA agent Patrick Whitesell, who has helped transform a film talent stable from a liability to a strength. More recently, CAA put itself in the comedy game by luring UTA agents Dan Aloni and Jason Heyman and their comedy clients. Newman bolstered Endeavor's filmmaker business.

ICM and Limato are expected to battle in out in an arbitration hearing scheduled for Aug. 1. At issue is a non-compete clause, which could keep Limato from taking his clients to another agency. But that hasn't stopped the town from wondering where Limato, who has three assistants, a big overhead, and a unique personal style (he's long quit smoking, but he's known to dramatically wave around a ceramic cigarette while holding meetings in his office) could land. Fleming suggest that Limato could find a home at rival agency William Morris. Given the strength of Limato's clients, CAA would also seem to be a possibility. A move to Endeavor would be "complicated by the fact that agency chief Ari Emanuel encouraged an industry boycott against Gibson following his anti-Semitic comments after a drunken driving arrest in Malibu."