Gawker: defamer, william morris agency

William Morris Agency Salary Figures Leak

Hamilton Nolan — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:22:11 EDT

An executive of hotshot talent agency William Morris made the mistake of faxing a memo containing the salaries of many of the firm's highest-paid employees, and now it's all up on the internet. Here's how much they make (a lot):

The Wrap got hold of the memo, which they say was written by CFO Irv Weintraub and contains compensation figures from 2007. Translations of the abbreviations:

Norman: Norman Brokaw, chairman
IW: Irv Weintraub, CFO
JW: Jim Wiatt
DZW: Dave Wirtschafter

[The Wrap]

E! Host Giuliana Rancic Sues WMA For Daring to Employ Other Clients

Kyle Buchanan — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:00:00 EDT

There are certain universal truths about Hollywood agents: namely, that they never pick up your phone calls, deal with you mostly through their assistants, and always seem to be finding work for people who aren't you. Sadly, E! bobblehead Giuliana Rancic (who we last saw announcing the death of "Brad Redfro" while dressed in a somber tube top) has failed to grasp that last tenet — in fact, she's suing her agents at William Morris for having the audacity to focus on anyone but her. Says Page Six:

Rancic, who hosts E! News with Ryan Seacrest, is suing her former agency for "breach of contract and fiduciary duty," according to her lawyer, Lavely & Singer bulldog Paul Sorrell. "They put the interests of other clients they had ahead of hers," Sorrell said. "It was a major conflict of interest, so she fired them."

Now that the Dam of Obviousness has been breached, we expect lawsuits against WMA any minute on the grounds that "they exist," "they take ten percent commission," and "they're mean." We've contacted William Morris for comment, though we've been assured "they'll get back to you soon, they're just at lunch — I mean, 'really swamped right now.'"

SUE THE AGENT [New York Post]

New WMA Client Alex Rodriguez Takes Brave Next Step in Celebrity Courtship

STV — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:25:00 EDT

We're hearing today that Madonna might not be the only entertainment interest Alex Rodriguez reportedly plans to get into: According to The Wall Street Journal (via ESPN), the Yankees slugger and bachelor-to-be inked a deal with William Morris "in an attempt to extend his brand beyond the baseball diamond." A-Rod joins Dwayne Wade, Serena Williams and Kevin Garnett among WMA's athlete clientele, an affiliation he and manager Guy Oseary are hoping will nudge him deeper into commercials, endorsements, video games, self-help literature, yoga tutorials, reality-TV dance competitions, and, most importantly, an IMDB headshot and STARmeter ranking that won't embarrass the shit out of his rumored paramour. Yes, A-Rod, we agree — it's time. (Click the image for a larger view.)

A-Rod thinking beyond baseball in partnering with William Morris [ESPN]
Alex Rodriguez [IMDB]