If you think Actors get rich making movies, you should check out their agents.
A secret memo, just leaked to Hollywood news site, ‘The Wrap,’ gives disturbing details of how much cash these unseen suits really make. Apparently penned by chief bean-counter, Irvin Weintraub, the fax [WM are famous for loving Luddite technology!] lists the salaries and stock options of some of their top agents and suits in 2007. And some pretty big numbers were involved.
The memo reports that former Morris CEO, Jim Watt, who was dropped when they merged with Endeavor, pulled down $7-million in 2007, while his replacement, Dave Wirtschafter, scored $6-million in his first year at the helm. “These are private companies and the numbers never go public,” The Wrap’s Sharon Waxman explains. “And more than a few of Morris’ clients are considering if their rep really earns what they’re paid.”
This is the first exposé of such unwarranted wealth and it’s making some at the big ten-percentaries nervous as most Actors had no idea what their agents can earn. “The memo’s important, because actors should never be clued in that their agents make a hell of a lot more money than they do!” says Waxman.
From the info provided, a typical agent with some high-profile names can make $4m+ a year without breaking a sweat. And all for just working the phones.
Formed in 1898, William Morris was a long-time Goliath of the agency world with revenues topping $300-million a year. Jim Watt was denounced by his peers when he green-lit the sell-out to Endeavor, so to sweeten the pill they all called it ‘a merger.’ But 100+ staff still lost their jobs.
The once-invincible mammoth is now a weakening third in the agency ranks.
