- CAA Claims Julia Ormond Wanted $15M To Keep Agency Out Of Harvey Weinstein Lawsuit; “We Will Expose The Real Facts,” Actress’ Lawyer Says Deadline
- Julia Ormond Sues Harvey Weinstein for Battery, CAA and Disney as Enablers of Sexual Assault (EXCLUSIVE) Variety
- Julia Ormond sues Harvey Weinstein for battery along with Disney, CAA and Miramax for negligence CNN
- Actress Julia Ormond sues Harvey Weinstein for battery The Washington Post
- Julia Ormond sues Harvey Weinstein for sexual assault, claims Miramax and Disney knew he was ‘a danger’ Fox News
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Tag Archives: CAA
CAA drops Ye, MRC ditches documentary over antisemitic remarks
Kanye West attends the Givenchy Womenswear Spring/Summer 2023 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on October 02, 2022 in Paris, France.
Stephane Cardinale – Corbis | Corbis Entertainment | Getty Images
Major Hollywood talent agency CAA on Monday dropped Ye, also known as Kanye West, as the rapper and business mogul faces intensifying criticism over his recent antisemitic remarks.
“I can confirm that Kanye is not a client,” a CAA representative told CNBC.
The film studio MRC also said it was dropping a documentary about the artist. MRC was behind films such as “Knives Out” and television series such as “Ozark.”
CNBC has reached out to Ye’s legal team for comment.
The moves come as athletic apparel maker Adidas faces growing calls to end its relationship with Ye.
At least three legal organizations have written letters to the German company to cut ties with Ye due to his recent antisemitic comments. Adidas remains one of the few remaining partnerships after he was let go by luxury goods brand Balenciaga last week. His relationship with JPMorgan Chase also ended. Ye himself had previously ditched his relationship with Gap.
“We call on you to end your silence, condemn Kanye’s obscene antisemitism and terminate your partnership with him,” said the latest letter from the International Legal Forum, an organization representing more than 4,000 attorneys and activists.
Ye has taunted Adidas, in turn. “I can literally say antisemitic s— [to Adidas] and they can’t stop me,” West said in a video posted on Thursday.
Liora Rez, executive director of Stopantisemitism.org, wrote in response: “so I ask you, the Adidas Exec. Board, can Ye literally say anything, or will you denounce antisemitism & stop profiting off bigotry towards Jews?”
This follows a letter last week from the Anti-Defamation League urging Adidas to sever ties with the artist. The ADL compiled a list of what it deemed harmful recent comments by Ye.
CNBC has reached out to Adidas several times. Each time, the company pointed us to their Oct. 6 statement saying the relationship is “under review.”
It might be a matter of time before Adidas makes a move, however.
“We may be at the point where Adidas can’t tolerate it anymore,” said Morningstar analyst David Swartz, noting: “Adidas did overlook a lot of nonsense over the years for the sake keeping Kanye happy and keeping the relationship going.”
His relationship with Adidas goes back to 2013 and has been financially successful and high-profile, earning the company about $2 billion annually, according to Swartz.
For years, companies have tolerated Ye’s outbursts due to the fact that he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but in recent weeks his behavior has become more incendiary.
Twitter and Instagram blocked him for his antisemitic remarks. In response, he agreed to purchase the right-leaning social media network Parler.
–CNBC’s Jim Forkin contributed to this report.
‘RRR’ Director SS Rajamouli Signs With CAA; Mahesh Babu Film Up Next – Deadline
EXCLUSIVE: In a coup for the agency, CAA has signed in-demand Indian filmmaker SS Rajamouli.
Rajamouli most recently directed Indian box office hit RRR (Rise Roar Revolt), which has generated more than $132M at the global box office since its release in March. The movie ranks as India’s third highest-grossing film of all time.
The action-epic starring Ram Charan and N.T. Rama Rao Jr. is the only non-English-language film to trend globally for 10 consecutive weeks on Netflix. RRR charts a fictitious story about two legendary revolutionaries and their journey away from home before they started fighting for their country in the 1920s.
Rajamouli previously directed the big-canvas fantasy Baahubali: The Beginning, which became the highest-grossing film in India and the highest-grossing Indian film worldwide at the time of its release in 2015. The film’s box office records were surpassed by its sequel, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, which earned more than $255M worldwide.
His extensive credits also include the romantic-fantasy action film Magadheera, comedy-thriller Maryada Ramanna, and the award-winning Eega (The Fly). He also has been honored by the government of India with a Padma Shri, one of the nation’s highest civilian honors, for his contributions to Indian cinema, and won three National Film Awards.
Rajamouli next will direct an untitled feature starring Mahesh Babu, with production set to start in the spring.
Ari Emanuel Not Interested In Buying UTA After CAA & ICM Deal – Deadline
(Updated with more from Code Conference) “No,” a blunt Ari Emanuel told the Code Conference on Tuesday when asked whether he would buy UTA now that CAA has acquired ICM Partners.
“We don’t need it,” the Endeavor CEO told conference attendees at the Beverly Hilton, stressing that WME is still “the largest agency in the business.”
It should be noted there is no indication that UTA is for sale, regardless of any potential interest by anyone.
Joking that he appreciated CAA for “validating my strategy in 2008” of wanting to grow “organically,” Emanuel noted with a verbal shiv that “ICM has not been what it used to be 15 years ago.” Leaning in, he also countered the perception that WME is a minor player in Endeavor’s overall business “Our representation business has grown double digits every year,” he said, putting the pandemic year of 2020 aside. “It is the core feeder for how our business has grown.”
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The reference to 13 years ago is of course when Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell began their march to merge their David of the 1995 formed Endeavor Talent Agency with the Goliath of the 1898 founded William Morris Agency. The two became WME in 2009 with Emanuel and Whitesell soon not paying out any cash, as the former pointed out tonight, and soon seeing the WMA leadership out the door.
A veteran on the red chair sit-down with Kara Swisher, the often-pugilistic Endeavor boss’ latest appearance comes one day after the Hollywood agency landscape saw a seismic shift with CAA’s purchase of ICM Partners becoming public.
“I think what they bought was five incredible TV writers,” Emanuel quipped to Swisher when the New York Times columnist asked what CAA actually got out of the multimillion-dollar deal. “They bought a very good book business and a very good soccer representation business out of Europe,” he added.
Even as the Emanuel co-founded WME faces a newly scaled up rival in the talent representation realm, parent company Endeavor made it clear its is centering on a bigger environment. Never one to willingly lose a news cycle, it snagged it own fair share of headlines Monday with the $1.2 billion in cash and stock purchase of sports betting provider OpenBet.
“We’re in the sports business and we are in the gaming business,” Emanuel said of the impetus behind the OpenBet deal. “It is an arena that is growing significantly around the globe and we have big competitors in that space…it was a perfect fit for us,” he adding, noting the metrics of the $77 billion global sports betting business.
The last of the big agencies to declare “uncle” in the legal and PR battle with the WGA over the union’s successful campaign to end the lucrative practice of packaging, WME’s time in the labor octagon was a match worthy of the Endeavor-owned UFC. Also this week, domestic and international film sales and film financing consulting services WME Independent was created as the sale of a majority stake in Endeavor Content moves forward to meet the WGA requirements of phasing out of packaging.
In that context, Emanuel on Tuesday downplayed the belief that Swisher and many have that the past year saw the inevitable shift in the big-screen business away from cinemas to hybrid releases, or straight to streaming. “The moment you and I are comfortable sharing an armrest, the movie business is back,” the exec proclaimed, while repeating “I’m not in the predicting business.”
Looking at the stock market, Endeavor’s had a pretty decent run since going public in late April. Nothing flashy, shares jumped with the OpenBet news yesterday and popped today – up 6% in a terrible market. The response from the Street makes sense as the company has been focusing heavily on sports/sports betting and will combine OpenBet with IMG Arena and start breaking that out as a fourth reporting segment in its quarterly earnings (along with Owned Sports Properties; Events, Experiences & Rights; and Representation).
“I think it went off pretty well,” Emanuel said of the company’s second IPO effort, after having pulled the plug at the eleventh hour previously. “I still give a sh*t,” he admitted of staying in the game after all these years.
In that vein, Emanuel spoke of his company and the industry needing to do more and better in terms of inclusion. “If we don’t adapt and change for the right reasons, not just the financial reasons, we’d be foolish,” Emanuel said when asked by Black List founder Franklin Leonard of the gulf between the makeup of WME and the demographics of the entertainment industry audience.
The former agent to Donald Trump declared he would not represent the former Celebrity Apprentice host now.
Overall, Endeavor is taking a bit of a different direction from a combined CAA-ICM Partners, a deal that seems to make representation the focus. Emanuel really wanted an IPO to have a currency for deals, and he’s using it. He has insisted the tactic be utilized judiciously because the company’s debt still needs to de-leverage. In that vein, Emanuel on Monday called the OpenBet deal “transformational.”
Some free-floating enthusiasm regarding agency M&A after yesterday’s news may be boosting Endeavor shares as well. They closed Tuesday up almost 6% at $28.89, despite major indexes being down.
The Code Conference continues through tomorrow.
Jill Goldsmith contributed to this report.
Hollywood agency CAA acquiring rival ICM to create movie powerhouse
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Creative Artists Agency says it will acquire the rival talent group ICM, combining two powerful stables of agents amid sweeping changes in Hollywood and the global sports industry.
The deal, which is expected to close by the end of the year, comes after talent agencies were forced to dismiss workers due to the pandemic-related suspensions of live events and costly delays in filmed productions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
It would be the first big merger of talent groups since the William Morris Agency combined with Endeavor in 2009. Endeavor, led by Hollywood impresario Ari Emanuel, was backed by the private equity group Silver Lake for a decade and went public in April. It has a market capitalisation of $12.5bn.
“This has a seismic scale impact in Hollywood that certainly must have the people at Endeavor talking,” said Eric Schiffer, chairman of Reputation Management Consultants.
The deal will bring CAA’s clients — which include Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg — under the same roof as ICM’s Samuel L Jackson, Olivia Colman and Uma Thurman.
The private equity firm TPG invested in CAA in 2010, taking a majority stake four years later in a transaction that valued the talent agency at more than $1bn. That deal came as financial investors sought ways of profiting from content rights that soared in value as music and video streaming created new ways of monetising artists’ back catalogues and triggered a boom in television production.
The CAA-ICM deal comes at another inflection point, with Hollywood studios launching their own streaming platforms and potentially challenging the traditional way actors are paid for their work.
This summer Johansson filed a lawsuit against Walt Disney after it released Black Widow on Disney+ at the same time as its theatrical release. Johansson alleged that the decision cost her a bonus that was tied to box-office sales. Disney says the suit has “no merit”.
Bryan Lourd, co-chairman of CAA, said he was hopeful that such shifts in the media industry would result in “a better world” for the agency’s clients.
“We’re really excited about the opportunities our clients have in this new world order, and a driving principle behind combining the companies is to answer that challenge of the future,” he added.
Last year ICM acquired London-based ICM Stellar Sports, with an 800-strong roster of clients includes a number of football stars, from Chelsea’s Saúl Ñíguez to Manchester City’s Jack Grealish. Its English Premier League strength compliments CAA’s dominance in North American sports.
Endeavor went beyond simply representing athletes with the acquisition of the mixed martial arts league Ultimate Fighting Championship. Emanuel told a Goldman Sachs media conference last week that he also saw a big opportunity in sports betting, an area the traditional agencies are unlikely to push into.
Schiffer said the question for CAA-ICM is whether they would seek to expand with further acquisition to compete with Endeavor and its public market valuation.
“What does it portend? Do they look at other acquisitions as Endeavor did with UFC?” he said.
Still, CAA is a dominant force in film, TV, music and sports. Besides its core areas of film, television and theatre, ICM has a strong books division. Both of the Los Angeles-based groups boast of their strength in emerging areas such as podcasting.
Lourd said the two groups had discussed a deal informally for years but that now the “timing felt incredibly right”.
“We will have more resources and expertise around the world to make things with the writers, directors, actors musicians and athletes on the field,” he said.
Shia LaBeouf on Hiatus From CAA Following FKA Twigs Abuse Lawsuit
Shia LaBeouf and Hollywood talent agency CAA have parted ways, as the actor is currently receiving inpatient care, Variety has learned exclusively. The news follows a lawsuit filed in December by his ex-girlfriend, actor and musician FKA Twigs, who has accused LaBeouf of physical abuse during their relationship.
Since then, LaBeouf has been accused of emotional abuse by multiple women, and a pattern of his behavior has been well-documented over the years, while he has continued to work in the entertainment business.
CAA has not fired LaBeouf, two people familiar with the matter tell Variety, explaining that the actor made the decision to take a break from acting, so that he could solely focus on his recovery and get the help he has admitted he needs. CAA is not working with LaBeouf, at this time, and has not been working with him for roughly one month.
CAA did not respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
LaBeouf has been receiving treatment for over five weeks, a source says, and the actor is currently living at an inpatient facility. His release will be dependent on his recovery.
A representative for LaBeouf declined to comment for this story.
It’s unclear what specific type of treatment LaBeouf is receiving. However, when LaBeouf responded to the sexual battery lawsuit late last year, he admitted to his alcoholism and aggression, stating he has been abusive to those around him for years.
“I’m not in any position to tell anyone how my behavior made them feel,” LaBeouf said in December in response to allegations of sexual battery, assault and infliction of emotional distress. “I have a history of hurting the people closest to me,” he added. “I’m ashamed of that history and am sorry to those I hurt. There is nothing else I can really say.”
The turn of events for LaBeouf is different than the industry’s handling of recent claims against Marilyn Manson, who was dropped by CAA after Evan Rachel Wood accused him of abuse, and Armie Hammer, who was fired by WME as allegations from multiple women continue to swirl about the actor on social media.
LaBeouf has a history of legal issues, arrests, problematic behavior and past stints in rehab for alcohol addiction.
Prior to the lawsuit, in which FKA Twigs and another former girlfriend, stylist Karolyn Pho, both accused LaBeouf of physical abuse, LaBeouf was caught on camera during a heated altercation in 2015 where he nearly turned violent with his on-and-off girlfriend, actor Mia Goth, saying, “If I’d have stayed there, I would have killed her.”
The latest lawsuit states that LaBeouf is a danger to women. The lawsuit holds the industry accountable for ignoring his past behavior, which has been well-documented in the news.
“Shia LaBeouf hurts women,” the lawsuit states. “He uses them. He abuses them, both physically and mentally. He is dangerous.”
The lawsuit laid out a slew of horrific allegations from FKA Twigs and another one of LaBeouf’s former girlfriends, stylist Karolyn Pho, who says LaBeouf drunkenly pinned her to a bed and head-butted her hard enough to draw blood. FKA Twigs said in the lawsuit that on one occasion, she was woken up by LaBeouf towering over her, violently squeezing her arms against her will and choking her, according to the lawsuit. On other occasion, she alleges he became manic while driving, and when she tried to get out of the car, he threatened to crash, then briefly stopped at a gas station where he violently attacked her, throwing her against the car, screaming in her face and attempting to strangle her. The lawsuit also claims LaBeouf knowingly infected her with an STD.
Aside from the serious allegations of abuse, Variety also heard from multiple sources that LaBeouf was difficult on sets, as his poor behavior and style clashed with the cast and crew of a recent film that he was fired from by director Olivia Wilde.
Following the lawsuit, Netflix also scrubbed LaBeouf’s name from its Oscars campaign this awards season for the film “Pieces of a Woman,” in which he is the male lead. LaBeouf — who rose to fame on Disney Channel’s “Even Stevens” and the megahit “Transformers” franchise — does not have any other upcoming projects in the works.
A person close to LaBeouf says that the actor is taking the time to step back from his career to take care of himself and get the care that he needs.
While LaBeouf’s representatives did not respond to this story, his attorney, Shawn Holley, told Variety in Dec. 2020, “Shia needs help and he knows that. We are actively seeking the kind of meaningful, intensive, long-term inpatient treatment that he desperately needs.”
An attorney for FKA Twigs and Pho previously told Variety that before filing a lawsuit, the women tried to resolve the matter privately “on the condition that Mr. LaBeouf agree to receive meaningful and consistent psychological treatment.” The women also asked LaBeouf to make a donation to a domestic violence shelter. “Since he was unwilling to agree to get appropriate help,” said the plaintiff’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, FKA Twigs “filed this suit to prevent others from unknowingly suffering similar abuse by him.”
Variety has reached out to FKA Twigs and Pho for comment, in response to the news that LaBeouf has been receiving inpatient treatment. (We will update this story, should we hear back from the two women or their attorney.)