Latest in Association of Talent Agents

The WGA remains committed to reaching a deal with the Big 4 talent agencies, separate and apart from the Association of Talent Agents, according to John August, a member of the guild’s negotiating committee and an outgoing member of the WGA West’s board of directors. "Negotiations with the Big 4 agencies remains a…

After three membership meetings this week, it's abundantly clear that WGA West members overwhelmingly support the guild’s four-month fight with Hollywood's talent agents and the re-election of the guild's leadership. So if agents are waiting for a change in the guild's leadership to end the agency standoff, they may…

WGA West presidential candidate William Schmidt is calling on the guild to resume negotiations with the Association of Talent Agents to end their standoff, which is now in its 111th day. "We must return to the negotiating table immediately," he said in his latest campaign statement. In March, the guild asked its member…

The signing of the Kaplan Stahler Agency to the WGA's newly modified franchise agreement has been hailed as a win for the guild, but could it open the floodgates to other mid-sized agencies following suit? The new deal is far more flexible than anything the guild ever offered to the Association of Talent Agents, and…

The WGA has asked the judge in its antitrust lawsuit against the Big 4 talent agencies to delay a hearing on the agencies' demurrers and motions to dismiss the suit until after the guild's upcoming elections. The agencies, however are asking the court to reset the hearing date for August 27 "so that the important…

The 101-day battle between the WGA and Hollywood's talent agencies has surpassed the guild's 100-day strike against the film and TV studios in 2007-08. And while the current dispute technically is not a strike, it has all the acrimony of one — with both sides trading lawsuits and more than 7,000 writers firing their…

ICM Partners has filed a motion to dismiss an anti-packaging lawsuit brought by the WGA, calling the guild's claims "absurd." The WGA and writers Patricia Carr and Chip Johannessen sued the agency in April for breach of fiduciary duty and constructive fraud. ICM's demurrer, filed today in Los Angeles Superior Court…

With the ongoing battle between the WGA and Hollywood's talent agencies now in its fourth month, the guild's negotiating committee reminded writers tonight to be wary of fired agents offering to "help" their out-of-work former clients. More than 7,000 writers have fired their agents who refused to sign the guild's…

Chernobyl writer-creator Craig Mazin says he's "disappointed" with the WGA's rejection of the Association of Talent Agents' offer to share the backend profits of packaged TV shows with writers, and that he doesn't see the guild's three-month-long standoff ending without a change in leadership. The guild's election of…

Nearly three months into the WGA's standoff with Hollywood's talent agents, WGA West president David A. Goodman says he's "surprised" that more midsize and smaller agencies haven't broken ranks with the Association of Talent Agents and signed the WGA's new Code of Conduct. From the beginning, the guild has said that…

Six Democratic members of the California Legislature have signed a letter of support for the WGA's ongoing battle with Hollywood's talent agencies. "As members of the California Legislature, we stand in support of the action taken by members of the Writers Guild of America to ensure talent agencies end their…

UPDATED with WGA statement, 1:05 PM: The WGA's new agreement with the Verve talent agency "could substantially and negatively affect both writer income and writer privacy" and "should be of serious concern to agencies of all sizes and, more important, their writer clients," according to a legal analysis by Latham…