William Morris Endeavor

William Morris Endeavor Entertainment LLC
Private partnership
Industry Talent and literary agencies
Founded 2009 (2009)
in Beverly Hills, California, United States
Headquarters Beverly Hills, California, United States
Key people
 Ari Emanuel (co-CEO)
Patrick Whitesell (co-CEO)
Parent Endeavor (formerly WME-IMG)[1]
Subsidiaries IMG
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Professional Bull Riders
Miss Universe
Website www.wmeentertainment.com

William Morris Endeavor Entertainment LLC (WME or WME-IMG), also known as William Morris Endeavor, is an American talent agency with offices in Beverly Hills, California, United States. The company was founded in April 2009, after the merger of the William Morris Agency and the Endeavor Agency. WME represents artists across all media platforms, specifically movies, television, music, theatre, digital and publishing.[2] It also represents the NFL and NHL.[3] WME also owns the Ultimate Fighting Championship[4] and Miss Universe. The company is run by Co-CEOs Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell.

History

Beginnings

As the entertainment industry evolved, so did WMA, which soon expanded into television, film, literature and music representation.[5]

The Endeavor Talent Agency launched in 1995, nearly 100 years after WMA, grew rapidly to include clients from every facet of the entertainment industry.[6] By 2009, Endeavor was one of the fastest-growing Hollywood talent agencies, with The New York Times singling out its reputation for "quick thinking, ferocity and barely bridled ambition.[7]"

WME Merger

On April 27, 2009, WMA and the Endeavor Talent Agency announced that they were forming William Morris Endeavor, or WME.[8] Endeavor executives Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell were widely seen as the architects of the merger and quickly became the Co-CEOs of WME.[9]

In 2011, Emanuel was quoted in a Financial Times profile about the company, saying "We built a culture where people are rewarded for taking risks."[10] Emanuel and Whitesell have implemented several leadership strategies to boost the productivity of their agents, most notably, the "Farmhouse" training program.[11]

Following the merger, WME moved its headquarters into the offices of Endeavor.[12] The company now takes up several floors at 9601 Wilshire Boulevard in the heart of Beverly Hills. Additionally, WME has offices in New York, London, Miami, and Nashville.

Expansion

Since the merger, WME has grown to include several subsidiary companies and expanded divisions. Fortune named co-CEOs Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell to their 2010 "Businessperson of the Year" list, acknowledging their corporate growth strategies.[13] Emanuel had previously been recognized as a 21st-century "super agent" by both The Wall Street Journal and The Guardian, as well as an Advertising Age "Influencer."[14][15][16]

Shortly after the merger, WME helped launch the investment group Raine,[17] which aligned the company with properties like Vice Media and Zumba Fitness. In 2010, WME partnered with RED Interactive,[18] a digital advertising agency. Two years later, they formed an alliance with the social media management firm TheAudience,[19] partnering with digital entrepreneur Sean Parker and executing social campaigns for properties like the Seth MacFarlane motion picture Ted and the Coachella Music Festival.[20] 2013 brought a strategic partnership between WME and creative music agency Jingle Punks, which creates, publishes and licenses music. WME is also an investor in the e-commerce platform [OpenSky], which was named one of America's "Most Promising Companies" by Forbes.[21] In 2013, Whitesell and Emanuel were profiled in Fast Company, highlighting the company's digital growth.[22]

In July 2013, WME acquired a minority stake in the creative agency Droga5. The partnership combines the companies’ advertising and entertainment resources. Founded by David Droga, Droga5 was named Adweek’s 2012 Agency of the Year[23] and oversees accounts for Coca-Cola, Motorola and Spotify.

Describing the partnership, The New York Times wrote, “As consumers increasingly ignore traditional advertising and are bombarded with a constant stream of content, both online and offline, advertisers have been forced to find more compelling ways to get their attention. WME could help provide the answer given its substantial reach in television, publishing, music, film and theater.[24]"

On December 18, 2013, WME and Silver Lake announced the acquisition of IMG for $2.4 billion.[25] WME’s Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell will serve as co-CEOs.

On January 21, 2015, it was announced that WME had acquired Global eSports Management (GEM), an international agency representing various esports and professional video game players and personalities.[26]

On September 14, 2015, WME acquired from Donald Trump the Miss Universe Organization, which produces the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA beauty pageants and related content. The organization sells television rights to the pageants in other countries. Financial details were not disclosed.[27] On September 23 it was announced that WME/IMG would be partnering with Turner Broadcasting to create a televised esports league, the ELeague.[28]

On July 9, 2016, Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of Ultimate Fighting Championship, was sold to a group led by WME-IMG, its owner Silver Lake Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, and MSD Capital, for $4.2 billion, the largest-ever acquisition in the sports industry.[29][30]

On August 22, 2016, WME acquired the literary agency Rabineau Wachter Sanford & Gillett (RWSG); its co-founders, Sylvie Rabineau and Jill Holwager Gillett, head a division of WME involved in the coordination of screen adaptations of literature.[31][32]

WME and Silver Lake

On May 2, 2012, WME and Silver Lake, a technology-focused private equity firm based in Silicon Valley, signed an agreement for Silver Lake to acquire a 31% minority stake in the agency.[33] A new executive committee, consisting of Co-CEOs Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell and Silver Lake Partners Managing Director Egon Durban, leads the company's growth strategy and investment activities.[34][35] The Silver Lake deal drew the attention of several leading financial publications, including Forbes, Financial Times, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.[36][37][38][39] Silver Lake increased their stake in WME to 51% following the acquisition of IMG Worldwide.[40]

Clients (Current & Former)

Philanthropy

In 2009, the partners of William Morris Endeavor formed the WME Foundation, which promotes arts and education to disadvantaged children. Clients whose charities have benefitted from the Foundation's services include Charlize Theron, Hank Azaria, Usher, and Alicia Keys.[73] In 2011, the company created Camp Summer Eagle and Camp Summer Lion, which provide donations and activities for schoolchildren in Compton, California and New York City.[74]

Allegations of sexual assault

On November 15, 2017, actor Terry Crews stated on Good Morning America that Adam Venit, head of WME's motion picture department, had squeezed Crews' genitals with his hand at an industry party in February 2016. WME responded they had suspended Venit following an internal investigation,[75] on November 27, 2017 it was announced Adam Venit would return to work after a month's unpaid leave.[76] On December 4, 2017 lawyers acting on behalf of Terry Crews filed suit against WME and Adam Venit stating “It is now time to hold Venit accountable for his sexual predatory behavior and to hold WME accountable for its conduct in condoning, ratifying, and encouraging Venit’s sexual predatory behavior,”.[77]

References

  1. ↑ "WME-IMG Renames Parent Company as Endeavor". Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  2. ↑ Garrahan, Matthew (December 6, 2011). "Rewriting the Hollywood script". Financial Times. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  3. ↑ "What Talent-Agency Merger Could Mean for Brands". Ad Age. April 28, 2009.
  4. ↑ Merced, Michael J. De La (July 11, 2016). "U.F.C. Sells Itself for $4 Billion". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  5. ↑ Weisbord, Merrily (1991). Our future selves : love, life, sex, and aging. Berkeley, Calif.: North Atlantic Books. p. 157. ISBN 978-1556431456.
  6. ↑ Galloway, Stephen (March 5, 2013). "Jeff Berg Speaks: Plans for New Agency, What Really Happened at ICM (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
  7. ↑ Cieply, Michael. "Agents Replaying a Hollywood Drama". The New York Times.
  8. ↑ Littleton, Cynthia (April 27, 2009). "WMA, Endeavor approve merger". Variety.
  9. ↑ "It's A Takeover, Not A Merger". LA Weekly. May 28, 2009.
  10. ↑ Garrahan, Matthew (December 6, 2011). "Rewriting the Hollywood script". Financial Times. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  11. ↑ Lashinsky, Adam (May 23, 2013). "Hi, It's Ari @#$%ing Emanuel, and I plan to shake up Hollywood". Fortune. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  12. ↑ Finke, Nikki (October 9, 2009). "WME Will Stay In Endeavor Headquarters Instead Of Moving To New Morris Building". Deadline.
  13. ↑ P.N. (November 19, 2010). "Businessperson of the Year". Fortune. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  14. ↑ Sabbagh, Dan (March 16, 2011). "Natalie Portman sparks Hollywood battle". The Guardian.
  15. ↑ Hampp, Andrew (January 3, 2011). "Influencer: Ari Emanuel, William Morris Endeavor Agency". Advertising Age.
  16. ↑ Karmin, Craig (January 27, 2012). "How a Parking Garage Stymied Hollywood's Super Agent". Wall Street Journal.
  17. ↑ Lattman, Peter (September 19, 2010). "Ex-Bankers Start Fund to Invest in Media". The New York Times. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
  18. ↑ "RED Interactive Agency". Retrieved March 29, 2011.
  19. ↑ Empson, Rip. "TheAudience: A Stealthy, Celeb-Driven Startup Co-founded By Sean Parker, Ari Emanuel & Oliver Luckett". Tech Crunch. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
  20. ↑ Barnes, Brooks. "A-Listers, Meet Your Online Megaphone". New York Times. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  21. ↑ "America's Most Promising Companies". Forbes. Retrieved 2013. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  22. ↑ Laporte, Nicole (March 18, 2013). "WME's Agent Provocateurs Ari Emanuel And Patrick Whitesell". Fast Company.
  23. ↑ Beltrone, Gabriel (December 10, 2012). "Droga's Delicious World". AdWeek.
  24. ↑ Vega, Tanzina (July 11, 2013). "William Morris to Invest in Droga5, an Ad Agency". New York Times.
  25. ↑ Patten, Dominic (May 7, 2014). "UPDATE: WME Brass Welcome IMG Staffers As Acquisition Deal Closes". Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  26. ↑ Zumberge, Marianne (January 21, 2015). "WME–IMG Acquires Global eSports Management Gaming Agency". Variety. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  27. ↑ Littleton, Cynthia (September 14, 2015). "WME/IMG Acquires Miss Universe Organization From Donald Trump". Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  28. ↑ Spangler, Todd (September 23, 2015). "Turner, WME/IMG Form E-Sports League, With TBS to Air Live Events". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  29. ↑ "U.F.C. Sells Itself for $4 Billion". The New York Times. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Dana White on $4 billion UFC sale: 'Sport is going to the next level'". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  31. ↑ "WME Acquires Literary Agency RWSG". Variety. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  32. ↑ "Why Indie Agency RWSG Sold to WME: "It Felt Like a Crossroads"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  33. ↑ "William Morris Endeavor Entertainment and Silver Lake Announce Strategic Partnership". PR Newswire. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
  34. ↑ Chon, Gina (May 2, 2012). "Silver Lake Buys Stake in WME Agency". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  35. ↑ "William Morris Endeavor Entertainment and Silver Lake Announce Strategic Partnership". PR Newswire. May 2, 2012. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  36. ↑ "Silver Lake takes stake in talent agency". Financial Times. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  37. ↑ Savitz, Eric (May 6, 2012). "Silver Lake Agrees To Take Stake In William Morris". Forbes. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  38. ↑ de la Merced, Michael (May 2, 2012). "Silver Lake Takes Stake in William Morris Endeavor". New York Times. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  39. ↑ "Silver Lake Takes Stake in William Morris Endeavor". Wall Street Journal. May 2, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  40. ↑ "Subscribe to read". Financial Times. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  41. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "WMA and Endeavor's top clients". Variety. April 29, 2009. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  42. 1 2 "The THR Guide to the 7 Major Hollywood Agencies". The Hollywood Reporter. June 4, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  43. ↑ "Keri Russell, Mahershala Ali Join Matthew McConaughey in Civil War Drama". The Hollywood Reporter. February 12, 2015.
  44. ↑
  45. ↑ "Jessica Biel Signs With WME". Deadline. March 31, 2016.
  46. ↑ "Oscar Winner Dustin Lance Black Signs With WME". Deadline. April 26, 2016.
  47. ↑ "Nicolas Cage Signs With WME (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. January 11, 2018.
  48. ↑ "WME Signs Superman Henry Cavill". Deadline. January 26, 2017.
  49. ↑ "Ryan Gosling, Damien Chazelle to Reteam on Neil Armstrong Biopic". Variety. December 29, 2016.
  50. ↑ Mike Fleming Jr (February 1, 2016). "Jason Clarke Signs With WME". Deadline.
  51. ↑ "Kevin Costner Moves From CAA To WME". Deadline. February 12, 2010.
  52. 1 2 3 4 "Hollywood's golden talent agents". Financial Times. February 20, 2010. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  53. ↑ "Dakota Fanning Returns to WME From CAA (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. February 16, 2017.
  54. ↑ "AFM: Elle Fanning, Ben Foster to Star in Nic Pizzolatto's 'Galveston'". The Hollywood Reporter. November 2, 2016.
  55. ↑ https://deadline.com/2015/02/grant-gustin-flash-wme-signs-1201371661/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  56. ↑ "Jake Gyllenhaal Leaves CAA For WME". Deadline. January 9, 2013.
  57. 1 2 "Dev Patel & Armie Hammer In Negotiations For Mumbai Siege Pic 'Hotel Mumbai' – Berlin". Deadline. February 11, 2016.
  58. ↑ "Edward Norton, Naomie Harris, Michael Pena Joining 'Collateral Beauty'". The Hollywood Reporter. January 14, 2016.
  59. ↑ "Liam Hemsworth Signs With WME & Stars In John Singleton Pitch 'Broken Run'". Deadline. December 1, 2010.
  60. ↑ "Tom Holland Is the New Spider-Man, Jon Watts to Direct Film". Variety. May 13, 2015.
  61. ↑ "Cannes: Dakota Johnson Joins Andrew Garfield in 'Under the Silver Lake'". Variety. May 13, 2016.
  62. ↑ "'House Of Cards' Star Michael Kelly Signs With WME". Deadline. March 29, 2017.
  63. ↑ "Brie Larson to Make Directorial Debut With 'Unicorn Store' Comedy (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. August 8, 2016.
  64. ↑ "WME Signs John Malkovich". Deadline. June 20, 2017.
  65. ↑ "WME Signs Rachel McAdams". Deadline. February 4, 2014.
  66. ↑ "Dan Stevens of 'Downton Abbey' Signs With WME". The Hollywood Reporter. February 10, 2012.
  67. ↑ "Emma Stone, Kate McKinnon, Jillian Bell to Star in 'Women in Business' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. April 21, 2016.
  68. ↑ "Octavia Spencer Cast in Diablo Cody's Directorial Debut". The Hollywood Reporter. October 31, 2011.
  69. ↑ https://deadline.com/2018/06/stargirl-grace-vanderwaal-young-americas-got-talent-champion-disney-movie-1202403344/ Grace VanderWaal, ‘America’s Got Talent’ Champion, Is Disney’s ‘Stargirl’
  70. ↑ Goldstein, Gregg (2016-05-13). "Michael Bay to Develop Biopic on Drone Warfare Fighter (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  71. ↑ "Michelle Williams Exits CAA for WME". The Hollywood Reporter. October 20, 2014.
  72. ↑ "JERICHO". YouTube. Retrieved 2018-08-14.
  73. ↑ Ponzar, Amanda. "Idea Seeds: How to make business-cause partnerships a win-win". Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  74. ↑ Littleton, Cynthia. "Campers get star treatment from WME". Retrieved July 18, 2011.
  75. ↑ Kindelan, Katie; Ghebremedhin, Sabina (November 15, 2017). "Terry Crews names alleged sexual assaulter: 'I will not be shamed'". ABC News. ABC. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  76. ↑ "What About Your Friends? Why Hollywood's Abandonment Of Terry Crews Is Unacceptable". BET.com. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  77. ↑ Patten, Dominic (December 6, 2017). "Terry Crews Sues WME & "Rabid Dog" Adam Venit For Sexual Assault". Deadline. Retrieved December 6, 2017.

Further reading

  • Rose, Frank. The Agency: William Morris and the Hidden History of Show Business. ISBN 978-0887307492.
  • Rensin, David. The Mailroom: Hollywood History from the Bottom Up. ISBN 978-0345442345.
  • Haskell, Sam Haskell. Promises I Made My Mother. ISBN 978-0345506559.
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