Young Turks Initiate Glacial Change At William Morris
The LAW's Nikki Finke devotes this week's column to some inside baseball at William Morris, where 40-and-50-something Young Turks are trying to inject some life into the dinosaur agency. Among the insurgents is CEO Jim Wiatt, whose rise from humble "son of a clothing magnate" to humble servant of Holylwood talent is mercifully condensed into a few lines:
The son of a clothing magnate, a Beverly Hills High brat, an aide to former Senator John Tunney, Wiatt loved politics but never thought he’d make a good candidate himself. That’s why he believed he’d make a good agent because he never wanted to be the star. Wiatt rose at ICM to co-chairman because he could massage egos, put out fires, translate boss Jeff Berg’s "vision" into everyday concepts...
The less charitable among us would suggest that this common, "never wanted to be the star" rationale for choosing this particular career path is agentspeak for "not particularly good at anything but lying and wearing a suit." But let's give credit where it's due: We've heard the innovative Wiatt was the driving force behind William Morris' controversial changeover from animal to baby sacrifice at the firm's board meetings, which kept the storied agency in step with the cutting-edge practices of its competitors.
