In Hollywood’s latest changing of the guards, Jeremy Zimmer has announced that he will be shifting from his post as CEO of United Talent Agency to executive board member. What’s behind the shuffle? Plus, longtime Warner Bros partner, Village Roadshow recently filed for bankruptcy — even as arbitration continues over alleged financial losses from the WB’s decision to release the Village Roadshow backed The Matrix Resurrections (2021) simultaneously in movie theaters and on Max. Kim Masters and Matt Belloni are here to unpack.
Retired for cause? A “forced exit” for United Talent Agency CEO Jeremy Zimmer is causing quite the stir around town, leading some (including our own Matt Belloni) to use the “f-word… fired.” In an industry where no one in the C-suite is ever “fired,” what is it about Zimmer that has pundits willing to draw this distinction in his case? “Jeremy and his partners built a very credible business with a lot of good clients,” Masters notes, “but Jeremy was [not] always the easiest personality in my experience. If you asked me at any time during my entire tenure covering this town, ‘Which agency is the most difficult to deal with?’ I would have said, ‘UTA.’”
Marcia, Marcia, Marcia? With United Talent Agency’s CEO reins being handed over to its current president David Kramer — whose approach has been described as far more “diplomatic” than Zimmer’s — are they facing a real opportunity to make a reputational leap? “They've always had this kind of middle child syndrome,” says Belloni. “I call it the Jan Brady syndrome, where they're looking at the big guys, and they don't quite have the goods to be there, but they want to be there. When you're the private equity investors in UTA, you are looking at those businesses and CAA has just been going nuts on signing; they got a $7 billion valuation when the TPG stake was sold.”
Let’s get this show on the road? Film production/financing company Village Roadshow recently filed for bankruptcy, but the ongoing legal battle with their longtime partner Warner Bros keeps proving to be a roadblock. “That relationship had deteriorated for a while, and now with bankruptcy, they have an asset,” Belloni explains. “They already have a bidder of $365 million for that library. It's very valuable, but no one wants to do a deal with them until they resolve this arbitration with Warner Brothers over The Matrix and many more movies.”