WME Shake Up: Motion Picture Literary and Talent Divisions to Merge

Major talent agency WME is cutting red tape and rolling up several of its own fiefdoms into a single Motion Picture division with a trio of leaders upped to lead the Hollywood-focused unit. The Beverly Hills-based representation giant, led by co-chairmen Christian Muirhead and Richard Weitz, unveiled a sweeping reorganization on Monday to, in Weitz’s words, make the agency “nimbler, sharper, and better equipped to spot what’s next for our clients.” As the lines between film and TV get blurrier and the entertainment industry becomes more consolidated (See: ParaBros), WME is reevaluating how it serves its large client base as it competes with fellow majors CAA and UTA as well as an ever-expanding raft of boutiques. “Talent is directing and directors are now acting,” an insider adds to The Hollywood Reporter, noting that the agency needs to serve clients in a holistic way rather than operating in silos. To that end, Andrew Dunlap, Doug Lucterhand and Sarah Self will lead WME’s unified Motion Picture unit, which will roll up its Motion Picture Literary and Motion Picture Talent groups that had previously operated separately. All three co-chiefs will be based in Los Angeles at the newly redesigned Wilshire Blvd headquarters. Additionally, Literary Media department leaders Sylvie Rabineau and Hilary Zaitz Michael now have an extra layer of bosses, as they will report up to the Motion Picture Unit trio as well as New York-based Erin Junkin, who will add the Television Talent group to her responsibilities, while co-leading the Scripted Television Department with Tom Wellington. And ditto for the Production Department, which will now report in to the Motion Picture chiefs. As for those leaders: Motion Picture co-chief Dunlap, who started in the Endeavor mailroom in 2004, now counts an A-list client roster that includes Millie Bobby Brown, John Cena, Kevin Costner, Matt Damon, Colman Domingo, Robert Downey Jr., Tom Holland and more. Co-chief Lucterhand also began in the mailroom prior to becoming an agent in 2005. Now his client roster is led by Ryan Reynolds, Mark Wahlberg, Adam Sandler, John Cena, Rami Malek and Kevin Hart. And Self, the Motion Picture co-chief who joined WME from Gersh in 2010, reps Damien Chazelle, Diablo Cody, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jonah Hill, John Krasinski and more. While the Motion Picture division roll up of departments may be the topline news in the shake up, WME also made a series of key changes in other divisions. (No layoffs are said to be part of the reorg.) Its Brand Partnerships leader, Will Ward, has now been named Head of WME Fashion, which includes IMG Models, The Wall Group and Art + Commerce. Ward, based in L.A., replaces Fashion chief Rebecca Sanhueza, who will continue on at the company and keep duties as president of its nonscripted content company Pantheon Media Group. And now the major talent agency’s London office has a formal leader in Romola Ratnam, who will lead WME’s overseas expansion while keeping duties as WME Group’s Impact, Inclusion and Advocacy chief. All the way at the top of the C-suite, co-Chairman Muirhead added of the appointments: “These leaders have set the bar for excellence and embody the collaborative spirit that sets WME apart.”