Hollywood has been smiling all summer long, and not just because of the box office revival. There’s also silent gratitude for the cloud cover provided by Paramount’s ongoing attempt to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. The merger has been sucking the oxygen out of the industry for months, making it nearly impossible to pay attention to other problem areas lurking in town. But even a spotlight-loving state attorney general and David Ellison’s ambition can’t distract from the noise around United Talent Agency. The 35-year-old representation shop, considered part of Hollywood’s Big Three agencies alongside larger rivals CAA and WME, has faced recent headlines about client departures — notably comedian and Golden Globes host Nikki Glaser and podcast queen Alex Cooper.A closer look shows that Glaser’s and Cooper’s exits follow several major client losses over the past three years — including whales like Greta Gerwig, Ben Stiller, Kevin Hart and Judd Apatow. Parallel to client exits, the agency hasn’t been immune to consolidation pressure facing the media sector. In July, UTA kicked the tires on merging with The Team (formerly Wasserman) in an attempt to scale up, four insiders with knowledge of the discussions tell Variety. It’s fueled chatter about the agency’s…
Original source: https://variety.com/