EXCLUSIVE: More fallout following this morning’s bombshell exit of CAA agents Jason Heyman, Martin Lesak, Gregory McKnight, Greg Cavic and Nick Nuciforo, who all left to bolster the comedy department of UTA. CAA shortly will be filing legal action, charging that some if not all of those defectors left while under binding contracts and seeking redress. I am told that historically this is not unusual when major agents exit to a rival agency. It doesn’t undo what happened, but usually it’s about commissions. Legal action happened after Ari Emanuel, Tom Strickler and their cohorts left ICM to form Endeavor, and again when Ed Limato moved from ICM to WME and Richard Abate moved from ICM to Endeavor.
The most common reaction around town I’ve heard is, that UTA and the five agents played an excellent hand of poker, keeping this quiet until they dropped the bombshell this morning. It’s being regarded around town as a huge development that potentially shifts the agency landscape. That was before Chris Pratt followed his agents, a signal that perhaps many more will follow suit.
No comment from CAA or UTA on this, but the CAA lawyers are working on papers as we speak.
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