If we were trying to transition a client whom I’d signed to the agent who’d be handling him day to day, I’d keep having that younger guy call back for me, and usually by the time I got back to Al Pacino, say, he was fine with having his daily business handled by Rick Nicita. All the senior people passed down their top artists as soon as younger agents could handle them, by slow-rolling the return calls. Manipulative, yes, but the pass-down process took pressure off signers like Ron and Bill, allowed younger agents to get in the game, and spurred CAA’s continuing growth. Warren Beatty once told
...more
