Hollywood Breakdown
WGA files suit against major talent agencies
The battle between the Writers Guild and the talent agencies is going to court. The lawsuit filed by the WGA alleges that TV packaging fees are a breach of fiduciary duty and illegal under state and federal law.
By Matthew Belloni • • 3m ListenAn already intense conflict has moved into outright war as the WGA takes the four major talent agencies--WME, CAA, UTA and ICM--to court over packaging fees. The suit comes after thousands of WGA members fired their agents after the agencies refused to comply with a new WGA code of conduct that gets rid of packaging fees, which have been a windfall for the agencies over the years, but left writers with far less money than they would have earned under a more traditional 10% commission system. Eight individual writers, including David Simon, are also named in as plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
