Is Dan Aloni to WME the Biggest Agent Move in Years?

A few years ago, everyone in the entertainment news business was keyed into representative movement, as Endeavor and William Morris were trying to figure out how to co-exist, and it was clear that the Endeavor side would be calling the shots. You had huge agents, particularly on the literary side, moving into management (like David Lonner) or to another agency (like Steve Rabineau). Since then, obviously, agents have shuffled around and there have been some interesting moves, both from a business and political perspective; last year ICM saw several TV talent agents flee to UTA, just as an example. But Dan Aloni moving from CAA to WME feels like that kind of momentous occasion, where whether it's real or not, it certainly feels like things will never be the same... but, ok, seriously, what does one agent bring to a company?

Well, in this case he brings Christopher Nolan, who is one of the few directors (or writers for that matter) with the sort of carte blanche in the studio system that makes an agent almost irrelevant. Who is going to say no to him? But Nolan and Aloni have been together for years and years, and Nolan will be eagerly welcomed into the WME fold -- and will soon impact the company's bottom line, both on the film and television sides. When an agent/client shift like this, the original company is almost certain to retain the rights to commissions negotiated prior to the move, so CAA will be just fine (in case you didn't know). But it certainly looks good for Ari Emanuel and WME to have landed such a big fish (some have said Ari was luring him for quite a while, which may have contributed to tensions between CAA and Aloni). There is no question that Dan Aloni's client list alongside Robert Newman's and Mike Simpson's makes for a formible roster of major motion picture directing talent.

Source: Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter