HOLLYWOOD
HUSTLE
{Part 1}

The history of HOLLYWOOD TALENT AGENCIES and the illegal PRICE RIGGING of TV PACKAGING. The Author uncovered the crime of the century. This is a glamourous rise and spectacular fall of a TRILLION DOLLAR industry, all run by a CARTEL of just four UBER AGENCIES, plus their PIMPS, THUGS & THIEVES…

PROLOGUE

A few Goliaths thought they killed David. Then David rose up again.

In 1939,  Talent Agent financial restriction Rule 16(g) was established by the Screen Actor Guild. While the rule would evolve over the next 50 years to accommodate business trends and stakeholders, its key provision never changed.

At its core, the rule prohibited Talent Agents from becoming Producers, and narrowly limited their participation in production. Rule 16(g) essentially prevented Agencies from owning an interest in or being owned by production or distribution companies.

But there was at least one exception. A provision within the rule allowed Agents to “Package“ productions. Packaging of a production calls for an Agent to entice a particular combination of key Talent to work on a production. In such a case, the Talent, if represented by the Packaging Agent, will not pay a commission to the Agent. Instead, the Agent receives a commission as a percentage of the production budget and its profit, which gives the Agent a far greater financial return – exponentially greater – than if the Agent were simply to receive the standard commission.

Hollywood being Hollywood, some saw this provision as an opportunity to get more – much more – of the Talent-driven pie. To them it was a hunting license, and the prey was the Talent. These apex predators became Uber Agents, a cabal of the biggest names in the Agency business – Walt Zifkin, Jeff Berg, Bob Broder, Ari Emanuel, Jim Berkus, Nancy Josephson, Bryan Lourd, Sam Haskell, Rick Rosen, Lee Gabler, Chris Silbermann, Ari Greenberg, Adam Berkowitz, Ted Chervin, Matt Rice, etc. Together they schemed to control and divide up the TV Packaging business. And it worked – for a while.

This is the story of how one small, independent Agency took on the biggest names, egos and pocketbooks in the business and the epic battle that ensued.

The cast in this real-life production is a dizzying array of carnivorous Agents, powerful studio executives, producers, directors, judges, politicians, and wannabes. The setting moves from closed-door meetings that some thought were secret, to public hearings that exposed an incredible combination of arrogance and hubris – even by Hollywood standards.

In the end, the bad guys won. Then they didn’t, ultimately destroying the very system they worked so desperately to control in a circular firing squad that even the best screenwriter could never dream up.

Hollywood Hustle {Part1} takes us into the seedy underbelly of Hollywood. It exposes, step by step, the mind-blowing saga of the rise and fall of TV Packaging – a highly profitable industry that generates over $4 billion a year in Packaging Fees & Profits for Talent Agents. All this easy money is fleeced from the Creators of the TV Series and the People who work tirelessly on their shows, thanks to the ruthless handiwork of a secret Cartel of just four powerful Uber Agencies operating behind the scenes.

This is how it happened…