5 posts and columns on William Morris

News Byte

Jim Wiatt, AOL's Hollywood Connection, Leaves Board, Becomes "Strategic Director"

in Media on September 8, 2010 at 6:11 am PT

Odd one: AOL board member Jim Wiatt is stepping down from that role, but will get a new one as a “strategic advisor,” the company announced. AOL says Wiatt, the former head of the William Morris agency, will report directly to CEO Tim Armstrong, “helping to expand AOL’s development of content, partnerships and relationships across the entertainment and media world.” If this sounds familiar, it should: Google’s Eric Schmidt was discussing a similar role for Wiatt in 2009.

Meet AOL’s BOD: Tim Armstrong May Be Youthful, but His Directors-To-Be Aren’t

in Media on October 26, 2009 at 6:52 am PT

AOL continues to prep for its impending spinoff from Time Warner. Today’s step: Announcing the board of directors for the company-to-be. Boldface names of note include William Hambrecht, former head of tech investment bank Hambrecht & Quist; Michael Powell, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission; and Jim Wiatt, former head of William Morris. Notably absent: Anyone from Google, Tim Armstrong’s favorite recruiting ground, and any whippersnappers, unless you count 46-year-old Powell.
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Is Google Getting a Hollywood Tour Guide? Former William Morris Boss Jim Wiatt May Take YouTube Consulting Gig.

in Media on September 2, 2009 at 3:00 am PT

Does Google need a Hollywood guide? It may be getting one: Jim Wiatt, the former head of the fabled William Morris talent agency, has been talking to the company about a consulting gig for its YouTube video site. Wiatt, who is leaving his old job in the aftermath of his agency’s highly contentious merger with the Endeavor agency, discussed the idea with Google and YouTube executives in Mountain View last week, multiple sources said.
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If at First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again…

in News on March 3, 2008 at 3:42 am PT

Was it just me or did you also get a bit of déjà vu upon reading a story today by the New York Times’s Laura M. Holson about yet another mash-up of a Hollywood talent agencies with Silicon Valley VCs. That’s apparently what is happening with a new investment venture that includes the William Morris [...]

The Striking Writers and the Striking Lack of Web Hits

in News on December 19, 2007 at 3:44 am PT

Why does the idea of a marriage between Hollywood writers and VCs make me slightly queasy? But that’s just the feeling I got when I read the always sharp Joseph Menn of the Los Angeles Times, who penned an interesting piece earlier this week about writers in Hollywood turning to venture capitalists as the strike [...]