Back in 2010, Bill Weinstein, Brian Besser, and Adam Levine (all former Endeavor agents) started Verve with the idea of creating an agency with CAA’s clout, but functioning as a smaller, writer-focused organization.
But the agency is facing a meteoric rise after a series of internal conflicts that led to Mr. Weinstein’s departure in 2024, a loss of clients, and real estate and labor misfortunes.
Sources told Page Six Hollywood that Verve missed its Hollywood office rent payment deadline by several months and has lost 15 of its 20 largest clients since 2022, when the situation began to deteriorate. Among them are Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow with WME, Oscar winner Michael Arndt with Paradigm, and Lord of the Rings screenwriters J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay with CAA.
As with Little Miss Sunshine screenwriter Arndt, some of Verve’s highest-paid screenwriters followed Weinstein to Paradigm, including Mike Jones (Soul, Luca), Adele Lim (Crazy Rich Asians), Meg LeFauve (Inside Head) and James Schamus (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). Sources said the recent tightening meant that each assistant was now assigned to multiple agent desks.
Verve declined to comment for this story. Other sources say Verve has seven years left on its contract and is actively renegotiating it.
In the summer of 2023, Verve signed a 10-year lease for 53,000 square feet of office space on Barton Avenue that Quibi once occupied at the height of the rental market. The timing turned out to be particularly bad considering the WGA strike was still ongoing, ultimately lasting 148 days and hitting boutique agencies the hardest. Lincoln Property Company, which owns the building, could not be reached for comment.
The fact that the strike hit Verve so hard was ironic, given that it split from the Association of Talent Agencies in 2019 amid a standoff with the WGA over package fees and limits on agency content production.
At the time, WGA negotiators John August and Meredith Steem signed Verve, praising Verve as a great home for writers because of Verve’s willingness to sign WGA regulations and abandon packaging. While this made for some splashy headlines, it didn’t lead to a huge influx of top writers signing with Verve. August and Steem will bolt to UTA in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Between August and Steem’s departure, the WGA strike rocked Hollywood and the agency world. Mr. Besser and Mr. Levine wanted to sell Verve because the situation had become particularly volatile, but Mr. Weinstein wanted to stick to his original mission, sources said.
“Bill tried to gather votes to ensure he had the lead. He missed. After six months, they fired him. His partners, including his brother (Adam Weinstein), stabbed him,” says a top agent at a rival firm. “So, Bill has been fired. Customers are scattered. There is chaos on the ground.” Verve declined to comment on these allegations.
A source familiar with Verve’s client list said less than 2% of Verve’s clients have left the company since Mr. Weinstein’s departure.
But Verve angered many young TV literary agents at CAA, UTA, and WME during the WGA standoff. As a result, rivals have become overly aggressive in poaching Verve’s customers. In 2024, “WandaVision” creator Jac Schaefer signs with CAA. Other recent defectors include former Weinstein clients such as “Hidden Figures” screenwriter Alison Schroeder (to WME) and “Dune: Part 3” screenwriter Brian K. Vaughn (to UTA).
“They have a lot of debt,” one source said, noting that several agencies have been “all in” on a potential Verve acquisition in the past few years.
The source said suitors who took a look at their book were intimidated by several factors, including the huge contract they signed in Hollywood. “They owe a lot of money to the two partners,” the source added, referring to both Weinstein and former IT agent Amy Retzinger, who left the firm in 2023 after being a partner for more than 11 years. “I don’t think anyone is absorbing millions of dollars in debt,” the source continued.
We heard that Weinstein, who is now on his third lawyer, recently filed a new arbitration claim against Verve after the parties settled a 2024 lawsuit brought against Verve by its former CEO. Sources say he has not been paid a penny.
Like the rest of Hollywood, the talent representation community has struggled to adapt to a troubled industry. Whether it’s through an influx of private equity or large-scale consolidation, agencies and management companies are striving to diversify and, in some cases, find synergies with strategic partners.
And while talent agents aren’t known for being empathetic, some feel an unusual level of empathy for Verve and its situation. One of the top agents at a rival firm sent a gritted teeth emoji when asked about Verve’s precarious position, which has been a hot topic in the agent community.
To be clear, agency defections are nothing new, and Verve still has one of its biggest TV stars in Noah Wyle, but there is a growing consensus that the agency is facing a particularly steep hill.
