CENTURY CITY, CA (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Hollywood agents have always been known for their ruthless clashes and territorial struggles. With both Creative Artists Agency and International Creative Management moving out of Beverly Hills to Century City for bigger spaces, the agents from both companies are now brawling for a new territory.
Lunchtime in the SoCal town has seen Armani-clad armies from both CAA and ICM descending upon the Westfield mall’s food court, according to the Los Angeles Times, jockeying with soccer mom’s and teenagers for tables, while filling up trays with fried foods and soft drinks.
And the new lunch hotspot offers far less privacy than past agent favorites like Mr. Chow, Ago, Morton’s or the Grill. “You can’t really talk business because you’ve got CAA right there. And they’ve got us,” one anonymous ICM agent told the paper. “I’ve heard people at CAA having their conversations – you can hear everything.”
Until restaurateur Tom Colicchio opens a Century City branch of his popular New York eatery Craft, the agents are left with few other options, and forced to continue aggressively fighting for tables at local digs already filled with those from the non-Hollywood crowd.
Michael Goddard, manager and maitre d’ at the Grill, told the Times that the restaurant even considered a shuttle service to Century City when the agencies moved from Beverly Hills, but actually has not seen a drop in clientele.
“We still have more agents than tables,” Goddard told the paper, noting that ICM’s chairman and chief executive Jeff Berg was recently spotted dining with Mick Jaggar at the Grill. “I talked about it with [CAA Agent] Fred Spektor and said, ‘If you have any problems, let us know how we can help you out.’”
As for now, the foot traffic and table-game at the mall appears to remain the best option for local dining, even for the great power players, in Century City. –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
