Recession Whacks Tinseltown Agents

Hollywood's toughest power brokers—the big shot "10 percenters" of the top talent agencies—are no longer immune to the recession, reports the Independent. With the merger between former rival agencies William Morris and Endeavor officially approved, 100 top agents got the ax. Officials of the new entity hope the combined strength will help it weather the economic downturn, which has led to industry-wide salary cuts.

"The fallout hasn't really begun. I expect a waterfall in the coming months," said Frank Wuliger of the Gersh Agency. "When agents get fired, the actors they represent think again, because the agent-client relationship is intimate; it's like a marriage." (More Hollywood stories.)