With major Hollywood talent agencies often on the hunt to gobble up boutique shingles or bolt-on acquisitions, some smaller firms are faced with the question of whether to merge — out of necessity or out of choice — to avoid that fate.
For Dattner Dispoto & Associates (Est. 1987) and Worldwide Production Agency (Est. 2010), the principals say that their merger was one made out of opportunity and the chance to work with like-minded agents. “This is a way we can maintain independence without being bolted on to someplace,” says Steve Jacob, co-CEO of Worldwide Production Agency, to The Hollywood Reporter.
Both firms rep notable below-the-line talent in the film, TV, and commercial space, including Oscar-winning Mank cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt, The Social Network lenser Jeff Cronenweth, Creed cinematographer Maryse Alberti, Backrooms production designer Danny Vermette, X-Men producer Ralph Winter, After the Hunt cinematographer Malik Sayeed and The Master cinematographer Mihai Mălaimare Jr.
Dattner Dispoto & Associates, now known as DDA Talent after the retirement of Fay Dattner, who founded the firm in her New York City apartment in 1987, has 9 employees based in the Bradbury building in Los Angeles, where it’s run by president Bill Dispoto and vp Juanita Tiangco.
Worldwide Production Agency has a presence in both L.A. as well as the U.K., which is one key aspect of the deal as far as extending the reach of the merged firm to match clients with more opportunities globally in a production landscape that’s become a race for tax incentives for film and TV shoots. The firm, run by Jacob and co-CEO Frank Balkin, has 25 employees. The bulk of the agency will decamp to move in with DDA in the Bradbury building in August.
That’s about the same time as a to-be-determined rebranding and renaming of the combined agency will take place, sunsetting the Dattner Dispoto and Worldwide Production Agency solo identities. Dispoto had started working with Dattner in 1995, becoming a partner several years later (“Not a boutique and not a huge conglomerate, Dattner Dispoto thrives as a hybrid,” is how THR once described the agency.)
Tiangco added, “Bringing our teams together allows us to offer our clients greater opportunities, deeper resources and a truly global platform while preserving the individualized approach that defines both agencies.”
While Jacob and Dispoto had known each other for years, talks to merge the respective firms began in earnest during a meeting at the Evolution Mallorca international film fest last fall. With the business changing and film and TV productions increasingly moving offshore, the principals decided that scaling up finally made sense to offer up more agent resources as well as having firm footholds in major production hub London as well as L.A.
Jacob began his career in Hollywood at Gersh and started his first shingle in 2000, Gravity Talent Agency, which pacted with the Julia Kole agency a year later. In 2010, he merged his firm with Richard Caleel’s The Caleel Agency to form Worldwide Production Agency (Caleel departed in 2020 to launch production services firm In Plain Sight).
Now another merger aims to bulk up the below-the-line firm. “The entertainment industry is evolving rapidly and the demand for world-class creative talent has never been greater,” stated Frank Balkin, co-CEO of Worldwide Production Agency. “This merger creates one of the largest independent agencies dedicated to below-the-line talent. It positions us to better serve our clients across film, television, streaming, advertising and emerging media while continuing to advocate for the artists who bring stories to life.”
