{"id":2322,"date":"2026-06-23T13:37:52","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T13:37:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=2322"},"modified":"2026-06-23T13:37:52","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T13:37:52","slug":"below-the-line-hollywood-talent-agencies-plan-merger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=2322","title":{"rendered":"Below-the-Line Hollywood Talent Agencies Plan Merger"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tWith 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 \u2014 out of necessity or out of choice \u2014 to avoid that fate. <\/p>\n

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\n\tFor 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. \u201cThis is a way we can maintain independence without being bolted on to someplace,\u201d says Steve Jacob, co-CEO of Worldwide Production Agency, to The Hollywood Reporter<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n\tBoth firms rep notable below-the-line talent in the film, TV, and commercial space, including Oscar-winning Mank<\/em> cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt, The Social Network<\/em> lenser Jeff Cronenweth, Creed <\/em>cinematographer Maryse Alberti, Backrooms<\/em> production designer Danny Vermette, X-Men <\/em>producer Ralph Winter, After the Hunt <\/em>cinematographer Malik Sayeed and The Master <\/em>cinematographer Mihai M\u0103laimare Jr.<\/p>\n

\n\tDattner 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\u2019s run by president Bill Dispoto and vp Juanita Tiangco.<\/p>\n

\n\tWorldwide 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s 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 (\u201cNot a boutique and not a huge conglomerate, Dattner Dispoto thrives as a hybrid,\u201d is how THR<\/em> once described the agency.)<\/p>\n

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\n\tTiangco added, \u201cBringing 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile 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.<\/p>\n

\n\tJacob 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\u00a0Caleel\u2019s The Caleel\u00a0Agency to form Worldwide Production Agency (Caleel departed in 2020 to launch production services firm In Plain Sight).<\/p>\n

\n\tNow another merger aims to bulk up the below-the-line firm. \u201cThe entertainment industry is evolving rapidly and the demand for world-class creative talent has never been greater,\u201d stated Frank Balkin, co-CEO of Worldwide Production Agency.\u00a0\u201cThis 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.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Dattner Dispoto and Associates along with Worldwide Production Agency see the benefits of scale.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2321,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[556],"class_list":["post-2322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting","tag-labor"],"yoast_head":"\nBelow-the-Line Hollywood Talent Agencies Plan Merger - US Property Moves<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=2322\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Below-the-Line Hollywood Talent Agencies Plan Merger - US Property Moves\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dattner Dispoto and Associates along with Worldwide Production Agency see the benefits of scale.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=2322\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"US Property Moves\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-23T13:37:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=2322#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=2322\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f6dcb1ef8e64fe67b72b772b81aa822c\"},\"headline\":\"Below-the-Line Hollywood Talent Agencies Plan Merger\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-23T13:37:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=2322\"},\"wordCount\":620,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=2322#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/0ae4aa16cbc8461766a93276e60e27f1.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"labor\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=2322#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=2322\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=2322\",\"name\":\"Below-the-Line Hollywood Talent Agencies Plan Merger - 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