A talent agency war is treading into explosive territory, with A-list stars possibly caught in the cross-fire. The controversy traces back to 2020, when a cohort of CAA agents, including veterans Peter Micelli, Dave Bugliari, and Jack Whigham, left to establish Range Media Partners with financial backing from hedge fund billionaire and New York Mets owner Steve Cohen. As Matt has chronicled, CAA immediately cut off their vested equity interests in the agency. So the defectors, now managers under the Range banner, tapped litigator Bryan Freedman to reclaim their stake. What hasn’t been reported is the aggressive response from Bryan Lourd’s CAA, which is probing how Range’s constellation of stars, including Bradley Cooper, Anna Kendrick, and Tom Hardy, have secured their recent roles.

In arbitration proceedings, CAA is lobbing serious allegations at its former employees, accusing them of contract breaches, loyalty breaches, and tortious interference by coaxing clients and at-will employees to jump ship. CAA, represented by Paul Hastings, charges that these agents pilfered confidential data and laid the groundwork for their new venture, then under the working banner of “Moxie Media,” while still employed at CAA.