Jeff Kwatinetz

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jeff Kwatinetz is the CEO of a talent management company called The Firm. The Firm was apparently a "hot new company" that went nowhere and lost most of its execs and artists within 18 months of startup. He has worked with many celebrities,[1] including music acts Backstreet Boys, Jennifer Lopez and Kelly Clarkson and actors Samuel L. Jackson and Vin Diesel.

Jeff Kwatinetz founded the company in 1997 to quickly become one of the top management and production companies in the industry representing talent in all facets of entertainment.[2] He has been successful in breaking, developing and managing the careers of artists such as KoRn, Limp Bizkit, Kelly Clarkson, Snoop Dogg, Enrique Iglesias, Vin Diesel, Ice Cube, Backstreet Boys, Jennifer Lopez, OneRepublic, Rachel Weisz, Audioslave, Pete Yorn, Puddle of Mudd, and many more. The Firm acquired Artist Management Group in 2002 to add high-profile television and film industry managers and clients such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Kate Hudson, Benicio del Toro, Bill Condon and Martin Scorsese and expand into an all-encompassing entertainment management and production company.

Kwatinetz has been a controversial figure in the industry especially in connection with such clients as Britney Spears. On September 17 2007 he released the following statement: "It saddens us to confirm media reports that we have terminated our professional relationship with Britney Spears. We have represented Britney for the past month. We believe Britney is enormously talented, and has made a terrific record. But current circumstances have prevented us from properly doing our job. We wish Britney the best."[3]

Jeff is known by the nickname "JK" and is known for hysterical outbursts of anger directed at no one in particular. He has been characterized as a hot-head by many, and has publicly fired assistant after assistant. This has frequently left him without a trained staff of able bodied young men and women on hand to cater to his needs at any given time. His method of "rolling calls" has been called "insane" and "over the top", and is generally thought of as a product of his "extreme paranoia". He insists that all his employees sign a non-disclosure agreement.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Firm Believer", Washington Post, 2002-07-08. Retrieved on 2008-03-21. 
  2. ^ Waxman, Sharon (March 19, 2004), “Leading Hollywood Talent and Marketing Companies Merge”, New York Times, <http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D01E7D81331F93AA25750C0A9629C8B63&sec=&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink> 
  3. ^ "Manager dumps Britney Spears", ABC News, 2007-09-19. Retrieved on 2008-03-21.