(Arnie's) Agent Won't Take Star's Call to Join Campaign [View All]

[kskiska]

Schwarzenegger had said CAA endorsed his run for governor. The firm denies it.

In his transition from movie star to political candidate, Arnold Schwarzenegger this week ran afoul of someone close to him: his Hollywood agent.

While rolling out his team of economic advisors Wednesday, Schwarzenegger and his representatives at the powerful Creative Artists Agency wound up contradicting each other. Schwarzenegger said his agency was endorsing him for governor. (The agency said no.) Schwarzenegger's people had named CAA Managing Director Bryan Lourd as an economic advisor to the campaign. (Lourd's spokesman said he wasn't participating.)

All sides downplayed the flap, but it highlighted what Schwarzenegger aides say is a serious challenge: how to harness the volatile mix of Hollywood and politics.

Schwarzenegger has tried to blend entertainment people into his campaign. Yet that strategy carries risks for a politician who must control his message in a running battle — a mission far different from protecting a star's image through a tightly scripted film rollout.

(snip)

A New York Post columnist wrote Friday that superstar Tom Hanks, a Democrat and a CAA client, was furious that his agency was helping Schwarzenegger. Hanks responded with a statement denouncing the column, which had put him atop a list of Democratic stars who are supposedly mobilizing against their Republican peer.

As Schwarzenegger later met with small-businesspeople in Huntington Beach, hoping to put a spotlight on the economy, some TV reports led with the disavowed Hanks piece instead.

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http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-caa23aug23,1,1446182.story?coll=la-headlines-business