The Rise of Talent Agencies and a New Centre of Gravity
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As the old contract system weakened considerably, talent agencies grew rapidly in influence, representing performers, writers and directors as independent professionals rather than assets tied permanently to a single studio's payroll and long term creative plans for their entire careers going forward, however the specifics play out in practice, whatever shape the final release eventually takes.
This shift moved considerable power away from studio executives and toward agents who could now negotiate freely across multiple companies at once, assembling deals and packages that served their clients' individual interests rather than any single studio's broader, more institutional priorities and its production slate for the year.
The agency model that emerged during this period still shapes the industry today, decades later, a lasting reminder of just how thoroughly the balance of power shifted once performers were no longer bound to any one employer for the length of their entire working career from début to retirement.