In today's NY Times, Sharon Waxman examines what the planned moves of rapidly expanding talent agencies CAA and ICM from Beverly Hills to Century City might mean for the Wilshire Boulevard Ten Percent Corridor they're leaving behind. While the subtraction of two major players from the neighborhood undoubtedly will make it more difficult for a struggling actor in the midst of a psychotic break to swerve onto a single sidewalk and collect representatives from all of the Big Five talent shops in the grill of his soon-to-be repossessed Hummer, the mini-exodus is also expected to have a profound impact on the local power-dining industry:

In the midst of all of those companies, literally at the epicenter of talent gulch, sits the Grill on the Alley, the lunchtime gathering place for heavyweights of the industry, often seated according to their status. More than one agent is known to use the restaurant as an informal gauge of the state of Hollywood's power structure. One prominent agent is known to refer to a "Grillometer." [...]

"I don't want everyone leaving town," said Michael Goddard, the manager and maître d'hôtel at the Grill, adding, "I'd worry." He grabbed a ringing phone, listened and said, "Yes, Bud's still here." Bud Yorkin, the veteran producer, was called to the line.

Mr. Goddard estimated that 40 percent of his business came from the nearby talent agencies, most of them a short distance on foot. "We get more William Morris, Endeavor, C.A.A. than I.C.M.," he observed. "But we do get I.C.M." Suddenly, he was struck by a thought: "If they do move, we'd love to get a valet," Mr. Goddard said. "Perhaps we can get a shuttle going to Century City."

The relocated agencies certainly could continue to conduct business out of The Grill and maintain the status quo, but the move will also afford juggernaut CAA and tag-along ICM a rare opportunity to shift the business's lunchtime gawking/dealmaking scene to a location closer to their new headquarters. Soon, we could see Armani-clad swarms jockeying for position in the Century City Shopping Center's food court, throwing elbows at rivals or bribing busboys to gain a seat at the ultra-exclusive power tables in front of the Baja Fresh counter.

• Hollywood Agencies to Leave Talent Row [NY Times]