Jim Carrey has landed at CAA.

Carrey left his longtime agency UTA last week, a move that caught the industry by surprise and set off a frenzy among agencies to land the actor, with CAA and Endeavor fighting for (HR 9/14)top dog status.

Going to CAA is not a surprise; in the past year, the agency has gone on the offensive to build up its comedy ranks. It enveloped into its fold former UTA agents Jason Heyman, Dan Aloni and Martin Lesak, who brought along clients Will Ferrell and Tom Shadyac. The agency also recently nabbed Jay Roach from ICM.

Heyman, Aloni and Lesak all worked with Carrey while at UTA, which sources said was a factor in Carrey's decision.

Carrey's severing of ties with UTA and signing with CAA follows a tough summer for the actor. Two $100 million-plus productions that he was attached to -- Fox's "Used Guys" and Paramount "Ripley's Believe It or Not!" -- were shut down because of escalating costs.

Carrey's recent signings have been for modestly budgeted productions. Last week, he signed on for voice work on "Horton Hears a Who!" a CG-animated adaptation of the Dr. Seuss book from 20th Century Fox Animation; this month, he signed to appear with his "Mask" co-star Cameron Diaz in Focus Features' "A Little Game Without Consequence."