Creative Artists Agency has reintroduced managing directors, naming nine today, and announced a big expansion of its agency board as its leadership structure evolves.
Managing directors, a group reintroduced after years, include leaders across select areas, who will work alongside CAA Co-Chairman and CEO Bryan Lourd, Co-Chairmen Kevin Huvane and Richard Lovett, and President Jim Burtson on a wide range of strategic business and operational matters.
Named Managing Directors are: Rob Light (music), Howard Nuchow (sports), Joe Cohen (TV), Michael Levine (sports) , Joel Lubin (motion picture), Maha Dakhil (motion picture), Chris Silbermann (TV), Tiffany Ward (TV), and Paul Danforth (sports). Of the nine, all but Silbermann come from the CAA side of the company.
CFO Carol Sawdye and Chief Legal Officer Hilary Krane continue to serve in their leadership roles.
CAA’s expanded Agency Board will now hone in on specific goals. It will work with the CAA Co-Chairmen and...
Managing directors, a group reintroduced after years, include leaders across select areas, who will work alongside CAA Co-Chairman and CEO Bryan Lourd, Co-Chairmen Kevin Huvane and Richard Lovett, and President Jim Burtson on a wide range of strategic business and operational matters.
Named Managing Directors are: Rob Light (music), Howard Nuchow (sports), Joe Cohen (TV), Michael Levine (sports) , Joel Lubin (motion picture), Maha Dakhil (motion picture), Chris Silbermann (TV), Tiffany Ward (TV), and Paul Danforth (sports). Of the nine, all but Silbermann come from the CAA side of the company.
CFO Carol Sawdye and Chief Legal Officer Hilary Krane continue to serve in their leadership roles.
CAA’s expanded Agency Board will now hone in on specific goals. It will work with the CAA Co-Chairmen and...
- 4/11/2024
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Creative Artists Agency has appointed nine managing directors and changed up its agency board membership.
The new managing directors include Rob Light, Howard Nuchow, Joe Cohen, Michael Levine, Joel Lubin, Maha Dakhil, Chris Silbermann, Tiffany Ward and Paul Danforth. CFO Carol Sawdye and chief legal officer Hilary Krane will continue in their roles.
The managing directors will work alongside CAA co-chairman and CEO Bryan Lourd, co-chairmen Kevin Huvane and Richard Lovett and president Jim Burtson on varying strategic business and operational matters.
The agency board will work with the CAA co-chairmen and president “on ensuring the continued strength of the company’s highly regarded culture of service, collaboration, and opportunity, built for personal client service,” including dealmaking, training and development and innovation. The move marks the latest rework for the agency since its sale to Artémis, the investment firm controlled by François-Henri Pinault, last September.
Members of the agency board include Katie Anderson,...
The new managing directors include Rob Light, Howard Nuchow, Joe Cohen, Michael Levine, Joel Lubin, Maha Dakhil, Chris Silbermann, Tiffany Ward and Paul Danforth. CFO Carol Sawdye and chief legal officer Hilary Krane will continue in their roles.
The managing directors will work alongside CAA co-chairman and CEO Bryan Lourd, co-chairmen Kevin Huvane and Richard Lovett and president Jim Burtson on varying strategic business and operational matters.
The agency board will work with the CAA co-chairmen and president “on ensuring the continued strength of the company’s highly regarded culture of service, collaboration, and opportunity, built for personal client service,” including dealmaking, training and development and innovation. The move marks the latest rework for the agency since its sale to Artémis, the investment firm controlled by François-Henri Pinault, last September.
Members of the agency board include Katie Anderson,...
- 4/11/2024
- by Caitlin Huston
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Taking place alongside Filmart, the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (Haf) is one of Asia’s oldest and most established project markets, helping a string of award-winning films to get made.
Recent Haf successes include Mongolian drama If Only I Could Hibernate, which was selected for last year’s Cannes Un Certain Regard, and Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka’s Stonewalling, which won best film at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards and was sold to KimStim for North America.
However, Haf is now just one component in an expanding range of activities organised by Hkiff Industry, the industry platform of Hong Kong International Film Festival (Hkiff). This year, the festival has partnered with CAA China to launch the Hkiff Industry-caa China Genre Initiative (Hcg), which is presenting six selected projects to an industry-wide audience during Haf.
Hkiff Industry director Jacob Wong explains that a genre initiative is a logical next...
Recent Haf successes include Mongolian drama If Only I Could Hibernate, which was selected for last year’s Cannes Un Certain Regard, and Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka’s Stonewalling, which won best film at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards and was sold to KimStim for North America.
However, Haf is now just one component in an expanding range of activities organised by Hkiff Industry, the industry platform of Hong Kong International Film Festival (Hkiff). This year, the festival has partnered with CAA China to launch the Hkiff Industry-caa China Genre Initiative (Hcg), which is presenting six selected projects to an industry-wide audience during Haf.
Hkiff Industry director Jacob Wong explains that a genre initiative is a logical next...
- 3/5/2024
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
Swiss film producers and financiers Karl Spoerri and Viviana Vezzani have been Sundance regulars for more than 15 years, but this edition is special.
The pair, who were driving forces behind the Zurich Film Festival (Zff) up until 2019, are in Park City this year with Thelma, which is the first feature from their new company Zurich Avenue to make it into Sundance.
Josh Margolin’s action-comedy-drama, starring 94-year-old June Squibb as a L.A. grandmother who sets off on a friend’s mobility scooter on a mission to track down an Internet scammer, is proving one of the early hits of the festival.
“On a personal level, it’s very meaningful because Sundance was always a big influence for us at the Zurich Film Festival from the start,” says Vezzani.
“We always loved going as programmers so getting Thelma accepted at Sundance was a dream come true.”
Former Zff co-founder and...
The pair, who were driving forces behind the Zurich Film Festival (Zff) up until 2019, are in Park City this year with Thelma, which is the first feature from their new company Zurich Avenue to make it into Sundance.
Josh Margolin’s action-comedy-drama, starring 94-year-old June Squibb as a L.A. grandmother who sets off on a friend’s mobility scooter on a mission to track down an Internet scammer, is proving one of the early hits of the festival.
“On a personal level, it’s very meaningful because Sundance was always a big influence for us at the Zurich Film Festival from the start,” says Vezzani.
“We always loved going as programmers so getting Thelma accepted at Sundance was a dream come true.”
Former Zff co-founder and...
- 1/20/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The Zurich Summit returned for another year bringing together some of the top creatives in the industry. More than 100 film pros took part in the all-day session that drilled down into the state of the industry.
Executives at the summit included Founder and CEO of Neon Tom Quinn, film producer Thomas Benski, Head of Anonymous Content independent Nick Shumaker and CEO of Leonine Studios Fred Kogel.
The conference gathers a line-up of film producers, sales executives and creators in film, TV and entertainment as well as technology entrepreneurs and financiers at The Dolder Grand. It offers a smart mix of knowledge transfer and inspiration, as well as ideal networking opportunities.
Panels at the summit included “Are Film Festivals Drifting Away From What Works In Cinemas,” “Rethinking Streaming,” “Streaming Scale Back,” “Now That Box Office Comes Back: What Are The Latest Business Strategies,” “What’s Behind the Success of Leonine,” “Are...
Executives at the summit included Founder and CEO of Neon Tom Quinn, film producer Thomas Benski, Head of Anonymous Content independent Nick Shumaker and CEO of Leonine Studios Fred Kogel.
The conference gathers a line-up of film producers, sales executives and creators in film, TV and entertainment as well as technology entrepreneurs and financiers at The Dolder Grand. It offers a smart mix of knowledge transfer and inspiration, as well as ideal networking opportunities.
Panels at the summit included “Are Film Festivals Drifting Away From What Works In Cinemas,” “Rethinking Streaming,” “Streaming Scale Back,” “Now That Box Office Comes Back: What Are The Latest Business Strategies,” “What’s Behind the Success of Leonine,” “Are...
- 10/1/2023
- by Armando Tinoco
- Deadline Film + TV
“Are streamers scaling back?” and “Is this a renaissance period for indie financed films?” were two of the questions at the heart of a Zurich Summit panel this morning, featuring CAA’s Roeg Sutherland, WME’s Katie Irwin and Oscar-winning producer John Lesher (Birdman).
While the eye-watering streamer acquisitions of a few years ago may be fewer and further between out of markets, streamers are still essential buyers, as witnessed by splashy deals for Hit Man and Woman Of The Hour at Toronto and May December in Cannes.
“I don’t think they are retreating, I think they are being agile”, said Irwin of sales and finance operation WME Independent. “I think there’s a constant changing tack and I think they’re pointing their money in different ways.”
“Look at the deal for Hit Man“, noted moderator Sutherland who serves as co-head of CAA Media Finance. The film was...
While the eye-watering streamer acquisitions of a few years ago may be fewer and further between out of markets, streamers are still essential buyers, as witnessed by splashy deals for Hit Man and Woman Of The Hour at Toronto and May December in Cannes.
“I don’t think they are retreating, I think they are being agile”, said Irwin of sales and finance operation WME Independent. “I think there’s a constant changing tack and I think they’re pointing their money in different ways.”
“Look at the deal for Hit Man“, noted moderator Sutherland who serves as co-head of CAA Media Finance. The film was...
- 9/30/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
San Sebastian — Blessed by blowsy sun, two Conferences and a Co-Pro Forum, which brought the highest caliber and number of U.S., European execs and Latin American producers ever seen in festival history, San Sebastian rounded its final bend Friday after a packed, busy and upbeat event, also suggesting a stability in contrast to other major European events, such as Berlin.
Below, eight takeaways, some 24 hours before Saturday night’s closing gala and prize ceremony.
Women Rule Still
Coming into the festival, many of the biggest main competition buzz pictures were directed by women. Many now figure, according to a El Diario Vasco Spanish critics’ poll, as Golden Shell frontrunners: Isabel Helguera’s animated pic “Sultana’s Dream,” Raven Jackson’s Sundance hit “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt,” Jaione Camborda’s Toronto platform screener “The Rye Horn” and Tzu-Hui Peng and Ping-Wen Wang’s “A Journey in Spring.”
New...
Below, eight takeaways, some 24 hours before Saturday night’s closing gala and prize ceremony.
Women Rule Still
Coming into the festival, many of the biggest main competition buzz pictures were directed by women. Many now figure, according to a El Diario Vasco Spanish critics’ poll, as Golden Shell frontrunners: Isabel Helguera’s animated pic “Sultana’s Dream,” Raven Jackson’s Sundance hit “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt,” Jaione Camborda’s Toronto platform screener “The Rye Horn” and Tzu-Hui Peng and Ping-Wen Wang’s “A Journey in Spring.”
New...
- 9/29/2023
- by John Hopewell and Callum McLennan
- Variety Film + TV
The 2nd Creative Investors’ Conference, organized by the San Sebastian Festival and CAA Media Finance, took place as the U.S. saw history in the making: the end of the Writers Guild of America’s 148 day strike. That set the tone of proceedings at the two-day confab and maybe added a slightly larger sense of forward momentum to the central issue at stake: a State of the Union take on the challenges and opportunities for the U.S and global film industry, from a market and producers’ perspective.
Multiple audience members, many from Spain and Europe, commented on their delight at the caliber of panelists and attendees, many at the top of their game. Their answers to questions marshalled by CAA Media Finance’s Roeg Sutherland on one key panel and San Sebastian’s Wendy Mitchell on many more, were often direct and sometimes counter-intuitive but convincing; which is what...
Multiple audience members, many from Spain and Europe, commented on their delight at the caliber of panelists and attendees, many at the top of their game. Their answers to questions marshalled by CAA Media Finance’s Roeg Sutherland on one key panel and San Sebastian’s Wendy Mitchell on many more, were often direct and sometimes counter-intuitive but convincing; which is what...
- 9/28/2023
- by John Hopewell and Callum McLennan
- Variety Film + TV
Goodfellas President Vincent Maraval shared the secret behind his undying enthusiasm for the film industry in the face of numerous challenges in an industry panel at the San Sebastian Film Festival.
‘It comes from a love and passion for cinema… We still want to see a dream come true on the screen, on a platform, on TV. That’s what drives us,” he said.
“The complexity of our business is also part of the excitement. We need to adapt ourselves and our business and look for films or TV programs that will find a buyer or an agent.”
Maraval was talking on a panel on the state of the Global Film Industry in 2023 as part of San Sebastian’s Creative Investors’ Conference on Tuesday, organized in association with CAA Media Finance.
The complexity of the market was at the heart of the chat which also featured mk2 films MD Fionnuala Jamison...
‘It comes from a love and passion for cinema… We still want to see a dream come true on the screen, on a platform, on TV. That’s what drives us,” he said.
“The complexity of our business is also part of the excitement. We need to adapt ourselves and our business and look for films or TV programs that will find a buyer or an agent.”
Maraval was talking on a panel on the state of the Global Film Industry in 2023 as part of San Sebastian’s Creative Investors’ Conference on Tuesday, organized in association with CAA Media Finance.
The complexity of the market was at the heart of the chat which also featured mk2 films MD Fionnuala Jamison...
- 9/26/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
San Sebastian – Top International business execs gathered on Tuesday at a rooftop venue, glistening in the Basque sunlight, for the second Creative Investors Conference at this week’s San Sebastian International Film Festival.
The second panel of the day at this two-day confab, The Global Film Industry: State of the Union 2023 round table, was moderated by Roeg Sutherland, co-head, CAA Media Finance. Speakers took in Pete Czernin co-chairman of Blueprint Pictures, David Flynn, head of global drama at Wiip, Fionnuala Jamison, managing director of MK2, and Vincent Maraval, president of Goodfellas.
Today, international is not just about recouping costs on American films but also about the discovery of new talent. Said Maraval: “What you need to succeed is the exception. The exception is coming from everywhere today. I think the market has become more global and less American.”
Added Czernin: “I think our awareness of global voices has increased.
The second panel of the day at this two-day confab, The Global Film Industry: State of the Union 2023 round table, was moderated by Roeg Sutherland, co-head, CAA Media Finance. Speakers took in Pete Czernin co-chairman of Blueprint Pictures, David Flynn, head of global drama at Wiip, Fionnuala Jamison, managing director of MK2, and Vincent Maraval, president of Goodfellas.
Today, international is not just about recouping costs on American films but also about the discovery of new talent. Said Maraval: “What you need to succeed is the exception. The exception is coming from everywhere today. I think the market has become more global and less American.”
Added Czernin: “I think our awareness of global voices has increased.
- 9/26/2023
- by Liza Foreman
- Variety Film + TV
A studio head once told me that CAA’s top three leaders – Bryan Lourd, Kevin Huvane and Richard Lovett – had claws beneath their velvet gloves. It was a backhanded compliment, as the CEO was praising the trio’s devotion to their incredibly famous clients while also bemoaning their hard-driving negotiating style.
Those gloves will now be made by one of the biggest luxury fashion houses in the world, as the mega-agency sold a majority stake to Francois-Henri Pinault’s family investment fund Artemis this week. In a still-incomplete transaction, the French billionaire has snatched up controlling interest in the legendary talent shop and will nestle it in a portfolio that includes Gucci, Saint Laurent and the thousand-dollar–a-bottle winery Château Latour.
It’s impeccable brand placement for CAA, whose clients include Zendaya, Tom Cruise, Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop and sports stars like Dwayne Wade. And in any other Hollywood...
Those gloves will now be made by one of the biggest luxury fashion houses in the world, as the mega-agency sold a majority stake to Francois-Henri Pinault’s family investment fund Artemis this week. In a still-incomplete transaction, the French billionaire has snatched up controlling interest in the legendary talent shop and will nestle it in a portfolio that includes Gucci, Saint Laurent and the thousand-dollar–a-bottle winery Château Latour.
It’s impeccable brand placement for CAA, whose clients include Zendaya, Tom Cruise, Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop and sports stars like Dwayne Wade. And in any other Hollywood...
- 9/8/2023
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
The conference is taking place from September 26-28.
Mubi’s Bobby Allen, Blueprint Pictures’ Peter Czernin, Killer Films’ Christine Vachon, Casarotto Ramsay & Associates’ Anna Higgs and Netflix’s Teresa Moneo will all attend the second annual Creative Investors’ Conference at the San Sebastian International Film Festival this month.
Organised in collaboration with CAA Media Finance, it is taking place at the festival from September 26-28 and will comprise of a series of panels and discussions open to industry badge holders, under the Spanish Screenings: Financing & Tech strand.
Scroll down for the full list of participants
Roeg Sutherland, Benjamin Kramer and...
Mubi’s Bobby Allen, Blueprint Pictures’ Peter Czernin, Killer Films’ Christine Vachon, Casarotto Ramsay & Associates’ Anna Higgs and Netflix’s Teresa Moneo will all attend the second annual Creative Investors’ Conference at the San Sebastian International Film Festival this month.
Organised in collaboration with CAA Media Finance, it is taking place at the festival from September 26-28 and will comprise of a series of panels and discussions open to industry badge holders, under the Spanish Screenings: Financing & Tech strand.
Scroll down for the full list of participants
Roeg Sutherland, Benjamin Kramer and...
- 9/5/2023
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Netflix’s Teresa Moneo, Mubi’s Bobby Allen, Cinetic Media’s John Sloss, and Jeb Brody, President of Production at Amblin Partners, are among the names set for CAA Media Finance and the San Sebastian Film Festival’s second annual Creative Investors’ Conference.
The conference will take place September 26-28 and include a series of panels and discussions. Roeg Sutherland, Benjamin Kramer, and Sarah Schweitzman from CAA Media Finance will participate in the conference and moderate alongside journalist and San Seb advisor Wendy Mitchell.
Organized in collaboration with CAA Media Finance, other high-profile execs set to attend include Vincent Maraval, President of Goodfellas; Mariano César, SVP of Content Ge Content Latin America at HBO Max; Sarah Colvin, Director of Acquisitions at Neon; Liesl Copland, Executive Vice president, Content and Platform Strategy at Participant Media; Phil Hunt, CEO of Head Gear Films and Co-managing Director of Bankside Films; Fionnuala Jamison, Managing...
The conference will take place September 26-28 and include a series of panels and discussions. Roeg Sutherland, Benjamin Kramer, and Sarah Schweitzman from CAA Media Finance will participate in the conference and moderate alongside journalist and San Seb advisor Wendy Mitchell.
Organized in collaboration with CAA Media Finance, other high-profile execs set to attend include Vincent Maraval, President of Goodfellas; Mariano César, SVP of Content Ge Content Latin America at HBO Max; Sarah Colvin, Director of Acquisitions at Neon; Liesl Copland, Executive Vice president, Content and Platform Strategy at Participant Media; Phil Hunt, CEO of Head Gear Films and Co-managing Director of Bankside Films; Fionnuala Jamison, Managing...
- 9/5/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
San Sebastian Festival’s 2nd Creative Investors’ Conference (Cic), co-organized once more with CAA Media Finance, has lured some of the most prominent names in the international entertainment business, led by CAA Media Finance’s Roeg Sutherland, Goodfellas’ Vincent Maraval and Cinetic Media’s John Sloss.
Sutherland, Nick Ogiony and Sarah Schweitzman from CAA Media Finance will participate in the Conference, held on Sept. 26 and 27 at the Tabakalera, and moderate some of the activities, as will Wendy Mitchell, delegate and advisor of the San Sebastian Festival.
Variety has learned that the VIP international guests will hold private networking lunches/meetings with about 25 leading Spanish producers, includING Mariela Besuievsky of Tornasol Media; Eduardo Carneros, Euskadi Movie Aie; Valérie Delpierre, Inicia Films; Ignasi Estapé, Arcadia; Belén Atienza, Perdición Films; Fernando Bovaira, Mod Prods; Morena Films’ Juan Gordon and Elastica Films’ María Zamora.
Another added bonus is a podcast, jointly produced/hosted by...
Sutherland, Nick Ogiony and Sarah Schweitzman from CAA Media Finance will participate in the Conference, held on Sept. 26 and 27 at the Tabakalera, and moderate some of the activities, as will Wendy Mitchell, delegate and advisor of the San Sebastian Festival.
Variety has learned that the VIP international guests will hold private networking lunches/meetings with about 25 leading Spanish producers, includING Mariela Besuievsky of Tornasol Media; Eduardo Carneros, Euskadi Movie Aie; Valérie Delpierre, Inicia Films; Ignasi Estapé, Arcadia; Belén Atienza, Perdición Films; Fernando Bovaira, Mod Prods; Morena Films’ Juan Gordon and Elastica Films’ María Zamora.
Another added bonus is a podcast, jointly produced/hosted by...
- 9/5/2023
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente and John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Creative Artists Agency on Wednesday announced the elevation of five to agent, along with the promotion of another to an executive role.
Yasi Agahnia has been promoted to agent in the Music Touring area’s private events division, with Logan Binstock now to serve as a talent agent, and Abe Coelho working as an agent in the Media Finance department, led by Roeg Sutherland and Benjamin Kramer. Ryan Quint has assumed a post as agent in the Comedy Touring department, with Karen Schillinger to serve as an agent in in the Music Touring department, and Erik Toral as an executive in Global Client Strategy.
Agahnia, Binstock, Coelho, Quint and Toral will be based out of the agency’s Los Angeles office, with Schillinger working from Nashville.
Graduating with a degree in Communication Studies from the University of San Diego, Agahnia began her career in CAA’s mailroom in 2018 and later...
Yasi Agahnia has been promoted to agent in the Music Touring area’s private events division, with Logan Binstock now to serve as a talent agent, and Abe Coelho working as an agent in the Media Finance department, led by Roeg Sutherland and Benjamin Kramer. Ryan Quint has assumed a post as agent in the Comedy Touring department, with Karen Schillinger to serve as an agent in in the Music Touring department, and Erik Toral as an executive in Global Client Strategy.
Agahnia, Binstock, Coelho, Quint and Toral will be based out of the agency’s Los Angeles office, with Schillinger working from Nashville.
Graduating with a degree in Communication Studies from the University of San Diego, Agahnia began her career in CAA’s mailroom in 2018 and later...
- 6/22/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
CAA has upped eight to agent and executive.
Kate Arenson, who joined CAA as an intern in 2017, has been elevated to agent in the Music Touring department.
Jessica Brown, Emmett Gordon and Peter Morton have been promoted to executives in CAA Sports Property Sales and will advise clients that include Major League Baseball, Formula 1, the Atlanta Braves and the L.A. Clippers.
Sydney Chance has been promoted to executive in Baseball, where she will advise the agency’s MLB clients on their digital media strategies and off-the-field brand architecture.
Ron Jordan has been promoted to agent in the Music Touring department and will continue working with Ardn, Jean Deaux and tobi lou, among others.
Sydney Lipsitz, who joined CAA in 2018 as a mailroom clerk, has been upped to executive and chief of staff for the Sports Broadcasting department, led by Matt Kramer and Tom Young.
CAA has upped eight to agent and executive.
Kate Arenson, who joined CAA as an intern in 2017, has been elevated to agent in the Music Touring department.
Jessica Brown, Emmett Gordon and Peter Morton have been promoted to executives in CAA Sports Property Sales and will advise clients that include Major League Baseball, Formula 1, the Atlanta Braves and the L.A. Clippers.
Sydney Chance has been promoted to executive in Baseball, where she will advise the agency’s MLB clients on their digital media strategies and off-the-field brand architecture.
Ron Jordan has been promoted to agent in the Music Touring department and will continue working with Ardn, Jean Deaux and tobi lou, among others.
Sydney Lipsitz, who joined CAA in 2018 as a mailroom clerk, has been upped to executive and chief of staff for the Sports Broadcasting department, led by Matt Kramer and Tom Young.
- 12/9/2022
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
CAA has promoted eight employees to agent or executive ranks, including Kate Arenson, Jessica Brown, Sydney Chance, Emmett Gordon, Ron Jordan, Sydney Lipsitz, Peter Morton and Andi Wong.
Arenson has been elevated to agent in the music touring department and will be based in New York. She began her career at CAA as an intern in 2017, and joined the agency as a full-time assistant the following year. She was promoted to coordinator and entered the CAA Elevate training program in 2022. Arenson works with Glass Animals, Leon Bridges, Yoke Lore, Mumford & Sons, The Head and the Heart, The 502s and more. She is a graduate of the University of Alabama.
New York-based Brown, Gordon and Morton have all been promoted to executives in CAA sports property sales.
Brown, who works on behalf of clients MLB, Formula 1 and the Atlanta Braves, started at CAA as a receptionist in 2019. She later served as a mailroom clerk,...
Arenson has been elevated to agent in the music touring department and will be based in New York. She began her career at CAA as an intern in 2017, and joined the agency as a full-time assistant the following year. She was promoted to coordinator and entered the CAA Elevate training program in 2022. Arenson works with Glass Animals, Leon Bridges, Yoke Lore, Mumford & Sons, The Head and the Heart, The 502s and more. She is a graduate of the University of Alabama.
New York-based Brown, Gordon and Morton have all been promoted to executives in CAA sports property sales.
Brown, who works on behalf of clients MLB, Formula 1 and the Atlanta Braves, started at CAA as a receptionist in 2019. She later served as a mailroom clerk,...
- 12/8/2022
- by Michaela Zee
- Variety Film + TV
Rome’s innovative Mia market dedicated to international TV series, feature films, and documentaries is gearing up for its eighth edition with an increased international industry presence, a new animation section, and lots of European content – most of which in early stages of production – on display.
The upcoming Oct. 11-15 Mia mart (whose acronym stands for the Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo or International Audiovisual Market) this year is positioned prior to the Mipcom content market and conference that runs Oct. 17-20 in Cannes, since Mipcom has shifted its dates forward.
But the repositioning has not impacted the number of registered attendees which is up more than 12 compared with past Mia editions. More than 900 international industry execs are expected to make the trek, and counting, organizers said at a Rome press conference on Thursday.
Significantly, U.S. streamers will be at Mia in full force. Execs from Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Paramount, Apple,...
The upcoming Oct. 11-15 Mia mart (whose acronym stands for the Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo or International Audiovisual Market) this year is positioned prior to the Mipcom content market and conference that runs Oct. 17-20 in Cannes, since Mipcom has shifted its dates forward.
But the repositioning has not impacted the number of registered attendees which is up more than 12 compared with past Mia editions. More than 900 international industry execs are expected to make the trek, and counting, organizers said at a Rome press conference on Thursday.
Significantly, U.S. streamers will be at Mia in full force. Execs from Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Paramount, Apple,...
- 10/6/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Lee Schroder has been named an executive in the motion picture marketing department at CAA.
Schroder joins the powerhouse agency from Netflix. Reporting to department head Megan Crawford, she will help advise clients on all aspects of a film marketing and distribution strategy for theatrical and streaming releases. The marketing team works closely with CAA Media Finance, led by Roeg Sutherland and Benjamin Kramer, which funds and packages many indies and mid-budget commercial fare.
Schroder will also advise the CAA roster on festival and awards campaign strategies, and curating the agency’s effective tastemaker screenings.
At Netflix, Schroder worked on campaigns for Peter Chernin’s inventive “Fear Street” trilogy; Ryan Reynolds’ time travel film “The Adam Project”; the blockbuster “Red Notice” starring Reynolds, Dwayne Johnson, and Gal Gadot; and the soon-to-stream Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington project “The School for Good and Evil.” She also handled release and awards campaigns for the Oscar players “Mank,...
Schroder joins the powerhouse agency from Netflix. Reporting to department head Megan Crawford, she will help advise clients on all aspects of a film marketing and distribution strategy for theatrical and streaming releases. The marketing team works closely with CAA Media Finance, led by Roeg Sutherland and Benjamin Kramer, which funds and packages many indies and mid-budget commercial fare.
Schroder will also advise the CAA roster on festival and awards campaign strategies, and curating the agency’s effective tastemaker screenings.
At Netflix, Schroder worked on campaigns for Peter Chernin’s inventive “Fear Street” trilogy; Ryan Reynolds’ time travel film “The Adam Project”; the blockbuster “Red Notice” starring Reynolds, Dwayne Johnson, and Gal Gadot; and the soon-to-stream Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington project “The School for Good and Evil.” She also handled release and awards campaigns for the Oscar players “Mank,...
- 10/4/2022
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Sony Pictures Classics presidents Michael Barker and Tom Bernard offered sound advice to U.S. theater chains, while explaining the reasons behind their continued success, during a discussion at the Zurich Film Festival on Saturday about their colorful and storied partnership that has spanned more than four decades.
Zurich is honoring the duo for their services to film culture with its Game Changer Award on Sunday.
Speaking to Roeg Sutherland, co-ceo of CAA Media Finance, at the festival’s Zurich Summit industry event, Barker and Bernard took an engaging and humorous trip down memory lane, from first working together at United Artists Classics and then at Orion Classics, before establishing Sony Pictures Classics in 1992, to working with Akira Kurosawa, and managing to reacquire “Howards End” from Ismail Merchant, despite Harvey Weinstein’s efforts to significantly outbid them.
In discussing the current state of the industry, however, Bernard expressed exasperation with...
Zurich is honoring the duo for their services to film culture with its Game Changer Award on Sunday.
Speaking to Roeg Sutherland, co-ceo of CAA Media Finance, at the festival’s Zurich Summit industry event, Barker and Bernard took an engaging and humorous trip down memory lane, from first working together at United Artists Classics and then at Orion Classics, before establishing Sony Pictures Classics in 1992, to working with Akira Kurosawa, and managing to reacquire “Howards End” from Ismail Merchant, despite Harvey Weinstein’s efforts to significantly outbid them.
In discussing the current state of the industry, however, Bernard expressed exasperation with...
- 9/24/2022
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Sony Pictures Classics co-chiefs Michael Barker and Tom Bernard, who are being feted by the Zurich Film Festival with the event’s Game Changer Award, took part today in a Zurich Summit panel about their careers and the state of the specialty business.
The duo have spent their lives dedicated to the theatrical sector and the promotion of arthouse movies, work that has resulted in more than 150 Academy Award nominations for SPC titles, including Best Picture candidates The Father, Call Me By Your Name, Amour, Whiplash, Capote, Midnight In Paris, An Education, Howards End and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.
Zurich Summit: Deadline’s Full Coverage
During a diverting and welcome trip down memory lane, Barker told the audience how he had first met Bernard during a Secret Santa in the late 1970s. The duo previously worked together at UA Classics and Orion Classics. “It’s impressive you haven’t killed each other by now,...
The duo have spent their lives dedicated to the theatrical sector and the promotion of arthouse movies, work that has resulted in more than 150 Academy Award nominations for SPC titles, including Best Picture candidates The Father, Call Me By Your Name, Amour, Whiplash, Capote, Midnight In Paris, An Education, Howards End and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.
Zurich Summit: Deadline’s Full Coverage
During a diverting and welcome trip down memory lane, Barker told the audience how he had first met Bernard during a Secret Santa in the late 1970s. The duo previously worked together at UA Classics and Orion Classics. “It’s impressive you haven’t killed each other by now,...
- 9/24/2022
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Former Lionsgate film chief Patrick Wachsberger, Carol producer Christine Vachon, Neon CEO Tom Quinn and SPC bosses Michael Barker and Tom Bernard will be among industry executives taking part in the Zurich Summit on Saturday in Switzerland.
The Zurich Film Festival’s flagship industry event, an all-day confab about the state of the independent film business, will gather around 100 top film professionals. Scroll down for the lineup and schedule in full.
For a full rundown of the day’s schedule click here.
As the Zurich Summit’s official media partner, Deadline will be on the ground covering and moderating panels, as well as providing exclusive interviews with key executives via the Deadline Studio. We’ll also have video from key panels.
The conference kicks off with the discussion “How to Finance Independent Films in the Age of Streamers” and a panel comprising UTA agent Alex Brunner, Memento International/Paradise City CEO Emilie Georges,...
The Zurich Film Festival’s flagship industry event, an all-day confab about the state of the independent film business, will gather around 100 top film professionals. Scroll down for the lineup and schedule in full.
For a full rundown of the day’s schedule click here.
As the Zurich Summit’s official media partner, Deadline will be on the ground covering and moderating panels, as well as providing exclusive interviews with key executives via the Deadline Studio. We’ll also have video from key panels.
The conference kicks off with the discussion “How to Finance Independent Films in the Age of Streamers” and a panel comprising UTA agent Alex Brunner, Memento International/Paradise City CEO Emilie Georges,...
- 9/23/2022
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline Film + TV
Backing a film in which Johnny Depp will play French King Louis Xv is what Wild Bunch International head Vincent Maraval describes as part of the risk taking that is essential to this business.
In a keynote interview with CAA Media Finance’s Roeg Sutherland at San Sebastian’s first Creative Investors Conference on Monday, Maraval discussed his 23 years in the business – failing to bet on “Black Swan,” but going for it with Depp’s first film since the Amber Heard trial.
“The film [“Jeanne du Barry”] is that sometimes we need to take a risk, and this risk is much higher,” said Maraval. “We are doing Johnny Depp playing Louis Xv. People said don’t do a movie with him, but we liked it. I remember the discussion we had with the producer behind it who said: ‘Do you think we are doing something stupid?’ I said: ‘Probably, but what’s left if not?...
In a keynote interview with CAA Media Finance’s Roeg Sutherland at San Sebastian’s first Creative Investors Conference on Monday, Maraval discussed his 23 years in the business – failing to bet on “Black Swan,” but going for it with Depp’s first film since the Amber Heard trial.
“The film [“Jeanne du Barry”] is that sometimes we need to take a risk, and this risk is much higher,” said Maraval. “We are doing Johnny Depp playing Louis Xv. People said don’t do a movie with him, but we liked it. I remember the discussion we had with the producer behind it who said: ‘Do you think we are doing something stupid?’ I said: ‘Probably, but what’s left if not?...
- 9/20/2022
- by Liza Foreman
- Variety Film + TV
The topic of streaming loomed large over the first session of San Sebastian’s new Creative Investors’ Conference featuring a keynote by Wild Bunch co-founder Vincent Maraval.
During the lengthy and wide-ranging session, Maraval was joined by CAA Media Finance’s Roeg Sutherland who asked him the extent to which he deals with Netflix, to which he responded: “Of course, I will deal with Netflix.”
Wild Bunch previously struck a lucrative deal with the streamer on a Studio Ghibli catalogue and has also reportedly sold new Johnny Depp film Jeanne Du Barry to the company for France.
“I think it is our chance,” Maraval said of the streamer. “And I think the chance of Netflix is cinema. If Netflix wants to survive against better-capitalized companies like Amazon and Apple their chance is through cinema.”
Maraval later added that he is very “positive” about the streamer and the only reservation he...
During the lengthy and wide-ranging session, Maraval was joined by CAA Media Finance’s Roeg Sutherland who asked him the extent to which he deals with Netflix, to which he responded: “Of course, I will deal with Netflix.”
Wild Bunch previously struck a lucrative deal with the streamer on a Studio Ghibli catalogue and has also reportedly sold new Johnny Depp film Jeanne Du Barry to the company for France.
“I think it is our chance,” Maraval said of the streamer. “And I think the chance of Netflix is cinema. If Netflix wants to survive against better-capitalized companies like Amazon and Apple their chance is through cinema.”
Maraval later added that he is very “positive” about the streamer and the only reservation he...
- 9/19/2022
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
While the boom of local content has seen increased ambition from streaming platforms to compete with local broadcasters, local industry events with strong regional focuses are increasingly becoming attractive destinations for U.S. companies and executives and Rome’s Mia market is no exception.
The innovative Italian event, which stands for Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo or International Audiovisual Market, has fast become Italy’s key film and TV market since its inception eight years ago. The market, which runs October 11-15 alongside the Rome Film Festival (which kicks off October 13), has already confirmed a 120 increase in registrations year-on-year with delegates from companies like Disney+, Paramount+, CAA, Fremantle, Sundance Institute, Sky, Warner Bros. Discovery, A+E Networks, Wild Bunch, StudioCanal and Banijay all confirmed to attend.
Its new director Gaia Tridente, who was previously head of scripted at the event, tells Deadline that she believes this upcoming edition looks set to be its most dynamic edition yet.
The innovative Italian event, which stands for Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo or International Audiovisual Market, has fast become Italy’s key film and TV market since its inception eight years ago. The market, which runs October 11-15 alongside the Rome Film Festival (which kicks off October 13), has already confirmed a 120 increase in registrations year-on-year with delegates from companies like Disney+, Paramount+, CAA, Fremantle, Sundance Institute, Sky, Warner Bros. Discovery, A+E Networks, Wild Bunch, StudioCanal and Banijay all confirmed to attend.
Its new director Gaia Tridente, who was previously head of scripted at the event, tells Deadline that she believes this upcoming edition looks set to be its most dynamic edition yet.
- 9/15/2022
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
No feature film has it easy in the modern theatrical and digital landscape, but 2022 has been particularly fraught. Warner Bros. is outright shelving pricey titles like “Batgirl,” Netflix has gone back to the drawing board thanks to its stock stumble and Amazon is focusing its resources on the almost-billion-dollar rollout of its “Lord of the Rings” TV series.
For fledgling indie movies that come to film markets, like the one currently underway in Toronto, the streamers used to be a safe and lucrative bets for distribution. As these now-legacy companies scramble to cut costs and boost subscriptions to please stockholders, the indie film industrial complex has once again been forced to pivot.
“It feels like we’re at the tail end of a wait-and-see period,” said John Sloss, founder and CEO of the sales agency Cinetic. “I think there was a reset this summer, and we’re all waiting for...
For fledgling indie movies that come to film markets, like the one currently underway in Toronto, the streamers used to be a safe and lucrative bets for distribution. As these now-legacy companies scramble to cut costs and boost subscriptions to please stockholders, the indie film industrial complex has once again been forced to pivot.
“It feels like we’re at the tail end of a wait-and-see period,” said John Sloss, founder and CEO of the sales agency Cinetic. “I think there was a reset this summer, and we’re all waiting for...
- 9/10/2022
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Margarethe Von Trotta To Receive Lifetime Achievement Honor At The European Film Awards
German filmmaker Margarethe von Trotta will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 35th European Film Awards. von Trotta will receive the honor at a ceremony in Reykjavik, Iceland, on December 10 where she will be an honorary guest. Born in Berlin and raised in Düsseldorf, von Trotta started her career as an actress, in theatre and appeared in films by Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Volker Schlöndorff before moving behind the camera in 1978 with The Second Awakening of Christa Klages, her solo debut as a director. In 1981, her film Marianne and Juliane about the “German Sisters” Christiane and Gudrun Ensslin won the Golden Lion in Venice as well as two German Film Awards and an Italian David di Donatello. Previous winners of the European Film Academy’s lifetime achievement award include Agnès Varda and Judi Dench.
German filmmaker Margarethe von Trotta will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 35th European Film Awards. von Trotta will receive the honor at a ceremony in Reykjavik, Iceland, on December 10 where she will be an honorary guest. Born in Berlin and raised in Düsseldorf, von Trotta started her career as an actress, in theatre and appeared in films by Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Volker Schlöndorff before moving behind the camera in 1978 with The Second Awakening of Christa Klages, her solo debut as a director. In 1981, her film Marianne and Juliane about the “German Sisters” Christiane and Gudrun Ensslin won the Golden Lion in Venice as well as two German Film Awards and an Italian David di Donatello. Previous winners of the European Film Academy’s lifetime achievement award include Agnès Varda and Judi Dench.
- 8/23/2022
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Co-organized with CAA Media Finance, a new San Sebastian Festival Creative Investors’ Conference will see many of the good and great of the international film business descend on September’s fest edition to be pitched 10 higher-budget Spanish movies by their producers.
The Conference will run Sept.19-20. In a cosmopolitan lineup, titles pitched include international co-productions such as “Whalemen (At the Ends of the Earth)” from “Everest” director Baltasar Kormákur as well as the latest from “Amama” helmer Asier Altuna and “Raqa,” from Gerardo Herrero, an Academy Award wining producer for “The Secret in Their Eyes.”
The conference’s high-profile international investors, producers, agents and executives take in Mubi’s Bobby Allen, Piers Wenger at A24 Europe, Focus Features’s Kiska Higgs, 30West’s Trevor Groth, Vincent Maraval at Wild Bunch International and Netflix’s Teresa Moneo.
Also confirmed are the Elysian Film Group’s Danny Perkins, Neon CEO Tom Quinn,...
The Conference will run Sept.19-20. In a cosmopolitan lineup, titles pitched include international co-productions such as “Whalemen (At the Ends of the Earth)” from “Everest” director Baltasar Kormákur as well as the latest from “Amama” helmer Asier Altuna and “Raqa,” from Gerardo Herrero, an Academy Award wining producer for “The Secret in Their Eyes.”
The conference’s high-profile international investors, producers, agents and executives take in Mubi’s Bobby Allen, Piers Wenger at A24 Europe, Focus Features’s Kiska Higgs, 30West’s Trevor Groth, Vincent Maraval at Wild Bunch International and Netflix’s Teresa Moneo.
Also confirmed are the Elysian Film Group’s Danny Perkins, Neon CEO Tom Quinn,...
- 8/23/2022
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
CAA has promoted Chris Burrus, Inder Gill, Sophie Kavanagh, Zakaria Laaboudi, Arlen Papazian and Kara Petit to Agent following the participation of each in CAA Elevate, the agency’s program for agents and executives in training.
The Nashville-based Burrus will work within CAA’s Music Touring department. He represents many of the world’s leading musicians, including Nate Smith, Tyler Booth, Erin Kinsey and After Midtown, and is on the teams that support Jake Owen, Matt Koziol and Brandon Ratcliff.
Gill will serve on the Media Finance team, led by Roeg Sutherland and Benjamin Kramer, specializing in the representation of independently financed films. He was one of the lead agents helping to sign Anupam Tripathi, who played Ali Abdul in Netflix’s South Korean smash Squid Game, and is based in Los Angeles.
Kavanagh has been promoted to Agent in the Commercial Endorsements department, and will be based in the agency’s New York office.
The Nashville-based Burrus will work within CAA’s Music Touring department. He represents many of the world’s leading musicians, including Nate Smith, Tyler Booth, Erin Kinsey and After Midtown, and is on the teams that support Jake Owen, Matt Koziol and Brandon Ratcliff.
Gill will serve on the Media Finance team, led by Roeg Sutherland and Benjamin Kramer, specializing in the representation of independently financed films. He was one of the lead agents helping to sign Anupam Tripathi, who played Ali Abdul in Netflix’s South Korean smash Squid Game, and is based in Los Angeles.
Kavanagh has been promoted to Agent in the Commercial Endorsements department, and will be based in the agency’s New York office.
- 6/22/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
The rise of streamer content has created anxiety for talent and their reps, because of models that require ownership of a project in perpetuity. Because product starts on a streaming site and then never leaves, there is no chance of backend windfalls. Just look at the creators and cast of Squid Game to see what that can mean: a billion-dollar property for Netflix, embarrassingly tiny paydays for the artists who made it, and little hope of making up the shortfall in subsequent seasons.
While some of Hollywood’s top dealmakers and lawyers are trying to create fair compensation formulas, one growing way to turn shifting sands into an upside is a trend of artists and their agents gambling on themselves and coming to the market with fully fleshed-out projects, packaged with script, director and star. The result has been auctions that bring greenlights and sometimes career-best paydays.
The biggest recent...
While some of Hollywood’s top dealmakers and lawyers are trying to create fair compensation formulas, one growing way to turn shifting sands into an upside is a trend of artists and their agents gambling on themselves and coming to the market with fully fleshed-out projects, packaged with script, director and star. The result has been auctions that bring greenlights and sometimes career-best paydays.
The biggest recent...
- 5/24/2022
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Top CAA media finance agent Maren Olson has joined 30West as executive vice president of film, it was announced Wednesday.
Olson will work alongside 30West’s Trevor Groth to manage the label’s slate. This includes the upcoming “The Trashers” starring David Harbour and directed by Sundance breakout Cooper Raiff, as well as the thriller “Day Drinker” from director Marc Webb.
Olson spent 7 years at CAA working alongside media finance chiefs Roeg Sutherland and Ben Kramer. Projects she recently helped assemble include Channing Tatum’s “Dog”; “The 355” directed by Simon Kinberg and starring Jessica Chastain and Penelope Cruz; the forthcoming “The Pale Blue Eye” from director Scott Cooper and star Christian Bale; and “Pussy Island,” directed by Zoë Kravitz and starring Tatum.
30West heads to Cannes with the Imperative Entertainment premiere “Triangle of Sadness” playing in competition, as well as “The Silent Twins,” which will premiere in Un Certain Regard.
Olson will work alongside 30West’s Trevor Groth to manage the label’s slate. This includes the upcoming “The Trashers” starring David Harbour and directed by Sundance breakout Cooper Raiff, as well as the thriller “Day Drinker” from director Marc Webb.
Olson spent 7 years at CAA working alongside media finance chiefs Roeg Sutherland and Ben Kramer. Projects she recently helped assemble include Channing Tatum’s “Dog”; “The 355” directed by Simon Kinberg and starring Jessica Chastain and Penelope Cruz; the forthcoming “The Pale Blue Eye” from director Scott Cooper and star Christian Bale; and “Pussy Island,” directed by Zoë Kravitz and starring Tatum.
30West heads to Cannes with the Imperative Entertainment premiere “Triangle of Sadness” playing in competition, as well as “The Silent Twins,” which will premiere in Un Certain Regard.
- 5/11/2022
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
The Berlin Film Festival has staged its first in-person edition since 2020, soldiering on amid a wave of the Covid omicron variant in Germany and a last-minute virtual pivot for the European Film Market. Here are our main takeaways below:
Film Industry Pining For In-Person Meetings
Despite the EFM being online, a clutch of buyers and sellers made the trek to Berlin where they held a mix of online and physical meetings in the Marriott and a very bare Gropius Bau. Though the fest nixed parties due to omicron concerns, film delegations held dinners for select outsiders that felt like clandestine wartime get-togethers. “Enough with the Zooms! We need the human contact to make deals,” said Vision Distribution’s Catia Rossi, a veteran Italian sales agent, during the dinner for Panorama title “Swing Ride.” “I never thought I’d say this, but give me back the AFM!”
Technical difficulties
The opening...
Film Industry Pining For In-Person Meetings
Despite the EFM being online, a clutch of buyers and sellers made the trek to Berlin where they held a mix of online and physical meetings in the Marriott and a very bare Gropius Bau. Though the fest nixed parties due to omicron concerns, film delegations held dinners for select outsiders that felt like clandestine wartime get-togethers. “Enough with the Zooms! We need the human contact to make deals,” said Vision Distribution’s Catia Rossi, a veteran Italian sales agent, during the dinner for Panorama title “Swing Ride.” “I never thought I’d say this, but give me back the AFM!”
Technical difficulties
The opening...
- 2/16/2022
- by Manori Ravindran and Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
After two weekends without any major-studio wide releases amid Omicron fears, Paramount and Lionsgate will try to lure moviegoers back with Jackass Forever and Centropolis Entertainment’s Moonfall, respectively
Exhibition hopefully will see more traffic after the Northeast experienced cabin fever from winter storm Kenan last weekend. Rolling winter-into-spring breaks don’t go into effect until February 18, per Comscore’s school calendar; that’s when 22% of K-12 schools are off and 8% of colleges. This Friday, it’s just 1% K-12 off and 2% colleges. Having Ontario movie theaters in Canada reopened with concessions doesn’t hurt.
Right now it’s looking like mid-teen millions for the Jeff Tremaine-directed Jackass Forever at No. 1 in 3,590 theaters. The movie is tracking with males under 25, but younger females are showing some decent interest as well.
The reality-stunt franchise, first born on MTV nearly 22 years ago, has spawned three movies and a “Presents” comedy production, Bad Grandpa.
Exhibition hopefully will see more traffic after the Northeast experienced cabin fever from winter storm Kenan last weekend. Rolling winter-into-spring breaks don’t go into effect until February 18, per Comscore’s school calendar; that’s when 22% of K-12 schools are off and 8% of colleges. This Friday, it’s just 1% K-12 off and 2% colleges. Having Ontario movie theaters in Canada reopened with concessions doesn’t hurt.
Right now it’s looking like mid-teen millions for the Jeff Tremaine-directed Jackass Forever at No. 1 in 3,590 theaters. The movie is tracking with males under 25, but younger females are showing some decent interest as well.
The reality-stunt franchise, first born on MTV nearly 22 years ago, has spawned three movies and a “Presents” comedy production, Bad Grandpa.
- 2/2/2022
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
MGM Motion Picture Group chairman Michael De Luca and president Pamela Abdy have stressed that the Hollywood studio remains a home for filmmakers who want to release their movies in the cinema.
Speaking at the Zurich Film Festival’s industry event, the Zurich Summit – ahead of next week’s theatrical launch of “No Time to Die” – the pair were interviewed on stage by CAA Media Finance co-head Roeg Sutherland. He asked how they convinced filmmakers to work with MGM rather than streamers “which are incredibly competitive about pricing.”
“The good news is we don’t really have to do a heavy sales pitch,” replied De Luca. “The filmmakers that came with us prefer theatrical so it pitches itself. They’re two very distinct experiences.”
MGM has an impressive slate of films from leading directors coming up, including Ridley Scott’s “House of Gucci,” George Miller’s “Three Thousand Years of Longing,...
Speaking at the Zurich Film Festival’s industry event, the Zurich Summit – ahead of next week’s theatrical launch of “No Time to Die” – the pair were interviewed on stage by CAA Media Finance co-head Roeg Sutherland. He asked how they convinced filmmakers to work with MGM rather than streamers “which are incredibly competitive about pricing.”
“The good news is we don’t really have to do a heavy sales pitch,” replied De Luca. “The filmmakers that came with us prefer theatrical so it pitches itself. They’re two very distinct experiences.”
MGM has an impressive slate of films from leading directors coming up, including Ridley Scott’s “House of Gucci,” George Miller’s “Three Thousand Years of Longing,...
- 9/25/2021
- by Tim Dams
- Variety Film + TV
MGM Motion Picture Group’s Pamela Abdy and Michael de Luca, president and chairman respectively, have affirmed their commitment to making original stories as other studios increasingly rely on existing properties.
Acknowledging MGM’s own big IP, such as James Bond and the Creed films being spun out of the Rocky franchise, the pair said they see their primary opportunity in this market as discovering new stories and focusing on theatrical. Their comments came during a panel hosted by CAA’s Roeg Sutherland at this year’s Zurich Summit, held as part of the Zurich Film Festival.
“We thought there was a lane open for the movies Hollywood used to make – bold provocative originals,” commented de Luca. “Not everything has to be a tentpole or a franchise entry.”
“We felt that the legacy studios had left originality in the rear viewer mirror, they had become very risk adverse, making the...
Acknowledging MGM’s own big IP, such as James Bond and the Creed films being spun out of the Rocky franchise, the pair said they see their primary opportunity in this market as discovering new stories and focusing on theatrical. Their comments came during a panel hosted by CAA’s Roeg Sutherland at this year’s Zurich Summit, held as part of the Zurich Film Festival.
“We thought there was a lane open for the movies Hollywood used to make – bold provocative originals,” commented de Luca. “Not everything has to be a tentpole or a franchise entry.”
“We felt that the legacy studios had left originality in the rear viewer mirror, they had become very risk adverse, making the...
- 9/25/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
MGM Motion Picture Group president Pamela Abdy and chairman Michael De Luca are to open the Zurich Summit on Saturday with a keynote conversation with CAA Media Finance co-head Roeg Sutherland.
Billed as a boutique conference, the two-day Summit gathers around 100 film producers, sales executives and creators in film, TV and entertainment as well as technology entrepreneurs and financiers at The Dolder Grand.
The first day of the Summit features keynotes and panel sessions, while the second day includes networking activities such as a tennis tournament, a barbecue and a dinner.
Head of Zff Industry Reta Guetg says Zurich deliberately opts for a boutique feel to its Summit where people “have input on Saturday, and fun on Sunday and in the evenings” to create a point of difference with other major events in the festival and market calendar. The idea is to create an atmosphere where execs and creatives can...
Billed as a boutique conference, the two-day Summit gathers around 100 film producers, sales executives and creators in film, TV and entertainment as well as technology entrepreneurs and financiers at The Dolder Grand.
The first day of the Summit features keynotes and panel sessions, while the second day includes networking activities such as a tennis tournament, a barbecue and a dinner.
Head of Zff Industry Reta Guetg says Zurich deliberately opts for a boutique feel to its Summit where people “have input on Saturday, and fun on Sunday and in the evenings” to create a point of difference with other major events in the festival and market calendar. The idea is to create an atmosphere where execs and creatives can...
- 9/22/2021
- by Tim Dams
- Variety Film + TV
“We never do this.”
That phrase was repeated often in conversations with a dozen top leaders at CAA during the reporting of this week’s Variety cover story.
It’s true. No show business entity understands the value of myth-building more than the talent agency, which exists to broker power from within luxurious fortresses. None of the majors enjoys this image more than CAA, whose Century City headquarters is nicknamed “the Death Star,” based on the planet-destroying space station of “Star Wars.”
In lowering its bridges for a frank, on-the-record conversation about the state of the industry and the agency’s future, CAA’s top lieutenants subsequently revealed what it’s like to work there. Our biggest takeaway? Life inside CAA can be shockingly, refreshingly human.
Here’s a few things we gleaned from conversations with insiders.
They’re friends.
Thanks to portrayals in movies like “Swimming With Sharks” and HBO’s “Entourage,...
That phrase was repeated often in conversations with a dozen top leaders at CAA during the reporting of this week’s Variety cover story.
It’s true. No show business entity understands the value of myth-building more than the talent agency, which exists to broker power from within luxurious fortresses. None of the majors enjoys this image more than CAA, whose Century City headquarters is nicknamed “the Death Star,” based on the planet-destroying space station of “Star Wars.”
In lowering its bridges for a frank, on-the-record conversation about the state of the industry and the agency’s future, CAA’s top lieutenants subsequently revealed what it’s like to work there. Our biggest takeaway? Life inside CAA can be shockingly, refreshingly human.
Here’s a few things we gleaned from conversations with insiders.
They’re friends.
Thanks to portrayals in movies like “Swimming With Sharks” and HBO’s “Entourage,...
- 11/25/2020
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
What makes CAA tick? How do top agents see the dealmaking environment? How deep are the wounds from the WGA battle? What has it meant to have private equity in the house for the past decade?
Nine senior CAA agents and executives and the co-ceo of parent company Tpg opened up to Variety on these questions and more. Here are highlights from those conversations.
On CAA’s competitive advantage:
Maha Dakhil (co-head of international film group and co-head of motion picture talent): I did not think I could possibly fit in by all that I had read about (agencies). I did not see myself as a natural fit, but what’s true is that this is not a monolithic place. The communication and the way we share information make people on the outside feel that we’re all so connected, and that we’re of the same mind — but we are truly a rambunctious,...
Nine senior CAA agents and executives and the co-ceo of parent company Tpg opened up to Variety on these questions and more. Here are highlights from those conversations.
On CAA’s competitive advantage:
Maha Dakhil (co-head of international film group and co-head of motion picture talent): I did not think I could possibly fit in by all that I had read about (agencies). I did not see myself as a natural fit, but what’s true is that this is not a monolithic place. The communication and the way we share information make people on the outside feel that we’re all so connected, and that we’re of the same mind — but we are truly a rambunctious,...
- 11/25/2020
- by Cynthia Littleton and Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Rome’s Mia market, the growing showcase for international TV series, feature films and documentaries, kicked off Wednesday in the Eternal City. The sixth edition of the event—whose acronym stands for the Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo, or the International Audiovisual Market—runs both physically in the Italian capital and online Oct. 14-18. (Find the full schedule here).
This year’s edition has attracted 1,400 participants from 41 countries. Of the 600 international executives slated to take part, half will be present in Rome for the physical edition, according to the event’s organizers. At least 80% of the registered Italian participants will also attend in person.
“Mia has responded to an urgency not only in Italy but also internationally, that of maintaining international contacts during a period of isolation,” Mia director Lucia Milazzotto said at a press conference Wednesday, before appearing in conversation with Secretary of State Mirella Liuzzi to discuss new innovations in Italy’s audiovisual industry.
This year’s edition has attracted 1,400 participants from 41 countries. Of the 600 international executives slated to take part, half will be present in Rome for the physical edition, according to the event’s organizers. At least 80% of the registered Italian participants will also attend in person.
“Mia has responded to an urgency not only in Italy but also internationally, that of maintaining international contacts during a period of isolation,” Mia director Lucia Milazzotto said at a press conference Wednesday, before appearing in conversation with Secretary of State Mirella Liuzzi to discuss new innovations in Italy’s audiovisual industry.
- 10/15/2020
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
The Zurich Summit asks: can local content save the theatrical business? - Zurich 2020 – Zff Industry
During the event, a group of European distributors and film experts discussed the threats that could potentially kill off cinemas, including the pandemic and the streaming services. The crucial topic of how the theatrical business can survive, not only in the current pandemic period but also after that, has been addressed at the Zurich Summit. During the discussion moderated by Roeg Sutherland, co-head of CAA Media Finance, a group of distribution experts from across Europe presented their own findings. Kim Magnusson, head of creative at Scandinavian Film Distribution, underlined that distribution is still king, and as the Nordic market is mainly dominated by Nordisk and Sf Studios, local films manage to find their way to viewers. Thanks to plentiful public funds that support distribution, private investors also put their money there. Interestingly, local films saw a 40% increase in admissions over this summer, despite the limited capacity of the cinemas....
Top executives from the US and Europe gathered in Zurich.
The Zurich Summit, organised in the first weekend of the 16th Zurich Film Festival in Switzerland, brought together experts including CAA’s Roeg Sutherland, director Yann Demange, Pulse Films founder Thomas Benski, Film I Vast’s CEO Mikael Fellenius, Totem Films partner Agathe Valentin, Srg director general Gilles Marchand, Anton’s Cecile Gaget and Berlinale head Carlo Chatrian for the first in-person event of its kind during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Under the title Kick-Starting a New Era, the topics under discussion including the changing financing landscape, the rise of local-language content,...
The Zurich Summit, organised in the first weekend of the 16th Zurich Film Festival in Switzerland, brought together experts including CAA’s Roeg Sutherland, director Yann Demange, Pulse Films founder Thomas Benski, Film I Vast’s CEO Mikael Fellenius, Totem Films partner Agathe Valentin, Srg director general Gilles Marchand, Anton’s Cecile Gaget and Berlinale head Carlo Chatrian for the first in-person event of its kind during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Under the title Kick-Starting a New Era, the topics under discussion including the changing financing landscape, the rise of local-language content,...
- 9/28/2020
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Naomi Watts and David Oyelowo’s Oscar and Golden Globe nominations gave them the clout to produce several films. But nothing could have prepared the actors — or their sales agents — for trying to sell those features at the Toronto Intl. Film Festival (Sept. 10-20) during a global pandemic.
“There were endless calls with countless people on how to approach this, and yes, it would be much better to have a packed audience,” Watts says of arranging the TIFF premiere of her Endeavor Content-repped drama “Penguin Bloom.” “But we felt this was the right time, because this is a hopeful story.”
Oyelowo, who makes his directorial debut with the CAA/Endeavor Content-sold fantasy adventure “The Water Man,” faced similar struggles, but he sees an upside to this year’s downsized TIFF. “Virtual Cannes was fairly successful as a market, and I think Toronto has supercharged that in combining virtual, drive-in and socially distanced screenings,...
“There were endless calls with countless people on how to approach this, and yes, it would be much better to have a packed audience,” Watts says of arranging the TIFF premiere of her Endeavor Content-repped drama “Penguin Bloom.” “But we felt this was the right time, because this is a hopeful story.”
Oyelowo, who makes his directorial debut with the CAA/Endeavor Content-sold fantasy adventure “The Water Man,” faced similar struggles, but he sees an upside to this year’s downsized TIFF. “Virtual Cannes was fairly successful as a market, and I think Toronto has supercharged that in combining virtual, drive-in and socially distanced screenings,...
- 9/10/2020
- by Gregg Goldstein
- Variety Film + TV
Back in June — when uncertainty reigned — the Cannes Virtual Film Market offered a reason for optimism, with strong presales for in-development titles hoping to hit theaters in 2021 or 2022. “Cannes was a huge success, and we were selling movies internationally like we haven’t done in years,” says CAA’s Roeg Sutherland. “There were a lot of unknowns. We didn’t know what was going to happen. But the world was buying. Buying for the present. Buying for the future.”
Fast-forward three months, and the Covid-19 picture is still murky. As such, the Toronto (mostly virtual) market,...
Fast-forward three months, and the Covid-19 picture is still murky. As such, the Toronto (mostly virtual) market,...
Back in June — when uncertainty reigned — the Cannes Virtual Film Market offered a reason for optimism, with strong presales for in-development titles hoping to hit theaters in 2021 or 2022. “Cannes was a huge success, and we were selling movies internationally like we haven’t done in years,” says CAA’s Roeg Sutherland. “There were a lot of unknowns. We didn’t know what was going to happen. But the world was buying. Buying for the present. Buying for the future.”
Fast-forward three months, and the Covid-19 picture is still murky. As such, the Toronto (mostly virtual) market,...
Fast-forward three months, and the Covid-19 picture is still murky. As such, the Toronto (mostly virtual) market,...
Roeg Sutherland and Benjamin Kramer, who co-lead CAA Media Finance, have been working on the agency-led virtual market in Cannes, and spoke to Variety about the prospects for the independent film scene.
CAA Media Finance’s projects in the market include Antoine Fuqua’s “Emancipation,” starring Will Smith; Dan Gilroy’s “Faster, Better, Cheaper”; Ric Roman Waugh’s “Kandahar,” starring Gerard Butler; “Rebel,” directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah; and Michael Mann’s “Ferrari.”
What was the thinking behind having a uniform, united market rather than every company just doing their own thing?
Roeg Sutherland: In a time where everything seems a little decentralized and complicated, it was important to have the agencies and foreign sales agents band together to present product in an organized manner and not have buyers being pulled in 15 different directions.
The best part about what has happened is that you’ve seen buyers...
CAA Media Finance’s projects in the market include Antoine Fuqua’s “Emancipation,” starring Will Smith; Dan Gilroy’s “Faster, Better, Cheaper”; Ric Roman Waugh’s “Kandahar,” starring Gerard Butler; “Rebel,” directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah; and Michael Mann’s “Ferrari.”
What was the thinking behind having a uniform, united market rather than every company just doing their own thing?
Roeg Sutherland: In a time where everything seems a little decentralized and complicated, it was important to have the agencies and foreign sales agents band together to present product in an organized manner and not have buyers being pulled in 15 different directions.
The best part about what has happened is that you’ve seen buyers...
- 6/25/2020
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
In normal times, the notion of rival Hollywood agents collaborating would be dismissed as ludicrous. Yet that’s what CAA Media Finance co-heads Roeg Sutherland and Benjamin Kramer set out to do when helping to organize the virtual Cannes sales market led by CAA, UTA Independent Film Group, ICM International and Endeavor Content, as well as several indie production and sales operations, including STX Entertainment, AGC Studios and Sierra/Affinity.
Sutherland and Kramer’s group handles the packing and representation of independently financed films, television and digital content. On the movie side, films packaged and/or sold by CAA Media Finance ...
Sutherland and Kramer’s group handles the packing and representation of independently financed films, television and digital content. On the movie side, films packaged and/or sold by CAA Media Finance ...
- 6/24/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
In normal times, the notion of rival Hollywood agents collaborating would be dismissed as ludicrous. Yet that’s what CAA Media Finance co-heads Roeg Sutherland and Benjamin Kramer set out to do when helping to organize the virtual Cannes sales market led by CAA, UTA Independent Film Group, ICM International and Endeavor Content, as well as several indie production and sales operations, including STX Entertainment, AGC Studios and Sierra/Affinity.
Sutherland and Kramer’s group handles the packing and representation of independently financed films, television and digital content. On the movie side, films packaged and/or sold by CAA Media Finance ...
Sutherland and Kramer’s group handles the packing and representation of independently financed films, television and digital content. On the movie side, films packaged and/or sold by CAA Media Finance ...
- 6/24/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
As the pandemic wreaks havoc on the entertainment industry and devastates the festival circuit, the Cannes Film Festival continues to be an open question. While festivals like SXSW and Tribeca have canceled or postponed their proceedings, at this writing Cannes still plans to announce its lineup in mid-April, even as France contends with a nationwide shutdown and the ongoing spread of the disease.
In the meantime, a contingency plan has begun to form. Since 1959, the Marché du Film has been the hub of the global film market for distributors, sales agents, and programmers that coincides with the 10-day festival. While the festival continues to resist firm decisions about this year’s festival, news broke this week that CAA was leading an initiative to create a virtual market that would replace some activity that would normally take place on the ground. At the same time, Marché head Jérome Paillard said the...
In the meantime, a contingency plan has begun to form. Since 1959, the Marché du Film has been the hub of the global film market for distributors, sales agents, and programmers that coincides with the 10-day festival. While the festival continues to resist firm decisions about this year’s festival, news broke this week that CAA was leading an initiative to create a virtual market that would replace some activity that would normally take place on the ground. At the same time, Marché head Jérome Paillard said the...
- 3/18/2020
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
The company is backed by a minority investment from CAA.
Former Studiocanal CEO Danny Perkins has today launched Elysian Film Group Distribution, a distribution arm for his Elysian Film Group, at the European Film Market in Berlin.
The new company is backed by a minority investment from Creative Artists Agency (CAA), which is partnering with the UK firm on a distribution company for the first time. The new company will form a slate aimed at mainstream UK cinema-goers although it is understood CAA projects will not automatically go through Elysian in the UK.
Further investors for the company will be announced in due course.
Former Studiocanal CEO Danny Perkins has today launched Elysian Film Group Distribution, a distribution arm for his Elysian Film Group, at the European Film Market in Berlin.
The new company is backed by a minority investment from Creative Artists Agency (CAA), which is partnering with the UK firm on a distribution company for the first time. The new company will form a slate aimed at mainstream UK cinema-goers although it is understood CAA projects will not automatically go through Elysian in the UK.
Further investors for the company will be announced in due course.
- 2/20/2020
- by 1101321¦Ben Dalton¦26¦
- ScreenDaily
Elysian Film Group, Danny Perkins’ film and TV production company, has formed a UK distribution company, Elysian Film Group Distribution, which is backed by a minority investment from CAA.
Elysian says it will focus on a “diverse slate that appeals to mainstream UK cinema-goers”. The company is at the Efm in acquisitions mode.
Industry vet Perkins, formerly Studiocanal UK chief, founded Elysian in 2018 with producer Kate Solomon (United 93) and the London-based duo are working on a slate of film and TV projects.
The deal marks the first time that CAA has worked with a UK partner to create a distribution company. Elysian expects additional investment in due course.
“There is a clear opportunity in the UK market for a nimble and well-resourced distribution operation to satisfy the demand from audiences for strong, commercial projects,” said Perkins. “CAA has been incredibly supportive and are ideally suited as a partner given their...
Elysian says it will focus on a “diverse slate that appeals to mainstream UK cinema-goers”. The company is at the Efm in acquisitions mode.
Industry vet Perkins, formerly Studiocanal UK chief, founded Elysian in 2018 with producer Kate Solomon (United 93) and the London-based duo are working on a slate of film and TV projects.
The deal marks the first time that CAA has worked with a UK partner to create a distribution company. Elysian expects additional investment in due course.
“There is a clear opportunity in the UK market for a nimble and well-resourced distribution operation to satisfy the demand from audiences for strong, commercial projects,” said Perkins. “CAA has been incredibly supportive and are ideally suited as a partner given their...
- 2/20/2020
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
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