Exclusive: Black Boy Writes Media, founded by Writer Mike Gauyo announces Heather Daughtry as the new chief of programming for The Black Boy Writes & Black Girl Writes Mentorship Initiative. Also joining the team are three additional mentors; Jackie Penn (4400), Andre Ferguson (Power Book II: Ghost), and Cynthia Adarkwa (Legacies).
Heather Daughtry previously managed Sponsorships and Partnerships at Final Draft, Inc, where she played a key role in fostering relationships with various screenwriting organizations, film festivals, schools, and mentorship programs. Notably, her efforts have been dedicated to amplifying the voices of underrepresented writers, reflecting her passion for inclusivity and diversity within the industry.
Of the mentorship initiative, Daughtry says, “Working with the Black Boy Writes/Black Girl Writes Mentorship Program feels like home. As Chief of Programming, I am deeply committed to continuing the work of propelling the powerful and vibrant voices of Black storytellers.
Mike adds,...
Heather Daughtry previously managed Sponsorships and Partnerships at Final Draft, Inc, where she played a key role in fostering relationships with various screenwriting organizations, film festivals, schools, and mentorship programs. Notably, her efforts have been dedicated to amplifying the voices of underrepresented writers, reflecting her passion for inclusivity and diversity within the industry.
Of the mentorship initiative, Daughtry says, “Working with the Black Boy Writes/Black Girl Writes Mentorship Program feels like home. As Chief of Programming, I am deeply committed to continuing the work of propelling the powerful and vibrant voices of Black storytellers.
Mike adds,...
- 2/9/2024
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Culture Creative Entertainment, the nascent talent agency founded by former Abrams Artists Agency agents Brad Rosenfeld, Paul Weitzman and Karen Kirkland, has a new agent.
The company has promoted Adrian Gonzalez to agent.
Gonzalez joined the company as an intern before becoming executive assistant on Kirkland’s desk and then a year later was promoted to a literary coordinator.
It is the latest move for the company, which earlier this year hired Netflix’s Sherley Ibarra as a literary agent.
Rosenfeld and Weitzman, who were previously co-heads of Abrams Artists Agency, which was rebranded to A3 Artists Agency in March 2020, and fellow lit agent Kirkland set up the company in July 2019 and signed the WGA’s new franchise agreement during the standoff between the guild and the Association of Talent Agents, which led to more than 7,000 writers firing their agents.
“We’re ecstatic to promote Adrian. His passion for...
The company has promoted Adrian Gonzalez to agent.
Gonzalez joined the company as an intern before becoming executive assistant on Kirkland’s desk and then a year later was promoted to a literary coordinator.
It is the latest move for the company, which earlier this year hired Netflix’s Sherley Ibarra as a literary agent.
Rosenfeld and Weitzman, who were previously co-heads of Abrams Artists Agency, which was rebranded to A3 Artists Agency in March 2020, and fellow lit agent Kirkland set up the company in July 2019 and signed the WGA’s new franchise agreement during the standoff between the guild and the Association of Talent Agents, which led to more than 7,000 writers firing their agents.
“We’re ecstatic to promote Adrian. His passion for...
- 12/7/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Culture Creative Entertainment, the nascent talent agency founded by former Abrams Artists Agency agents Brad Rosenfeld, Paul Weitzman and Karen Kirkland, has hired a new literary agent.
The company has hired Sherley Ibarra, who joins from Netflix, where she was Manager of Animation Outreach & Engagement. Ibarra was at the streamer for over three years, having previously been Vice-President of Creative Talent Development & Outreach at Nickelodeon.
At Cce, she will represent a diverse roster of talent working across TV series and features in both live-action and animation.
At Netflix, she led the talent incubation programs, designed to create opportunities for emerging and mid-level writers, directors, and producers for the U.S. and Canada across live-action, unscripted, and animation series and films. She developed the Netflix Animation Writing Program, Advancing Voices: Netflix Canada Creator Program, and the Netflix Created By Initiative.
Ibarra started her career in entertainment as a producer of...
The company has hired Sherley Ibarra, who joins from Netflix, where she was Manager of Animation Outreach & Engagement. Ibarra was at the streamer for over three years, having previously been Vice-President of Creative Talent Development & Outreach at Nickelodeon.
At Cce, she will represent a diverse roster of talent working across TV series and features in both live-action and animation.
At Netflix, she led the talent incubation programs, designed to create opportunities for emerging and mid-level writers, directors, and producers for the U.S. and Canada across live-action, unscripted, and animation series and films. She developed the Netflix Animation Writing Program, Advancing Voices: Netflix Canada Creator Program, and the Netflix Created By Initiative.
Ibarra started her career in entertainment as a producer of...
- 6/20/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: M88 has signed Netflix’s Ginny and Georgia writer Mike Gauyo.
Gauyo also wrote for the critically acclaimed series, Insecure (HBO), Netflix’s Ginny and Georgia, and is the founder of the Black Boy Writes and Black Girl Writes Mentorship initiative, which is a yearlong program that provides pre-wga Black writers with access towards becoming established screenwriters in entertainment. Of the mentorship initiative Mike says,
“I launched the program in hopes of creating a space for Black writers to have access towards a career in writing that otherwise may have felt out of their reach. I’m happy to sign with M88, who isn’t just dedicated to being stewards of my career, but is equally as invested in the success of my mentorship initiative and its goal of amplifying marginalized voices.”
Most recently, Gauyo co-created Send Help for AMC Network’s Allblk streaming platform and served as its co-showrunner and Executive Producer.
Gauyo also wrote for the critically acclaimed series, Insecure (HBO), Netflix’s Ginny and Georgia, and is the founder of the Black Boy Writes and Black Girl Writes Mentorship initiative, which is a yearlong program that provides pre-wga Black writers with access towards becoming established screenwriters in entertainment. Of the mentorship initiative Mike says,
“I launched the program in hopes of creating a space for Black writers to have access towards a career in writing that otherwise may have felt out of their reach. I’m happy to sign with M88, who isn’t just dedicated to being stewards of my career, but is equally as invested in the success of my mentorship initiative and its goal of amplifying marginalized voices.”
Most recently, Gauyo co-created Send Help for AMC Network’s Allblk streaming platform and served as its co-showrunner and Executive Producer.
- 3/6/2023
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Prolific producer and actor DeVon Franklin has set up two new scripted development projects at BET+ under his overall deal with CBS Studios, which is the studio for both.
The first project, Played, is a comedy in which Franklin would star. The second project, Closure, for BET and BET+, is a family drama inspired by the life of baseball Hall-of-Famer Andre Dawson turned funeral home owner. Franklin would executive produce both projects via his Franklin Entertainment.
Written by Devon Shepard (The Ms. Pat Show), in Played, Franklin stars as a TV personality in the comedy which chronicles the trials of a dysfunctional dater.
Here’s the official logline: “What if the life of a dysfunctional dater is punctuated by his conscience being a fully-produced talk show hosted by real-life tv personality and producer DeVon Franklin? Every time our guy is faced with one of life’s many dilemmas, he...
The first project, Played, is a comedy in which Franklin would star. The second project, Closure, for BET and BET+, is a family drama inspired by the life of baseball Hall-of-Famer Andre Dawson turned funeral home owner. Franklin would executive produce both projects via his Franklin Entertainment.
Written by Devon Shepard (The Ms. Pat Show), in Played, Franklin stars as a TV personality in the comedy which chronicles the trials of a dysfunctional dater.
Here’s the official logline: “What if the life of a dysfunctional dater is punctuated by his conscience being a fully-produced talk show hosted by real-life tv personality and producer DeVon Franklin? Every time our guy is faced with one of life’s many dilemmas, he...
- 2/27/2023
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
A3 Artists Agency has brought in four former Paradigm agents to reestablish a literary division. Veterans Andy Patman and Adam Kanter have come on board as A3 partners and Co-Head of Television Content and Motion Pictures, respectively. They are being joined by fellow former Paradigm agents Katt Riley and Martin To on the lit team, with plans to hire more agents, coordinators and assistants while many talent agencies have been contracting in the face of the coronavirus-related Hollywood production shutdown.
That includes Paradigm, which in late March instituted temporary layoffs for 250 employees. The list included Kanter, Riley and To, sources said, while Patman left Paradigm last week, I hear.
Meanwhile, A3 chairman Adam Bold said that he and the rest of the agency’s leadership, CEO Robert Attermann and President Brian Cho, who acquired and subsequently rebranded Abrams Artists Agency, took time during the pandemic to “step back and analyze...
That includes Paradigm, which in late March instituted temporary layoffs for 250 employees. The list included Kanter, Riley and To, sources said, while Patman left Paradigm last week, I hear.
Meanwhile, A3 chairman Adam Bold said that he and the rest of the agency’s leadership, CEO Robert Attermann and President Brian Cho, who acquired and subsequently rebranded Abrams Artists Agency, took time during the pandemic to “step back and analyze...
- 7/6/2020
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive, Updated with WGA Statement: Respected TV and film literary boutique The Rothman Brecher Ehrich Livingston Agency, a member of Association of Talent Agents, has reached a deal with the Writers Guild.
“Rothman Brecher Ehrich Livingston is pleased to announce that it has signed a new Franchise Agreement with the WGA,” the principals said in a statement to Deadline, declining further comment.
Rbel is the fourth established Ata member mid-size agency to break ranks and sign with the WGA, joining another literary boutique, Kaplan Stahler, as well as Buchwald and Abrams Artists, and comes only a week after the guild’s most recent pact with Abrams Artists. Verve, which is not an Ata member, was the first notable agency with writer clients to reach an agreement with the WGA in May.
The WGA’s franchise agreement with the Ata expired in April. That’s when the guild instructed all of...
“Rothman Brecher Ehrich Livingston is pleased to announce that it has signed a new Franchise Agreement with the WGA,” the principals said in a statement to Deadline, declining further comment.
Rbel is the fourth established Ata member mid-size agency to break ranks and sign with the WGA, joining another literary boutique, Kaplan Stahler, as well as Buchwald and Abrams Artists, and comes only a week after the guild’s most recent pact with Abrams Artists. Verve, which is not an Ata member, was the first notable agency with writer clients to reach an agreement with the WGA in May.
The WGA’s franchise agreement with the Ata expired in April. That’s when the guild instructed all of...
- 11/19/2019
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
The Abrams Artists Agency has signed the WGA’s Code of Conduct, making it the third mid-tier agency to break ranks with the Association of Talent Agents and sign the code since the guild ordered all of its members seven months ago to fire their agents who refused to sign it. The code bans packaging fees after one year and prohibits agency affiliations with related production entities.
Abrams says it signed after negotiating new terms with the guild about audits and client confidentiality – issues that have reportedly kept several other mid-tier agencies from signing even though they that don’t do much packaging or have any production affiliations. Abrams now joins three other Ata member companies that have broken ranks with the Ata: Buchwald and Kaplan Stahler, which signed in July – and Pantheon, a small agency that signed months before talks broke off with the Ata on June 7.
The Verve agency,...
Abrams says it signed after negotiating new terms with the guild about audits and client confidentiality – issues that have reportedly kept several other mid-tier agencies from signing even though they that don’t do much packaging or have any production affiliations. Abrams now joins three other Ata member companies that have broken ranks with the Ata: Buchwald and Kaplan Stahler, which signed in July – and Pantheon, a small agency that signed months before talks broke off with the Ata on June 7.
The Verve agency,...
- 11/14/2019
- by David Robb
- Deadline Film + TV
Abrams Artist literary agents Brad Rosenfeld, Paul Weitzman, and Karen Kirkland have departed to form their own agency.
The new entity, known as Culture Creative Entertainment, has already signed the Writers Guild of America’s (WGA) new code of conduct.
Rosenfeld and Weitzman were previously vice presidents and the co-heads of the literary department at Abrams, having joined the agency in 2015 from boutique lit agency Preferred Artists. Kirkland joins Abrams a little less than a year ago. She was formerly the vice president of talent development at Nickelodeon.
Culture Creative Entertainment now joins fellow agencies Verve and Kaplan Stahler in signing the WGA’s code of conduct. The WGA has been in a standoff with the Association of Talent Agents (Ata) for over three months now over packaging fees on TV and films as well as other business practices. To date, none of the biggest agencies have signed the new code of conduct.
The new entity, known as Culture Creative Entertainment, has already signed the Writers Guild of America’s (WGA) new code of conduct.
Rosenfeld and Weitzman were previously vice presidents and the co-heads of the literary department at Abrams, having joined the agency in 2015 from boutique lit agency Preferred Artists. Kirkland joins Abrams a little less than a year ago. She was formerly the vice president of talent development at Nickelodeon.
Culture Creative Entertainment now joins fellow agencies Verve and Kaplan Stahler in signing the WGA’s code of conduct. The WGA has been in a standoff with the Association of Talent Agents (Ata) for over three months now over packaging fees on TV and films as well as other business practices. To date, none of the biggest agencies have signed the new code of conduct.
- 7/24/2019
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Veteran literary agents Brad Rosenfeld and Paul Weitzman are leaving Abrams Artists Agency after a 4.5-year stint as VPs and co-heads of the literary division. Partnered with fellow Abrams lit agent Karen Kirkland, the trio have launched a new agency, Culture Creative Entertainment, which has become a WGA signatory, signing the guild’s new franchise agreement.
According to the principals, Cce will initially focus on writers and directors but will expand to include other areas of representation as they grow.
The move comes more than 100 days into the standoff between the Writers Guild of America and the Association of Talent Agents, which led to more than 7,000 writers firing their agents, including those represented by Abrams Artists.
Culture Creative Entertainment would be the third literary agency to sign WGA’s new franchise agreement (formerly Code of Conduct), which would allow it to represent WGA members, joining Verve and Kaplan Stahler.
According to the principals, Cce will initially focus on writers and directors but will expand to include other areas of representation as they grow.
The move comes more than 100 days into the standoff between the Writers Guild of America and the Association of Talent Agents, which led to more than 7,000 writers firing their agents, including those represented by Abrams Artists.
Culture Creative Entertainment would be the third literary agency to sign WGA’s new franchise agreement (formerly Code of Conduct), which would allow it to represent WGA members, joining Verve and Kaplan Stahler.
- 7/24/2019
- by Nellie Andreeva and David Robb
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Lively McCabe Entertainment, a company that specializes in packaging and adapting iconic intellectual property into new stories for theater, film/TV, and book publishing, is teaming with licensing agency Theatrical Rights Worldwide and music powerhouse BMG on three stage works that could bring the songs of country stars like Luke Bryan and Kenny Chesney and ’80s New Wavers including Billy Idol and Devo to theaters by 2020.
Lively McCabe Entertainment Co-President Michael Barra unveiled a slate of three new stage musicals under development in the previously-announced partnership with Trw and BMG that would feature select music from the deep BMG catalog.
The three newly announced projects are:
May We All, a country music musical with a book by Troy Britton Johnson (The Voice: Neon Dreams) and Todd Johnson (a producer of Broadway’s original The Color Purple). May We All will include including music from country artists such as Luke Bryan,...
Lively McCabe Entertainment Co-President Michael Barra unveiled a slate of three new stage musicals under development in the previously-announced partnership with Trw and BMG that would feature select music from the deep BMG catalog.
The three newly announced projects are:
May We All, a country music musical with a book by Troy Britton Johnson (The Voice: Neon Dreams) and Todd Johnson (a producer of Broadway’s original The Color Purple). May We All will include including music from country artists such as Luke Bryan,...
- 4/2/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Rocker Melissa Etheridge will provide the musical ingredients for a stage adaptation of Mystic Pizza, the 1988 MGM rom-com that launched Julia Roberts and gave an early look at a very young, lobster-eating Matt Damon. The new production, announced today by Lively McCabe Entertainment, will be directed by Gordon Greenberg, who is co-writing the book with Sas Goldberg based on the story and characters by original screenwriter Amy Holden Jones.
“MGM’s Mystic Pizza is a seminal film for an entire generation of young people looking to distinguish themselves in a rapidly changing world,” said Greenberg. “Adapting Amy Holden Jones’ original screenplay for the stage with rock icon Melissa Etheridge, a beacon of strength and raw musical energy, and the brilliantly hilarious Sas Goldberg, is a dream collaboration on a story that is as relevant today as it was when we all first experienced it.”
Production plans and additional creative team will be announced shortly.
“MGM’s Mystic Pizza is a seminal film for an entire generation of young people looking to distinguish themselves in a rapidly changing world,” said Greenberg. “Adapting Amy Holden Jones’ original screenplay for the stage with rock icon Melissa Etheridge, a beacon of strength and raw musical energy, and the brilliantly hilarious Sas Goldberg, is a dream collaboration on a story that is as relevant today as it was when we all first experienced it.”
Production plans and additional creative team will be announced shortly.
- 1/22/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Composer Joe Iconis, whose Off Broadway viral sensation Be More Chill is headed to Broadway in February, is developing a new stage musical called Punk Rock Girl featuring songs written or made famous by such female musicians or female-fronted bands as Avril Lavigne, Pink, Pat Benatar and Blondie.
The project was announced today by Lively McCabe Entertainment as a collaboration with BMG and R&H Theatricals. Iconis is writing the book and musical arrangements, with his frequent collaborators Jennifer Werner (The Black Suits) directing and choreographing and Rob Rokicki (The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical) co-arranging and handling orchestrations.
Punk Rock Girl follows 16-year-old Angela Quivers, “a perfectionist who never takes chances and feels like there’s no place where she belongs until she meets Proxi, a teenager who pulls her into a world of grungy guitars, shocking secrets, and big, loud, messy emotions.” Angela finds a community...
The project was announced today by Lively McCabe Entertainment as a collaboration with BMG and R&H Theatricals. Iconis is writing the book and musical arrangements, with his frequent collaborators Jennifer Werner (The Black Suits) directing and choreographing and Rob Rokicki (The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical) co-arranging and handling orchestrations.
Punk Rock Girl follows 16-year-old Angela Quivers, “a perfectionist who never takes chances and feels like there’s no place where she belongs until she meets Proxi, a teenager who pulls her into a world of grungy guitars, shocking secrets, and big, loud, messy emotions.” Angela finds a community...
- 12/17/2018
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Abrams Artists Agency is expanding its literary department with the hiring of former Nickelodeon executive Karen Kirkland.
As Nick’s former VP for Talent Development, Kirkland has been responsible for launching the careers of many successful writers and creative visionaries. Her appointment is effective immediately in the Agency’s Los Angeles office. She will report to Paul Weitzman and Brad Rosenfeld, Co-Heads and VP’s of Abrams Artists Agency’s Literary Department.
Over the last 13 years at Nickelodeon, Kirkland developed and oversaw the network’s Writers Diversity Program, where she successfully supported and developed emerging writers and their careers. In this role, she helped establish incubators and pipelines throughout the organization for the purposes of fostering innovative and diverse talent in both animation and live action television. Numerous writers, story editors, and executive producers that she has worked with have gone on to work at major networks and outlets such as HBO,...
As Nick’s former VP for Talent Development, Kirkland has been responsible for launching the careers of many successful writers and creative visionaries. Her appointment is effective immediately in the Agency’s Los Angeles office. She will report to Paul Weitzman and Brad Rosenfeld, Co-Heads and VP’s of Abrams Artists Agency’s Literary Department.
Over the last 13 years at Nickelodeon, Kirkland developed and oversaw the network’s Writers Diversity Program, where she successfully supported and developed emerging writers and their careers. In this role, she helped establish incubators and pipelines throughout the organization for the purposes of fostering innovative and diverse talent in both animation and live action television. Numerous writers, story editors, and executive producers that she has worked with have gone on to work at major networks and outlets such as HBO,...
- 7/31/2018
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Dimension Films have announced the hiring of screenwriter Matt Lieberman to pen a remake of the 1986 cult favorite Short Circuit. An Honors film grad from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Lieberman wrote a draft of the Doctor Dolittle sequel Doctor Dolittle: First Dog, and another couple projects that have never gone into production, including Disney's Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. He's a graduate of the Disney screenwriting program, and has uncredited worked on a bunch of the Disney live-action film projects from the past few years. Despite my jab headline, Lieberman seems like an up-and-comer. He is set to work closely with director Tim Hill (Hop, Alvin and the Chipmunks). The press release says that "details of the new take are currently being kept under wraps" but its pretty obvious that they are aiming for something much tamer than the original film. It is very clear...
- 2/3/2012
- by Peter Sciretta
- Slash Film
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