NY1 ‘On Stage’ Host Frank DiLella Signs With UTA

EXCLUSIVE: MRC has made a deal to develop Pornsak Pichetshote’s Eisner Award-winning graphic novel bestseller The Good Asian into a series. James Wan, Michael Clear and Rob Hackett are producing for Atomic Monster. Will Rowbotham and Luke Maxwell are producing for 3 Arts. 

EXCLUSIVE: UTA has signed rising star Sinqua Walls for representation in all areas.

EXCLUSIVE: Altered Innocence has picked up all North American rights to the Locarno competition title Astrakan, the debut feature from filmmaker David Depesseville.

Ali Wong is sharing some very rare comments about her divorce.

BreAnna Bell Following the success of their years-long partnership that spawned seven original films including Natalie Morales’ “Plan B” and “Crush,” Hulu Originals has renewed its first look deal with comedy production company American High. Jason Zaro (“Brigsby Bear”) will serve as co-producer across the new slate of films for Hulu. The renewed partnership comes on the heels of the successful release of “It’s a Wonderful Binge” in November 2022, which starred Kaitlin Olson, Danny Trejo, Nick Swardson, Tim Meadows. The movie serves as a sequel to the first Hulu original comedy under the American High banner, “The Binge,” which featured Vince Vaughn, Skyler Gisondo, Eduardo Franco, Dexter Darden.

which debuted at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and is now streaming on Hulu; “Banana Split”starring Hannah Marks, Liana Liberato and Dylan Sprouse; “The Binge,” which stars Skyler Gisondo, Dexter Darden, Eduardo Franco and Vince Vaughn; “Looks That Kill” starring Brandon Flynn; Josh Friedlander’s “Holly Slept Over;” “The Ultimate Playlist of Noise” starring Emmy-nominee Madeline Brewer and Keean Johnson; Natalie Morales’ solo feature directorial debut “Plan B;” Talia Osteen’s “Sex Appeal;” Sammi Cohen’s directorial debut “Crush”starring Rowan Blanchard and Auli’i Cravalho; and “It’s A Wonderful Binge,” the sequel to the original “Binge”title, which stars Kaitlin Olson, Danny Trejo, Nick Swardson and Tim Meadows and released in November.In addition to producing multiple films per year, American High aims to finance and acquire a number of third-party films that align with the mission of its brand.

EXCLUSIVE: Markiplier, otherwise known as Mark Fischbach, the creator who has over 60M followers across social media, has signed with UTA.

Hulu Originals has renewed its first look output deal with American High.

EXCLUSIVE: Kino Lorber has struck a deal with Paris-based sales firm Wide for North American distribution rights to Carlos Conceição’s Locarno Film Festival war drama Tommy Guns.

EXCLUSIVE: Actor Adam DiMarco — best known for his breakout role as Albie in season 2 of Mike White’s Emmy Award-winning HBO series The White Lotus — has signed with UTA. 

EXCLUSIVE: CAA has signed actress and producer Kate Mara for for representation.

Naman Ramachandran Publisher Puffin U.K. will release “The Roald Dahl Classic Collection,” which will have the author’s original texts. “The Roald Dahl Classic Collection” will be available alongside the newly released Puffin Roald Dahl books for young readers, “which are designed for children who may be navigating written content independently for the first time,” Puffin said. “Readers will be free to choose which version of Dahl’s stories they prefer.” Last week, Puffin was in the eye of a storm when it emerged that the works of Dahl, who died in 1990, had been rewritten, with the phrase “enormously fat” edited to just “enormous” and “most formidable female” to “most formidable woman” among numerous other examples from his most famous books. People who opposed the edits include author Salman Rushdie, who described it as “absurd censorship,” and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

BreAnna Bell Professional wrestler, actress, and model Mercedes Varnado has signed with UTA for representation in all areas. The agency will help her secure new opportunities across film, television, theater and more. Varnado is most recognized for her work in WWE under the name Sasha Banks. She exited that company in 2022 and now wrestles under the name Mercedes Moné. In January 2023, she appeared in New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 17, which helped the company generate over 900,000 new users — the most in NJPW world history — and sell over 25k tickets, which marks the highest ticket sales for a non-WWE live event in the last three years.

EXCLUSIVE: UTA has signed actress Richa Moorjani in all areas.

Naman Ramachandran A galaxy of A-list talent will participate in SXSW’s inaugural South Asian House initiative. Panel discussion Creating South Asian Content for a Global Audience, will feature actor Rizwan Manji (“Schitt’s Creek”), Emmy-winning producer/writer for Vice, Falguni Adams (“Dateline NBC”) and Apoorva Bakshi, producer of International Emmy-winning series “Delhi Crime,” moderated by CEO of Jingo Media and producer of South Asian House Jitin Hingorani. Another panel, Investing in the Future of Our South Asian Stories, will feature CEO and co-founder of URL Media S. Mitra Kalita and actor Kausar Mohammed (“The Flash”), moderated by co-founder of Box Office Guru Media Gitesh Pandya.

Katie Reul editor “Company,” “MJ” and “The Wiz” are among seven shows coming to the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles for the 2023-2024 season, Broadway in Hollywood revealed Wednesday morning. The newly announced lineup consists of five L.A. premieres, one pre-Broadway L.A. premiere and the revival of a retired production. “MJ” will commence the season Dec. 20, marking the Tony Award-winning musical’s Los Angeles debut. Directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon and Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage, the show centers its narrative around the creative legacy and unique sound of Michael Jackson.

Ali Wong and Justin Hakuta were spotted spending time together over the weekend, nearly one year after announcing their divorce. In new photos snapped of the comedian and her ex, the former couple, who announced they were going their separate ways in April 2022, was seen going for a morning walk together in San Francisco. Wong kept things casual in a blue puffy jacket, a two-toned blue sweater, a blue scarf and joggers and topped the outfit with a large sunhat and shades.

EXCLUSIVE: Shaunak Sen, who was recently nominated for an Oscar for her doc All That Breathes, has signed with WME and Entertainment 360 for representation. The pic is the most awarded and the first film ever to win best documentary at both Sundance and Cannes. The film is currently nominated for BAFTA, DGA, PGA, ASC, Independent Spirit and the Academy Awards.

EXCLUSIVE: UTA has signed its latest podcast client – the team behind The Best One Yet.

EXCLUSIVE: Dale Moss, a former NFL wide receiver who spent time with the Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers, is developing a docuseries about the Special Olympics.