UTA/ Anonymous Content: Egyptian comic and satirist Bassem Youssef has signed with both agencies. Youssef rose to fame after the 2011 revolution in Egypt. He appeared in a webisode series funded by Naguib Sawiris’ ONTV. The webisodes sprouted into the series Al-Bernameg, the first political satire and, for a while, the most watched TV show in the Middle East. He’s also appeared twice as a senior Middle East correspondent on the The Daily Show.
WME: Actor Jason Clarke has shifted from CAA to WME. He can next be seen in the WWII drama HHHH, opposite Rosamund Pike, as well as All I See Is You, opposite Blake Lively. Previous credits include Everest, Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes and Zero Dark Thirty.
CAA: Comedy writer-producer Bob Kushell has shifted from ICM to CAA. He began his career on Dream On and went on to work on The Simpsons, 3rd Rock From The Sun, Grounded For Life and Malcolm In The Middle, among others. He recently co-created ABC’s freshman comedy series The Muppets and served as an executive producer and showrunner before departing in November.
UTA: Director Richard Bates Jr. has signed with UTA. He most recently directed Trash Fire starring Adrian Grenier, which premiered in the midnight sidebar of the Sundance Film Festival. The film is currently being sold by XYZ and Preferred Content. Previously he was known for his horror films including the 2014 Suburban Gothic and the 2012 Excision that also premiered at the Sundance fest.
CAA: Actress Minnie Driver has shifted from UTA to CAA. She most recently was seen on NBC’s About a Boy for two seasons. Previous to that she starred in Lifetime’s two-night Biblical drama The Red Tent. She’s been nominated for an Emmy for her work on the FX drama The Riches as well as the Lifetime telepic Return to Zero. On the feature side she recently starred alongside Gugu Mbatha-Raw in the romantic drama Beyond the Lights.
Gersh: Actress and filmmaker Meg Ryan has signed with the Gersh Agency for full representation. She recently directed the film Ithaca starring Sam Shepard and Tom Hanks, marking her directorial debut. She will next direct the rom-com, The Book. She’s collaborating on that feature with writer Delia Ephron on and it’s based on an original story set in the publishing world.
WME/ 3 Arts: 14-year old actor Michael Barbieri has signed with WME and 3 Arts. He was most recently seen as the co-lead in Little Men, directed by Ira Sachs, that premiered at this year’s Sundance. WME is handling sales of Little Men and will rep Barbieri in all mediums.
Abrams: YouTube star Andrea Brooks has signed with Abrams Artists Agency’s alternative programming and digital media department. Her DIY, beauty, fashion and lifestyle channel, AndreasChoice has upwards of 3.7 million subscribers and has drawn 230 million-plus views. She was nominated for a 2016 Shorty Awards and a 2015 Teen Choice Award and has guested on NBC’s Today.