Rep Moves For 4/4/14: CAA, WME Entertainment, Gersh, UTA

Agencies

CAA: Screenwriter and novelist Ernest Cline is now repped by Trevor Astbury, Grant Kessman and Peter Micelli. Cline recently got a seven-figure worldwide rights deal from Random House for his next novel Armada, which will be published in summer 2015. Universal has already acquired the screen rights. Starting off as a spoken word artist, Cline got his big break writing the screenplay for Fanboys, which placed on the Black List and was produced into a 2009 feature starring Sam Huntington and Chris Marquette. Cline followed that film with his highly successful first novel Ready Player One, which Crown Publishing Group purchased in a bidding war. Warner Bros. acquired the screen rights shortly afterwards. Ready Player One is currently in its 17^th printing. CAA: Actress and comedian Kathy Griffin is now repped by Peter Levine, Jeffrey Jacobs and Vanessa Silverton-Peel. Griffin won a Grammy award in January for her comedy album Calm Down Gurrl. Starting off as a member of the comedy troupe The Groundlings, Griffin began her career in stand-up comedy, appearing in small roles in film and television, including a brief cameo in Pulp Fiction. She first gained widespread recognition with a supporting role in Suddenly Susan. Her big career breakthrough, however, came with the Bravo reality series Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List, which earned two Emmy awards for Outstanding Reality Program. Appearing on numerous television series and specials since then, Griffin was recently inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records for her unprecedented 20 televised stand-up specials. CAA: Writer, director and actor Alex Winter is now repped by Rick Lefitz. Winter most recently co-wrote Rites of Bill for AMC and directed the pilot The Maker Shack for Amazon. He's also currently directing the documentary Deep Web about Bitcoin and Silk Road, that's being produced by Glen Zipper. Winter, who is still probably best known for his role in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, has ventured into directing in recent years. In addition to music videos and commercials, Winter’s directing credits include the television series Blue Mountain State, Level Up and Betas. Some of his other notable credits include playing Marko in the cult classic The Lost Boys, as well as co-writing, co-directing and starring in 1993’s Freaked. He continues to be managed by Russell Hollander at Hollander Management. CAA: China’s top action star Donnie Yen is now repped by Bryan O’Guin. The agency recently closed a deal for Yen to star in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon II: The Green Destiny. Yen also starred in the 2014 feature Monkey King, which has grossed over $165 million in China. Yen is probably best known, however, for playing Ip Man in the 2008 feature of the same name, which was a huge box-office success and is credited with popularizing the martial arts style Wing Chun in mainland China. Yen’s other features have included SPL, Flash Point, Iron Monkey, Bodyguards and Assassins and Dragon Tiger Gate. His features Iceman 2 and Kung Fu Jungle are currently in post-production. Equitable Stewardship for Artists (ESA): Actor, director and former professional football player Carl Weathers is now represented for acting, directing and public speaking. His team will consist of Paul Alan Smith, Tyler Allen and Amber Bobin. Weathers will soon appear in the upcoming feature Think Like A Man. He also appeared on Netflix’s fourth season of Arrested Development. Starting off as a football star with San Diego State and the Oakland Raiders, Weathers is probably best known for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky films. His extensive career since that point has included roles in Predator, Force 10 From Navarone, Action Jackson, Hurricane Smith, Happy Gilmore, Little Nicky and Arrested Development amongst others. Weathers is also repped by manager Matt Luber of Luber Roklin Entertainment. Gersh:  The estate of late screenwriter, producer, novelist and sportswriter Budd Schulberg is now repped by Joseph Veltre. The agency plans to steer various adaptations of Schulberg’s novels, as well as remakes of his classic works. Among his many career highlights, Schulberg wrote the screenplays for On The Waterfront and A Face in the Crowd, as well as the novels What Makes Sammy Run?, The Disenchanted and The Harder They Fall. Among the projects in development are Save Us, Joe Louis and The Disenchanted. Schulberg’s son Benn is also currently shooting a documentary about his father Hollywood Renegade: The Many Loves of Budd Schulberg. UTA: Canadian actress and model Charlotte Le Bon is now repped by Ali Benmohamed, Theresa Peters and Keya Khayatian. Le Bon most recently appeared in the French film Yves Saint Laurent, which opened the Panorama section of the 64^th Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year. She will also soon appear in the feature film The Hundred-Foot Journey, which is being directed by Lasse Hallström and stars Helen Mirren. A former weather girl for the Canal+ talk show Le Grand Journal, Le Bon has appeared in the features Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia, Mood Indigo and Libre et assoupi. WME Entertainment: Director Joe Johnston is now a client. Johnston most recently directed Captain America: The First Avenger. Currently, he’s developing the high concept sci-fi thriller Extinction with Mandeville and Good Universe. A former visual effects artist, Johnston made his directing debut with Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. His subsequent features have included such hits as The Rocketeer, Jumanji, October Sky, Jurassic Park III, Hidalgo and The Wolfman. Johnston’s next film Not Safe for Work is currently set for release at Universal. WME Entertainment: BAFTA-winning director Roger Michell is now a client. Michell most recently directed Le Week-End, which premiered at Toronto last year. That film won acting awards for both of the film’s stars Lindsay Duncan and Jim Broadbent. Michell also directed 2012’s Hyde Park on the Hudson, starring Bill Murray. Starting his career in British television, Michell’s first big success was 1999’s hit romantic comedy Notting Hill, starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. His subsequent features have included Changing Lanes, The Mother, Venus and Morning Glory. Next up, Michell is directing the two-part miniseries The Last Honour for ITV, due out in 2014. Michell won a BAFTA Television Award for directing the 1995 drama Persuasion.