BuzzFeed Studios Signs With CAA (EXCLUSIVE)

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentFinland’s Aurora Studios has launched a private equity fund aimed at film and TV content, kicking off with “Bubble,” a movie directed by Aleksi Salmenperä (“Giant”).“Bubble” will star Minna Haapkylä, Tommi Korpela, Anna-Maija Tuokko and Stella Leppikorpi.

UTA has signed social media and YouTube influencer Nailea Devora in all areas. Devora has secured over 9 million followers across social media accounts, including on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.

Universal Studios Hollywood on Tuesday announced the Los Angeles theme park would reopen on April 16. Tickets go on sale Thursday, April 8.

Universal Studios Hollywood will reopen on Friday, April 16. Tickets go on sale Thursday, April 8, the park announced today. There will be a special park preview for annual and season pass members starting on Thursday, April 15.

Angelique Jackson “Minari” star Alan S. Kim has already captured audiences and critics’ hearts, and now the young star has landed new agents.The eight-year-old has signed with CAA for representation in all areas.Kim earned rave reviews for his breakout performance as David Yi in Lee Isaac Chung’s “Minari,” which has been nominated for six Academy Awards, including best picture.

Director, writer and actor Matt Ross has signed with CAA. Ross will direct and executive produce Starz’s upcoming Watergate anthology series Gaslit, which stars Julia Roberts and Sean Penn.

Hidden Empire Film Group — the film and TV production entity run by filmmaker Deon Taylor, Roxanne Avent and billionaire businessman Robert F. Smith — has brought industry veteran Quincy Newell on board as chief operating officer.

One of the stars of NBC's Young Rock is getting noticed. Bradley Constant, who plays a teenage Dwayne Johnson in the biographical series, has signed withBuchwald.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorElsa Majimbo, comedian and social-media phenom, has signed with CAA for representation in all areas.A native of Kenya, Majimbo attracted worldwide attention during last year’s COVID-19 lockdowns with her funny, pared-down Instagram monologues — coupled with her contagious laugh, tiny sunglasses and predilection for potato crisps (which Americans call “chips”).

Film, TV and theater actress Kathy Najimy has signed with APA. Najimy’s film credits include starring in Sister Act, opposite Whoopi Goldberg, and Hocus Pocus alongside Bette Midler.

EXCLUSIVE: CAA has signed Jack Champion, who joins Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana in the Avatar sequels. Champion plays “Spider” in Avatar 2, which bows on Dec. 16, 2022, and will reprise the role in the next three installments. Avatar recently reclaimed its position as the highest-grossing film of all time, with a cumulative worldwide box of $2.83 billion.

Filmmaker Oge Egbuonu, who directed the buzz-generating documentary (In)Visible Portraits, has signed with Sugar23, the company founded by Oscar-winning producer and manager Michael Sugar, for representation. Egbuonu was previously an executive at Raindog Films, the shingle run by Ged Doherty and Colin Firth, and served as an associate producer on Loving, the 2016 drama starring Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton.

Naman Ramachandran “Attenborough’s Life in Colour” producer Humble Bee Films is strengthening its team with the hire of BBC Studios Natural History Unit executive Jayne Edwards as head of development.Humble Bee recently hired long-time Icon Films executive Stephen McQuillan as its creative director.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterMichelle Selene Ang has signed with Buchwald, Variety has learned exclusively.Ang is best known for her role on the popular Netflix series “13 Reasons Why.” During her time on the show, she played the role of Courtney Crimsen, who is one of the titular reasons that Hannah (Katherine Langford) commits suicide in Season 1 after Courtney spreads lies about her around their school.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterLorraine Toussaint has signed with Paradigm, Variety has learned exclusively. She continues to be represented by Frontline Management, Jill Fritzo PR, and Myman Greenspan.Toussaint currently stars in the CBS reboot of “The Equalizer” opposite Queen Latifah.

Actress, producer and activist Kate Bosworth has signed with APA for representation in all areas. She was previously at CAA, where she had spent most of the last two decades, except for a six-month stint at ICM in 2017.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterNinja Thyberg, whose movie “Pleasure” debuted to rave reviews at Sundance Film Festival, has signed with CAA.“Pleasure,” an explicit drama about the adult film industry, marked Thyberg’s feature film directorial debut.

EXCLUSIVE: CAA has signed NAACP Image Award winner Nichelle Tramble Spellman for representation in all areas.

Self-taught Vietnamese filmmakerLê Bảo's directorial debut Taste takes place in the Ho Chi Minh City slums where he grew up, but the film centers on a displaced Nigerian man who is a world away from home.

EXCLUSIVE: CAA has inked screenwriter T.S. Nowlin.