Mercedes Varnado Signs With UTA (EXCLUSIVE)

EXCLUSIVE: CAA on Tuesday announced its signing of Allison Janney — the Academy Award-winning actress who has also been recognized over the course of her career with six Emmys, a Golden Globe, 7 SAG Awards, 2 Critics’ Choice Awards, a BAFTA, an Independent Spirit Award and other accolades.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief U.S.- and Japan-based screen writer and producer Aoyagi Yumiko has signed with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) for talent representation. Born in Yokohama, Japan, but having grown up in Los Angeles and graduated from Sophia University in Tokyo, Aoyagi now works across both the Japanese and U.S. film and TV industries. She debuted as a screenwriter in 1995, writing the fourth episode of the Fuji TV series “Seiga wa Tatsu” before winning Galaxy Award prizes for telefilm “Saigo no Kazoku Ryoky: Family Affair.” In 2003, she wrote the show “Kokoro,” becoming the youngest person ever to write for the coveted morning slot on Japan’s national public broadcaster, NHK. The slot about a young woman’s development in a traditional neighborhood in Tokyo, has a continuous history of over 60 years and is known as “the face of Japan.”

EXCLUSIVE: Actress, singer and author Sandra Bernhard, who most recently appeared in the 11th installment of Ryan Murphy’s FX series American Horror Story, has signed with The Rosenzweig Group for management.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Dove Cameron has landed at WME. The multi-hyphenate actor and singer will be represented by the agency in all areas. Cameron exploded musically in 2022 with her chart-topping single “Boyfriend” and has simultaneously been building a film and acting resume. The 27-year-old began releasing original music in 2019 via Colombia Records. Since then she has collected awards, including best new artist at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards and the American Music Awards, and was nominated for best new artist at the People’s Choice Awards. She’s currently nominated for best new artist at the 2023 iHeart Radio Awards and outstanding breakthrough music artist at the 34th annual GLAAD Media Awards.

EXCLUSIVE: APA on Thursday announced its signing of actress Madison Iseman.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Kuwaiti-born writer-director Zeyad (also known as “Z”) Alhusaini, whose action movie with comedic undertones “How I Got There” recently won the audience award at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival, has joined United Talent Agency for representation in all areas. The groundbreaking film about two best buddies from childhood, named Salem and Asad, who stumble upon a gun shipment and try to seize this opportunity to get rich quick is set entirely in the Persian Gulf. “How I Got There” provides a relatively realistic glimpse of Kuwait’s present-day melting-pot of cultures, and its underworld of gun-running mercenaries, gangs, and terrorists, plus the local rap scene.

Jane Seymour certainly lives her life to the full - she's conquered Hollywood while raising four children, stayed strong after her marriages ended and found love again in her 60s. And now, to mark International Women's Day, the actress is bearing her soul and sharing the lessons she has learnt in love and life with her fans. At 72, she shows no signs of slowing down. Her latest role as the leading lady Harriet, or 'Harry', in Harry Wild is testament to this.

Valentina Ferrer is an Argentinian model, businesswoman and 2014's Miss Argentina - but that all pales in comparison to her son, 20-month-old Rio."My first dream was always to have a family," Valentina, 29, shares with HELLO! for our 2023 International Women's Day issue. The former Miss Universe hopeful welcomed her son in July 2021 with reggaeton superstar J Balvin. Although it hasn't stopped Valentina from traveling the globe for brands such as Michael Kors, nothing beats coming home to her smiling son who was awake at 1am to welcome home his mom from Miami on the same day we speak.

Linda Gray found fame in the 1980s on Dallas but she admits that working on the series as a woman meant she was often belittled, overlooked and forced to be her own cheeleader. "It was a very chauvinist show, frankly," Linda told HELLO! as part of our International Women's Day issue. "The producers, the writers - they had a few women writers but they were just a token.

EXCLUSIVE: David Wain, the man behind the comedy classic Wet Hot American Summer, has signed with Entertainment 360.

EXCLUSIVE: M88 has signed Netflix’s Ginny and Georgia writer Mike Gauyo.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor AMC Networks’ Sentai Filmworks unit reached an agreement with Japan’s Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS) that provides exclusive rights for AMC’s anime-focused HIDIVE streaming service to distribute part of MBS’s future programming lineup in all global markets outside of Asia. The pact is Sentai’s biggest-ever deal for anime content, according to the company. The output deal encompasses MBS’s programming slate based on a collection of popular manga and light novel titles. All of the shows will be available exclusively on HIDIVE outside of Asia. Among the shows covered in the Sentai-MBS output is “The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior” (pictured above). The new show, scheduled to premiere in July 2023, is a 12-episode series based on hit fantasy light novel by Tenichi and published by Ichijinsha. The series is being directed by Norio Nitta and written by Deko Akao with animation by OLM.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large As former The CW chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz gets back into the production business, he has sign on with CAA for representation, the tenpercentary announced on Thursday. Pedowitz has revived his shingle, Pine Street Entertainment, which is represented by CAA as part of the arrangement. Pedowitz announced his departure from The CW in October, following Nexstar Media Group’s acquisition of the network from its previous joint operators CBS and Warner Bros. (Those two entities maintain minority stakes in The CW, but Nexstar is now the majority owner and operator.) In reviving Pine Street Entertainment, Pedowitz is bringing back his independent production company that produced CBS’ “The Crazy Ones” (starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and Robin Williams), as well as a number of development projects.

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

Ok Taecyeon has signed a contract with US talent agency WME (William Morris Endeavour).On February 27, the 34-year-old idol-actor, best known for being a member of K-pop boyband 2PM and starring in the hit K-drama Vincenzo, shared via his South Korean agency 51K that he had signed with William Morris Endeavour for his US activities.“We are happy that Taecyeon, who has been expanding his reach as an actor thorough various projects including Vincenzo, Hansan: Rising Dragon, Blind, and more, signed a formal agent contract with WME, one of the representative agencies in the United States,” said 51K, per No Cut News, as translated by Soompi. “Please continue to cheer on Taecyeon’s activities in the future.”Taecyeon also shared: “I’m excited and happy to take on a new challenge.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law that strips The Walt Disney Co. of its 55-year control over a special district covering its Florida theme parks.

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

EXCLUSIVE: Jill Alexander, who featured on HBO’s Silicon Valley for four seasons, has signed with APA.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Universal Music Group Nashville announces the signing of country music superstar Brad Paisley to its imprint EMI Records Nashville. The singer-guitarist — who has won three Grammys, two American Music Awards, 15 Academy of Country Music Awards, and 14 Country Music Association Awards over a 20-plus year career — had been with Sony Music’s Arista Nashville division since the beginning of his career.  Paisley is finishing his next studio album, the first for UMG Nashville, expected later this year. On Friday he will release a new song from the album- “Same Here,” written by Paisley, Lee Thomas Miller and Taylor Goldsmith, and produced by Luke Wooten. He will join fellow UMGN artists Alan Jackson, Brothers Osborne, Carrie Underwood, Caylee Hammack, Chris Stapleton, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, George Strait, Kacey Musgraves, Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, Mickey Guyton, Reba McEntire, Sam Hunt, Vince Gill, Little Big Town, and more.

Peermusic has signed a worldwide publishing administration deal with Jonathan Yip and Jeremy Reeves of songwriting and production trio The Stereotypes, who have worked with artists including Cardi B, Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber and Lil Yachty.“Jonathan, Jeremy and The Stereotypes consistently prove that their hit-making capacity may be limitless”, says Peermusic COO Kathy Spanberger. “They continue to go from strength to strength.