UTA’s Entertainment Marketing Group Expands Into Atlanta With First Senior Hire (EXCLUSIVE)

Karen Idelson As marketing experts prepare for this year’s Variety Entertainment Marketing Summit presented by Deloitte, many are focused on discovering new ways to create authentic relationships with consumers. While contemporary culture evolves faster than ever and the tastes of Gen Z and Gen Alpha are continually shifting, finding new ways to reach audiences has never been more challenging. “People are just consuming our messaging in a thousand different ways,” says Ellene V. Miles, senior VP, intersectional marketing, Sony Pictures Entertainment/Motion Picture Group. “So that sort of blanket one size fits all approach isn’t as viable. I think being authentic to these audiences and meeting them where they live and meeting them with messaging that really speaks to them is critical to success, critical to awareness, and critical to the whole theatrical proposition.”

Puma Blue is the alias of Jacob Allen, a London-born artist who now lives in Atlanta. For the past half decade or so he has created a lane of jazz-inflected late night comfort music. Across early EPs Swum Baby and 2018's Blood Loss, his music has been a nook to clamber into, shutting the rest of the world out as you enter.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Gustav Möller, who won the Audience Award at Sundance with his previous film “The Guilty,” has just completed the shooting of “Vogter,” a psychological thriller which has been boarded by Nordisk Film and Les Films du Losange. “Vogter” boasts a stellar Nordic cast including Sidse Babett Knudsen, the BAFTA-winning actor of “Borgen,” Dar Salim (“Game of Thrones”) and up-and-comer Sebastian Bull. The film follows Eva, an idealistic prison officer who is faced with the dilemma of her life when a young man from her past gets transferred to the prison where she works. Without revealing her secret, Eva asks to be moved to the young man’s ward – the toughest and most violent in the prison. Here begins an unsettling psychological thriller, where Eva’s sense of justice puts both her morality and future at stake.

Variety’s Miami Entertainment Impact list will be celebrated April 13 at the Miami Entertainment Town event, presented by City National Bank. CEO The Latin Recording Academy   Abud’s appreciation for Miami is multi-layered.

Maggie Rogers is hitting the road on tour, and she has a plan to make it easier for fans to get tickets.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Hulu is adding three new titles to its growing lineup of original docs: “Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told,” “Queenmaker: The Making of An It Girl,” and “The Jewel Thief.” “Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told” “recounts the rise and fall of a small Atlanta HBCU picnic that exploded into an influential street party and spotlighted ATL as a major cultural stage,” per Hulu’s description. “Can the magic of Freaknik be brought back 40 years later? Executive producers include showrunner Geraldine L. Porras and director P Frank Williams, as well as Jermaine Dupri, Luther Campbell, Peter Bittenbender and Melissa Cooper for Mass Appeal, Eric Tomosunas for Swirl Films, Terry Ross and Alex Avant. Nikki Byles and Jay Allen are producers.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment has entered a significant content deal with Major League Baseball, Variety can report exclusively. The partnership will yield multiple scripted and unscripted projects, the first of which is a documentary feature from noted filmmaker R.J. Cutler (“The September Issue,” “Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry”) following baseball’s 2023 world series. “I’ve always been drawn to the drama, high stakes, and emotion of baseball ever since I was kid in the bleachers of Dodger Stadium,” Oscar winner Howard told Variety. “These also happen to be the very same elements that make for a great movie or television show, which is why Brian, Imagine, and I are so excited to be teaming up with Major League Baseball to bring more of their stories to life.”

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Perhaps one of the biggest surprises in film and television last year was Liam Neeson’s cameo appearance on “Atlanta.” The actor appeared in the fourth season episode “New Jazz” and poked fun at his 2019 racism controversy. The actor ignited outrage on his “Cold Pursuit” press tour in February 2019 after revealing his past reaction to a friend’s sexual assault. Neeson’s friend was sexually assaulted by a Black man, so Neeson took to the streets with a weapon and hoped a “Black bastard” would “come out of a pub and have a go at me…so that I could, kill him.” In a new interview with GQ magazine, “Atlanta” creator Donald Glover opened up for the first time about recruiting Neeson for an episode that mocked the actor’s racism controversy. Glover wrote the episode himself.

Chris Frantz Sire Records co-founder Seymour Stein was indisputably one of the greatest music executives of all time, with a career that spanned six decades and a rare ear for talent that led Madonna, Talking Heads, Lou Reed, Ice-T, Depeche Mode, the Pretenders, the Smiths, and many others to his label. Stein, who died on April 2 at the age of 80, is remembered here by Chris Frantz, drummer of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club, who, with Tina Weymouth (now his wife), Jerry Harrison and of course David Byrne, signed with the label late in 1976.  Seymour told this story many times. His first visit to CBGB’s on the Bowery was to see the Ramones. His wife Linda insisted that he see them because they were something new and fabulous and she thought he should sign them, which he did. He was standing outside the club on the sidewalk speaking with [Patti Smith’s longtime guitarist] Lenny Kaye, waiting for Ramones to go on when he heard the support band begin to play. “When my love stands next to your love….”

wcinkala pmc-editorial-manager Variety announced Thursday the programming for its second annual Miami Entertainment Town lunch, to be held on Thursday, April 13, in Miami. The event, in partnership with CN Bank, celebrates the growing entertainment and media industry based out of Miami and recognizes those profiled in Variety’s Miami Entertainment Impact Report. At the celebration, Ronald Day, President of Entertainment and Content Strategy for NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, and Karen Barroeta, Executive Vice President of Production and Development Telemundo Global Studios, will participate in a keynote conversation with Rodrigo Nieto-Galvis, Entertainment Banking Team Leader at CN Bank Miami. The conversation will be centered around Telemundo’s strategy and around music and original programming based out of Miami.

 is back for another season of shade, drama and iconic cameos. Kandi Burruss, Kenya Moore, Drew Sidora, Shereé Whitfield, Marlo Hampton and Olympian Sanya Richards-Ross all return for the new installment as the 'Wives contend with their issues from last season and face a whole new host of conflicts. From Kenya and Marlo's continuously contentious feud to the newly fractured relationship between Kandi and Marlo, there is no shortage of beef in the first look at the new season.At one point, Kandi tells Marlo during a heated argument, «The only reason I'm crying right now is because I can't choke your a**, b**ch!»Meanwhile, in another scene, Marlo slams Drew as a «deranged, bad-bodied actress.»Of course, what's a new season without some old faces? Sheree is reunited with OG castmates Kim Zolciak-Biermann, Lisa Wu and DeShawn Snow for the first time since season 1 of the series.While Kim recently made headlines after the auction of her home in Alpharetta, Georgia — due to foreclosure — was canceled, she seems more than ready to party with her RHOA alums for a night out in the trailer.

Be Your Own Pet have shared their their first new song in 15 years – listen to the explosive ‘Hand Grenade’ below.The Nashville band reunited last year to play a handful of dates supporting Jack White and today (March 30) release ‘Hand Grenade’ via White’s label, Third Man Records.The song marks their first new music since the release of their 2008 album ‘Get Awkward’. It was written and recorded by the three founding members Jemina Pearl Abegg (vocals), Jonas Stein (Guitar), Nathan Vasquez (bass), and longtime drummer John Eatherly.Abegg said in a statement: “’Hand Grenade’ started out as a threat to the people who harmed me, that I will make them suffer as I have suffered, but the song grew like a mirror to my own grief process, through anger, denial, sorrow.

McKinley Franklin author Comedy Central has released the first official teaser for Season 3 of “Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens” ahead of the series’ April 26 premiere date, Variety can exclusively reveal. The television comedy “Awkafina Is Nora From Queens” draws inspiration from creator and writer Awkwafina’s life experiences growing up in Queens, N.Y. — and she’ll also make her directorial debut with Season 3. On the show, Awkwafina (aka Nora Lin) maneuvers through the hardships of young adulthood with the support of her closest family members, her father (BD Wong), grandmother (Lori Tan Chinn) and cousin (Bowen Yang). From the looks of the teaser, it looks like their lively, eccentric family dynamic from previous seasons will still be present in Season 3.

Eva Marcille has filed for divorce. On March 23, the alum filed for divorce from Michael Sterling after more than four years of marriage.In court documents, obtained by ET, the reality star is filing for divorce based on the grounds that the marriage is irretrievably broken and that there are no prospects for reconciliation. She is requesting legal and primary custody of their children as well as child support. ET has reached out to Marcille's lawyer for comment.Marcille and Sterling got engaged in 2017 and welcomed their son, Michael, the following year.

Well, it looks like Adam McKay‘s “Average Height, Average Build” is a go, at least in terms of its cast. Deadline reports that McKay has the two leading men he wants for the project lined up, with Robert Pattinson and Robert Downey Jr. now on board.

Porsha Williams (now Porsha Guobadia) may have turned in her peach, but she picked up a first-class ticket to Thailand for season 3 . «I was like, you know what? Let's go for a different experience with ,» the  alum tells ET over video chat. She left that show in 2021, after its 13th season, her ninth as a castmate. Porsha replaced 's Tinsley Mortimer on the trip, switching up the planned dynamic of pairs of co-stars.

Thania Garcia After successfully producing several in-house music videos — including “Luces” by Fuego, Polima Westcoast and Roy Woods, “Extraños” by Gera Demara and CNCO, and “Teikirisi” by Ely Blancarte — WK Entertainment is launching Korporation Films. The new division will produce music videos, podcasts and offer a range of services that will incorporate music, film, TV, and innovative content. The new division will be run by Horacio Rodriguez, WK Entertainment’s head of music and WK Records label head, alongside the newly appointed VP of Korporation, Anita Tillero, who also serves as creative director for WK Entertainment and Records, respectively.

UTA and partner company Klutch Sports Group announced the opening of their Atlanta office today, setting up a full-service base of operations in the city for artists, athletes, musicians and brands with strong ties to the region. It’s located at 1401 Peachtree Street in the Midtown arts and business district, with a gallery on the lower floor.

William Earl Variety is pleased to announce additional speakers for its annual Entertainment Marketing Summit, presented by Deloitte, on April 19 in Los Angeles, including Christian Parkes, CMO, Neon; Catherine Halaby, head of entertainment, North America, TikTok; Deon Graham, chief brand officer, Combs Global; and Rachel Delphin, CMO, Twitch. Parkes and Halaby will join a Keynote Entertainment Marketing Leaders panel, also including Karen Bronzo, CMO, Warner Bros. Discovery; Dwight Caines, president, domestic marketing, Universal Pictures; and Marc Weinstock, president, worldwide marketing and distribution, Paramount Pictures. Graham, who oversees campaigns for Sean Combs’ businesses such as Revolt TV and Cîroc Vodka, will join a multicultural marketing conversation featuring Ellene V. Miles, SVP intersectional marketing, Sony Pictures Entertainment/ Motion Picture Group; Christine Benitez, SVP multicultural marketing, Paramount Pictures; and Claudia Chagui, SVP marketing and creative, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises.

Brent Lang Executive Editor UTA is setting up shop in the Peach State. The talent agency and its partner company Klutch Sports Group officially opened their Atlanta offices on Wednesday. The companies say its the first among the industry’s biggest talent, sports, entertainment and marketing agencies to establish a full-service base of operations in Georgia’s biggest city, which has become an important hub of movie and television production and a locus of other artistic endeavors. “Atlanta is a vibrant city for music, sports and arts, and there is a ripe opportunity to create another center of gravity for film and television,” said UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer. “We are excited to bring our full range of services to the community of talented artists, athletes, musicians and creators who call the Southeast their home.”