UTA Signs Actor, Comedian and Bollywood Star Vir Das (EXCLUSIVE)

The new Netflix series Grand Army is now streaming and we caught up with one of the show’s stars, Anthony Ippolito, to learn more about him!

Will Thorne Staff WriterCharles Yu’s latest novel “Interior Chinatown” is getting the TV treatment.Hulu is developing a series based on the novel, with Yu in place to adapt his own work, Variety has learned exclusively.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterEXCLUSIVE: Following its premiere in the Horizons strand at this year’s Venice Film Festival, Shahram Mokri’s Careless Crime has sold into Germany, Austria and Switzerland in a deal with Trigon-film.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent“Mama Weed,” Jean-Paul Salomé’s comedy starring Oscar-nominated actor Isabelle Huppert (“Elle”) as a French-Arabic translator working for the anti-drug squad in Paris, has been thriving at the box office in France, Germany and Austria. “Mama Weed,” based on Hannelore Cayre’s popular novel, follows the story of Patience Portefeux (Huppert), who gets embroiled in a failed drug deal, inheriting a pile of marijuana.

Peter White Television EditorEXCLUSIVE: Fresh from securing a directing gig on HBO/Sky drama Landscapers, actor and director Will Sharpe has signed with UTA.Sharpe, who is replacing Alexander Payne in the four-part Sister-produced crime drama, has signed with the agency in all areas.In addition to directing – he also helmed Channel 4 comedy Flowers that starred Olivia Colman – he is an actor and recently starred in Netflix/BBC drama Giri/Haji, where he played Rodney Yamaguchi, a charismatic

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentBeta Film has closed multiple pre-sales deals on “Atlantic Crossing,” the prestige Norwegian period drama starring Sofia Helin (“The Bridge”) as Crown Princess Märtha, and Kyle MacLachlan (“Twin Peaks”) as U.S. President Franklin D.

Erik Pedersen Managing EditorEXCLUSIVE: Brandon Leake, the spoken-word poet who won the 2020 edition of America’s Got Talent, has signed with UTA for all areas.Leake was crowned AGT Season 15 champion last month after becoming the first spoken-word poet to be on the talent-competition series. He also was the first poet to advance to the finals.

Justin Kroll Senior Film ReporterEXCLUSIVE: UTA has signed Grammy winner, actress and singer Eva Noblezada in all areas.Noblezada can be seen next starring in Sony’s musical drama, Yellow Rose, marking her feature film debut this Friday, October 9, when the project will be released theatrically worldwide.

Manori Ravindran International EditorArthouse streaming service Mubi has snapped up rights to Toronto International Film Festival title “Shiva Baby” for the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Austria, India, Turkey and Latin America.Written and directed by Canadian filmmaker Emma Seligman, “Shiva Baby” follows a young bisexual Jewish woman at a shiva — a mourning tradition in the Jewish community — at which she must confront her over-achieving ex-girlfriend as well as her sugar daddy, his girlfriend and

Chris Willman Music WriterKalie Shorr, a country-pop singer-songwriter whose self-released debut album was one of the critical breakouts of 2019, has signed to Tmwrk Records, which will issue an expanded edition of that album, to be called “Open Book: Unabridged,” this fall.“Tmwrk fell in love with my album as-is. That meant so much to me,” Shorr tells Variety.

Peter White Television EditorEXCLUSIVE: Gemma Burgess, author of hit twenty-something novel Brooklyn Girls, is developing two projects at Amazon and has signed with UTA.The author is working on a half-hour espionage comedy, Friends Like These, for the streamer, while her adaptation of historical fantasy adventure My Lady Jane is also in the works at the digital platform.This comes as she signed with UTA across all areas of representation.Friends Like These is being produced by Episodes and Flack

UTA has signed filmmaker andcontemporary artist Shirin Neshat. The Iran-born Neshat began her fine arts career in the '90s with her series of photographs titled "Women of Allah." She has since gone on to exhibit work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, LACMA, Tate Modern, the British Museum and the Guggenheim Museum.

Alexandra Del Rosario Associate Editor/Nights & WeekendsEXCLUSIVE: UTA has signed writer and producer Cheryl Guerriero and will rep the Girls on Point novelist in all areas worldwide.Guerriero most recently produced and wrote Apple’s drama Palmer, which is set to star Justin Timberlake, Fisher Stevens, Juno Temple, June Squibb, Alisha Wainright and Ryder Allen.The writer’s script appeared on the 2016 Blacklist and follows former college football star Eddie Palmer (Timberlake) who returns to his