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UTA has taken a dramatic step to streamline the leadership of its film and TV lit and talent departments to reflect the industry trends of blurring lines between disciplines. As part of the change, agency veteran Matt
Rice has been promoted to president of the new UTA Filmed Entertainment unit.
In the new structure, UTA’s Allan Haldeman, Blair Kohan, Jay Gassner and Julien Thuan have been elevated to managing partners of Filmed Entertainment. UTA has named new department heads to lead key segments: Amanda Hymson and Jordan Lonner will lead Motion Picture Literary; Lucinda Moorhead and Mickey Berman will run TV Literary while talent will be steered by Hanley Baxter and John Sacks alongside longstanding talent chief Mike Jelline.
Another new wrinkle is the formation of a Filmed Entertainment board that includes agency stalwarts including Jelline, Berman, Moorhead, Jason Burns, Marissa Devins, Dan Erlij, Chris Hart, Jason Heyman, Keya Khayatian, Rich Klubeck, Billy Lazarus, Gregory McKnight, David Park, Theresa Peters, Shani Rosenzweig and Larry Salz.
UTA chief executive David Kramer outlined the reasoning for the changes in a memo sent to agency staffers on Thursday morning
“UTA has never been a place that waits for change — we anticipate where the industry is going and build for what comes next,” Kramer said. “As the business evolves and film and television increasingly converge, this team positions us to lead that evolution, unlock new possibilities for our clients and bring the full power of UTA to everyone we represent.”
Rice joined UTA in 2002 after getting his start at the Broder Kurland literary agency. He’s one of the town’s top representatives of writers, directors and showrunners, including such notables as Phil Lord & Chris Miller, Michael Schur, Alec Berg, Bill Hader, Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg, Will Forte, Justin Halpern & Patrick Schumacker, R. Scott Gemmill, James Gunn, Dan Goor, Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers, Adam Reed, Sebastian Maniscalco and Matt Rife.
“This move reflects what sets UTA apart — a bold, collaborative and forward-thinking approach. I’m excited to build upon the work of this exceptional group of leaders and continue to deliver best-in-class representation to our clients,” Rice said.
UTA’s shakeup of its longstanding departmental lines reflects the shifting sands for the content business as well as the business of representing boldface name talent. The growth in audience and influence among the largest social media platforms has revved up the creator economy and birthed a new breed of digital media superstar. All of this has challenged the traditional operations of Hollywood’s largest talent and management firms.
Here is Kramer’s full memo:
UTA has never been a place that waits for change — we anticipate where the industry is going and build for what comes next. With that in mind, we are announcing a streamlined, future-focused leadership structure for our Filmed Entertainment group which reflects the evolving business of film and television and will enable us to maximize opportunities for clients. By bringing together partners across Motion Picture Literary, Television Literary and Talent, we will continue to deliver unrivaled seamless client representation, sharpen the agency’s competitive edge and increase efficiency and collaboration.
I’m thrilled to announce that Matt Rice has been elevated to President of Filmed Entertainment. Matt is a phenomenal agent and partner who has helped spearhead a transformative expansion of UTA’s television division. In his expanded role, he will lead overall strategy and execution across all areas of Filmed Entertainment.
To support Matt and drive leadership across the entirety of the Filmed Entertainment group, we have elevated Allan Haldeman, Blair Kohan, Jay Gassner and Julien Thuan to the role of Managing Partner of Filmed Entertainment. This newly established leadership group will be critical to driving growth, connecting opportunities across our business and delivering exceptional results for clients as film and TV increasingly converge.
To further capture market momentum and maximize client opportunities we have also established a Filmed Entertainment board. These senior partnerswill leverage their collective expertise, experience and deep industry relationships to aggressively pursue client development and new initiatives. Board members will include Mickey Berman, Jason Burns, Marissa Devins, Dan Erlij, Chris Hart, Jason Heyman, Mike Jelline, Keya Khayatian, Rich Klubeck, Billy Lazarus, Gregory McKnight, Lucinda Moorhead, David Park, Theresa Peters, Shani Rosenzweig, and Larry Salz.
All of our Filmed Entertainment Department Heads play an integral part in ensuring our teams operate at the highest level in service of our clients. As we move to this new chapter, we are excited to appoint several new Department Heads across Filmed Entertainment: Amanda Hymson andJordan Lonner (Motion Picture Literary); Lucinda Moorhead and Mickey Berman (TV Literary); Hanley Baxter and John Sacks (Talent, alongside incumbent department head Mike Jelline). These agents have distinguished themselves through exceptional client representation and will be responsible for furthering the growth of their respective businesses.
We’ve had an extraordinary year, with UTA clients behind some of 2026’s biggest box office hits and most acclaimed television productions, earning top honors at the Academy Awards, Emmys, Golden Globes and Tonys. We are building from a position of immense strength, and this new leadership structure is designed to carry that momentum forward and position us for even greater success.
Please join me in congratulating our new leadership for Filmed Entertainment. We have so much to be proud of and I can’t wait to see this team take us to new heights in the coming year.
David
(Pictured: UTA’s Matt Rice)
