Notes From the Rep Biz ~ 6/5/2026

A major director, country music star, and American Horror Story mainstay all have new reps! While a football player becomes a sports agent and Zac Efron is starring and producing a neo-noir! PLUS we spotlight a hot new spec script for our Project of the Month! All this and more in today’s Notes From the Rep Biz!

At WME:

Comedians Ricardo Pérez and José Luis Slobotzky hosts of comedy podcast “La Cotorrisa” are now agented by WME. “La Cotorrisa” combines personal stories, with other cultural observations and the Spanish language podcast has been a massive hit becoming number 15 on Spoitfy’s most streamed podcasts of all time. “La Cotorrisa” is set for a U.S. tour in 2027.

Rosalind Eleazar is also a new sign for the agency. Appearing on both stage and screen, Eleazar was Louisa Guy on Apple TV’s Slow Horses, she appeared opposite Ralph Fiennes in Small Hotel at the Theatre Royal Bath. Next she will appear in Chris Rock’s latest film for A24 Misty Green, where Eleazar will play the title role as an actress looking for a career comeback and the complicated relationship she has with a director who looks to cast her for a perfect role.   

WME also now reps country singer/songwriter Belles. Steadily working the songwriting and touring circuit from 2018, her self titled EP was released this past September and the single “Crazy as Me” featuring Blake Wood, was a viral hit. Belles’ most recent song, “Son of Jolene” featured Dolly Parton and was released this past April. She is currently on tour through the rest of 2026.

Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy helmer Gore Verbinski has also just signed with WME. Verbinski started in the world of music videos and commercials one of his most memorable is the Budweiser frog commercials. His first film, the cartoon flavored Mousehunt was a huge hit. From there he made the Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts starring The Mexican and the American remake of the Japanese film Ringu called The Ring (also a monster hit). But it was the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy that shot off to the stratosphere, which collectively made over $2 billion. This past year Vebinski came out of a ten year hiatus to helm indie sci-fi comedy (and soon to be cult classic) Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die. 

At CAA:

Rising 19 year-old country music star Sela Campbell is now repped by CAA. Campbell’s debut single “Diamond in Your Pocket” was just released this May, and she compares her sound to Lynyrd Skynyrd and Miranda Lambert. Campbell plans to release more music this summer.

Writer/Director Anu Valia is also now agented by the Death Star. A prolific TV director, Valia’s credits include Shrinking, She-Hulk, Adults, and The Afterparty. She directed the pilot of Apple TV’s Big Door Prize and her feature film debut We Strangers premiered at the SXSW Festival in 2024. 

Blake Crouch and Jacquelyn Ben-Zekry have also signed with the Death Star. Crouch is an author behind Dark Matter, Recursion, Upgrade, and the Wayward Pines trilogy. Wayward Pines which was adapted into the Fox series Wayward Pines produced by M. Night Shyamalan and Dark Matter became an Apple TV series in 2024. On both series Crouch served as executive producer and creator. Crouch was also co-creator of TNT’s Good Behavior based on his novels, and an adaptation of his book Famous will be released by A24. Ben-Zekry came from the publishing world and is a writer and producer on Dark Matter as well. 

At UTA:

Grammy nominated Singer/songwriter Jay Wheeler is a new sign for UTA. Hailing from Puerto Rico, Wheeler rose to fame in 2016 when he uploaded a video of himself singing his song “Ahora Estoy Mejor” about a recent breakup. The video went viral and began steadily releasing music through Instagram and Facebook. His debut solo album Platónico was released in 2019. His most recent album Girasoles was released last year and was nominated for Best Urban/Fusion Performance at the Latin Grammys.  

He just got a new rep! Actor, musician, and host Steve Burns is also now agented by UTA. From 1996 to 2002 Burns was the host of the mega popular Nickelodeon children’s show Blue’s Clues earning him a Daytime Emmy nomination in 2001. He was also instrumental in bringing Blue’s Clues back in 2019 as a writer, director, and guest star. He also hosts a podcast Alive With Steve Burns.

Actress Emma Roberts is also new to the UTA roster. Roberts started her career as a child on the Nickelodeon sitcom Unfabulous from 2004 to 2007. In the 2010’s she started moving into more mature fare with roles in Scream 4, and various roles in the American Horror Story franchise as well as Ryan Murphy’s Scream Queens. She will next be seen in the drama film Hal directed by Mark Williams and the psychological film The Technique directed by Brian McGreevy. Roberts’ production company Belletrist specializes in literary adaptations and has produced the series Tell Me Lies and First Kill with many more projects in various stages of development.   

OTHER NOTES AROUND TOWN

Actress, producer, talkshow host, and entrepreneur Jada Pinkett Smith is now agented by IAG. Smith is gearing up for a very prolific year, starting with reprising her A Different World role in the upcoming sequel series set to premiere on September 24th (exactly 39 years to the day from when the original aired). Other projects lined up for Smith, Girls Trip 2 set to start production late this year. 

Innovative Artists has signed Alex Bonifer. Bonifer is an improv mainstay as a member of the Groundlings Main Company. Most recently he broke out with his role on the Jury Duty spin off series Company Retreat, where he played Dougie the son of the Grandma’s Rockin’ hot sauce owner who bonded with Anthony Norman, the real person involved in the series.

WWE Superstar Alexa Bliss is now agented by Prototype Talent Agency. Bliss started her career with NXT in 2013 and jumped into the main SmackDown roster in 2016 where she became the two time SmackDown Women’s Champion. She is currently on the SmackDown brand, and has made appearances on Carpool Karaoke, The Masked Singer, Punky Brewster. She also has done some voice work as well on Netflix’s Sakamoto Days and The Queen of Villains. In April of this year Bliss released the song “I’m Just Drunk” with her husband, musician Ryan Cabrera which went viral and hit 7 million views on Instagram.

Glossary Artists have signed dietitian and creator, Ayat Sleymann as well as psychologist, LMFT and podcast host, Dr. Patrice Le Goy.

MUSIC NOTES

DJ Lee Ann Roberts is now agented by Active Talent Agency. Roberts’ latest single “In the Shadows” was released on May 22nd, and has an even busier year ahead of her with performances at Tomorrowland, Awakenings, Time Warp, and headlining the Hive and Airbeat One festivals.

THE·TEAM has signed rapper and singer Tobe Nwigwe. Nwige started his career by building a following on Instagram and YouTube in 2016. In 2019 Michelle Obama put his single “I’m Dope” on her workout playlist. In 2023 Nwigwe was nominated for a Best New Artist Grammy. His latest single “QUEEN” was released this past May and he’s been touring the festival circuit with sets at Coachella, Afropunk Brooklyn, Honeyland Festival, and many others. As an actor Nqigwe had roles in 2023’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and Netflix’s Mo.  

Indie pop artist Tiger La Flor is now managed by 3 Vultures. La Flor started her career in an indie grunge band, but has since moved solo. Her style blends grunge, pop, and country. Critics raved about her latest single KODACHROMATIC which was released on May 22nd. Other hits include “Living in the 90’s,” “Lucy Strike,” and “No Vacancy.” La Flor was also a contestant on season 4 of Love Island USA.

SPORTS NOTES

North Carolina Tar Heels Forward Caleb Wilson is now agented by Klutch Sports.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster is now repped by Rosenhaus Sports.

Octagon Sports has signed Olympic swimmer Summer McIntosh. McIntosh won the gold in three events in Paris 2024 200m Butterfly, 200m IM and 400m IM.

Football player Nathan Peterman has moved from client to agent. Peterman is now a sports agent at Range Sports.

CASTING NOTES

Kyle Gallner is set to star opposite Brie Larson in Skeletons. The film is produced by JJ Abrams and directed by JT Mollner from a script by Brian Duffeld. The film is about a mother and father who are hiding a monstrous secret from their son. The project reunites Mollner and Gallner as they worked together on the film Strange Darling which Mollner directed.

Katy Hays’ novel Home Economics hasn’t even been published yet, but it’s already gearing up for a big screen adaptation! Julia Roberts is set to star and produce the film version. Hays will adapt her novel. The story for both book and film are under lock and key, but needless the book sold in a competitive auction. Roberts will next be seen in Panic Carefully directed by Sam Esmail and starring Elizabeth Olsen and Eddie Redmayne.

Zac Efron is set to star and produce the series Angel Heart for HBO. The series is created by Zach Baylin based on the novels Falling Angel and Angel’s Inferno by William Hjortsberg. The series follows a private eye who is tasked with finding a mysterious woman and is embroiled in a wide ranging conspiracy that definitely has some occult vibes. This is not the first time that Falling Angel has been adapted into another medium, it was made into a film also called Angel Heart in 1987 starring Mickey Rourke, Robert DeNiro, and Lisa Bonet and an opera in 2016. Director Jonathan Van Tulleken is set for several episodes. 

PROJECT OF THE MONTH

Every month we’d like to highlight a project that’s lighting the industry up. This month a rom com spec sale is all the rage!

Are rom-coms making a comeback? Chernin Entertainment seems to think so, as one of the biggest spec sales of the year just hit. According to Deadline, up and coming writer Sophie Fleur de Bruijn’s script One Month Mark was just scooped up by Chernin Entertainment. 

The script follows a pair of opposites, the woman can’t hold down a relationship for more than a month, while the man has never been out of a relationship for more than a month. And the project has been kept under such secrecy that that is all we know regarding story details.

The script had the town scurrying to snap it up, with reports of producers desperately trying to connect to Embershot by any means necessary to get their eyeballs on the script. Word on the street is that the script is one of the best rom-com’s seen in a good long time, recalling memories of the spec script boom of the 1990’s. As of this writing there is no word on casting or any other details.

Fleur de Bruijn is on the upswing and has been steadily working the comedy scene, with improv work at the iO, Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, and Second City Conservatory. For stage she has written the horror comedy one dick for life, and Hey, Girly! The-Multilevel-Marketing-Musical. Her first feature spec, the dark comedy Early Action was sold to Apple TV last year. Fleur de Brujn is managed by Anonymous Content.

____________________________________________________________________________  

Sources: Deadline, Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, Variety, Celebrity Access, Music Row, Billboard, Pollstar

Want a news item listed in Notes From the Rep Biz? Simply email [email protected] and it will appear in the next issue!

Click here to have Notes From the Rep Biz delivered directly to your inbox!