UTA reorganization: Rice, 4 partners win huge promotions
United Talent Agency named longtime partner Matt Rice president of its Filmed Entertainment division on Thursday, Oct. 1, as part of a wide UTA reorganization of its film and television business. CEO David Kramer announced the changes in a memo to staff, Deadline reported.
Rice had most recently led UTA’s TV department. His client list includes Phil Lord and Chris Miller, Mike Schur, Alec Berg, Bill Hader, and the writing team of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, according to Deadline.
“Matt is a phenomenal agent and partner who has helped spearhead a transformative expansion of UTA’s television division,” Kramer wrote. “In his expanded role, he will lead overall strategy and execution across all areas of Filmed Entertainment.”
Who else moved up in the UTA reorganization
Rice won’t run the division alone. Four agents, Allan Haldeman, Blair Kohan, Jay Gassner and Julien Thuan, were promoted to managing partner of Filmed Entertainment. In the memo, Kramer said that group will help connect opportunities as film and TV “increasingly converge.”
The UTA reorganization also installs new department heads, per the memo published by Deadline:
- Motion Picture Literary: Amanda Hymson and Jordan Lonner
- TV Literary: Lucinda Moorhead and Mickey Berman
- Talent: Hanley Baxter and John Sacks, alongside current department head Mike Jelline
The agency also created a Filmed Entertainment board of 16 senior partners, including Jason Heyman, Rich Klubeck and Theresa Peters. Kramer said its members “will leverage their collective expertise, experience and deep industry relationships to aggressively pursue client development and new initiatives.”
Why UTA says it made the change
Kramer described the new setup as “streamlined” and “future-focused.” He wrote that bringing motion picture, TV literary and talent partners together will help the agency “increase efficiency and collaboration” and sharpen “the agency’s competitive edge.”
For UTA clients, the practical effect is that one executive now sets strategy across both film and TV representation, a shift that mirrors how often projects now move between the big screen and streaming.
“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,” Kramer wrote.
The UTA reorganization follows a public fight with Variety
The upbeat memo comes about five weeks after Kramer’s Aug. 26 all-staff note pushing back on a Variety story about recent client exits. In that memo, Kramer accused Variety reporter Matt Donnelly of bias against the agency, Semafor reported. Variety stood by its reporting, according to Semafor.
Deadline noted that its parent company, Penske Media Corporation, also owns Variety.
The UTA reorganization lands during a busy stretch of Hollywood executive moves, including Ynon Kreiz’s new role at Paramount and Naomi Bulochnikov-Paul’s exit from Disney. Rice’s clients Lord and Miller are also producing the upcoming “24 Jump Street”.