Motion picture agent vet Spencer Baumgarten died peacefully at his home Monday evening, Deadline has learned. He was 62.
Baumgarten’s cause of death, we hear, was due to complications from leukemia (Aml).
Known as a fierce advocate for his clients for over three decades, Baumgarten’s clients throughout his career included Jon Favreau, Gore Verbinski, Rodrigo Bernardo, Heather McGowan, Steve Conrad and many others.
Baumgarten began his career in the entertainment business in 1988 as an assistant to Joe Rosenberg, thereafter spending time at Endeavor, CAA and ICM. He joined ICM Partners in 2016 and left in September 2019 as Motion Picture Co-Head and Partner to form Smb Entertainment, a management and production company. At ICM, Baumgarten was involved with the teams for such clients as John Woo, Roberto Orci, actress Jingchu Zhang, and filmmaker Joseph Kahn, among others.
He is survived by his partner Kimberly Boyd; former spouse Lara, an attorney at...
Baumgarten’s cause of death, we hear, was due to complications from leukemia (Aml).
Known as a fierce advocate for his clients for over three decades, Baumgarten’s clients throughout his career included Jon Favreau, Gore Verbinski, Rodrigo Bernardo, Heather McGowan, Steve Conrad and many others.
Baumgarten began his career in the entertainment business in 1988 as an assistant to Joe Rosenberg, thereafter spending time at Endeavor, CAA and ICM. He joined ICM Partners in 2016 and left in September 2019 as Motion Picture Co-Head and Partner to form Smb Entertainment, a management and production company. At ICM, Baumgarten was involved with the teams for such clients as John Woo, Roberto Orci, actress Jingchu Zhang, and filmmaker Joseph Kahn, among others.
He is survived by his partner Kimberly Boyd; former spouse Lara, an attorney at...
- 5/9/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Phyllis Carlyle, the onetime casting director who managed the careers of Willem Dafoe, Geena Davis, Melanie Griffith, Andy Garcia and John Malkovich and produced films including Seven and The Accidental Tourist, has died. She was 80.
Carlyle died Sept. 14 in Encino after a battle with lymphoma, friend Toni Greenberg announced.
The daughter of a popular vocalist and orchestra leader in the Big Band era, Carlyle also proved to be invaluable to the likes of Ray Liotta, Benicio del Toro, Danny Boyle, Paul W.S. Anderson, David Caruso, Steven Bauer and Jeremiah Chechik.
“She was my first representative and found me by looking me up in the phone book after seeing me in [the 1981 film] The Loveless,” Dafoe said in a statement. “She was tough and independent. She loved her work, and she did it with chutzpah.”
The Cleveland native was running her own Los Angeles-based Carlyle Casting...
Phyllis Carlyle, the onetime casting director who managed the careers of Willem Dafoe, Geena Davis, Melanie Griffith, Andy Garcia and John Malkovich and produced films including Seven and The Accidental Tourist, has died. She was 80.
Carlyle died Sept. 14 in Encino after a battle with lymphoma, friend Toni Greenberg announced.
The daughter of a popular vocalist and orchestra leader in the Big Band era, Carlyle also proved to be invaluable to the likes of Ray Liotta, Benicio del Toro, Danny Boyle, Paul W.S. Anderson, David Caruso, Steven Bauer and Jeremiah Chechik.
“She was my first representative and found me by looking me up in the phone book after seeing me in [the 1981 film] The Loveless,” Dafoe said in a statement. “She was tough and independent. She loved her work, and she did it with chutzpah.”
The Cleveland native was running her own Los Angeles-based Carlyle Casting...
- 11/22/2022
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
HBO is developing My Dentist’s Murder Trial, a limited series, starring and executive produced by David Harbour (Stranger Things) and Pedro Pascal.
Written by Steve Conrad, who is set to direct the pilot episode, My Dentist’s Murder Trial is inspired by James Lasdun’s 2017 New Yorker article “My Dentist’s Murder Trial: Adultery, false identities, and a lethal sedation.”
The true crime story chronicled in the article centers on Dr. Gilberto Nunez who in 2015 was indicted for killing his friend Thomas Kolman by getting him “to ingest a substance that caused his death.” There were also two forgery counts, including Nunez posing as a C.I.A. agent. Nunez, who had had an affair with Kolman’s wife Linda, stood trial in 2018 where he was found not guilty of murder but guilty on fraud charges, which led to a prison sentence.
Written by Steve Conrad, who is set to direct the pilot episode, My Dentist’s Murder Trial is inspired by James Lasdun’s 2017 New Yorker article “My Dentist’s Murder Trial: Adultery, false identities, and a lethal sedation.”
The true crime story chronicled in the article centers on Dr. Gilberto Nunez who in 2015 was indicted for killing his friend Thomas Kolman by getting him “to ingest a substance that caused his death.” There were also two forgery counts, including Nunez posing as a C.I.A. agent. Nunez, who had had an affair with Kolman’s wife Linda, stood trial in 2018 where he was found not guilty of murder but guilty on fraud charges, which led to a prison sentence.
- 7/26/2022
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: CAA has signed Korean filmmaker Jung Byung-Gil for representation. He most recently directed the film The Villainess, which made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 2017. Deadline exclusively reported that the pic is being developed into a series by Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Entertainment at Amazon.
Formerly a stuntman, Jung made his directorial debut with the 2008 documentary Action Boy, where he followed students at the Seoul Action School as they trained to become stuntmen. His first feature film was 2012’s Confession of a Murder, which was remade into the 2017 Japanese-language hit Memoirs of a Murderer directed by Yu Irie. In 2018, Deadline also exclusively reported that he would direct the adaptation of the Red 5 comic Afterburn with Gerard Butler starring.
Jung remains managed by Spencer Baumgarten.
Formerly a stuntman, Jung made his directorial debut with the 2008 documentary Action Boy, where he followed students at the Seoul Action School as they trained to become stuntmen. His first feature film was 2012’s Confession of a Murder, which was remade into the 2017 Japanese-language hit Memoirs of a Murderer directed by Yu Irie. In 2018, Deadline also exclusively reported that he would direct the adaptation of the Red 5 comic Afterburn with Gerard Butler starring.
Jung remains managed by Spencer Baumgarten.
- 5/4/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
The news broke last night that ICM Partners’ Motion Picture Co-Head Spencer Baumgarten had left the agency after just under three years. Now we know the former partner is also taking his ex-agency to court for wrongful termination and defamation.
“On or around August 15, 2019, defendant Ballard insinuated that Baumgarten had defecated on the bathroom floor of the New York office and interrogated Baumgarten about the defecation incident in the restroom,” the wide spread but unspecified damages seeking suit asserts of ICM Partners Hr chief Cindy Ballard and a contentious meeting between the duo over a very weird situation this summer.
“Defendant Ballard insinuated Baumgarten was responsible for the defecation because the defecation was reported after Baumgarten used the restroom,” the vivid and jury trial desiring 28-page complaint details (read it here). “Later, word spread throughout the ICM offices that attributed Baumgarten to the defecation incident, and then subsequently, outside of ICM,...
“On or around August 15, 2019, defendant Ballard insinuated that Baumgarten had defecated on the bathroom floor of the New York office and interrogated Baumgarten about the defecation incident in the restroom,” the wide spread but unspecified damages seeking suit asserts of ICM Partners Hr chief Cindy Ballard and a contentious meeting between the duo over a very weird situation this summer.
“Defendant Ballard insinuated Baumgarten was responsible for the defecation because the defecation was reported after Baumgarten used the restroom,” the vivid and jury trial desiring 28-page complaint details (read it here). “Later, word spread throughout the ICM offices that attributed Baumgarten to the defecation incident, and then subsequently, outside of ICM,...
- 10/8/2019
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
Three years after joining ICM Partners as the agency’s co-head of film literary representation, Spencer Baumgarten has left the company, an ICM spokesperson said.
At present the company has no plans to replace Baumgarten, who joined ICM in November 2016 after 12 years at CAA. Harley Copen and Doug MacLaren continue to serve as co-heads of that department.
No reason was given for Baumgarten’s exit from ICM, but in a terse memo published by Deadline, which first reported the news, the company told staffers on Monday night: “Spencer Baumgarten is no longer with the agency. We thank him for the contributions he made and wish him the best going forward.”
Also Read: ICM Partners Promotes Kevin Crotty and Sloan Harris to Co-President
During his tenure at CAA, Baumgarten represented a roster of film directors, writers, and producers that included Gore Verbinski, Pierre Morel, Kurt Wimmer, Donnie Yen, and Jon Favreau.
At present the company has no plans to replace Baumgarten, who joined ICM in November 2016 after 12 years at CAA. Harley Copen and Doug MacLaren continue to serve as co-heads of that department.
No reason was given for Baumgarten’s exit from ICM, but in a terse memo published by Deadline, which first reported the news, the company told staffers on Monday night: “Spencer Baumgarten is no longer with the agency. We thank him for the contributions he made and wish him the best going forward.”
Also Read: ICM Partners Promotes Kevin Crotty and Sloan Harris to Co-President
During his tenure at CAA, Baumgarten represented a roster of film directors, writers, and producers that included Gore Verbinski, Pierre Morel, Kurt Wimmer, Donnie Yen, and Jon Favreau.
- 10/8/2019
- by Ross A. Lincoln
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Deadline has learned that ICM Motion Picture Co-Head & Partner Spencer Baumgarten is exiting the agency after three years.
There are no plans to immediately fill the vacancy, as Baumgarten was one of three co-heads of the Motion Picture Lit division, a department which Harley Copen and Doug MacLaren continue to lead. There’s no word yet on where Baumgarten will land. He has been at ICM since November 2016.
Prior to ICM, Baumgarten was at CAA for 12 years where he repped such clients as Jon Favreau, Neil Burger and Gore Verbinski. At ICM, Baumgarten was involved with the teams for such clients as John Woo, Robert Orci, actress Jingchu Zhang, and filmmaker Joseph Kahn, among others.
The following memo was sent to ICM staffers on Wednesday about Baumgarten’s departure:
Dear Colleagues,
Spencer Baumgarten is no longer with the agency. We thank him for the contributions he made and wish him the best going forward.
There are no plans to immediately fill the vacancy, as Baumgarten was one of three co-heads of the Motion Picture Lit division, a department which Harley Copen and Doug MacLaren continue to lead. There’s no word yet on where Baumgarten will land. He has been at ICM since November 2016.
Prior to ICM, Baumgarten was at CAA for 12 years where he repped such clients as Jon Favreau, Neil Burger and Gore Verbinski. At ICM, Baumgarten was involved with the teams for such clients as John Woo, Robert Orci, actress Jingchu Zhang, and filmmaker Joseph Kahn, among others.
The following memo was sent to ICM staffers on Wednesday about Baumgarten’s departure:
Dear Colleagues,
Spencer Baumgarten is no longer with the agency. We thank him for the contributions he made and wish him the best going forward.
- 10/8/2019
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Iconic actress Michelle Yeoh is to be honored alongside Warner Bros. chairman and CEO Kevin Tsujihara at the U.S.-China Entertainment Summit in Los Angeles later this month. Elizabeth Daley and Steven J. Ross, dean and Time Warner professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, respectively, will also be honored.
Held at the Skirball Cultural Center on Oct. 30, the summit conference comes at a time of ratcheted-up tensions between China and the U.S. and at a moment of profound change in the two countries’ entertainment industry relations.
Other prominent speakers include Legendary East CEO Wayne Jiang, “The Meg” director Jon Turteltaub, “Crazy Rich Asians” producer John Penotti, former Wanda executive Jack Gao, and Albert Cheng, COO and co-head of television, Amazon Studios.
Chinese actress and director Eva Jin, producer Ben Ji, ICM partner Spencer Baumgarten, Warner Bros. executive Chantal Nong, Artist International Group CEO David Unger, super-agent Christina Chou,...
Held at the Skirball Cultural Center on Oct. 30, the summit conference comes at a time of ratcheted-up tensions between China and the U.S. and at a moment of profound change in the two countries’ entertainment industry relations.
Other prominent speakers include Legendary East CEO Wayne Jiang, “The Meg” director Jon Turteltaub, “Crazy Rich Asians” producer John Penotti, former Wanda executive Jack Gao, and Albert Cheng, COO and co-head of television, Amazon Studios.
Chinese actress and director Eva Jin, producer Ben Ji, ICM partner Spencer Baumgarten, Warner Bros. executive Chantal Nong, Artist International Group CEO David Unger, super-agent Christina Chou,...
- 10/5/2018
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Chris Sawtelle, who has spent the past four years at Anonymous Content, has joined ICM Partners as an agent in the Motion Picture Literary department. He will be bringing clients with him but that list has not been finalized, we’re told.
Department co-heads Spencer Baumgarten, Harley Copen and Doug MacLaren just unveiled the hire.
Sawtelle was a talent manager at Anonymous. Before that, he worked as an assistant in the Motion Picture Talent department at CAA and at Brillstein Entertainment.
Department co-heads Spencer Baumgarten, Harley Copen and Doug MacLaren just unveiled the hire.
Sawtelle was a talent manager at Anonymous. Before that, he worked as an assistant in the Motion Picture Talent department at CAA and at Brillstein Entertainment.
- 8/22/2018
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Talent agency ICM Partners has promoted three to agents.
ICM upped Celestine Au and Madeline Feder to agents in the talent department, and Viviane Telio to agent in the motion picture literary department.
Au started at ICM in 2015, spending two years as a talent department assistant before being promoted to talent department coordinator last year. Au was recognized as one of Variety’s 10 Assistants to Watch in 2017 and is part of Time’s Up Next Gen. She was born in Hong Kong and raised in Shanghai before moving to the U.S. to attend UCLA, where she completed 12 internships and graduated with a degree in communication studies. She is fluent in Mandarin and has traveled to China with ICM agents, acting as an interpreter, and helping the team close deals and sign clients.
Feder interned at ICM Partners immediately following high school for talent agent Toni Howard, whose clients included Spike Lee,...
ICM upped Celestine Au and Madeline Feder to agents in the talent department, and Viviane Telio to agent in the motion picture literary department.
Au started at ICM in 2015, spending two years as a talent department assistant before being promoted to talent department coordinator last year. Au was recognized as one of Variety’s 10 Assistants to Watch in 2017 and is part of Time’s Up Next Gen. She was born in Hong Kong and raised in Shanghai before moving to the U.S. to attend UCLA, where she completed 12 internships and graduated with a degree in communication studies. She is fluent in Mandarin and has traveled to China with ICM agents, acting as an interpreter, and helping the team close deals and sign clients.
Feder interned at ICM Partners immediately following high school for talent agent Toni Howard, whose clients included Spike Lee,...
- 8/6/2018
- by Ellis Clopton
- Variety Film + TV
ICM Partners has promoted Celestine Au and Madeline Feder to agents in the Talent Department and Viviane Telio to agent in the Motion Picture Literary department, from their previous positions as coordinators. Au and Feder will report to Talent Department partners and co-heads Lorrie Bartlett, Dar Rollins and Adam Schweitzer. Telio will report to MP Lit partners and co-heads Spencer Baumgarten, Harley Copen and Doug MacLaren. Their positions are effective immediately.
Au began her career at ICM in 2015, spending two years as a Talent Department assistant before being promoted to Talent Department coordinator last year. Au was recognized as one of Variety’s 10 Assistants to Watch in 2017 and is part of Time’s Up Next Gen. She was born in Hong Kong and raised in Shanghai before moving to America to attend UCLA where she completed 12 internships during her tenure and graduated with a degree in Communication Studies. She is...
Au began her career at ICM in 2015, spending two years as a Talent Department assistant before being promoted to Talent Department coordinator last year. Au was recognized as one of Variety’s 10 Assistants to Watch in 2017 and is part of Time’s Up Next Gen. She was born in Hong Kong and raised in Shanghai before moving to America to attend UCLA where she completed 12 internships during her tenure and graduated with a degree in Communication Studies. She is...
- 8/6/2018
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: John Woo and Universal Pictures are teaming on a new version of his 1989 Hong King crime classic The Killer. It is intended as a star vehicle for Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o. She is negotiating to play the assassin, a role originated by Chow Yun-fat. The studio has the film on a fast track, with Woo directing.
Eran Creevy (Collide) rewrote the script based on an original draft by Cloverfield Lane‘s Josh Campbell and Matt Stuecken, and Brian Helgeland is being brought on to do a production pass. Producing alongside Woo and his A Better Tomorrow Films is eOne’s Mark Gordon and Lori Tilkin. Matt Jackson, Lori Tilkin and Luc Etienne are exec producing with Terence Chang. eOne’s Josh Clay Phillips will also have a producing role and is overseeing the project with Tilkin. The aim is to begin production later this year in France and Germany.
Eran Creevy (Collide) rewrote the script based on an original draft by Cloverfield Lane‘s Josh Campbell and Matt Stuecken, and Brian Helgeland is being brought on to do a production pass. Producing alongside Woo and his A Better Tomorrow Films is eOne’s Mark Gordon and Lori Tilkin. Matt Jackson, Lori Tilkin and Luc Etienne are exec producing with Terence Chang. eOne’s Josh Clay Phillips will also have a producing role and is overseeing the project with Tilkin. The aim is to begin production later this year in France and Germany.
- 4/30/2018
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Updated, Thursday, 6 Pm: Joey Stanton, the talent agent who left CAA yesterday after a three-year stint, just joined ICM Partners. It’s not yet known which clients will be joining him. Stanton’s first day on the job will be tomorrow. His move to ICM comes after a number of new hires recently at the agency including senior political strategist Hannah Linkenhoker; lit agent Daniel Cohan, who moved from Wme, and lit agent Spencer Baumgarten and digital agent Lex Conboy, both…...
- 3/17/2017
- Deadline TV
Updated, Thursday, 6 Pm: Joey Stanton, the talent agent who left CAA yesterday after a three-year stint, just joined ICM Partners. It’s not yet known which clients will be joining him. Stanton’s first day on the job will be tomorrow. His move to ICM comes after a number of new hires recently at the agency including senior political strategist Hannah Linkenhoker; lit agent Daniel Cohan, who moved from Wme, and lit agent Spencer Baumgarten and digital agent Lex Conboy, both…...
- 3/17/2017
- Deadline
Exclusive: UTA just emerged victorious in a signing derby for Taken director Pierre Morel. The filmmaker had been repped by CAA and had been in play since his agent Spencer Baumgarten left. Baumgarten, now at ICM Partners, was in the mix, as was Verve, but the team at UTA won the day. Morel, who came up as a cinematographer working closely with Luc Besson in France, has directed Taken, District B13, From Paris With Love and most recently the Sean Penn-starrer The Gunman…...
- 1/12/2017
- Deadline
Top CAA agent Nick Styne was let go from the agency on Thursday, an individual familiar with the decision told TheWrap. His last day will be Friday. Styne’s client list included Justin Bieber, One Direction, Ariana Grande, Bella Thorne, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Lily Collins, Cameron Diaz and “Pretty Little Liars” star Ashley Benson. Styne was one of the highest paid agents at the firm, earning a roughly $2 million salary, according to two people familiar with his compensation. A CAA spokesperson denied the figure but did not dispute that the agent was terminated. Also Read: Longtime Film Lit Agent Spencer Baumgarten Leaves CAA for.
- 12/9/2016
- by Matt Donnelly
- The Wrap
Exclusive: ICM Partners has just sent out the internal announcement that makes it official: Spencer Baumgarten has joined the agency as a partner, bringing the agent and his clients to the lit department. This follows his exit today from CAA, where he spent 12 years. It isn’t clear yet which clients Baumgarten will be bringing with him, and there will be the inevitable scrum as CAA tries to keep them in the fold, while rivals including Wme and UTA try to entice…...
- 11/18/2016
- Deadline
Motion picture lit agent Spencer Baumgarten has left CAA for ICM Partners, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
His roster includes high-profile directors Jon Favreau, Gore Verbinski, Zhang Yimou and John Woo, as well as Asian superstar Donnie Yen, soon to be seen in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. It's unclear at this time which clients will follow Baumgarten to his new agency. Before his 12 years at CAA, he spent six years as an agent at Endeavor.
"Spencer is an exceptional agent who's passionate about his role in guiding the careers of his clients," the ICM partners said in...
His roster includes high-profile directors Jon Favreau, Gore Verbinski, Zhang Yimou and John Woo, as well as Asian superstar Donnie Yen, soon to be seen in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. It's unclear at this time which clients will follow Baumgarten to his new agency. Before his 12 years at CAA, he spent six years as an agent at Endeavor.
"Spencer is an exceptional agent who's passionate about his role in guiding the careers of his clients," the ICM partners said in...
- 11/18/2016
- by Rebecca Sun
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Veteran Motion Picture Literary agent Spencer Baumgarten has left CAA for ICM Partners, TheWrap has learned. ICM Partners announced Friday that Baumgarten has joined the agency’s Los Angeles office as a partner. Baumgarten represents a notable roster of film directors, writers, and producers that includes Gore Verbinski (“Pirates of the Caribbean”), Pierre Morel (“Taken”), Kurt Wimmer (“Point Break”), Donnie Yen (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”), and Jon Favreau (“The Jungle Book”). Also Read: Johnny Depp Signs With CAA, Leaving UTA “Spencer is an exceptional agent who’s passionate about his role in guiding the careers of his clients,...
- 11/18/2016
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
This story first appeared in the Nov. 14 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. It was quiet the eclectic group that gathered at Toscana in Brentwood on Oct. 29 at the invitation of Chinese giant Alibaba for what one guest called "a nice, low-key" dinner. Mel Gibson joined TriStar's Tom Rothman, manager Rick Nicita and his wife, Paula Wagner. CAA agents Spencer Baumgarten and Beijing-based Jonah Greenberg, who runs CAA's China operations, were there. Imagine's Ron Howard and Brian Grazer stopped by for a drink. (Arnold Schwarzenegger was invited but did not attend.) By then, Jack Ma, Alibaba's founder, had
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- 11/5/2014
- by Kim Masters
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Though it started as a very insider thing, The Black List has recently become more popular and mainstream. For those who may not know, it's an annual list of the year's best unproduced screenplays as voted on by about 300 Hollywood development executives and high-level assistants. We recently posted the 2010 list [1] and looking back at some previous years (2007 [2], 2008 [3], 2009 [4]), films such as Recount, The Beaver and The Social Network all sat near the top of the list. Skim over any of them and you'll see names of films that are out, are coming out and more. It's a big deal. This year, a new Black List of sorts has come out. Dubbed Viewfinder, it's supposed to do for directors what The Black List did for screenwriters. Viewfinder is a compilation of "the top commercials, shorts and/or music videos of 2010." Several of the directors on the list already have deals or are in production on films.
- 12/17/2010
- by Germain Lussier
- Slash Film
What is the international watch list you ask? In their own words it's "an unofficial list of the American film industry's favorite foreign feature and short films from the past year." which is compiled from over fifty Us film executives and their assistants who vote for five foreign features and shorts. Why are we sharing this with you? Well first off to show that there are some people in Hollywood who actually have some good taste in film (shocking, I know) and the other is that we've actually covered many of the films and shorts on this list, and in fact were the first news site (at least among the larger English film community) to bring you news of the top short film with 10 votes, Afterville, and two of the features on the list, Before the Fall and The Square. Not surprisingly, Let the right one in is the top...
- 12/22/2008
- QuietEarth.us
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