David A. Unger | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | December 30, 1971 |
| Occupation | Entertainment executive |
David A. Unger (born December 30, 1971) is CEO of Artist International Group, a global talent management, branding and content production company representing clients in the fields of film, television and media advisory. Born in London, Unger has served as a talent and literary agent for over 20 years. [1] [2] [3]
In 2017, Unger founded Artist International Group which focuses on identifying and nurturing talent, developing IP and sourcing diversified media and entertainment opportunities, all with a global insight. The company represents actors, writers, directors, musicians and models and specializes in media finance, brand advisory and international business development. AIG has offices in Los Angeles, New York and London and joint ventures in the UK, France, Korea, Hong Kong, Mexico, Spain and Brazil. [4] [3] [5]
Unger represents several Academy Award, Golden Globe, Grammy and BAFTA winning clients and leading international artists including Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh, [6] [7] Jonathan Rhys Meyers, [8] Mickey Rourke, [9] Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, [10] Tom Welling, [11] Til Schweiger, [12] Gong Li, [13] Leehom Wang, Sasha Luss, [14] Anil Kapoor, [15] Mallika Sherawat, [16] Darko Peric, [17] Kev Adams, [18] Christopher Lambert, Patrick Bruel, [11] Elsa Zylberstein, [11] Rossy de Palma, [19] Lee Min-ho, [20] Rafael Cebrian, [21] Siwon Choi, [2] Hanee Lee, [22] Nastassja Kinski, [23] Raline Shah, [24] and Natalia Vodianova [25] as well as directors Vadim Perelman, [26] Ludovic Bernard, [27] Michael Haussman, [28] Samuel Bayer, Andrew Douglas, Henrik Hansen, Francesco Carrozzini, [2] Umut Aral, [29] Antony Hoffman, [30] Alexei Sidorov [31] and Tony Kaye. [32]
Unger began his career at Propaganda Films, [33] a division of PolyGram, where he nurtured the careers of directors David Fincher, Michael Bay, Antoine Fuqua, and Mark Romanek among others. He developed award-winning commercial projects for Coca-Cola, Levi's and Nike as well as music videos for artists such as Madonna, The Rolling Stones and U2.
At the age of 27 Unger was chosen for The Hollywood Reporter 's Annual "Next Gen" special issue, [34] which lists "the city's best and brightest individuals – 35 men and women, age 35 and under, poised to become the entertainment industry's future leaders." He was recognized by Fade In magazine as one of their "Top 100 People in Hollywood You Need to Know." [13]
Unger was a vice-president and talent agent at International Creative Management for 15 years. [35] At ICM, he represented actors, directors and writers as well as advised the agency's branding and film financing groups. [36] [37] In October 2012, ICM became ICM Partners and in January 2013. Unger became the first ICM agent to join former ICM Chairman Jeff Berg at Berg's newly-founded agency, Resolution. Unger served as talent and literary agent at Resolution and he was a member of Resolution's Media Finance Group for two years. [38]
In February 2015 Unger, as Co-Chief Executive Officer and Partner, formed Three Six Zero Entertainment, [39] a full service management company that represented actors, directors and writers in the film, television, and digital industries. [40] The company offered branding and financial services to clients [41] and operated in partnership with Jay-Z's Roc Nation. [42] [43]
Unger is known for representing international talent, often successfully transforming local language stars into global stars. [44] Unger steered the career of Michelle Yeoh in winning dozens of Best Actor awards for her performance in 2022’s Everything Everywhere All at Once including the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and the Academy Award Oscar. He is credited with resurrecting the career of Mickey Rourke, [45] [46] [47] [48] who thanked Unger in his Best Actor-winning speeches [49] for his role in The Wrestler at the BAFTA Awards [50] and the Golden Globe Awards. [51]
Unger regularly attends and is often asked to lecture at the major international motion picture and television festivals and markets such as the Moscow Business Square at the Moscow International Film Festival, [25] Asian Film Summit at the Toronto International Film Festival, [36] [52] and Busan International Film Festival [22]
Unger is an executive producer of the films Wetlands , Habit , Ambush and Edge of the World , both starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers; Mother Tongue, starring Josie Ho; Promises , directed by Amanda Sthers, as well as the documentaries Sheroes, Bonnie, and Josie Ho & The Hong Kong Sound. He has also been involved in such award-winning film and television projects as Crazy Rich Asians , Slumdog Millionaire , Training Day , The Wrestler , Sin City , Memoirs of a Geisha , and Star Trek: Discovery . [4]
Unger is an advisor to the immersive theme park company KidZania and to the education technology company MasterClass. He is a member of the Board of Advisors of Big Life Foundation which contributes to efforts in protecting wildlife habitats in East Africa. [53]
Unger was born in London and raised in London, Madrid, Paris, and Los Angeles. [49] He is a graduate of Boston University [34] and has lectured at Harvard Business School, UCLA Anderson School of Management and USC School of Cinematic Arts. He speaks English, Spanish, Italian, and French; he holds US and European passports. [13]
Unger comes from a long line of successful entertainment industry executives. His father, Anthony B. Unger, produced numerous motion pictures including the highly acclaimed [54] [55] Don't Look Now , starring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie. His grandfather, Oliver A. Unger, was an award-winning film producer, distributor and exhibitor. His uncle, Stephen A. Unger, is a leading executive recruiter for the entertainment and media industries.
Creative Artists Agency LLC (CAA) is an American talent and sports agency based in Los Angeles, California. With 1,800 employees in March 2016, it is regarded as an influential company in the talent agency business and manages numerous clients.
ICM Partners was a talent and literary agency with offices in Los Angeles, New York City, Washington, D.C., and London. The company represented clients in the fields of motion pictures, television, music, publishing, live performance, branded entertainment and new media. Its corporate headquarters were in Constellation Place in Century City, Los Angeles. In 2022, ICM became part of Creative Artists Agency.
Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke Jr. is an American actor and former professional boxer who has appeared primarily as a leading man in drama, action, and thriller films.
A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds work for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, and other professionals in various entertainment or sports businesses. In addition, an agent defends, supports and promotes the interest of their clients. Talent agencies specialize, either by creating departments within the agency or developing entire agencies that primarily or wholly represent one specialty. For example, there are modeling agencies, commercial talent agencies, literary agencies, voice-over agencies, broadcast journalist agencies, sports agencies, music agencies and many more.
United Talent Agency (UTA) is a global talent agency based in Beverly Hills, California. Established in 1991, it represents artists and other professionals across the entertainment industry. As of 2021, the company has more than 1,400 global employees. UTA has divisions focused on film, television, music, sports, digital, books, video games, branding and licensing, speaking, marketing, fine arts, news, and broadcasting, among others. The agency also operates the non-profit UTA Foundation.
Lionsgate Films is a Canadian-American film production and distribution studio founded in Canada in 1962. It is now a division of Lionsgate Studios and headquartered in Santa Monica.
The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is a labor union representing writers in film, television, radio, news, and online media.
Ashley-Famous was a talent agency started in 1945 by talent agent Ted Ashley. The agency was responsible for many hit television shows and had several famous clients. It changed names and ownership a few times, eventually becoming one of the agencies that in 1975 formed International Creative Management.
In film industry terminology, movie packaging or film packaging is a type of product bundling in which a top-level talent agency starts up a film or television project using writers, directors and/or actors it represents, before giving other agencies a chance to submit their clients for the project. For this service, the talent agency negotiates a packaging fee. Packaging is frequently done by the "big four" talent agencies Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Endeavor, United Talent Agency, and ICM Partners.
APA was a diversified talent agency in the entertainment industry with headquarters in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, Atlanta, Toronto, and London. Founded in 1962 by a group of former MCA agents in New York, the company represented actors, writers, producers, showrunners, directors, performers, physical production services, film studios, as well as luxury and lifestyle brands across all media platforms worldwide. The agency also packaged feature films and television series such as Away on Netflix, The Dublin Murders on Showtime, All Rise on CBS, and For Life on ABC, as well as classic TV series Home Improvement and Roseanne. APA was one of the first among the top 5 packaging agencies to sign The WGA's new franchise agreement on January 21, 2020, when the agency integrated its Television and Motion Picture departments under one APA Scripted Literary banner.
Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. is an American holding company for talent and media agencies with its primary offices in Beverly Hills, California. The company was founded in April 2009 after the merger of the William Morris Agency and Endeavor Talent Agency. Endeavor represents artists in film, television, music, theater, digital media, and publishing. It also represents the NFL and NHL. Endeavor owns Professional Bull Riders (PBR) and is majority owner of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) through TKO Group. In collegiate athletics Endeavor-Learfield IMG represents The American, A10, Big 12, Conference USA, Horizon League, MAC, MEAC, OVC, SEC and WCC.
Gavin Polone is an American film and television producer. He began producing films in the late 1990s and television in the 2000s. He has been nominated for seven Primetime Emmy Awards, of which six were for "Outstanding Comedy Series" for Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm. His production company is Pariah.
Annapurna Pictures is an American independent media company founded by Megan Ellison on April 2, 2011 and based in Los Angeles, California. It is active in film, television and theatrical production, film distribution, and video game publishing.
Storyteller Distribution Co., LLC, doing business as Amblin Partners, LLC., is an American independent entertainment production company. It develops and produces films under the Amblin Entertainment and DreamWorks Pictures banners, as well as television series through Amblin Television.
Anonymous Content (AC) is an independent global entertainment company founded in 1999 by CEO Steve Golin, Dave Morrison and Gore Verbinski. It is based in Los Angeles with offices in Culver City, New York City and London.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a 2022 American action comedy film directed by Tom Gormican, who co-wrote the screenplay with Kevin Etten. It stars Nicolas Cage as a fictionalized version of himself, along with a supporting cast including Pedro Pascal, Sharon Horgan, Ike Barinholtz, Alessandra Mastronardi, Jacob Scipio, Neil Patrick Harris, Tiffany Haddish and Caroline Boulton.
Producer Entertainment Group (PEG), also affiliated with Producer Entertainment Group Records (PEGR), is an American talent management firm and production company based in Burbank, California. The group manages LGBTQ+ talent across the globe, including past competitors from the Drag Race franchise.
Jonathan Schwartz is an American film producer and former entertainment lawyer, known for producing independent features. Schwartz's credits include Wristcutters: A Love Story (2006), Douchebag (2010), Like Crazy (2011), Smashed (2012), Nobody Walks (2012), Breathe In (2013), Imperial Dreams (2014), and The Vanishing of Sidney Hall (2017). Through his production label, Super Crispy Entertainment, most of Schwartz's works have screened, won awards and secured distribution at the Sundance Film Festival. Throughout his career, he has collaborated extensively with producer Andrea Sperling, director Drake Doremus and actor-producer Logan Lerman.
Marvin Josephson was an American talent agent and founder of International Creative Management, later renamed ICM Partners.
2AM is an American independent film production and management company founded in 2021 by Christine D'Souza Gelb, David Hinojosa, and Kevin Rowe. The company is best known for producing films such as Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022), The Starling Girl (2023), and Past Lives (2023).
Meet the Hollywood superagent who has become a bridge between Hollywood and the global stage and is rewriting the rules of international film and series talent deals and pioneering a new era of a borderless global entertainment industry.
...global talent management, branding, and content production company, Artist International Group... AIG is based in Los Angeles. Satellite offices in New York, London, Paris and Hong Kong...
David Unger, who represents Michelle Yeoh, star of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," the most successful Chinese-American co-production of all time, will coordinate Resolution's business in China.
The Summit's programming will include... a global talent panel featuring ICM's David Unger...
This panel will focus on how the new paradigm of US-China co-production is affecting the management of talent.
...it was my agent David Unger, who made a conscious decision to pitch me as an international star and not an Indian star.