CAA promotes eight interns to agents

CAA has promoted eight interns from its CAA Elevate training program to agents. Agency staff includes Pili Allen, Tara Anderson, Nicole Brookman, Ben Gelfand, Erica Drache Martelli, Jonathan Rodrigues, Lucas Ryan and Michael Taber.

Allen and Anderson will serve as agents in the Scripted Television division, with Brookman, Martelli and Taber in Motion Picture Talent, Ryan in Television Talent, Rodrigues in Strategic Development and Gelfand in Games. All eight graduates will work in Los Angeles.

Allen represents such notable screenwriters as Kestrin Pantera, whose feature film beautiful problems recently won the SXSW Audience Award and Jeff Greenstein who serves as showrunner for will and grace. He joined CAA as a coordinator in 2022 after the agency acquired ICM Partners, where he served as the television and film literature coordinator. CAA’s new Scripted Television Agent previously worked in private wealth management at Morgan Stanley, mailroom at WME and development at film production company Bold Films after earning his finance degree at Cal State LA.

Allen’s co-writing TV agent Anderson represents non-writing EPs and premium line producers overseeing all aspects of physical production. Her clients work closely with directors, showrunners and studio heads to ensure creativity and production are aligned with development to principal photography. The graduate student earned both a BFA in Acting and a Masters in Interdisciplinary Performance Studies from NYU and began her career on set in New York City assisting directors on film and television productions including Jonathan Demme, James Gray and Mimi Leather stand. She joined CAA in 2019 after moving to Los Angeles to work in global television sales at MGM Studios.

Brookman, a film talent agent, began her career in 2016 as a clerk in the CAA mailroom after graduating from Colgate University with a degree in French literature. Most recently, she assisted Tracy Brennan before being promoted to coordinator and the Elevate program in 2021. She played a key role in signing New York Times bestselling author and actress Cazzie David last year and now represents her among others.

MP Talent Agent Martelli, a graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she received her degree in Film, joined the CAA mailroom in 2017. She supported Hylda Queally before she was promoted to the Elevate program in 2021 and joined CAA Motion Imagine co-leader Joel Lubin. In her new role, she will get opportunities for internationally acclaimed actors such as Golshifteh Farahani (full of lies).

Brookman and Martelli’s department colleague, Taber, joined CAA in 2018 after graduating from Chapman University with a degree in Economics and Communications, where he assisted Assistant Agent Sam Bringardner and CAA Motion Picture Talent Co-Head Rachel Rusch. before being promoted to coordinator. He will now work primarily with actors and multi-talents in feature films including Zooey Deschanel; Academy Award winner Jim Rash; actress, content creator and trans activist Dylan Mulvaney; and outside banks Star Rudy Pankow.

CAA’s new television talent agent, Ryan, began his career in 2017 as an assistant in the Motion Picture Talent Group at Gersh and joined CAA’s television talent division in 2019 as an assistant to Jessica DiBiase. in Political Science and Entrepreneurship, was promoted to coordinator in 2021 and to the Elevate program in 2022.

Rodrigues of the Strategic Development Group joined CAA in 2019 after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University with a degree in Ethics, History and Public Policy. He initially assisted Music Touring agent Scott Morris in New York before moving to CAA’s LA office and assisting Music Touring agents Brian Greenbaum and Jenna Adler. He will focus on bringing new ventures to clients in the rapidly growing Web3 space and finding crossover opportunities for clients in the music touring world as he is integral to the signing of Web3 artists Mason Rothschild, Daniel Allan and Dave Krugmann.

Gelfand, of the Games division, began his career in 2018 as an assistant to Games agent Matthew Cohen before being promoted to coordinator in 2021 and to the Elevate program in 2022. Studios in financing and building their upcoming titles, as well as expanding their intellectual property into the broader entertainment ecosystem.

First announced in February 2021, CAA Elevate is a next-generation training program for future agents and managers, designed by CAA for today’s fast-paced world and building on the rich legacy of the agency’s historic training program.