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GILBERT
LANZ
JOHNSON
Mohebbi collaborated
on deals such as the resale
of “Medieval” to
Sony. He was promoted
to motion picture
coordinator on his 25th
birthday. “My goal is to
become an agent here.”
SAENZ
CASANOVA
PHIL
QUIST, 27
AGENT TRAINEE,
MUSIC DEPARTMENT,
CAA
The former Wall Street
investment banker
joined CAA in 2012 to
pursue his passion for
music. After working
for Tom Worcester,
head of music brand
partnerships at the
agency, he assisted
touring agent Cara
Lewis. Quist was
promoted into
CAA’s agent training
program this year
and, as assistant to
Alex Becket, helped
sign such emerging
EDM artists as the
Chainsmokers,
Elephante, Jenaux,
Prince Fox, Kungs,
GRMM and Speaker
of the House.
Recently promoted
to coordinator, Quist
aspires “to be an
agent … creating
unique, out-of-thebox
opportunities for
clients.”
LARISSA
SAENZ, 27
ACCOUNT
COORDINATOR,
BWR PUBLIC
RELATIONS
After stints in
international
marketing and
publicity at Sierra/
Affinity, and assisting
Nancy Kirkpatrick,
president of worldwide
marketing at Summit
Entertainment, Saenz
joined BWR in summer
2014 and works directly
under exec VP of talent
Nicole Perna. She
coordinates press tours
and awards campaigns,
and manages client
logistics. “I love PR —
especially personal PR,
and the ultimate perk is
being given the careerchanging
opportunity
to have Nicole as my
mentor,” Saenz says.
ASHLEY
JOHNSON, 27
EXECUTIVE
ASSISTANT TO CHIEF
CREATIVE OFFICER
DANA GOLDBERG,
SKYDANCE MEDIA
For the past two years,
Johnson has assisted
on such releases as
“Mission: Impossible
— Rogue Nation” and
“Terminator Genisys,”
which have collectively
grossed over $1 billion
T O W A T C H
worldwide. Her diverse
responsibilities include
jobs for the television,
publishing, licensing
and interactive units.
Johnson started as a
trainee at UTA, then
assistant to the senior
VP of production at
Columbia Pictures,
where she worked
on “Men in Black
III” and both “Jump
Street” films. “I’d love
to become a creative
executive here, like
Dana, and grow with
Skydance,” Johnson
says.
ALYSSA
LANZ, 25
ASSISTANT TO
PARTNER AND TV
LITERARY AGENT DAN
ERLIJ, UTA
Lanz began in the
mailroom in 2012,
quickly moved through
the ranks to the digital
and TV lit departments,
working for partner
Mickey Berman and TV
literary agent James
Kearney. Now at Erlij’s
desk, Lanz works with
creators, showrunners
and writers, including
Jennie Snyder Urman,
Nick Stoller and Diane
Ruggiero-Wright.
“UTA’s taught me how
to navigate the TV
business. It’s exciting
with so many more
places for creators
outside traditional TV,
such as Hulu, Amazon,
self-publishing
platforms like YouTube
or Vimeo.”
NICKY
MOHEBBI, 25
COORDINATOR,
MOTION PICTURE
LITERARY, VERVE
Talk about an
unconventional
Hollywood start. The
small-town West
Virginian graduated
with a degree in
biochemistry but “took
a huge risk” and moved
to L.A. to pursue his
passion for film. He
began as an intern at
Verve in 2013, “green
and not quite knowing
what I wanted to
do,” but rapidly rose
through the ranks. As
founding partner Adam
Levine’s assistant,
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