Kyle Loftus: Last News

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Nick Panella has been named the leader of a new podcast and audio group at Agency for the Performing Arts, Variety can report exclusively.  Panella joins the company from Workhouse Media, where he worked extensively with names like Shonda Rhimes, Ellen DeGeneres, “Modern Family” co-creator Chris Lloyd and Oprah Winfrey.  Announced by APA’s head of content development Kyle Loftus, the hire is yet another strategic move from the agency to pick up slack lost in CAA’s acquisition of ICM Partners, the hulking-up of Endeavor, and other dramatic shifts in the representation landscape. Panella has produced over 2,000 podcast episodes and led Workhouse clients to over 1 billion downloads, the agency said.

EXCLUSIVE: Thuan Dang has joined APA as an agent in the scripted literary department and Lucy Tashman has been promoted to Director of Content Development at the agency.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Derek Kolstad and Dmitri M. Johnson are teaming to launch the media company Story Kitchen, with APA partner Mike Goldberg exiting the agency to join the duo as a co-founder of the new company. Goldberg previously represented Kolstad and Johnson’s dj2 Entertainment during his time at APA. Goldberg’s clients are expected to stay with the agency. In addition, Dan Jevons, Tim Stevenson and Howard Bliss of dj2 will be joining Story Kitchen in senior leadership roles. All current dj2 projects will continue to be handled by Johnson and dj2, with new projects being handled by Story Kitchen. According to Story Kitchen, the company will focus on “the creation -and amplification- of ‘World-Building Action’ and ‘Non-Traditional Intellectual Property’. If all the world’s a stage, Story Kitchen aims to be the Shakespearean leader in Gun-Fu, Popcorn-Fu and Controller-Fu.”

EXCLUSIVE: Former ICM Partners agent Justin Ongert has joined APA as SVP, Alternative & Factual Programming. He will be the department’s key liaison with the talent, comedy, and music departments, reporting to Kyle Loftus, Head of Content Development and Hayden Meyer head of Alternative and Factual Programming at APA.

EXCLUSIVE: Katie Kolben has joined APA as an agent in the Alternative and Factual Programming department. She will be based in APA’s New York office and will report to Kyle Loftus, Head of Content Development and Hayden Meyer head of Alternative and Factual Programming.