Ryan Saul Joins Cartel, Bradford Bricken Promoted to Partner

Leo Barraclough
·3 min read

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U.S. production, finance and management firm The Cartel has appointed APA’s former head of motion picture literary Ryan Saul as manager/producer and has promoted Bradford Bricken to partner.

The Cartel’s co-CEO Stan Spry said Saul had a “penchant for discovering young talent,” and added “his ability to nurture that talent is something we pride ourselves in.”

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Saul began his career as an executive assistant at the Walt Disney Company and went on to become head of motion picture literary at APA. Most recently, he was a motion picture literary agent at Paradigm Talent Agency.

According to a statement, “He has garnered the reputation of being able to develop clients from unknown writers or young short film directors to become some of the leading creatives in Hollywood, working on some of the biggest studio films in production.”

His clients included Tim Reckart, who is directing “High in the Clouds” for Netflix, Josh Trank (“Chronical,” “Fantastic Four”), and Wes Ball (“Maze Runner” franchise, “Planet of the Apes”), who all started as directors with shorts, and off of those shorts Saul was able to get them their first studio films.

In addition to the studio directors, he has also helped put together independent films like “Stockholm,” starring Ethan Hawke and Noomi Rapace, “Meadowland,” Reed Murano’s debut film, “Dear Zoe,” currently in post-production – starring Sadie Sink, as well as documentaries such as “Hit So Hard” and “Pierre Cardin.”

Saul has also carved out a niche in animation, putting projects together like the Oscar nominated “Klaus,” “Head in the Clouds,” the Paul McCartney movie at Netflix, “Open Season,” “Hotel Transylvania,” “Chicken Little,” and “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.” He has also booked over 300 hours of television directors during his tenure as well.

Bricken has been a manager at The Cartel since 2014 and boasts an impressive list of award-winning, high-level showrunners, writers, animation directors and artists.

Bricken’s clients include Mike Hollingsworth (“Bojack Horseman”), Qui Nguyen (playwright and screenwriter, “Vietgone,” “She Kills Monsters,” “The Society”), Harland Williams (“Puppy Dog Pals”), Tim McKeon (“Odd Squad,” “Helpsters”), Joel Trussell (“Pickle & Peanut”), Amanda Rynda (“DC Super Hero Girls”), Joel Moser (“Big Mouth”), Bryan Caselli (“Costume Quest”), Glenn Clements (“Late Late Show” with James Corden), Emily Brundige (“Hilda”), and Victor Courtright (“Thundercats Roar”).

Bricken was most recently the executive producer on Netflix’s “Twelve Forever,” alongside Spry and Co-CEO Jeff Holland at The Cartel.

He started his career in the Abrams Artists Agency mailroom and was promoted to agent in the voiceover division. He then segued into management opening his own shop, Bricken Entertainment, before joining The Cartel.

The Cartel, which has produced and financed over 90 movies and series, is in pre-production on “Creepshow” season 2 for AMC’s horror streaming platform Shudder, and Syfy’s new 10-episdoe series “Day of the Dead.” The company recently partnered with Untitled Entertainment to develop and produce 10 movies for television and theatrical release as well as international distribution over the next two years.

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