UTA Partner Bec Smith Leaving Agency After 16 Years

EXCLUSIVE: UTA partner Bec Smith, a company vet of 16 years, is leaving the agency, we can reveal.

Working in the Motion Picture Literary department, the respected Australian native has built a strong internationally-oriented client list (some of whom she has worked with since their first short films) including Garth Davis, Maria Schrader, Goran Stolevski, Oliver Hermanus, Joshua Oppenheimer, Warwick Thornton, Na Hong-Jin, Eva Husson, Emily Atef, Agnieszka Holland, Phillip Noyce, Ellen Kuras, Benedict Andrews, James Ponsoldt, Anthony Chen, Levan Akin, Katrin Gebbe and Andor director Ariel Kleiman.

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We hear Smith is likely to segue to management — there has been interest from multiple companies over the years — where she will be able to flex her producorial instincts. Most of her clients are expected to follow.

The timeline for her departure from UTA is understood to be in the 4-6 week range.

Smith’s exit from UTA coincides with a layer of layoffs at the agency. It’s not clear the extent to which her exit is due to these cuts but we understand the exec had been considering management for a while and that it is an amicable parting.

UTA Motion Picture Literary Co-Heads and Partners Jason Burns and Julien Thuan told us: “For the last sixteen years Bec has been a valued colleague and friend. We’ve all benefited from her impeccable taste in material, savvy understanding of the international marketplace, and her joyful spirit. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with her in this new capacity. “

Smith was previously a member of UTA’s Independent Film Group where she helped package dozens of projects including The Rover, Mary Magdalene and Margin Call, and she was an executive producer on David Michod’s acclaimed thriller Animal Kingdom, which she played a key role in getting to screen.

Prior to UTA she was Head Of Development in the Sydney office of Working Title and she worked as a journalist at THR and Inside Film.

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