Why UTA’s Agents Are Helping Its Top Crafts Clients Find Work Outside the Box

A few years ago, agents Pete Franciosa and Mike Rubi got a call looking to see if a Hollywood production designer was available for a job in Ohio. A retiree was looking to transform his entire, 2,000 square foot basement into a replica of the interior of the Death Star, and he wanted a real professional to help do it.

Perhaps incredibly, Franciosa and Rubi did not immediately hang up the phone.

Franciosa and Rubi are the heads of United Talent Agency’s Production Arts division, where they’ve been in charge since 2013. The division at UTA is responsible for repping top crafts talent, including cinematographer Roger Deakins, “Dune” production designer Patrice Vermette, “The Smashing Machine” makeup designer Kazu Hiro, “Andor” costume designer Michael Wilkinson, and many, many more. Like any agent, they negotiate film and TV jobs for their talent. But it’s also been the duo’s philosophy to look outside the box, away from Hollywood and into other realms that aren’t exclusively for entertainment.

So when a job offer like the Ohio Death Star comes their way, they listen. That one didn’t pan out, and they didn’t disclose whom would’ve been the lucky Oscar winner to travel to some guy’s basement in the Midwest. But it’s just one of many opportunities that Franciosa and Rubi are fielding for their clients beyond work that could win them Oscars.

“God, that would have been a magical project,” Franciosa told IndieWire. “It was smart, film-based, and deeply meaningful — both to the designer and to the client who wanted it built. I love ideas like that. And frankly, I hope more of them keep coming. It’s imaginative, it’s personal, and it’s exactly the kind of creative challenge our clients thrive on.”

Rubi is quick to chime in that for every one of those wacky ideas, there are 10 more that are far more practical, like building a New York City backlot set for a film studio in Sri Lanka. It’s different, but not completely far afield. He explains that there’s the pragmatic aspect of keeping a client employed in between movies, but there’s also the perk of giving acclaimed artists the chance to stretch their art and reputation further around the globe.

“These are sophisticated, high-level business leaders in their own right,” Rubi said. “When they come to us, it’s because they have the ability to work with anyone in the world — and they choose our clients because they have a genuine affinity for the artistry and craftsmanship these designers bring. There’s real respect for the work.”

In some cases, Production Arts’ vision has been to elevate its clients to the next level. Jeremy Hindle, an Emmy-winning production designer on “Severance” during its first season, graduated to being a producer on the second season of the Apple TV series. Others have become directors or gone from indies to studio films and series.

But in other cases, Production Arts has managed to leverage its connections to UTA’s other divisions to find them opportunities. Deakins recently parlayed his visual acumen into a book called “Reflections.” One producer client of UTA’s is in the midst of launching a podcast based on stories from the world of movie making. And Vermette is in the midst of designing a hotel resort with a company called Mohari Hospitality.

Patrice Vermette on the set of ‘Dune’

For Vermette, this is actually the second hotel he’s now designing. The first was a collaboration in Saudi Arabia with a French Moroccan architect, one he completed in between “Dune: Part 2” and the upcoming third “Dune” film, and this new one, the location of which he’s not yet able to disclose, he took on after the third “Dune” wrapped.

Vermette told IndieWire that though he wants to “die on a movie set,” he loves being able to tell stories in any setting, and he’d love to expand his craft to help design industrial spaces, to work on cars, furniture, or even do something in the live space after he was inspired by Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime performance.

“I’m a passionate person, and I’m curious, and I thrive for a different experience,” Vermette said. “I think one hopefully will feed the other. My film experience, it will feed, whether it’s hospitality or an event, and then what I’ll learn by the collaborations I have on these projects, that will feed me for the film.”

After working with a number of legendary cinematographers, he’s learned the importance of light to a physical space, even a hotel. For instance, he’s designing the hotel’s corridor such that when the light hits the space at different times of day, it gives a new experience each time you pass through it.

“For production designers, we use our instincts and our eyes in our work in film,” Vermette said. “I think that could be beneficial for other fields as well. Everybody could benefit from being more flexible.”

For some artists, finding other opportunities may be a matter of necessity. Los Angeles ended 2025 with 16 percent fewer shoot days than in 2024, according to the most recent numbers from FilmLA. Back in 2024, we spoke with below the line workers who don’t have the name recognition of some of UTA’s top clients, and they found themselves installing light fixtures in conference rooms or Jumbotrons in college arenas.

These odd jobs aren’t a replacement for the real thing in the absence of local film productions, but they keep clients busy and help elevate their reputation in other ways. Franciosa said when it comes to “below the line” professionals, just by their name, they are inherently undervalued artists in the industry. The idea of Production Arts is that for their clients, none of them are “below” anything.

“Artists are artists — they don’t live in a singular box. They break walls and ceilings. Andy Warhol is a great example: he didn’t think in limiting creative terms, and there was no ceiling on what he could do,” Franciosa said. “That’s the spirit behind this division. You may be a cinematographer, a production designer, or a costume designer, but your specialty shouldn’t define the limits of your creativity. We represent artists in a way that allows them to do their most creative work, regardless of category. If their imagination has no limits, their opportunities shouldn’t either.”

“Every artist is different. The cachet they hold within the creative community takes a different form in each case,” Rubi added. “But the through line is this — every time someone successfully expands into a new arena, it strengthens the broader effort and creates momentum. Each success opens the door to the next opportunity.”