Suzanne Landis Photography
EXCLUSIVE: Independent Artist Group (IAG) is making a big push into lit with the hire of A3 Artists Agency’s Adam Kanter.
The company is looking to bolster its ranks with directors and writers with Kanter becoming Head of Motion Pictures at the company.
Kanter, who spent three years as Head of A3’s Motion Picture literary department and partner, will bring a slew of clients with him including Girls Trip’s Malcolm Lee, Get Smart’s Pete Segal and There’s Something About Mary’s Bobby Farrelly.
The move was just announced internally by IAG CEO Jim Osborne and EVP, Head of Content Development Kyle Loftus.
The move will see IAG, which was created after APA merged with music touring agency Artist Group International last summer, look to build out its director and writing clients, bringing in more agents and helmers and scribes.
The Motion Picture Department that Kanter will head up sits within the scripted literary group, which includes motion pictures, television and intellectual property.
It is akin to the hiring of Andrew Rogers, a 12-year ICM vet, who joined the company in 2022 as Global Head of Talent, which allowed it to bolster its actor list.
Other clients joining Kanter at IAG include Walt Becker (Clifford) Joe Johnston (Captain America), Michael Kennedy (Freaky), Amy Heckerling (Clueless), Tom Shadyac (Bruce Almighty), Rob Minkoff (The Lion King), David Newman & Keith Merryman (Friends With Benefits).
He joined A3 in July 2020, having spent six years as Paradigm’s Head of Motion Picture Literary department and over 23 years as an agent at CAA.
He is the latest agent to join IAG in recent months, joining a list of 17 agents who moved from other agencies and brought over around 300 clients including Regina Hall, William H Macy, Nathalie Emmanuel and Ken Jeong.
The agency also recently signed the likes of Troy Kotsur, Terrence Howard, Hayden Christensen, Donnie Yen, Sonequa Martin-Green, Sarah Shahi, Maria Bello, Margaret Atwood and William Gibson, joining longtime clients such as Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson, Mary J Blige, Lily Gladstone, Gary Oldman, Cole Hauser, Jack Reacher creator Lee Child and The Truman Capote Estate.
“The entire industry has seen the transformation of IAG into unquestionably the alternative to the Big 3 which makes them a perfect place for my clients, and me,” said Kanter. “IAG prides itself on being a full-service agency with a team approach providing clients with multiple revenue streams which is what excites me the most about joining them.
“Adam Kanter is an experienced and well-respected agent with excellent clients, taste, leadership skills and high-end industry relationships, which will make him incredibly valuable to all of our clients and to our continued aggressive growth strategy,” added Osborne and Loftus.
