Leading Los Angeles and London-based management and production company 42 announced today that it has signed celebrated British writer, director and producer Rupert Wyatt for management. Wyatt is best known for directing 20th Century Fox’s critically and commercially acclaimed picture Rise of the Planet of the Apes, starring Andy Serkis, which went on to become a beloved global franchise.
Wyatt made his directorial debut in 2008 with crime thriller The Escapist, starring Brian Cox, Damian Lewis, Dominic Cooper and Joseph Fiennes. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and earned nominations for eight international awards, including Best Debut Director at the British Independent Film Awards. He also helmed Paramount Pictures’ The Gambler, starring Mark Wahlberg, Brie Larson, John Goodman, and Jessica Lange; and Captive State for Focus Features, with John Goodman and Vera Farmiga. Most recently, Wyatt co-wrote and directed historical drama Desert Warrior, MBC Studios’ largest ever feature film, which stars Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, and Sir Ben Kingsley.
In television, Wyatt was pilot director and executive producer of Fox Television’s “The Exorcist,” starring Ben Daniels and Geena Davis; and Apple TV+’s “The Mosquito Coast,” starring Justin Theroux. He also directed the pilot episode of AMC’s “Turn,” starring Jamie Bell.
Beyond his work behind the camera, Wyatt founded the New York, London, and Los Angeles film collective Picture Farm, which has produced such award-winning projects as the 2001 documentary Dark Days and the 2014 thriller Fishing Without Nets, both of which received the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. Throughout his career, Wyatt has also written and developed screenplays for 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros, Universal Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment.
42 is a leader in the management space and a go-to for game-changing storytellers who impact and shape culture through original and ground-breaking stories. 42’s management division consists of a powerhouse team, including CEO Josh Varney, Cathy King, Kate Buckley, Peter Dealbert, and Simon Beresford. Together, they represent an eclectic range of high profile and emerging actors, writers, directors, and producers, among the likes of Jesse Armstrong (“Succession”), Julian Fellowes (“Downton Abbey”), Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road), Charlie Brooker (“Black Mirror”), Lynne Ramsay (You Were Never Really Here), Krysty Wilson-Cairns (1917), Darius Marder (Sound of Metal), and Abi Morgan (The Iron Lady).
Wyatt continues to be represented by UTA.