Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: UTA motion picture literary agent Tobin Babst is leaving the agency to partner with Aaron Kaplan and Sean Perrone in management and production shingle Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment. Babst becomes the first new partner Kaplan and Perrone have brought into the firm, which is moving to bigger offices on Beverly Drive this summer.

Babst, a 15-year UTA veteran who reps screenwriters and directors, started in the agency’s mailroom in 1997 after graduating from NYU’s Tisch School with a BFA in screenwriting and playwriting. Babst met Kaplan and Perrone in the UTA mailroom, and the three were assistants together in the motion picture literary department for three years. Kaplan and Perrone left to form Kaplan/Perrone in 2000, and Babst was promoted to agent.

At, UTA, his client list includes Jesse Wigutow, Evan Daugherty, Melissa Rosenberg, Jonathan Tropper, Nancy Oliver and Marc Klein.

“We have known and respected Toby both personally and professionally for a long time and are excited to partner with such a skilled advocate of writers and directors,” Kaplan and Perrone said in a joint statement.

“I’ve watched Aaron and Sean build a dynamic and forward-thinking firm over the past 12 years, and I saw an opportunity to not only help them grow the company but also to become a manager and provide focused representation to artists in film and television,” said Babst. “I have had an amazing experience at UTA; I love the agency and all of my longtime colleagues, and am looking forward to collaborating with them all in my new role.”

“Tobin has been and continues to be a great representative for artists,” UTA managing director David Kramer said. “We’re excited for him, and look forward to working with Tobin in his role as a manager.”