Fremantle names WME partner to oversee literary acquisitions for global drama

Raffaella de Angelis

Fremantle has appointed former WME agent and partner Raffaella de Angelis to oversee its literary acquisitions for their global drama division.

De Angelis will also assist with projects for Lorenzo Mieli’s The Apartment, which is part of Fremantle, and Richard Brown’s Passenger Pictures, with whom Fremantle have an exclusive multi-year deal.

She starts this week and will be based in London and reports into Christian Vesper, Fremantle’s EVP and creative director for global drama.

De Angelis was most recently international literary agent and partner at WME, representing writing, journalism and non-fiction authors including Alice Munro, Jhumpa Lahiri, Jonathan Lethem and Timothy Snyder. She has worked on titles such as The Boys In The Boat and When Breath Becomes Air.

My Brilliant Friend

She began her career in New York at ICM before joining Maria B. Campbell Associates as a book and film scout, working for multiple international publishers and Warner Bros. She joined WME forerunner William Morris Agency as a literary agent in 2004.

De Angelis said: “I’m incredibly thankful to Andrea Scrosati, Christian Vesper and Fremantle for allowing me to connect my two passions; the screen and exceptional storytelling.

“I can’t wait to find literary material for Richard Brown at Passenger and Lorenzo Mieli at The Apartment, two of the most visionary producers in the current high-end drama space, as well as for Fremantle Global Drama’s group of dynamic and multilingual producers.”

Vesper added: “Raffaella’s literary experience and eye for a fantastic story is unrivalled. She will be an incredible addition to Fremantle’s Global Drama family, working closely with our incredible partners Passenger and The Apartment, to find literary gems that will eventually become outstanding drama series. We look forward to welcoming Raffaella on board.”

It is the latest appointment for Fremantle and its drama business. Over recent years it has acquired Italian based Wildside and The Apartment (My Brilliant Friend, The New Pope) and Scandi label Miso Film (The Rain).

Fremantle also took majority stakes in French label Kwai (Baron Noir), Israel’s Abot Hameiri and Australian outfit Easy Tiger (Rake), as well as a minority stakes in Latinx production company The Immigrant. It also has interests in UK indies Dancing Ledge and Gurinder Chadha-fronted Bend It TV.