Building Your Team: Agents and Managers

Director Mary Lou Belli (moderator)
Belli is an Emmy Award-winning director with more than 20 years of experience and has directed more than 150 episodes for such series as NCIS: New Orleans, Devious Maids and Hart of Dixie. She is also the co-author of three books: The NEW Sitcom Career Book, Acting for Young Actors and Directors Tell the Story, which she co-wrote with fellow DGA member Bethany Rooney. A DGA member since 1987, Belli currently serves as a co-chair of the DGA’s Women’s Steering Committee, an Alternate on the Western Directors Council and is a member of the DGA PAC Leadership Council.

Director Michael Goi
Goi’s directing credits include the feature films Voyeur and Megan is Missing; and episodes of the television series Sexy Urban Legends, Pretty Little Liars, and American Horror Story. He is also known as an acclaimed cinematographer with over 70 narrative credits and earned Emmy nominations for his cinematography work on Glee, American Horror Story and My Name Is Earl. A DGA member since 2014, Goi currently serves a co-chair of the DGA’s Asian American Committee.

Director Jaffar Mahmood
The success of Mahmood’s feature directorial debut, Shades of Ray, landed him a spot in the 2010-2012 Disney/ABC DGA Directing Program, the 2011 NBC Director Fellowship, and the 2013 Warner Bros. Directors’ Workshop. After shadowing half a dozen single camera comedies he finally booked his first network television directing gig, an episode of About a Boy. His other directing credits include Young Sheldon, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Brooklyn Nine Nine, The Real O’Neals, and Powerless. Mahmood has been a DGA member since 2015.

Director Rosemary Rodriguez
Rodriguez began her directorial career by writing and directing the Independent Spirit Award-nominated feature Acts of Worship. Her second feature, Silver Skies, won “Best Feature” at Manhattan Film Festival. Rodriguez’s episodic television work includes The Walking Dead, Jessica Jones, Sneaky Pete, Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll, Empire, Hawthorne, Third Watch Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Rescue Me, and 18 episodes of The Good Wife including the 100th. A DGA member since 2004, Rodriguez also serves as an alternate member of the DGA National Board.

Agent Jonas Brooks
Brooks is a Scripted Television agent at Creative Artists Agency’s Los Angeles office where he represents many of the world’s leading production companies including Marvel Television, Blumhouse, Bad Robot, Black Label Media, Gaumont, Tribeca Productions, and Sonar Entertainment. A graduate of USC and Pepperdine University, Brooks began his career as a lawyer at Collins, Collins, Muir & Stewart and joined CAA in 2010.

Manager Dana Jackson
After graduating from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Jackson worked at the William Morris Agency before a five-year stint as Director of Development at Castle Rock Entertainment. In 1997, she was named Senior V.P. of Hunt/Tavel Productions where she co-produced of Helen Hunt’s directorial debut, Then She Found Me. She also headed development for Freestyle Pictures, was chosen for Film Independent’s Producing Lab and Fast Track Program then founded R.E.D. Entertainment in 2004 before joining Fineman Entertainment in 2016.

Agent Toochis Morin Rose
Morin Rose worked with Monty Python’s Eric Idle on the Broadway musicals Spamalot and The Rutles 2: Can’t Buy Me Lunch prior to joining Brant Rose Agency as an agent. She also worked in Business Affairs at Mandalay Pictures. Morin Rose studied Filmic Writing and Still Photography at USC School of Cinematic Arts and prior to film school, performed off-Broadway and worked in TV and film as an actor.

Agent Brant Rose
As an agent who represents writers, directors and producers in television, film and new media, Rose has helped shape the careers of a number of DGA, Academy Award, Golden Globe, Emmy, WGA and Independent Spirit Award winners and nominees. He has served on the Sundance Producers Conference, the American Cinematheque board, and the I Have a Dream Foundation-LA. Prior to the entertainment business, Rose worked in brand management/marketing at Procter & Gamble after graduating Dartmouth College with a degree in Government.