Julie Waters, Evan Dyal Launch Production and Finance Outfit Watermark Media
Veteran exec Julie Waters and Evan Dyal have launched the production and finance company Watermark Media, which is already co-financing and producing a slate of five projects since its 2024 founding.
Watermark is behind the Molly Gordon feature Oh, Hi! which launched out of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival where Sony Pictures Classics picked it up. Other Watermark projects include Joel Alfonso Vargas' Made Bills to Pay, which also premiered at Sundance before heading to the Berlin Film Festival.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
Jennifer Lopez's 'Kiss of the Spider Woman' Nearing Deal With Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate
Producer Christine Vachon Has a Pick for the Future Home of the Sundance Film Festival
'Khartoum' Review: Experimental Doc Poignantly Captures the Crisis in Sudan
Waters is a longtime executive whose tenure at Temple Hill Entertainment included producing the critically acclaimed FX series Dave and worked on Hulu series Love, Victor and The Other Black Girl. She launches Watermark after overseeing film and television at Rachel Brosnahan's Scrap Paper Pictures. Dyal co-founded Watermark after a career in real estate development.
Joining Waters and Dyal are COO and partner Aaron Millberg, overseeing business development and operations, and development executive Lexi Kroll. Millberg spent eight years at UTA, working as a talent agent in the endorsements division, before a position as the head of creator and content commerce at e-commerce company Canal. After starting her career in the lit department at Brillstein Entertainment, Kroll held posts at director Jonathan Levine's production company Megamix and Scrap Paper Pictures.
'Watermark Media is built on a foundation of innovation and inclusivity, and further solidifies our commitment to creating culturally significant, fresh and diverse narratives from rising filmmakers,' said Waters and Dyal. 'With Oh, Hi! and Mad Bills to Pay leading the way, we're thrilled to share these films with the world and continue supporting creatives who are shaping the future of entertainment.'
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
The 10 Best Baseball Movies of All Time, Ranked
20 Times the Oscars Got It Wrong
The Best Anti-Fascist Films of All Time
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Michelle Obama reveals daughters are still ‘pushing away' from fame
Michelle Obama has opened up about how her two daughters are continuing to separate themselves from their well-known parents. The former First Lady and her older brother Craig Robinson appeared on Monday's episode of the Sibling Revelry podcast with Kate Hudson and her brother Oliver Hudson. Michelle discussed her oldest daughter Malia's decision not to include her last name on the credits of her directorial debut. 'Where do we begin?' Michelle said. 'Our daughters are 26 and 23, they are young adult women. But they definitely went through a period in their teen years…it was the 'push away.'' She continued: 'They're still doing that, and you guys know this of children with parents who are known. You're trying to distinguish yourself. It's very important for my kids to feel like they've earned what they are getting in the world.' Michelle said that her children want to make sure people don't assume they don't work hard or are 'handed things' because of who their parents are. 'They want to be their own people,' she said. The mother of two then referenced Malia's directorial debut at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival with The Heart. However, instead of the film's credits listing her as Malia Obama, she used her first and middle name, Malia Ann. 'We were like, 'They're still going to know it's you, Malia,'' she recalled telling her daughter. 'But we respected the fact that she's trying to make her way.' Michelle's husband, Barack Obama, has also previously discussed Malia's decision to leave off her last name in film credits during an appearance on The Pivot Podcastback in October 2024. At the time, he said he wasn't surprised by her choice. 'The challenge for us is letting us give them any help at all,' he said about both Malia and his 23-year-old daughter, Sasha. 'I mean they're very sensitive about this stuff. They're very stubborn about it.' Despite Malia wanting to separate herself from the family name professionally, her father reminded her that people may still recognize her regardless. 'I was all like, 'You do know they'll know who you are,'' Barack said on the podcast. 'And she's all like, 'You know what? I want them to watch it that first time and not in any way have that association.' So I think our daughters go out of their way to not try to leverage that.' However, as the Obama children have grown up, they have received more and more media attention. 'Now, as they've gotten older, there's been some paparazzi stuff going on, and it drives them nuts,' the former president said. 'Their attitude is, 'We're not looking for all that.' So they're grounded.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
26 celebs who came out in 2025 (so far)
TheStewartofNY/Getty Images; Brian D. McLaughlin/Michael;Anna Camp, Paul Reubens, and Valentina While many people, especially in younger generations, may not see "coming out" as a big deal in 2025, it still is for many others. Coming out not only allows a person to live as their most authentic self, but also lets those with a spotlight show others what kind of possibilities there are in life. It may be considered an aphorism today, but the phrase "if you can't see it, you can't be it" still holds a lot of truth. These celebrities who came out in 2025 are reminding us that coming out can still be a powerful tool for self-empowerment and raising awareness that LGBTQ+ people can look any way and come from anywhere. Celebrities who came out in 2024 included Maren Morris, Kelly Marie Tran, Tom Hollander, and Amanda Tori Meating came out. In 2025, a new list of stars have embraced their most authentic selves. Known for starring in the Pitch Perfect movies and the Netflix show You, actor Anna Camp casually came out this year in a TikTok interview where she was asked what she expects from a guy on a date. "Well, I don't expect anything from a guy anymore because I'm dating a woman, and it's great," she answered, gesturing to her girlfriend Jade Whipkey. Actor, comedian, and performer Paul Reubens, best known for his Pee-wee Herman character, came out in the documentary Pee-wee as Himself, which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Reubens, who passed away in 2023 at the age of 70, would often make veiled references to his sexuality late in his career, but didn't come out until the posthumous documentary. Dancer, singer, and reality star JoJo Siwa had a busy time coming out on Celebrity Big Brother UK this year. When Siwa joined the show, they updated their pronouns to "anything you feel on that day, whatever I look like, you can call me." Later on the show, they opened up about their gender. "Essentially, you have female, you have male. I've met a lot of females, love them, don't feel like I'm them. Met a lot of males, love them, definitely not them," she said. "Met a lot of people in my life that are nonbinary, and these beautiful nonbinary people are who I feel the most like." She also realized that she wanted to change her label. "I feel, like, so queer, do you konw what I mean? I think that's the thing, I've always told myself I'm a lesbian, and I thinb here, I've realized: 'Oh, I'm not a lesbian, I'm queer.' And that's really cool," she said. "I'm switching letters! F**k the 'L,' I'm going to the 'Q'!" De Niro, who is the 29-year-old daughter of Academy Award-winning actor Robert De Niro, came out as a trans woman in a cover story for Them this year. "I think a big part of [my transition] is also the influence Black women have had on me," De Niro explained. "I think stepping into this new identity, while also being more proud of my Blackness, makes me feel closer to them in some way." Reid is one of the most popular authors today, with hit books like 2017's The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, 2019's Daisy Jones and The Six, and her new novel, Atmosphere. "My attraction to women is a room in the house that is my identity — Alex [husband] understood this book was about me spending time in that room," the author told Time magazine about writing queer women characters. "He was so excited for me, like, 'What a great way for you to express this side of you.' And he helped me get the book to be as romantic and beautiful as it could be." RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 10 star Aja had come out as a trans woman back in 2021, and this year, came out as bisexual. "Had the realization today that I am definitely bisexual and have been in denial about it," she wrote on X. "Welp. I guess I'm coming out. I'm bisexual." In a post celebrating her 34th birthday, RuPaul's Drag Race superstar Valentina came out as a trans woman. "Hello everyone, it's me Valentina Xunaxi. Today is my bday. I turn 34," she wrote on Instagram. "For some time now I've been in transition, I've been doing it privately but today I wanted to open and share with you all. Along the way I've felt pressure to come forward, so I've decided and wanted to take today to declare myself as a transgender woman. I welcome all the love, support and protection from my dear fans. Thank you so much." Country singer Tanner Adell, who had the viral hit "Buckle Bunny" and was featured on Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter album on the song "BLACKBIIRD," came out as pansexual. "It's funny when people ask me my sexual orientation, but I feel like you should be able to hear that in my music," she said. "There's more of that coming." In an essay for Them, comedian and writer James Tom came out with a new name and attraction to men. "Testosterone allowed me to access a latent desire for men that had likely always existed, but felt impossible to realize as a 'woman.' As a boy, though, dick became ubiquitous," Tom wrote. "There are cathedrals everywhere for those with eyes to see. I took to f****try like a fish in water, and with my new gay surroundings came new ways for people to perceive me, and more importantly, new ways for me to perceive myself." Nonbinary actor Jack Haven, known for starring in films like I Saw the TV Glow and the Netflix show Atypical, announced a name change this year. "Haven is after my great great uncle, Haven Gillespie who was a songwriter known for the xmas hit 'Santa Clause is Coming to Town,' which he wrote on the subway in 15 minutes. and first name Jack has stuck," Haven wrote on Instagram. "Two years ago in a workshop led by @saman_arastoo I began using this name. I said I was using it in safe spaces. Saman said use it in dangerous spaces. So I use it in the mens bathroom." British alt-pop singer Lola Young came out as bisexual in reply to a TikTok comment saying "no man deserves this" posted on a video of her singing. "I like p***y as well u kno," Young replied. Actor Suprya Ganesh, who plays Dr. Samira Mohan on the hit HBO Max series The Pitt, opened up about being queer and using she/they pronouns in an interview with Variety this year. "There are a couple of times where I'm existing outside of [femme-ness], and I don't always totally feel like I'm fitting into what I think is a very white-conceived perception of femininity," they said. "I also want queer brown women to look at me and know that that's someone they can turn to and relate to."Barry Diller The billionaire media mogul and longtime husband of fashion icon Diane von Furstenberg came out as "bi with Di," saying he his gay and von Furstenberg is the only woman he's loved in his new memoir, Who Knew. K-pop singer Bain, who is a member of the group JUST B, came out during a concert in April this year. All right, before I sing this next song, tonight I wanna share something with you guys," he said. "I'm f**king proud to be part of the LGBTQ+ community." Bain then performed a cover of Lady Gaga's gay anthem "Born This Way." Chrichillo is a reality TV star who competed on Survivor and came out as trans in an essay for Cosmopolitan. "I didn't come back to a spouse or a full-time career, like many of my castmates did,' he said in the essay. "I didn't have a passion to replace the 15-year quest that was getting cast. When I think about my future, there's a lot of blurriness. But there's a lifelong accumulation of artifacts that has pulled my identity into focus, inside the museum of my own transness." This Olympic runner, who won a bronze medal in the 1500-meter race at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, opened up about his sexuality and his current relationship this year. On an Instagram post showing pictures of him with another man, Nuguse wrote, "Introducing my boyfriend, Julian. Can't believe we're already one year in my love 💛(Don't act so surprised)." Known professionally as Lara Raj, this singer and member of the group Katseye opened up about her sexuality on the social media platform Weverse. "I knew I was half fruitcake when i was like 8 so i really was wanting everybody," she wrote. "Honestly probably before 8. Isn't 'half fruitcake' such a good way to explain it without saying it?" Gymnast Jade Carey, who has two gold medals and a bronze as a part of the 2020 and 2024 USA Gymnastics teams, came out as queer and revealed she is dating Aimee Sinacola, director of creative content for the University of Oregon Ducks. Isabella is a comic writer known for creating the DC character Black Lightning, as well as Marvel characters Misty Knight and Tigra. She came out as a trans woman this year at the age of 73. "Keep Calm and Yes I'm Transgender," she posted on social media. Floyd, known for playing Neff in the Netflix series Inventing Anna and Dr. Simone Griffith on Grey's Anatomy, opened up about her sexuality on the Made it Out podcast. After revealing that her father came out as gay in his 50s, she said, "So funnily enough, I was pretty closeted growing up. I've had relationships with people of all sorts of gender identities. So I myself, I'm still looking for a definition. I love the word queer because it sort of holds it all." Brianna "Chickenfry" LaPaglia is a social media star and podcast host who previously dated country singer Zach Bryan. This year, she told her BFFs podcast cohost Josh Richards that she's not interested in having "a boyfriend, like, ever again," and added, "Everyone's saying I'm a lesbian, which is fine. … I've dabbled for sure. I'm thinking maybe girls is my play. I think that they're better, so maybe I really am fully a lesbian, so maybe that's why none of my relationships with men have worked out. But I don't know. Time will tell." Danish professional handballer and podcast host Jensen came out this year in a post on Instagram. "I am gay. Three words that should, in reality, be easy to say, but for many years, I've been afraid to be open about it," he said in his post. Stękała is a Polish ski jumper who took the bronze medal in the 2021 World Championships. He came out in an Instagram post honoring his late partner, who passed away in November. "I wondered for a long time if I would ever find the strength to write these words. For years, I lived in the shadow of fear, in hiding, afraid that who I really am could destroy me," Stękała wrote in a post about his partner of eight years. "Today, however, I don't want to run away anymore. I want you to really know me. I'm gay. For years, I hid it from the world – from you, from the media, and sometimes even from myself." Bennington is the daughter of late Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington. She came out as trans in an Instagram post on Valentine's Day this year. "In August of last year, I decided to take the path of happiness and being true to myself," she wrote. "I came out as transgender and started hormone replacement therapy, and it has been the best decision I've ever made in my life," she continued. McGraw is the daughter of country stars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, and while her friends and family have known she is an "out and proud queer, bisexual woman" for a while, the public found out this year during Pride Month. McGraw posted on Instagram that tabloids were saying she "came out," but said she was already out and she has and "will always be very vocal about my support of LGBTQIA+ rights and the community." Rose is the lead singer of the music group The Vandoliers. She came out as trans to Rolling Stone. "I've always been very arms-length with people because of this," she said. "I didn't want anybody to ever find out about it. For 26 years, I've tried to be anything but a trans person, and it never went away."


USA Today
4 hours ago
- USA Today
Michelle Obama reveals daughter Malia Obama's name change
Michelle Obama reveals daughter Malia Obama's name change Show Caption Hide Caption Michelle Obama breaks silence on skipping Trump inauguration Former First Lady Michelle Obama denies divorce rumors with her husband, and says she is reevaluating her public appearances. Michelle Obama is breaking her silence on eldest daughter Malia Obama's decision to drop her last name. Malia Ann, who is pursuing a film career in Hollywood, used her middle name as her artistic name for the credits of short film "The Heart" which she wrote and directed, that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2024. During a Wednesday, June 4, appearance on the "Sibling Revelry" podcast cohosted by Oliver and Kate Hudson, Obama addressed Malia's decision to ditch Obama after former President Barack Obama's second term. The Obamas also share University of Southern California alum Sasha Obama. "Our daughters (Malia and Sasha) are 25 and 23. They are young adult women, but they definitely went through a period in their teen years where it was the push away. … They're still doing that," Obama told the Hudson siblings, noting that "you guys know this as the children of parents who are known." Michelle Obama says 'everyone' would know if she divorced Barack Obama: 'I'm not a martyr' The Hudsons are the children of actress Goldie Hawn and previously estranged dad, musician Bill Hudson, although they count Hawn's longterm partner Kurt Russell as a father figure. "It is very important for my kids to feel like they've earned what they are getting in the world, and they don't want people to assume that they don't work hard, that they're just naturally, just handed things," the "Becoming" author added. "They're very sensitive to that – they want to be their own people." On Malia's first project "she took off her last name, and we were like, they're still going to know it's you, Malia," Obama continued. "But we respected the fact that she's trying to make her way." Obama told the Hudson siblings, during the appearance alongside her own brother and "IMO" podcast co-host Craig Robinson, that "our daughters didn't want to be little princesses in the White House." "They wanted to push the envelope; they needed some rope. They wanted to try some things, they wanted to be out in the world, and I knew that under the circumstances, they needed more rope than I probably would've given them if I were my mom," Obama said.