Michelle Obama Hits CAA for Meetings After Impressive ‘Leave the World Behind’ Netflix Debut

Matt Donnelly

13 December 2023 at 5:33 pm·1-min read

Century City was abuzz Wednesday with the presence of former First Lady Michelle Obama, who was on hand in Los Angeles for meetings at CAA.

The power agency, which closed a deal for new majority ownership in September, represents Michelle and Barack Obama’s production company Higher Ground. Michelle Obama and her team sat for generals across film, TV and other departments, eyewitnesses told Variety.

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It’s not a bad time for Higher Ground to take a victory lap. The unit was a producer on Netflix’s “Leave the World Behind,” the dystopian Julia Roberts movie that dominated on the steamer after dropping on Friday — and inspired plenty of social media chatter, including some questionable feedback from X/Twitter owner Elon Musk.

Attendees with Michelle Obama included Higher Ground president Vinnie Malhotra, as well as Joe Paulson and Tonia Davis, another source added. Former President Barack Obama visited CAA himself in late September.

The former First Lady has been active in recent weeks promoting other Higher Ground titles, including awards players “American Symphony” and “Rustin.” She recently attended the New Orleans premiere of the former, which centers around Grammy award winner Jon Batiste and his life partner, author Suleika Jaouad.

In a recent New York Times piece, the Obamas discussed several upcoming projects, including a film adaptation of David W. Blight’s “Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom,” to be written by Kemp Powers and directed by Regina King; an adaptation of S.A. Cosby’s crime thriller “All the Sinners Bleed,” in partnership with Steven Spielberg; and the Lupita Nyong’o rom-com “Fling,” based on J.F. Murray’s novel.

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