Director Gaysorn Thavat has joined Grand Large–the Paris and New York company founded by executive producer Steve Horton–for representation in the U.S. and France. She thus returns to the shop that had been her production base in the U.S. until three years ago. This move marks her return to American advertising after a hiatus during which she developed a feature film with help from the New Zealand Film Commission.
Thavat’s direction is notable for its sensitivity to performance and her unique art direction. She is also known for her frequent integration of animation and visual effects. With roots in the camera department, she was a focus puller on multiple TV and feature projects in her native New Zealand, including the critically acclaimed Whale Rider (on which she also has a VFX credit), before launching her career as a director. Her short film, Brave Donkey, toured international film festivals in 2010 to rave reviews.
Welcoming Thavat back to the American ad market, Horton said, “As she’s continued shooting commercials for Australia and New Zealand, her work has only become more refined and distinctive. She brings a unique narrative style, subtlety and magic to every project.”
Thavat’s newest work is a docu-style spot for TSB Bank in New Zealand, produced through her long-time production company, Exit Films in Sydney. A Gold Lion winner for a breast cancer research spot she directed in 2009, Thavat has a body of work that spans U.S. clients including Nokia, Schwinn, Yahoo, JCPenney, Disney and Kohl’s.
At Grand Large, Thavat joins a roster that includes award-winning Broadway and feature film director Julie Taymor, as well as Tracey Rowe, Astrid Sterner, Tran Ahn Hung, Griffin Dunne, Fred Garson, and Grant Greenberg.
Review: Director Morgan Neville’s “Piece by Piece”
A movie documentary that uses only Lego pieces might seem an unconventional choice. When that documentary is about renowned musician-producer Pharrell Williams, it's actually sort of on-brand.
"Piece by Piece" is a bright, clever song-filled biopic that pretends it's a behind-the-scenes documentary using small plastic bricks, angles and curves to celebrate an artist known for his quirky soul. It is deep and surreal and often adorable. Is it high concept or low? Like Williams, it's a bit of both.
Director Morgan Neville — who has gotten more and more experimental exploring other celebrity lives like Fred Rogers in "Won't You Be My Neighbor?,""Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain" and "Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in Two Pieces" — this time uses real interviews but masks them under little Lego figurines with animated faces. Call this one a documentary in a million pieces.
The filmmakers try to explain their device — "What if nothing is real? What if life is like a Lego set?" Williams says at the beginning — but it's very tenuous. Just submit and enjoy the ride of a poor kid from Virginia Beach, Virginia, who rose to dominate music and become a creative director at Louis Vuitton.
Williams, by his own admission, is a little detached, a little odd. Music triggers colors in his brain — he has synesthesia, beautifully portrayed here — and it's his forward-looking musical brain that will make him a star, first as part of the producing team The Neptunes and then as an in-demand solo producer and songwriter.
There are highs and lows and then highs again. A verse Williams wrote for "Rump Shaker" by Wreckx-N-Effect when he was making a living selling beats would lead to superstars demanding to work with him and partner... Read More