John Hillcoat–a feature filmmaker (The Road, The Proposition) who successfully extended his reach to commercials, making an auspicious ad debut back in 2010 with Levi’s “To Work” for Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore.–has joined Serial Pictures for global representation in spots and branded content. He had previously been handled by production house Stink.
“To Work” began a run of notable ad endeavors spanning such clients as Apple, Samsung, Volkswagen, Coca-Cola, Jameson and Guinness. In 2016 alone, Hillcoat’s work scored impressively on the awards show circuit. He helmed Guinness’ “Never Alone” which took home a Gold Lion for Film at the Cannes Lions Festival, a D&AD Graphite Pencil for Branded Content, and placement in the 2016 APA Collection, among its many accolades. He won Best Direction for “Apple History of Sound” at the 2016 One Show, while also earning Clio Awards, and Epica Awards, plus top honors at the Cannes Lion Festival, AICP, ANDY, and ADC Awards. Furthermore, his Vaseline retrospective, “Wonder Jelly,” took Gold at the Clio Awards.
Hillcoat also has a Super Bowl ad pedigree. In 2014, he made his mark on the Big Game with Coca-Cola’s “It’s Beautiful” from Wieden+Kennedy. The :60 showed adults and children from different walks of life and from all over the country singing “America the Beautiful” in multiple languages.
One of Hillcoat’s most notable creative relationships is the long-time, collaborative bond he has developed with close friend Nick Cave. Originally teenage friends, the two have worked on more than a dozen projects together– Hillcoat directing some of Cave’s music videos and Cave writing, composing and performing many of Hillcoat’s most well-known films. Throughout his music video career, Hillcoat has worked closely with such performers as Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Elvis Costello, Depeche Mode, and Robert Plant.
Hillcoat’s feature filmmaking career dates back to his first movie, Ghosts…of the Civil Dead, which won the La Sapienza University Prize at the Venice Film Festival. Since then he has directed the film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road starring Viggo Mortenson and Charlize Theron, Lawless featuring Tom Hardy, and this year’s cop heist, Triple 9, starring Casey Affleck, Kate Winslet, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Hillcoat’s body of work has earned nominations for the Cannes Palm d’Or, the Venice Film Festival Golden Lion, and a BAFTA Film Award.
Serial Pictures founding partner/EP Violaine Etienne said, “With his profound understanding of human emotion, John has the unique ability to create striking visual narratives where his play of light, composition, and immersive camera moves complement the raw humanity of the performances. Being able to find the subtle balance of telling a genuine human story within the context of a powerful visual journey is what makes John’s filmmaking so unique and appealing.”
