Bicoastal/international RSA Films has signed feature filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow for worldwide spot representation. Her latest film, The Hurt Locker, is in theaters now after earning a SIGNIS Grand Prize when it debuted at the Venice Film Festival last year. The Hurt Locker, which has garnered critical acclaim, tells the story of military bomb specialists stationed in Iraq.
While accomplished in features with a filmography that includes action pic Point Break, sci-fi thriller Strange Days, cold war drama K-19: The Widowmaker and the cult vampire movie Near Dark, Bigelow is hardly a stranger to commercials and branded content, having helmed projects for such clients as Budweiser, Coca-Cola, Hummer, Mazda, Rexona and Pirelli.
For the latter a couple of years ago, Bigelow directed Mission Zero, a short film conceived by Leo Burnett in Milan, and produced by Bigelow’s former commercials roost, Santa Monica-based Independent Media. A wild ride action/adventure shown on Pirelli’s website, Mission Zero starred Uma Thurman and was shot by Oscar-winning cinematographer Janusz Kaminski (who himself is now repped as a commercials director via Independent Media).
Prior to Independent Media, Bigelow had spotmaking affiliations with such houses as Crossroads and @radical.media.
For her feature filmmaking, Bigelow has received assorted honors on the festival circuit, including from the Seattle International and San Sebastian fests, the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film, and AFI Dallas. Strange Days earned her a Saturn Award for best direction from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films. She recently earned the Columbia University Andrew Sarris Award for alumni achievement. And earlier this year the ShoWest Triumph Award for Outstanding Direction was bestowed upon Bigelow based on her career body of work.
Jules Daly, president of RSA Films, described Bigelow as being “one of the most innovative filmmakers today, and we look forward to partnering with her to expand upon her extensive body of work.”
Director Tony Scott said that he and RSA partner, director Ridley Scott, “have been fans of Kathryn for a long time and we simply could not be more ecstatic to welcome someone of her caliber aboard.”
David Attenborough, The Enthused But Hushed Voice Of Nature Programs, Turns 100
The BBC is hosting a party for David Attenborough at the Royal Albert Hall. Cinemas are playing his nature films. Friends have spent weeks lavishing praise on the man and his work. But the world's most famous wildlife presenter is likely to be uncomfortable with all the attention as he celebrates his 100th birthday on Friday, said Alastair Fothergill, the producer of some of Attenborough's most well-known documentaries and the director of Silverback Films. "He's always been very clear to all of us that work with him: 'Remember, the animals are the stars, I'm not,''' Fothergill told The Associated Press. "So, yes, surprisingly for one of the most famous men on the planet, he doesn't like being famous at all." Glorious gorillas But Attenborough has had to accept the accolades this week as scientists, politicians and conservationists celebrated the man who has brought frolicking gorillas, breaching whales and tiny poisonous frogs into living rooms around the world for more than 70 years. Through BBC programs such as "Life on Earth," "The Private Life of Plants" and "The Blue Planet," Attenborough has illuminated the beauty, ferocity and sometimes downright weirdness of nature in a hushed melodic voice that conveys his own awe at what he is witnessing. Viewers who might never leave their hometowns were transported to the Himalayas, the Amazon and th unexplored forests of Papua New Guinea. But behind the stunning images was an attention to scientific accuracy that helped teach people about complex subjects like evolution, animal behavior and biodiversity. And as the evidence mounted, he began to sound the alarm about climate change, ocean plastic and other human-caused threats to the planet. That helped people understand not only how... Read More