Bicoastal production company Honor Society has signed director Taylor Cohen for U.S. commercial representation. Cohen is an award-winning music video, commercial and feature film writer and director. He comes to Honor Society following a decade of experience as a filmmaker, helming music videos for top artists including Billie Eilish, Little Dragon, Travis Scott and Nicki Minaj, and brands including Intel and Beats by Dre. For the past two years, he has continually directed spots for Apple Music’s ongoing “Next Up” campaign, featuring artists such as Eilish and Burna Boy. His recent suspenseful short film Strobe earned a Vimeo Staff Pick for its haunting depiction of a troubled teenage girl going to extreme lengths to get the attention of a famous DJ online.
After beginning his directorial career touring with musicians and documenting the rise of DIY venues and the shifting music industry, Cohen quickly established himself as a talent to watch in the music video space after earning the MTV Breakthrough Video of the Year award for his first music video, “Lessons Learned,” for indie electronic duo Matt and Kim.
“Taylor’s work in both film and commercials shows a unique talent for leveraging raw, human emotion to pique the curiosity of viewers,” noted Megan Kelly, Honor Society’s managing director/executive producer. “He is constantly evolving his craft and pushing the visual envelope, no matter the size or scope of the project.”
Cohen, who’s repped for music videos by Happy Place, had earlier been handled for commercials by Object & Animal. He is currently represented for film and television by William Morris Endeavor and is currently in development on a feature film adaptation of his short film, Strobe.
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