The Directors Network (TDN), a talent agency for commercial freelance directors, directors of photography, and director/DPs, has signed award-winning director Paul Goldman to its talent roster. Goldman, who is based in NYC, has just returned from helming the latest VW campaign now airing in Asia. The six-day shoot, which spanned across China and Taiwan, yielded three spots to advertise new consumer technology available on the Asian continent. His ad credits span national and international brands like Kraft, Fiat, PepsiCo and GE, earning Clios, Cannes Lions, and many other accolades along the way….
Los Angeles-based cinematographer Patrick Simpson has also recently signed with TDN. He is known for collaborating with commercial director Melodie McDaniel, and has worked with clients as diverse as Bank of America, Disney, and Volvo, among others. He lensed the worldwide Neutrogena “Beautiful” campaign, which premiered in the U.S. during the Oscars, and the documentary film Corman’s World, which was an official selection at Sundance and Cannes….
Production designer Melanie Mandl has joined Innovative Artists for representation in commercials. She has worked on spots for Jet.com, BMW, Bud Light and Converse, among others….
Also coming aboard the roster of Innovative Artists–for representation in spots and features–is costume designer Alana Morshead. She is best known for her feature credits Newness, The Hero and the upcoming Zoe….
Below-the-line Orlando Agency now represents DPs Jeff Barklage and David Kessler exclusively for commercials. Barklage’s ad credits include Coca Cola, Oil of Olay, Folgers, Subway, Tide and Bud Light. His work includes genres such as food-tabletop, liquids and packaged goods. Kessler’s commercials include Canon, Sears, Kellogg’s, Goodyear Tires, McDonald’s, Miller Beer, Hoover, Zocor and Under Armour….
Music Biopics Get Creative At Toronto Film Festival
Many of the expected conventions of music biopics are present in "Piece by Piece," about the producer-turned-pop star Pharrell Williams, and "Better Man," about the British singer Robbie Williams. There's the young artist's urge to break through, fallow creative periods and regrettable chapters of fame-addled excess. But there are a few, little differences. In "Piece by Piece," Pharrell is a Lego. And in "Better Man," Williams is played by a CGI monkey. If the music biopic can sometimes feel a little stale in format, these two movies, both premiering this week at the Toronto International Film Festival, attempt novel remixes. In each film, each Williams recounts his life story as a narrator. But their on-screen selves aren't movie stars who studied to get a part just right, but computer-generated animations living out real superstar fantasies. While neither Williams has much in common as a musician, neither has had a very traditional career. Their films became reflections of their individuality, and, maybe, a way to distinguish themselves in the crowded field of music biopics like "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Rocketman." "This is about being who you are, even if it's not something that can be put in a box," Pharrell said in an interview Tuesday alongside director Morgan Neville. Also next to Pharrell: A two-foot-tall Lego sculpture of himself, which was later in the day brought to the film's premiere and given its own seat in the crowd. The experience watching the crowd-pleasing "Piece by Piece," which Focus Features will release Oct. 11, can be pleasantly discombobulating. A wide spectrum of things you never expected to see in Lego form are animated. Virginia Beach (where Pharrell grew up). An album of Stevie Wonder's "Songs in the Key of Life."... Read More