DP Quyen Tran (the Justin Lerner-directed The Automatic Hate which debuted at SXSW) and production designer Todd Jeffery (Smartass directed by Jena Serbu) have signed with Dattner Dispoto and Associates (DDA) for representation. Also DDA has booked the CMT television series Still The King for DP Blake McClure…..
PlayBox Technology (UK) announces a major addition to its sales team with the appointment of Tim Rawlings as business development manager for the Middle East and Africa. Rawlings began his broadcast industry career in 1981 at Crystal Video, progressing to technical management positions at MetroVideo International, Mar-Com Systems and the London Post Group. Subsequent positions included general manager of JVC Professional Europe, sales management at Quantel, Presteigne Broadcast Rentals and business development manager at C2S Systems….
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 โ 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" โ 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 โ "What if nothing is real? What if life is like a Lego set?" Williams says at the beginning โ 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 โ he has synesthesia, beautifully portrayed here โ 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