People on the Move

Zoic Studios has added Academy Award-nominated Lou Pecora as VFX supervisor in its Culver City studio. Pecora has over two decades of experience in visual effects, working across commercial, feature film and series projects. He comes to Zoic from Digital Domain, where he spent 18 years working with top Hollywood directors on large-scale feature film projects as a VFX supervisor and compositing supervisor. He has lent his talents to such feature films as X Men: Apocalypse, Spider-Man: Homecoming, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Maleficent, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, I, Robot, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Star Trek, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Stealth, The Mummy: Tomb of the Emperor, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima. His work has garnered widespread industry recognition, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Achievement in Visual Effects for X-Men: Days of Future Past, as well as several VES nominations.

“Over the past few years, we’ve been fortunate to work with the top filmmakers during this very exciting time in television where shows like Game of Thrones and Series of Unfortunate Events require feature film quality for television.  Lou is  a perfect fit for us, as he clearly brings that eye towards quality, but also really connects with these filmmakers,” noted Zoic executive creative director/co-founder Chris Jones.  

“There has been a major shift in the television landscape, with a much greater volume of work and substantially higher production values than ever before,” added Pecora. “Zoic has their hands in a diverse range of high-end television projects, and I’m excited to bring my experience in the feature film space to this dynamic sector of the entertainment industry.”

The addition of Pecora comes on the heels of several high profile projects at Zoic, including work on Darren Aronofsky’s thriller mother!, Game of Thrones for HBO and Marvel’s The Defenders for Netflix.

Susan Wrubel is stepping in as interim executive director of Aspen Film. Wrubel is a seasoned film industry executive, who has had a multi-faceted career in the global film industry, including film festivals and the non-profit arena.

Wrubel began her career in art house and foreign-language distribution, then moved into film acquisitions at New Yorker Films.  She next became head of acquisitions and co-productions at Paramount Classics, overseeing both domestic and international projects. She eventually moved into development, sales and production as a consultant to several internationally focused companies. 

After four years overseeing the panel and seminar program, and working with the Encuentros co-production market for the annual Miami International Film Festival, Wrubel spent the next four years curating, and as an industry liaison for the Independent Feature Project’s (IFP) No Borders international co-production market. She also produced the organization’s 2012 edition of the IFP Gotham Independent Film Awards.  In addition, she has worked closely with the artistic director of the Rio International Film Festival, helping to bring American films to Rio de Janeiro.  Most recently she has been an executive producer, sales representative and consultant on a number of U.S. and international independent film productions.  

Aspen Film’s 39th edition of Filmfest, its flagship festival, runs October 3-8.  The organization added Jane Schottle, a world class curator and program director of the Toronto International Film Festival (TiFF), as its program director for Aspen’s Filmfest and Academy Screenings. And now Wrubel steps in to guide the organization.

Ryan Brooks, chairman of Aspen Film’s Board of Trustees, stated, “Susan has a stellar reputation within the global film industry and a vast wealth of knowledge and experience in both film and non-profit that make her an ideal fit for the position.  We feel extremely lucky to have her and could not be more excited about the future of Aspen Film.”

Wrubel takes the reigns from Aspen Film board member Elexa Ruth, who stepped into the temporary role in May of 2017.

“It’s been an honor to work with Aspen Film in a more direct capacity as interim director these last few months.  I am thrilled now to pass the torch to Susan, whose track record will be so beneficial to our organization,” said Ruth.

“I could not be more excited to be joining the team at Aspen Film and to make this the next chapter of my diverse career,” said Wrubel.  “Aspen Film’s goals to enlighten, enrich, educate and entertain are several of the reasons I got into, and have stayed in, the film industry, as that is what film does for me. Aspen is an inspiring town with so much to offer on so many levels.”

Creative studio Carbon has added Gretchen Praeger as sr. producer in its Chicago office.

With two decades worth of experience in the Windy City, Praeger joins Carbon after spending the majority of her career at Optimus, where she served as EP/managing director and worked with clients including Nintendo, McDonald’s, Sears, JCPenney, Allstate, Gatorade, Taco Bell, KFC, Miller Lite and Budweiser.

Carbon specializes in design, color, visual effects and motion graphics.

Ryan Lietaer is joining the community London as the agency’s managing director. The move reunites him with executive creative director Mark Hunter after they met at Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam 10 years ago. 
 
Lietaer led W+K’s global Coca-Cola business before leaving to become general manager of BBDO Paris where in addition to leading international new business, he spearheaded the global Pepsi and HP accounts. Lietaer then left BBDO to launch his own creative agency Peoplewelike, in 2013 where his clients included LVMH, Suntory Schweppes, Diageo, L’Oreal, Le Coq Sportif and Weight Watchers. 
 
“Ryan has a rare mix of talent and humanity that resonates strongly with our team. He’s a big impact player and someone who has been a part of great creative thinking his whole career,” said Joaquin Mollá, co-founder and co-CCO of the community.