Postproduction company Lost Planet has added editor Chuck Willis to its talent roster.
Through his storied career, Willis has been awarded numerous accolades, including a 2023 Clio for the spot “Those Guys,” for Volkswagen, many Cannes Lions, LIAs, ADDYs, AICP Awards, D&AD, an Emmy nomination, as well as a Grammy Award. Three of Willis’ commercial films are in the permanent collection at MoMA. He is well known for his work editing Super Bowl commercials for Go Daddy and Pepsi. For the latter, he cut “Boy In A Bottle,” a lauded Super Sunday spot. Additional advertising collaborations span brands such as Little Caesar’s, Rakuten, Hershey, Citi, Kayak, Lowes, DraftKings, New York Lottery, Dish Network and Foot Locker, among many others.
Willis additionally edited many show openings and commercial parodies for Saturday Night Live. His most popular sketches for SNL are “Woomba,” “Compulsion by Calvin Kleen,” “Colon Blow,” “Change Bank,” “The Helmsley Hotel, and Spook House,” and “Adobe, the little car that’s made out of clay.” Over the course of 15 years at the beloved late-night show, Willis honed his storytelling skills and sharpened his comedic sensibilities through editing and occasional stints directing these parody spots. In his work at SNL, Willis collaborated with comedy notables Phil Hartman, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Jimmy Fallon, Maya Rudolph, Jon Lovitz, and Rachel Dratch.
Prior to joining Lost Planet, Willis was a founder and editor at several editorial houses: Crew Cuts, The Cutting Room NYC, and Gattie & Lopez. Highlights from Willis’s career include teaming up to edit work for directors like Spike Lee, Michael Bay, Melina Matsoukas, Todd Field, Craig Gillespie, Dave Meyers, Bjorn Ruhmann, and The Russo Brothers, to name a few.
“Lost Planet has always had a reputation as a very creative shop, and that’s mostly due to [founder/editor] Hank Corwin,” said Willis. “We both came up in the industry around the same time. I remember he cut an AT&T spot that really turned my head around. I’ll never forget showing it to everyone at my company, saying, ‘This is editing!’ So, naturally, I’m very excited to be on board with Lost Planet.”
Lost Planet’s executive producer Casey Cayko added, “I’ve been a fan of Chuck’s work for a while now; he makes intuitive choices that lead to out-of-the-box cuts and, ultimately, very unforgettable films. He’s naturally funny, extremely talented, and, best of all, he’s a wonderful person. I look forward to seeing what’s next for him as he continues to produce incredible work.”
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More