By Emily Vines
NEW YORK—Red Car has added a pair of noted editors—Charlie Cusumano, who joins the company’s New York operation, and Keith James, who comes aboard Red Car, Dallas. The cutters are also available to shuttle to Red Car’s other offices—or to work via the company’s AVA connectivity network—for projects. Red Car maintains additional offices in such markets as Chicago, Santa Monica, San Francisco and Buenos Aires.
Cusumano comes over from ChicK?nKey, New York. Prior to that, he was with Mad River Post, New York, for eight years. "It dissolved between ChicK?nKey and me—it was an amicable parting," he related.
The editor said that the sales force at Red Car was appealing to him, along with the shop’s strong reputation and New York managing director Jennifer Lederman. "When I met her, I was like, ‘Yeah, sign me up.’ She had a great enthusiasm and energy," he said. "She’s helping me find jobs and managing my career, which was what I was looking for."
It was a mutual contact that brought Cusumano together with the shop. When he started in the industry at now defunct Big Picture Editorial, he assisted editor Greg Letson, who is now an editor at Red Car’s New York office. It was Letson who informed Lederman of Cusumano’s availability, and Lederman was immediately drawn to the cutter. "He’s an extremely talented editor, he has a great reel with well known directors … and his personality fit really well with Red Car," she said.
While he is interested in cutting work from all commercial genres, Cusumano acknowledged that he tends to gravitate toward comedy/dialogue/storytelling. His reel includes work for ESPN, Dunkin’ Donuts, Snapple and Popeyes. His first project at Red Car was a spot featuring Dan Aykroyd for Charter Communications through McCann-Erickson, Detroit, and directed by John Landis of A Band Apart, Los Angeles.
The roster at Red Car, New York, includes the aforementioned Letson, Glenn Conte, Anne Craddock, Beth Cramer, Jonathan Edwards, Jerry Fried and John Maloney. Edwards recently relocated from Red Car’s Dallas office.
JAMES
Prior to Red Car, James was with charlieuniformtango, Dallas and Austin, Texas, which he joined after graduating from the University of Texas, Austin, in ’97. He comes to his new roost as senior editor. For James, the opportunity to gain exposure nationally and internationally was a prime factor in his picking Red Car.
James recently completed a Red Car package for 7-Eleven through TracyLocke, Dallas. He had cut another spot for the brand before leaving charlieuniformtango. "I think that’s part of why they hired me for the Dallas office—to have someone that was really familiar with the Dallas community," he said. "It’s a win-win relationship for both of us—they’re able to pick up some clients they haven’t had exposure to in the past that I have been doing a lot of [work with] at Tango, and I’m getting exposure to the national market. … I’ve got managing directors in different cities that are pushing my work."
Carrie Callaway, managing director of the Dallas office, confirmed that James’ "great skills as well as great contacts" were part of his appeal.
With a reel featuring a mix of cars and comedy, the editor said he anticipates continuing to cut spots in these genres. James has edited work for clients like Pioneer, BMW, Budweiser and Listerine.
He joins an editorial roster in Dallas that includes Tom Acito and Chris Gipson.
8 Aspiring DPs Receive Emerging Cinematographer Awards
The International Cinematographers Guild (ICG, IATSE Local 600) presented eight aspiring DPs with 2024 Emerging Cinematographer Awards (ECA) during a ceremony, screening and reception held on Sunday (9/29) in the Television Academy’s Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood.
Also during the ECA proceedings, Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC accepted the Distinguished Filmmaker Award. Prieto is a four-time Best Cinematography Oscar nominee--for Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain, and Martin Scorsese’s Silence, The Irishman and Killers of the Flower Moon.
In his opening awards ceremony remarks, Stephen Poster, ASC--who co-chairs the Guild’s ECA committee with Jimmy Matlosz--estimated that over the 26 years of the ECA, more than 200 up-and-coming lensers have garnered invaluable exposure and recognition early on in their careers. Submissions are open to Local 600 members who are not yet classified as DPs, and a panel of established ICG members from across the country assess the short film entries. The competition has intensified over the past two-plus decades. This year’s eight honorees and their short films were selected from 118 submissions.
The class of 2024 ECA honorees are:
–Dominic Bartolone for the short film Sweet Santa Barbara Brown
–Adam Carboni, INCOMPLETE
–Matthew Halla, The Unreachable Star
–Jessica Hershatter, Pirandello on Broadway
–Allen Ho, Iron Lung
–Nick Mahar, Sands of Fate
–Dylan Trivette, Bearing Witness: A Name & A Voice
–Andrew Trost, Bloom
These emerging cinematographers benefited from more than just the Sunday showcase in North... Read More