By Robert Goldrich
NEW YORK—German director Matthias Zentner—whose Häagen Dazs campaign for Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, made a major splash stateside earlier this year—has signed with New York-based foreignfilms@cYclops for U.S. spot representation. Foreignfilms specializes in bringing European talent to the American ad market.
The deal covers mainstream English-language advertising for American agencies and clients. Zentner continues to be repped for U.S. Hispanic commercials through ACA Films, Miami. Through this latter affiliation, he recently wrapped a Hyundai job for Dieste & Harmel Partners, Dallas.
Zentner is also repped in Mexico by ACA Films, Mexico City, and in Spain by Axis Films, Barcelona. He owns Velvet Mediendesign, a Munich, Germany-based production company with extensive graphics, postproduction and visual effects resources. Velvet Mediendesign produced the Häagen Dazs package consisting of the spots "Anthem," "Vanilla" and "Strawberry."
The visual storytelling of that Häagen Dazs campaign—and its success in the marketplace—led to Zentner being courted by several American production houses. Zentner chose foreignfilms based on his experience working with executive producer Federico Fasolino in Europe. Now based in New York, Fasolino is partnered in foreign films, a company he launched in June as a joint venture with cYclops, a longstanding New York-based commercial production company founded by CEO executive producer Mike Jurkovac, director/ photographer Albert Watson and his wife, executive producer/casting director Elizabeth Watson (SHOOT, 6/18, p. 1).
Fasolino and Zentner first worked together when pitching a BMW assignment about a year and a half ago in Italy. Fasolino at the time was at his longtime roost, BRW Partners, Rome and Milan. The director and executive producer struck up a rapport, which laid the foundation for their now getting together at foreignfilms. "From that pitch, I saw that Federico understood my work and that our sensibilities were compatible," recalled Zentner. "He’s an executive producer I very much want to work with on a regular basis."
Zentner was also drawn to foreignfilms’ focus on introducing European talent to the American ad market, as well as the company’s boutique-sized directorial roster. Zentner added that the link with cYclops, an established American house, helps to build a strong comfort level for U.S. agencies working with foreignfilms.
In addition to landing Zentner, foreignfilms gains a foothold in Germany. Fasolino cited the resources at the 10-year-old Velvet Mediendesign as being intriguing to American agencies. "Having access to Matthias’ design, effects and post capabilities in Germany gives us a tremendous creative edge that we fully intend to take advantage of," related Fasolino.
Zentner’s recent credits include Motorola for the Mexico market, international campaigns for Clinique and Nokia, Toyota for Puerto Rico, and Ford Focus for the U.K. His Velvet Mediendesign is also well known for producing the Showtime network’s "Showtime Beyond" branding/identity campaign from 1999 to ’03.
Zentner gained notable international recognition when he was included in Saatchi & Saatchi’s New Directors Showcase in ’02, based on work he helmed for production house JFA, London, which later closed its commercialmaking operation. He also made SHOOT‘s first annual New Directors Showcase on the strength of spots produced by ACA, Mexico City, and Velvet Mediendesign. "World" through Velvet Mediendesign for tea company Teekanne out of TBWA, Dusseldorf, Germany, and the ACA-produced "Igualdad" for Motorola via Ogilvy & Mather, Mexico City, are strong, imaginatively visual spots. Zentner has come to be known for his visual storytelling prowess, marked by a strong graphic sense and a fluid interplay between effects, editing and music.
Foreignfilms’ directorial roster consists of Zentner, Manu Coeman, Steven Treshow and Jens Mikkelsen. The company is represented by Sarah Holbrook on the East Coast, Dawn Rao in the Midwest and Stacey Altman on the West Coast.
DreamWorks Animation Hits 30 With A New Hit Different From The Norm: “The Wild Robot”
Filmmaker Chris Sanders had finally cracked "The Wild Robot."
Peter Brown's middle-grade book, about an intelligent robot living in the wilderness, had been sitting on the shelf at DreamWorks Animation for a bit. No one had quite figured it out. Then Sanders, the man behind beloved animated features from "Lilo & Stitch" to "How to Train Your Dragon," came along.
His vision, however, was different from the norm: The story started without zippy dialogue and didn't follow traditional beats. He also wanted to embrace a more illustrated style that melded analog warmth with computer generated imagery capabilities, which was finally technologically possible. Before he got too deep, he needed to make sure the studio was on board.
"They said, 'That's the reason we bought the book. We want to do something different,'" Sanders said. "One of the great strengths of DreamWorks is they're willing to try new things. To everybody's credit, they stayed the course."
And it's already paying off. "The Wild Robot" opened No. 1 in theaters nationwide this weekend, riding in on a wave of critical acclaim. Sanders didn't know it at the time but something bigger was at play too: "The Wild Robot" would be released coinciding with the studio's 30th anniversary.
It wasn't so long ago that DreamWorks was the new kid on the block. The upstart, founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg and David Geffen, was in October 1994 the first new studio in 60 years. Since their first animated release ("Antz," in 1998), DreamWorks Animation has released 49 feature films that have grossed more than $17 billion at the box office. They have major franchises, including "Shrek," which became the first best animated feature Oscar winner, "Kung Fu Panda" and "How to... Read More