By Millie Takaki
SANTA MONICA—Bicoastal Cosmo Street Editorial has brought editors Steve Bell and Jack Douglas on staff. Both artisans had recently been cutting with the company on a freelance basis.
Bell’s first assignments since formally joining Cosmo Street’s roster are a Nintendo job directed by Dante Ariola of bicoastal/international Morton Jankel Zander for J. Walter Thompson, Chicago, and a Samsung spot helmed by Erick Ifergan via bicoastal/international Believe Media for Foote, Cone & Belding, New York. Bell is scheduled to next take on an Instanet project directed by David Kellogg of bicoastal Anonymous Content for DiMassimo Brand Advertising, New York.
Based in New York but frequently cutting in Los Angeles, Bell was drawn to Cosmo Street being bicoastal, as well as the company’s support staff. He had been freelancing for the past year and a half. Prior to that, he was on staff at Berwyn Editorial, New York.
Since joining Cosmo Street, Douglas has done work for Nike, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Pacific Gas & Electric. While freelancing, he cut such jobs as a Chevrolet package via Cosmo Street, and a Citibank campaign via Mad River Post, Santa Monica. The latter was directed by Errol Morris of bicoastal/international @radical.media for Fallon, Minneapolis.
Prior to freelancing, Douglas had cut on staff at Crew Cuts/ West, Santa Monica, which has since closed (Crew Cuts remains headquartered in New York), and at Santa Monica-based Mint. He broke in as an editor at Mad River Post, Santa Monica, where his credits included Microsoft’s "Freightliner," which won a ’98 Silver Clio in the editing category. "Freightliner" was directed by Jeff Preiss of bicoastal Epoch Films for Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore. Among Douglas’ other ad endeavors have been spots for Mitsubishi, Toyota, EA Sports, Puma and H&R Block.
Review: Director Nora Fingscheidt’s “The Outrun”
At some point during "The Outrun," it occurred to me that watching Saoirse Ronan act is a bit like looking into a magnifying glass: Everything somehow feels a bit clearer, sharper, more precise.
This singular actor gives one of her finest performances in a two-hour study of addiction that is poignant, sometimes beautiful but always painful to watch — and would likely be too draining if not for the luminous presence at its core. Would it even work — at all — if Ronan, who also makes her producing debut here, weren't onscreen virtually every second?
Luckily, we don't need to imagine that. Ronan, who plays a 29-year-old biology student named Rona (the name comes from a tiny island off Scotland) serves as both star and narrator, speaking the words — sometimes poetic — of the addiction memoir by Amy Liptrot. The script, adapted by Liptrot and director Nora Fingscheidt, makes frequent use of fantasy and whimsy, even veering into animation. Some may find these deviations a distraction from the plot, but they are frequently mesmerizing.
Besides, plot is a loosely defined thing here. We go back and forth in time so frequently that sometimes only the changing color of Rona's hair indicates where we are on the timeline. It takes a while to get used to this, but the uncertainty starts to make sense. We are, in a way, inside Rona's mind, experiencing the fits and starts of her journey. And recovery is hardly a linear process.
There's a fine supporting cast, but the true second star is nature itself. The film is based mainly in the Orkney Islands off Scotland, a windswept landscape that can be both punishing and restorative. It can also be stunning, especially the sea. And the sea is where we start, learning that Orkney lore holds that when... Read More