Delores Hively and Dawn Schiffman of Buzz Management, New York, are handling East Coast representation for animation studio Wreckless Abandon, East Granby, Conn., and graphics/design company The Wilderness, New York. Additionally, Buzz has parted ways with GSP and Playroom, both bicoastal….Rich Schafler of Schafler Artists Management, New York, has signed Minneapolis music company Hest & Kramer, and Santa Monica production shop Uncle for East Coast representation….Outside Editorial, New York, has secured Ilene Silberman of Ilene Silberman Productions, New York, for U.S. representation….Griffin Guess has been named to the newly created post of director of commercials and music videos at Encore Hollywood, heading sales for its shortform postproduction team. Guess formerly served in a sales executive capacity at Encore…. Propeller Music & Sound, New York, has added Jen Weirich as manager of sales and development….Production designer Michael Seymour has joined bicoastal Paradigm for spots. Meanwhile, returning to the firm for exclusive representation in features and commercials is cinematographer Hubert Taczanowski….DP Damian Acevedo, costume designer Marcelle McKay and production designer Sami Straiton have signed with Erika Levy at Montana Artists Agency, Santa Monica, for exclusive representation. Additionally, DP Crescenzo Notarile has wrapped the NBC pilot Hawaii, and is again available for commercials and music videos via Montana Artists….
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More