Live-action director, creative director and editor Eric Anderson has joined MPC Creative, the content production division of MPC, as creative director. Anderson, who joins from LOGAN, is a two-time Emmy Award winner for his opening title sequence work on the series “Dexter” and “Six Feet Under.”
After earning a BFA in film and interdisciplinary studies from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Anderson quickly found success forming Pachyderm Studio where he handled many iconic ’90s alt-rock albums, notably Nirvana’s “In Utero,” PJ Harvey’s “Rid of Me,” and Soul Asylum’s multi-platinum “Grave Dancers Union.” From music, Anderson transitioned to editing and creative directing at Digital Kitchen where he enjoyed a 12-year tenure. He first worked in that company’s Seattle operation before setting up its Chicago shop.
Anderson’s interest in the entertainment and advertising industry brought him to Los Angeles. He is currently Governor of the Motion + Title Design peer group for the Primetime Emmy Awards at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Among his credits, Anderson has worked on a number of opening titles for feature films from the “Green Lantern” to HBO’s “Banksy does New York” as well as Ilya Naishuller’s upcoming movie “Hardcore.” His commercial work includes the charming Adobe “Echosign” spot, which was captured entirely in-camera, and campaigns for brands such as Target, Bud Light, KOHLER, Coors, and Nike.
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this โ and those many "Babadook" memes โ unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables โ "Bah-Bah-Doooook" โ an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More