Boutique postproduction shop WAX has brought New York-based commercial and film editor Alex Pirrone aboard its roster.
Most recently, Pirrone edited Ford’s multi-part, long-form series, “Mustang Mach-E v Everything,” through post house Friendshop!, his roost prior to WAX. Pirrone’s other most notable campaigns include Seinhessier’s “Athlete” (directed by Sam Pilling) for the MOMENTUM III Wireless, IBM’s “Dear Tech,” and Kraken Rum’s “A Tale Well Told.” The latter was short-listed for an AICP Post Award. Beyond advertising, he has also been involved in work such as the short documentary Màs Fuerte, which was directed by Sean Frank and garnered an official selection at the Brooklyn Film Festival, as well as A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, which won the Best Documentary (Short Subject) Oscar in 2016. Pirrone was an associate editor on A Girl in the River, which was directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, with Geof Bartz serving as editor.
WAX founder and executive producer Toni Lipari described Pirrone as “an incredibly talented editor whose creative ability is evident in everything he cuts. What ultimately separates him from most in the editing community, and makes him a perfect fit at WAX, is that he’s deeply involved during the ideation stage, which allows him to get wholly immersed in a production before anything’s even filmed. He’s an amazing cultural fit to our team as we continue to strengthen our capabilities.”
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