Eleanor, the L.A.-based production company headed by founder/EP Sophie Gold, has brought director Milo Blake aboard its roster for U.S. representation spanning commercials, branded content and music videos. This marks his first such representation in the American market. He continues to be handled in the U.K. by London-based production house Spindle.
Blake’s latest directorial credit is a music video, “Tinko Tinko (Don’t Play Me for a Fool)” for Obonjayer whose debut album, “Some Nights I Dream of Doors,” debuts in May. This adds to a body of music video work for Blake that includes collaborations with such artists as Lava La Rue (“Magpie”), Tahir (“Get Mine”), prxz (“Child In Red”), KAM-BU and Lord Apex (“Different”), Willow Kane (“Two Seater”) and Finn Foxwell (“Make It Count”).
Gold was drawn to Blake’s work, noting that it reflects a daring ethos that yields an inspiring breed of storytelling for advertising.
Conversely Blake said, “Eleanor’s artistic and ethical principles combined with Sophie’s experience and know-how made me believe I had found somewhere that would suit and support my goals. I want to make ads that stand alone as great pieces of art, that feel like they are sponsored by and in collaboration with the brand, rather than just being products that were purely about driving revenue alone.”
Blake added, “I like to lean into elements of the surreal as a way of navigating the human condition through imagery and bold concepts. But my hope is that despite this they are still rooted in a storytelling which connects with people’s emotions. I also strive to display versatility in my range of work, being unafraid to explore new angles on stories with a consistent cinematic language.”
Blake joins an Eleanor directorial lineup that includes Kate Cox, Woods, Adrian De Sa Garces, Kacper Larski, Elias Ressegatti, Kelsey Taylor, Dawit N.M., Alice Waddington and Edson Oda.
Eleanor is represented on the East Coast by Anya Zander and Jenn Johnson of Hustle, in the Midwest by Matt Bucher of Obsidian Reps, and on the West Coast by Melissa Ross of Melissa Ross Represents.
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 — and those many "Babadook" memes — 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 — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — 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