Pierre Michel-Estival, one of Digital Domain’s original commercial directors, has joined production company Logan Industry for U.S. commercial representation.
A French director based in Los Angeles, Michel-Estival began his career in France where he worked in visual effects and contributed to more than 35 feature films alongside directors such as Oliver Stone and Alejandro González Iñárritu. Michel-Estival’s work caught the attention of Hollywood, and he was soon approached by Oscar-winning Digital Domain to bring his style to the American film industry.
“Pierre is a force of nature and just a super great talent to have on set and in the cutting room,” said José Nuñez, Logan Industry founder/executive producer. “He is not only an engaging storyteller and an actor’s director, but also a wonderful person. We’ve worked with him before and always found him to be brimming with vivid ideas and genuine enthusiasm for whatever task was in front of him. As a new company that is focused on directors and nurturing careers, we are happy and excited to be working with directors of Pierre’s high caliber, who are passionate about what they do and about the brands they’ve service. They are very visual and forward thinking and they are key partners in Logan Industry’s rapid growth and success.”
A member of the Directors Guild of America since 2016, Michel-Estival has directed a wide range of projects for brands including Nike, Piaget, Lancôme, Ubisoft, Disney and Cartier. He has also been involved in filming events such as the Tribeca Film Festival, the Nobel Peace Prize and the Super Bowl. He has worked with high-profile figures, including Ryan Reynolds, LeBron James, Buzz Aldrin, Jennifer Lopez, and Conan O’Brien to name a few. Michel-Estival’s creative range is exemplified by his work on a wide range of projects, from luxury commercials to groundbreaking initiatives like the first-ever auto-lacing shoe commercial for Nike. He is equally comfortable directing high-profile celebrities like Reynolds on a London rooftop for Piaget, as he is directing complex cinematic scenes on a motion capture stage for a Star Wars project.
“Logan is a special company, an organization with real values,” said Michel-Estival. “Jose and executive producer Marthinus Lamprecht are wonderful people who run their company like an extended family, paying special care and attention to everyone on the team and to the clients they work with. Their focus on people-values is unique and wonderful, and they treat their roster of extremely talented directors as family, all of whom I have already met. When you’re working with a family business, with people you appreciate and who really appreciate you, that is the magic formula.”
Logan Industry has been building its production team and growing its business steadily since it was founded two years ago by Nunez, who produced 2020’s award-winning documentary feature The Donut King, directed by Alice Gu, who is on Logan Industry’s directorial roster. The company has produced campaigns for such brands as Samsung, Genesis, Toyota and United Health. In addition to producing broadcast commercials, branded content and online advertising content, Logan Industry also is in pre-production on a major feature film with a top Hollywood director and stars, to be announced soon.
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