Steve MacDonald has exited the presidency of FilmL.A., Inc., the private, nonprofit economic development corporation that issues filming permits in much of Greater Los Angeles. He has taken on a new position with Strategic Development Solutions, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm. A search committee has been charged with finding MacDonald’s replacement at FilmL.A.. Current FilmL.A. CFO Michael J. Bennett is serving as interim president. MacDonald had been at the helm of FilmL.A. since 2004….Directors Harvey Wang, formerly of bicoastal Celsius Films, and Kenan Moran, whose most recent spot roost was Curious Pictures, New York, have joined the roster of No Smoke, a banner launched in 2006 by Creative Film Management (CFM) International, New York….New York-based motion graphics and digital design studio Eyeball (previously known as EyeballNYC) has brought Jory Hull and Mike Sullo on board, respectively, as creative director and head of production. Hull formerly served as creative director at Digital Kitchen, while Sullo has been promoted from the senior producer capacity he served in for the past six months at Eyeball. Also joining Eyeball is director of business development and client management Townsend Belisle, formerly of Broadstreet. Eyeball has split the traditional exec producer role between Belisle and Sullo with the former handling sales, the latter production management….Minneapolis post/VFX boutique Volt Studios has hired Liz Matassa as executive producer. Her most recent stint as an executive producer was at inthegroovemusic, Minneapolis. Prior to that she worked on the agency side at Minneapolis shops Martin Williams, Carmichael Lynch and Fallon….
Director Cassandra Brooksbank Joins Monument Content For Spots and Branded Content
Monument Content has signed director Cassandra “Cassie” Brooksbank for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content. She brings to her directing and storytelling the experience and skills of a writer, conceptual artist, editor and visual effects artist.
Her body of work as a director includes Pepsi’s “Selfie” featuring Lionel Messi amid a flurry of fans, Barclays madcap women’s Soccer League spot where she collaborated closely with the agency to develop the creative, ultimately winning the Grand Jury Prize at the Sports Industry Awards, and a grass-roots campaign for Fellow Coffee. The latter just didn’t brew buzz; it helped raise $1.2 million on Kickstarter.
Prior to joining Monument Content, Brooksbank had been repped in the U.S. for commercials by production house Hey Wonderful.
On the long-form front, she is repped by CAA for film and television. And on the horizon is her debut feature, My Masterpiece, produced by Sylvester Stallone’s Balboa Productions and backed by Amazon.
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