Emmy-nominated writer and director Lee Sung Jin has signed with PRETTYBIRD for U.S. commercial and music video representation. The three-time Emmy nominee and two-time WGA nominee is looking forward to bringing his sharp comedic perspective to the world of advertising.
Lee is the creator, showrunner and executive producer of the Netflix series Beef, which has been a critics’ favorite since its debut in April 2023. Lee wrote multiple episodes of Beef and directed the finale, “Figures of Light.” The series, which is currently “Certified Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes with over 100 reviews, was nominated this month for 13 Primetime Emmys including two for Lee–Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, and Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. He has previously written episodes of Dave on FX, Tuca & Bertie on Netflix, and Silicon Valley on HBO. His first career Emmy nod came for Silicon Valley as Outstanding Comedy Series in 2015. His two WGA Award nominations were for Silicon Valley in 2016 and Dave in 2022.
Beef follows an epic, ever escalating feud–triggered by a single, off-the-charts road rage incident–between two strangers portrayed by Ali Wong (Always Be My Maybe) and Steven Yeun (Minari, The Walking Dead). The twists and turns, while darkly entertaining, say a lot about our society, laying bare the rage, angst, ugliness and insecurities that have become so prevalent–but still managing to cast a cathartic ray of hope somehow reflecting the better side of human nature.
Ali Brown, PRETTYBIRD president, said, “The second I watched Beef, I had to find out who was behind it. Sonny has such an incredibly unique point of view–as a storyteller, filmmaker, and artist. His ability to create worlds and characters in a way that is recognizable in its stressfully hilarious familiarity makes him a perfect addition to the roster.”
At PRETTYBIRD, Lee joins an award-winning roster of filmmakers and creatives, including Academy Award-winning duo Daniels (Everything Everywhere All At Once), recently signed A.V. Rockwell (A Thousand and One), and comedy duo Tim & Eric.
Upcoming, Lee is writing Thunderbolts for Marvel, which will reunite him with a pair of Beef colleagues–director Jake Schreier and actor Yeun. For his role on Beef, Yeun is an Emmy nominee for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. Schreier also received an Emmy nomination for his directing of the Beef episode titled “The Great Fabricator.”
Immersion In Sight, Sound and Story At Sphere
Live sports and cinematic storytelling meshed earlier this month (9/14) at Sphere, the revolutionary new entertainment venue in Las Vegas. UFC 306, Sphere’s first live sports event, brought mixed martial arts boxing matches together with the world premiere of a film--For Mexico, For All Time--which played out in six 90-second chapters in between the bouts on the UFC pay-per-view card. Each chapter focused on a different period in Mexican history and its influence on shaping Mexican identity. Shown on the massive interior display of Sphere, For Mexico, For All Time was created by filmmaker Carlos López Estrada and produced by Valerie Bush via Antigravity Academy, and co-produced by Nexus Studios. Sound designer, supervising sound editor and lead re-recording mixer Drazen Bosnjak and his team at New York-headquartered Q Department brought their creative and technical wherewithal to For Mexico, For All Time, dovetailing with the sound ensemble at Sphere and indie composer Germaine Franco. They contributed to what turned out to be the highest grossing UFC event of all time, and the highest grossing single event at Sphere, playing before a sold out crowd of 16,024. López Estrada, whose work as writer-director on Raya and the Last Dragon earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature Film in 2022, described For Mexico, For All Time as “a larger-than-life project,” referring to its size and scope--on varied fronts. For one, Sphere houses the world’s highest resolution LED display coupled with a 167,000 speaker audio system, facilitating an immersive multi-sensory experience. López Estrada’s studio, Antigravity Academy, had a steep learning curve relative to the process of creating and producing a film that... Read More