Comedy writer and director Natalie Prisco has signed with Arts & Sciences for commercial representation. Canadian-born, Los Angeles-based, and Brooklyn-spiritually speaking, Prisco brings to Arts & Sciences her sharp sense of humor and a propensity for crafting comedy from the awkward, uncomfortable, in-between moments her characters inhabit.
Prisco’s director origin story begins with dropping out of NYU to pursue a career in advertising as a copywriter at McCann. She soon fell in love with filmmaking and set her sights on directing, taking a job at MTV with the hope of directing everything she wrote. There she met writers-directors Armand Prisco and Eric Eckelman, teaming with them to form a directing collective called JEAN. Her directorial work included award-winning campaigns for The VMAs and the MTV Movie Awards. Among other accolades garnered by her commercial work were several Grand Clios and Webby Awards.
As a solo director, Prisco has turned out assorted projects, including multiple campaigns with celebrity talents like Reese Witherspoon, Amy Schumer, Elizabeth Banks and J.B. Smoove. Among Prisco’s credits as part of JEAN was a mini-movie, Recipe For Seduction, for KFC starring Mario Lopez as a libidinous Colonel Sanders. Prisco also individually collaborated with many other brands including White Claw, AT&T, Lifetime, BJ’s, and Big Lots. Prisco’s experience in branded filmmaking came into play for the award-winning web series COMMERCIALS, which she wrote and directed, lambasting the commercialmaking business (except for anyone reading this).
Prior to joining Arts & Sciences, Prisco was repped as a solo director via Community Films, a shop which continues to handle her former group, JEAN.
Mal Ward, managing director and partner at Arts & Sciences, said of Prisco, “Nat keys into these fully realized idiosyncratic, odd characters and lets them take the wheel. The result is something so funny and uncomfortably true to life. She’s an incredible filmmaker, and we’re very pleased to have her on board with us.”
Prisco’s short films have premiered at the Austin Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival, and LA Film Festival, where her latest short, The Hostage, starring Annie Mumolo, won Best Comedy. She recently sold a half-hour comedy to HBO and a feature screenplay to Speck + Gordon. She is currently in development on her feature directorial debut with an action-comedy produced by Paul Feig.
“I’m so happy to find a home at Arts & Sciences, whose great taste and values are so harmonious with my own,” said Prisco. “I’m extremely collaborative and just want the funniest idea to win. They totally get that and champion that. I look forward to making great work together.”
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Eleanor Adds Director Candice Vernon To Its Roster For Spots and Branded Content
Director Candice Vernon has joined production house Eleanor for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content. She has already wrapped several jobs at Eleanor, which waited to announce her until they had a body of work together.
Via Eleanor, Vernon made history as the first Black director on a Febreze commercial. The “Small Spaces” campaign marks a major departure from Febreze’s typical blue-and-white world. The home of the “Revolving Door” commercial is a beautiful array of bold sunset hues, African prints, and African art.
Vernon said, “I asked myself, what feels right to me? What feels new? I wanted to bring an essence of not just Black Americans but the full diaspora. I wanted to make a statement that we’re not a monolith.”
Following the success of the “Small Spaces” campaign, Febreze brought Vernon back for a comedy-infused trifecta exploring the hilarious situations that call for an air freshening hero.
Febreze Brand VP Angelica Matthews said, “About two years ago, we realized the consumers that were the most loyal to Febreze were the African American consumers. And the more we learned, the more we realized the richness that we were really missing. So we said we have to go beyond just Black casting, we need to get Black directors that truly understand the culture that truly understand how to bring authentic performances out on screen. We really looked around the industry and noticed there’s actually a shortage of African American directors who have experience doing commercials. When we all saw Candice’s reel, we could all tell the passion for the craft, passion for really trying to help us from where we are to where we’re trying to go.”
Vernon brings a unique lens to... Read More