Hoytyboy Pictures has signed director Eric Steinman for commercial representation in the US. Steinman, who was most recently with Crossroads, is a former agency creative out of Y&R and BBDO New York….Instant Karma Films, headed by president Craig Farkas, has added directors Ben Hartenstein, Bo Krabbe and Simon Cracknell to its roster. All three will be available via Instant Karma in both the U.S. and Asia. In addition to its stateside quarters, Instant Karma maintains offices in China and Hong Kong. Hartenstein comes over from Humble, Krabbe was formerly with Holmes Defender of the Faith, and Cracknell gains his first U.S. representation via Instant Karma….Live-action director Henning Winkelmann has opened production house Plastic Poetry. His recent credits include a multi-spot campaign for Leapfrog airing in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia. Winkelmann is currently directing a March of Dimes campaign….Bret Stern Productions, a Norwalk, CT-based entertainment production company led by filmmaker Bret Stern, has acquired SoNo Studios, Southern Connecticut’s full-service state-of-the art sound stage and TV studio. The stage features full lighting grids, camera packages (RED, Sony XD, Canon, and others) and production offices. The stage is also home to a complete grip truck for location shoots, and its new post suites feature latest versions of Final Cut Pro, Adobe Creative Suite, Maya, Pro Tools, Lightwave and other must-have creative tools. Among the factors figuring in Stern’s decision to buy SoNo was his assessment that the facility was “an undervalued production resource, especially when you consider Connecticut’s generous 30 percent tax break for filmmakers.”…
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.
Read More