FCB Chicago has announced the appointment of Matt Blitz as EVP, executive director of agency production.
Blitz will oversee all agency producers and the broadcast business team, working in collaboration with all of FCB’s creative leaders to elevate the creative craft across over 50 brands. He will also be responsible for growing FCB Chicago’s relationship with the major production houses including Arts & Sciences, PRETTYBIRD, Hungry Man, and SMUGGLER.
Blitz joined FCB Chicago back in March and in his new role will report to chief creative officer Pedro Pérez, who was recently appointed following the promotion of Andrés Ordóñez to global CCO.
Partnering closely with FCB Chicago chief technology officer Fernando Espejel, Blitz will drive the Chicago office’s collaboration and connectivity with 456 Studios, FCB’s fully integrated global in-house content creation studio, to create multichannel content to deliver best-in-class brand experiences.
Blitz joins FCB from DDB Chicago where he was head of production, responsible for leading the entire production department with 30+ direct reports including all producers, business affairs teams, and traffic. He took on this role following four years as SVP/executive producer, where he led production efforts for DDB Chicago’s key clients and built teams to execute work at the highest level across the board. Prior to joining DDB, Blitz spent 15 years at Leo Burnett, where he worked on multiple Fortune 500 brands, overseeing day-to-day production efforts, and managing producers across all disciplines to execute work across multiple platforms.
“When we started our search for this role, we went far and wide, and after many months and referrals, all roads led to Matt,” said Kelly Graves, CEO of FCB Chicago. “During the interview process, it quickly became clear that Matt not only executes productions to an incredibly high standard, but also excels as a ‘creative’ producer, leveraging his years of experience while working closely with creative teams and producers to help them accomplish the best work possible to drive growth. This, combined with his stellar reputation as the guy who can get anything done–and the creative portfolio to back it up–fills me with confidence that we’ve found the right person to lead our production efforts and champion our ethos of creativity as an economic multiplier.”
Blitz added, “One of the things I love the most about my job is working with creative teams to produce quality content that is fully integrated and highly efficient. FCB showed me just that. Not only do they inspire a collaborative culture with creativity at the heart, but the deep integration of 456 Studios with the rest of the business allows them to put high performing, innovative, creative work into the world. It’s an exciting time to be in production and demonstrate how to be a great partner to in-house teams and external partners alike, to elevate creative ideas and make the best work for our clients.”
Throughout his career, Blitz and his teams have picked up over 400 creative awards across the board at Cannes Lions, D&AD, The One Show, Clios, London International Awards, and the Art Directors Club, for brands including Mars, Samsung, Esurance, UnitedHealthcare, Miller Lite, and Coors Light. Of this award-winning work, Blitz is particularly proud of the Skittles “Broadway the Rainbow” campaign and Samsung’s “Ostrich,” which is now a DePaul University case study to help teach students about how to benchmark creative.
“Heretic” and “Maria” Set As Red Carpet Premieres At AFI Fest
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced that Heretic, the psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, and Maria, based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, will round out the Red Carpet Premieres section at this year’s AFI Fest. The Heretic Gala Screening will take place on Thursday, October 24, and the Maria Gala Screening will be held on Saturday, October 26. The complete Red Carpet Premieres section includes the world premieres of Music By John Williams, Robert Zemeckis’ Here, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2. All Red Carpet Premieres will take place at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The full lineup for AFI Fest 2024 will be unveiled on October 1.
“At the heart of AFI Fest is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema--together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”
Heretic follows two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (portrayed by Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The film is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and produced by Stacey Sher, Beck, Woods, Julia Glausi and Jeanette Volturno. The film will be released nationwide by A24 on November 8.
Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as Callas (Jolie)... Read More