Director Bucky Fukumoto has signed for exclusive representation for commercials and other forms of ad agency-created content with Rehab, the San Francisco-based production company headed by partner/executive producer Nathan Brown, partner/director Sean Leman and partner/director of production Vince Genovese.
Also checking into Rehab is producer Katie Mitchell who had been associate broadcast content producer at the San Francisco office of McCann Erickson where she worked with Genovese who served as head of production for McCann West prior to joining Rehab earlier this year.
Fukumoto is a Southern California native who brings to his work as a director a background in art direction and design for a host of hipster brands and luminaries that are big in the skateboarding culture, such as The Girl & Chocolate Skateboard Company. A graduate of the California Institute of the Arts, he worked with skater stars such as designer Andy Jenkins and director Spike Jonze, creating a wild range of skateboard graphics and print layouts and producing skate videos.
From graphic design he transitioned to motion graphics and began working for Fuel, Inc., the broadcast branding and design shop which eventually merged with Razorfish. While at Fuel he worked on broadcast promotion projects for such media brands as ESPN, MTV and Showtime. As an L.A.-based freelance designer and creative director, he’s worked with such shops as Logan and Brand New School on a variety of broadcast design and motion graphics projects for brands such as G4.
Fukumoto signed with The Directors Bureau in 2003, where he collaborated with the shop’s roster of directors in a range of design and art direction capacities, eventually teaming with former Girl staffer to form the directing collective known as AV Club. AV Club went on to direct numerous music videos for artists such as Audioslave. Working on his own as a director, Fukumoto has shot lifestyle and youth-oriented spots for brands such as HP, the fashion retailer H&M and the shoe company DVS, as well as both music videos and feature-length concert films for the UK pop star Morrissey.
“I like the fact that Rehab produces more than just traditional broadcast commercials, since that reflects the kind of work I most enjoy doing,” said Fukumoto about his new production home. “There’s an open nature to the projects they handle, with lots of room for experimentation, and that suits my talents as both a filmmaker and a designer.”
Fukumoto joins a Rehab directorial roster that includes Leman, Eric Noren and Michael Barnett.
As for producer Mitchell, during her McCann tenure she handled broadcast and web video content for such brands as Intel, HP and IHOP.
And on the sales front, Rehab has secured Michel Waxman and Marla Mossberg of Los Angeles-based indie firm MBW Represents to handle the West Coast and Texas.
Rehab has produced TV spots, web videos and other content for a range of brands that includes The Gap, LEGO, MINI, Levi’s, Adidas and LG.
“Overnight Success” Has Been More Than A Decade In The Making For Meghann Fahy and Eve Hewson
Meghann Fahy and Eve Hewson, two of the stars of Netflix's whodunit "The Perfect Couple," have news for you if you want to call them breakouts: They've been working in this business for more than a decade.
Fahy made her TV debut in 2009 in an episode of "Gossip Girl." Hewson's first big film role was in 2011's "This Must Be the Place." They do concede, however, that it's recent TV roles — "The White Lotus" for Fahy and "Bad Sisters" for Hewson — that have led to new frontiers of opportunity.
Susanne Bier, who directed "The Perfect Couple," says both Fahy and Hewson are "going to be big stars."
"They certainly have proper, profound star quality, Both of them in very different ways," Bier says. "Both are incredibly creative, incredibly smart, and also have a impressive insight as to who they are. You can be a great actor or actress and not necessarily really know who you are yourself. And they do."
Hewson, 33, whose dad is U2 front man Bono, may have grown up in a famous family but she's now in demand in her own right. She will next be seen in a second season of "Bad Sisters, " out in November. She's in Noah Baumbach's next film, alongside Adam Sandler, George Clooney and Riley Keough. She's also been cast in Steven Spielberg's next production and is set to star opposite Murray Bartlett in a racing series for Hulu.
Fahy, 34, is in production on a limited series with Julianne Moore and Milly Alcock called "Sirens," written by Molly Smith Metzler ("Maid") for Netflix. She also has two films in the can with Josh O'Connor ("The Crown," "Challengers") and Brandon Sklenar ("It Ends With Us").
The two actors spoke candidly about this phase of their careers. This interview has been condensed for clarity and... Read More