Tom Wright has come aboard visual studio Ntropic as managing director, North America, teaming with founder Nate Robinson to guide the company across its L.A., New York and San Francisco offices. Formerly sr. VP/director of integrated production at twofifteenmccann, Wright while there worked on the 2011 Silver Cyber Lion-winning Help Remedies campaign as well as the Halo4 launch and the TED-honored Xbox Kinect Effect work. His experience also includes executive roles working with brands such as Jeep, Ray-Ban, Sprint, Hewlett-Packard, Ford and Coca-Cola.
Wright will guide the strategic direction, growth and development of Ntropic’s creative production offerings. His management acumen will also allow Robinson to focus solely on creative projects. Robinson cited Wright’s agency perspective, intellect and his understanding of creative cultures as attributes making him the right person to further “elevate Ntropic as a company and a brand, and to open us up to the opportunities of an evolving industry.”
Wright said that among the elements attracting him to Ntropic were its ensemble of established and emerging artists, three North American offices that share a creative culture and focus, and the ability “to create engaging content for any platform.”
Ntropic’s recent projects include working with artist Marco Brambilla on his latest 3D video installation “Creation [Megaplex],” which opened as a solo exhibit in New York. The studio also recently partnered with Team Detroit on a web campaign for the new Lincoln MKZ luxury sedan. The campaign was shot on location in Spain’s City of Arts and Sciences, and included the creation of three CG heavy films for the Lincoln MKZ site, along with other cross-platform uses. Other Ntropic projects include CG automotive work for Buick Lucerne and LaCrosse, and a new live action and visual effects campaign for Franklin Templeton.
Hwang Dong-hyuk On Season 2 of “Squid Game,” Wrapping Production on Season 3; What’s Next?
Viewers may gasp, cringe or cry out watching characters die on Netflix's "Squid Game," but those simulated deaths have a different effect on its creator, writer and director. Instead, Hwang Dong-hyuk feels happiness seeing them go.
The show has a huge cast and Hwang says it was "really difficult" to manage everyone on set.
As characters would die, Hwang recalls saying to the actors on their last day, "'Oh no! How sad! I won't see you tomorrow,' but I was always smiling inside."
"Squid Game" season two premieres Thursday. It once again stars Lee Jung-jae and centers around a secret competition in South Korea that targets people in debt and the winner gets a big cash prize. What they don't know is that losing the game is deadly.
Hwang originally conceived of the show 15 years ago as a two-hour film but it failed to gain traction with financiers or even interested actors. He put it aside and worked on other films instead. He then had the idea to make it a TV series instead and took the project to Netflix. There, it could reach a wide audience.
"I never in my wildest dream thought it was going to be this huge," said Hwang, who spoke about the show and what comes next. Answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Q: What have you learned from "Squid Game"?
HWANG: I learned that I shouldn't give up. If you love something and if you want to create something, it might not work now, but the time might come later. Or that idea could be the source of inspiration for something else.
Q: You've already finished filming season three of "Squid Game." Have you thought about what your next project will be?
HWANG: I'm afraid to talk... Read More