Brooklyn-based Greenpoint Pictures has infused its roster with directorial talent, adding Evan Dennis, Logan Roos (a company in-house editor and DP for many years), We Are Not Pilgrims (Chaddy Chad and Sam Sneed), Va$htie, Olivier Agostini, the duo of Tank + Bunker (Judah Lev-Dickstein and Justin Liberman), Alyesa Young, and Alex 2tone. These directors join a Greenpoint lineup which continues to feature such helmers as The Hudson Dusters, Jacob Lincoln, Philip Knowlton, Nico Carbonaro and Benjamin Leavitt. Greenpoint Pictures was founded in 2002 by Michael Kuhn, with fellow partner and executive producer Jacob Lincoln joining in 2010….Detour Films, headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif., has signed director Tony Benna for exclusive commercial representation. Benna unites his unique stop motion background with live action narratives to create heartfelt films for the commercial world and beyond. His projects include a series of docu-style films for Dove Men as well as a series of beautiful vignettes filmed while driving across America to promote the Sh-100 camera for Samsung. The mini-documentaries for Samsung were created and produced by Mekanism. Benna also co-directed a Pepsi spot for last year’s Superbowl. The flipbook-inspired ad was made up of user-submitted photographs, which flashed forward seamlessly to launch the halftime show…. Seattle and L.A.-based agency WONGDOODY has hired Dennis Lee as associate creative director. Lee will work out of the L.A. office, and will develop creative initiatives for clients including Scion, VIZIO and Epson, working closely with exec creative director Pam Fujimoto. Prior to joining WONGDOODY, Lee was associate creative director at Ogilvy & Mather, L.A. During his previous six-year tenure at WONGDOODY, he contributed to projects for ESPN College GameDay, ESPN2, ESPYs, Autodesk, Epson, Carl’s Jr. and Mercury Insurance….
Review: Director Ben Taylor’s “Joy”
Toward the end of Netflix's "Joy," the muffled cry of a newborn baby prompts a man and woman in a hospital to embrace out of pure bliss. They aren't the parents, but they had as much to do with the birth as the mom and dad.
This charming and winning movie charts the decade-long true story of how the world's first IVF baby was born in England in 1978 — a 5-pound, 12-ounce girl who paved the way for millions more. It's an upbeat, very English affair, mixing sober discussion of endometriosis with chocolate biscuits.
The couple embracing that day were pioneering scientist Robert Edwards and Jean Purdy, a young nurse and embryologist. Together with surgeon Patrick Steptoe, the trio succeeded with in vitro fertilization, a method of treating infertility. Edwards would go on to win the Nobel Prize.
"Joy" has been birthed at a time when science is under threat in America — even IVF — so it's downright inspiring to see plucky, smart scientists working hard to change the world. "What we're doing, it matters," says Steptoe, played with quiet economy by Bill Nighy.
"Joy" is the personal stories of the three scientists — mostly through the eyes of Purdy, a polite lab-coated warrior. "If I hear a commotion, I'm not very good at staying out of it," she says. Perfectly played by Thomasin McKenzie, Purdy is both vulnerable and strong, learning through the process to be a better human. James Norton plays Edwards with charm, self-doubt and calm spirit.
Jack Thorne's script nicely explains the massive pressure the trio faced. IVF may have become common and uncontroversial over the last decades, but back in the late '70s it was experimental and shunned. The Anglican church called it a sin, the newspapers labeled it Frankenstein-ish and other... Read More