Executive producer Toni Lipari and editor Stephen Jess have launched WAX, a boutique film editorial company and creative collective.
“We have the rare opportunity to craft our identity at the onset as being a versatile company in the market,” Lipari said. “Ultimately our goal is to assemble a collection of artists where ideas will be conceived and fostered all within a creative environment.”
“We are creating a brand where talented people want to work as part of a collective, each bringing their skills to different parts of the same project,” Jess said. “Our first partnership is with TheBrigade, a VFX and animation company helmed by Sean Broughton and Dave Dimeola. Their cloud based workflow introduces a new way to bring world class VFX and CGI to our clients in a very flexible way.”
In addition, WAX launches with a unique mandate: to align itself with a different charity each quarter and donate a percentage of its profits to these worthwhile causes. The company’s first philanthropic partnership is with artist Seth Casteel’s One Picture Saves a Life, a website that provides animal shelter staff and volunteers with the resources to successfully groom and photograph shelter pets for adoption photographs. The site is allied with the GreaterGood, an independent charitable organization that helps people, saves pets and improves the planet.
“When Steve and I first partnered together, something that was important to both of us was that WAX be a company that not only tells great stories but also somehow gives back to the world,” Lipari explained.
WAX officially opened its doors last Wednesday with an event held at its new loft space in Chelsea. Photographer Casteel was in attendance with seven photographs from his new book, Underwater Puppies. All prints were put up for silent auction, as was a commissioned photo shoot by Casteel, for One Picture Saves a Life. The event raised close to $12,000 for the charity, according to Lipari and Jess.
Prior to opening WAX, co-founder Lipari was the executive producer at NO6. Before her transition into postproduction, she worked on the agency side as an executive producer at McCann-Erickson New York and senior producer at Young & Rubicam New York. WAX co-founder Jess’ prior experience includes staff film editor positions at Whitehouse Post and Lost Planet. Jess recently edited campaigns for Target via Mono and Chase Sapphire via Saatchi & Saatchi, and just wrapped a project for Subaru via Carmichael Lynch. Editor Joe Dillingham is also on WAX’s roster and has recently worked on projects for Samsung, Reebok, NBC Sports and Optimum.
“There’s been so much consolidation in our industry in recent years, I think it’s beginning to turn back to the boutique model where the business is built around the talent,” Jess added. “We think it’s the best model for the creativity to flourish.”
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More