Director/DP Rich Michell has joined STORY for national representation in advertising. A versatile talent, Michell combines storytelling skill with deep experience in product and tabletop cinematography. His credits include such brands as 3M/Scotch, General Mills, Target, Subway, UnitedHealthCare and Wendy’s.
Michell comes to STORY following a long run with Twist, Minneapolis, a company he co-founded. There, he developed a strong national and regional client base. He directed more than a dozen commercials for 3M through Grey, NY, many combining performance, product and humor. One recent spot features a Post-It note sticky enough to hold a terrier off the ground.
“The art direction and choreography of each spot is defined to fit the function and design of the product,” Michell says. “In the process, we developed a graphic and playful style that highlight the individual products and create a cohesive design for the variety of 3M brands.”
In a spot for the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival, a boy turns his apartment into a make-shift movie theater: he adjusts a window to provide a “letterbox” view of the apartment of a quarreling French couple across the way.
Trained as a fine artist, Michell began his career as a camera operator and cinematographer. He broke into directing through tabletop work, but soon expanded into performance-driven storytelling.
STORY, headed by EP Mark Androw, is represented on the East Coast by SuperPowers, in the Midwest, in the Southeast by Miller + Associates, in the Southwest by Gossip!, and on the West Coast by Yvette Lubinsky.
“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 yearโs 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 Zemeckisโ Here, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Clint Eastwoodโs 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.
โAt the heart of AFI Fest is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema--together,โ said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. โWe look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.โ
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 Larraรญn, Maria presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the worldโs most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as Callas (Jolie)... Read More