The directing team of Chris Riess and Amy Hill, known as Riess|Hill, has joined Los Angeles-based Wondros. The duo–which formerly was repped by Paydirt Pictures–has amassed a body of storytelling work spanning pathos and comedy with actors and real people. Riess|Hill’s credits encompass such brands as Chase, Pepsi, Keybank, U.S. Marine Corps, Gillette, Quaker, Starbucks, March of Dimes, and the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.
Riess|Hill made history in 1999 when they became the first directorial team to receive a Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award nomination for best commercial director of the year. The nom had them up for best spot director of 1998 based on their work for Saturn, Long John Silver, AmSouth, and Bronson Medical Center. Riess|Hill has since added to their awards mantle with Effies and Clios for their joint efforts.
“Amy and Chris have a vibrancy to their work, be it in the traditional commercial space, integrated and viral content or public service,” said Anne-Marie Mackay, chief creative officer of Wondros.
Riess and Hill–who met while students at Art Center College of Design–work in tandem while Riess in addition to directing takes on the active role of cinematographer on all projects.
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More