Kodak has appointed Steve Bellamy as its new president of Motion Picture and Entertainment. Based in Los Angeles, Bellamy will be responsible for growing and deepening Kodak’s relationships with creative luminaries and business leaders in the entertainment industry, working on creative advocacy programs, creating partnerships and new business models, and developing Kodak-branded solutions for the entertainment industry.
A serial entrepreneur and award-winning media creator, Bellamy founded The Tennis Channel, The Ski Channel, The Surf Channel and The Skate Channel television networks. As a writer/director, his movies have won over 40 global film festivals, from Amsterdam to Canada to Mexico and the United States. He has personally won six best director awards including from the Las Vegas International Film Festival. In all, he has shepherded over 10,000 hours of content creation. As a songwriter and recording artist, Bellamy has toured the country, had singles on commercial radio and his work is regularly found on film and television. He has spent the last six years as CEO of Action Sport Networks and will remain the chairman of that business.
“I’m thrilled and relieved that Kodak remains committed to keeping film alive and well,” said filmmaker JJ Abrams. “It only feels right that film remain an available option in the world of filmmaking. And Steve Bellamy is an ideal talent to help realize this priority.”
At Kodak, Bellamy will work with Andrew Evenski, Kodak president and general manager of Entertainment and Commercial Film, to create deeper relationships with Hollywood’s film and television studios. Both will report to Steven Overman, president of the Consumer and Film Division
“Film is a vital part of Kodak’s culture and we are pleased to welcome Steve on board to help us grow this business,” said Evenski. “Steve’s hands-on experience in the entertainment industry will help us to create new opportunities for motion picture film.”
“This is a huge win for Kodak,” said Kodak CEO Jeff Clarke. “His relationships, access to talent and the love of film make Steve the perfect person to spearhead the next chapter of this storied division of Kodak. The initial group of filmmakers we have spoken to are ecstatic that he is onboard.”
“The Kodak brand is iconic in the film business,” added Bellamy. “My main goal is to make sure that film remains a viable and reasonable option for those artists who want to continue to shoot on the medium.”
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