Pulse Films has added director Nez to its commercials roster for representation in the U.K. He continues to be handled in the U.S. by Furlined. Nez’s work in spots and music videos includes brands such as Fruit of the Loom and Smirnoff, along with collaborations with artists like KiD CuDi, Kanye West, M.I.A, Disclosure and Rudimental. Having won the prestigious Young Director Award for his fashion film for Halston, Nez has developed a celebrated career based around a creative fascination with surface, depth and carefully chosen color palettes….
Colorist Nick Sanders has joined Ntropic. He will be based at the company’s L.A. studio but will also color work in Ntropic’s San Francisco and NY offices. He comes over to Ntropic from The Mill. Sanders recently finished color work on Funny Or Die’s viral hit The Art of the Deal: The Movie, starring Johnny Depp,…
Boutique audio postproduction company Heard City has promoted three staffers: assistant mixer Elizabeth McClanahan has been upped to mixer and sound designer, and Sasha Awn and Heath Raymond, previously sr. producers, are now executive producers. McClanahan has worked on projects for clients including GoDaddy, AFI, United Health Group, Ford and Kohl’s. Awn, based in Heard City’s Manhattan office and Heath, based in the DUMBO location, have been at Heard City since 2012 and 2014 respectively, and have worked with clients including Barton F. Graf, BBDO, Droga5, The Martin Agency for brands like AT&T, Clash of Clans, Under Armour and Optimum….
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