Brooklyn, NY-based production company XY Content has signed director Dean G. Moore for exclusive commercials and branded content representation in the U.S. Hailing from Leicestershire, England, Moore is currently based in Toronto, He has worked with such brands as Canon, Virgin, Snickers, Chevrolet, UE Boom, Dewars Whiskey and Converse in London before making his transition to the Americas. He got his start directing for Pretzel Films where he worked with the likes of David Beckham and was awarded a D&AD for his work with GE….
Independent creative agency Zambezi has promoted associate creative directors Ben George and Nick Rodgers to creative directors. They joined forces at Zambezi in 2014 when George was first hired by the agency to work with Rodgers on TaylorMade Golf. Together the team won a competitive pitch for Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book, and has led Autotrader’s recent millennial-themed campaign for the past year with work like The Journey, Kick and Driven By Style. George and Rodgers also played a key role in Zambezi’s Gold Pencil and Cannes Gold Lion winner The Uncommon Force for STANCE, Star Wars limited-edition socks. George came to Zambezi from Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles where he was a writer on Toyota, and CP+B Boulder before that on Burger King, Sprite, and Volkswagen with a stint in film development in between. Rodgers arrived at the agency from Dailey & Associates in L.A., and before that Goodby Silverstein and Partners in San Francisco, where he worked on Logitech, Sprint, Dickies, Sonic, and Cheetos….
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