New York and Paris-based production company Cadence Films has secured Salon Reps, the independent representation firm founded by head of sales Lisa Houck, to handle the West Coast. The new representation comes at a busy time for Cadence Films, which recently signed director Damien Krisl whose work spans such brands as Alfa Romeo, Lexus, BMW and Lancôme. Cadence Films’ director Dimitru Basil wrapped a surreal music video for Kings of Leon’s “Waste A Moment” while Barnaby Roper helmed a just launched Nike ACG film. Headed by founder Neil Cooper and executive producer Lorenzo Ragionieri, Cadence continues to be repped by Diane Patrone of The Family on the East Coast. Along with Cadence Films, Salon represents Raucous Content, Believe Media, Pet Gorilla, LOBO, Royal Budapest, and Squeak E Clean….
Dattner Dispoto and Associates (DDA) has signed cinematographers Jac Fitzgerald for commercials, theatrical feature films and television, and Suzie Lavelle for feature motion pictures and TV. Additionally DDA has booked editor David Leonard on the Danny Abeckaser-directed feature Zealous, and costume designer Paco Delgado on A Wrinkle In Time, directed by Ava DuVernay…..
ICM Partners is now representing cinematographer Ben Seresin for commercials/branded content and theatrical feature films exclusively…..Cinematographer Philippe Le Sourd, production designer Anne Ross, and costume designer Stacey Battat have wrapped principal photography on the Sofia Coppola-directed Beguiled and are now available for commercials/branded content and theatrical feature films exclusively through ICM Partners. Beguiled has a cast which includes Colin Farrell, Elle Fanning and Nicole Kidman….
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