Simon McQuoid of Imperial Woodpecker directed an eight-spot campaign for H&R Block out of Fallon Worldwide. In the mix is this commercial titled “Zombie” in which H&R Block spokesman Jon Hamm of Mad Men fame chats with an actress who’s on a break from shooting a zombie-themed project. Extensive makeup has her resembling a zombie but she comes to life when Hamm informs her she can get an advance on her tax refund via H&R Block, not having to wait for a check from the federal government.
Jeff Ferruzzo of Arcade edited “Zombie” with music by tonefarmer and sound design/audio post coming from Eleven’s founder/mixer Jeff Payne.
Patriot Is Lone U.S. Series Set For Berlin Festival
The Amazon Original Series Patriot will have its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, Berlinale. The screening, scheduled for February 14, is the only U.S. series selected for this year’s fest.
Starring Michael Dorman (Wonderland), Emmy winner Terry O’Quinn (Lost), Kurtwood Smith (That ‘70s Show) and Michael Chernus (Manhattan Project), Patriot follows the complicated life of intelligence officer John Tavner (Dorman). His latest assignment is to prevent Iran from going nuclear, requiring him to forgo all safety nets and assume a perilous “non-official cover”—that of a mid-level employee at a Midwestern industrial piping firm. A bout with PTSD, the federal government’s incompetence and the intricacies of keeping a day job in the “front” industrial piping company cause a barrage of ever-escalating fiascoes that jeopardize Tavner’s mission.
The series is executive produced by Steven Conrad (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty), who also writes and directs on the series, James Parriott (Grey’s Anatomy), Glenn Ficarra (This Is Us), John Requa (Crazy Stupid Love, Focus), Charles Gogolak (Focus), and Gil Bellows (Temple Grandin). Customers can watch the pilot episode of Patriot before the full season’s remaining nine episodes air on February 24.
People On The Move….
Bicoastal production company Honor Society has signed director Evan Dennis for U.S. commercial representation. His natural talent for extracting honest performances for documentary and narrative projects alike can be seen in his work that blurs the lines between entertainment and advertising for such brands as Google, Adidas, Samsung, Guinness, Mountain Dew, Dunkin’ Donuts, Scion and Intel. Dennis kicked off his career in design and animation before transitioning into live-action work. He quickly became immersed in music video and short film projects. He directed and produced a short film for one of New York City’s oldest and most prominent tattoo shops, N.Y. Adorned, which quickly received a strong online reception, including Vimeo Staff Pick distinction. His first narrative short film Guerra, for which he also penned the script, is currently in postproduction and is slated for the festival circuit in 2018. The film was produced by Frank Grillo (Captain America: Civil War, Warrior, The Grey) and focuses on the first day of a young woman’s release from prison as she returns to the boxing gym she calls home….Adam Witten has been promoted to editor at Work Editorial NY. He had been assistant editing there over the past three years, working on Nike, Geico, AT&T, GE, Visa, ESPN, Uniqlo, Samsung and Verizon. Witten comes aboard a Work NY roster that includes editors Rich Orrick and Ben Jordan….
