The Mill has appointed Barry Parkhill to serve as managing director of its New York studio.
Parkhill succeeds Heather Fullerton, who has moved into the newly created role of chief strategy officer, directing her focus on the future growth of the business.
Parkhill joins New York from The Mill’s London studio, where he had a successful tenure as group commercial director. In his new role, he will continue to sit on the group executive board and focus on the leadership and continued development of The Mill in New York.
Previous to joining The Mill, Parkhill worked for XIX Entertainment, where he collaborated with sports, fashion and television brands such as David & Victoria Beckham, Roland Mouret and American Idol, before becoming managing partner in London-based creative agency WCRS, and partner in parent company Engine, the global marketing communications group.
Robin Shenfield, CEO of The Mill, said, “Barry has exerted an incredibly important influence on The Mill since joining us and that has equipped him to take the reins of Mill NY at a really exciting time as we look to extend the range of creative work we collaborate on with our many agency and production company clients.”
After 20 Years of Acting, Megan Park Finds Her Groove In The Director’s Chair On “My Old Ass”
Megan Park feels a little bad that her movie is making so many people cry. It's not just a single tear either — more like full body sobs.
She didn't set out to make a tearjerker with "My Old Ass," now streaming on Prime Video. She just wanted to tell a story about a young woman in conversation with her older self. The film is quite funny (the dialogue between 18-year-old and almost 40-year-old Elliott happens because of a mushroom trip that includes a Justin Bieber cover), but it packs an emotional punch, too.
Writing, Park said, is often her way of working through things. When she put pen to paper on "My Old Ass," she was a new mom and staying in her childhood bedroom during the pandemic. One night, she and her whole nuclear family slept under the same roof. She didn't know it then, but it would be the last time, and she started wondering what it would be like to have known that.
In the film, older Elliott ( Aubrey Plaza ) advises younger Elliott ( Maisy Stella ) to not be so eager to leave her provincial town, her younger brothers and her parents and to slow down and appreciate things as they are. She also tells her to stay away from a guy named Chad who she meets the next day and discovers that, unfortunately, he's quite cute.
At 38, Park is just getting started as a filmmaker. Her first, "The Fallout," in which Jenna Ortega plays a teen in the aftermath of a school shooting, had one of those pandemic releases that didn't even feel real. But it did get the attention of Margot Robbie 's production company LuckyChap Entertainment, who reached out to Park to see what other ideas she had brewing.
"They were very instrumental in encouraging me to go with it," Park said. "They're just really even-keeled, good people, which makes... Read More