Production company Serial Pictures has signed filmmaker Max Minghella for commercials, branded content, and music videos. This marks his first career representation in the ad arena.
Already known for his on-screen credits, including his dynamic roles in Hulu’s Emmy-winning series The Handmaid’s Tale and the Academy Award-winning film The Social Network, Minghella this year established himself as a captivating filmmaker with his feature-length directorial and original screenplay debut, Teen Spirit. Starring Elle Fanning as a shy teenager who dreams of pop stardom as an escape from her small town and shattered family life, the film uses music as a driving force to establish an eye-catching, visceral and empathetic world. Produced by Interscope Records and Automatik, Teen Spirit premiered at this year’s Toronto Film Festival and earned rave reviews.
Minghella previously adapted the novel "The 9th Life of Louis Drax" into the Miramax thriller directed by Alexandre Aja, which he also produced via his company Blank Tape. Other producing credits include Working Title’s The Two Faces of January. His previous directing work includes the Christopher Owens music video “Nothing More Than Everything To Me,” and he served as creative consultant on the Vogue short film Just a Minute, starring Dakota Johnson.
“Max’s ability to visualize the complexity of youth, bringing it to life with drama, humor and pulsing energy, is what drew me to him,” said Violaine Etienne, Serial Pictures’ founding partner and executive producer. “As a director, he knows how to let the magic of the performances and the delicateness of the characters effortlessly captivate us. He can make you cry and smile all at once, and we’re excited to share his strong eye and talent with our industry.”
Minghella said he was drawn to the prospect of working with Etienne and her team at Serial. “I’ve long admired their overall commitment to quality and resistance to ostentation. It’s humbling to be included in this astonishing roster of filmmakers.”
A joint venture with Anonymous Content, Serial Pictures is headquartered in New York and Los Angeles, with a global network of partners throughout Europe.
Minghella is currently performing in season 3 of The Handmaid’s Tale, alongside Elisabeth Moss and Joseph Fiennes.
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