BestFriend has added writer/director Mickey Finnegan to its talent roster. Headed by EP Zak Thornborough, Best Friend–which maintains bases of operation in L.A., NYC, and Boulder, Colo.–will handle spot, branded content and music video representation for Finnegan in the U.S.
Finnegan has already made his BestFriend debut, directing a Krazy Glue commercial featuring a comedic performance from Icelandic strongman and actor Hafþór JúlÃus Björnsson. The project out of agency VML tapped into Finnegan’s wit and humor to ask the sticky question of who is stronger, glue or man?
Finnegan–repped by production house London Alley prior to joining BestFriend–most enjoys working at the place where genres overlap, as seen in his Nick Jr. campaign “Girls in Charge.” The movie trailer-inspired spot blends live-action footage with Nick Jr.’s popular animated characters to assemble and empower the next generation of young girl heroes. “Girls in Charge” won an Emmy for Outstanding Daytime Promotional Announcement for a Brand Image Campaign, Network or Program.
Finnegan’s repertoire includes brand work for Beats, Dish, Pepsi, Intel, Nike, and Kia, as well as promos for TV shows like American Idol, X-Factor, Scream Queens, and Blackish, and for networks such as MTV, HGTV, FOX, and ABC. On the music side, he’s worked with LMFAO, Cee Lo Green, R.Kelly, Lil Jon, and Soulja Boy, to name just a few, with his collected works on YouTube amassing over 2 billion views. He has a track record of working with celebs, including the likes of Usher, Miley Cyrus, Emma Roberts and John Cena. Additionally, Finnegan has co-written a feature biopic about Vince McMahon and the WWE, which has been optioned and is in development by WWE Studios.
A life-long gamer, Finnegan directs Esports content with a true understanding of the medium, often by revealing the community’s more humanistic qualities, as showcased in his original narrative short film “Godlike.” Because of his expertise, Finnegan was enlisted by Riot Games to serve as a lead creative on the team behind the first-ever League of Legends campaign directed by Bryan Buckley. Finnegan’s insider knowledge of the Esports scene offers the ad industry access into a new arena that continues to grow with branding opportunities every day.
Born in San Mateo, Calif., Finnegan graduated from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts.
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