Rocket Film has signed director Chris Stanford for U.S. commercial representation. Prior to joining Rocket, Stanford was most recently repped by production house Hey Baby and prior to that, Rabbit.
Stanford first gained recognition as a photojournalist and portrait photographer. With a focus on musicians, artists, athletes, and celebrities, his work with A-listers and Fortune 500 companies has been featured in Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Time, and Sports Illustrated.
He then made a seamless transition into motion in 2009, directing commercials for clients including Adidas, Ford, Google, Honda, and Pepsi. In 2017 Stanford made a short film called Dust & Dirt about a race car driver with the dream of making it to the top. The film received acclaim on the festival circuit, including Slamdance, Atlanta DocuFest, Indie Street, and Best Shorts. He followed that success with a second short film entitled Better Man, a true story of a cowboy’s redemption, a man once lost on the dark side of life who was found through a father’s love.
Sara Eolin, owner/managing director of Rocket, said, “Chris has a passion and curiosity for what makes people tick, and that comes through in his work in such a powerful way. From ranch hands to J Lo, everyone is treated with the same gravitas and intrigue.”
Stanford said he was drawn to Eolin and Rocket, sharing, “The ethos that they’ve created is a place where artists can thrive and the commitment to making every project they’re involved in the very best it can be no matter the hurdles was such a breath of fresh air.”
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