Production house Backyard has added commercial director and documentary filmmaker Paul Stone to its roster. He has helmed spots and content for a wide range of brands, notably Airbnb, Verizon, P&G, Fidelity Investments, PNC Bank, DeWalt, American Family Insurance, Bayer and Pfizer. Stone recently directed the Fearless Dreamers series for the Huffington Post which drew millions of views on YouTube.
Stone’s work has scored on the festival circuit with three of his documentary shorts–Man Under, Mulberry, and Big Elvis–making their respective world premieres at the Tribeca Film Fest in 2015, 2016 and 2018. His films have earned Vimeo Staff Pick and Short of the Week distinction multiple times. Recently he completed production on his debut feature documentary and has two more feature documentaries in different stages of production.
Stone hails from years as the founder/director of Firebrand Films, a boutique film production and editing company that he ran out of Ridley Scott and Associates’ New York office in SoHo. “The years I spent at RSA took the place of film school–being mentored by really great people in what was literally a close-knit family environment. I was seeking a company with a similar family sensibility, and found all that and more at Backyard,” said Stone who as a director had earlier been repped for broadcast commercials by production company Spears & Arrows.
Stone was drawn to Backyard, striking up a rapport with the Culver City-headquartered shop’s managing director/partner Roy Skillicorn, president Kevin Allodi and EP Kris Mathur, and having known its reps on both coasts for more than a decade. “I was looking for a company that is a one-stop shop and has the capabilities to seamlessly handle any type of project from shoot to delivery. My work runs the gamut from traditional 30-second spots to branded short films, as well as feature length narratives and documentaries. It was important to find a company that had an interest in developing new opportunities within all of these genres.”
Stone joins a Backyard directorial roster which includes Greg Popp, Xander Strohm, Kevin Fitzgerald, Anthony Furlong, Jeff Lable, Jesper Ohlsson, Steph Green, Shyam Madiraju and Patrick Creadon.
“Heretic” and “Maria” Set As Red Carpet Premieres At AFI Fest
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced that Heretic, the psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, and Maria, based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, will round out the Red Carpet Premieres section at this year’s AFI Fest. The Heretic Gala Screening will take place on Thursday, October 24, and the Maria Gala Screening will be held on Saturday, October 26. The complete Red Carpet Premieres section includes the world premieres of Music By John Williams, Robert Zemeckis’ Here, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2. All Red Carpet Premieres will take place at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The full lineup for AFI Fest 2024 will be unveiled on October 1.
“At the heart of AFI Fest is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema--together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”
Heretic follows two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (portrayed by Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The film is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and produced by Stacey Sher, Beck, Woods, Julia Glausi and Jeanette Volturno. The film will be released nationwide by A24 on November 8.
Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as Callas (Jolie)... Read More