Lucky 21 has brought directors Ben Steinbauer and Berndt Mader aboard its roster for national representation spanning advertising and branded content.
Steinbauer and Mader are widely known for their creative endeavors via The Bear, a creative incubator they founded over a decade ago. Formed to unite the branded and feature worlds, The Bear continues to thrive as a hub for content, and is a complement to Steinbauer and Mader’s national commercial representation as individual directors via Lucky. Steinbauer and Mader were previously repped as The Bear by Chelsea.
Mader came to directing through writing and his approach is defined by a desire to add value and dimension while having fun in the process. Mader’s branded content storytelling includes performance-driven comedy and docu-style projects including Yeti’s “Soul of a City,” a finalist for the Tribeca X Film Award, as well as commercials for Dodge, Budweiser, and Alfa Romeo. He has also directed the hybrid documentary/narrative feature Booger Red (Austin Film Festival) and the quirky and original coming-of-age film 5 Time Champion (SXSW).
Steinbauer’s passion for documentary storytelling with comedic underpinnings earned appreciative audiences and critical acclaim for his documentary cult classic Winnebago Man. Relatability and a sense of discovery are ever-present in his work for Popeyes, Indeed, Yeti, Crate & Barrel and Whole Foods, among others. He traverses the landscape of short-form to features fluidly, with episodic television credits and his Vimeo Staff pick documentaries Slow to Show, Calls To Okies and Heroes From The Storm.
In addition to advertising projects, the duo is co-directing a feature documentary for David Gordon Green, Danny McBride and Jody Hill’s Rough House Pictures.
Mader and Steinbauer were introduced to Lucky 21 via a mutual friend and Lucky sales representative Gay Guthrey (of indie firm Samuel Guthrey). Steinbauer explained, “Our decision to join the Lucky squad is all about people. Lucky’s impeccable relationship with crew members–many of whom we work with frequently–and their shared interest in creating a joyful, collaborative atmosphere on set, preceded our meeting. When we started talking, it quickly became clear how much we shared.”
“Texas is a place of vibrant creativity, and Ben and I were both drawn to Austin to be a part of this hotbed of indie filmmaking,” added Mader. “To join forces with Lucky, beloved in Texas and beyond, is an expansion for all of us–a deeper connection that will only intensify what we will create together.”
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