DreamWorks SKG, Los Angeles, has entered into an agreement to acquire the majority interest in Palo Alto, Calif.-based computer animation studio Pacific Data Images (PDI). DreamWorks has owned 40 percent of PDI for several years, but now doubles that stake with a deal to acquire Carl Rosendahl’s share of the Northern California studio. PDI founder/chairman Rosendahl decided to step down from his post to pursue outside creative interests. PDI becomes PDI/DreamWorks, and will continue to be active in multiple disciplines, including spot production. In addition to its Palo Alto headquarters, PDI/DreamWorks plans to develop a production facility in Southern California, PDI/DreamWorks South….Director Rolf Gibbs—whose short films have gained recognition at assorted venues, including the Sundance Film Festival—has secured his first commercial representation, signing with bicoastal Bedford Falls….Tabletop director/cameraman Garry Sato of Santa Monica-headquartered Sato Films is entering into an affiliation with Green Dot Films, Santa Monica….New York-based 11/11 Productions has signed co-directing team Riad Galayini & Josh Hayes, and formed an affiliation with New York-based post/visual effects shop Blink fx.…Concrete Productions, Dallas, has signed director Christopher Cutri, who spent the past year at Cielo Films, Santa Monica….Comedy and dialogue director Joe Scudiero has joined Perretti Productions, New York, for East Coast representation….Director Ron Jacobs has come aboard the roster of get it…pictures, Los Angeles….L.A.-headquartered Milk and Honey Production Services has expanded its international network to include Italy and North Africa through an alliance with Rome-based production and production services company Panorama Films….Michael King has become exec./head of production at Cognito Films, Santa Monica, the shop headed by executive producer Alan Landau….Guy Hudson has been named creative producer at San Francisco-based digtial production and design studio Western Images. In his new role, Hudson will serve as producer/visual effects manager; he comes over from Industrial Light+Magic, San Rafael, where he served as a visual effects supervisor on features and commercials….Santa Monica-based 525 Studios has hired Catherine Adams Wells as executive producer. Her background includes having served as executive producer for Backyard Productions, Chicago, as well as director of commercial production for Digital Domain, Venice, Calif., and a senior producer at bicoastal/international Propaganda Films….
Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey Launch Production House 34North
Executive producers Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey have teamed to launch 34North. The shop opens with a roster which includes accomplished directors Jan Wentz, Ben Nakamura Whitehouse, David Edwards and Mario Feil, as well as such up-and-coming filmmakers as Glenn Stewart and Chris Fowles. Nakamura Whitehouse, Edwards, Feil and Fowles come over from CoMPANY Films, the production company for which Cicero served as an EP for the past nearly five years. Director Wentz had most recently been with production house Skunk while Stewart now gains his first U.S. representation. EP Clancey was freelance producing prior to the formation of 34North. He and Cicero have known each other for some 25 years, recently reconnecting on a job directed by Fowles. Cicero said that he and Clancey “want to keep a highly focused roster where talent management can be one on one--where we all share in the directors’ success together.” Clancey also brings an agency pedigree to the new venture. “I started at Campbell Ewald in accounts, no less,” said Clancey. “I saw firsthand how much work agencies put in before we even see a script. You have to respect that investment. These agency experiences really shaped my approach to production--it’s about empathy, listening between the lines, and ultimately making the process seamless.” 34North represents a meeting point--both literally and creatively. Named after the latitude of Malibu, Calif., where the idea for the company was born, it also embraces the power of storytelling. “34North118West was the first GPS-enabled narrative,” Cicero explained. “That blend of art and technology, to captivate an audience, mirrors what we do here--create compelling work, with talented people, harnessing state-of-the-art... Read More