By Millie Takaki
Effective Feb. 1, editor Brad Wetmore is set to join the Santa Monica operation of Mad River Post, the bicoastal editorial house which also maintains facilities in New York and San Francisco. He comes over from Santa Monica-based editorial shop Jigsaw, where he spent the past four years. At press time, Wetmore was wrapping an Apple Computers spot at Jigsaw, directed by Mark Coppos and Virginia Lee of bicoastal Coppos Films for TBWA/Chiat/Day, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Wetmore is scheduled to cut another Apple assignment once he starts at Mad River.
Wetmore said several factors attracted him to Mad River, including its having facilities in different markets. He noted that editors regularly shuttle back and forth to the various Mad River facilities to take on projects for agencies in New York and San Francisco. "That opens up more opportunities for me, which I think will help take my work to the next level," related Wetmore.
Apple has been a regular client for Wetmore ever since the account returned to TBWA/Chiat/Day a couple of years ago. For example, Apple’s "Music," helmed by Coppos and Lee, was honored in the tabletop category of this year’s Association of Independent Commercial Producers Show at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Wetmore also cut Apple’s "Barry White" spot, which is currently running. His other recent work includes the Dodge spots "Drummer," "Shift" and "Light," directed by Richard Kizu-Blair of Pandemonium, San Francisco, for BBDO Detroit, Southfield, Mich. The editor’s reel also contains a European commercial, "Gnomes," for Hollywood Gum, directed by feature filmmaker Tim Burton (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Edward Scissorhands) of A Band Apart. 35mm, Los Angeles, for Euro RSCG, Paris.
Prior to Jigsaw, Wetmore spent two and a half years as an editor/partner at Oasis Editorial, Santa Monica. He first established himself at Chiat/Day (now TBWA/Chiat/Day), Los Angeles, starting out in its mailroom in ’85. He moved up the ranks to the A-V department, eventually becoming an editor and then head of postproduction at the agency’s in-house arm, Venice Beach Editorial. Except for a brief four-month stay in ’90 at Red Car, Hollywood (now Santa Monica), Wetmore was a Chiat/Day fixture for eight years. He left in ’93 to serve what turned out to be a six-month stint in helping to launch the West Coast operation of now bicoastal music/sound design house Elias Associates. "I discovered that I needed to be cutting again," recalled Wetmore, who then shifted to the aforementioned Oasis.
Wetmore joins a Mad River/ Santa Monica editors’ roster that includes Lucas Eskin, Jack Douglas, Lisa Cheek and Travis Aitken. Editor Michael Elliot, a company principal, and his producer Mindy Strauss are in the process of relocating from Los Angeles to Mad River’s New York office.
Chris Donovan, executive producer at Mad River/Santa Monica, said that Wetmore’s background brings an added dimension to the company, noting that editors Eskin, Douglas, Cheek and Aitken all came up the ranks of Mad River. "That’s proven to be beneficial," related Donovan. "But now in Brad, we bring in some experience from outside the company—a guy who’s worked on the agency side at TBWA/Chiat/Day, someone who was a partner or senior editor at a couple of houses. I think he can help our editors, and they can help him."
Monette Dubin, who was hired as a producer for Mad River/Santa Monica, in Oct. ’99, will be reunited with Wetmore. The two worked together years ago in Chiat/Day’s A-V department.
Endeavor Group Sells Professional Bull Riders, On Location and IMG To Parent of WWE and UFC
The parent company of WWE and UFC is buying Professional Bull Riders, On Location, and IMG from Endeavor Group in an all-stock deal valued at $3.25 billion.
The deal is part of Endeavor's efforts to shed some of its assets as it looks to be taken private in a proposed transaction with private equity firm Silver Lake, which was announced in April. Ariel Emanuel, who serves as CEO of Endeavor, is also executive chair and CEO of TKO.
Professional Bull Riders is a bull riding league that has more than 200 annual live events, approximately 1.25 million fans, and reaches more than 285 million households in more than 65 territories. On Location is live event company for more than 1,200 sporting events, such as the Super Bowl, Ryder Cup and NCAA Final Four. IMG is a distributor and producer of sports content, packages and sells media rights and brand partnerships, and provides consulting, digital services and event management to clients such as the National Football League and National Hockey League.
Parent company TKO Group said Thursday that the acquisition from Endeavor Group will complement its existing businesses as well as broaden its reach in the premium sports market.
"PBR, On Location, and IMG are industry-leading assets that meaningfully enhance TKO's portfolio and strengthen our position in premium sports globally," TKO Chief Operating Officer Mark Shapiro said in a statement. "Within TKO, they will help power the growth of our revenue streams and position us to capture even more upside from some of the most attractive parts of our sports ecosystem: media rights, live events, ticket sales, premium experiences, brand partnerships, and site fees."
As part of the deal, Endeavor will receive about 26.14 million common units of TKO... Read More