Partner & Chief Creative Officer
Zulu Alpha Kilo NY
What trends, developments or issues would you point to thus far in 2022 as being most significant, perhaps carrying implications for the rest of this year and beyond?
Looking back at the first half of the year and now looking forward I would say that flexibility is paramount. Landscapes are changing and creatively we need to be quick, nimble and flexible.
We need to act bravely and use creative in a myriad of ways to help our clients meet their challenges.
I believe that creativity can solve almost any problem we just have to be open to all the sizes and shapes the creative can take.
How have any societal issues–such as the pandemic, the Supreme court decision on abortion, calls for equity, inclusion, diversity, racial and social justice–impacted the way you do business, company policies and/or selection of projects/creative content?
First and foremost it’s important that we recognize that these issues are constant and have a constant effect on those we work with. We must look after those who work for us and with us.
Time when they need it.
Action when they want it.
The support should be tangible.
At the same time as leaders we also need to actually lead and not just expect employees to solve the issues that are effecting them daily.
How we meet these challenges will define us as a business as much as any other part of our business. There is no separating it.
What’s the biggest takeaway or lessons learned from work (please identify the project) you were involved in this year?
Since I’ve just taken on my new role I’ll instead pick two pieces from Zulu Alpha Kilo Toronto that I have been immensely impressed with: Orders Of Sacrifice and Micropedia Of Microaggressions.
Both pieces think outside of the traditional creative norms to solve a problem and bring awareness to an issue. These pieces of work almost feel like they don’t fit in the traditional lexicon of what an advertising “idea” is…and I love that.
What I am most inspired by when I look at ideas like this is that at Zulu Alpha Kilo there really are no limits to what we can create and impetus is on us to constantly redefine what our industry makes.
What work (advertising, entertainment, documentary) — your own or others–struck a responsive chord with you this year and why?
I recently read Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood and I was floored. It is probably the single best use of the English language that I have read. The memoir is touching, funny, empathetic, unflinching and just a joy to read. I literally can’t dig out enough flattery from my arsenal for this book. Read it.
While gazing into the crystal ball is a tricky proposition, we nonetheless ask you for any forecast you have relative to content creation and/or the creative and/or business climate for the second half of 2022 and beyond.
To my earlier point. I think we will need to be nimbler and more flexible. I think the second half of year will see clients ask us to do more with less.
How we choose to meet this challenge will set the tone for the rest of the year. Creatively I think this is a great opportunity.
Has the first half of 2022 caused you to redefine or fine tune the goals of your company, division, studio or network–and if so, in what way(s)?
Since I’m embarking on a new adventure, we’ll have to chat at the end of the year.
But I will say the goal for Zulu Alpha Kilo NY will be to create work that redefines what people say can be done in the industry.
Actor Daniel Day-Lewis Ends Retirement For A Film Directed By His Son
Daniel Day-Lewis is coming out of retirement, seven years after his last movie, for a film directed by his son Ronan Day-Lewis.
The project was announced Tuesday by Focus Features and Plan B, who are partnering on "Anemone." The film, Ronan Day-Lewis' directorial debut, will star his father along with Sean Bean and Samantha Morton. The film was co-written by the two Day-Lewises.
Earlier Tuesday, Daniel Day-Lewis and Bean were spotted driving a motorbike through Manchester, England, stoking intrigue about his impending return to acting. After making Paul Thomas Anderson's 2017 film "Phantom Thread," the 67-year-old had said he was quitting acting.
"All my life, I've mouthed off about how I should stop acting, and I don't know why it was different this time, but the impulse to quit took root in me, and that became a compulsion," he told W Magazine in 2017. "It was something I had to do."
Since then, his appearances in public have been infrequent. In January, though, he made a surprise appearance at the National Board of Review Awards to present an award to Martin Scorsese, who directed him in "Gangs of New York" (2002) and "The Age of Innocence" (1993).
"Anemone," currently in production, is described as exploring "the intricate relationships between fathers, sons and brothers, and the dynamics of familial bonds."
Ronan Day-Lewis, 26, is a painter who has previously exhibited his works in New York. His first international solo exhibition debuts Tuesday in Hong Kong.
"We could not be more excited to partner with a brilliant visual artist in Ronan Day-Lewis on his first feature film alongside Daniel Day-Lewis as his creative collaborator," said Peter Kujawski, chair of Focus Features. "They have written a truly... Read More