Industry Veteran Ed Rivero Named To Head New Latin Spot Venture
Bicoastal/international RSA Films has launched a division that will specialize in commercials for the Latin and Hispanic markets. The new venture, called La Division, is being headed by industry veteran Ed Rivero, who came aboard RSA in 2002 to provide Latin and Hispanic spot representation for the company’s directorial roster.
La Division now opens with a lineup of Latin commercial directors that includes Angel Gracia (whose work has gained recognition at such competitions as the Cannes International Advertising Festival, Eurobest and Circulo Creativo Mexico), Arturo Pereyra (Gatorade, Ford, Coca-Cola), Augusto Gimenez Zapiola (founder of Argentinacine, a leading production house in Argentina), Felix Fernandez de Castro (founder of Barcelona SCPF, with spots for BMW, Audi, VW, Mercedes-Benz, Coke), Jesus M. Rodriguez (former creative director for Discovery Networks Latin America), Karina Taira (Christian Dior, Evian, L’Oreal), Magaby Garcia (Avantel, VW, Kellogg’s), Simon Bross (VW, McDonald’s, Coke, Continental Airlines) and the Argentine directing team Doble Nelson (Ford, Peugeot, Renault, Telefonica, Vodafone).
“With Hispanic buying power in the U.S. and abroad soaring to new levels, it’s only natural for a global company like RSA to bring their high standards to the table and focus its energies on what amounts to a promising and dynamic emerging market,” stated Rivero, whose track record spans the feature and advertising worlds.
In the former arena, he line produced Argentino In New York, a film directed by Juan Jusid and which went on to become a box office hit in Argentina. Rivero has also had a hand in assorted commercials over the years and is credited with helping launch Mars’ brands such as Pedigree, M&Ms, Starburst and Uncle Ben’s in the U.S. Hispanic and Latin American markets.
Rivero started out in New York as a producer at now defunct production companies ESPA Campaigns and Eye On Productions. He moved to Miami to head up the Telesol cable network, a planned international cable launch for South America that didn’t come to fruition. He then freelance produced for such clients as Kal Kan, AT&T and Mobil Oil.
Next Rivero opened RiverQuest in New York, which was involved in features and commercials, and at one time even repped Los Angeles-based A Band Apart in the South American ad market. Rivero then became a founding member of South Beach Productions in Miami, continuing to be involved in multiple disciplines spanning spots, longform and TV programs. He then joined RSA four years ago.Review: Malcolm Washington Makes His Feature Directing Debut With “The Piano Lesson”
An heirloom piano takes on immense significance for one family in 1936 Pittsburgh in August Wilson's "The Piano Lesson." Generational ties also permeate the film adaptation, in which Malcolm Washington follows in his father Denzel Washington's footsteps in helping to bring the entirety of The Pittsburgh Cycle — a series of 10 plays — to the screen.
Malcolm Washington did not start from scratch in his accomplished feature filmmaking debut. He enlisted much of the cast from the recent Broadway revival with Samuel L. Jackson (Doaker Charles), his brother, John David Washington (Boy Willie), Ray Fisher (Lymon) and Michael Potts (Whining Boy). Berniece, played by Danielle Brooks in the play, is now beautifully portrayed by Danielle Deadwyler. With such rich material and a cast for whom it's second nature, it would be hard, one imagines, to go wrong. Jackson's own history with the play goes back to its original run in 1987 when he was Boy Willie.
It's not the simplest thing to make a play feel cinematic, but Malcolm Washington was up to the task. His film opens up the world of the Charles family beyond the living room. In fact, this adaptation, which Washington co-wrote with "Mudbound" screenwriter Virgil Williams, goes beyond Wilson's text and shows us the past and the origins of the intricately engraved piano that's central to all the fuss. It even opens on a big, action-filled set piece in 1911, during which the piano is stolen from a white family's home. Another fleshes out Doaker's monologue in which he explains to the uninitiated, Fisher's Lymon, and the audience, the tortured history of the thing. While it might have been nice to keep the camera on Jackson, such a great, grounding presence throughout, the good news is that he really makes... Read More