The Association of Independent Creative Editors (AICE) has announced that the late James “Yamus” Mudra, an editor who influenced many of the most memorable ad campaigns to come out of Chicago’s top agencies, will be inducted into its Hall of Fame during the 9th Annual AICE Awards Show scheduled for May 20 at The Field Museum in Chicago.
Naming Mudra to the AICE Hall of Fame was a unanimous choice of the group’s Chicago chapter, which is hosting this year’s AICE Awards presentation. Bob Carr, an editor at Red Car in Chicago, explained, “It was not just that his work helped define what advertising from Chicago was all about in the ’80s and ’90s, but also the role he played in our community that we’re acknowledging. Yamus was a mentor to so many young talents here, all of whom had the opportunity to both work with him and learn from him.”
Tim McGuire, founder of Chicago-based editorial company Cutters and past president of the Chicago chapter of AICE, said, “As a young editor, I studied his work and tried to emulate his style. Yamus was a quiet, unassuming talent with a great feel for storytelling. His work spoke for itself.”
Among the spots Mudra edited are numerous Clio winners from the 1980s and 1990s for such brands as Budweiser, Bud Light, Busch Beer, Michelob, McDonald’s, Hallmark and United–all mainstays of the Chicago agency scene, emanating from agencies such as Leo Burnett, DDB Needham and FCB.
Mudra was born in Oak Park, IL, in 1943. A graduate of Southern Illinois University, he taught in the Chicago public school system before embarking on a career in the film business, joining Fogel Edit in 1971, then Optimus in ’74. He stayed at Optimus for the next 19 years before leaving in ’93 to co-found NuWorld Edit with Joe Malecki, Mike LaBellarte and Carr. When NuWorld closed in ’00, Mudra retired from the postproduction industry. He passed away in September of ’05.
Among the most memorable ads from Mudra’s Optimus era are Budweiser Light’s “Downhill,” which won a Gold Clio for Best Editing in ’83, and “Heartland,” also for Bud Light, which was produced to support the ’84 Olympic games. The now legendary commercial features two farmers who take a break from working in the field to watch a runner pass by carrying the Olympic torch.
AICE Awards Show info and tickets are available online at the AICE web site, www.aice.org.
Review: Steven Soderbergh’s Eerie Haunted House Drama “Presence”
The camera is the ghost in Steven Soderbergh's chillingly effective, experiential haunted house drama "Presence." The filmmaker traps the audience in a beautiful suburban home, letting us drift through rooms with this curious being, in and out of delicate conversations as we (and the ghost) try to piece together a puzzle blindly.
Often in haunted house movies where a new family moves in and starts sensing strange things, the ghost knows exactly what they want — usually their house back. In this one, the presence doesn't have such a clear objective. It's more confused, wandering around and investigating the surroundings, like a benevolent amnesiac. Occasionally, though, big emotions erupt, and things shake violently.
Mostly, they go unnoticed. They observe the chipper real estate agent (Julia Fox) preparing for a showing, the painting crew, one of whom believes there's something around, and finally the family and all the complexities of its dynamics. Lucy Liu (a delightful, wickedly funny scene-stealer) is the mom, Rebecca, a wealthy, successful, type-A woman hyper focused on the success of her eldest, a teenage boy named Tyler (Eddy Maday). The father, Chris (Chris Sullivan), is more of the nurturer, concerned about their teen daughter Chloe (Callina Liang) in the aftermath of her friend's unexpected death.
There is a family drama transpiring inside the house, only some of which will make sense in the end. We overhear Rebecca drunkenly telling Tyler that everything she does is for him. We listen in as Chris confides to someone on the phone about a hypothetical partner being involved in something illegal and whether they still would be if legally separated. We see Tyler often with his head buried in his phone. And then there's Chloe: Sad,... Read More